Dana McMahan

NBC

7 things your Airbnb host wants to tell you (but probably won't)

Pick a place that's right for you, and it can be the difference in just a fun summer getaway — and a really memorable trip.

apartmenttherapy.com

How Do You Keep from Going Too Far with Your Fixer Upper?

Fixing up your home can get to become a way of life. There's always another project just waiting for your magic touch. But for those of us with a fixer-upper habit, there's a peril lurking on the other side of all those re-dos – it's the dreaded Over Improved house.
You know the one.

Architectural Digest

What—and How—to Eat During a Kitchen Reno (Beyond PB and J!)

Once while renovating a big, old house in Detroit, I subsisted on pizza, Pringles, peanut butter and jelly, and M&Ms. (And bourbon.) My body did not thank me. Which is why, looking ahead to my next project—a kitchen refresh in my new place in Louisville, Kentucky—I turned to Jess Dang, a professional Bay Area meal planner who recently completed a major kitchen reno herself, for tips on not only surviving, but thriving.

munchies.vice.com

How to Talk About Bourbon Without Embarrassing Yourself

Stop saying "smooth," to start.

NBC

I hired a stylist — and learned so much more than how to dress

We learn to dress ourselves around, what, kindergarten? It's not hard. You put garments on the parts that you don't want to get cold and that's it. Back then we didn't give much thought to how we looked in our clothes — or maybe it's that we didn't give much thought to what other people thought.

apartmenttherapy.com

Hey “Dog Friendly” Hotels, What's With the Big Dog Ban?

Hotels are fond of plastering "dog friendly" on everything, luring pet families with promises of treats and dog bowls and beds to pamper their pooches.
I'm sure they think it makes them look good, but maybe what they're not considering is the frustration it generates when d...

The Kitchn

Essential Detroit: 15 Places Everyone Should Eat in the Motor City

Sometimes food is about artisan ingredients, beautiful plating, and a chef's brilliance; sometimes food is about soul-soothing nourishment. That's not to say it can't be both, but the latter is one of the reasons I fell in love with an unlikely Midwestern city. In fact, I fell so hard I bought a big, old house that had plenty of soul, but needed a lot of TLC.

Esquire

EDWINS in Cleveland Is Teaching Former Inmates How to Run a Restaurant

The first glimmer of the idea that became EDWINS came with Brandon Chrostowski's arrest. He was 18 years old, just a kid in Detroit, charged with fleeing when they couldn't get him on a drug dealing charge. The judge offered him a second chance–but only if he got a job.

Salon

The horrors of terrorism makes travel an imperative not a luxury

There's not a word in our language that's just right for the feeling when you've escaped a disaster — the sense some might call "there but for the grace of God . . ." or dodged a bullet. But even lacking a label, something definitely happens when you experience a place that's later visited by terror, something that may be critical to our survival.

foodrepublic.com

Edward Lee Has An Idea To Help Solve The Chef Shortage | Food ...

The nation's inner cities are full of bright youngsters — all they need is a chance, acclaimed chef says.

apartmenttherapy.com

This Super-Common Real Estate Tip is Actually Terrible Advice

We've all heard it. If you're looking to buy, you should always go for the worst house in the best neighborhood. But have many of us ever stopped to question that conventional wisdom?

EveryDay with Rachel Ray

From Food to Fashion, Detroit Proves It's More Than Just Motown

Motown, the Motor City, the D. With its history and culture and great new places to hang, this happening hot spot can’t have just one name.

CNN

Things to do in Louisville: The can't-miss spots

Locals may debate whether this river city is the South or the Midwest, but everyone can agree that Louisville, Kentucky, is an exciting place to be.

Crowds pack the 'Ville for the Kentucky Derby the first weekend in May, but bourbon-fueled delights await year-round.

TheMorningNews

Detroit State of Mind - The Morning News

What I end up saying when I try to explain to people, and myself, why I bought a vacation house in Detroit.

courier-journal.com

How to be an Airbnb superstar: You help your guests elope

This is why I Airbnb.
It's a golden Monday evening in Central Park in Old Louisville. I'm helping a woman in a flowing white dress climb onto the gazebo (a former wishing well) for photos. Suddenly, she's radiant. It's more than the setting sun lighting her face; I turn to see what ignited the blissful smile — and there's her groom.