Homewood Life, May/June 2019

THE EXCEPTIONAL FOUNDATION • 50 YEARS OF CREATIVE MONTESSORI • THE REAL & ROSEMARY TABLE

HOMEWOOD’S BEST WINNERS THE RESULTS ARE IN

BOHO

BOLD MAY/JUNE 2019 HomewoodLife.com Volume Three | Issue Three $4.95

WITH JANIE MAYER

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HomewoodLife.com 5

FEATURES

56

PLAN A PAIRING PARTY Elevate any night of the week with some girlfriends and a spread of wines and cheeses.

There’s no need to leave Homewood to pull it off either!

64

A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD The Exceptional Foundation is a game changer for a community of adults with special needs.

HOMEWOOD’S BEST WINNERS 2019 You voted. We tallied. See just who Homewood’s favorites are.

6 May/June 2019

PHOTO BY TOMMY DASPIT

70

45

56 arts & culture

19 Tailored Boho: Janie Mayer’s Jewelry Designs 26 Read This Book: Book Club Fiction Picks

schools & sports

27 The Montessori Way: 50 Years of Creative Montessori School

food

& drink

35 All About the Authenticity: The Table at Real & Rosemary 43 Five Questions For: Greenhouse Founders + Chefs 44 Five Questions For: Ruby Slipper Café Founder + CEO

home

PHOTO BY MARY FEHR

in every issue 6 Contributors 7 From the Editor 9 #HomewoodLife 11 The Question 13 The Guide 78 Chamber Connections 80 Out & About 86 Marketplace 88 My Homewood

& style

45 East Edgewood Abode: Inside the Greggs’ Home 53 At Home: Chic Table Matters 54 In Style: Summer Denim Two Ways

HomewoodLife.com 7

contributors EDITORIAL

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

CONTRIBUTORS

Jessica Clement James Culver Lindsey Culver Tommy Daspit Mary Fehr Madison Freeman Ashley Kappel Harper Nichols Melanie Peeples Jamison Skinner Lindsay Kate Skinner Elizabeth Sturgeon Lauren Ustad Courtney Wright

DESIGN

Jamie Dawkins Kate Green Connor Martin-Lively

MARKETING

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

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

Jessica Clement, Stylist

Jessica Clement has been passionate about interior design and decorating since childhood. She graduated with a degree in interior design from the University of Alabama and started her own locally based design company, JMC Studio. As an interior designer, she believes that well-designed interiors should tell the story about the people who live there and takes pride in creating aesthetically beautiful and functional spaces.

Lindsey Culver, Photographer

Originally from the Midwest, Lindsey is a photographer who lives in Homewood with her husband, Chris, and two mischievous children, Smith and Roland (along with their dachshund puppy, Sweeney Todd).

When not working as a baby and child photographer, she can be found with her hands in the dirt of her flower and vegetable garden, with a cup of coffee in hand around the clock, hosting hot tub parties for her friends and attending every local musical theater performance. Lindsey loves Homewood and getting to know more of its residents through her work with Homewood Life.

Elizabeth Sturgeon, Writer

Elizabeth Sturgeon studies English at Samford University and is graduating in May. She hopes to pursue some kind of writing profession after graduation. A Birmingham native, she’s a vegetarian living in the South and enjoys staying close to home and learning more about Birmingham. When she has time away from writing papers, Elizabeth loves drawing and watercolor painting, and she’s attempting to watch all of the classic movies she has never seen.

Courtney Wright, Stylist

Courtney Wright (@savor_style) combines her love of food and entertaining by creating custom grazing boards and styled spreads for a variety of events. At the heart of Savor Style is her desire to encourage people to gather and connect, and the belief that no occasion is too small to celebrate. Courtney is also mom to 2-year-old triplets (@southernsoiree), who constantly remind her what it means to savor each moment in the midst of chaos.

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.

8 May/June 2019

from the editor

I

ON THE COVER

I’m sitting on my front porch as I type this. It’s that delightful hot-inthe-sun, perfectly-perfect-temperature-in-the-shade weather where I park as far away from my destination as possible to allow for more time outside. The streets around me have just burst into bright green of all shades, and the birds are chirping as a light breeze passes through. As the daily five-year journal I kept for 4.5 years (I am human after all) would attest, I’m all about stopping and making note of the glories of the everyday. Of course they are always there, but let’s face it life is often so full of all the to-dos and errands and texts and irritations and complications that we often don’t see them.

Lucky for me, I also get to take note of the beauty around us here in Homewood like it’s my job (because it is), and that’s just what you’ll find in this issue. Sure, you’ve noticed the clean warmth of the décor in Real & Rosemary, but Mary Fehr got to slow down and capture the details of it for our story in this issue in a way that’s nothing short of stunning. The same story goes for the way Lindsay Kate and Jamison Skinner photographed some of Homewood’s Best winners.

You’ve likely picked up wine and cheese or other apps from your favorite Homewood stops, but I know when I do so it’s not nearly as pleasing to the eyes as the way Courtney Wright has styled for our “Plan a Pairing Party” story. I am a little obsessed with how pretty these photos turned out, and I hope your perusal of the spread leaves you with edible inspiration to incorporate into your everyday. Because if you are anything like me, there’s a lot of rosé in your future this summer, and who knew it pairs well with kettle chips?!

Perhaps my favorite part of our photos is capturing the scenes you might not see elsewhere. How many of us get to spend time watching Janie Mayer craft together funky materials into jewelry? Or tour one of the homes you pass in Edgewood daily? And even if you did, it wouldn’t look quite the same as the way our photographers get the light just right and then frame each shot with just the right frame and angle.

Photography is a craft, yes, but it’s also simply documenting what’s real right around us. I hope you enjoy slowing down to take in what’s in the pages ahead, and what’s around you as you flip through them. And as always, I welcome your ideas for what to write about in future issues, so please send them my way any time.

Happy porch season!

Designer Janie Mayer

Janie Mayer creates layers of jewelry designs using unlikely materials for her Jane Clayton line.

Photo by Lindsey Culver Design by Connor Martin-Lively

madoline.markham@homewoodlife.com

HomewoodLife.com 9

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#HomewoodLife

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

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Classic urban Timber Spotting: Red Oak down. This piece was gorgeous, but much the other pieces had rot.

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12 May/June 2019

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“ ” THE QUESTION

What one place in Homewood holds the most significant memory, or sets of memories, for you?

I lived on Devon Dr. and we played in the creek before Brookwood was built. Also Hollywood Country Club!

Dawson Memorial Baptist Church. It’s where I grew up and was baptized. I married my husband there, and it is where we are now raising our kids.

The Bell Center...Betty Bell changed the course of my triplets almost 20 years ago. It became a safe haven where her incredible staff loved on my babies.

There was a great drug store called Markels that had every kind of candy you can imagine!

Little Professor Book Center. My mom dragged me there at least once a week. I’d get a sample of Italian ice and hide the paper cups behind books. I work there now.

Lags Eatery on Broadway!

My dad and I and my brother would go there once a week for breakfast before school! A 15-yeartradition before it closed.

A cottage on St. Charles St. where my husband held my hand for the first time, where our babies came home, where we DIY remodeled for months on end.

Trinity UMC. We were married there, in laws married there. My children were baptized there (4th generation members).

Most of my husband’s family are all members.

-Bill Zarzaur

-Lindsay Cooke Johnson

-Barbara Clark

-Karen Cook Gray

-Jennifer Creel

-Victoria Limbaugh Koogler

-Taylor DiPiazza Hawthorne

-DeAnna Owen

HomewoodLife.com 13

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THE GUIDE

VULCAN BIRTHDAY BASH JUNE 2 12-4 P.M. Vulcan Park & Museum The Big Guy is turning 115, so join in for a celebration with all kinds of family fun.

Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children, or free for Vulcan Park and Museum members and children 4 and under.

HomewoodLife.com 15

THE GUIDE

WHAT TO DO IN HOMEWOOD MAY 11 Troop 97 Garage Sale, Pancake Breakfast & Silent Auction Trinity United Methodist Church 7 a.m.-12 p.m.

MAY 18-19 ACT Weekend Workshop Homewood Public Library Register Online MAY 21 Homewood Chamber Luncheon Social Media Presentation by Bell Media The Club 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

MAY 20 Homewood High School Graduation Samford University Wright Center

MAY 4

We Love Homewood Day Homewood Central Park & Edgewood It’s time for Homewood’s favorite day, so get ready to have fun with neighbors and friends. Check out the schedule below so you know what’s going on where.

• • • • • • •

10 a.m.-4 p.m.- Rides & Inflatables, $15 for unlimited wristband or purchase individual tickets 10 a.m.-4 p.m.- Vendor Expo 10 a.m.- Silent Auction 10 a.m.-1 p.m.- Homewood Rotary Club Bake Sale 1 p.m.- HHS Patriot Band Pep Rally/Concert 6 p.m.- Parade Starts at Homewood Public Library & Travels to the Edgewood Business District Parade End-9:30 p.m.- Street Dance in Edgewood

We Love Homewood Day 5K Homewood Central Park 7:30 a.m.

Make a running start on Homewood’s favorite day on this with a mostly flat course in Edgewood. Sign up at runsignup. com by May 3.

16 May/June 2019

MAY 23 Last Day of School Homewood City Schools 1:30 p.m. Dismissal MAY 24 Homewood Central & Patriot Park Pool Open for the Summer JUNE 2 Planning the Perfect Disney Vacation with Lisa Cross Homewood Public Library 3-4 p.m.

JUNE 3 OR 29 Teen ACT Prep Day Homewood Public Library JUNE 5-8 Miss Alabama Scholarship Pageant The Wright Center Samford University JUNE 6 Homewood Library Summer Storytime Magic City Sweet Ice 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

JUNE 13 Alabama Bicentennial: The Great

THE GUIDE War in the Heart of Dixie: Alabama in World War I Homewood Public Library/Adults 1-2 p.m.

JUNE 13 Ralph Breaks the Internet Movie Showing Homewood Public Library/Kids 6-7:30 p.m.

JUNE 18 Homewood Chamber Luncheon Featuring Anthony Pallotta and Erin Cuzzort, CRNP The Club 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

JUNE 20 Homewood Library Summer Storytime Urban Cookhouse 11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

JUNE 24 Aquaman Film Screening Homewood Public Library/Teens 3:30-6 p.m.

