Today, The Rawls attracts people from all over the South, whether they are on the hunt for a good ghost story, a cozy antique bed, or a scrumptious meal. Despite its historic location, the menu is anything but outdated, featuring contemporary Southern fare with an emphasis on farm-to-table ingredients. Chef Shleusner co-owns the restaurant and bar with his wife, Daphne. The couple took over the restaurant a few short years ago, just in time to save it from being shut down. The Schleusners were just what The Rawls needed to get back on its feet. In the summer of 2010, they operated the bar while the kitchen was being restored, allowing them to make connections with local farmers, formulate menus, and create cocktails centered on Alabama’s fresh produce. The restaurant was set to reopen in October of the same year. “It was the most chaotic opening I have ever seen,” says Chef Schleusner, “but we made it.”

Originally from Birmingham, Chef Schleusner realized his passion for food at a young age. Growing up, he attended a Connecticut boarding school, but returned home every summer to work in local restaurants. He went on to graduate with a business degree from Furman University, but his real dream was to go to culinary school. “I wanted to use all aspects of my senses,” he explained, “so I knew I couldn’t work a desk job.” He was accepted into the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and continued gaining experience by working in some of the best restaurants in the city. After graduating with a degree in culinary arts, Chef Schleusner worked for famed chefs Daniel Boulud and Andrew Carmellini at Manhattan’s Café Boulud for three and a half years. “If you want to become the best at what you do, you live, you work, you slave in Manhattan,” he advises. Every day was a challenge, but Chef Schleusner believes that difficult experiences are what build a person’s outer shell. Regarding Café Boulud, he says, “Boarding school made me a person, this industry molded me, and that restaurant made me fall in love with food.”

Huntsville restaurants provide abundant opportunity for friends and families to gather to share food and memories. After hearing of Huntsville’s sterling reputation as a great city to raise a family and start a new business, Boyce and his wife, Suzan, decided to move across the country to start Boyce Restaurant Concepts. Although he dreamed of having his own restaurant as a child, Boyce never expected that he would open six restaurants in just four years. In the order they appeared: Cotton Row, Pane e Vino Humphrey’s Bar & Grill, and Café Alana Shay. With the exception of Café Alana Shay, all the restaurants are in the downtown Huntsville area, providing the city’s center with phenomenal flavor. The motto of Boyce Restaurant Concepts—“Eat Simply. Eat Smart. Eat Well.”—encapsulates the cooking goals of James Boyce and shines through in every dish.

Cotton Row, Boyce’s flagship restaurant, offers dishes based on local and seasonal ingredients. Housed in a historic building tied to the cotton trade, this fresh dining experience delights visitors with a charming brick interior and modern American fare. Located on the plaza level of the Huntsville Museum of Art, Pane e Vino Pizzeria offers a touch of whimsy and continues the creative experience. Each artfully crafted pizza is named after a famous artist. Other Italian offerings are available as well at this family-friendly restaurant. Just down the street from Cotton Row is Commerce Kitchen, a gourmet spin on old-fashioned Southern cooking. The menu’s tagline reminds diners that “commerce is the exchange of goods […] to satisfy human wants”—and satisfaction is guaranteed with these delicious entrées. James Steakhouse is an upscale eatery that offers chicken, pork, lamb, and seafood alongside Black Angus beef. The exceptional cuts of meat put James Steakhouse far above competitors. Humphrey’s Bar & Grill serves up flavorful pub fare and rocking bands, creating the perfect hangout spot in downtown Huntsville. Boyce’s newest addition, Café Alana Shay at the Hilton Doubletree, serves up more delicious and varied American dishes. The restaurant offers a great brunch menu,
as well.

In his spare time, Boyce has developed a few side projects to improve mealtimes at home. He has developed a line of candles, hand scrubs, and lotions through Voluspa to enhance both the cooking and the dining experience. The “green” candles are made with coconut wax and reclaimed material. Culinary-inspired flavors fill your home with savory aromas that can deodorize a kitchen or set the perfect atmosphere for meals. Candle fragrances include California Citrus, Chef ’s Special, Herb Garden, Sommelier, Spice Market, and Vintage. Check out some of Boyce’s recipes online to complement these gourmet candles. He also has his own Royal Cup coffee brew that is a blend of beans from Sumatra, Kenya, and Guatemala. These products make great gifts for friends and can be purchased at any of the six restaurant locations
or online.

