Category Archives: Uncategorized

Alternative Transportation

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We were on our way out to eat on Saturday night when we spotted this sight at the drive-through window of the former Dairy Queen in Muscle Shoals, Ala., now called Shakers. The rider said he was from nearby Leighton and was visiting family in Muscle Shoals. Not sure if he was on hoof to protest high gas prices, but a bystander observed that a decades-old law on the books in Florence prohibits cars from traveling city streets. If this becomes a trend, Shakers is going to have to change its menu since the man rode off with an ice cream cone — and the horse didn’t get a thing.

Hometown Shopping

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This barbershop in Florence, Alabama, is where my husband gets his hair cut. (No. That’s not his truck!) He likes it, he says, because it’s simple and direct — he walks in, gets his hair cut and beard trimmed and then walks out. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done in an authentic sort of way. And that describes this part of Florence — called Seven Points –perfectly: Easy to get to, shopper-friendly and full of local folks with real shops doing real business. Such as Hodgepodge Antiques Mall, 11142 N. Wood Ave. It’s three rooms full of treasures, and you can rummage around all day if you want to. No pressure. Another must-visit Seven Points retailer is Scent-Sations Candles and Gifts, 1123 N. Wood Ave., where you can buy hand-poured candles in almost any fragrance imaginable — visit http://www.pouredbyhand.com to see the list. One of the best things about Scent-Sations is that you can turn your own containers into candles — a great way to recycle. Then head to Peck Ace Hardware Co., 1118 N. Wood Ave. , one of those true hometown hardware stores that’s been there for decades and still has what looks like the original wooden floors. You’ll get a friendly “hello” when you walk and an equally friendly “come back soon” when you leave, regardless of whether you’ve bought anything or not — browsing is encouraged. And then there are some of the most interestingly named businesses in Florence: Crazy Carolyn’s Fashions and Wigs, 1148 N. Wood Ave., actually run by a woman named Carolyn; Polly’s Radio and TV Service, 1128 N. Wood Ave., not run by a woman named Polly (although the building is where I took ballet lessons about a million years ago); and the fast-Chinese-food Wok N Roll., 115 Edgewood Drive. The McDonald’s at Seven Points also is fun — it’s decorated entirely in purple and gold to support nearby University of North Alabama.

Isn’t it amazing what you can find in your own backyard?

Healthy in Huntsville

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Daughter Liz with son, Nolan Thomas, at Garden Cove

One of my older daughter’s favorite places to shop in Huntsville, Ala., is Garden Cove Produce, 628 Meridian St., and I love going along with her. Liz is a vegetarian and cooks organic for her family when possible, and Garden Cove is a mecca for that kind of diet. Just walking into the produce section is an education — there are fresh fruits and vegetables from all over the world. But don’t be intimidated! The helpful staff has all sorts of cooking tips and suggestions if you need help. The grocery part of Garden Cove also has a great selection of non-perishable foods along the lines of a Fresh Market or Whole Foods, much of it organic and natural and most of it hard to find anywhere else in Huntsville. On the other side of the store is a holistic-type drugstore, with cosmetics, health/beauty products and supplements along with some food items such as teas, breakfast cereals and bulk grains. We go there for lunch — it’s self-serve to-go freshly made sandwiches and soup. Visit http://www.gardencoveproduce.com/index.html for details — Garden Cove is closed Saturdays and open various hours on the other days, so check before you go. The other thing — besides the selection — I love about Garden Cove is the people who shop there: Folks with different backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities and incomes all come here to get good food at good prices. It’s invigorating to be a part of that.

TJ Fashion

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This is why I love TJ Maxx: I found this short-sleeved, fake-wrap jersey BCBG Max Azria dress in a cute fall print — it’s actually called Fall Leaves Print — for $25. Yes, $25. I’ve had lunches that cost more than that. It’s flattering on my menopausal pear-shaped body, is the perfect length — not too short or too long — and is completely just right with sandals for our hot and humid early fall weather here in northwest Alabama. Plus, when it gets cooler (and it will get cooler, it will get cooler, it will …) this dress keeps going with the addition of turtlenecks and tights, our layering best friends. And the best part? The original tag says “$240.” Even if this dress never actually sold for that amount, I feel as if I scored a bargain.

Fashion Friday

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While the rest of the fashion world is focused on New York this week as designers show their spring 2009 collections, there’s other style news with a New York connection: two lines of “Sex and the City” clothes are in stores and online. Left is a look from SATC designer Patricia Field, whose Destination Style New York is sold as pre-orders now at hsn.com and live on hsnTV from Sept. 23 to Sept. 27. Think edgy, sexy and Vogue cover. Right is a dress from The Kristin Davis Collection, sold at belk.com and in Belk department stores. Think sweet, feminine and Real Simple cover. The Patricia Field line seems meant to directly evoke SATC style — many outfits are complete recreations of some of TV character Carrie Bradshaw’s more memorable looks. On the other hand, Kristin Davis’ line seems more evocative of the actress herself and not related to the show so much as just to be some wearable and pretty clothes.

Aren’t we glad we’ve got choices?