MAY 11

Motherwalk Homewood Central Park 8 a.m.

Walk to support the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation, or join in on a 1-Mile Fun Run for the same cause at 9 a.m. Register at motherwalk.com.

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 17

THE GUIDE MAY 16

Birmingham Boys Choir Concert Samford University Wright Center 7 p.m.

Come out to hear choral pieces sign young boys’ voices from a choir that’s been around for more than 50 years.

TUESDAYS

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 the first Tuesday of June through the first Tuesday of August. Learn more at westhomewood.com.

RETAIL

The Latest

Here’s the scoop at what’s new with shops and restaurants near you: •

•

•

There are two new spots to check out in Edgewood next to the new Big Spoon Creamery. Elude Nail Spa has massage chairs and serves wine in addition to its medi-pedi services, and Dear Prudence boutique is open right next door.

We are sad to see that Jackson’s closed in Soho and took its Cookie Dough Egg Rolls with them, but a new Mexican concept, Tostadas, will be making good use of that patio starting soon.

Lucky Cat Rolled Creams is now serving lunch in addition to rolled ice cream, and we are already huge fans of their pepper jelly pimiento cheese, sugar snap pea salad with herbs and marinated cherries, their toast with whipped ricotta and smashed peas, and their deviled eggs with pork dust and Cajun sparkle.

18 May/June 2019

AROUND TOWN SATURDAYS The Market at Pepper Place 8 a.m.-noon APRIL 27-MAY 12 Decorators’ ShowHouse 2019 Shuttle from Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church MAY 8-12 Regions Tradition Greystone Golf & Country Club MAY 16-20 Birmingham Barons vs.

Mississippi Regions Field MAY 18 Do Dah Day Caldwell and Rhodes Parks MAY 17-JUNE 2 Little Shop of Horrors Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret Theatre MAY 18-19 Great Southern Gun & Knife Show BJCC MAY 28-30 Birmingham Barons vs.

Montgomery Regions Field JUNE FRIDAYS & SUNDAYS Various Movies Alabama Theatre alabamatheatre.com for listings JUNE 1 SliceFest Lakeview JUNE 5 Flicks Among the Flowers: The Sandlot Birmingham Botanical Gardens Formal Gardens 6 p.m. gates, 8 p.m. movie JUNE 7-9 Symphony in the Summer

THE GUIDE Railroad Park JUNE 2-6 Birmingham Barons vs. Jackson Regions Field JUNE 7-30 Red Mountain Theatre Company Presents My Fair Lady Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre Alabama School of Fine Arts JUNE 12-16 Birmingham Barons vs.

Jacksonville Regions Field JUNE 13-30 Always…Patsy Cline Virginia Samford Theatre JUNE 15 American Heart Association Heart Walk Railroad Park

MAY 9

Lauren Denton Book Signing Little Professor Books 6-8 p.m.

Lauren Denton’s third novel Glory Road is officially out...and much of it came to life from her Homewood home. It tells the story of three generations of women navigating the uncertain pathways of their hearts during a summer that promises to bring change—whether they’re ready for it or not. Come out to meet her, get a copy of the book and hear more about how it came at one of our favorite Homewood booksellers.

MAY 30

Summer Reading Kick-Off Homewood Public Library Parking Lot 6-7:30 p.m.

Gutsy the Flying Fox will get you pumped up for reading with his acrobatic tricks. Sign up for summer reading and join in other festivities too.

Take a walk in the Parke

ShopLaneParke.com

HomewoodLife.com 19

THE GUIDE MAY 16-19

The World Goes ‘Round

Homewood Theatre at The Dance Foundation Come out to see a musical revue of the music of Kander and Ebb starring some Birmingham favorites including Kristi TingleHigginbotham, Jan Hunter, Stephen Fister and Lucas Pepke. It’s sure to be filled with humor, romance, drama and nonstop melody with hits from Cabaret to Chicago including “Mr. Cellophane,” “Maybe This Time,” “Cabaret” and “New York, New York.” Catch performances May 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. or May 19 at 2:30 p.m., and find tickets at homewoodtheatre.com.

20 May/June 2019

MAY 3

Homewood Grown Terrace of Soho Square

Celebrate all the good that goes on in Homewood schools at this annual outdoor seated dinner. You’ll also get to hear from former Auburn football player and current sports analyst Cole Cubelic and see who wins the 2019 Teacher Impact Awards. Get tickets and find more information at homewoodcityschoolsfoundation.com.

&CULTURE

ARTS

TAILORED BOHO

Janie Mayer transforms hand bags, porcupine quills and whatever else she finds into layers of jewelry.

BY ELIZABETH STURGEON PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER HomewoodLife.com 21

S

Sometimes, her work begins with a few porcupine quills. Cut down to a sharp point with ends dipped in gold, the quills become a bauble of sorts for Janie Mayer. Simple, modern, black and white striped.

Designing with natural materials like these quills, Janie’s designs are “boho, but tailored.” She balances natural, unexpected materials with bold colors and a sleek look. Although her work first took form in long beaded necklaces and her beaded bracelet “stretchies,” her jewelry-making now extends to leather, feather and chain styles.

After branding her designs Inspirations by Janie for 16 years, she recently renamed her company Jane Clayton as a tribute to the artistic heart of her family. Both her mother and grandmother were interior designers in Birmingham, always inspiring

22 May/June 2019

Janie Mayer’s newly renamed Jane Clayton line of jewelry comes from her grandparents’ names.

her. “Some of my sweetest memories are their oneof-a-kind, hand-picked items for clients—shelves lined with designer books, rolls of fabrics resting in a corner, rainbows of paint swatches,” she says. “As long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by design.” So, with “Jane” for her grandmother and “Clayton” for her father who helped bring her mom’s creative ideas to life, her name was reborn.

Wearing her own tower of beads on her wrist and fuchsia leather earrings, Janie says she was always inspired by her mother’s taste too. “She wore so much jewelry, but it worked. She would wear it up her arm,” she says. “And I may not have liked something I made, but she would love it and wear it forever. And it would look good.”

Janie also studied interior design, but she’s been

HomewoodLife.com 23

A FAMILY AFFAIR One of Janie’s favorite parts of her job

is how it allows to always put her family

first. “With my stage in life, it’s nice that I can work a bit, or work all night, and then be with them. If we go on a trip,

then I can take everything with me,” she

says. Sometimes, when she’s lucky, they’ll help her make the pieces. When she was making a lot of coin-based jewelry, she

remembers her husband, Dave, drilling

holes into the foreign coins so Janie could repurpose them. And her daughters,

15-year-old Chloe and 11-year-old Lola,

seem to think her job is pretty cool. “They both think it’s fun. A lot of their friends

will wear my jewelry too,” Janie says. Just like her love for design began with her

mother and grandmother, it still always goes back to family for her.

24 May/June 2019

channeling that creative energy into jewelry since her first shows years ago.

After moving around the South, after getting married and welcoming her two daughters, she’s always stuck with making jewelry, though her designs move with the trends.

Right now, Janie’s into making leather cuffs. “I’ll have a huge zebra hide out on the floor, just cutting it up,” she says. “Or, I just find old Louis Vuitton bags that people don’t want to send back to get redone, and I cut them up and make cuffs with them.” She’s never been into brand-name, designer bags, so she just turns the old into something brand new.

She might even pick up some snakeskin and incorporate its natural

beauty into her work. “I call it upcycled, repurposed, a lot of those words. It’s just taking things you wouldn’t think to use and making something with them,” Janie says. Recently, she’s brought in more natural products than she ever imagined. “I never thought I would want to touch a porcupine quill, much less snake. It’s funny that they’re some of my favorite things to work with.”

Another element of Janie’s jewelry is layering, just like she does with the pieces she wears. Using gold with silver or colors and neutrals, you can stack beaded bracelets and string multiple necklaces together. “I love layers and layers and layers of jewelry.

I play with a lot of chains and mixing

Janie likes to use feathers and other outside-of-the-box materials for her jewelry designs.

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HomewoodLife.com 25

Please Reply Stationery ~ Gifts ~ Invitations

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metals. And I’ll mix in an old belt buckle sometimes,” she says.

The way Janie’s jewelry so easily matches with other pieces makes it fit so well with a tight-knit community of Homewood makers. “I love seeing people wear something of mine with someone else’s. Everybody seems to support each other,” she says. “I love the small community feel.”

Even if you don’t know Janie for her jewelry, you’ve definitely seen her out around Halloween in the Homewood Witches Ride, maybe even leading the charge of bikes. Tying her even closer to the Homewood community, Janie organized the first witch ride with Daphne Dickinson in 2013 in honor of her mother who passed away earlier that year from a rare lung cancer.

And Homewood pulled through big. “People thought it sounded like so much fun and they wanted to come. Without even meaning for it to be a fundraiser, they all showed up, just from word of mouth,” Janie says. From her jewelry making to the ride, the things she starts in Homewood just seem to keep getting bigger and bigger. “And the community’s the reason,” she says.

To learn more about Janie’s work, follow @janeclaytonhandmade on Instagram and Facebook.

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READ THIS BOOK

(Mostly) Fiction Picks Recommendations from

A Book Club Near You

After a chance thread on a What’s Happening in Homewood Facebook page, Sarah Cole, Sarah Cain, Emelie Sara Vines, Amanda Marcrum and Mia Toole have been meeting together as a book club for just over a year. They’ve become fast friends and enjoy a glass of wine and a good book. Here are some titles that they’ve enjoyed.

The Girl in the Red Coat

By Kate Hamer This novel follows the lives of a mother, Beth, and her daughter, Carmel, as Carmel is abducted by a man claiming to be her grandfather. The book alternates between Beth and Carmel’s points of view and comes with a reading group guide that may help guide conversation in your book club. One caution: If you’re looking for neat and tidy endings, this book isn’t for you.

What Alice Forgot

By Liane Moriarty This book is a fun take on self-discovery. Alice awakens on the floor of a gym to discover that she’s lost a decade of her life—and her bright and shiny new marriage is now in the process of divorce, in what feels like the blink of an eye. Alice has to figure out what went wrong and decide how to be true to herself, whoever that might be.

