Category Archives: Alabama

Birmingham, Alabama

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Gypsy Market in Birmingham AlabamaIf I could conjure up my dream store, it would look a lot like Gypsy Gypsy Market in Birmingham AlabamaMarket in Birmingham, Alabama. This combination upscale-convenience and funky-antique store is at the corner of Second Avenue North and 23rd Street, across from Urban Standard coffee shop and What’s On Second Gypsy Market in Birmingham, Alabamaeclectic vintage store and smack dab in the midst of downtown loft living. My younger daughter and I peeked in the store early one Gypsy Market in Birmingham, Alabamamorning after lattes and cappuccinos at Urban Standard and promised ourselves a return visit. Owner Kent Griggs, who had a downtown diner in Birmingham a few years ago, opened Gypsy Market to be a one-stop shop for loft dwellers who need a last-minute loaf of fresh homemade bread or bottle of wine — or something creative and whimsical to decorate the apartment with. There’s also a cooler of ice cream and a pot of Birmingham’s own Royal Cup coffee. This is exactly what I think of when I imagine living in a downtown loft — hanging out in a very cool space and drinking espresso all day. And eating ice cream and homemade bread, of course. Read more about Gypsy Market at http://www.al.com/business/birminghamnews and Royal Cup at http://www.royalcupcoffee.com. And check out Urban Standard, one of my favorite coffee shops, at http://www.urbanstandard.net/.

P.S. Make sure to click on the pics inside the store to see them larger and get all the details in the backgrounds — there’s some amazing stuff here!

Dog Food

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Dog treatsI know how hard it is for me — a human person — to resist a similar display of yummy treats. When faced with an array of delectable-looking goodies, I lose all self-control and want one of everything. I wonder if dogs who come in to the local Pet Depot feel the same when they spot this. And raise your hands if you ever have mistaken a doggy cookie for a real one. C’mon — you know you’ve done that. I think I would especially fall for the “chocolate” football versions in the middle of the bottom shelf, but the round “sugar cookies” with the pink icing look pretty interesting, too. And those little white Scotty dogs with the perky red collars in the back right are adorable! When my older daughter was in high school, she made homemade treats for our now late beloved black Lab, and the kitchen always smelled so good when she was baking them. Now I’ve made myself want a real chocolate football cookie. And a dog.

Birmingham, Alabama

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Fish Market in Birmingham, AlabamaOne of my favorite restaurant restrooms in Birmingham, The Fish Market in Birmingham, AlabamaAlabama is in one of my favorite restaurants — the Greek-inspired Fish Market on 22nd Street South. I’ve never been to Greece but I have both been to The Fish Market and seen “Mama Mia” multiple times so I imagine Greece to be full of beautiful people Fish Market, Birmingham, Alabamasinging ABBA songs and eating fresh and wonderfully cooked seafood. And having gorgeous bathrooms like this one with copper sinks, blue mosaic-tiled walls and stone and pottery accents. It’s so calm and serene … and Greek. The Fish Market is usually crowded and always noisy and the line to order moves fast — a basic knowledge of the extensive menu and the day’s specials is essential. There’s no table service, so you have to fight your way to the bar for another beer or more Apalachicola oysters but if you want your seafood lovingly and authentically cooked, it’s worth it. And you can always head to the ladies’ room if you need some peace and quiet. Check out The Fish Market Web site at http://www.birminghammenus.com/thefishmarket/

