Topeka, KS September 2024

The Golden City is Dripping in Style

CASH FOR CLASSROOMS

Strengthening our local schools and communities.

Every month during the school year, each Charlie’s Car Wash location grants $500 to a school classroom nominated by teachers, parents, and customers. To date, Charlie’s has granted over $229,000 and counting to local schools.

Nominate your favorite classroom now!

Scan the QR code to nominate your class and to view the 2023-2024 winners.

How does your favorite classroom win?

Share this information with friends, family, and parents!

Fashion is Fleeting - Style is Steadfast

September is our style issue and that means fun and fashion! The terms “fashion” and “style” are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Fashion is what’s in at the moment and tends to change quickly. Trends that are considered fashionable today may fall out of fashion tomorrow. Style, however, refers to an individual’s personal expression through clothing, accessories, and appearance. While fashion is constantly changing, style is the opposite - timeless, classic, and enduring. An easy way to distinguish between the two is to remember that fashion reflects what’s popular outside in the collective culture, while personal style comes from within. It is a reflection of who you are as an individual and it is as unique as you.

I sold jewelry for years and I learned a lot about both fashion and style. I always taught style as a simple 1,2,3 process.

1. Start with the basics - solid tops and bottoms.

2. Add a vest, jacket, sweater, or other outer piece.

3. Finish with accessories like jewelry, belts, scarves, purses, shoes, and hats that complete the outfit by adding the final touch.

This approach allows you to keep your basics and update every season with trending accessories to keep your look fresh and fashion-forward without having to replace your entire wardrobe.

Don’t be afraid to have fun with fashion, but remember to stay true to yourself and your personal style will shine through. If it feels right and makes you happy, rock it! It’s always a good idea to enlist the help of a professional, I recommend Sara Schultz with SaraSchultzCreative.com for all your personal styling needs.

While often associated with fashion, style touches so many other aspects of our lives. Within our pages, we cover everything from fashion fun with women's hats to tips and tricks to style your hair and home, plus musical styles that transcend time. Hear from Rich Williams, guitarist for American rock band Kansas who got their start right here in our Golden City! (Psst! They’re coming to TPAC in October.) There’s a little something for everyone in this month’s issue, and we hope you enjoy!

Stay Stylish Topeka!!

KATHY GRAHAM, EDITOR

September 2024

PUBLISHER

Brian Rodehorst | brian.rodehorst@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Kathy Graham | kathy.graham@citylifestyle.com

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kristol Kumar | kristol@kristolkumar.com

Lindsey Wagers | info@wagersphotography.com

Create Uplift | info@createuplift.com

STAFF WRITERS

Sue Baldani | suebaldani@yahoo.com

Kelsey Huber | khuber2@gmail.com

Amanda Knowland | amandalanum@gmail.com

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR

Sara Schultz | saraschultzstyling@gmail.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Abbi Sulaski, LeAnn Parker

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Poppy & Co. by Kelsey Huffer, Janie Jones

Corporate Team

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe

LAYOUT DESIGNER Andi Foster

ARTICLE BY SUE BALDANI

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LINDSEY WAGERS/WAGERS PHOTOGRAPHY

CREATE A UNIQUE DESTINATION SPACE RIGHT INSIDE YOUR HOME

STYLISH DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

“I KIND OF TOOK OFF ON THEIR THEME AND MADE IT MY OWN.”

Homes are a great way of showcasing a homeowners style. With a desire to entertain family at home, people are no longer setting aside rooms that are only used a few times a year. Formal living rooms are now a hang-out spot for the entire family, and formal dining rooms are now being utilized for everyday eating.

Some, like Todd Williams of Topeka, like to take it a step further and create themed spaces for a more unique experience. “A buddy of mine in Manhattan has a 20s era themed ice cream shop in his basement, and he also helped his son make a really cool 50s themed game room with pinball machines in his own home, so I kind of took off on their theme and made it my own,” he says.

