Every month I answer reader questions about life, love, and queso as a spirited Texan named “Boots.” Quite often I also have the privilege of profiling people and well-loved travel destinations. Poetry assignments don’t come around as much, but when they do—I faint, then cheer, then write for weeks to find the right 20 words to put in print.
Dear Boots: Bucket Lists + June Bugs
The start-of-summer edition. Tips on avoiding the pressure of a summer bucket list followed by what to call the most charming insects of the season.
Dear Boots: Easter Chocolate + Ohio???
One family asks Boots to weigh in on their house divided (Peeps vs Peanut Butter Eggs.) Another reader wonders whether she should follow her job out of the Lone Star State.
“Risktakers” Magnolia Journal
The theme of this issue was “Risk.” To try and shift the perception of risk as only a bad thing, I wrote this piece that casts risk takers in a welcoming light. The world truly does need risk takers.
“Long-Lost Mums” Southern Living
Growing up in the south, I thought mums were for homecoming season only. This couldn’t be farther from the truth + a fabulous family farm in Virginia is on a mission to bring this truth to the world, one beautiful mum at a time.
Dear Boots: March Madness + Spring Break Envy
What to do when basketball is everywhere and all you want is a time out. Followed by thoughts from Boots on having a great spring break (gasp) at home!
“Things To Do” Artifact Uprising
Artifact Uprising asked me to talk about holiday cards and it ended up being a piece about that age-old pressure to keep up with Joneses. The first item on this year’s holiday list? Getting priorities straight.
Dear Boots: Texas Tree Farms + Gift Cards
Boots tells us why Texas tree farms are worth a visit even if we are in the middle of a drought and also offers a definitive answer on the age-old question: are gift cards really gifts?
“To Those Who Come Behind Us” Ethel Vol. 1
Ethel Vol. 1 was a curated collection of essays by female writers from across the country. My piece is about aging, strangers, and running. Not in that order, but in that order of importance.
Dear Boots: Chili + Ghosts
Beans or no beans. In Texas chili, that is always the question. Boots weighs into the debate with thoughts on what goes into a blue-ribbon bowl, then follows up with advice for someone seeking a haunted house in Waco.
Dear Boots: Coping Mechanisms + Nicknames
A new Texas resident wonders if people here are embedded with some kind of heat coping device the rest of the world doesn’t get. Boots also dives into the back story of her nickname which may or may not involve Johnny Cash.
Dear Boots: Movie Theaters + Swimming Pools
Is going to the theater an outdated way to watch movies or the best way to remember we’re all a bunch of humans just trying to make it in this world? Plus, quit your bitchin’ about how hot your pool water is—you’re lucky to have it.
“No Looking Back” Magnolia Journal
In our world of type, type, typing, there’s a release to be found when we put pen to paper. This mode of expression frees something inside us so that we can go deeper, discover more, and remember the simple pleasures of writing by hand.