The beloved New York café Maman, famous for its cozy French vibe and Oprah-approved cookies, has finally crossed state lines and landed in Dallas. Founded in New York City in 2014, the café-famously adored by Martha Stewart-brings its farmhouse charm, cult pastries, and firm no-laptop policy to Texas. The menu delivers everything fans expect, plus Texas-only treats like a brisket croissant and sweet tea fizz, because local pride must always be edible. In short, it’s a Parisian daydream with Southern seasoning-and a gentle reminder that brunch is meant for talking, not typing.

The Texas Department of Transportation wrapped up its holiday “Drive Sober. No Regrets.” campaign in El Paso, using hands-on experiences to remind Texans that drunk driving stops being fun the moment it becomes real. Partnering with Walmart, TxDOT rolled out a carnival-style “DWI Not So Funhouse,” complete with simulators, impairment goggles, and games that quickly proved alcohol and coordination are not a winning combo. The message landed hard, especially given that alcohol-related crashes in Texas killed 96 people and seriously injured 201 others in 2024. In short, the holidays may be over, but the takeaway remains stubbornly simple: drinking and driving is still a terrible idea, no matter the season.

This holiday season, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum is offering a gift that’s actually useful, teaming up with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center for a blood drive on December 29. Donors in College Station can give blood between noon and 4:30 p.m. and walk away with a limited-edition hoodie and a free blood sugar test - proof that good deeds now come with perks. The goal is simple: help hospitals while people are already in a generous, post-Christmas mood. It’s charity with a bonus layer of branding, but when lives are on the line, nobody’s complaining.

When flights go sideways, the calm voices you never hear belong to teams inside airline nerve centers like American Airlines, where dispatchers quietly untangle chaos in real time. From medical emergencies mid-Pacific to weather, crew limits and software glitches, hundreds of specialists in Fort Worth juggle planes, people and priorities so passengers mostly notice nothing at all. The stakes are high: American moves over 600,000 travelers a day and is still chasing rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines on punctuality and profits. It’s a high-pressure mix of strategy and improvisation - or, as one staffer put it, “playing Tetris on top of Jenga,” except the blocks contain human lives and holiday plans.

After more than a decade of waiting, the Marlin Volunteer Fire Department finally rolled out its first-ever brand-new fire engine - proving that patience really can come with sirens. The $402,000 pumper tanker became reality thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Texas A&M Forest Service, extra state funding announced by Greg Abbott, and a last-minute $102,000 lifeline from the local emergency services district. A well-timed phone call to Midwest Fire sealed the deal before someone else grabbed the truck - because even fire engines sell fast these days. With its 3,000-gallon water capacity, Tanker 11 now stands ready to serve Falls County for years, quietly reminding everyone that sometimes the longest waits bring the biggest upgrades.

Visit Pearland is calling on local artists to help decorate the city - quite literally - with new public-art projects, including the PearScape Trail of painted fiberglass pear sculptures. Artists across the greater Houston area can apply to join a newly created roster that feeds into murals, festivals, and other city-backed art initiatives. There’s no application fee, just the chance to turn creativity into something residents and tourists will photograph endlessly. In short, Pearland wants more art, more colour, and more pears - preferably all at once.

As fireworks sales light up Harris County ahead of Christmas and New Year’s, the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office is reminding residents that celebration and common sense should ideally go off together. Officials warn that even sparklers - widely believed to be harmless - burn far hotter than boiling water and reliably deliver hand injuries every year. Fireworks are legal in some unincorporated areas, illegal in others, and universally discouraged when mixed with alcohol, poor aim, or curious children. And while most of America’s fireworks arrive courtesy of China, the responsibility for using them safely is, inconveniently, still local.

Austin-based Alpha School is expanding its AI-powered Texas Sports Academy across the state, promising students elite athletic training alongside academics compressed into a two-hour daily learning window. New campuses focused on basketball, baseball, gymnastics, and cheer are opening from Round Rock to Houston and San Antonio, with tuition running between $5,000 and $15,000 a year. The model leans on an AI platform that lets students race ahead academically before heading to sport-specific training and life-skills workshops. Education officials - including Linda McMahon - have praised the approach, suggesting the future of schooling may involve less homework and a lot more gym time.

Em Café quietly opened its doors in early December, choosing soft launches over ribbon-cutting drama. Located in Deer Park, the café offers Vietnamese coffee, matcha, Thai green tea, boba, and plain black coffee for those who prefer their caffeine without flair. A grand opening date remains unannounced, proving the café is letting the menu do the talking. For now, it’s open, brewing, and confidently skipping the hype cycle - which, frankly, feels refreshing.

Ascension Texas hospitals may fall out of network for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas members starting Jan. 1, meaning routine care could suddenly come with luxury-level price tags. The two sides are still negotiating, repeating a familiar dance last seen in 2023, when patients briefly became collateral damage before a deal was struck. While both organizations cite financial realities and patient access, the practical takeaway is simple: check your plan before walking into a hospital. Otherwise, that “covered” visit might turn into an expensive New Year’s surprise - unless it’s an emergency, in which case the system briefly remembers how in-network works.

AAA warns that while one chaotic Christmas travel weekend is over, Texas and Oklahoma drivers should brace for round two. Nearly 9.4 million Texans and 1.1 million Oklahomans are traveling for the holidays, with about 93% choosing cars - because nothing says festive like traffic. Cheap gas helps soften the blow, especially in Oklahoma, where prices are the lowest in the country, but AAA still expects to rescue around 40,000 stranded motorists. The advice is timeless: check your tires, charge your battery, plan ahead, and maybe skip distractions - the road is already doing enough to test your patience.

