Christmas decorations take center stage in the Samford Legacy League’s 2015 Christmas Home Tour, with arrangements ranging from heirloom tree ornaments to ornaments collected from exotic locales, and from traditional religious symbols to a vast array of Santa Clauses. Visitors will get to see four homes in Mountain Brook and the Samford President’s Home in Vestavia Hills as … [Read more...]
Vestavia Family Spins Tradition, Celebrates with 12 Trees of Christmas
By Kaitlin Candelaria The Thackerson family of Vestavia Hills has put a whole new twist on the holiday season. While some families celebrate with 12 days of Christmas, Michelle, Steve and their three children instead celebrate with 12 trees. “Every year, we add different things,” Michelle said. “We incorporate all kinds of different things like puzzles, books, videos and … [Read more...]
They Have Donuts: Four Friends Cook up a Business Based on Their Favorite Food
By Donna Cornelius That thing you have for doughnuts? It’s in your genes. At least, that’s what Phil Amthor believes. “Everybody has a love for doughnuts within them from birth,” said Amthor, who started Birmingham’s We Have Doughnuts with his wife, Sara. The company just helps reawaken that primal connection, he said. The small batch, made-from-scratch doughnuts are sold … [Read more...]
Shell Game: Chef Jeremy Downey Wins Two Awards at Oyster Cook-off
By Donna Cornelius When Jeremy Downey eats an oyster, the taste takes him back to his childhood. Downey, the owner and chef of Bistro V in Vestavia Hills, grew up in Bayou La Batre on the Alabama Gulf Coast. “Our next door neighbor was an oyster guy, and he’d bring us a big old sack and say, ‘Here’s 50 pounds of oysters,’” Downey said. “Sometimes he’d just drop them on our … [Read more...]
Spirited Effort: Samford Professor Helps Tie God and Sports Together
By Kaitlin Candelaria God is the top priority in Darin White’s life, but sports may be a close second. The Vestavia Hills High School alumnus and Samford University professor is using his passion for Christ and his love of sports to create a thriving new program at Samford. White serves as the driving force behind the university’s sports marketing program. The program, … [Read more...]




