Homewood Life, July/August 2019

THE ARTISTS BEHIND RED DOT GALLERY • MAIZE THE SERVICE DOG • WALT HARRIS AKA “THE BIG TICKET”

ON THE TRAIL AGAIN HEALING AT THE RUSTED ROOF BARN

PIE SKY in the

JULY/AUGUST 2019 HomewoodLife.com Volume Three | Issue Four $4.95

INSIDE THE PIZZERIA GM OVEN

HomewoodLife.com 1

Different goals. One bank.

Now in Homewood.

Mortgage Loans

Small Business Loans

Whether you’re looking for a mortgage or a small business loan, we can put together a tailored financial plan to help you reach your goals. And now, you can find us at our new location here in Homewood. trustmark.com/homewood 1808 29th Avenue South, Homewood, AL 35209 | 205.909.3200 2 July/August 2019

EXPERIENCE THE BEST IN CHILDCARE Heritage Preschool of Homewood is sporting a new name but providing the same award-winning, high-quality care parents have trusted for years. Set the stage for your child’s success by enrolling at Heritage Preschool to experience the best in childcare and early childhood education. Call us today to schedule a tour or learn more at heritagepreschool.com

151 Covenant Way • Homewood, AL 35209 • 205-968-1255

LUXURY MEETS COMFORT IN THIS ABINGDON M ASTERPIECE. It’s hard to describe the level of details and maintenance at this beautiful home. The floor plan caters to today’s lifestyle, ready for formal dinners or casual family gatherings. The pool area is resort worthy with a fountain and gorgeous landscaping, with the home’s approximate 2 acres providing space and privacy. Custom appliances, unique fixtures, a sound system, and an exquisite master bathroom and closet make this home a truly unique opportunity.

6 bedrooms

4266 CALDWELL MILL ROAD B R O O K E WA H L

|

205-447-1704

|

|

|

6.5

b at h r o o m s

M O U N TA I N B R O O K , A L A B A M A 3 5 2 4 3

A R C R E A LT YC O . C O M

|

SUSAN FITZGIBBON

|

205-587-6930

Come See Our New Retail Location Offering Water Features!

Bringing Quality and Value to Homes Since 1983.

AquaScapes is located at 5485 Hwy 280 (Next to Hanna's Garden Shop and across the street from Lee Branch Shopping Center)

205.437.1012 | DSLDLAND.COM

HomewoodLife.com 3

FEATURES

56

THE HEALING OF HORSES Heather Whitley knows the power of horses for a wounded spirit, and now through Rusted Roof Barn she’s seeking to heal their wounds too.

64

A PLASTIC-FREE PILGRIMAGE What does it look like to remove single-use plastics from your home? You can buy shampoo bars, find reusable grocery bags and make your own cleaning solutions—but really the best starting point is to ask Mary Liz Ingram.

THE BIG TICKET Walt Harris might be a professional mixed martial arts fighter, but he knows what it feels like to be bullied too.

4 July/August 2019

PHOTO BY MARY FEHR

70

56

41

PHOTO BY LAUREN USTAD

arts & culture

19 Where Artists Meet: Inside Edgewood’s Red Dot Gallery 26 Read This Book: Alabama the Beautiful

schools & sports

27 Meet Maize: Hall-Kent Elementary’s Beloved Service Dog 32 Five Questions For: Shades Cahaba’s Lots of Love Club

food

& drink

33 New York to Bama: The Family and Oven Behind Pizzeria GM 40 Five Questions For: Tostadas Owner Hal Craig

home

in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 9 #HomewoodLife 11 The Question 13 The Guide 76 Chamber Connections 78 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Homewood

& style

41 Floridian Flair: The Hubrichs’ Historic Broadway Home 51 At Home: Sweet Summer Color 52 In Style: Summer Sets + Accessories

HomewoodLife.com 5

contributors EDITORIAL

Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Harris Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino Neal Wagner

CONTRIBUTORS

Scott Butler Jessica Clement Solomon Crenshaw Jr. James Culver Lindsey Culver Mary Fehr Madison Freeman Lauren Helmer Melanie Peeples Jamison & Lindsay Kate Skinner Elizabeth Sturgeon Lauren Ustad

Solomon Crenshaw Jr., Writer

A native of Birmingham, Solomon has developed a long-standing reputation as a writer who is adept at telling a story that is both enlightening and entertaining. While sports has long been a staple of his work, Solomon has now established himself as a communicator who is also comfortable addressing entertainment, general features and a myriad of other matters. Reach him at screnshawjr@solcrenjr.com.

James Culver, Photographer

James lives in the Birmingham area with his wife, Rachel, a native of Homewood, and their three children, Callie, James III and John Michael.

James is a graduate of Auburn University and spent the 17 years in Atlanta working as a graphic designer, creative director and photographer before moving to Birmingham. He specializes in event, real estate and portrait photography, and he can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at @jculvercreative, and via his website, jculver.com.

DESIGN

Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan Green Connor Martin-Lively

MARKETING

Kristy Brown Kari George Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Jordan Price Viridiana Romero Kerrie Thompson

ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince

Lauren Helmer, Writer

Lauren is a freelance writer, book editor and artist. Her passion lies in unearthing compelling stories of the fascinating and brilliant minds behind Birmingham’s shops, restaurants, homes, arts, and more. When she’s not writing or painting, she is finding new culinary gems in the Magic City, enjoying family time at Lake Martin, or sneaking in an episode of her favorite series du jour.

Jamison & Lindsay Kate Skinner, Photographers

Jamison and Lindsay Kate are a husband and wife photography team that specializes in weddings. They love building relationships with their clients which allows them to also capture all aspects of life’s big moments.

Jamison Skinner Photography has been in business for six years, and is based from their studio in Homewood.

Homewood Life is published bimonthly by Shelby County Newspapers Inc., P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Homewood Life is a registered trademark. All contents herein are the sole property of Shelby County Newspapers Inc. [the Publisher]. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. Please address all correspondence (including but not limited to letters, story ideas and requests to reprint materials) to: Editor, Homewood Life, P.O. Box 947, Columbiana, AL 35051.

Homewood Life is mailed to select households throughout Homewood, and a limited number of free copies are available at local businesses. Please visit HomewoodLife.com for a list of those locations. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $16.30 for one year by visiting HomewoodLife.com or calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 532.

Advertising inquiries may be made by emailing advertise@homewoodlife.com, or by calling (205) 669-3131, ext. 536.

6 July/August 2019

from the editor

I

ON THE COVER

Pie in the Sky

The centerpiece of Pizzeria GM in West Homewood is its pizza oven, nicknamed "The Beast."

Photo by Jamison & Lindsay Kate Skinner Design by Jamie Dawkins

I used to be bad at taking vacation. For some reason I thought my work world wouldn’t hold together without me, but guess what? It does. And, I have learned, if I take a whole week off in the summer and totally unplug, I return refreshed and tremendously renewed in finding and writing stories.

It’s in those moments away that I stop scrolling, stop checking apps, stop thinking about what needs to be done, and I simply be. Because let’s face it, 95 percent of the time in normal life that I am not sleeping I’m checking my phone or getting distracted in some form or another.

As I think on the glories of a whole week away, I am also reminded of the other things in life that fully occupy me in the present. On the top of that list is the kind of dinner with close friends where I lose track of time for hours. Right next to it though is a novel that keeps me up far past my bed time, and a good interview.

Because when I visited Beth Hubrich’s home, I didn’t even consider checking my phone as she toured our photographer Lauren and I around the laundry room whose walls she Sharpied into what looks like wallpaper and told us stories about her grandmothers who inspired her antique reselling business.

When I watched Maize, a black lab-retriever mix, make her way around classrooms at Hall-Kent Elementary and exchange much affection with the kids in the room, I wasn’t thinking about what I needed to do later that day. I was simply taking in the bonds between students, teachers and this sweet pup I’d later get to write about.

When I walked into Mary Liz Ingram’s West Homewood home, I wasn’t wondering if so and so had responded to my text or email.

Instead I was intently listening and asking questions as she showed me the silverware holders she sews, the bottles of different cleaners and beauty products she had made and labelled by hand.

And so it’s my hope that as you flip through the pages ahead that you can set your phone out of reach and your to-do list out of mind and fully enter the stories of Heather Whitley and her rescue horses, of Walt Harris and his route through being bullied to mixed martial arts fighting, of the Respinto family’s path from New York to Gianmarco’s to West Homewood, of how Dori DeCamillis and Scott Bennett provide a venue for art students to simply relax.

I should also note that you especially want to read that story about Heather and the horses at The Rusted Roof Barn since writer Melanie Peeples tells me it’s her favorite for Homewood Life so far—even more than hers on The Briary last year that recently was given a first place feature writing award from the Alabama Press Association year.

Happy summer, and happy reading! And please send story ideas for any season my way any time you like.

madoline.markham@homewoodlife.com HomewoodLife.com 7

Celebrating over 60 years of serving you.

As a life-long Birmingham resident and a third generation working at Guin, I feel great pride and responsibility in carrying on the legacy of honest and hard work that my grandfather began over 60 years ago.

Family is very important to us, and we treat our customers with the same care and respect as members of our own family.

It would be a privilege to serve you.

Serving the Birmingham Area Since 1958

Air Conditioning • Heating • Plumbers • Generators • Sewers

205-595-4846 • guinservice.com Mention this ad to receive a free diagnostic service call.

8 July/August 2019

#HomewoodLife

Tag us in your @HomewoodLife photos on Instagram, and we’ll pick our favorites to regram and publish on this page in each issue.

@bham_buzz Smile! It’s Friday #bhameats #bhamfood #foodiegram #homewoodlife #smile

@houstonyim Red Pearl is connected to the Super Oriental Grocery Market where you can often find exotic meats (Dungeness crabs, fish, bullfrogs, etc.) thus it’s listed as 1 of the 7 restaurants featured on ‘Bizarre Foods America.’ They offer anything from Americanized Chinese dishes (i.e. Mongolian Beef, General Tso, etc.) to authentic dishes (Fried Fish in Sweet & Sour sauce, Sizzling Beef, etc.).

@marymargaretbrown Last day of kindergarten and 3rd grade. Bittersweet. It has been the best school year, and I’m sad to see this chapter come to an end.

@mrs.wernersce Today Russel spent the first 2 hours of the day with our class. He went through the usual Thursday morning activities with us.

He watched us type with typing club, read our poem, learned new vocabulary words and heard some stories. We can’t wait for him to join us again next week!

HomewoodLife.com 9

[Newbor n + Child + Family Por traiture] info@apeppermintphoto.com + 205.807.6431 w w w . a p e p p e r m i n t p h o t o . c o m 10 July/August 2019

“ ” THE QUESTION

What place in Homewood is most tied to your childhood memories?

Growing up in the ’50s, we would go to the movies at the Homewood Theater.

Also, my mother would do her grocery shopping on the hill where At Home is.

-Jackie Ward Stakes

Going to Hollywood Country Club with the Betros family.

-Patrice Triantos Wade

PENNY PALMER! Loved shopping there and the sweet ladies that helped me.

Crest Drive with a stretch of woods where we built forts and swung on vines and learned all about which bugs bit and which ones did not.

Every day we would stop at the Melrose Ice Cream Parlor on the way home from Shades Cahaba. It’s been many things since 1959, but I think the ice cream place was the best.

Jelly’s 3 Par Golf Course, and a service station where the pizza place is now.

Walking to Jelly’s to get French fries and the most wonderful lemon ice box pie I’ll never forget!

Jack and Jill and Sikes. My mother dressed my sister there, then ten years later I came along and that’s where we shopped. When I had my daughter, I shopped for her there.

Growing up in West Homewood in the ’70s every kid had a dirt bike and we would ride where Buffalo Rock, Wildwood, Delcris, Huntington Parc, Bristol, Camden currently are.

-Debbie Austin Shevin

-Barry Copeland

-Terri Wilson Crump

-Marc Morriss

-Bill and Martha Cathy L Rezek

-Joe Falconer

HomewoodLife.com 11

Since 2012

THE GUIDE

THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN JULY 4 9 P.M. Vulcan Park & Museum The god of the forge will once again play host to everyone’s favorite fireworks display. The show will last about 20 minutes and be choreographed to a soundtrack of patriotic favorites and popular music.

Photo by Rachel Callahan HomewoodLife.com 13

THE GUIDE WHAT TO DO IN HOMEWOOD JULY 4

JULY 11 Libraryflix: Jaws (Rated PG) Homewood Public Library 3:30-5 p.m.

JULY 11 Mary Poppins Returns Movie Showing Homewood Public Library 6-7:30 p.m.

JULY 13 Self-Defense for Teen Girls Homewood Public Library Register Online 10-11:30 a.m.

JULY 18 Books and Brushes Art Night Homewood Public Library/Kids 6-6:45 p.m.

July 4th Festival Downtown Homewood 5-9 P.M. The fun starts long before the fireworks as Homewood streets are filled with rides and inflatables plus a DJ’ed soundtrack.

There’s no coast for admission, but you can buy an unlimited attractions wristband for $10 near the intersection of 18th Street South and 29th Avenue South.

Driving note: Two blocks of 18th Street South and one block of 29th Ave South will be blocked for pedestrian traffic.