Houston’s winter comfort food agenda is officially full, starting with carne guisada making its predictable-but-welcome return at Molina’s Cantina - because cold weather clearly demands slow-simmered beef and tortillas. El Bolillo Bakery follows with Rosca de Reyes in early January, combining sugar, tradition and the annual panic of finding the hidden figurine. For New Year’s Eve, the city offers everything from elegant dinners to an ’80s-themed murder mystery at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, proving that nothing says fresh start like solving a crime in shoulder pads. And if brass music with craft beer sounds like self-care, Saint Arnold Brewing Company has January covered - because Houston never lets a calendar date go to waste.

While most people unwrap gifts, dozens of first responders in Lubbock are unwrapping emergency calls instead. EMS crews and police officers say Christmas reliably brings more traffic, more people - and unfortunately, more crises - turning a holiday into one of the busiest shifts of the year. For veterans like UMC EMS training chief Chad Curry and officer Collin Sherley, the hardest part isn’t the calls, but switching from tragedy back to family life once the shift ends. Their message to everyone else is simple and slightly pointed: enjoy your holiday together, because someone else is missing theirs to make sure you get to keep yours.

In Durant, Christmas magic skipped the mall and showed up at Two of a Kind Thrift Store, where a casual conversation turned into a full-scale holiday meal operation for unhoused residents. What began as “just a few plates” quickly snowballed into dozens of hot turkey dinners, plus blankets, hats, and winter gear - because generosity, like gossip, travels fast. Co-owner Amanda Forsberg spent Christmas doing what algorithms can’t automate: feeding people and reminding them they’re not invisible. Proof that sometimes the real Christmas miracle is simply someone saying, “Why not help more?”

What began as a missing-cat mystery turned into a full-blown Christmas Eve rescue saga after Felix’s AirTag revealed he wasn’t lost - he was wedged inside a neighbor’s chimney. With the homeowners vacationing in Florida, the couple secured an unusually festive permission slip to let firefighters break into the house and free their feline, proving that holiday goodwill sometimes comes with a sledgehammer. Felix emerged unharmed but exhausted, while the house gained a few extra ventilation features. The cat is now safely home - and his humans have launched a GoFundMe to pay for the damage, because even Christmas miracles have repair bills.

For more than 20 years, Longview resident Willy Simpson has been quietly redefining Christmas cheer by delivering stuffed animals to nursing home residents across East Texas - because joy, it turns out, doesn’t expire with age. This year alone, over a thousand plush companions found new homes in facilities across Longview, Kilgore, and Gladewater, with help from donors like the Salvation Army. Staff say the gifts quickly become named, cuddled, and cherished, offering comfort where loneliness often settles in. It’s a reminder that while Christmas is loud everywhere else, its most meaningful moments are sometimes wrapped in fur and handed out quietly.

Firework stands around College Station are gearing up for the annual New Year’s Eve rush, when patience is tested and pyrotechnic ambition runs high. Family-run spots like R&M Fireworks and TopDog Fireworks expect long lines as customers hunt for the perfect show - preferably with expert advice and minimal misfires. Owners say personal service keeps people coming back, even if it means waiting behind 30 others debating fountains versus finales. In short, the countdown to midnight has begun - and in Texas, it starts at the fireworks stand

A new projection from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that if sea levels rise by 10 feet, large chunks of coastal Texas would trade beachfront property for permanent waterfront - underwater. Cities from Galveston to Corpus Christi, along with wildlife refuges, hospitals and critical infrastructure, could be flooded, turning everyday tides into a public-health nightmare. Experts warn that even a much smaller rise of 2-5 feet could still overwhelm roads, homes and drinking water supplies, long before any sci-fi scenarios kick in. The takeaway: this isn’t a forecast for tomorrow, but a reminder that climate planning delayed is coastline lost - slowly, then all at once.

When checkout computers crashed at an H-E-B store in Burleson just before Christmas, the retailer solved the problem the old-fashioned way: by giving everything away for free. After customers waited up to two hours, a manager announced that full carts would be bagged and sent home at no charge, turning a tech failure into an instant holiday miracle. Shoppers cheered, cried, and declared their undying loyalty - because nothing builds brand trust like groceries you don’t have to pay for. In short, while the registers were down, H-E-B’s reputation rang up a perfect total.

Forget the January ritual of punishing workouts and joyless diets - this guide argues that real health has nothing to do with losing weight and everything to do with not hating yourself into burnout. Life coach Meg Ellis says resolutions built on shame predictably collapse by mid-January, while habits rooted in self-love actually stick. Her advice: move in ways you enjoy, add supportive habits instead of banning pizza, treat sleep and rest like essentials (not rewards), and redefine “consistency” as something flexible and human. In other words, wellness isn’t about fixing yourself - it’s about finally stopping the annual war with your own body.

After spending 40 days in the Chihuahuan Desert near Marfa, Belgian artist Honoré d’O turned isolation, dust, and time itself into Quarantaine-Quarantine, now filling the main hall of MACS. The immersive installation draws on his desert retreat-part spiritual detox, part observational experiment-to reflect on solitude, resistance, and humanity’s habit of turning even emptiness into a product. Videos, light, and air replace traditional objects, because apparently the desert doesn’t believe in white walls or neat conclusions. The result is an exhibition that invites visitors to slow down, get slightly lost, and briefly experience quarantine as something other than a Wi-Fi problem.