In Todd’s basement, he created a replica of a 1950s diner complete with a soda fountain bar with stainless steel soda fountains and round red stools, malt machines, and an old Coke machine. “We also have what’s probably a 1940s era movie theater popcorn machine that has the really neat little lights in the top,” he says.

The floor is a black and white checkered pattern, and near the 50s style leather booths with stainless steel edges is what looks like a 40s or early 50s style jukebox. “It has more modern electronics, but still has the bubbles that change colors,” says Todd. Inside, there are classic 45 rpm records from the 40s, 50s and 60s.

In addition to the diner theme, Todd expanded his décor to include a game room with mainly 60s era pinball machines, plus a bowling machine and a shooting gallery. “There’s also a baseball machine that pitches you a ball, and if you hit it, it’ll give you a single, a double, an out, a triple, or a home run, and then the little guys run around the bases,” he says.

So, what can you do with your own space that’s just a little different than usual? How about turning a screened-in porch into a beach room with water features, seashells, sand and an umbrella? Or, maybe set up an old-western saloon in the basement with swinging doors leading to a long bar, mirrored shelves for bottles, and a dart board with horseshoes and cowboy hats adorning the walls. A retro game room with Skee-Ball, Pac-Man, Asteroids and other nostalgic games can be set up in a garage. The possibilities are endless!

FAS H I ON ’ S

CROWNING GLORY

ELEVATING STYLE & CONFIDENCE WITH HATS

Hats have long been a symbol of elegance and style in women’s fashion. From the classic fedora to the playful beret, each hat offers a unique way to express personality and enhance an outfit. While choosing the right style is key, the hardest part can often be mustering the confidence to wear one. Discover how to incorporate these timeless accessories into your wardrobe with advice from two local fashionistas.

"This beret belonged to Marge Heeney, an incredible woman. I received it after she passed. I felt like she wanted me to have it because she knew I’d love it.”

- Martha Bartlett Piland

Tiffany Criss’s hat collection reflects her unique, city Vogue style. While she admits that wearing a hat often makes her overdressed for local events, she embraces the confidence it brings. Her advice? Don’t shy away from standing out. Pairing a stylish hat with a sharp outfit can truly elevate your look.

Martha Bartlett Piland’s style blends high fashion with vintage flair, reflecting a penchant for heels and a preference for being overdressed rather than underdressed. Her extensive hat collection embodies her flair for drama. As owner of an advertising agency, Piland is a creative. She encourages women to embrace hats with confidence: “Don’t wait for the occasion. YOU are the occasion.”

Styling DIY Floral Bowls

ARTICLE BY LEANN PARKER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES

Flowers brighten any room, any day of the year. No need to wait for a special occasion or holiday–give yourself permission to brighten everyday life with a bowl full of flowers. Place florals in an entryway, kitchen, living room space or even bathroom. Florals make any room come alive with pops of color and fragrant aromas.

Consider this your personal invitation to play with flowers by styling your very own floral bowl arrangement. Use any cereal bowl in the kitchen and a bundle of store-bought flowers. We recommend purchasing your fresh flowers from Porterfield’s Flowers & Gift Shop. For an extra texture and depth, look for small branches found in your yard and ornamental grasses to pop into the arrangement. Then, place your floral bowl in a place where you need that burst of joy the most. Enjoy!

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO STYLE BEAUTIFUL ARRANGEMENTS

FLORALS MAKE ANY ROOM COME ALIVE WITH

POPS OF COLOR AND FRAGRANT AROMAS.

GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES

• 1 bundle of flowers (about 24 stems) + floral food packet

• Spring branches found in your yard & ornamental grasses (optional)

• 6” bowl (cereal bowl size)

• Floral shears (or garden clippers, kitchen shears, even craft scissors in a pinch)

• 12” square cut chicken wire

• Wire cutters

• Garden gloves to protect your hands when forming chicken wire

• Clear floral tape (scotch tape will also do)

• Lazy Susan to easily move your arrangement and work from all sides

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the mechanics. The mechanics are the non-floral elements used to assemble a floral arrangement. These materials will act as a grid in which the flowers are arranged into to hold each stem in its place.

