By Donna CorneliusJournal Features WriterChefs worth their gourmet sea salt have to be ready to make adjustments when a recipe isn’t working out.Chef Beth Leon had to handle an even more drastic change. Instead of cooking up restaurant food, she’s now whipping up lesson plans.Leon, a 25-year-old Pelham resident and John Carroll Catholic High School graduate, … [Read more...]
Heavy Into Metal
By Keysha DrexelJournal editorIn a workshop on First Avenue South in Birmingham near Sloss Furnaces, where the rise of the Magic City was forged, a group of blacksmiths is creating functional pieces of art through a centuries-old craft.The staff at Red Mountain Ironworks, a blacksmith and ornamental iron shop headed up by Nolen Graves of Mountain Brook, focuses on … [Read more...]
Rocking the Pool
By Keysha DrexelJournal editorWhen Betty and Jody Saia built their Mountain Brook home in 1995, adding a pool and outdoor living area was a must. The couple knew their three children, who were young at that time, would get countless hours of enjoyment swimming, diving and hanging out by the pool in the backyard of the Brooke Mountain Lane home.But what they didn't … [Read more...]
The Right Moves
By Keysha DrexelJournal editorMillions of college students across the country will head back to campus next month, and a company co-founded by a Vestavia Hills High School graduate is hoping to help the students and their parents with the heavy lifting involved in the back-to-school routine.Campus Bellhops, co-founded by Stephen Vlahos in 2010, … [Read more...]
Big League Effort
By William C. Singleton IIIJournal contributorDuring a baseball tournament three years ago, Shay Hammonds noticed Cullman had a baseball field for special needs children and believed Hoover should have one too.“As large as Hoover is and as many schools as we have and as many special needs kids as we have, I wondered why we didn’t have one,” she said.That led … [Read more...]