Tennessee Trips

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If you’re headed to Lynchburg, Tenn., this fall, make sure to stop at Woodards Market, south of town on Hwy. 55 (Fayetteville Highway) and home of some of my favorite food ever. Woodards is a general-store gathering spot for all of Moore County. You can buy almost anything you need here and catch up on the latest news: distillery gossip, high-school football scores, Sunday sermons, presidential politics — it’s all discussed while roaming the produce section in case your tomatoes are bad and you need to buy some or while waiting in line for fried chicken and sausage biscuits at the deli counter. And while you’re eavesdropping … uh, listening, I mean … pick up local treats such as creamy store-made pimento cheese in regular, white or jalapeno; Granny’s Cow Patties, classic chocolate-oatmeal-peanut butter no-bake cookie, from nearby Decherd, Tenn.; and a bag of whole Uncle Bud’s Salted Peanuts, which are deep-fried so you can eat the shell. If you want to. The shells taste sort of like fried sticks — a bit woody and fibrous — but it’s nice to know you can chow down on them if you want to. Less waste that way, at least.

My favorites are the cookies. I cannot pass up a chocolate-oatmeal no-bake cookie, and these are rich and creamy with authentic flavors and nice chewy oatmeal. Perfect for breakfast — I mean, it’s oatmeal, right?

Jacket Weather

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Even though the temperature is summer-like today, I still want to wear this jacket. I absolutely fell in love with it when I tried it on at Reed’s department store in downtown Tupelo, Miss., the other day. You know how you put something on and you know immediately that it was meant for you and you for it? There is such a thing as love at first sight. I adore the tailored half-belt in the back and the sort of pleated sleeves and the slash pockets and seaming in the front. I usually don’t like double-breasted jackets — reminds me of Mr. Howell on Gilligan’s Island — but this one doesn’t even seem double-breasted for some reason, even though it obviously is. It fit perfectly (even though it looks square in the photo, it’s definitely not when you put it on) and of course who can resist a pumpkin-colored jacket for fall? I’d never heard of the brand “liquid,” but my fashion-savvy college-age daughter assures me that it’s a hot name, so there you go. Actually, this jacket sort of reminds me of the car coats every self-respecting female had to have in her wardrobe about a million years ago — when I was younger.

Now I just need a day that’s less than 70 degrees. C’mon, fall!

Sunday Morning Papers and Coffee

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I believe it’s time to start going through the stack of newspapers that seems to pile up at our house whenever we slack off from reading them every day. Plus, since my husband and I both work with newspapers — although he’s an actual boss/editor and I’m just a lowly writer — we pick up papers everywhere we go, from the freebie weeklies to the weighty Sunday editions. I’m embarrassed to tell you that this is a mere couple weeks’ collection, not counting our local dailies we read and recycle pretty regularly. I just hate to get rid of any paper or magazine we bring in the house because I might miss something important. At least when I made coffee this morning in the iffy stovetop espresso maker — sometimes it works the way it should and sometimes not, although I think when it doesn’t that it’s more a matter of user error than anything else — I got some nice foam for my cappuccino, so I think I’ll pour a cup in the pretty red coffee mug my friend Jana gave me this week and sit down and start reading papers. Until it’s time to go to church.

And here’s the other thing about this morning here in northwest Alabama: It’s cool outside! If I had to be out for any length of time right now, I’d have to wear a sweater. It’s not even 60 degrees. This is big news around here. Even though the weekend football games were hot and humid, cool mornings are definitely progress. I’ll pour another cup of coffee to that!

Shoe Envy

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At www.net-a-porter.com, Sergio Rossi two-toned pumps, $650.

At http://www.net-a-porter.com, Sergio Rossi two-toned pumps, $650.

I must be entering a shoe crisis. Apparently my favorite pair of brown sandals became jealous of all the attention the demise of my favorite black pair of sandals received and decided to commit shoe-icide by unraveling the string of wooden beads decorating the T-straps. I had to make a hasty save with a quick Gorilla Glue repair. (And, by the way, am I the only person who has to continually buy new bottles of Gorilla Glue because after I open a bottle and use it and close the bottle, I can’t reopen it the next time because it’s glued completely shut? Surely other people have this problem. Surely?)

But, really, I think my incumbent shoes are worried because I am absolutely smitten, over-the-moon in love with the new fall shoes showing up around town. If I had unlimited funds and very cool places to go, these are the shoes I’d buy (left). And I bet I’d never have to Gorilla Glue them.

Goodby Ol’ Sandals

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Appropriately, as summer is ending, so are my favorite wear-everywhere-with-everything black sandals. I’ve loved these sandals for years — perhaps too much love for too long, since my younger daughter cringed everytime I pulled them out. “You look like somebody who wants to be a cowboy,” she’d say. I thought the Western details were cute. But maybe not. The sandals had started to develop an unhealthy sort of rattle in one of the soles and I really didn’t want to investigate to find out what it was. I gradually had begun to swim out of the pool of denial and to think that maybe the end was near. On Labor Day, after tramping around a garden picking okra, it came to me as I was digging out little sticky things and washing off the dirt that I had to say “goodbye.” I was sad. My daughter was ecstatic. And really, when I looked at these shoes with a freshly objective eye, I realized they were so horrible that I was embarrassed to take a photo of them. So just use your imagination. And then double the ugly factor — they were that bad.

Click here to read more:

http://http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080905/ARTICLES/809050301/