JULY 4

OLS Festival and Trash & Treasures Sale Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

9 A.M.-4 P.M. SALE, 10 A.M.-3 P.M. FESTIVAL Start off Independence Day with fun and games of all kinds for the 70th year of this festival. Plus, you can find almost anything under the sun at their Trash & Treasures sale, which is also open July 6 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. with all items at half price.

14 July/August 2019

JULY 23 Alabama Bicentennial: Mr. Larry’s Magic Show Homewood Public Library/Kids 10:30-11:15 a.m.

JULY 25 Roald Dahl Book Bonanza Homewood Public Library/Kids 6-6:45 p.m.

JULY 25 Business After Hours: School Supply Drive @ 5 Homewood Chamber of Commerce Event Caveat Coffee 5-7 p.m.

JULY 26 6th Grade Social For Rising Sixth Graders Homewood Public Library Register Online 6-8 p.m.

JULY 26 Alabama Bicentennial: Reconstruction in Alabama Homewood Public Library/Adults 1-2 p.m.

THE GUIDE JULY 30 Murder in Maui: Teen Luau Murder Mystery Homewood Public Library/Teens 6:30-7:45 p.m.

AUG. 24

Bell Center Tailgate Challenge The Bell Center

AUG. 2 Classic Movies at the Library: The Miracle Worker Plus a Chat with Helen Keller’s Niece Homewood Public Library/ Adults 1-4 p.m.

1700 29TH COURT SOUTH 11 A.M.-2 P.M. You don’t have to wait for Labor Day to start tailgate season. Stop by tents for teams all over the SEC and beyond to for tasty treats at this event to support The Bell Center for Early Prevention Programs. Plus, there will be live music and kids activities, and celebrity judges will be on hand to judge each of the teams on most team spirit, best tasting food and best all around.

Tickets, $15 and free for children 12 and younger, can be purchased at thebellcenter.org.

AUG. 3 Self–Defense for Women with Det. Juan Rodriquez Homewood Public Library/ Adults Reservations Required 9:30 a.m.

AUG. 8 The Bankheads Documentary with the Filmmakers Homewood Public Library/ Adults 3-5 p.m.

AUG. 9 OLLI’s Southern Social and Open House Homewood Public Library/ Adults 3-5 p.m.

AUG. 12 First Day of School Homewood City Schools AUG. 14 Adult Bath Bombs with September Reed Homewood Public Library/ Adults 4-5 p.m.

AUG. 20 Homewood Chamber Membership Luncheon Samford University 11:30 a.m.

AUG. 22 HHS Football Vs. Hueytown Waldrop Stadium 7 p.m.

AUG. 24

JULY 19-21

Back to School Bash

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday

Homewood Patriot Park 4:30-8:30 P.M.

The end of summer doesn’t have to mean the end of fun. Come out for rides, bounce houses, food and live music—and seeing the friends and neighbors you missed this summer. Admission is free, but unlimited attractions wristband must be purchased for $10 each, with proceeds going to the Homewood High School Band.

Save the date to shop sales tax free for back to school clothes, supplies and more in Homewood city limits and lots of other counties and municipalities around the state. For more details on what items qualify, visit revenue.alabama.gov.

HomewoodLife.com 15

THE GUIDE AROUND TOWN TUESDAYS

JULY 27

Twilight 5K Retro Run Trak Shack

West Homewood Market 160 Oxmoor Road 5-8 P.M. Pick up farm-fresh produce and dinner from your favorite food trucks. Plus shop around at arts and crafts vendors or take in some live music. The market runs through the first Tuesday of August. Learn more at westhomewood.com.

16 July/August 2019

7 P.M. Dig out your old polyester, split shorts, tube socks, aviators, afro wigs, and whatever else you can come up with for this step, or rather run, back in time. Be sure to stick around for the costume contest afterward and hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Register at runsignup.com.

JULY FRIDAYS & SUNDAYS Various Movies Alabama Theatre alabamatheatre.com for listings JULY FRIDAYS Free Friday Flicks Veterans Park, Hoover facebook.com/ BackyardMovieParties/ SATURDAYS The Market at Pepper Place 8 a.m.-noon JULY 12-AUG. 4 Red Mountain Theatre Company Presents Matilda the Musical Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre Alabama School of Fine Arts JULY 17 Flicks Among the Flowers Field of Dreams Birmingham Botanical Gardens

THE GUIDE 6 p.m. Gates, 8 p.m. Film JULY 19-21 Disney’s Peter Pan Jr. Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre JULY 25 Luke Bryan: Sunset Repeat Tour 2019 Oak Mountain Amphitheatre JULY 26-AUG. 4 Mary Poppins Jr. Virginia Samford Theatre AUG. 2-3 Secret Stages Music Discovery Festival Avondale AUG. 16-25 Birmingham Restaurant Week AUG. 19-25 Sidewalk Film Festival Downtown Birmingham

AUG. 17

JULY 27

Homewood Library Block Party

Sidewalk Sale

5-8 P.M.

ALL DAY

It’s time for the biggest block party of all, back for the fifth year to benefit our favorite library. Play corn hole and listen to live music while your kids enjoy the bounce houses, a climbing wall and more fun activities. Tickets are $25 for adults (ages 16+) and $5 for children (ages 4-15). Admission for children 3 and under is free with adult purchase. Get tickets in advance at homewoodlibraryfoundation.org or do so at the door.

It’s well worth venturing into late July heat to catch discounts up to 75 percent off at your favorite shops on 18th Street and its neighbors.

Shop inside and out on the sidewalks, and come early for the best selection.

Library Parking Lot

Downtown Homewood

~Summer Camps do not have to be hot!!!~ The Camp themes for July are

July 8-12 July 30-Aug 3 “Toy Story 4” “The Lion King”

• 17 Hours of skating time • 3 hours of off-ice workout • 5 hours of Arts & Crafts • 1 G- rated movie a day • Camp T-shirt • 1 On-Ice Exhibition of tricks learned for Mom & Dad • Lunch is provided

The Pelham Civic Complex & Ice Arena “Learn to Skate” Ice Skating Camp

Cost: $275.00 per week

Ages: 5-12 • 7:45am-4:00pm

Please register in advance by calling our Pro Shop at 205-620-6448 ext.261

Pelham Civic Complex & Ice Arena 500 Amphitheater Road, Pelham Alabama 35124

HomewoodLife.com 17

THE GUIDE THEATRE

BREAK A LEG

SCHOOLS

Fun news from Homewood Theatre: it will soon have its own space at Brookwood Village across from Books-A-Million. Check it out for their 2019-2020 season performances listed below and get your tickets at homewoodtheatre.com.

BILL BUGG AND FRIENDS PART 3 Aug. 22-25, 2019 GIRLS’ WEEKEND Oct. 24-27 & Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2019 INSPECTING CAROL December 5-8 & 12-15, 2019 ISN’T IT ROMANTIC Feb. 20-23 & Feb. 27-March 1, 2020 CATCH ME IF YOU CAN March 26-29 & April 2-5, 2020 I DO! I DO! April 30-May 3 & May 7-10, 2020

18 July/August 2019

CHEER ON Homewood High School Cheerleaders travelled to Gulf Shores for the Universal Cheeer Association Camp, and both Varsity and JV squads took home first place in Rally Routine, the Leadership Award and Top Banana,

plus several individual awards. Ella Grace Ivey and Bella Kimbrelln are this year’s varsity captains, and their coaches are Charlotte Sinor, Kathleen Martin, Shea Appell and Leah Chancellor.

&CULTURE

ARTS

WHERE ARTISTS MEET Edgewood’s Red Dot Gallery is part studio, part exhibition space, part classroom and part community center.

BY ELIZABETH STURGEON PHOTOS BY JAMISON & LINDSAY KATE SKINNER HomewoodLife.com 19

C

Chalkboard drawings rest behind a crocodile— scaled, green, with crooked teeth. She is dressed in a cotton-candy pink school dress, complete with starchy collar and puffed sleeves. Outlandish, yet the details of her portrait are warm and familiar.

She encapsulates Dori DeCamillis’s style of oil painting, one that flows with surrealism and interiority.

Dori’s paintings collide with sculptures by her husband, Scott Bennett, inside Edgewood’s Red Dot Gallery, where their students’ work is also displayed.

Much of Scott’s work takes the form of decorative, non-functional vessels “where Wedgewood meets Harley Davidson,” in his words. Orange-glazed flames meet curved blue edges. At the end of the long opening, Dori displays her recent exploration into circular paintings, large and small, filled with shiny goblets or raw fruits and vegetables.

Sitting just behind Homewood Antiques, Red Dot Gallery has operated in its current location over 10 years ago. Dori and Scott first opened the gallery in Pepper Place in 2004, but they soon outgrew the building and found their quirky destination in the heart of Edgewood. The gallery, doubling as a studio and exhibition space, was born when their independent careers as artists came together.

As kids, both Dori and Scott attached quickly to their artistic talents and the joy of making. “I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was in kindergarten, and I never changed my mind,” Dori says. She knew she would dedicate her life and career to making art, and she succeeded, clinging to oil painting early on and traveling around the country with her work.

Scott remembers an early realization of his creative interests, too. He began drawing with his brother and developed a skill in creating. “I never really thought about the label of being an artist until high school, probably (not) until I decided to go to college,” he says. He also traveled around the country with his pottery, where his path converged with Dori’s at an art festival in St. Louis in 2002.

20 July/August 2019

When they decided to collectively open Red Dot, a name a combination of their first names into “dot” plus a reference to the red mark of a sold gallery piece, Dori and Scott needed a space to make and show their work. However, as they began to also use the space to take on students, Red Dot molded highly successful artists into teachers.

Both Dori and Scott teach with high technical skill, similar to a college-level studio course. Each student begins with a series of projects that develop basic skills before jumping into their own personal fascinations. Red Dot also takes on students whenever a spot opens up, so each new student joins an existing class and learns from Dori or Scott, as well as all the other students.

But, without grades or other college-level pressures, students at Red Dot can take their time with building technique and style. “Everyone has a different way of learning, speed of learning, different level of talent they come in with and a different personality,” Dori says. As they’ve both built up years of teaching, Dori and Scott have polished their classes to tailor to every individual. “Everyone makes a different mark. We have to help them be confident and accept their individual style,” Scott adds.

With this relaxed and personal structure comes HomewoodLife.com 21

“You never know when a person will hit their stride or figure it all out. Those things don’t always take one semester. It could take 10 years.”

-Scott Bennett

I strive to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.

Animal Hospital, Veterinary Care, Boarding & Grooming 2810 19th Place South, Homewood, AL 35209 StandiferAnimalClinic.com 22 July/August 2019

the community of classes at Red Dot, something much different from that of a strict college course.

“We didn’t think everyone would become friends and eat dinner before class. They come here to learn from us and to hang out with each other,” Scott says. When Dori’s students meet, their work and conversation fill the mirrored room. She goes around to guide each student, and then, every so often, returns to her own canvas in the studio. “I feel like I’m hanging out with my buddies for a living,” she says.

The high technique marries with a community focus, making Red Dot lessons something completely dedicated to the art of making and creating. “Most people come here because of the curiosity or the romance of the potter’s wheel,” Scott says about his own students. Throwing clay often takes time to develop, especially compared to hand building, but his students have the freedom to go between styles and develop skills at their own pace.

That goes along with painting too, or any sort of artistic exploration. “You never know when a person will hit their stride or figure it all out.

Those things don’t always take one semester. It could take 10 years,” Scott says. Red Dot frames

Painter Dori DeCamillis runs Red Dot Gallery with her husband, Scott Bennett, who is a sculptor.

• Cleaning & Exams • Crowns & Veneers • In-office Bleaching and Cosmetic Dentistry • Botox

Celia Davenport, DMD 2940 Clairmont Ave S, Birmingham 205-277-2297 davenportdentalandwellness.com HomewoodLife.com 23

Dori DeCamillis teaches one of the gallery's art classes.

classes to be like independent research, where students take the fundamental basics and apply them to their own movement and creative process.

Along with their pursuits of teaching and community, Dori and Scott have discovered the peace that comes through this kind of art making.

“A lot of people come in here because they’re suffering. Something bad happened to them, they’re 24 July/August 2019

going through a big change in their lives or they’re bewildered about their next steps,” Dori says. “You can do no wrong here, which is the opposite of what I got in college. People figure out that they can relax…Making art’s just good for you.”

To learn more about Dori’s and Scott’s work and classes at Red Dot Gallery, visit reddotgallery.com.

NEW CHILDREN’S ART CLASSES Though Dori retired her children’s classes a few years ago, her daughter Annabelle DeCamillis has now brought them back to Red Dot. A recent UAB graduate, Annabelle too fell in love with art-making as a child and showed her art in multiple galleries. Her classes, one for 8- to 12-year olds and one for teenagers, focus both on the basics of academic drawing skills and the joy and fun of creating.

BIRMINGHAM

205-879-3036 1802 29TH AVENUE | 205.802.9252 | @HEMLINEBIRMINGHAM

HomewoodLife.com 25

READ THIS BOOK

Alabama the Beautiful Recommendations from

Alabama Booksmith Owner Jake Reiss

As Alabama celebrates its bicentennial, our friends at Alabama Booksmith selected a few of the titles that give a shout-out to what makes our state unique. Speaking of, the book shop, located right here in Homewood, is the only store on the planet that sells nothing but signed books. In fact, every book in the store is signed, including copies of ones on this page.