When Breath Becomes Air

By Paul Kalanithi This incredible memoir marks Paul’s diagnosis of stage IV lung cancer right as he’s completing 10 years’ worth of work to become a neurosurgeon. He battles with what it means to truly live in this life and what makes life meaningful. This is a powerfully moving, beautifully written story that gets at the humanity inside us all—trying to figure out what the meaning of this life is.

The Last Mrs. Parrish

By Liv Constantine This novel follows the manipulation of Amber Patterson as she seeks to make the married Mr. Parrish her own.

However, it may not be the life she thinks she’s after. Who wins out in the end—the old Mrs. Parrish or the new?

Scribe

By Alyson Hagy In our group’s newest pick, Hagy imagines a brutal civil war that tears apart the country and a new disease is wiping out the population. Survival is uncertain in this new world and difficult to know who to trust. We’re excited to continue reading!

28 May/June 2019

SCHOOL

&SPORTS

THE MONTESSORI WAY Creative Montessori was the first of its kind when it started 50 years ago, and its heart remains the same.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY JENNIFER ALSABROOK-TURNER HomewoodLife.com 29

T

Terra Mortensen didn’t know anything about the Montessori philosophy when she first walked into Creative Montessori School eight years ago. A friend of hers had attended the school in its early years and had no question that she’d send her own kids there, so she suggested Terra check it out for her then-preschooler. “The first thing I noticed was the diversity,” Terra recalls. “There were Muslim kids and Jewish kids and black kids and Asian kids. Also, I noticed the warmth. Everything seemed really small and personal. I saw teachers sitting on the floor with kids and wearing comfortable clothes.”

30 May/June 2019

As soon as her son started kindergarten at the school he cried in the afternoon because he didn’t want to go home from school, and she quickly learned his peers were doing the same thing. In first grade her son asked why he didn’t stay for after care, and when she explained that she didn’t work, he asked her to get a job so he could stay longer.

Today that first grader attends the Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, and although he’s receiving traditional letter grades for the first time, Terra says he entered academically beyond the standards.

But she wasn’t always sure of her son’s education path. “In kindergarten, he had no interest in reading, and I was worried about him,” Terra says.

“The teacher said he would catch up when he was ready, and by the Christmas of first grade he was starting to read out of nowhere and it snowballed.

By the end of the year he was reading above the level of his public-school peers. The beauty of the Montessori philosophy is that students are allowed to learn at their own pace. Then the same thing happened with my daughter, and I didn’t worry about it that time.”

FROM THE START The learn-at-your-own-pace philosophy is the same one the school has upheld for the past 50 years since Barbara R. Spitzer started Creative Montessori with she calls a “selfish” motive. She and her husband had moved to Birmingham from the New York area in the 1960s and couldn’t find a quality licensed day care to send their two children to. So she started her own preschool with a newly minted training for Montessori education she got back in New York.

In 1968, the school started with 18 students,

mainly children of parents who worked at UAB and had come from a different state and were already familiar with Montessori education. They met in the Unitarian Church that was in Mountain Brook at the time. As the school grew to 52 children the next year and 80-something the year after that,

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HomewoodLife.com 31

Barbara began to rent out space in more churches, even after she started an elementary arm of the school in 1971. At one point CMS was located in four different church buildings before they bought the Homewood campus in the late 1980s where they are located now.

More and more, the idea began spreading. “At first I think people thought I was Communist or eccentric, and that didn’t bother me because I knew it was a good education,” Barbara says. “I knew fractions before I took the (Montessori) training, but with concrete materials you can see what is happening and the reason behind it.” The beauty of it, Barbara says, is that each child can go at their own pace. “One child might be more advanced and can progress at their own rate, but they might be at their grade level for other grades.”

Also in keeping with the philosophy of founder Maria Montessori, Barbara wanted her school to include everyone, and that’s how hers became the

first integrated private school in the city. “When Birmingham wasn’t so much wanting integration, Mayor Richard Arrington took me into black churches to present the (Montessori) philosophy, and I had two little black girls who enrolled,” she recalls. “One parent said, ‘I knew you were going to integrate, but I didn’t know you were going to do that with that many students.’”

Over the years Barbara taught in the classroom too. In the late 1980s she decided to draw on the Latin she’d taken in high school and college and start teaching the language to fourth through sixth graders at the school (although today all students preschool and older take French classes). Then in the late 1990s she introduced a toddler program for ages 18 months to 2.5 years to the school for the first time after training for it in London—and she was the classroom teacher for it too. “I loved the toddlers,” she says. “We planted a garden, and one little toddler who would come early and we’d pick

Founder Barbara R. Spitzer

CREATIVE MONTESSORI THROUGH THE YEARS 2015 1988

Elementary classes are

CMS moves to its current

building on the new

added to the school.

campus in Homewood.

Homewood campus.

Ground breaks for a new

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

Q

1971

1968

1982

2005

2018

Barbara R. Spitzer founds a

The school’s name becomes

Barbara Spitzer retires.

New middle school grades are

Montessori preschool.

Creative Montessori School.

32 May/June 2019

added to the school.

Q

CMS parents often credit the school with developing a desire to learn in their children.

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Creative Montessori is celebrating its 50th anniversary from its Homewood campus.

from the garden. To this day she loves cucumbers, and now she’s 20 years old.”

Although she retired in 2005, Barbara remains a board member and comes back to the CMS campus for big events and graduation. Each year she wears a tie dye T-shirt students made for her in the ’70s and is always eager to hear the students’ speeches about what they liked best about CMS. A BLOSSOMING CAMPUS By the time Terra’s kids started at CMS, though, the exterior of CMS didn’t match what she saw inside the classrooms. “When we first came, you had to overlook the preschool building and just look at the classrooms, which were warm and comfortable,” she says. “But the building itself was falling down and leaked.”

The building was designed in the 1950s to be the headquarters for HOAR construction. “We knew what was going on inside the building was priceless, 34 May/June 2019

and we wanted an environment that reflected the high quality going on inside the classroom,” says Brook Coleman, past CMS board president and the parent of three former students.

Working with architect and past parent Jay Pigford of ArchitectureWorks, a strategic planning process began. A team of parents worked with students, parents, teachers and community leaders to best understand what the school wanted and needed in a building. As a result, the school launched a capital campaign that raised over $3 million for campus renovations. When the preschool building was complete, each new classroom offered access to the outdoors, a lot of natural daylight, and its own bathroom so students don’t have to be interrupted from their work for another student to go use it. A few beloved oak trees from around the campus had to be removed but were repurposed to become paneling and ceilings and benches in the new building. “(The campus) blossomed into what it is now,

which feels like what it was always meant to be,” Terra says. “It’s a light and airy space that maintains the warmth of the classrooms.”

Around the same time, the City of Homewood took note too and renamed the school’s street Montessori Way, and the school also became a full member of the American Montessori Society.

It couldn’t be more fitting that the new building was named for Barbara R. Spitzer herself. “She had a vision for something people in Birmingham didn’t realize they needed,” Brooke says. “Her commitment to the Montessori education is embodied in that building. The world changes, technology changes, but the way children learn doesn’t change. That’s why Montessori works.”

Brooke is quick to testify to why as she looks at her children today. Her oldest is a freshman at Yale University and the younger two are at The Altamont School. “Because they had had teachers that really knew them and trusted them, when they got to Altamont they had no problem reaching out to a teacher for support,” Brooke says. “With the breadth of the Montessori education, they had been exposed to so much art and science and geography and to the world in a way that made them receptive to that (new) environment.”

But perhaps more than anything CMS taught them “that they have the capacity within them to learn as opposed to looking to others to supply their learning,” Brooke says. “The muscle of their interior motivation is strengthened by Montessori. They have a genuine love of learning.”

Now a new set of families is developing a love of learning at CMS just like Brooke’s kids did. Take for

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classroom, and it’s neat to see a family dynamic where they all interact together.”

Today CMS Director Greg Smith leads a school of 250 kids from 20 different zip codes who drive to their campus in the heart of Homewood every day. (We’d be remiss not to mention that Greg lives in Homewood, was an intern at Hall-Kent Elementary when he began his career, has kids who attend Homewood City Schools and still connects regularly with the Homewood Board of Education.)

This year CMS has added a example Katherine and Adam Thrower, who moved seventh grade and next year will add an eighth to Edgewood to be closer to the school after their grade, but mostly, Greg says, his job is to continue now fourth-grader started at CMS in kindergarten. the legacy of education that began 50 years ago. “I “Since it’s small enough you see preschoolers admire Barbara immensely and her being open and through eighth grade interact well with each other, inclusive when it was unheard of in Birmingham for and older kids mentor the younger kids,” Katherine a quality preschool education. Our jobs are to says. “They get excited about going to younger kids’ uphold that standard.”

36 May/June 2019

&DRINK

FOOD

ALL ABOUT THE AUTHENTICITY Real & Rosemary came from a dream of getting dinner on the table, with real ingredients.

BY ASHLEY KAPPEL PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR HomewoodLife.com 37

E

Everything about Jennifer Mims oozes authenticity. She’s friendly with her staff, immersed in her menu and a pleasure to talk to. If you ask her what on earth she was thinking opening a restaurant in Homewood three years ago when there were already a number of fresh new places arriving on the scene, she’ll smile calmly and tell you, “Balance.”

Jennifer had regularly seen parents struggling to get dinner on the table, struggling to dine out as a family, struggling to find great food choices for

38 May/June 2019

themselves and their children at the same location, and she just knew. That’s why she opened Real & Rosemary, a restaurant focused on fresh, local ingredients served in non-fussy styles. “There’s a great need to serve families,” she says. “We’re feeding everyone from young professors to students to family dinners to girls’ nights.”

It’s located in the former Shield’s dry cleaners location on the corner of 29th Avenue South and 19th Place South in downtown Homewood. The previous owners had run a successful family

THE BREAK DOWN WITH JENNIFER MIMS Favorite Thing about

Homewood: “It’s such a

community, and one that’s really embraced us.”

Favorite Real & Rosemary Side Dish: “The Heirloom Tomato

Salad in the summer, and the

shaved brussels sprouts in the winter.”

Favorite Family Outing: “Central Park. We make friends there every time we go!”

