It began innocently enough. Earlier this summer I spent time on a Texas ranch to research a story. While there I fell hard ... fell for the look of cowboy boots. Since returning home my fascination grew. I needed some cowboy boots of my own.

To be perfectly clear, these aren't boots that I'm going to wear horse riding. I just like the look of them, and what Southern girl doesn't? Thus began my quest for the perfect pair: ones that I could wear at work, on the road, with jeans, with dresses, when line dancing. OK maybe not that last part.

Here are some of my favorite stops along the trail of the perfect pair:

 Wildflower & Wax -- Located in Helena, Alabama (just outside Birmingham), this store actually specializes in making their own beautiful and delicious smelling candles (here is their blog). But the owners discovered that customers were interested in the vintage cowboy boots they had on display for decoration, so they started selling vintage boots from all over the country.

I found several pair I liked, but none in my size. If at first you don't succeed ...

Keep shopping.

I looked around online a bit but am a believer in trying on boots for the right fit. So when I had some extra time during a Texas trip last weekend (Lubbock), I tried on a few dozen pair on for size.

At Cavender's, a chain that has been in business since 1965, I found rows and rows of gorgeous new boots in every size, shape, and color.

Simple, ornate, tall, short, dressy and casual (seriously, I had no idea of the range of possibilities), I pulled pair after pair from the shelves, trying them on and learning from their friendly salespeople how boots should feel and fit.

Here were some of my favorites (at right).

Although several of these caught my attention, I had a feeling that the perfect pair was still somewhere out there, waiting for me.

Luckily, I happened to be going to Nashville after Texas.

The odyssey continued.

Following a friend's recommendation, I stopped off at the legendary Katy K's, whose customers sing on the Grand Ole Opry. Rockabilly and rhinestone fashion galore, I knew this was my kind of place. And indeed, this is where I found them: The Ones.

As soon as I put them on I knew I'd found my glass slippers. These vintage boots would go with everything, had an ever so subtle but colorful pattern, and fit like magic.

Move over Carrie Bradshaw. You don't have anything on a Southern girl with the perfect pair of boots. (But if another pair come along, there's still room in my closet ... )

Related Links:

40 Things Every Southerner Ought To Do

Music City Shopping

Recently I've started hooping for exercise. As in hula hooping, the thing that you did when you were a kid. It's a ridiculous amount of fun, and there are even health benefits (but that's another story for another time).

Let's just say you can't feel bad when you have a brightly colored hoop spinning around your body and the music way up. I even have a collapsible one for travel, which gets a lot of attention in airports.

What? You've never seen a grown woman carry a laptop on one shoulder and a fold-up hoop on another? It is a conversation starter to say the least.

Random person: Um, what's that around your neck?

Me: It's a hula hoop.

Random person: Seriously?

Me: Yep, wanna try?

Random person looks suspiciously at me, backing away slowly.

OK, so it's a bit bulky and I don't take it everywhere. But I'm not the only Southerner who is into hooping --  in fact the Hotel Palomar in Dallas is offering a 50% discount to anyone who can hula hoop for one minute upon check-in. And if you can't make the full minute, they'll offer a free-upgrade if you hoop for 20 seconds. How fun is that?

The deal is upon availability and runs through Sept. 7. Now go get your hoop on.

Related Links:

Southern Living: Dallas Like A Local

Southern Living Live Healthy: Hula Hooping To Health

Hooping.com - What is Hooping?

                                                                                                                                              Several weeks ago I found myself surrounded by family and friends of rock and roll royalty.

While visiting Lubbock, Texas, I was invited to a performance of "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story."

The musical, which tells the life story of Lubbock's native son and rock pioneer Holly, is being staged by the non-profit Lubbock Moonlight Musicals and features cast members from of the London production of "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story," which closed earlier this year.

The talented performers (including many local residents and Texas Tech students) brought Holly's music alive under the Texas stars. Adding to the depth of the experience was the fact that so many people in the audience -- and even on the stage -- had personal connections to Buddy Holly.

The woman sitting next to me went to school with him. His niece, Ingrid Holly Kaiter, sang in the show. And as an encore, his nephew, Eddy Weir, joined Matt Wycliffe (who plays Buddy) on stage, for a rocking guitar duet. I spoke briefly to Eddy, who said it was an honor for him to be play in the musical depicting his late uncle's life and legacy. Countless others in the audience shared how proud they were that the musical had returned, so new generations can learn about this music pioneer.

As far as British actors playing boys from West Texas -- I have to say they got the accent down just right. And by watching all of the young people in the audience it's pretty clear -- the music definitely hasn't died.