Alabama: The History of a Deep South State Bicentennial Edition

by Wayne Flynt Wayne Flynt updates everything we need to know about our Alabama from pre-statehood to the present. Right at 800 pages, this volume is truly a must for every library in the state. We should not celebrate a 200th birthday without this gem.

Birmingham Food: A Magic City Menu

by Emily Brown Now known as one of America’s top cities to dine, Emily Brown writes about long-gone eateries and current day hot spots. Images of the folks who created the foodie scene are included both in color and black and white.

Of course, the chef/owner of America’s No. 1 restaurant is on the cover.

Birmingham Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Magic City

by Carla Jean Whitley Carla Jean Whitley gives a tour of the cozy craft suds places to visit and sip. After the Brewpub Act of 1992, Birmingham’s offerings became known nationwide. Before heading off to your favorite pub, guzzle a few pages of this cool book.

The Muscle Shoals Legacy of Fame

by Blake Ells Blake Ells advises readers of this iconic studio a few miles up the road that is respected around the world and attracts the music legends in droves. Etta James and Aretha Franklin were early super-stars to record in Alabama, and the new generation includes Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell, who wrote the foreword to this book. Music lovers of all tastes will tap their toes every time they turn a page.

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and The Last Trial of Harper Lee

by Casey Cep This is the untold story of a possible non-fiction book Alabama’s most famous writer may have been contemplating. Prompted by her involvement with Truman Capote in writing In Cold Blood, Harper Lee was fascinated by the sensational murder trial in Alexander City, Alabama, and spent virtually every day in the courthouse. If and when another book by Harper Lee shows up, readers of this jewel can brag, “I knew that.”

26 July/August 2019

SCHOOL

&SPORTS

MEET MAIZE

The most beloved faculty member at Hall-Kent Elementary might just be its service dog.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 27

Hall-Kent Elementary Principal Kiana Coleman is service dog Maize's co-handler at the school, and the Maize spends nights, weekends and holidays at home with Coleman's family.

28 July/August 2019

O

On Tuesdays, a special visitor enters Katherine Davis’ classroom as her third graders start their small group activity time. Maize, a 2-year-old black lab-golden retriever mix, walks around and sits with different groups of students as they work—and she does it with a specific purpose in mind, too.

“Two students in my class (particularly) need to be loved, although they might not show it on the outside, and she goes to those two students every time,” Davis recalls. Like other facility service dogs, Maize is trained to pick up on hormone levels and sense if someone is agitated or upset and then spend time with those kids.

In short, she finds the students who need her.

So if a child is upset, “(Maize) will calm them down,” Hall-Kent Elementary Principal Kiana Coleman says. “She just has this magical power. It really is like she flips the switch for the kids.”

Even students who didn’t like dogs or were scared of them before will pet Maize now. “She is able to reach students in a different way than the teachers are,” Davis says.

“Maize helps to bring some of the shy students who may not even know English together and helps them with their language since they know her commands. Watching her break barriers in the classroom really bonds the students together.”

When Maize is in the classroom every student is more engaged, too. “Some of my students who are more shy have come out of their shell when Maize comes in and are more apt to participate,” first-grade teacher Jenna Campbell says. “It encourages a sense of community.”

Coleman first heard about school facility dogs provided by Service Dogs of Alabama at a principals meeting last year. She has long loved animals but was a little skeptical about how it would work to have a dog

at school. Then, she visited schools in Elmore County that already had service dogs. “And I just fell in love,” she recalls. “I got to see Popcorn and Mason and Captain, and they were just regular faculty members. I was pumped when I came back.”

Next, she talked to Homewood City Schools Superintendent Bill Cleveland and completed an application, expecting to have to wait until the spring of 2019 to get a match. But then she got a surprise email right before Thanksgiving. “I got teary eyed,” Coleman says. “They had a dog named Maize, and she was a year and a half.”

Before long, Maize was at Hall-Kent for training with Coleman and Assistant Principal Jill Walden, who acts as the dog’s co-handler. For several weeks, they trained Maize in large spaces like the cafeteria and gym to get Maize comfortable at the school and the students comfortable with her. By the time school got out in May, Maize’s weekly schedule had her in 50 classrooms a week in 30-minute increments. If a student is going through something hard during the day, though, Maize might get pulled from her regular duties to spend time with that student.

In some sense, Maize is now a regular Hall-Kent faculty member, just as Coleman envisioned, and she is by far the most popular. Whenever Coleman walks in the hallways or into the gym with her, students’ faces light up, and all the kids say, “Maize is here! Maize is here!” On their breaks, students will fill up her water or take her for a walk, and they often choose a visit with Maize for an academic or behavior reward. One student came into Coleman’s office one day this spring teeming with excitement. “Ms. Coleman, Ms. Coleman!” she said.

“Maize makes me so happy to come to school every day!”

HomewoodLife.com 29

Maize visits classrooms in 30-minute increments, following the same schedule each week.

30 July/August 2019

And with 50 commands under her belt, Maize is smart and highly trained, too. She acts immediately when told to jump, lay down, go to sleep, put that up (pick up a leash), take a bow, balance and more, and she picks up new tricks quickly, too.

What does Maize do after school though? Well, she moonlights as the Coleman family dog when she takes off her “uniform.” She plays in the yard and rolls around. She plays fetch with Coleman’s husband and twin middle school-aged daughters. Each morning when it’s time for school, though, Coleman speaks the command, “Maize get ready,” and Maize stands up and gets to attention. Then, she puts on her leader and service vest, and it’s time for work.

Not long after Maize came to Hall-Kent, Shades Cahaba Elementary got its own service dogs, Delta

THE OTHER SCHOOL SERVICE PUPS

and Russell. Coleman thinks before long every school in Homewood will have one too. Homewood Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Mike Kilgore has even offered to take care of vet bills for any Homewood school service dogs, as a service to the community.

After all, he knows the power of a dog more than most.

Take Maize for example. She’s a comforter. She’s the reason kids don’t want to miss school. She’s a barrier breaker. She’s full of compassion. She’s a blessing.

“We never know what kids are experiencing at home, with grandparents who pass away or (students) who are sad,” Coleman says. “When she comes into that room, she loves them unconditionally. I think that’s Maize’s purpose: she makes us all feel loved and comforted.”

DELTA

Black Goldendoodle Guardian: Shades Cahaba Elementary Vice Principal Wendy Story

RUSSELL

Black Labrador Retriever Guardian: Shades Cahaba Elementary Principal Dr. John Lowery

WHY NOT BE THE BOSS YOU’ve

ALWAYS WANTED?

At LAH, we have an incredible full-service staff which includes in-house Marketing & Social Media Assistance, IT Experts, Online Real Estate Licensing Courses and an Award-Winning Relocation Department. With our powers combined, we can help you unleash your true potential.

Call us or visit us online to find out how you can join our marvelous team today!

Residential & Commercial · 205-870-8580 · LAHRealEstate.com

HomewoodLife.com 31

SCHOOLS & SPORTS

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Lisa Lucas

Shades Cahaba Lots of Love Sponsor PHOTO BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

A patio behind Shades Cahaba Elementary transitioned into a hair studio one afternoon in May as 12 girls lined up with ponytails, ready to have at least 8 inches cut off. These members of the Lots of Love club were donating their locks to children in need through the Children With Hair Loss program. Each year the club’s monthly meetings addressing issues girls face culminate in “cut day” in May—and this year their club sponsor Lisa Lucas participated too.

To learn more about the club for fourth and fifth grade girls, we chatted with Lisa, who has teamed up with fellow teacher Rebecca Smith to lead it for the past 10 years.

How did the club start, and what do your meetings look like?

I was teaching first grade, and I had a student I couldn’t emotionally reach and wanted to do an after-school club to talk about issues girls face. Now many of the younger siblings of those students and more are participating. At the beginning of the year, we give them an assessment about their worries and fears, and then we come up with a curriculum and pull books and videos and games on the topics.

We talk about frenemies, teasing vs. bullying, anxiety, sibling rivalry, New Year’s resolutions and goal setting. It all gives them the language they need at home.

What guests have you had come?

We had a dermatologist come talk about skin care: washing your face, staying out of the sun, good habits. A

32 July/August 2019

couple of years ago, we had Rebecca’s mom and my mom talk about our relationships and how even as adults we need our moms. We also asked girls from the middle school to come talk to the girls, since one of their biggest fears is going to middle school. They were enthralled, asking about changing in the locker room, bullies, etc. Most of the middle school girls said they wish they hadn’t worried as much.

You got your hair cut this year. Do others participate?

We have had older girls come and a mom participate one year. Our principal did it one year. We had an eighth grader come and ask if we are still doing “that haircut thing,” and she did it. My daughter and I did it when she was in kindergarten, and she’s in fifth grade now. This year we had a younger sister, a first grader, participate.

Why do you encourage the girls to participate in the hair donation?

It’s quite the ephemeral moment to have all of the girls cheering each other on as they give to someone else in need. It’s not a requirement, but it’s a good way to give of yourself. The next day is the awesome part when they come to school and get so much attention. It’s a vulnerable, selfless thing.

Tell us more about the stylist on the cuts.

I went to high school with Brett Morrison who owns Dave’s Pizza, and he told me to talk to Monir Emaish from Saxx Hair Design. He has volunteered every year and has two girls in the Homewood system.

&DRINK

FOOD

NEW YORK TO BAMA First they brought us Gianmarco’s. Now they are serving up Pizzeria GM in West Homewood. Here’s the story of the family—and the pizza oven—behind it all.

BY LAUREN HELMER PHOTOS BY JAMISON & LINDSAY KATE SKINNER HomewoodLife.com 33

W

Walk into Pizzeria GM, and you’re greeted by the lively jangle of conversation and clatter of dishware. The crisp, modern space is filled with families with young kids, ladies on a girls’ night out, couples, older men at the bar, teenagers at the chef’s counter in front of the central open-air kitchen, where pizzas slide in and out of the fiery glow of the large pizza oven.

“That’s my favorite thing—my oven. We call it ‘The Beast.’

It’s the biggest one that Wood Stone makes. It came in here before the walls went up. As soon as the roof was on, they rolled it in here, and then they built the restaurant around it,” says Giani Respinto, who co-owns Pizzeria GM and Gianmarco’s Restaurant with his brother, Marco, and his father, Giovanni.

Giani’s personality is as colorful as his bold culinary tattoos.

His cutting sense of humor is delivered in a slightly gravelly New York accent that is delightful. And restaurant life is in his blood—his father owned the iconic Rocco’s Restaurant in Greenwich Village for more than 30 years.

34 July/August 2019

“My brother and I grew up at Rocco’s. It was great,” Giani says. “I remember being the only kid with money because I was a bus boy. I met a lot of interesting people. It was exciting.

I never wanted to do the normal things that other kids did. I wasn’t the kid that wanted to go to the party at Jimmy’s house because I was hanging out at Studio 54 in the city with my father; he took me everywhere. That’s where I realized (that) that’s where life is. You know, it’s not at Jimmy’s house. I guess that’s where I got my taste of the restaurant life. I just love all the nuances of it. I love food. I like being around people. I mean every day is an adventure.”

A restaurant venture for a South Florida-based company brought Giani to Birmingham in 2000, and charmed by the Magic City, he decided to stay and raise his young kids here.

Not long after, Giani, Marco and Giovanni opened the beloved Gianmarco’s in Edgewood, gifting Birmingham with authentic Italian cuisine. Fast-forward about 15 years, and the City of Homewood approached Giani to see if he’d like to

help them revitalize West Homewood. As a huge supporter of the community, Giani was all in.

He designed the interior himself. It’s a warm industrial look with a clean black-and-white palette. Gleaming white subway tiles and playful art mix with metallic ceiling tiles and unique light fixtures with Edison bulbs on pulleys and repurposed pipes. The bar top is made from wood cut and shipped from his vintner friend’s biodynamic vineyard in Oregon.

“We wanted a restaurant that was casual fine dining, where you have a server, a great wine list and a great beer list. Pizza is definitely our main focus, but it’s only a third of our menu,” Giani says.

The menu features an extensive selection of small plates like balsamic honey-chile-glazed Iberico pork ribs or bresaola and burrata served with arugula, shaved Parmesan, rosemary honey and extra virgin olive oil. There are customizable charcuterie boards and a nice mix of classic and creative

“

In the 16 years since we opened Gianmarco’s, we’ve seen children grow up, go to college, get engaged, get married, have babies. They share their lives with us. And we’re not going anywhere; we’ll be here when these little kids grow up.

- Giani Respinto

”

HomewoodLife.com 35

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

Join friends and neighbors at the Homewood Library Foundation’s 6th annual

O

B L O CK

Your Stories.

Your Community.

Your Magazine.