2. Wearing garden gloves, cut chicken wire roughly into a 12” square. Loosely form the chicken wire into a ball and place inside the bowl.

3. Use clear floral tape to make an X shape over the top of the bowl to hold the chicken wire securely into place. This will also give extra support when adding the floral elements later.

4. Fill the bowl with water and mix in a flower food packet, if your flowers came with one.

5. Begin to arrange floral elements into the bowl. As a general rule, you will want to start with the strongest, thickest stems and end with the most delicate stems. Begin with branches, then the largest base flowers followed by taller focal flowers, and finally delicate stems, grasses and wispy greens.

hacks HAIR

Braids to Keep You Chic All Year Long

Braids are a great way to add style and uniqueness to your hair style rotation and have been a staple in hair styles dating back to 3500 B.C. This historical hairstyle is here to stay, so we wanted to share some go-to impressive looks.

ARTICLE

BY

ABBI SULASKI

PHOTOGRAPHY BY POPPY & CO. BY KELSEY HUFFER

simple bandana braid in a braids pony-tail

Place a bandana on the forehead and tie it in the back. Create as many braids as desired in the back of the head, teasing the ends to avoid using elastics.

CONTINUED >

Part a mohawk section of hair down the center of the head. Create a French braid down the middle. For a thicker-looking braid, gently pull on the strands working your way up and down the braid. Pull it back into a ponytail for a simple and trendy look.

pull through braid with space buns

Part hair down the center. Create pullthrough braids on each side of the head. Tie elastic at the end of the braids to create a ponytail at the nape of the neck. For extra volume in the buns, tease the hair in the ponytail before twisting it into a bun. Secure with hair pins and... Voilà!

simpleupdo

Part the hair down the center or side part, if preferred. Create braid(s) on the side of the head and secure with elastic. Twist the hair with braids into a simple bun, securing it with hair pins. Add an accessory for a classy touch.

realty report

events

SEPTEMBER 6TH-OCTOBER 5TH

TCT Presents - JERSEY BOYS

TCT @ 3028 SW 8th Ave., Topeka, KS

Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history.   Jersey Boys takes you behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Thursday doors open at 6pm, 7pm curtain. Friday/ Saturday doors open at 6pm, 7:30pm curtain. Sunday matinee doors open at 12:30pm, 2pm curtain. Visit topekacivictheatre.com

SEPTEMBER 7TH

Touch-A-Truck @ Evergy Plaza Downtown

Evergy Plaza Downtown @ 630 S Kansas Ave. Topeka, KS | 9:30 AM

Touch-A-Truck provides kids of all ages and their parents the opportunity to get up close and personal with trucks! Centered around Evergy Plaza, this event fills the streets of Downtown Topeka with trucks including fire trucks, cranes and more!  Come downtown and bring the whole family. Visit evergyplaza.com

SEPTEMBER 13TH

Evergy Plaza - Friday Flicks Presents "UP" Movie

Evergy Plaza Downtown @ 630 S Kansas Ave. Topeka, KS | 7:00 PM

Join us every second Friday, April-October for our annual Friday Flicks presented by Communication Federal Credit Union.  Vendors will be ready at 7pm | Movie will be starting at 8pm.  September's movie is UP.  Come out and enjoy all the food trucks. Visit evergyplaza.com

OCTOBER 3RD-4TH

TPAC Presents - KANSAS: 50th Anniversary Tour

TPAC @ 214 SE 8th Ave, Topeka, KS | 7:30 PM

With a legendary career spanning five decades, KANSAS has firmly established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. Featuring Topeka native Rich Williams, guitarist and original member. Tickets can be purchased in person at the TPAC Box Office 10am4:30pm, Tuesday through Friday or 1 hour prior to the event. Visit online www.topekaperformingarts.org

Topeka’s Wayward SON RETURNS

We caught up with Topeka native Rich Williams, guitarist and original member of the iconic rock band Kansas. Kansas is returning to their home state to play the final leg of their 50th Anniversary Tour.