Lubbock Moonlight Musicals presents "Buddy! The Buddy Holly Story" at the Wells Fargo Amphitheater in MacKenzie Park, July 25 and August 1, 7, 14, and 22 at 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.lubbockmoonlightmusicals.org or call 1-800-735-1288 or 806-770-2000.

Related Links:

Southern Living: Top 10 Cities In Texas

The Buddy Holly Center - While in Lubbock, learn more about the man and his music

Okay, so this is really cool.  I caught wind about the Southwest Airlines Wi-Fi, but it didn't cross my mind this morning when I hopped the plane from B'ham to Dallas.  

Then, Bam!  Here I am, blogging in real time from the skies.  Their wi-fi homepage shows me the progress of the flight.  (It's 8:15 a.m., we're going 450 mph, our ETA to Love Field is 68 minutes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses...)  During this testing period, the service is as free as the two packs of peanuts sitting on my tray. 

Now, what could I write about?  The guy in 12D holds his newspaper close to his face.  The woman in 13D brought cheese crackers.  She offered me one, but I politely declined. 

I never promised the post would be exciting. Just cool.

Mark your calendars for April 19-20 and 25-26: The global music community is descending onto Houston for iFest. From Celtic to Tejano to African drum circles, the city will be jamming out both weekends. Since 1971, the iFest has been THE international event of the year in hTown, and for good reason. When you look at all the offerings, it will make your head hurt it's so packed. 

Editor's Pick: Rootz Underground, one of Jamaica's hottest reggae bands, shown above. There's plenty of good acts to catch on the 10 stages. So, if international travel is out for your family this summer, head into Houston. Tip: If you buy before March 31, one-day tickets to all the shows are only $7.50.  For a preview of Rootz Underground and other performers, continue reading...

Continuing our local's look into the city of Dallas, here are the next five reasons to visit Big D. Also, I didn't mention that this list of 25 is not ranked. It's a sum-greater-than-the-parts deal. OK, let's get to it.

16. They've painted the town.

In the February issue of Southern Living, I wrote about "the most misunderstood metropolis in America" --- Dallas. Big D. The Other Dubai. The Central Coast. Where the east ends. The nicknames help to push this fashionable boom city into unflattering light. Fortunately, we don't research with Wikipedia. Truth be told, Dallas is a killer town. I've never in my life been more welcomed into a big city. It's very local, if that makes any sense. And I've never been more happily surprised to find indie music joints, laid back beer gardens, ambitiously green locals, and enough material to warrant a follow-up, top 25 list of reasons to kick it in Dallas sometime soon. So here we go...

21. They are building a waterfront.

The towns of Marfa, Alpine, and Marathon embody the far west Texas spirit of wide open possibility. If you react like locals to the almost endless spread of landscape, you'll be on the next plane to El Paso. For some backstory on the assignment and my three trips out west, watch the audio slideshow.

Have you heard of CityPass? If not, then listen up: There's no better value offer for exploring Atlanta and Houston (plus other major metropolises outside the South) than CityPass. The booklet of tickets is basically a pocket-sized, front-of-the-line golden ticket to each city's spotlighted attractions. All-in-one for less of a price.

If you were in Houston, you would pay $34 for adults/$24 for kids and recieve entry into Space Center Houston (NASA); Downtown Aquarium; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Houston Zoo; either The Health Museum OR George Ranch Historical Park; either Museum of Fine Arts, Houston OR The Children’s Museum of Houston. The adult value for this package would be more than $65. Plus, the CityPass comes with preferential seating and a free appetizer at one of 33 Landry's restaurants in the city.

If you were in Atlanta, adults pay $69/kids $49 to access World of Coca-Cola; Zoo Atlanta; CNN Atlanta; Georgia Aquarium; High Museum of Art OR the Atlanta History Center; Fernbank Museum of Natural History OR Atlanta Botanical Garden. A normal adults entry into these places would cost nearly $120. The added value in ATL comes for shoppers: Lenox and Phipps malls honor the CityPass with savings options in selected stores.

If you do find yourself in either Houston or Atlanta, I can't help but give my two cents tips for favorites in each. In H-town, Hermann Park is awesome; the reflecting pool and the Sam Houston statue reminds me of the Mall in DC. It's a wonderful morning spot. For Atlanta, I have three words. Get. To. Decatur. Especially for two fantastic restaurants: Brick Store Pub and Cakes and Ale, shown to the left. Stellar.

To read up on both cities, visit our Southern Living's website by clicking on the city names Atlanta and Houston. And before you visit, check into CityPass.

University of Texas football coach Mack Brown doesn't wear the ring from his team's 2005 national championship. "That's part of the past," he explains sagely. "Now we're trying to win with this team."

After the No. 1 Longhorns' 56-31 annihilation of 11th-ranked Missouri in Austin Saturday night, it seems undefeated Texas is well on its way.