Best Coffee: “I own Caveat

Coffee, but even if I didn’t, I love the pick-up window and events

we do there. I love getting a chai tea latte with oat milk.”

HomewoodLife.com 39

“

Good food is an experience.

–Jennifer Mims

”

The Garden Plate with Slaw, Green Peas, Charred Carrots with Thyme and a Corn Polenta Cake.

business for 100 years, but then the building sat vacant from 2008 until 2016, when Real & Rosemary opened. In the renovation process, they were able to save the original concrete floors, full of holes from the previous businesses’ equipment, and store them. When Jennifer found a fabric that matched the floors’ design perfectly, she knew she had to use it on the restaurant’s bench seating.

Jennifer’s attention to detail flows through the building, from the light fixtures to the menu, which 40 May/June 2019

rotates seasonally. “We have such great produce in Alabama,” says Jennifer, who grew up going to the farmers’ market in Clanton with her family. “We went out of necessity,” she says, “but it was also the best produce around!” Jennifer stays true to that love of fresh veggies by serving up seasonal favorites like the heirloom tomato salad in summer and a shaved brussels sprouts side in the winter.

“Our customers love the brussels sprouts,” she says. “I keep them on the menu as long as I possibly

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HomewoodLife.com 41

STRIKE A POSE The graphic wall that features shades of pink and green on the patio was there when Jennifer moved in. “We uncovered the wall and knew we had to keep it,” she says. “Everyone asks who painted my mural!” The wall is the most Instragrammed spot in the Homewood restaurant.

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42 May/June 2019

can.” The restaurant also offers a full bar, making it one of the few restaurants that you can enjoy a truly home cooked meal with your favorite cocktail.

“Good food is an experience,” says Jennifer, and one she aims to serve up to everyone who enters Real & Rosemary.

“When you cook with real food, use good ingredients and treat them well, you can accommodate a lot of health restrictions.”

HomewoodLife.com 43

And if you can’t manage to make it in, the staff can help with that, too. “You can order online, pay online, and we’ll bring it out to your car,” Jennifer says. The same goes for their Tuscaloosa location that opened in August 2018, where students can get basically a mom-cooked meal to go any time.

What started out as a dream of helping families and working moms find balance in the battle of

44 May/June 2019

getting dinner on the table is now a bustling business that feeds Jennifer in more ways than one. “When I started the restaurant, my goal was to never cook dinner again, at least not at home,” she says, laughing. And now the local low-key hot spot for lingering dinners over plates of freshly cooked veggies and clean meats, serves more than the stomach—it feeds the soul.

5

FOOD & DRINK

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Mary Claire and Bray Britton Greenhouse Founders + Chefs PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Mary Claire and Bray Britton know what it’s like to work in the best kitchens in Birmingham, Atlanta and New York City.

They also know what it’s like to parent three kids age 5 and under in Edgewood, and that’s just where they are bringing a new fast-casual restaurant under Three15 Studio in Edgewood Station. “It’s exactly what we want in Homewood, so we hope it’s what other people want too,” Mary Claire says. We chatted with Mary Claire about what she and Bray have been dreaming up for the space when it opens in May. Can you tell us some about your backgrounds in food?

Bray went to Auburn and started working at Bottega after graduation, and then went to Highlands Bar & Grill. He worked at Dyron’s Lowcountry for a short time, which is where he and I met, and then he helped open El Barrio and Paramount. He was the sous chef at both and was the chef at Paramount until March.

After college I moved to New York and took barista a position that turned out to be a morning baker position, and I loved it. I also worked for Danny Meyer at Union Square Café while I was in New York. After culinary school in Atlanta, I worked at Blue Ridge Grill and Bacchanalia/Star Provisions, and was the pastry chef and kitchen manager at Bake Shop. In Birmingham, I also worked at Bettola and had a macaron stand at Pepper Place. After our second baby was born, I started food styling and recipe developing for Hoffman Media and then for Southern Living/Meredith.

Bray and I have been plotting out this concept pretty much from the day we met. We are not a health food joint; we just have great health food options, ridiculous cookies, frosé, slushies, all kinds of fun stuff. It also tastes bananas delicious. It’s a reflection of the way we feed our family. We try to get in as many colors as we can, and we drink a lot of smoothies at our house. We want to fuel people so they can be their best selves.

Can you talk some about what’s going to be on the menu?

We have several soups developed, and a couple of really good, unique sandwiches and several really good salads. We’ve developed this super cool salad with baby kale and wild greens, pea shoots, edamame, cashews, pickled carrots, tofu and a gochuchang (red chili paste) vinaigrette. We have been playing with different proteins and weird croutons—it’s not standard salad fare and will excite your palate. For breakfast we’ll have good muffins you can grab, or a smoothie or a granola bar.

For kids, we’ll have a kids grilled Where did the idea for Greenhouse cheese, and lean proteins like grilled come from?

chicken tenders or fish. We make a Rainbow Salad at home with beans, peppers, tomatoes, and corn with herbs that we toss in a light vinaigrette. Our kids eat it—and our kids are picky. That will be a side and on the kids menu, along with fruit and veggies.

What’s this cookie you speak of?

Our Ridiculous Cookie is probably the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. I have been working on this recipe for the past three years to get it exactly right. So far we have a chocolate chip walnut and an oatmeal raisin. I think the afterschool crowd will really enjoy that along with the slushies, which will be all fruit and all natural blended with ice in small batches that will be fresh week to week.

Can you speak more about what makes Greenhouse so green?

Right now we are painting it white and “Greenhouse” green. We will put shelving up packed full of plants. We are using local farms for all our produce. We will recycle and try to be as green as possible.

We are doing our best to be as environmentally friendly as we can.

HomewoodLife.com 45

FOOD & DRINK

5

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR

Jennifer Weishaupt

Jennifer Weishaupt Ruby Sunshine Founder + CEO PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Jennifer and Erich Weishaupt started Ruby Slipper Café as a neighborhood restaurant in post-Katrina New Orleans, and while their menu has a Creole flare no matter the location, they all have the spirit of the neighborhood they are in. The new Edgewood location slated to open this summer hits extra close to home too, since Erich grew up in Selma and went to Auburn University—and has friends nearby who helped them scout of the old bartaco location as just the right spot for all-day, New Orleans-style brunch. Here’s what Jennifer had to say about it all.

Can you tell us the back story on your original restaurant, Ruby Slipper Café?

Our neighborhood in New Orleans got flooded in Hurricane Katrina, and after we moved back we were really focused on rebuilding the neighborhood. Our neighbors ended up buying a commercial building that was a corner store, and we had always told them they should try to put a breakfast restaurant in because we wanted to drink coffee and eat breakfast.

They asked us if we wanted to open that restaurant. We are both engineers so running a restaurant was not in our wheelhouse, but we did.

restaurants in 10 years, and this year we are going to open five restaurants as Ruby Sunshine. Conceptually it is identical to Ruby Slipper, our Gulf coast brand.

Where did the name come from?

When we were building the first restaurant, I had the vision of the red high heeled slipper with the egg as the buckle and the sunshine behind it. In the summer after Katrina I was listening to a local jazz radio station, and the DJ was talking about how her daughter spent her school year in Houston and told her friends when she came home, “I learned I grew up in Oz and everywhere else is Kansas.” To me it embodies this sense of And then what happened?

It took off far beyond our wildest homecoming so many of us felt but I dreams. Three to six months into couldn’t quite put the words on. I thought business we had 30- to 60-minute waits it was the perfect embodiment of the on the weekends. About a year into it, we spirit of New Orleans. opened another one and then another and then a fourth in 2014. Then we What should we order for breakfast?

We are well known for our benedicts decided to see if brunch all day and that come on our house-made buttermilk cocktails would work in other places. We opened a location in Pensacola, and the biscuits. Our Peacemaker is a mix and people really embraced it. We opened 11 match of our Eggs Coshon, which is 46 May/June 2019

apple-braised pulled pork with hollandaise (pictured above), with a Chicken St Charles, which has fried chicken with tasso cream sauce. For people who like sweets, try our Bananas Foster Pain Perdu French Toast. We take things that exist in other mealtimes and say, “How do we turn this into a breakfast or brunch dish and give it our Creole influences?”

What else is on the menu?

Our all-day menu has traditional lunch offerings and basic breakfast items, along with our elevated brunch items.

Our Fried Chicken Sandwich is really delicious, and our burger with pig candied bacon is savory and sweet. We use a local coffee roaster in New Orleans called French Truck, and we have coffeebased cocktails, iced coffee and espressobased drinks. We have five different mimosa offerings and three different Bloody Marys that have won awards, and a morning margarita. For our Bacon Bloody Mary, we house infuse the vodka with bacon, and we make our own fresh spice mix we mix with tomato juice.

&STYLE

HOME

EAST EDGEWOOD ABODE The Greggs found the home design and décor they’d envisioned without looking far from home.

BY MADOLINE MARKHAM PHOTOS BY TOMMY DASPIT HomewoodLife.com 47

F

For decades Janet and Michael Gregg lived in Vestavia Hills. It’s where they raised their kids and made countless memories. But then they downsized to a Hallman Hill condo in downtown Homewood a decade ago. “We think we can find anything we need in Homewood,” Janet says.

“We really enjoy shopping and dining close to home.”

But after nine years of condo living, the Greggs missed having a yard, and with a granddaughter living just a few streets away, they wanted more space for her to play when she came over. And so with the help of realtor Misty Joseph, they found a 1928 cottage on East Edgewood Drive—what they consider “the best street in Homewood” with its wide sidewalks on both sides of the road and close proximity to Homewood Central Park. Their original intention was to renovate it, but after meeting with an engineer and inspector, they decided the better option was to build a new home on the deep lot they’d come to love.

Janet and Michael envisioned an open, one-level plan with a warm, homey feel inside, and Misty connected them with Willow Homes to bring those ideas to life. “Willow seemed to pick up our story really fast and provided a lot of good direction,” Michael says. Together they finalized plans for a three-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot space. Janet

48 May/June 2019

and Michael brought ideas for a brick kitchen backsplash, shiplap and other details to the table, while Willow suggested a brick floor laundry room and ideas for lights and finishes. They were even able to save some door knobs from the original home and put them on some of the new house’s interior doors with assistance from Brandino Brass to repair them. The result, the Greggs say, is exactly what they wanted.