Hair Cuts

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The other day I turned to my college-student daughter and said, “I’m thinking of doing something really wild and different.” After a couple guesses — hang-gliding? painting the kitchen purple? — she gave up and I confessed my secret: I was thinking about ditching my usual hair guy and wandering in to one of those quick and cheap no-appointment places for a much-needed cut. I was at that place where if somebody handed me a pair of scissors I’d chop it all off myself. You know? One day your hair is good and the next morning you wake up and you cannot stand it one more minute. Or is that just me? Anyway, I knew I had reached that I-hate-my-hair point and I knew it would probably be a week or so before I could get in to my usual guy and anyway I’d always felt sort of guilty about the amount of money I pay for a few snips and razoring and hair-styling when I usually go home and completely mess up his creation anyway. So why not try something different? My daughter, on the other hand, had another solution: Go to the local beauty school. That’s what she does when she needs a trim. It’s cheap and you can get in immediately, she said, and the instructors are nearby in case of crisis. Hmm … maybe that college tuition is paying off because that sounded like a great idea. So that’s what I did — albeit somewhat cautiously. The result? A positive experience overall that I would recommend to anyone who Needs A Hair Cut Right Now. I simply walked in and the receptionist checked her list of available students. I got a sweet 28-year-old girl who was confident and skilled and gave me a trim with a bit of a different style — and a fun half-hour of girl talk and local gossip. Since I also got a shampoo and some hair-drying, the price got bumped up … to $13. Definitely worth it. I also got the satisfaction of helping out some young people, which is always good. I don’t think I’ll give up my hair guy altogether, though, especially not for color. And my usual place definitely wins more points on the calm-and-peaceful front. But for one of those in-between trims or when the budget demands a choice between a hair cut and a new pair of shoes (and we know the shoes always will win), the beauty school was perfect.

Food

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Strawberries

With a day-long break in the rain that's been attacking north Alabama for the past two weeks, it was dry enough to get some strawberries today. This bowlful smelled so fresh and sweet it was as if summer came to my kitchen.

Decor

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Women's restroomsAm I the only person who judges a restaurant in part on Women's roomsits women’s restroom? I mean, cleanliness is a must, of course, but I want to see some creativity and imagination, too. It doesn’t have to be luxurious or upscale elegant, but a spa-like feeling of pampering is a definite plus, as is some feminine whimsy. I mean, I’m sort of a captive audience here, so use this space to wow me and get your message across — that’s the way I look at women’s rooms,Women's rooms anyway. For example, Urban Standard, a coffee shop in Birmingham, Alabama, is in a cool and stylishly renovated downtown building. However, the bathrooms obviously had to be put in new and so lack the exposed brick and tin ceilings of the main rooms. Solution? Distinguish the women’s room with eye-catching art work such as this bigger-than-life piece painted directly on the wall. Definitely ups the cool factor in what’s really just a generic space. Check out more about Urban Standard at http://www.urbanstandard.net. Another of my favorite Birmingham bathrooms is in Chez Lulu, http://continentalbakeryandchezlulu.com/, a fun and funky bistro that features homemade desserts and breads from its next-door sibling, Continental Bakery. Chez Lulu’s women’s room is tiny but full of textures and colors and vintage finds that make you think of browsing Saturday-morning flea markets with your best friends and then stopping by for lattes and croissants. (My favorite is the almond croissant, because almonds are good for you, right???) I love the beaded lampshade and the plump and cozy fainting couch here, which I usually use for setting my purse on and then walking out empty-handed. But that just gives me an excuse for a return visit.

Fashion

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Capri pantsAre you like me and find yourself turning to seasonal uniforms, fashion-wise? My cold-weather go-to outfit is a black turtleneck with boots and jeans. Boring but classic, I guess. As temperatures start rising, the turtlenecks get folded up and the boots get cleaned and stored and it’s time for capri pants. I remember 10 years ago or so when capris went mainstream again, invoking days of  Grace Kelly/Jackie Kennedy sophistication instead of the dowdy and baggy gardening attire they’d become in the past couple decades. “I could never wear these new capris,” I remember saying then. “They’re only for young girls with good legs.” Today, of course, young girls with good legs wear short shorts and us moms and grandmoms gratefully have made capris our No. 1 summer basic. I love how they’re cool and comfortable but still allow me to sit and bend and move around without fear of … well, exposure. Unlike shorts, you know. But capris are not trouble-free. The problem is finding ones that fit and flatter your legs as well as your middle. Not easy. If the leg openings work, chances are the waistband won’t. And vice versa. And if you find the perfect fit, it’ll be in lime green or electric turquoise blue or some other tropical color that in the store you can talk yourself into thinking you’ll wear all summer but really you wear them only once to the neighbor’s cookout and then never again. That’s why I felt as if I’d hit the jackpot when I recently found two perfect pairs of capris. I had been on the lookout because my only wearable pair of denim capris — hand-me-ups from one of my daughters — had moved from the “wear only at home” category to the “wear only when doing yard work” category. And you can’t get through summer in Alabama without denim capris. Luckily, I scored at Belk’s with a pair of dark denim (Ralph) Lauren Jeans Co. The rise is high enough to prevent muffin tops but low enough not to be matronly. The other pair is a lightweight denim from Gap. It’s a Limited Edition with a lower waistband and slash pockets that I’ll take out and sew shut for a smoother line. So I’m all set — except today it’s sort of cool and rainy and makes me think I need boots and turtlenecks again.

