It should come as no surprise that two of my go-to distractions – I mean, blogs – are well-versed authorities on two of my favorite subjects: Texas style and Texas-made products.

Thanks to Texas Style & Substance, which is penned by the Dallas-based writer and style maven Kristie Ramirez, it’s easy to keep up with the latest offerings from Texas’s most creative designers and to stay hip to the state’s steady stream of boutique and restaurant openings.

Kristie’s posts have tipped me off to everything from (clockwise from top left) Be Inthavong‘s leather-woven handbags; Tiny’s No. 5, in Houston; native Houstonian Alexandra Knight’s handmade leather shoes and accessories; and the opening of Timothy Oulton’s Dallas showroom. [Full disclosure: Kristie is one of Texas Monthly's writers-at-large and she's the fashionable mastermind behind our Essentials page. Read her October and November installments here and here.]

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So too has the Diego Files quickly become a fail-safe source whenever I’m in need of a little Texas travel/lifestyle inspiration. Its curator-in-chief, Vincent Friedewald, has a nose for sniffing out cool under-the-radar hideaways and wish-list-worthy products (always beautifully photographed) from artists, designers, craftsmen, and inventors who hail from this great state of ours.

Plus, Vincent’s write-ups/reviews – of places like the Hideout on the Horseshoe, near New Braunfels (top left), and Terlingua’s Far Flung Outdoor Center (bottom right) and made-in-Texas finds like Canoe’s Tool and Tack Gift Box (top right) and Paris Texas Apparel Co.’s Lone Star–themed neckties (bottom left) – always shoot from the hip and are entertaining to boot. [Full disclosure: I'm completely unable to resist the charms of the Diego Files' ridiculously photogenic namesake (that face!)].

Tagged: Austin, Dallas, Kristie Ramirez, Made in Texas, shopping, Texas Style & Substance, The Diego Files, Vincent Friedewald

As a recent study of hotel booking trends pointed out, us Texans prefer to vacation in Texas. Since our last roundup of the state’s most notable lodgings was in 2004, I thought it was high time to revisit the subject. So I drafted a list of 44 hotels that have opened or undergone significant renovations in the last 8 years. I then winnowed that list down and booked rooms (anonymously) at 24 properties across the state to determine my favorites.

Although my full reviews will be available next week (the November issue goes live on TexasMonthly.com on Wednesday and hits newsstands on Thursday), I wanted to go ahead and share my ten favorites (plus the five that nearly made the cut)…

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Tagged: Austin, Comfort, Dallas, Galveston, hotels, Houston, Marfa, Round Top, San Antonio, Talpa, Terlingua, Washington, Where To Stay Now

If you’ve already picked up your copy of Texas Monthly‘s September issue, you’ve noticed that the magazine has undergone a top-to-bottom redesign. In the new Touts section, you’ll find the debut of my Texas travel column, the Wanderer (or, as my colleagues like to call it: Breal’s On Wheels), which will be a chronicle of my three-day trip to a different Texas town or city each month.

Since joining Texas Monthly in 2005, I’ve had the pleasure of writing about everything from barbecue and camping to fine art and six-man football, and I’ve probably spent more time on Texas’s highways and back roads than in my Austin office. As TM‘s head honcho, Jake Silverstein, points out in his detailed rundown of the magazine’s new look, mine is an enviable job. As a native Texan (born and raised in Fort Worth), I couldn’t agree more.

Just as the aim of every page (and web page) of Texas Monthly is “to deepen a reader’s understanding and enjoyment of Texas,” as Jake puts it, it is my aim as “the Wanderer” to share with you some of the best places to go and things to do in this great state of ours. I hope that my adventures will incite you to throw your overnight bag in the car and take off to explore a part of the state you’ve never been to before or one you’d like to rediscover. Luckily for us, Texas is so vast that experiencing all it has to offer will be a lifelong pursuit.

- Jordan

p.s. You can also keep up with my wanderings via Twitter and Instagram.

Tagged: Austin, the Wanderer