The white brick home’s 10-foot ceilings and elevated roof achieve a scale that fits in well with other two-story homes on East Edgewood. And they are still able to walk around Edgewood and to the shops where they like to select the furnishings that now give their home personality, just like they’d come to love doing at Hallman Hill.

Their granddaughter, 3-year-old Rory, comes over several days a week and often spends the night. She likes to blow bubbles and run in the backyard and to play in her very own room in the house.

A year after they moved in, Janet and Michael have hung “happy” string lights in the trees of the backyard and are planning an outdoor get together on their back patio clad in brick pavers. And that sounds like a dream come to life.

Living Room When Janet and Michael first moved to Hallman Hill, they purchased the “Rain Tree� painting from Four Seasons Gallery that now hangs on their brick and shiplap fireplace

HomewoodLife.com 49

Kitchen Janet wanted a brick wall backsplash like one she’d seen in a magazine to anchor the kitchen design along with a large island and large pantry. The kitchen also boasts lower drawers instead of cabinets, Taj Mahal quartzite countertops with tan and grey veins, and small glass cabinet doors up high that interior designer Allison Hallman is especially proud of. The open shelving displays a set of copper Revere Cookware Janet’s aunt gave her one piece a year from a Revere factory in Oneonta where her aunt lived.

205-447-3275 • cezelle@realtysouth.com

50 May/June 2019

E ION E TE R S U EMORIAL F IS L A M + S D AY AT N A A AMERICAN VILLAGE ER T Please join us on this day of VE remembrance for those who served

M

D

and sacrificed for liberty.

• Gates open at 10 a.m. • • Veterans Salute at 11 a.m. • • Wreath Laying • • Family-friendly activities • • Onsite food trucks • (pizza, ice cream, Coca-Cola, shaved ice, and more!)

Volunteers will be available to assist you in filling out your Veterans Register of Honor paperwork

Include the veterans in your family in the Register of Honor:

WWW.VETERANSREGISTEROFHONOR.COM WWW.AMERICANVILLAGE.ORG

Dining Room The Greggs brought their dining room chandelier with them from their Hallman Hill condo, a European antique the condo’s previous owner who had owned an antique shop had left behind. Behind it hangs a textured sunflower painting by Santa Rosa, Florida-based artist Justin Gaffrey who uses spoons to sculpt his work along with heavy acrylic.

HomewoodLife.com 51

Front Porch Neighbors often recognize the Gregg home as the house with the purple Adirondack chairs, which their son and daughter-in-law painted for them.

52 May/June 2019

Master Bathroom The Greggs’ bathroom cabinets echo the ones in their kitchen but with more ornate cabinet pulls in the same family and two tall, dramatic mirrors on the 10-foot wall. Between the mirrors hangs a piece of art from Four Seasons Gallery that both Janet and Michael had liked in the store. When Janet went to buy it for Michael as a gift, the store told her Michael had already bought it for her.

HomewoodLife.com 53

May 18–19 Oak Mountain State Park Pelham, AL

OFF ROAD TRIATHLON & TRAIL RUNNING

Powder Room The Greggs bought a chest at Stock & Trade before their house was built but weren’t sure where they’d put it. They ended up having it reworked to serve as a base for the vanity sink, and designer Allison Hallman with Willow Design Studios helped pick out a mirror to go above it.

BEHIND THE SCENES Tile & Countertops: Jonathan Lambert, Triton Stone Door and Cabinet Hardware: Jesse Isom, Brandino Brass

Construction: Jason Hale & Chuck Vann, Willow Homes

Interior Design: Allison Hallman, Willow Design Studios Countertops: Triton Stone Group

Lighting: Mayer Electric, At Home,

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Willow Design Studios

Select Furnishings & Décor: Stock & Trade, Three Sheets, At Home

Select Art & Décor: Four Seasons Gallery, Homewood Antiques, Liz Lane Gallery, Art Alley, Justin Gaffrey Gallery (Santa Rosa Beach, Florida)

54 May/June 2019

AT HOME

Chic Table Matters Photo & Text by Jessica Clement of JMC Studio

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7 6

8

2

3

10

A beautifully styled table can elevate any event. To create a chic, effortless tablescape, imagine your table as a blank canvas with endless design possibilities. Begin by choosing a theme, style or color palette. Then, play with the contrast of colors and materials. For example, combining glam with rustic will create balance and add depth.

Include natural organic layers like fruit, flowers or greenery to the table.

Once it’s all in place, enjoy your company and the conversation!

4 5 9

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

1. Rattan Placemat-At Home Furnishings, $10. 2. Embroidered Napkin in Sand- At Home Furnishings, $15. 3. Stone Coaster with Gold Trim- At Home Furnishings, $12. 4. Small Succulent in Cement Pot- At Home Furnishings, $5. 5. Artificial Paddle Plant- At Home Furnishings, $13. 6. Organic White Dinner Plate with Gold Trim- Domicile, $62. 7. Ant Sculpture-Domicile, $21. 8. Lilac Ceramic CupsDomicile, $39/set. 9. Smoke Glass Vases- Domicile, $23-$30. 10. Hand-Woven Coasters in Pink-Domicile, $29/set of 4.

HomewoodLife.com 55

IN STYLE

SUMMER DENIMS

BY MADISON FREEMAN | PHOTOS BY LAUREN USTAD

TWO WAYS 1. YELLOW BUTTON UP TIE TOP Add a pop of color to your summer outfits like with this laid-back top.

Ambiance | 54.99

1

2. DENIM SHORTS Jean tie shorts are making a comeback from the ‘80s.

Ambiance | $47.99

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3. STRAW CIRCLE PURSE This statement piece from last summer is still in full force.

Fab’rik | $72

4. IVORY DOLCE VITA FLATS These neutral flats go with literally everything.

Soca | $100.

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5. AVIATOR SUNGLASSES

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Statement shades are the perfect accessory for all your summer outfits.

Fab’rik | $15+

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

56 May/June 2019

1. OVERALL DENIM DRESS You can wear this dress all summer and then add a warmer shirt to transition into the fall months too.

Ambiance l $44.99

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2. WHITE POLKA SMOCKED TOP Pair this off-the-shoulder top with overalls, shorts or white jeans.

Ambiance | $46.99

3. BLACK STRAW SHOULDER PURSE

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This twist on the popular straw bag completes this casual look.

Fab’rik | $50.

4. SABRINA STRAP HILL SANDAL Wear these sandals all day, from work and to a night out.

Soca | $124

5

5. CHEETAH/BLACK FRAME SUNGLASSES Fun up any summer look with these cheetah frames.

Fab’rik | $15+

3 4

SUMMER MUST HAVES 1. GOLD FOLD BRACELET Fab’rik | $22

2. STRAW CIRCLE DANGLE EARRINGS

3

1

3

Fab’rik | $22

3. WOOD AND GOLD STATEMENT EARRINGS Fab’rik | $16

2 HomewoodLife.com 57

Plan a Pairing Party

Jennife r’s Kitc Rosema hen ry Pepp er Chee se + Saint Cotes-d Cosme u-Rhon e 58 May/June 2019

s uP ff r om Noi o r ush Pinot M ’s hee c a M Bans y e l + Ash

Bla ck + M Peppe ira r Ke bel tt le le C Bru hi t R ps ose

Ricot Real & R ta Di o p + B semary Hone ucci y Verd icchi o

Elevate any night of the week with some girlfriends and a spread of wines and cheeses. There’s no need to leave Homewood to pull it off either!

WRITTEN & PRODUCED BY COURTNEY WRIGHT PHOTOS BY MARY FEHR HomewoodLife.com 59

Rosemary Pepper Cheese

Pair Pepper Jelly + Cotes-du-Rhone

Elevate the pepper jelly + cream cheese combo with feta, honey, rosemary and pepper in this recipe using Jennifer’s Kitchen Pepper Jelly, here paired with a spicy, fruit-forward Cotes-du-Rhone.

Jennifer Lee, who is behind the pepper jelly brand, calls Homewood home.

Recipe from Jennifer’s Kitchen 8 ounces package cream cheese, softened 3 ounces feta cheese (crumbled is fine) 2 tsp. honey 1 tsp. ground black pepper 1 tsp. finely chopped rosemary 1/2 cup Jennifer’s Kitchen Strawberry Pepper Jelly Allow cream cheese to soften. Finely chop rosemary. Blend all ingredients except pepper jelly. (I found the cheeses blend easiest in my mixer with the bread beater.)

Roll cheese mixture in wax paper, gently squeezing out from center. Be careful not to puncture paper. Fold over top edge to seal in cheese, and then twist end to tie off. Chill for 2 hours.

Place the cheese on your favorite serving tray or board with some crackers. Spoon pepper jelly over the top.

60 May/June 2019

Grazing Board Goods • • • •

Belle Chevre Pimiento Goat Cheese - Piggly Wiggly Homewood Black Pepper Pecorino - Piggly Wiggly Homewood Local Honey - Alabama Goods Fresh Rosemary - Sweet Pea’s Garden Shop

Grazing Board Building 101 I’m a big believer in spending time around the table, and I love how grazing boards invite people to gather and connect. I definitely have my favorites when building a board, but I always start with at least three cheeses: something soft like a creamy brie, an aged cheddar (always a crowd pleaser), and something interesting like a truffled gouda or black pepper pecorino. I’ll use my cheeses to “anchor” the board, followed by anything that will be served in a small bowl or jar (think honey, olives or even a spread like pimiento cheese or hummus). Then it’s time to fill in with the other goodies: a mix of cured meats (faves include prosciutto and capicola), fresh and dried fruit, nuts, olives, pickles, preserves, honey, a variety of crackers and fresh bread. Finish it off with fresh herbs and flower buds for color and texture. Find more grazing board tips and inspiration on my Instagram account @savor_style.

HomewoodLife.com 61

Pair a Creamy Dip + Crisp White Wine 62 May/June 2019

This Honey Ricotta Dip from Real & Rosemary is perfect with a crisp white wine.

The acidity cuts through the richness of the ricotta, while the honey drizzled on top adds just the right amount of sweetness.

Thank you Mountain Brook Magazine readers for voting me Best Real Estate Agent in Mountain Brook.