Front cover

Back cover

ING SHAN

REMEMBER

HOMEW OOD

• BROADWAY

LIFE

PA R T Y

ESS NON BURG

Front cover

Back cover

COLLEGE

DATION

CHOICE FOUN

out box

with white knock

S 4 ORPHANS

MENT IN • ORNA

EFRED AUST

NGS OF WINN

THE STYLI

HOMEW OOD LIFE

Back cover

• HISTORIC

MEET THE ’48 CLASS MOF SHADES SEASONA

AH’S EN WITH HANN THE KITCH GUIDE • IN L FLORAL

HOMEMAD

KS ON THE TRAC E • STUDIO

LIFE

TALES FRO H CAHABA HIG

ife . com

THE COLORS RR’S OF O’CA ICE CREAM H omewood L

FROM AN TODAY PARLOR TO

ife . com

1721 Oxmoor Road - rain or shine Admission includes food, cold beverages, music, fun for all ages

F A L Lide fashion gu meet the THE JAY SHOW BARKERTHE SCENES BEHIND

ctober

ife . com

S eptember /o

H omewood L

2018 /OCTOBER SEPTEMBER .com HomewoodLife | Issue Five Volume Two

2018

$4.95

BAKER H SHELBY

A CHAT WIT

2019

ADAMS

W E D D IN G

S

LE ILS TO DAZZ DINGS | DETA 9 REAL WED IDEAS HOSTESS GIFT

J anuary /f ebruary 2019

36 July/August 2019

$4.95

2018

Tickets at the door and at HomewoodLibraryFoundation.org

2018 /DECEMBER NOVEMBER .com HomewoodLife | Issue Six Volume Two

ecember

Limbaugh Toyota

N ovember /d

presented by

Visit Homewood Life.com or call 205-669-3131 to subscribe for $16.30 (6 issues) a year.

VATION

TUDOR RENO

Front cover

HOMEW OOD

H omewood L

Saturday August 17th 5 – 8 pm

E TOUR •

FARMHOUS

RUARY 2019 JANUARY/FEB .com HomewoodLife | Issue One Volume Three $4.95

“That’s my favorite thing—my oven. We call it ‘The Beast.’ It’s the biggest one that Wood Stone makes. It came in here before the walls went up. As soon as the roof was on, they rolled it in here, and then they built the restaurant around it.”

-Giani Respinto

Take a walk in the Parke

ShopLaneParke.com

HomewoodLife.com 37

PIZZERIA GM

BY THE NUMBERS 250

Approximate number of pizzas made on a busy night

60-70

Number of pizzas per hour “The Beast” can make

3

Minutes it takes to cook a Pizzeria GM pizza

8

Number of pizzas that can fit in “The Beast” at a time

16

Number of wines on tap

20

Number of beers on tap

2

Number of patios at the restaurant

38 July/August 2019

salads. (Think: Roasted cauliflower salad with baby artichoke, roasted yellow peppers, roasted Roma tomatoes, green olives and basil-oregano vinaigrette.) They offer the same high-quality handmade pastas you’d find at Gianmarco’s and, of course, pizzas.

“Our meatball pizza is pretty popular and our Italian ham,” Giani says. “But now, getting into summertime, our most popular pizza we do is our peach pizza. It has Conecuh sausage, Conecuh bacon, peaches, Buffalo mozzarella, chile honey and fresh basil. People just go nuts for it.”

The bar features a 60-bottle wine list with nothing over $50, seasonal cocktails, 20 (mostly) local beers on tap, a plethora of beers by the can and 16 wines on draft. “A lot of restaurants now are starting to experiment with it, but our wines by the glass are exclusively on tap. We can serve you a glass, a half carafe, a full carafe—people really like it,” Giani says.

The neighborhood pizza joint has live music on Monday and Wednesday nights and hosts charity events, such as donating a portion of their proceeds to different local charities and schools.

They support the West Homewood Farmer’s Market and sponsor all of the events in the adjacent park. Giani doesn’t hide his soft spot for Homewood. “It’s important to give back to the community.

Homewood’s a great town. I live here. I work here. My kids grew up here. The people are genuine, they’re loyal.”

Giani’s father, Giovanni, immigrated from Naples to bring a beloved eatery to the Village in NYC, where he knew everyone and everyone knew him. And today, you can see that same adored Italian gentleman interacting with the Homewood community at the door of Gianmarco’s where he greets each and every guest. And while Giani may not have crossed an ocean to get here, he is following in his father’s footsteps, becoming an integral part of the Homewood community through creating another neighborhood staple that shares food and fellowship.

“In the 16 years since we opened Gianmarco’s, we’ve seen children grow up, go to college, get engaged, get married, have babies. They share their lives with us. And that’s the cool thing here at Pizzeria GM because those people we see at Gianmarco’s…may not bring their kids to Gianmarco’s, but they’ll bring their babies here. So, we’re seeing like three generations of families. A good restaurant becomes part of people’s lives. And we’re not going anywhere; we’ll be here when these little kids grow up.”

Saturday, August 17, 2019 The American Village Montevallo, Alabama 6:00 PM Beer/Wine Reception Dinner Catered by Kathy G & Co. Music Entertainment Guest Speakers

Proceeds benefitting

Tickets available at: moonlightmasquerade2019.swell.gives/ HomewoodLife.com 39

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Hal Craig

Tostadas Owner TEXT BY KATIE ROTH PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

Homewood’s newest spot for queso and margaritas will also beg you for a game of corn hole on the patio or to come back for Taco Tuesday… or should we say Tostadas Tuesday? Its brightly painted interior is quite the change from the dark décor in its precious occupant Jackson’s Bar & Bistro in Soho. Tostadas is known for, as the name hints, their tostadas, and the menu is inspired by everything from Southern fried chicken to New York bagels. To learn more, we chatted with the man who dreamed up the concept.

Why did you choose to build your restaurant around tostadas?

We love tacos, but we feel like there are taco places all over Birmingham—and really, really good taco places all over Homewood and Birmingham—so we were like, “How could we differentiate ourselves from everything else?” And so that’s where we came up with the tostada idea, which is basically a flat taco. The only difference is, instead of a soft shell, we do it on a fried flour tortilla and with different varieties.

My wife likes the Plain Jane. That’s your normal one: ground beef, cheese, jalapeños. And then you’ve got one like the What drew you to this location?

There are a lot of Mexican restaurants in Southern Stack, and that has a jalapeño Homewood, but in this area there’s not a pimento cheese, Wickles pickles and place where you can just walk to get queso grilled Conecuh Sausage. It’s not your and a margarita and a fun atmosphere. normal taco, but it’s really good. We have When this opened up, we were like, “This one called the New Yorker; it would be like would be perfect to have some sort of a bagel almost. It’s a fried tortilla with a Mexican restaurant,” but not your normal zesty cream cheese and then smoked Mexican restaurant. We wanted to do a salmon and fried capers and red onions. A lot of people are liking that one. different play on it.

How did you get into the restaurant industry?

Two other partners and I opened up the Momma Goldberg’s on 18th Street and on 280. Then I got out of that and did consulting and marketing and then worked for Sysco selling food to the restaurants.

Jackson’s was one of my customers.

Jackson’s owners Tom and Allison Sheffer were ready to move on to the next stage in life, and so we just talked and it just worked out. My wife and I had been praying for an opportunity, and it was a blessing.

40 July/August 2019

What are your favorite menu items?

We’ve got really good queso. Our specialty is Street Corn Queso. Ours has a little bit of a spice to it to give it a little bit of variety. Our salsa is kind of a smoky sweet, so it’s got a little bit of a sweetness and a little bit of heat. And one thing we kept on the menu is the Jackson Verde from Jackson’s. It’s a creamy spinach dip made with cream cheese.

Any drink recommendations?

We make our margaritas with 100 percent agave tequila and then lime juice and orange juice. We like the Black Barrel Old Fashioned made with a Black Barrel tequila. We try to keep a lot of Mexican beer. We’re not a wine place, but we want to have a good wine selection because a lot of people in the area like a good wine. We get good feedback on what to have and change it as we need to.

Learn more at theflattaco.com or follow @tostadasbham on social media.

&STYLE

HOME

FLORIDIAN FLAIR Beth Hubrich’s taste for a bold mix of old and new fills her historic Broadway home.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD HomewoodLife.com 41

A

Although she lived through the Great Depression, Mary Knight’s table was always decorated beautifully at the holidays. At her hand, even clippings from the yard could become art. She loved birds and leopard print, antiques and old things that have been handed down. Today, looking around her granddaughter Beth Hubrich’s Edgewood home, there’s no doubt where Beth’s taste comes from either—or that Beth must have grown up in Florida.

If you have lived in Homewood more than 5 minutes, you’ve driven past the Hubrichs’ 106 -yearold Broadway home and seen its sweeping front porch that runs the width of the house. “I saw the front porch, and I knew this is where I wanted to be,” Beth says of finding the home for sale 10 years ago. “It has this old Mayberry feel where you see your neighbors walking by and have parties on the porch. (And) I have always been a sucker for an old house. I love the soul and character and the way it feels.”

And now Beth has breathed her own bold and whimsical Floridian flair into the historic home too, particularly after a recent renovation she teamed up with fellow members of the old home appreciation club, Jama and Geoffrey Ketcham, on.

In short, they knocked down walls and reconfigured the back of the house to create an open kitchen and living space that would be more practical for her family of five’s lifestyle. They also added a

42 July/August 2019

large pantry, a laundry room with a pocket door, a “central command” desk area for Beth, a powder bathroom and a side door to easily connect the driveway with the home’s hardest working space.

Ripping up carpet upstairs revealed hardwoods that now get to shine once again too.

On the home’s exterior, they painted the siding what Beth calls “UPS brown” in keeping with the original coloring of the home, and added a splash of green from Beth’s preferred palette to the front door.

Throughout the renovation Beth, who grew up antiquing with her mom, was also picking out furnishings that reflected her family and reflected the house itself. “I’d be shopping and find the most amazing piece I couldn’t use but knew someone else needed it because it was that fantastic,” she says.

And with that Mary & Wilma (@maryandwilma) was born to provide antique, vintage and funky finds through Instagram, and bears the names of her maternal grandmother Mary and paternal grandmother Wilma. “It fulfills my need to purchase items I think are amazing and deserve a second story but not have every single piece in my house,” she says.

What she does have in her house is a well curated collection that exudes warmth and tells the stories of things her family loves. Mary and Wilma would be proud.

Front Porch By far the porch is the Hubrichs’ favorite “room” in the house. They eat out there when the weather is nice, and frequently host porch parties. Doug will even setup a TV during football season, so Beth reminds him that while he might not have a man cave, he has a “man porch.”

HomewoodLife.com 43

Kitchen When Beth saw a photo of green kitchen cabinets in a magazine, a new vision took the place of the white kitchen she’d always dreamed of. Above the large island hang Scout Design brass light fixtures that add a more modern flair to the Palm Beach style in the space, and a floral painting ripe with greens and blues by Nashville artist Laci Fowler hangs on a simple white vent hood.

On the right side, open shelving made from the house’s old ceiling joists holds functional dishware as well as decorative items including Beth’s grandmother’s cricket boxes, wedding gifts and other items she has collected through Mary & Wilma.

Bar This wallpaper from Birmingham-based Cotton & Quill helped drive the color scheme of the kitchen area. On the glass shelves in front of it sit Beth’s grandmother’s glassware, a Buddha figure given to her grandfather by an Army chaplain that always sat next to his chair, and a tray her godparents gave her and Doug as a wedding gift.

“I’m a big believer in not putting (serving pieces) in the closet,” Beth says. “Bring them out.”

44 July/August 2019

HomewoodLife.com 45

Powder Bathroom The green palm fronds on the wall are not wallpaper but hand paintings

by Beth she worked on to relax during their home renovation. The planter set on the wall outside of the powder room came from Ikea.

46 July/August 2019

apparel shoes accessories

3920 crosshaven drive

cahaba heights

Laundry Room Beth and her 6-year-old daughter Harper used black Sharpies to draw wallpaper-like bird sketches reminiscent of a Schumacher aviary pattern Beth liked. Harper also wrote “I love you” in one of the sections she created.

Your home can At goCaliber, fromour Blah to toBeautiful service you doesn’t end ® the closing table. with a HomeStyleat refinance If your home could use some work, the right refinance could make it happen right now! For example, a HomeStyle Renovation loan from Caliber Home Loans, Inc. can help you finance one or more major renovation projects. Modernize your kitchen, add one or more rooms, or carry out those repair projects you’ve been postponing.

Daniel DiGuglielmo Producing Branch Manager NMLS# 267473 • AL 50755 • GA 41213 4009 Crosshaven Dr. Birmingham, AL 35243 205-908-3587 daniel.diguglielmo@caliberhomeloans.com www.caliberhomeloans.com/danield Caliber Home Loans and any above mentioned companies are not affiliated. Caliber Home Loans, Inc., 1525 S. Belt Line Rd, Coppell, TX 75019. NMLS ID#15622 (http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/COMPANY/15622). 1-800-401-6587. Copyright © 2019.

All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing Lender. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement. Not all customers will qualify.

Information, rates, and programs are subject to change without prior notice. All products are subject to credit and property approval.

Not all products are available in all states or for all dollar amounts. If you are refinancing your existing loan, your total finance charges may be higher over the life of the loan. Other restrictions and limitations apply. Georgia Residential Mortgage Lender License No. 7330 MLO 41213 (30733)

HomewoodLife.com 47

Playroom Taking inspiration from Jama Ketcham, art by the three Hubrich kids from over the years acts as the wallpaper in this colorful play space. Located in the center of the upstairs bedrooms, it was at one point a kitchen and common area for residents who rented a bedroom in the house, or so the Hubrichs were told by an older couple who once lived there.

