Summer Zalesky

City Lifestyle • 28th September 2026

Edible Oddities | Flathead Valley City Lifestyle

Did you know you can get escargot in the Flathead? Or order a bloody mary that constitutes a full-on meal? Our area might not be known for its culinary anomalies, but for the more adventurous eaters, we’ve dug a few out just for you. Our staff photographer Nicole and I had the opportunity to go on a self-guided food tour last month and talk with some of the best chefs in the valley. They gave us a behind the scenes look at these epic creations that are basically edible art. The creativity, skill...

City Lifestyle • 28th September 2026

How Far He’ll Grill | Flathead Valley City Lifestyle

The hot Montana sun isn’t the only thing baking the alligator to a crisp. The asado, an Argentine grill, cooks the exotic meat alongside racks of ram and mountain lion. I step under the canopy for some shade and space away from the cowboy boots kicking up torrents of dust. With the rodeo happening in the backdrop, the alligator jaws gleaming up at me seem strangely juxtaposed. How could a catering company this bold do so well in rural Kalispell? I thought. But then I tasted the brisket… and as a...

The Swish Magazine • 23rd September 2026

The Rise of Homogenized Beauty Via Instagram Face

Like every other 13-year-old girl, I struggled with self-image. My celebrity magazines showed me image after image of A-listers who I could aspire to be like, and my schoolmates followed trends that I couldn't afford to keep up with. This is a tale as old as time, a story to which every woman can relate. Girls today compare themselves in the same way I did twenty years ago. Not much has changed when it comes to beauty standards in that they still, unfortunately, exist. What has changed in the la...

The Summer Edition • 14th September 2026

Where’d All the Trinkets Go?

Where’d all the trinkets go?Obviously they’re all over the thrift stores, but I hardly see them in my friends’ houses. And I’m not talking about the labubus or other plastic character collectibles. I’m talking about the old clocks, painted crosses, knick knack boxes, miniature sculptures, and oddly misshapen bits of pottery with an ambiguous function. Lack of function is really the whole idea of a trinket anyway, isn’t it? The triviality of an item that has no purpose except to be.Oh.I’m talking...

The Summer Edition • 7th September 2026

Kids Don’t Value What They Know Is Replaceable

Facebook Marketplace is a treasure trove of curiosities. One of my favorite marketplace finds so far has been a well-loved dollhouse that a sweet old lady was freely giving away. It was definitely a fixer upper, but you can’t find a better price on housing in Montana, so I staked my claim and went to pick it up, sight unseen. The lady told me that both her children and now teenage grandkids had played with it, and after being locked away in the basement for a few years, the dollhouse was once ag...

The Summer Edition • 30th August 2026

What This 50-year-old Woolrich Coat Taught Me About Being a Millennial

When I first saw this coat hanging on the dollar rack outside my favorite local thrift store, I felt warmth. Not because I had yet put it on, but because I could tell just by looking that it had many a story. The stained pockets and slight stink of mildew proved its adventurous past. I ran my hand across the fur lining and instantly knew that it was real. Sure enough “100% coyote fur, made in the USA” was on the label, the rest of which read “85% Wool, 15% Nylon.”That 15% nylon was telling. Usua...

Daily Inter Lake • 11th August 2024

Home Ranch Bottoms meshes food and drink with entertainment offerings

From marketing and staffing to receiving and managing inventory, running a restaurant in the middle of nowhere is no easy feat, especially when the area runs on generators and solar energy. Defying the odds that come with an off-grid restaurant, Home Ranch Bottoms is a quaint spot in Polebridge, offering quality food and drink, and aiming to be a cultural hub for music, comedy and art.  As a baker and musician, the owners of Home Ranch Bottoms, Flannery and Danny Freund are nothing short of a dy...

Daily Inter Lake • 5th May 2024

Kalispell shop provides bespoke experience in bridal and formal occasion wear

When Heather Kesteleyn was 8 years old, her grandmother taught her how to sew, and a few years later, she started working in her great aunt’s alteration shop. Since 2014, Kesteleyn has been harnessing her love for fashion and sewing to give brides their dream dresses at Perfect Fit Bridal. “Right after I had my third daughter, I graduated college for fashion design. I was doing alterations out of my parents’ house and I got to a point where I was really busy. So I rented a space,” said Kesteleyn...