Pair Chips + Bubbles Sparkling wine is super versatile, but it especially loves salt and fat, making these addictive chips the perfect snack to enjoy with our favorite Brut Rose. You could also serve it with a heartier app like the spicy Kadoma Tuna from Jinsei (order it to-go).

Pair Mushrooms + Pinot Noir These mushroom puffs, one of our go-to apps from Ashley Mac’s, are a natural pairing with an earthy Pinot Noir.

HomewoodLife.com 63

Special thanks to Susan Gordon (Susan Gordon Pottery) and Carrie Taylor (Carrie Taylor Architect) for modeling and Mary Katherine Russell (LivLuxe Designs) for letting us use her kitchen and home for this photo shoot.

64 May/June 2019

Party Shopping List Classic Wine Co. -Wines + wine selection advice Homewood Piggly Wiggly -Wines + wine selection advice -Cheeses of your choosing -Chips and crackers -Other cheese board food items

281 rele street, birmingham • amanogifts.com

Ashley Mac’s -Frozen or refrigerated appetizers Market Table -Jennifer’s Kitchen Pepper Jelly -More wine (if needed) Alabama Goods -Local honeys -Other locally made snack items Your Favorite Restaurants -Appetizers to-go (Plan to call ahead.)

voted mountain brook’s best storeobjects for giftsfor 2018 & 2019 considered an artful life.

Sourcing Notes Because it all came from right here in Homewood!

Bucci Verdicchio + Saint Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone: Classic Wine Co. Mirabelle Brut Rose + Banshee Pinot Noir: Homewood Piggly Wiggly Serving Plates + Bowls: Susan Gordon Pottery Serving Platter: Beatriz Ball, Vida Collection, At Home Furnishings Glassware: Zodax, Fez Collection, At Home Furnishings Brass Spoons + Cheese Knives: Creative Co-op, At Home Furnishings HomewoodLife.com 65

66 May/June 2019

A Level Playing Field WRITTEN BY MELANIE PEEPLES PHOTOS BY LINDSEY CULVER

On any given day, 197 men and women walk through the front doors of The Exceptional Foundation, excited about another day of playing sports, creating art, or just hanging out with their friends.

Once upon a time, they would not have been here. Once upon a time, they would have been sitting around in an institution— many of them since birth.

But then society evolved, and schools began accepting those with mental challenges into their classrooms. Which was great, but still the students with special needs were all grouped together in one classroom.

Then came inclusion. Which was also great—putting those with special needs into the same classrooms as typicalfunctioning kids. People realized those with special needs are capable of doing so

much more than many had previously imagined. But there, sitting next to their classmates at lunch, the kids with special needs heard about what other kids and teenagers their ages were doing. They might not have said much, but they heard it. And according to Tricia Kirk, the president and CEO of The Exceptional Foundation, they wanted in on that life, too.

“Just because they were not going to necessarily be a doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief, they DO want to play the Wii game.

They DO want to do sports. They DO want a driver’s license. They DO want girlfriends HomewoodLife.com 67

and boyfriends,” she says. “They dream of everything that everybody else dreams of, and they didn’t have it.”

It was like showing them a window on a fabulous world without giving them a way to achieve it. The key, it turns out, was simply giving them a common space with their peers.

In many public school systems, children age out of high school once they turn 21. After that, they—or their parents—are on their own to find ways to build a fulfilling life. (It also fills the need of parents who need to continue working and can’t stay home with their special-needs adult children.)

That’s pretty much how The Exceptional Foundation got started. A couple of children with special needs who had watched their brothers and sisters play sports for years and come home with trophies asked their parents when it was going to be their turn. So, those parents started a basketball group at Homewood Parks and Rec. It gave everyone who had aged out of high school a chance to be on a team, but also just to be able to be around others who had the same abilities.

Pretty soon people in surrounding communities heard about it and started coming out, and it grew. In 1993 they officially became the foundation, and in 1999, they built their own building, thanks to the city of Homewood for donating the land.

At first, there were around 20 participants a day. Today, The Exceptional Foundation serves around 700 people in the greater Birmingham area, although not everyone is there at the same time. The Exceptional Foundation offers daily programs Monday through Thursdays (art, music, karaoke, games, cooking, sports, movies, etc.), field trips and special outings on the weekends, sports leagues on Saturday mornings, and now, they offer programs for children after school and during the summer.

It’s a game changer for people like Stephanie Romeo, who is 35 and has been coming here since she was around 68 May/June 2019

Excpetional Foundation participant Sam Sullivan grew up in Homewood.

WILDLIFE WILDLIFE REMOVAL? REMOVAL? WE WE CAN CAN DO DO IT. IT. Please call Vulcan for all of your pest and wildlife control needs

205-663-4200 Stephanie Romeo

“

At my school it was hard to make friends there because some people were mean to me. But not here. We’re like a family here with everybody.

–Stephanie Romeo

”

20. She still remembers what it was like growing up. “At my school it was hard to make friends there because some people were mean to me,” she says. “But not here,” she adds with a smile. “We’re like a family here with everybody.”

Stephanie, who is from Homewood, especially enjoys bowling and tennis. In fact she has travelled with the foundation’s bowling team as far as Reno, Nevada, and won the Sportsmanship Award at the Special Pops Tennis tournament in Atlanta in 2012. “I started crying,” she says, remembering the moment.

“Because I was happy,” she is quick to clarify. She keeps the trophy in her den, in the house she shares with her mother.

Stephanie mentions she has a boyfriend. “I talk to him at night on his private line upstairs,” she says with a grin. She has a best friend, too, and her face lights up when she talks about

There’s nothing more beautiful than being the most beautiful version of yourself.

Thank you for choosing our salon as the best Salon in Mountain Brook.

We hope to see you again soon.

125 Oak St, Mountain Brook • (205) 879-3222 HomewoodLife.com 69

BY THE NUMBERS

0

The number of other organizations, nationwide, that were dedicated to meeting the social needs of developmentally

challenged adults, before The Exceptional Foundation began

5 to 82

Ages of participants in

programs offered by The Exceptional Foundation

7

The number of other communities who have contacted The Exceptional Foundation and are either

working to, or have already copied what The Exceptional Foundation offers

10

Average number of field trips participants go on each month

200

Average number of participants attending each day

$300

The monthly fee for attending four days a week, from

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (That’s less than $2 an hour.)

700

Number of people participating in The Exceptional

Foundation programs in the greater Birmingham area

$2,000,000

The Exceptional Foundation’s approximate annual budget

70 May/June 2019

Athletic Director Robbie Lee

her. “Her name is Tamara. We always do things on the weekend together. And I sit with her at lunch.”

It’s exactly what President and CEO Tricia Kirk loves to hear. “I think it’s every parent’s dream for their child to have friends.” She tells the story of a woman who had to leave early the other day because she got sick. She’d only been attending for a year, and she started crying because she didn’t want to leave. When her mom came to pick her up, “the mother started crying, and she said, ‘I’m crying for two reasons: I’m crying number one because I never thought she was going to have friends, and number two: that she’s so happy she doesn’t want to leave,’” Tricia recounts.

Sam Sullivan, another participant who is from Homewood, comes four days a week. “Every day when I get up I

say, ‘Thank you for making this day possible for me today,’” he says. Sam might be the most thankful person you will ever meet. And he’s incredibly outgoing. “He is a social butterfly,” says Robbie Lee, athletic director for the foundation. “Sam has never met a stranger.” It’s a kind of happiness that is contagious to everyone around him.

This kind of happiness that comes from having one’s social needs being met, Robbie and Tricia believe, is sure to have lasting health benefits. They see it, especially in participants who don’t transition here right after ageing out of high school.

“The depression,” says Tricia. “To watch the guys come here that have been sitting on the sofa for five years and the medicines they take, and I begin to see, as they are having more activities, the

medicines start coming off. The depression starts going away because they have a full life.”

Robbie says every week they get a call from some parent who’s only just heard about them.

“I had a father contact me from Oak Mountain, and he said, ‘My son has special needs and he’s been the manager for the basketball team. They’re great to him, but basketball is his LIFE We’re concerned that once he’s done with school, that that’s it, there’s no more basketball!’ and I said, ‘No-no-no-no!’”

There’s definitely more basketball for as long as he wants to keep playing. You can find that kid, 17-year-old Kasey Dunaway, at The Exceptional Foundation on Saturday mornings, playing in the Tricia Kirk adult league NOW, because he’s THAT good.

You can spot his dad in the crowd wearing a shirt that says “Basketball Dad.” “Kasey’s goal in life is to be on a team that plays different teams every week and gets to travel to play them. And so, yes, he is living his dream right now,” Kasey’s mom, Brenae, says.

The Oak Mountain High School basketball team calls Kasey their number one fan. His parents say he’s only missed two games this season, and on this particular Saturday, several members of the Oak Mountain High School basketball team have come HERE to watch HIM play.

“It’s just wonderful,” Brenae says, as tears roll down her face.

“Just being out here on Saturdays, watching him. All of these teams play. It’s the most enjoyable Saturday you can ever spend. It is wonderful as a parent to be able to see your child participate in the skills of life, no matter what their ability is.”

And just like any parents, Kasey’s dad retells how the previous week, with just eight seconds left in the game, behind by three, Kasey hit a three-pointer to tie things up. And Brenae whips out her cell phone to show the video.

And it’s an amazing thing. Because everyone, everywhere, just wants a chance to participate. And that’s what The Exceptional Foundation does every day. It gives people a chance.

Pelham Civic Complex and Ice Arena 500 Amphitheater Rd., Pelham, AL 35124 HomewoodLife.com 71

HOMEWOOD’S BEST WINNERS 2019 You voted. We tallied. See just who Homewood’s favorites are.

Photos by Jamison & Lindsay Kate Skinner

72 May/June 2019

FOOD & DRINK MOST FRIENDLY SERVICE Ash West Homewood 705 Oak Grove Road 205-558-9401 ashhomewood.com Runners Up: Taco Mama, Urban Cookhouse, Soho Social MOST KID FRIENDLY DINING Taco Mama 1014 Oxmoor Road 205-414-0441 tacomamaonline.com Runners Up: Urban Cookhouse, Ash West Homewood BEST ETHNIC/REGIONAL CUISINE Saw’s BBQ 1008 Oxmoor Road 205-879-1937 sawsbbq.com Runners Up: Red Pearl Restaurant & Market, Little Donkey, Nabeel’s Café & Restaurant BEST DATE NIGHT Gianmarco’s Restaurant

721 Broadway Street 205-871-9622 gianmarcosbhm.com

Thank you for voting us

BEST SWEET TREATS!