TCL: DO YOU HAVE ANY FOND MEMORIES OF GROWING UP IN TOPEKA?

Williams: Oh, many. Growing up in Topeka in the fifties in my neighborhood, I was Beaver Cleaver. It was just a completely normal, fully-lived childhood that gave me a chance to grow up with an innocence that I don’t think exists for many in these times. My, wife grew up in DC., but her favorite place to get a hamburger is Bobo’s. The last time we were driving through when we played in Salina, it was just me, Ronnie Platt, and my wife Debbie and we went straight to Bobo’s.

TCL: HAS THE CITY CHANGED A LOT FROM THE TOPEKA YOU REMEMBER?

Williams: North Topeka, when I was growing up, might as well have been China. We never went there. But now it’s the most exciting place in town. They’ve invested a lot of money in there and it makes me very proud. Another positive change is TPAC. It already had a tremendous history long before I was a musician. I used to go there and see the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars. It’s a beautiful building. They did a tremendous job renovating it. That’s a shining star.

TCL: HOW DID THE BAND GET STARTED? YOU GUYS WERE HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDS?

Williams: The first band I was in was called The Pets. I got a guitar and a friend of mine, Dave Wilson, who I went all through school with, played bass. So we started playing together. And then Greg Allen who graduated from Topeka West with us also, joined as an organ player and singer. Then I met Phil Ehart, a drummer, at the music store where we hung out and suddenly we had four guys.

ARTICLE BY KELSEY HUBER

TCL: DID YOU EVER THINK YOU’D MAKE IT BIG?

Williams: When we did our first album, our goal was to break out of the local bar scene and get on the larger midwestern minor league circuit. We thought if we could get an album recording of just our original material, maybe we could break into that. That was our lofty goal. We never dreamed of much beyond that. Our dreams were pretty small.

TCL: THE VIOLIN WAS ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE ADDITIONS BECAUSE IT WASN’T A COMMON ROCK BAND ELEMENT. HOW DID THAT SHAPE YOUR SOUND?

Williams: Well, most of the time, if you’re hearing a violin, it’s a fiddle. We did not want to be a fiddle band. That was for sure. Robby was classically trained. We all had varying interests in classical music and the influence of the progressive music coming out of England and Europe was borrowing a lot from that too. So, what kind of what drew us all together was wanting to be more like that, but underneath, we were still an American rock band. We were pretty heavy-handed which I think separated us from some of our British peers. And adding a violin, what do you do with it? We had to start assigning parts. It might be a synthesizer, a violin, and a guitar creating, like, a section in an orchestra. And so the addition of that, by the nature of it, changed the way we wrote and the way it sounded.

TCL: DO YOU LIKE PLAYING WHEN YOU COME BACK TO TPAC KNOWING IT’S YOUR HOMETOWN?

Williams: It’s always exciting to come back and see everybody. Hometowns are tough, though. There are people in the crowd that you’ve known since kindergarten. You feel their eyes on you and you know they want you to do well, but also, you don’t wanna stumble. So it just adds a lot of pressure. After the show, there are people you wanna talk to and you feel a little hollow because you wanted to spend time with each and every one and you just didn’t get the chance. But I always look forward to coming back to Topeka.

Catch Kansas at TPAC Oct. 3rd & 4th. For ticket information, visit kansasband.com/tour-dates

KANSAS BAND MEMBERS

• Billy Greer - Bassist, Vocalist

• Tom Brislin - Keyboard, Vocalist

• Joe Deninzon - Violinist, Guitarist

• Phil Ehart - Drummer (Eric Holmquist performs while Phil Ehart recovers from a heart attack)

• Ronnie Platt - Keyboardist, Lead Vocalist

• Rich Williams - Guitarist

DESIGNED + BUILT BY