There's no need to rough it during an outdoors adventure if your budget can afford the latest in high-end camping equipment and clothing.

Suzette Voyda was a stay-at-home mom, ready to get back into the workforce after raising three kids. Samantha was one of those kids, finished with college and anxious to start a career in fashion. Together the pair opened Zoe Boutique, an upscale women's clothing store in Springfield's Piper Glen Plaza.

The birth of J. Parkes Originals can be summarized in numbers: 1,700 earrings and $2,000 more than 20 years ago.

Goodbye to the bright white refrigerators that sound like a road grader making the compressor work and that no matter what a homeowner does, they still smell like stale something and mystery plastic.

The holiday season is here. It's time for food, family and giving.

While I love good food and family, the text that follows is going to focus on giving. Giving to loved ones during the holiday season can be a rewarding experience. Putting big presents under the tree for them to ponder over is a fun and playful form of torture that most enjoy. My personal favorites, though, are the stockings.

The holiday season is here, whether we like it or not.

Boating is an activity that can bring the whole family together, whether you spend the day tubing and skiing or just relaxing on the water.

If the idea of heavy traffic and crowded stores steals your holiday cheer and you long for the chance to select a handmade gift in a peaceful setting, consider a drive to Cardinal Hill Candles in Rochester.

It doesn't take a big budget or a big home to make holiday party guests feel welcome and jovial. It's all about the warmth of the hosts. Add delicious food, and you've got a successful party. But an over-the-top, lavish soiree takes one more special feature: big, gorgeous decorations.

Maybe they got cold feet at Christmas. Perhaps they needed to get parental approval. Whatever the motivation, Shane Luttrell says Valentine's Day seems to give guys the "nudge they need" to propose.

There is an art to jewelry design. The placement of a stone, the complicated filigree work and a delicate design turn stones and precious metal into an heirloom.

Sophisticated, elegant, chic and trendy, colored diamonds have become all the rage now that they are gracing the necks and fingers of more and more celebrities.

In 1997, Amy Mibb fell in love at first sight - with Mandy Curl's handiwork.

That year, Mibb discovered Curl's knack for sewing, fashioning and patching together fabrics into wearable art was a talent she could not live without.

If the idea of heavy traffic and crowded stores steals your holiday cheer and you long for the chance to select a handmade gift in a peaceful setting, consider a drive to Cardinal Hill Candles in Rochester.

Thanks to the determination of one family and the dedication of some outstanding employees, Springfield manufacturer Nudo Products Inc., has grown from humble beginnings.