Having friends over to watch the game, priceless.

We're all feeling the pinch of the current economic downturn. So instead of making the trip to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry pitting No. 1 Oklahoma against No. 5 Texas, I decided to throw my own tailgate party and invite a bunch of friends over.

Recently, Time Magazine (a publication owned by our parent company) published a story titled, "50 Authentic American Experiences." These huge types of magazine articles always intrigue me. Rarely do I not grab the magazine or click on the story to see what editors spotlight as the best BBQ in Texas, the greatest songwriters of all-time, or America's favorite beaches. I love the breadth of expertise and the narrowing down of opinions.

Time, though, missed the mark, especially in the South. I'll offer my thoughts and you can decide.

Granted, I'm not a Texan. But my daughter is quickly becoming one, and that makes me an honorary Texas mom. It's a position I take seriously. So when one of my fishing buddies from Seabrook (a Houston neighborhood near the water) sent me the link to a series of post-storm images, my world stopped till I saw each one.

Washington, Texas has always been a place for Houstonians to escape and relax on the ranch. Only 60 minutes from downtown Houston, the four-star Inn at Dos Brisas is a place to ride horses, gaze out at blue bonnets, and sip good wine. Today, as Houston recovers from the recent storm, the home away from home helps out by taking its role more literally, from no-cost dry cleaning to helicopter rides ($600 round trip) to the city. The Inn also offers to pay 100 miles worth of gas for storm-hit travelers, which will almost cover driving from Houston. Oh, one more thing, the WiFi is working.

Interstate travel usually leads to generic, unmemorable, value-meal food stops. On a recent Texas drive from San Antonio to South Padre Island, I found a BBQ place called Van's that made me want to write a story about making I-travel a more local experience. Here are three interstate BBQ joints worth an exit in Texas.

(Photo by Taylor Bruce)

(South Carolina's 1,500-year-old Angel Oak. Photo credit.)

When I think of trees, I think of the four spring-flowering Bradford Pears that made a square in my childhood backyard. How the trees formed a lane perfect for pitching baseballs (to my mother mostly). How I watched them, unknowingly, grow from weak treelings to wonderful, burgundy-leafed adults. And how they sort of watched me rise as well. Trees are markers of the changing seasons, givers of shade, reminders of time, and anchors to place.

Here are a few famous ones in the South that bring to mind the words of William Cullen Bryant, "The groves were God's first temples."

(Photo of Charleston's Beard-winner, Hominy Grill, by Shayna Anne)

Foodie powers-that-be recently announced this year's James Beard Awards, the highest culinary accolade out there, America's meal medal of honor. The shindig, which you can see via pictures on the JB Foundation website, looked to be a real tony affair, with the tops of our nation's restauranteurs/chefs/food writers toasting their love of cuisine. And once again the  contingent who call our proud region home showed up bigtime at the celebration.

(Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife)

Matagorda Island - rugged and untamed, sea-oat-pure, populated by whooping cranes, wild turkeys, and white-tailed deer - lays 5 miles across the Espiritu Santo Bay from mainland Texas. If cowboys were sailors too, this is where they'd roam.

Paris Hatters, North Broadway in San Antonio

Eighty years plus in the hat business is long enough to fill Paris Hatters with a week's worth of anecdotes. For delightful confirmation, go meet the founder's son, Abe Cortez, pictured here.

1. The Golden Driller, Tulsa, OK (map)

Height: 76 feet
Constructed: 1953
Claim to Fame: Largest freestanding statue in the world

1. Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Dishes

Stop in for lunch at Joe T. Garcia's Mexican Dishes. Order the chicken-fajitas ($8.50, cash or checks only), and soak up the lively, Old Mexico, cantina-esque atmosphere for which this local institution is known. Scan the many framed autographed photos of celebrities who've eaten here, such as Tiger Woods, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Bette Midler.
Open for lunch and dinner daily. Find on map.

(Photo courtesy of Pegasus News)

While walking through Dallas' NorthPark Mall, a place of high fashion, modern art, and exquisite landscaping, Senior Photographer Art Meripol and I came upon a real surprise: John Lennon's Steinway upright, the one where his peace anthem "Imagine" came to life.

(Photo by Taylor Bruce).

Renowned abstract expressionist sculptor Mark di Suervo is the man responsible for the large, apple-red anchor to the Dallas Museum of Art on Ross Avenue. It's becoming iconic in a city gone wild for the arts. His pieces – made mostly from welded I-beams and heavy guage metal - can also be seen in other  spots in Dallas: Meyerson Symphony Hall; Northpark Center; and the Nasher Sculpture Center in the thriving downtown arts district.