Boy’s Bedroom In Hank’s room sits a rug Beth’s dad brought from Turkey when he was stationed there in the Navy, and the twin beds as well as the quilts were Beth’s grandmothers. Above the beds hang World War II paintings by Frank Lemon that Beth found at an estate sale.

48 July/August 2019

Girls’ Bedroom and Bathroom The white bedding the Hubrich daughters share contrasts with the Farrow & Ball Hague Blue walls. Ikea lights that are easy to move hang adjacent to both girls’ beds. (RIGHT) Beth would tell you it took a while to get a 6-year-old, a 12-yearold and a 40-plus-year-old to agree on a wallpaper her daughters share, but they landed on a flamingo print from Cole & Sons. They paired it with Farrow & Ball Pink Ground paint on the other walls, which flow with vanities they painted black and knobs from the Martha Stewart line from Home Depot.

Wine Wednesday's Join us for a cheese board and a bottle of wine

24

$

95

SUNDAY SPECIAL CHOOSE A BOTTLE OF WINE FOR 1/2 PRICE FROM 4PM -9PM 270 Rele St. Mountain Brook

205-677-8235

Mon-Thurs 11-10. Fri-Sat 11-11. Sun 11-9 HomewoodLife.com 49

Staircase A family photo wall, including prints on wood Beth ordered from Photo Barn, line the walls leading to the house’s second story. The top floor greets you with aviary art by Willow Hart that corresponds to a pink ceiling as well as black and white walls Beth painted with a beauty blender.

Entry Room This formal space is filled with treasures that remind Beth of where she comes from: her grandmother’s baby grand piano, a rubbing of mahi-mahi and other Florida art from her parents’ house, framed sharks’ teeth she has collected since she was a child, and a pheasant and oyster plate she found at estate sales.

BEHIND THE SCENES Contractor: Jama and Geoffrey Ketcham, Ketcham & Co. Select Décor: Mary & Wilma (@maryandwilma) Architect: Jason Robb

Select Rugs: Hazelhouse Collective

Girls’ Bath Design Assistance: Sean Alexander Designs Paint & Hardware Design Assistance: Jama Ketcham Select Fabric: Downing & Sons, Anniston

50 July/August 2019

AT HOME

SWEET SUMMER COLOR Summer is the perfect time to play with color in your home! Take inspiration from the outdoors and bring it in to your space. A woven rattan side table can serve as a natural canvas to showcase accessories, and vibrant patterned pillows add a great punch of color. Don’t be afraid to mix colors, patterns and materials. They will add depth and interest to the room.

Jessica Clement is an interior designer and stylist who believes that well-designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there.

7

1

6

2

4

3

5 1. Patterned Pillows- Three Sheets, $106. 2. Grey Pom Basket- Three Sheets, $41. 3. Natural Woven End Table- At Home, $259. 4.

Striped and Tassel Throw- At Home, $42. 5. White Mongolian Fur- At Home, $154. 6. African Glass Beads- At Home, $67. 7. Glider Wood Paddle Boards- islesurfandsup.com, $895.

HomewoodLife.com 51

IN STYLE

SUMMER SETS + ACCESSORIES

BY MADISON FREEMAN PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD

1

LOOK 1

3

Madison is a local fashion, home decor, travel and lifestyle blogger opening her door up for you on insidemyopendoor.com.

2 4 1. TROPICAL LEAF SET Sets are very in right now and this one screams “summer.”

Soca | $44.50 Top, $75 Bottom

2. COLORFUL CROSSBODY CLUTCH This bag adds a pop of color to casual looks this season.

Ambiance | $69.99

3. SUMMER AVIATORS These wide-framed shades add another splash of turquoise to this look.

Ambiance | $18.99

4. TAUPE HEEL Wear these neutral chunky heels all summer and into fall.

Fabrik | $20

52 July/August 2019

4

5 1. WILD ONE BEIGE SET Wear this set for summer festivities all season long.

Soca l Top $44.50, Bottom $72.50

6

2. YELLOW SLIDES Add a pop of color with this casual slip-on shoe.

Fabrik | $23

LOOK 2

3. COLORFUL SNAKE SKIN PRINT CROSSBODY

3

Colorful snake skin is back and popular this summer.

Fabrik | $60

4. STATEMENT NECKLACE This chunky necklace adds pizzazz to neutral outfits.

Fabrik | $20+

5. BLACK STRIPE STRAW HAT Straw hats will forever be in style, so pack this one for your next vacation.

Fabrik | $34

1

6. CLASSIC BLACK CIRCLE FRAMED SUNGLASSES These shades are simple and classic.

Ambiance | $19.99

2

1

SUMMER MUST HAVES 1. GOLD LAYERED NECKLACES Fabrik | $16

3 4

2. MULTI TASSEL CHOKER Ambiance | $44.99

3. CLASSIC DANGLE EARRINGS

2

Fabrik | $28

4. FRINGE STATEMENT EARRINGS Fabrik | $24

HomewoodLife.com 53

Prince of Peace

VOTED BEST SCHOOL

• We are a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence celebrating 20 years of Catholic education in Hoover. • Our students consistently score in the top 25th percentile on national standardized tests.

Catholic School

IN HOOVER

PRINCE OF PEACE MIDDLE SCHOOL The POP Middle School program is a robust and distinctive curriculum that challenges students to integrate personal talents with acquired skills in an environment that keeps children motivated to learn. Intense planning uniquely links educational concepts in themed interest areas across the curriculum. Our ultimate goal is to create enthusiastic graduates who are passionate, life-long learners, able to transition effortlessly into a successful high school career.

PRINCE OF PEACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Elementary students are challenged with an integrated core curriculum that enhances the individual strengths and abilities of all children. Courses in art, music, Spanish, technology, library science, STEM, and physical education complement the learning process. Students are actively engaged in lessons guided by the latest research and are assessed on a regular basis.

PRINCE OF PEACE PRESCHOOL Three and four year old children attend an educational and fun program in a small Catholic environment. The preschool curriculum is embedded with art, technology, music, Spanish, and creative movement. Children are prepared for elementary school through a hands-on approach incorporating imaginative play while developing their social skills. Pre-reading and math skills are taught through games, centers, and individual instruction.

HOOVER’S

BEST HO

education in a safe environment

2019

OV

ERS M

AG A Z IN E

. CO

M

4650 Preserve Pkwy Hoover, AL 35226 (205) 824-7886 www.popcatholic.net

The Healing of Horses Heather Whitley knows the power of horses for a wounded spirit, and now through Rusted Roof Barn she’s seeking to heal their wounds too.

Y

By Melanie Peeples Photos by Mary Fehr

You can’t tell by looking at it, but down a winding road and just inside the gates of Oak Mountain State Park is a place where magic happens. To the naked eye it just looks like an old barn with a rusted roof, but this is a place that heals, a place that gives second chances.

About a decade ago, Heather Whitley began boarding her horse at the Oak Mountain Boarding Stables.

She grew up riding horses, though she says it’s more accurate to say she grew up being thrown from horses. (It started with cracking two vertebrae and a rib as a kid and moved on to a dislocated jaw and broken teeth.)

Maybe it’s something inside her that just inspires a fiery spirit, or it could

56 July/August 2019

be that friends, spying a horse that seems a little crazy, would say, “Hey, Heather, ride THIS one!”

At any rate, Heather had chosen to board her horse at the Oak Mountain stables because of its proximity to her family’s home in Homewood. She could be at the stable, saddled up and riding within 15 to 20 minutes. She and her husband owned a business in Homewood, but come evenings, with her children tucked safely at home, she could steal away for a bit and ride.

Then, seven years ago, she lost her husband unexpectedly and could not stand to keep their business open, where they had worked side by side. It was too painful without him there. So, she went to the barn.

HomewoodLife.com 57

PAGE 57: At 1,500 pounds, Pippi, pictured with Heather Whitley and Amy Taylor, is the largest at the barn. Pippi came to the barn when her original human “parents” divorced and could no longer afford her, and her human “mom” still visits her regularly. LEFT: Heather and Scott Whitley (center) with (from left) Amy Taylor, Amelia Jones, Ella Whitley, Madalyne Mullins and Ethan Jones

“This was a way to get away from all the bad stuff,” she says. So she rode.

She saddled up and let the slow canter of time do its work. After a while, her husband’s good friend grew to become more than just a friend, and eventually he followed her out to the barn. He had never ridden before. “I guess he figured if he wanted to see me, he better come out here,” she says with a smile that makes her eyes sparkle.

In time, they married, merging her two kids with his son from a previous marriage, and, of course, her horse.

Through it all, she drove to Oak Mountain State Park and rode. Then she learned that the neighboring barn—a trail barn, where the general public can pay to ride—was going to close. She watched it disappear, the horses gone, leaving nothing but the empty stalls where once there had been so much life.

She lamented the loss of a place where people who didn’t own a horse had the opportunity to spend time communing with nature, atop a horse.

58 July/August 2019

Perhaps she knew what riding can do for a wounded spirit, and she wanted to give some of that back.

One day, she just decided that SHE could do it. SHE could manage the trail barn that was just sitting there, rusting. With the encouragement of her friend, Amy Taylor, who also boarded her horse at the Oak Mountain Boarding Stables, she decided to do it. Heather would become the owner/operator, and Amy, the certified instructor, would be able to give riding lessons.

Heather went home and announced her plan to her husband, Scott, who had no experience in running a barn, but nonetheless said sure. Next, Heather had to convince Oak Mountain State Park.

She would need horses, and she proposed filling the empty stalls with horses that needed help. “Well, if we’re gonna redo this,” she thought, “we might as well give a horse a second chance.’” Oak Mountain loved the idea and said yes.

“

The goal here is to rehab (these horses) the best we can so that they’re not a danger to somebody, and they have a good life. I think because I came from where I wanted to be free from pain, I give them time. And then, of course, I have a fabulous husband who lets me do this crazy stuff.

”

-Heather Whitley

That’s what most of the horses here are: rescues. These are horses that were starved or abused or otherwise mistreated and put up for sale.

Heather and Amy would see ads online and just go see them.

Sometimes owners told them straight up that if they didn’t buy the horse, it was going to be sold for meat.

Along the way, The Rusted Barn has become a family affair. Scott left his previous career, and Heather’s daughter, Amelia, a 17-year-old senior at Homewood High School, saddles horses and mends fences in her spare time.

There have been a few surprises, too. Around two years ago, at 46, Heather was convinced she was going into menopause. It turned out to be a baby: Ella, whom they refer to as a barn baby because she spends so much time here.

Heather’s oldest, Ethan, is taking a break from college to decide what he really wants to be, and in the meantime, has become their manny, giving Heather and Scott enough time and flexibility to truly get The Rusted Roof Barn off the ground.

The stalls are filled with beautiful, strong horses, poking their heads out and snorting occasionally, as if they’re interjecting to the conversation regarding how they got here.

Looking at a “before” picture of an Arabian horse named Charizma you’ll see ribs you could count and a prominent spine. Today, he’s much more rounded, though Heather says

205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com

HomewoodLife.com 59

TAKE A TRAIL RIDE The Rusted Roof Barn offers guided rides on Oak Mountain’s 32 miles of horseback riding trails, pony rides (ages 3-12), pony parties, horseback riding lessons (English or Western) and special events by online reservation. Some of the horseback riding trails travel along the edge of the lake, some are in the valleys lush hardwood forest and others travel the pine studded ridges.

Trail rides are for children and adults ages 10 and up. Select ride durations from 45 minutes to 2 hours.

Helmets are provided, and closed toe shoes are required. Call for pricing or to book a reservation at 205-253-1299. Email heather@therustedroofbarn. com with any questions.

60 July/August 2019

HomewoodLife.com 61

Heather and Scott Whitley stand with Clementine (left), who is friends with everyone and keeps the other horses from fighting, and Epona (right). When new horses arrive, Heather says Clementine seems to tell them, “I’ve got your back.” Epona, a Pintaloosa, was in such bad shape when she arrived at the barn that she almost didn’t make it.

he still has a way to go. He’s curious and is happy to have his face stroked.

A brindled mare named Clementine has become Heather’s favorite. When she first brought Clementine home, Scott couldn’t get near her. “Scott couldn’t even touch her, even if he had all the food because the man before had beat her,” Heather says. “You can look at her and see the sadness in her eyes. I can identify with it. Everybody has to heal at their own rate.”

Heather says she gave her time and patience. “I just let her be a horse for a little while. She got the routine. She saw horses coming and going and being ridden, and she figured it out.”

Clementine has come so far, she’s even become a search and rescue horse.

Heather has 20 horses now, each with his or her own story.

Sometimes they are weary of her when she first meets them.

Other times, they seem to know she’s going to save them.

Mason, who was previously penned in a tiny stall and hardly had any room to move around, didn’t need any convincing when Heather showed up. “I had to get out of his way,” she says. “He jumped on my trailer so fast because he was like, ‘Get me out of here!’ He was like, ‘Anywhere has to be better than where I’m at.’”

Mason, Charizma, Clementine and the others are all doing well now and are either being ridden for trail rides or lessons or are still in training. Earning their keep is a necessity, as taking 62 July/August 2019

care of horses is expensive. Heather can’t keep any horse here who isn’t adding to the operation. But that does not mean her horses are forced to be ridden. Far from it.