It’s a common refrain for emptynesters: “The kids are gone—let’s make a change.” That was the case for a couple with deep roots in Montgomery, who realized that “we were at the stage of life where we were ready to downsize,” recalls the wife. That meant giving up their home of many years, a grand, columned manor designed by the lauded Alabama firm McAlpine Tankersley Architecture. The couple decided to build a house in Hampstead, a master planned village on the outskirts of town. And what they gave up in grandeur they gained in community.

Hampstead embodies the principles of so-called Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND), also known as New Urbanism. Popular across the country (familiar examples range from The Preserve and Mt. Laurel in Birmingham to Seaside and Rosemary Beach on the Gulf), TND emphasizes greater density and traditional niceties such as porches and parks to achieve walkable neighborhoods with valued amenities. At Hampstead these include restaurants, a branch library, swimming pool, Montessori school, YMCA facility, trails, tennis courts, a community farm, and what will be Montgomery’s largest lake. Like other such communities, Hampstead has a unifying style, based on English Arts and Crafts and English vernacular architecture, as skillfully interpreted back in the day by C.F.A. Voysey and Edwin Lutyens.

Having worked on several New Urbanist developments (including this one), Birmingham-area architect Gary Justiss was a natural choice to design a house blending the couple’s wishes with Hampstead’s Anglophile style. “All the homes share that English DNA, but at the same time they’re Southern houses, with big porches and other outdoor living spaces,” he says. “The house is traditional but relaxed, with a contemporary floor plan and lots of natural light.” Traditional style also defines the interiors. “They had so many nice pieces that decorating mainly involved selecting what would work together in the new house,” says interior designer Ashley Gilbreath. “We freshened it up with new upholstery fabrics, new lampshades, and a few new things.”

Making the most of less wall space, she arranged a good portion of the couple’s art collection above the stairway. The living and dining areas and kitchen flow together, unified by a trio of Italian chandeliers. Timbers reclaimed from a Virginia wharf found new life as weathered ceiling beams and roughsawn flooring. Continuous, floor-toceiling linen draperies flank French doors on both sides. More long draperies wrap around the bed alcove in the master suite, which features a limestone fireplace and his-and-hers baths. Far from chilly England, this house embraces the sunny South. The front facade’s double-gable roofline and stacked porches face a parklike green space. Other outdoor zones include a walled garden off the master bedroom and a landscaped terrace by the motor court, accented with a graceful statue. But the verdant heart of the house is an interior courtyard formed by the L-shaped house, a three-car garage, and an enclosing wall and arbor. Designer James Farmer, Gilbreath’s friend (and Auburn classmate), turned the courtyard into a true alfresco living/ dining room, complete with outdoor fireplace, ample dining table, and faux-bois concrete settees.

Diverse plantings seasonal flowers, hydrangeas, boxwood, rosemary, curly willow, potted palms and olive trees, and more—make the courtyard lush even in winter. A sundial; carved architectural details; dual wall fountains with handforged spouts and river-rock backsplashes; a deft mix of brick, bluestone, tumbled cobblestones; and Alabama-made Peacock Pavers provide visual interest and varied textures. Two stone hounds and a metal sculpture of a frog reading a book add a note of whimsy.

“The garden appeals to all the senses, as it should,” Farmer says. “At night it has a romantic glow—a carefully balanced blend of gas lamps, candle sconces, and low-voltage lighting.” The house and courtyard are equally suited to intimate parties or large gatherings. “We had 45 people on Christmas eve,” the wife recalls. “The weather was incredible—we had a fire but the doors were open and everyone was in and out.” She has nothing but praise for the talented design team: “They gave us something elegant but not stuffy. We were ready for something different, and we got it!”

Leefy trees arch above your head. Through their shady green tunnel you ride, enjoying the cool breeze of your passage. Aside from the contented hum of your tires on the asphalt, you hear only birds, probably warning each other of your approach. You are bicycling through a bygone world—a peaceful, rural Alabama that mostly disappeared decades ago. Between the trees you glimpse farmhouses, barns, sometimes cattle or horses. Streams occasionally splash along the path, and wildflowers bloom in random bursts of color, faintly perfuming the air.

