By Donna Cornelius Jack Staub is in the midst of an interesting life. He’s written five plays, appeared on several daytime dramas, been an ad agency creative director and even inspired a character in the Academy Award-nominated movie “Metropolitan.” But he’s especially known as a garden writer and as one of the most knowledgeable edible gardening experts around. He’ll be … [Read more...]

By Donna Cornelius Fabric designer Lisa Fine loves to travel, especially to India, where she finds inspiration for her linen textiles. She’s lived in Paris, calls a New York apartment home and spends most summers in Dallas. There’s one place she’s never visited: Birmingham. But that will change when Fine appears at the Antiques at The Gardens show, set for Oct. 3-6 at the … [Read more...]

By Emily Williams Some of the oldest homes in Vestavia Hills dot Shades Mountain, built well before the city’s incorporation in 1950. The area was first established in the late 1800s by former two-term Birmingham Mayor George B. Ward, who built his Greco-Roman-inspired “Vestavia” estate where Vestavia Hills Baptist Church now stands. A wave of people built grand homes along … [Read more...]

Story by Lauren Helmer • Photos by Lee WallsYou may not know her face, but you probably know her voice. Dru Cunningham Backensto is Birmingham Mountain Radio’s DJ host of the “Flipback Lunch,” which airs weekdays during her 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, and the soon-to-launch “She Show,” featuring all female artists and dynamic local women as guests. Dru opened the doors to … [Read more...]

By Lauren Helmer Imagine the waves lapping against the shoreline of your own private beach along 30A. You’ve just taken a dip in the crisp salt water and are heading back home, your toes massaging the sugar-white sand as you walk toward the wooden boardwalk that meanders through a nature trail into the Watersound coastal village community. Nestled among the towering pines, … [Read more...]