Heather has only had two horses who didn’t work out. One just didn’t like trail riding. He didn’t like different people getting on him all the time. “You could tell this didn’t make him happy,” Heather says. She didn’t think it was fair to make him do something he just couldn’t learn to like. So, she found him a home with a little girl who rides him as a show horse. And he’s winning.

Another horse just did not like to be ridden at all. But he had long hair and liked being groomed, so she found a children’s camp for him where the children can brush him and braid his mane. And he’s happy.

Heather is currently working on two beautiful blond Haflingers named Buttercup and Butterscotch, and she is not entirely convinced they both are going to make it. They are physically healthy now, but Buttercup bears emotional scars.

“Somebody down the line did something just really awful to her,” Heather says. “She isn’t totally ready to forgive. Horses, typically, will forgive you. If you give them enough time, they will forgive you. They won’t forget. She has not totally forgiven.”

But she IS improving. Buttercup actually lets Heather touch her now. Before, she could not stand it and would freeze like a statue.

Above all, Heather understands the importance of patience.

“It’s not a race. The goal here is to rehab them the best we can so that they’re not a danger to somebody, and they have a good life.”

And she understands them too. “I think because I came from where I wanted to be free from pain, I give them time. And then, of course, I have a fabulous husband who lets me do this crazy stuff.”

Red, White & Blue SUMMER fun

Independence Day 1776!

Fun. . . Food. . . Fireworks!

Spend July 4th at the American Village with your family, friends and neighbors.

It’s our biggest red, white and blue day of the year!

5

$

adm throission July ugh 31

celebrate america!

Our summer program continues TuesdaysSaturdays through July 31 (excludes July 3-5)

Ride with Paul Revere, march with the Continental Army, learn Colonial spy techniques and much more!

www.americanvillage.org

For all your backyard playground needs!!

CALL

205-408-4386 for more info!

Charizma, an Arabian, was so bony when he first came to the barn that you could count his ribs, but today he’s healthy and thriving.

NOW ALSO SELLING AY COMMERCIAL PLAY EQUIPMENT! CALL 205-408-4386 86 FOR MORE INFO!

3165 CCahaba h b VValley lle RRoadd Birmingham, AL 35124

www.backyardalabama.com HomewoodLife.com 63

64 July/August 2019

A PLASTIC-FREE PILGRIMAGE

By Madoline Markham | Photos by Lindsey Culver

What does it look like to remove single-use plastics from your home? You can buy shampoo bars, find reusable grocery bags and make your own cleaning solutions—but really the best starting point is to ask Mary Liz Ingram.

HomewoodLife.com 65

I

Inside Mary Liz Ingram’s house, shampoo bars and soap bars rather than plastic bottles line the ledge of the shower. Bamboo sticks with colorful bristles fill the toothbrush holder on the bathroom sink. Glass bottles with hand-written labels sit in the bathroom and kitchen cabinets ready for cleaning bodies and the house.

Just a few months ago, those items weren’t there though, back before Mary Liz started to take any measure she could to stop using single-use plastic products. The time between now and then is all documented on the West Homewood resident’s Facebook page. There you’ll find posts with homemade hamburger buns, homemade cookies, homemade tortillas, homemade bananaoatmeal breakfast cookies and homemade pizza dough made with a bread machine. And then there’s the homemade dishwasher tabs, the homemade sunburn relief lotion and the homemade dry shampoo—all with plastic-free packaging of course.

There’s no doubt Mary Liz is a crusader, but she’s a humble one, taking on practices in

66 July/August 2019

extremes in hopes of inspiring those around her to start simply. “If people forget their (cloth grocery) bags a 100 times, I don’t want people to feel bad,” she says. “It took me a long time.” The first step, she says, is to pay attention to where you see plastic. And then she suggests exploring alternatives and giving them a try.

After all, that’s how her family’s journey began earlier this year—with her daughter Mary Clare and her friend Maggie Player’s science fair project at Homewood Middle School on single-use plastic and how biodegradable spoons can be used as a plastic alternative. From there her other two kids, Patrick and Nora, wanted to have a “home science fair,” and Mary Liz jumped on board too with a plastic-free mission. With the season of Lent leading up to Easter, where Christians traditionally take on forms of fasting, coming up, she decided to give up single-use plastic for 40 days.

Lent for Mary Liz began with research. She counted the single-use plastics in their home, stopping at 620 items, before even getting to utensils or medicine bottles. And she looked

outside her home too, learning that 40 percent of produced plastic is single-use, and out of 6.9 million tons of waste, 6.4 billion tons is never recycled. “It hit me like a smack in the face that something has to change,” she writes on her blog.

“Our habits must change. Our disposable culture must change, or we (and the rest of the planet) will be buried in trash.”

Today, even with Lent season long past, the new habits have stuck, and Mary Liz’s family is spending less money on groceries (even with trips to Whole Foods) and eating fewer prepacked food products. They are down to only one bag of trash a week, even as a family of five, and since many of the products they use are more concentrated, they don’t run out of them as fast either. “I feel calmer and like our life has not been disrupted,” she says.

In many ways sustainable living practices are nothing new for Mary Liz. Back in elementary school she founded a Clean Up Club to pick up litter, and you’ll often find her kids picking up trash on their walk home from Hall-Kent Elementary.

Five years ago she started a garden that’s now taken over her front yard as a source of fresh produce and a

way to live more sustainably, and she’s always sharing it with neighbors and holding plant giveaways too.

Nestled around her Little Free Library (it’s no surprise she has one of those too), tomatoes sprout up alongside blueberries and strawberries, and nearby carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets and radishes are hidden under the dirt.

And then there’s a long list of all things green that they harvest too: herbs, peas, kale, collards, lettuce, Swiss chard, zucchini and cucumbers.

Just like she shares her plants, Mary Liz is now sharing the shampoo bars she makes and ideas for trying new plastic-free habits. She will tell you she tries not to be pushy, and if you know her you know she’s a far cry from it. But what she’s passionate about is catching on with those around her. When the preschool she serves as director of held its Muffins for Mom event in May, her coworkers chose to put up the plastic, pulling out stainless steel utensils, cloth tablecloths and aluminum trays for leftover muffins instead of Ziploc bags.

That sounds weird, you might be thinking, and Mary Liz would agree, especially for an introvert like her.

But for her it’s worth it, and she’s

Mary Liz Ingram with her husband, Stephen, and children Nora, Patrick and Mary Clare

SMALL STEPS TO REDUCE PLASTIC At the grocery store, look for produce that’s not in a plastic bag, glass instead of plastic containers for products in aisles, and eggs in a cardboard carton instead of foam or plastic.

Buy reusable shopping bags and keep them in your front seat to help you remember to take them inside stores with you. You can place some reusable produce bags (available on Amazon) in them too.

If you want to go big, bring containers to the grocery store for filling with bulk items. They will weigh and mark them at stores like Whole Foods, and you can fill them with oats, rice, beans, nuts, you name it.

Keep a set or two of silverware and a reusable coffee cup with you in your bag or car, and bring them into coffee shops, restaurants, food festivals or wherever you might find plastic serving ware.

Make substitutions, like reusable sandwich bags (available at Target) instead of the typical Ziploc ones.

HomewoodLife.com 67

Mary Liz keeps reusable grocery bags, coffee mugs, silverware and food storage containers in her car to use instead of single-use plastics.

Mary Liz sews silverware holders like this one for her family and others.

SHOWER SWITCHES When Mary Liz inventoried single-use plastic in her house, she started with changes in the bathroom after finding so much plastic in such a small space. Here are some products to purchase and make that she recommends. Purchased products are sometimes more expensive, but the homemade ones are super cheap and super easy according to Mary Liz. SHAMPOO BARS AND CONDITIONER BARS: • Whiff brand, available on Amazon • Savannah-based Nourish. Mary Liz likes the rose and beet conditioning bar, and they have several more choices for all types of hair. You can find their products at nourishsavannah.com.

• J. R. Liggetts shampoo bar, available at Whole Foods and other retailers • Make your own OTHER PRODUCTS: • Bite brand toothpaste, which comes in a jar • Coconut oil to moisturize or a plasticfree lotion bar 68 July/August 2019

• Meow Meow Tweet deodorant (packaged in a cardboard tube), available on Amazon • DIY deodorant with a quick recipe of 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, 1 Tbsp. baking soda, 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and 10 drops of essential oil (she uses lavender) • Homemade lip balm made by melting beeswax and coconut oil in the microwave • Homemade face powder made with cocoa powder and either cornstarch or arrowroot starch • Wooden eyeliner pencils instead of plastic eyeliner pencils • Plastic-free mascara and other cosmetics she found by searching “Clean Faced Cosmetics” on Amazon

committed, so committed she bought a tote bag at Hobby Lobby recently when she ended up with more items in her cart than she thought she’d get and had no reusable bag in hand. At the Lebanese Food Festival this spring, she pulled out a stainless steel silverware pack she keeps in her car and brought their Styrofoam food trays home to recycle later.

Now when she plans parties for neighborhood kids, Mary Liz sets out her 36 sets of stainless steel forks and spoons, tablecloths she made out of old sheets and a collection of washable plastic cups and plastic plates for them. “The kids are used to it now, so they don’t throw them away,” she says. And it’s all cheaper to wash than to keep buying too.

Be it mixing up homemade glass cleaner or skipping the plastic forks, little things have a notso-little impact in Mary Liz’s eyes. But they do require something: “You have to be willing to stand out just a little in the things that feel like a big deal but they are really not,” she says.

Learn more about Mary Liz’s journey and find more of her tips at cleanupprojectusa.com or on Facebook at @TheCleanUpProjectUSA.

ALTERNATE WAYS TO RECYCLE There’s a mini recycling center in Mary Liz’s trunk full of collected items that are easy to recycle, just not in a Homewood curbside bin.

Here’s what she had to say where to take them.

1. TAKE GLASS TO TARGET. I stop by on the way to work. The bins at our store are right by the restrooms.

2. TAKE PLASTIC BAGS AND FOAM CARTONS AND TRAYS TO PUBLIX. I collect any plastic grocery sacks, bread bags, deflated air-filled plastic packaging (not bubble wrap), wrappers around paper towels, toilet paper and more and stuff them right in the bin on my way in to shop. We wash out any Styrofoam containers and do the same!

3. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS FROM HOW2RECYCLE.INFO FOR PRODUCTS WITH A “HOW2RECYLE” LABEL. The website will tell you where to recycle and how to break down multi-material packaging for recycling. For instance, I could take an Amazon bag to Publix or Target and recycle it with my other plastic bags.

HomewoodLife.com 69

Walt Harris with his wife Angela, and their children Aniah, Aylah, Elijah and Asah

70 July/August 2019

THE BIG TICKET WALT HARRIS MIGHT BE A PROFESSIONAL MIXED MARTIAL ARTS FIGHTER, BUT HE KNOWS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE BULLIED TOO.

W

By Solomon Crenshaw Jr. Photos by Lindsey Culver & Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Walt Harris is a Homewood rec league sports coach who talks to youth about bullying. Nothing strange there, except that as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, the 2001 Homewood High School grad makes his living by beating up opponents, effectively bullying them into submission.

“When I speak to kids in school, the reaction I get is crazy. I’ll be talking to them about bullying in assemblies, and I’ll say I was bullied,” Walt recounts.

“The whole crowd will gasp. They don’t believe me.”

Walt stands 6 foot 4 and weighs 260 pounds. How could he be bullied? Because he wasn’t always a big guy. He was 155 pounds as he headed to Homewood High. “Growing up (as) the youngest in my family, the youngest in the neighborhood out of the boys, I got picked on, I got bullied, I got beat up.”

He was even beaten up by a girl. “I was that timid,” he admits.

But Walt, a.k.a. “The Big Ticket,” is timid no more.

He has a courage that has taken him from Homewood to a No. 12 ranking in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest MMA promotion company in the world that features the

highest level fighters on its roster.

The 36-year-old hasn’t just grown physically. He’s grown into a husband, a father and a youth sports coach too. He’s done all of this as he has come full circle, becoming a part of the very city that gave him his start.

Walt also spent time in his youth at the Bessemer home of his grandmother, Lillian Morgan, while his single mother Vivian Morgan worked two jobs, including running the post office in Homewood.

In those days, Walt was reluctant to stand up for himself. He needed a push, and his grandmother provided it. “She’d make me go out there and fight,” he recalls. “That was part of her training and teaching me to stand up for myself. I would run. I was like, ‘I don’t want to fight this dude.’”

Lillian Morgan would hang her grandson’s dinner in the balance if he didn’t go out and fight. “‘You’re not going to eat,’” he recalled her saying. “I thank my grandmother for that. I know she’s looking down proud. I was like, ‘I’m scared of everybody.’ I was never one to stand up for myself by myself.”

His grandmother would watch the scene unfold HomewoodLife.com 71

ABOVE: Walt's youngest child Aylah takes martial arts classes like her dad.

PAGE 73, BOTTOM: Walt holds a championship basketball signed by a rec league team he coached in Homewood when his son Elijah was younger.

from indoors. She witnessed him being bullied and would see him run. “She was like, ‘That ain’t gonna work. You need to go out there and stand up for yourself. If you don’t, it’s going to continue to happen.’”