On either side loom wooded mountain ridges, part of the Appalachian chain, twisting like immense snakes frozen in mid-writhe. More than a century ago, railroad builders threaded their tracks through this ruggedly picturesque landscape.

In the middle of the 20th century, a streamlined train called the Silver Comet flashed through these valleys twice a day, once in each direction. During the glory days of rail travel, it connected Birmingham with New York. By 1969, it had flamed out. By 1989, the entire stretch of track from Atlanta to Birmingham was abandoned. Now, it’s a linear playground. In Alabama, it’s called the Chief Ladiga Trail, named after the Muskogee Indian leader who in 1832 relinquished his tribe’s lands in northeast Alabama to the U.S. government. (“Ladiga” rhymes with “Godiva.”) The trail runs almost 33 miles from Georgia through Piedmont, Jacksonville, and Weaver to northern Anniston. At the Georgia line, it connects with the 61.5-mile Silver Comet Trail, which extends all the way to Smyrna, just northwest of Atlanta. Together, the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Silver Comet Trail (including its 4.8-mile eastward extension, the Cumberland Connector) cover almost 99 miles, thus constituting the country’s longest paved recreational trail.

Andy Mycroft of Marietta, Georgia, has bicycled every foot of it. He considers the 13-mile segment from Georgia to Piedmont “probably the prettiest section on the whole line.” He says it’s a great escape from the endless bustle of metropolitan Atlanta. But that’s not the main reason he hits the trail every chance he gets. “The one thing I love about riding is the friendly idiots you run into,” he says with a grin. “They’re a weird bunch, but they’re a lot of fun.” Andy and riding buddy Matthew Laflamme of Alpharetta, Georgia (both of whom seem not only friendly but also intelligent and perfectly normal), are taking a lunch break at the Solid Rock Café, in a historic building a block and a half from the trail in downtown Piedmont. It’s a surprisingly chic coffeehouse that serves excellent sandwiches and ice cream. “And cookies,” Andy says. “You have to try the cookies.” (He’s right.) Bicyclists aren’t the only ones who enjoy the Chief Ladiga Trail. So do walkers, joggers, roller skaters, skateboarders, wheelchair users (the trail is quite flat its entire length), and horseback riders (the latter only in Cleburne County—the first 8 or so miles of trail from the Georgia line, including a passage through the Talladega National Forest). Pets are welcome, too, if they’re leashed and picked up after. West of Piedmont, the surroundings betray a bit more of the influence of civilization, although nature still dominates.

The trail, heretofore running east-west, now bends south and soon enters Jacksonville. It runs through the Jacksonville State University campus and past a restored 1860-vintage depot, which offers restrooms and information about the town, including a restaurant list. The trail continues through Weaver, where strip malls begin to proliferate, and ends at Michael Tucker Park in Anniston, which features restrooms with showers, a picnic table, a gazebo, benches, and a parking lot. It’s all very welcoming and helpful. But it offers nary a hint that as you start your trail journey, you’re about to enter a time machine.

On the outskirts of Birmingham’s network of rigid avenues and steel towers, the city of Mountain Brook offers a warm atmosphere for shoppers, diners, and travel enthusiasts. The villages that constitute the city are intimately arranged among the various brooks and nature trails that circulate throughout Red Mountain. As you stroll amid the 16th-century English architecture, the historic establishments and friendly villagers evoke a strong sense of community, loyalty, and heritage. These are the values that Mountain Brook has written across its history, legible to both its longtime residents and its frequent visitors. In Mountain Brook Village, shopping and dining are often just a few steps apart. But in some cases, they are a single experience. Wesley Lassen is the owner of The Cook Store, which has dealt in unique kitchenware and other home accessories since 1975. “This is a different kind of store,” she says. “We’re eclectic with the kinds of items that we sell.” Notably, the homey environment of the store welcomes both new and familiar customers the way that their own kitchen does. In some sense, just being in the village is good for business. “It’s convenient to the neighborhood for kitchen items,” says Lassen. “This is a destination store. I have a little niche here.” Just a saunter down the street is Tom Sheffer, who has owned Dram Whiskey Bar, a neighborhood tavern and hangout, since 2009. “This had been a gas station,” he says. “But in the depth of the recession, we decided to open and have gotten off to a pretty good start.” The wooden and brick interior creates a setting of Southern hospitality and comfort for thirsty patrons. “We have a lot of regulars,” says Sheffer. “But that’s the way that we designed this place.” Dram features a widespread menu of regional dishes, customary wine, and straightforward cocktails, including the “Alabama Gentleman.”