Runners Up: Jinsei, Ash West Homewood BEST LADIES LUNCH Real & Rosemary 1922 29th Avenue South 205-820-7100 realandrosemary.com Runners Up: Ashley Mac’s, O’Carr’s BEST COFFEE O’Henry’s 2831 18th Street South 205-870-1198 // 569 Brookwood Village, Suite 101 205-870-1148 ohenryscoffees.com Runners Up: Seeds Coffee, Red Mountain Expresso BEST SWEET TREATS Cookie Fix 2854 18th Street South 205-582-2623 cookiefix.com

Cookie Fix

2854 18th Street S Homewod, AL www.cookiefix.com 205-582-2623

thank U Homewood!

Runners Up: Pastry Art Bake Shoppe, Savage’s Bakery, Edgewood Creamery

U salon

BEST COFFEE O’Henry’s

salonustyle.com HomewoodLife.com 73

BEST PIZZA Pizzeria GM 600 Oak Grove Road 205-905-3266 pizzeriagm.com Runners Up: Dave’s Pizza, New York Pizza BEST DRINKS/COCKTAILS Taco Mama 1014 Oxmoor Road 205-414-0441 tacomamaonline.com Runners Up: Gianmarco’s Restaurant, Soho Social

BEST PIZZA Pizzeria GM

BEST CHEF Mark Driskill/Ash West Homewood 705 Oak Grove Road 205-558-9401 ashhomewood.com Runners Up: Tim Hontzas/ Johnny’s Restaurant; Giani Respinto/Gianmarco’s

COMMUNITY BEST COMMUNITY EVENT We Love Homewood Day Bands, barbecue, festivities, neighbors and a street dance: always the first Saturday of May

1616 Oxmoor Road 205-870-0776 exceptionalfoundation.org Runners Up: The Bell Center, Homewood City Schools Foundation BEST OUTDOOR SPOT Homewood Central Park 1632 Oxmoor Road homewoodparks.com Runners Up: Patriot Park, Homewood Pool BEST CHURCH CHOIR Trinity United Methodist Church 1400 Oxmoor Road 205-879-1737 trinitybirmingham.com Runners Up: Dawson Family of Faith, Our Lady of Sorrows BEST LOCAL PERSONALITY Steve Sills Homewood Middle School Teacher + Coach + DJ Runners Up: Scott Butler, Tubby the Pug, Frank Morgan

HEALTH & BEAUTY BEST FAMILY MEDICINE

Runners Up: Homewood Witches Ride, Christmas Parade/Star Lighting BEST NEIGHBORHOOD Edgewood Full of sidewalks, neighbor hang outs, and choices for dinner or ice cream

BEST CHEF Ash West Homewood 74 May/June 2019

Runners Up: Downtown Homewood, West Homewood, Hollywood BEST LOCAL CAUSE The Exceptional Foundation

PRACTICE MedHelp 1 West Lakeshore Drive, Suite 100 205-930-2950 medhelpclinics.com/medhelplakeshore/ Runner Up: Brookwood Internal Medicine BEST PEDIATRIC PRACTICE Mayfair Medical Group 3401 Independence Drive 205-870-1273 childrensal.org/mayfair-medicalgroup

BEST ANIMAL CLINIC Homewood Animal Hospital

BIRMINGHAM

thank you

FOR VOTING HEMLINE BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE

Runner Up: Alabama Pediatrics BEST DENTAL PRACTICE Brighter Image Dentistry/Dr. Spencer Maddox 2908 Central Avenue, Suite 150 205-591-6220 brighterimagedentistry.com Runners Up: Powell Pediatric Dentistry, Homewood Family & Cosmetic Dentistry BEST EYE CARE PRACTICE JJ Eyes 2814 18th Street South 205-703-8596 jjeyesoptical.com

Associates, Red Mountain Eye Care BEST CHIROPRACTIC CARE PRACTICE Homewood Friends & Family Chiropractic 3250 Independence Drive, Suite 100 205-803-1234 homewoodfriendsandfamily. com Runners Up: Witt Chiropractic, Oxmoor Chiropractic BEST ANIMAL CLINIC Homewood Animal Hospital 501 Scott Street 205-943-0008​ homewoodanimal.com

1816 28th Ave South, Homewood, AL 35309 205.460.1054

Runners Up: EyeCare HomewoodLife.com 75

BEST PHARMACY Homewood Pharmacy

Runners Up: Oxmoor Animal Clinic, Standifer Animal Clinic BEST PHARMACY Homewood Pharmacy 940 Oxmoor Road 205-871-9000 homewoodpharmacy.com

BEST FITNESS CENTER Homewood Rec Center 1632 Oxmoor Road 205-332-6707 homewoodparks.com

Runners Up: CVS, Walgreens

Runners Up: YMCA-Shades Valley Branch, Three15 Studio, Nexus Fitness

BEST HAIR SALON Salon U 2824 Linden Avenue 205-870-8708 salonustyle.com

SHOPPING & SERVICES

Runners Up: Wheelhouse, Forecast BEST NAIL SALON OR SPA Genesis Nail Spa 350 Hallman Hill East, Unit 51 205-802-0639 Runners Up: Escape Day Spa,

HOMEWOOD’S

BEST HO

76 May/June 2019

LV Nails

2019 WINNER

MEW

OODLIFE.C

OM

BEST NEW BUSINESS The Cottage Basket 1816 28th Ave South, Suite E 205-460-1054 thecottagebasket.business.site Runners Up: Ash West Homewood, Big Spoon Creamery

Thank you again for voting us

Best Gift Store two years in a row!

2019

BEST STORE FOR GIFTS Alabama Goods

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE Hemline 1802 29th Avenue 205-802-9252 shophemline.com

alabamagoods.com

Runners Up: Homewood Bagel Company, Sikes Children’s Shoes

BEST STORE FOR KIDS Homewood Toy & Hobby 2830 18th Street South 205-879-3986 homewoodtoy-hobby.com

BEST BOUTIQUE/ CLOTHING Alabama Outdoors 3054 Independence Drive 205-870-1919 alabamaoutdoors.com Runners Up: Fab’rik, Soca Clothing, Hemline BEST STORE FOR GIFTS Alabama Goods 2933 18th Street South 205-803-3900

Runners Up: Cottage Basket, Little Professor Book Center

THANK YOU HOMEWOOD, FOR VOTING ME BEST REALTOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW!

Runners Up: Sikes Children’s Shoes, Jack N Jill Shop BEST STORE FOR HOME FURNISHINGS/DÉCOR At Home 2921 18th Street South 205-879-3510 athome-furnishings.com

HOMEWOOD’S

BEST HO

Runners Up: Homewood

2018 WINNER

M EW

OO D L I F E . C

OM

HOMEWOOD’S

BEST 2019

HO

M EW

OO D L I F E . C

OM

HomewoodLife.com 77

Antiques & Marketplace, Nadeau Furniture, Mantooth Interiors

lahrealestate.com Runners Up: Joe Falconer/ RealtySouth; Charles Perlis/LAH Real Estate

BEST FLORIST/NURSERY Sweet Peas Garden Shop 2829 Linden Avenue 205-879-3839 facebook.com/ sweetpeasgardenshop/

BEST INSURANCE AGENT Thomas Waters/State Farm 3103 Independence Drive 205-879-1988 thomaswaters.com

Runners Up: Homewood Flowers, Stems & Styles

Runners Up: Eric Stuman/State Farm; Ted Townley/State Farm

BEST PLACE FOR CREATIVITY Do It Yourself Crafts 1909 Oxmoor Road 205-868-4346 doityourselfcrafts.com

BEST BANK Regions Bank 100 Green Springs Highway // 1 Independence Plaza 800-734-4667 regions.com

Runners Up: Homewood Musical Instruments, Studio by the Tracks BEST CHILDREN’S DAYCARE Homewood Day School 265 West Oxmoor Road 205-945-1015 homewooddayschool.org

Runners Up: BBVA Compass, Wells Fargo BEST AUTO SERVICE Express Oil Change & Tire Engineers 1717 27th Court South 205-879-4499 // 289 Lakeshore Parkway 205-490-1426 // 215 Green Springs Highway 205-942-6684 expressoil.com

Runners Up: Heritage Preschool, Montessori Kids Universe

HOME, FINANCE, & AUTO BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT Scott Butler/LAH Real Estate 205-879-8580 Office 205-706-5836 Cell

BEST FLORIST/NURSERY Sweet Peas Garden Shop

Mama says "GRACIAS"

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205-368-0964 S eptemb er /o ctober 2018

78 May/June 2019

E CHOICE

• COLLEG

LIFE

for catering call

HOME WOOD

dine in - take out - catering

Runners Up: Rob’e Mans Automotive Service, Hatfield Auto Parts & Service

F A L Lide

fashion gu ER 2018 ER/OCTOB SEPTEMB ife.com HomewoodL | Issue Five Volume Two $4.95

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

medhelpclinics.com

THANK YOU HOMEWOOD! FOR VOTING Medhelp BEST FAMILY MEDICINE PRACTICE

1 West Lakeshore Dr, Suite 100, Homewood, AL 35209

205.930.2950 www.medhelpclinics.com

HomewoodLife.com 79

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

Happenings Wednesday, May 1

Coffee and Contacts 7:30-9 a.m. at The Exceptional Foundation

Saturday, May 4

We Love Homewood Day All-day throughout Homewood, Central Park and Edgewood

Tuesday, May 21

May Membership Luncheon featuring Chuck Adams of Bell Media, Sponsored by Spectrum Reach 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at The Club

Save the Date for the 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.

Save The Date - May 4 Tuesday, June 18

June Membership Luncheon featuring Anthony Pallotta and Erin Cuzzort, CRNP , Sponsored

by Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at The Club For more information and the day’s itinerary, please visit www. homewoodparks.com.