That taught Walt a lesson that went beyond physically standing up for himself. It taught him to not run from his problems. He says he had a lot of issues from growing up without a father and dealing 72 July/August 2019

with his mother having to work two jobs.

His grandmother knew it was more than just a “go beat somebody up” mentality. “It was about being a man and understanding you can’t run when things get hard,” he says. “I think that’s what’s put me in a position to be successful today, why I’ve gotten as far as I have.”

The heavyweight says he could have quit a long time ago over several different things. He’s faced a lot

Summer is here.

Ask Us About Coolsculpting.

Rx Wellness Spa 2660 10th Avenue South, Building 1, Suite 608, Birmingham, AL

(205) 918-9181

of adversity but has always found a way. “I always keep going,” he says. “My wife doesn’t understand sometimes. ‘How do you keep that mindset?’ I think that came from our grandmother. I think she raised us that way. Don’t quit. Always find a way.”

Back in high school, Walt’s athletic ambition was to play in the NBA, perhaps following in the Nike footsteps of his favorite player Kobe Bryant. After playing on the Homewood Patriots basketball team, Walt took his basketball talents to Jacksonville State University.

It was during his time with the Gamecocks that he met Angela Haley, who would become his wife. She was driving on the JSU campus when she stopped at a traffic light and glanced to her left to find Walt in the passenger seat of the neighboring car. “Our eyes met,” she recalls. “I felt a connection.”

The chance encounter soon yielded a conversation, and the pair realized they had something in common. She lived in his hometown. “I moved to Homewood because I always heard Homewood had good schools,” says Angela. “I’ve always had it in my head that I was going to live in Homewood. I just can’t even ever imagine leaving.”

She had two children, Elijah and Aniah, from a previous marriage when the pair met and subsequently wed. When they HomewoodLife.com 73

met, Walt “instantly became a dad,” Angela says.

“Basically, that’s what he wanted,” she says. “He loved them from day one.” The family now includes four children: 20-year-old Auburn engineering sophomore Elijah, 19-year-old Southern Union freshman Aniah, 13-year-old Homewood seventhgrader Asah, and 6-year-old kindergartener Aylah.

There’s also Eleven, a cat named for a character from Netflix’s Stranger Things and a golden doodle named Nalah, who Walt supposedly picked up for his youngest daughter. “I kind of got it for me,” he admits.

“I wanted it. I’m not going to lie. For years, I told the kids they couldn’t have a dog because I knew I was going to be the one taking care of it. Then I saw these golden doodles, and I was like, ‘We’ve got to get one.’”

Walt initially worked for UPS and a moving company after the couple married in 2010. Fate would wave him toward his current path when the couple went to work out at a local gym. A woman there told the pro basketball hopeful that he looked like a mixed martial arts fighter and should join a class at the gym.

It proved to be a perfect fit. “He loved it,” his wife recalls. “He came out, and he’s like, ‘I really think I want to do this.’ I went to the class, and I watched him. And I was like, ‘Wow, he’s a natural at this. He looks really good.’”

Angela committed to working—sometimes as many as three jobs—so that her husband could train.

He also was Mr. Mom, tending to the kids and coaching youth sports teams. “I love being at home with my kids,” Walt says. “The goal for me was always to be in a situation where I can spend as much time with my children as possible and be in their lives. I wanted to play in the NBA, but I know that would have taken me all over the place. With fighting, I get to involve them. They get to travel, and I’m at home for extended periods of time. It’s been a blessing to be in this position.”

74 July/August 2019

BELOW LEFT: Walt and Aylah show off their martial arts gloves. BELOW RIGHT: Walt trains at Spartan Fitness on Green Springs Highway.

L.J. Rouse, who has coached with Walt for about six years, first encountered the MMA fighter when he coached Walt’s daughter Aniah’s hoops team. The two coached together for the first time when Asah played on a youth basketball team. “He’s just an energetic guy, very reliable,” L.J. says of Walt. “He’s a big kid. He knows when to smack talk with them and when to get serious with them.”

Walt was 23-1 as a MMA amateur with all of his wins coming via knockout. He was 6-1 as a pro and got his first shot in UFC. Now, he is 13-7 overall and 7-4 in the UFC. “I had a lot of hype behind me, and then adversity came,” he recalls. “I had to learn how to handle it. It’s been a steady journey, but I believe God has got me hitting my stride right now for a reason. When I first came into the UFC, I wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with all the success and all the things that I’m receiving now. Now I’m more mature mentally and physically. I tell people I’m prepared for success now.”

The heavyweight dealt with a particular bit of adversity recently when he consumed a tainted supplement and had to sit out for four months. “I’m also taking legal action against that supplement company because they didn’t label their product properly,” he adds. “For me, it’s more about my reputation.”

And he wanted his next fight on May 4 against Sergey “Polar Bear” Spivak to make a clear statement. “Let me show you guys I don’t need nothing to help me,” he says. “I have God-given ability.

I had a couple of chips on my shoulder, to say the least.”

The referee stopped the fight after 50 seconds in the opening round in Ottawa, Ontario. “I tried to take advantage of the fact that he was new to the UFC,” the Homewood fighter says. “Being a veteran in the UFC, I understand the whole process, and I knew he was going to be a little bit overwhelmed by that. I felt I needed to be overwhelming with my performance. I didn’t give him a chance to get comfortable and feel that octagon out. I just wanted to jump him, see what he was presenting and see if he could handle it.

“He didn’t respond… so I had to go in and do what I had to do.”

Walt fights Alexey “The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik on July 20 in San Antonio, Texas. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter at @thebigticket205.

YOUR BACK TO SCHOOL

HEAD QUARTERS

40 Church Street , Mountain Brook

205-848-7800

monamibham.com HomewoodLife.com 75

Homewood Chamber of Commerce C O N N E C T I O N S

Happenings Thursday, July 4

July 4th Festival 5 pm-9 pm Downtown Homewood

Friday, July 12

Ribbon Cutting for Lyons Family Care 11:30 a.m.

Lyons Family Care

Thursday, July 25

Business After Hours: School Supply Drive @ 5 5 p.m.-7 p.m.

Caveat Coffee

2019 Downtown Homewood Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 27!

The eighth annual Downtown Homewood Sidewalk Sale will be held all day on Saturday, July 28th. Last year a large number of merchants and restaurants participated in the sale, and several more are looking forward to being a part of the fun this year.

Shoppers are encouraged to arrive early as select merchandise will be marked down up to 75%! For more information about the Downtown Homewood Sidewalk Sale, please visit www.homewoodchamber.org.

Join the Chamber for our 2019 Homewood Chamber Golf Classic at Topgolf, August 22

Saturday, July 27

2019 Sidewalk Sale All Day Downtown Homewood

Tuesday, August 20

August Membership Luncheon 11:30-1 p.m.

Samford University

Wednesday, August 28

Coffee and Contacts Presented by Fi Plan Partners 7:30 am-9 a.m.

Holler & Dash

Join the Homewood Chamber at our annual Golf Classic, presented by Brookwood Baptist Health, on August 22, 2018 at Topgolf. This is the Homewood Chamber’s largest annual fundraiser, and all proceeds assist the Chamber’s economic development programs, provide scholarships for local students, and fund our efforts to promote our community. We welcome your participation at any level. Reserve your team today at homewoodchamber.org, or contact Meredith for more information at Director@homewoodchamber.org.

7 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD 76 July/August 2019

HOMEWOOD, ALABAMA 35209

F i n d U s O n l i ne

Sign up for our weekly newsletter | Access our member directory Purchase Buy Local Homewood eGift Cards

Ribbon Cuttings Kingfisher Signs and Graphics April 5, 2019 33 Barber Court Suite 115 Birmingham, AL 35209

New Member Spotlight BioLife Plasma Services https://biolifeplasma.com BMSS, LLC https://www.bmss.com/ Direct Auto & Life Insurance https://www.directgeneral.com/

Brookwood Baptist Hospital Electrophysiology Lab April 18, 2019 2010 Brookwood Medical Center Dr, Birmingham, AL 35209

EnPower Solutions https://www.enpower.solutions/ Homewood Carpet and Flooring https://www.homewoodcarpet. com/ JH Berry Risk Services https://jhbrisk.com/ Byars Wright April 23, 2019 1701 28th Ave. S. Homewood, AL 35209

Mutt Strutt https://www.facebook.com/MuttStrutt-572081013230728/ Riley & Jackson, P.C. https://www.rileyjacksonlaw.com/

Direct Auto & Life Insurance May 30, 2019 68 Green Springs Hwy. Homewood, AL 35209

205 - 871 - 5631

RJ Young https://rjyoung.com/location/ birmingham/ Zanaty Consulting http://zanaty.us/

WWW.HOMEWOODCHAMBER.ORG HomewoodLife.com 77

OUT & ABOUT

1

WE LOVE HOMEWOOD DAY

2

3

4

5

6

PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

The festivities of this annual event at Homewood Central Park commenced on May 4 this year, although the parade and street dance at the end of the day were rained out.

1. Eva White, Livy Dunn, Martha Ponder and Sadie Rowell 2. Amber and Sarah Kate Thompson 3. Courtney and Chase Morman 4. Andrew, Catie and Anderson Seale 5. Sarah Elizabeth, Davis, Stella Jane and Alan Brandt 6. Ginger and Jason Hyde, and Millie 7. Celeste Rico, Jahmaria McGhee, Daisy Rico and Trinity Jenkins 8. Kirsten Tabuna and Malak Abdeelhalim 9. Caroline and Tyson Parker 10. Mary Ann, Sanjeev, Cameron and Reid Hasabnis 11. Josh and Kelsey Sizemore 12. Joy Chuang, Syretta Powell and April Rice 13. Valerie and Ruth Mitchell

78 July/August 2019

7

OUT & ABOUT

8

9

10

11

12

13

HomewoodLife.com 79

OUT & ABOUT

1

HOMEWOOD GROWN

2

3

4

5

6

7

PHOTOS BY SCOTT BUTLER

Homewood alum Cole Cubelic spoke at this annual fundraiser for Homewood City Schools Foundation on May 3.

1. Elizabeth Studinka and Tom Jeffries 2. Kevin Maddox, Zac Barnes and Bill Cleveland 3. Laura and Brian Stansell 4. Mollie and Brian Erickson 5. Carlton Kemper, and Melissa and Greg Vinson 6. Doug and Melissa Gann 7. Mark and Nikki Woods 8. Homewood High School Ambassadors 9. Wendy Story and Laura Tate 10. Britt and Amanda Thames 11. Jennifer Cleveland, Keith Brown, Michelle Brown, Bill Cleveland and Ashley Condon

Your Real Estate Expert

Please Reply Stationery ~ Gifts ~ Invitations

WE guarantee to sale your home in 90 DAYS or less OR YOU DON’T PAY A THING!

Call us today to get a free market analysis of your home

205.567.8804

or visit us at www.morganrealtyfirm.com 80 July/August 2019

42B Church Street ~ Mountain Brook, AL 35213 (205) 870-4773 or please_reply@bellsouth.net www.pleasereplyllc.com

OUT & ABOUT

8

9

10

11

LET THE CISNEROS BROTHERS GROOM YOUR FURRY FRIEND!

Alfonso Cisneros Groomer at Village Pet Care Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday by appointment only

2921 Cahaba Road 582-2468 villagepetcarepc.com

Edgar Cisneros

Groomer at Liberty Animal Hospital Monday - Friday by appointment only

3810 River Run Drive 970-0411 companionanimalpetcare.com/liberty HomewoodLife.com 81

OUT & ABOUT

1

EDGEWOOD SPRING FESTIVAL

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

The festivities of Edgewood Elementary School’s annual fundraiser returned this year on April 28.

1. Brady and Laurel Wilson 2. Jason and Hampton Waters; and Will, Blair and Bill Middleton 3. Hagan Stegall, Adelaide Gamble, Pierce Gamble and Lennon Baker 4. Angelynn Turpin 5. Eric and Clair Stuman 6. Andy Horton, Holland Horton, Henrietta Horton, Brent Grainger, Ellie Grainger and Frances Grainger 7. Parker Eason 8. Nakyah Smith, and Destiny and LaQuita Perry 9. Judy, Seth, Robert, Reece and Finley Rodwell 10. Joseph, Emily, Henry, Teddy, Yates, Jordan and Charlie Yates 11. Bain and Corinne Chapman, and Ian, Amy, Kate and Henry Edgerton 12. Graham Jourdan, Ellis Jourdan, Reagan Gray and Rhett Jourdan 13. Cameron, Katie, Alice, Will, Daniel and Ford Perlis

82 July/August 2019

OUT & ABOUT

10

BARIATRIC HEALTH & WELLNESS

Do you need to lose a little or a lot ?

11

Bariatric Health and Wellness offers a non surgical weight loss program that is easy to follow, customized for you, and affordable.

• Dr John Morgan has helped over 30,000+ people lose over 150,000 lbs.

• Lose up to a pant size in 2 weeks • Free Consultation • Experienced Staff

12

• Online protocol available • Appetite Suppressants If you are ready for a healthier body and mind, Bariatric Health and Wellness is for you!