Beer and Food

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Beer coolerOne thing my husband and I are good at is Beer on tapgoing out and drinking beer. Now, I’m not talking about frat-party beer from our college days, which I believe my husband knows more about than I do. What I mean instead is the education about and appreciation of good beer. I was beer-ignorant until I learned from my husband that good beer should be considered exactly like good wine, with richness of flavors and variety of styles just as any other fine food. And that works for me, because really after half a bottle or glass, I’m done — I like beer’s fresh first-half taste best. I can handle about two or three first halves in an evening, which my husband doesn’t mind because, as he says, that leaves more for him. We especially like discovering those wonderfully small handcrafted local beers that are best enjoyed with great company in cool and cozy brewpubs. Sadly, we mainly have to do our beer tasting when we travel since Alabama is one of only three states in the country that limits alcohol by volume for beer to 6% and the only state that limits beer containers to no more than 16 ounces. Alabama also enforces antiquated restrictions that effectively stifle local microbreweries and limits brewpubs. This means that in my state you can’t buy most of the specialty/gourmet beer available almost everywhere else. Georgia and North and South Carolina all went through the same thing and successfully changed their laws to allow the sale of specialty beers. Free the Hops, a non-profit group, is trying to do that in Alabama. Learn more at http://www.freethehops.org/.

And speaking of beer, one of my favorite places in Birmingham to grab a sandwich and bottle of beer is gone. Tria Market in Homewood was a small upscale grocery here you could get a sandwich from the deli or a meat-and-three (or four) from the hot-food counter, add a bottle from the beer cooler and sit down at tables in the middle of the store and enjoy a great people-watching meal. A few weeks ago it closed for “remodeling” and the Web site says it will reopen in May.  However, a Tria manager I held hostage and demanded an answer from talked to said it would reopen in three months or so as a Middle Eastern-style restaurant with a few basic groceries for sale along the lines of a European market. A former chef from Bottega (one of food-celebrity Frank Stitt’s restaurants) will head up the kitchen and the space will be designed by the same person who did Ocean, another of Birmingham’s premier and stylish eateries. Can’t wait!

Spring Gardens

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Spring gardensThere is nothing like a gorgeous spring day in Spring landscapingAlabama, especially if you can enjoy it in a backyard such as this one. My friend Evelyn and her husband love digging in the dirt — and it shows. They created this backyard paradise from scratch, and it’s the perfect spot for some peaceful reading and bird-watching — two of Evelyn’s favorite pastimes. (She is one of the few people I know who gets excited about seeing things such as a broad-billed hummingbird, which is why I love her so much.) There’s also a lovely screened-in porch perfect for relaxing. In fact, I think I need to go over to Evelyn’s house right now for a dose of stress-free garden serenity. Y’all come, too!

Easter

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Easter dessertsEaster is one of those easy family holidays that Easter treatsgives you lots of bang for your buck — if Christmas is the stress-inducing standard then Easter falls somewhere above Valentine’s Day but below birthdays. Well, that’s my opinion today anyway, when I’m a few years past midnight hours of frantically finishing Easter dresses for my two daughters and managing the Easter-morning chaos of baskets and eggs before church. At least the food is still easy, with Easter bake sales everywhere. I found these goodies at the Empty Bowl luncheon this past week sponsored by the Salvation Army Auxiliary in Florence, Alabama. From works-of-art cakes worthy of Easter dinner to peanut-butter fudge for munching as you did more shopping, there was something for everybody. Hope everyone has a stress-free and photo-op-filled Easter weekend, with chocolate bunnies for all!