7 HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD 80 May/June 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

Welcome To Homewood Battle Republic

Wednesday, February 20th 2800 18th St S Homewood, Alabama 35209

New Member Spotlight Alabama Auto Top Specialists http://alabamaautotop.com/

Alfa Insurance

https://www.alfainsurance.com/ agents/tim-sizemore

Trustmark National Bank

Eugene’s Hot Chicken

http://www.eugeneshotchicken.com/

Tuesday, February 26th 1808 29th Avenue South, Homewood, Alabama 35209

Farmers Insurance - Al Scofield Agency https://agents.farmers.com/al/birmingham/albert-scofield

Liberty Learning Foundation https://libertylearning.org/

Lyons Family Care

https://www.lyonsfamilycare.com/

Homewood Public Library Children’s Reading Nook

Tuesday, March 19th 1721 Oxmoor Rd, Birmingham, AL 35209

Oyama Karate

www.worldoyama.com

Provision Studio

https://provisionstudio.com/

Renew Dermatology

https://renewdermatology.net/

Southpoint Bank

https://southpoint.bank/

The Welch Group

Renew Dermatology

Thursday, March 7th 1651 Independence Court Homewood, AL 35209

205 - 871 - 5631

https://welchgroup.com/

Village Dermatology

https://www.villagedermatology.net/

WWW.HOMEWOODCHAMBER.ORG HomewoodLife.com 81

OUT & ABOUT

1

SHADES CAHABA WINTER FESTIVAL

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3

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5

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PHOTOS BY HARPER NICHOLS

Fun and games came to Shades Cahaba Elementary School for its annual Winter Festival on Feb. 23.

1. William Booker, Hudson Bussey and Alden Dumontier 2. Callen Hoke 3. Emma Davis 4. Owen Berthiaume 5. Brooks Degruy and Lucie Rein 6. Mary Brandon Langley, Mary Keyser Bradswell and Evie Harrison 7. Jane Seotsky 8. Teddy Dominick 9. Tyler Snow 10. Lily Grace, Ann Charlotte and Hudson Strong, and Emma Koogler 11. Cartier Hines, Kenley Hicks and Dayana Rievs 12. William Tanner

82 May/June 2019

OUT & ABOUT

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11

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HomewoodLife.com 83

OUT & ABOUT

1

MARDI GRAS PARADE

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PHOTOS BY HARPER NICHOLS

The MOMS Club of Birmingham, Over The Mountain chapter brought a taste of Mardi Gras to Homewood Central Park on March 5.

1. Quinn Tortorich and Flora Murrell 2. Aidan Schrimpf and Gabby Hogeland 3. John Michael and William Forsythe 4. Millie Klotz 5. Harper, Livie and John Hoyt Clark 6. Linden Gate and Mac Leavens 7. Harrison Smith, Amelia Smith, Mallie Murray, Grant Murray, Elizabeth Peterson, Anna Peterson, Lucy Peterson, Robert Carter, Annalise Cartee and Isabel lumsden

7

84 May/June 2019

OUT & ABOUT

HOMEWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LUNCHEON

1

PHOTOS BY JAMES CULVER

The Homewood Chamber of Commerce hosted speakers Jeffrey Taylor and Randy Wilborn of Regions Bank at its February luncheon at The Club.

1. Floresha Watkins Boyd, Randy Wilborn, Jeff Taylor and Meredith Drennen

2

3

2. Gary Sheffer and Henry Hughes 3. Steve Ericson and Frank Potincy

HomewoodLife.com 85

OUT & ABOUT

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3

KIWANIS PANCAKE BREAKFAST PHOTOS BY JAMES & CALLIE CULVER

The Kiwanis Club of HomewoodMountain Brook served up pancakes and more at The Exceptional Foundation on March 9 to fundraise for the nonprofits it supports.

1. Nancy and Scott Smithson 2. Angela, Frances, and Emery Leigh

5

3. Kelly and David Scheirer 4. Tia Stallworth and Garrett Bryan 5. Lilah, Sam, Emily and Josie Friedman 6. Jenifer, Liam and Mac Kiser 7. Matt, Ellis, Jennette and Lauren Spraggins 8. Sam Sullivan and Courtney Harper 9. Kelley, Kailey, and Eden Mullins, and Brad Harvey

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2810 19th Place South, Homewood, AL 35209 StandiferAnimalClinic.com

HOME WOOD

Animal Hospital, Veterinary Care, Boarding & Grooming

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HOU AY FARM • BROADW

F A L Lide

fashion gu ER 2018 ER/OCTOB SEPTEMB ife.com HomewoodL | Issue Five Volume Two $4.95

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

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BARIATRIC HEALTH & WELLNESS

Do you need to lose a little or a lot ?

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• 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

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• Experienced Staff • On line protocol available If you are ready for a healthier body and mind, Bariatric Health and Wellness is for you!

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2017 Canyon Rd #17 Vestavia Hills 205-397-8856 bariatricdirect.com HomewoodLife.com 87

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 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

Looking For A New Career As A CNA? AHAVA Healthcare of Alabaster hiring & hosting a FREE CNA class on April 16th,2019 Apply in Person: 850 9th Street NW Alabaster,AL-35007 Call:205-663-3859 Linda White,Ext:2817 Tracy Golden,Ext:2821 INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES $17.68 hour + production & safety $$$ incentives.

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

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

Automation Personnel Services Hiring IMMEDIATELY For: Automotive Assembly, General Labor, Production, 88 May/June 2019

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.

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 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

HomewoodLife.com

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

drug test required Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Call: 205-298-6799 or email us at: jtate@ forestryenv.com Franklin Iron Works Now Hiring. Grinders & Laborers. Must apply in person: 146 Tommie Drive, Thorsby. Mon-Fri. 10am-3pm.

DRIVERS Hanna Truck Lines is seeking Professional Flatbed Drivers. 53 cpm No surprises: Starting pay SEEKING (all miles): 51 cpm, 52 SALESMAN FOR cpm at 6 months, 53 RUBBER & PLASTIC cpm at 1 year. 100% ITEMS. CALL TO Outbounds loads PreAPPLY 205-243-6661 loaded & Tarped. 75% Inbound No Tarp. Late $2000 SIGN ON Model Peterbilt Trucks.

BONUS NEW Air Ride Trailers. Home PAY SCALE TO weekends. Low cost QUALIFYING BCBS Health & Dental DRIVERS EVERGREEN Ins. Matching 401K. TRANSPORT, is Qualifications: 18 accepting applications months Class A CDL for local drivers in the driving experience Calera and Leeds, with 6 months AL, area. Must have flatbed; Applicants Class A CDL, good must meet all D.O.T. driving record, 1 yr requirements. Contact verifiable tractor trailer recruiting at 1-800experience. Good pay 634-7315 or come and benefits. Apply in by HTL office at person at 8278 Hwy 1700 Boone Blvd, 25 South, Calera, AL, Northport. EOE or call for info 205668-3316.

Housing Authority of the Birmingham Now Hiring District Hiring: Heavy Equipment Homeownership Operators and CDL Lease-Purchase Drivers Competitive Facilitator Resident pay and benefits.

Services Pre-employment Coordinator-ROSS

Human Resources Specialist Compliance Data Analysis Application Data Entry Clerk Assistant Vice President of Housing Operations Director of Public Safety Custodian View complete description and apply at www. habd.org or 1826 3rdAvenueSouth Birmingham, Al 35233 NOW AVAILABLE LPN’s, RN’s 12 HOUR SHIFTS CNA’s Full-time & part-time Apply in person: Hatley Health Care 300 Medical Center Drive Clanton, AL 35045 Health Services, Inc. Clanton Family Health 107 Medical Center Dr Clanton,AL 35045 Current Opening: •Patient Account Representative •Medical Assistant •LPN Unit Coordinator 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

MARKETPLACE 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 HELP WANTED Small crown and bridge laboratory hiring experienced dental laboratory technicians. Full/ Part-time positions available: waxing, building model work, porcelain ceramist Contact:Bruce Osborn 205-664-8090 Looking for a house to rent in Shelby County? We can help. Call for available rentals and specials (205)433-9811 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

multi-day! •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 Stellar Staffing, LLC Customer Service Is Our Passion NOW HIRING!!! Pelham • Calera • Alabaster • Clanton Starting pay: $10hr-$13hr • General Labor • Heavy Equipment Operator • Machine Operator • Crane Operator Please apply on-line: www. stellarstaffingllc.com Questions Call: 205916-2860

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 capstone dentalassisting.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 89

MY HOMEWOOD HANNAH JOHNSON

Edgewood PTO President + Homewood Arts Council Representative

Arts + Adventure

Community Synergy The synergy of the community is amazing. Every neighbor strives to do their best and be their best.

The arts are at the forefront, health and wellness is a priority and we share a kindred spirit of adventure that encourages living life to the fullest every day. Here I’m pictured with the rest of the Homewood Arts Council at Jazz in the Park 2019.

Dinner Please

Walkable Destinations A good day includes a family stroll on our wonderful sidewalks to dinner. We love walking to eat spaghetti at GianMarco’s, nachos at Taco Mama or tiramisu at Nabeel’s Market. Homewood truly has amazing big city food, without the traffic.

Photo by Lyndsey Gamble Photography

Closed ‘Til Monday

Sunday Slow Down I am a huge fan of Homewood retail businesses who close on Sundays. With a family that loves to go, I appreciate that gentle reminder to be still and focus on what is most important.

This poetry art by my daughter Claire reminds me of what’s important too.

Vintage Finds

Homewood Antiques + The Salvation Army Family Store I have a vintage soul. My weekly schedule always includes a quick stop at Homewood Antiques and The Salvation Army, where I found this fun vintage coat in the photo. I love showing the world treasures found on my @edgewoodboulevardlife Instagram feed. I mean, who in the world doesn’t need vintage art to mix things up a bit?

Photo by Mary Blan Moore Photography

Home At Last

A Warm Community Embrace I love that Homewood embraces people. After I lived in nine cities all over the South, my sister and I have both found a place here to raise our families together. You truly don’t have to be Homegrown to volunteer, to learn or to worship.

You just show up and this community embraces your history and your creative strengths.

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Come visit our new facility, including the new Spa Cahaba

2279 VALLEYDALE RD. SUITE 100 HOOVER, AL 35244

Holly Gunn MD, FAAD

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