Photo courtesy Southward Apparel

Your water cooler talk, updated. Here, the five Southern bits of news that are making waves this week. 

A Texas-Bred T You Could Live In. We’re loving Southward Apparel, a line of casual knits launched by Texas natives Miranda Ward and Sammie Pace. The cowgirl-chic label kicked things off this month with a series of super-soft tanks, and T-shirts featuring lassos, longhorns, and sheriff badges with printed with emblems such as “Outlaw” and “Southern.” Stock up ladies.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s Grand New Entrance. All that glitters is glass at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Prized for its Art Nouveau collection, the museum currently greets visitors with its newest glimmering installation: a 3,000-pound glass chandelier by artist Dale Chihuly. “The Blue Ridge Chandelier,” made of 1,150 glass-blown pieces of glass, is inspired by the stained-glass Tiffany “Christ Resurrection Window“ it hangs adjacent too, and will be on display through February. The full exhibit, featuring site-specific installations and some of Chihuly’s most iconic works opens October 20.

Wesley True’s New Montgomery Restaurant. The two-time James Beard-nominated chef, has moved his highly acclaimed Mobile, Alabama restaurant to the state’s capital. True to his roots, the menu focuses on locally sourced dishes with clever twists such as the Gulf Coast Bouillabaise dish that mixes shrimp, sausage, mussels and catfish with grits; and the Chicken + Waffle served with crispy brussel sprouts and caramel-butter syrup.

Greenbrier River Trail in Lewisburg, WV/ Photo by Gary Clark

An Epicurean Feast in West Virginia. It’s Appalachian setting and vibrant fall color, make Lewisburg, West Virginia the perfect town to get away to this season. Add a street full of food from local restaurants during the 28th Annual Taste of Our Town on Saturday, and your weekend is set. Local restaurants such as the General Lewis Inn and The Greenbrier Hotel & Resort serve up crowd favorites while local groups perform on the lawn of the town’s Carnegie Hall. Check out our Lewisburg guide to see what else you can do while you’re in town.

Louisville’s Spirited Party. Louisville takes its drink culture seriously and this Sunday, October 14, it’ll be on full display at the Louisville Cocktail Competition hosted at restaurant RYE. Some of the town’s favorite bartenders such as Proof on Main’s Chris Wilkins, Susie Hoyt from Silver Dollar, and Meat’s Bradley Hammond will serve up their spin on three Louisville classics: The Mint Julep, The Old Fashioned, and the Seelbach. Admission is $10 and include a drink ticket.

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