13

2017 Canyon Rd #17 Vestavia Hills 205-397-8856 bariatricdirect.com HomewoodLife.com 83

OUT & ABOUT

1

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS LUNCHEON

2

3

4

5

6

PHOTOS BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

The Homewood Chamber of Commerce held its annual luncheon to recognize an Excellence in Education award winner from each Homewood school on April 16. Homewood Middle School teacher Steve Sills also spoke at the event about the Trendsetters club.

1. Edgewood Elementary winner Maeva Fortson with her parents Steven and Donna 2. Excellence in Education award winners with Chamber Executive Director Meredith Drennen and Homewood City Schools Superintendent Bill Cleveland 3. Homewood Middle winner Getsemani Mendez Ramirez with her parents Oscar Mendez and Ana Ramirez 4. Shades Cahaba Elementary winner Lucy Player with her parents Johnathan and Amy and her sister Maggie 5. Homewood High winner James Campbell Brabston with HHS Principal Zack Barnes and James Campbell’s mom Jamie 6. Homewood Middle School Trendsetters sponsors Andrea McCormack, Steve Sills and Grey Adams 7. Hall-Kent Elementary winner Lane Crowe with her parents Eric and Enslen and grandparents Rob and Martha Lamberth 84 July/August 2019

7

OUT & ABOUT

1

2

HOMEWOOD ROTARY SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON PHOTOS BY MADOLINE MARKHAM

The Homewood Rotary Club awarded scholarships to four Homewood High School seniors at its luncheon at Homewood Public Library on April 18.

1. Bobby Johnson, Brooke Johnson and Cassie Farran

3

4

2. Constance and Cierra Mamie Redin 3. Moonyen, Jared and Douglas Prather 4. Brooke Johnson, Carol Chesnutt, Buddy Wade Memorial Scholarship winner Maria Alejandro Loo and Cindy Wade

HomewoodLife.com 85

MARKETPLACE

Marketplace Homewood Life • 205.669.3131

Acceptance Loan Company. Personal Loans! Let us pay off your title loan! 224 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham. 205-663-5821

Apply online at AGSOUTH.COM or call Charlie Seagle at (205) 808-4833 Preemployment drug test required.

Need appliance or air conditioner parts? How about a water filter for your refrigerator? We have it all at A-1 Appliance Parts! Call 1-800841-0312 www.A1Appliance.com

Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, Clerical, Machine Operator, Quality, Carpentry, Welder, Foundry. Positions In: Calera, Clanton, Pelham, Bessemer, McCalla. Walk-in applications accepted.

Clanton (205)2800002. Pelham (205)444-9774.

Looking For A New Career As A CNA? AHAVA Healthcare of Alabaster is hiring Apply in Person: 850 9th Street NW Alabaster,AL-35007 Call:205-663-3859 Linda White,Ext:2817 Tracy Golden,Ext:2821 American Auctioneers, LLC 1-866-789-5169 american-auctioneers. com Call us for your auctions needs!!

• Land/Acreage • Estates • Residential/ Commercial Real Estate • Business Liquidations • Construction Farm Equipment • Lake/ Recreational Properties INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $17.68 hour + production & safety $$$ incentives.

Grocery order selection using electric pallet jacks & voice activated headsets.

86 July/August 2019

Bama Concrete Now Hiring: Diesel Mechanic 4 Years Minimum Experience.

CDL Preferred.

Competitive Pay. Great Benefits. Apply in person: 2180 Hwy 87 Alabaster, 35007 Bent Creek Apartments.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom. On-site Manager. On-site Maintenance. 3001 7th Street. North Clanton, AL 35045.

TDD#s: 800-5482547(V) 800-5482546(T/A) bentcreek@ morrowapts.com Office Hours: MonFri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer

HomewoodLife.com

Boise Cascade Now Hiring for Utility Positions. Starting pay $13.33/hour.

Must be able to pass background screen.

Please apply at www. bc.com

Carroll Fulmer Now Hiring Class-A CDL Drivers. Overthe-road positions available. Dry vans.

No hazmat. Must have one year overthe-road. Experience and a clean MVR. Competitive pay and bonus package. Good home time. Call 800633-9710 ext. 2 DCH Health System Caring. For Life. $5,000 *Sign-on Bonus for full time RNs *For More Info Contact Annie.Miller@ dchsystem.com. Apply online at: www.dchsystem.com SEEKING MACHINIST OR MACHINIST HELPER WITH KNOWLEDGE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEAVY MACHINERY. CALL TO APPLY: 205-2436661 NOW HIRING!!!

•CDL DRIVERS •ASPHALT EQUIPMENT OPERATORS Apply Online Today! www. dunnconstruction. com •Bright Future•Great Pay•

Housing Authority of the Birmingham District Hiring: Homeownership Lease-Purchase Facilitator Resident Services $2000 SIGN ON Coordinator-ROSS BONUS NEW Human Resources PAY SCALE TO Specialist Compliance QUALIFYING Data Analysis DRIVERS EVERGREEN Application Data TRANSPORT, is Entry Clerk Assistant accepting applications Vice President of for local drivers in the Housing Operations Calera and Leeds, Director of Public AL, area. Must have Safety Custodian View Class A CDL, good complete description driving record, 1 yr and apply at www. verifiable tractor trailer habd.org or 1826 experience. Good pay 3rdAvenueSouth and benefits. Apply in Birmingham, Al 35233 person at 8278 Hwy 25 South, Calera, AL, NOW AVAILABLE or call for info 205LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR 668-3316.

SHIFTS CNA’s Now Hiring Full-time & part-time Heavy Equipment Apply in person: Operators and CDL Hatley Health Care Drivers Competitive 300 Medical Center pay and benefits.

Drive Pre-employment Clanton, AL 35045 drug test required Equal Employment Health Services, Inc. Opportunity Employer Clanton Family Health Call: 205-298-6799 107 Medical Center or email us at: jtate@ Dr Clanton,AL 35045 forestryenv.com Current Opening: •Patient Account Franklin Iron Works Representative Now Hiring. Grinders •Medical Assistant & Laborers. Must •LPN Unit Coordinator apply in person: 146 Tommie Drive, Thorsby. Mon-Fri. 10am-3pm.

•Unheard of Benefits• HOME EVERY DAY! #DunnTheRightWay EOE/Minorities/ Females/Disabled/ Veterans

MARKETPLACE Helping Hands Estate Sales Serving clients over 7yrs Professional & Experienced We can help sell the contents of your home! Contact for information: 256283-5549 tbob56. wixsite.com/helpinghands Industrial Coatings Group, Inc. is hiring experienced -Sandblasters -Industrial Painters Helpers. Must be able to pass drug test and e-verify check. Must be willing to travel.

Professional references required. Please send resume to: icgsecretary@hotmail. com or call (205)6889004 Owner Operators Wanting Dedicated Year Round Anniston, AL www.pull4klb.com SHEETMETAL & MANUFACTURING HELP WANTED •Sheetmetal/Layout, •Manufacturing Helpers, •Sheetmetal Machinery Operators, Multiple positions Paid holidays, typical shifts are 6:00am-2:30pm Must be reliable & on-time Call RICK: 205-761-3975 Need FREE help with your Medicare?

Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) today at (800)AGE-LINE (800)-243-5463.

Now Hiring!!

•Caregivers-ADL’s, assist with medications and some lifting 7am3pm, 3pm-11pm,

11pm-7pm •Activity Director Part-Time •Cooks-some 12/ hr shifts Call Shay McNeal 205-620-2905 Marble Valley Manor.

Affordable 1 and 2 Bedroom Apartments for Elderly & Disabled.

Many on-site services!

2115 Motes Rd, Sylacauga. 256245-6500 •TDD#s: 800-548-2547(V) •800-548-2546(T/A).

Office Hours: MonFri, 8am-4pm. Equal Opportunity Provider/ Employer Are you a motivated professional? Are you looking for a dynamic career? Are you ready to control your own level of success? See why McKinnons’ is an exciting place to work and grow. Now accepting applications for Sales, Service, and Detail Shop. Apply with the receptionist.

205-755-3430 Shake up your career!!! Are you looking for something new and FUN? Milo’s is always looking for great managers to come join our growing and dynamic team. Apply online at miloshamburgers.com Montgomery Stockyard Drop Station at Gray & Son’s in Clanton. Call Lane at 205-389-4530.

For other hauling arrangements, contact Wes in Harpersville 205-965-8657

MOUNT HOME BUILDERS, INC. Build on your lot custom homes! Our plans or yours! Visit www. mounthomebuilder. com for price quotes and to see completed homes & homes under construction! 205-2990114 Mundo’s Masonry & More “Quality Guaranteed” •Brickwork•Stonework •Concrete•Fireplaces •Retaining Walls •Patio/Pathways •Driveways•Much More Serving Jefferson, Shelby & Chilton Counties FREE ESTIMATE! Call: 205434-5783 NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Driver Must have clean driving record, two years experience Will train drivers on tank Drivers home nightly Contact Keith at: 205-438-4959 Oxford Healthcare in Montgomery currently hiring certified CNA’s and/or Home Health aides in the Clanton, Marbury and Maplesville areas.

Must be able to pass complete background check, have reliable transportation and have a strong work ethic. Serious inquires only. Call 334-409-0035 or apply on-line at www.

Oxfordhealthcare.com Looking for a house to rent in Shelby County? We can help. Call for available rentals and specials (205)433-9811

South Haven Health & Rehab, Hoover NOW-HIRING!!!

•LPN’s & RN’s -Day & Night Shift -Shift Differential •Laundry Worker Apply in person or email: ken. holmes@nhsmgt.com Southeastern Food Merchandisers NOW HIRING Class-A CDL Food Service Delivery Drivers with 1 year experience!!! Pay & Benefits •Home daily •Schedules allow you to depart and return to same terminal daily •Dispatches are single day routes, nothing runs overnight or multiday! •Paid by weight delivered, miles, and stops •Drivers running single driver routes are earning $75,000$100,000 yearly! •Team and Helper routes are earning $65,000+ yearly What we offer in addition to route pay!

•Attendance/Accuracy bonuses •Wkly-pay w/direct deposit •401(k) w/company match, eligible after 6-months with quarterly enrollment •Blue Cross of AL health & dental insurance, company subsidized •Two different medical plans for Blue Cross depending on your needs •Vision Insurance, company subsidized •Basic Life and AD&D 100% employer paid •Company paid Short-Term Disability •Voluntary Life & AD&D also provided on post-tax basis for you, and your family Email resume: ofrye@ southeasternfood.com Call:205-685-4534

CLOCK REPAIR SVS. * Setup * Repair * Maintenance. I can fix your Mother’s clock.

Alabaster/Pelham. Call Stephen (205)6632822 Electrician - FT Supreme Electric, local-based company in Pelham. Must be willing to learn & work hard. Go to: supremeelectric-al. com Print employment application under Contact Us. Mail to: Supreme Electric 231 Commerce Pkwy Pelham, AL 35124 or call 205-453-9327.

TaylorMade Transportation Hiring CDL Drivers for Flatbed Regional Division! BCBS Insurance After 30 Days. To apply call: (334)366-2269 or email: s.smith@ taylormadeinc.com Become a Dental Assistant in ONLY 8 WEEKS! Please visit our website capstonedental assisting.com or call (205)561-8118 and get your career started!

White Oak Transportation is hiring CDL-A drivers in your area. Great Pay! Excellent Benefits!

Visit our website www. whiteoaktrans.com for more information EOE-M/F/D/V

HomewoodLife.com 87

MY HOMEWOOD BRITTANY RABORN

Blogger at Southern Mama Guide + Mom of Three

Sweet Treats

Cookie Fix It’s an addiction! We always have a stash of First Date cookie dough in our freezer to enjoy at home, and it makes for the perfect sweet to pull out when we are entertaining friends. I look forward to the special “off the menu” cookies they make each week, but my favorite is the Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

Date Night

Gianmarco’s Wine Bar My husband and I frequent the Gianmarco’s wine bar in the back where you can order all the same foods from the main menu and get a bottle of wine 30 percent off. Tucked away behind the main restaurant in the coziest little nook, it is our favorite spot for a romantic evening out. I always have to order the Fiocchi Fresh Pasta Purses stuffed with pears!

The Best Day

We Love Homewood Day This is always such a fun-filled day with neighbors, friends and family. Every year we plan a block party on our street and have a potluck picnic with a bounce house at the end of our street. We walk to the parade route and continue the fun with the street party.

Play Dates

Homewood Community Gardens Our favorite after-school activity is to walk up to the community garden next to the Board of Education building and play. There is so much green space to run, fly kites, throw the ball with our dog, roll down the hill, and explore all the plants. All the neighborhood kids meet up here to play and we get to enjoy small talk with the neighbors.

For Greenery

Sweet Peas Garden Shop It’s our go-to place to find all my favorite seasonal greenery and get expert help in how to take care of your plants. I’d be lost without their direction in caring for my plants.

They also have the best pumpkin display, and we always get a picture there in the fall when we can’t make it out to a pumpkin patch.

88 July/August 2019

Come visit our new facility, including the new Spa Cahaba

2279 VALLEYDALE RD. SUITE 100 HOOVER, AL 35244

Holly Gunn MD, FAAD

C AV I A R C O L L E C T I O N S

M Y L A G O S M Y W AY

MOUNTAIN BROOK | 205.871.3276 | BROMBERGS.COM