Over in Crestline Village, stylish boutiques and delicious restaurants have recently sprouted among the Emmet O’Neal Library, Crestline Elementary School, and Tot Lot playground, rejuvenating its commercial appeal for residents and out-oftowners. Brooke Mason owns Ivory & White Bridal Boutique and has been drawing customers into the village since 2008. “I’ve always loved the village,” she says. “It’s the perfect spot for a bridal boutique.” The advantages for Mason are all her neighbors who supplement her boutique. “Everyone around here is so nice,” she says. “We try to send each other our business as much as we can.” One of her newest neighbors is Church Street Coffee & Books, an independent retreat for good espresso, literature, and conversation. Carrie Rollwagen is the coowner and book buyer. “Coffee is a job where you talk to people the whole time,” she says. “We can talk to our customers to see what books they’re into. Once we know people are readers, we can ask them what they liked about a particular book and recommend something from there.” Rollwagen remarks that the community has responded with hearty support.

Extending the charming character of the city is the European spirit that animates the shops, bistros, and artwork of English Village. Carole Griffin is the owner of Continental Bakery, which has served French pastries and other delicacies to the city since 1985. “Mountain Brook is a good location because people are likely to have traveled and therefore be receptive to our products,” she says. “Our clientele understands what we’re trying to do in the community.” Fulfilling such a unique role in the village, the bakery has become a renowned social hub among residents. “We have familiar customers who come to us throughout the day and make themselves feel at home,” says Griffin. “Some people know us so well that they pay with the exact amount of change. I’ve seen kids grow up and become adults.”

Mountain Brook is on the advent of unprecedented transformation. Lane Parke is an upcoming development in Mountain Brook Village that promises to bring new apartments and retailers to the city. Leon Rosato is the owner of Gilchrist Drugs, which has been an institution in Mountain Brook Village since 1928. “We’re on our fourth generation of customers,” he says. “This place is a tradition in the community, especially with kids after school.” Patricia Murray is the owner of Table Matters, a unique gift and tableware boutique. “I think the future looks bright for Mountain Brook Village,” she says. “Our customers from Nashville, Atlanta, and Mississippi say there is no place like it. We just need more people to know about us.” Whatever the future holds for the city, the values that built it continue to dwell in the heart of the villages. “This is a great community as it is. But I think it’s open to change and progress while keeping its traditions,” says Tom Sheffer. “I don’t think that the schools, safety, and community will ever change.”

“It’s got to be something I love, that’s the most important thing,” says Martin, owner of Melanie’s and MII Interiors.
The two lifestyle stores are located three doors apart at The Wharf in Orange Beach, so whether you’re looking for “the art of living well” or “objects for a well-lived life”—Melanie’s and MII’s respective themes—you can find a unique item that suits your needs. Across both stores, what Martin loves translates into clothing, jewelry, bedding, flowers, furniture of all sizes, art, accessories, and everything
else needed to decorate and fill a home.

Martin is always adding new products and designs, attempting to change everything in her stores every three months so they stay looking fresh. Her goal is to offer beautiful things that can’t be found anywhere else. She is able to do this because she travels regularly to places like New York City and even Morocco to find new products, and she designs many of her own pieces—a key to staying unique, she says. Her signature pieces include furniture using durable outdoor fabric from Sunbrella, and a big, comfortable armless chair called “the Melanie.”

In MII, Martin sells candles and diffusers with scents she created that reflect the Gulf area. These include “A Day at the Beach,” “Orange Beach,” and “Ono Island.” There is also a children’s corner with sock dolls and books. Art is a major focus for Martin. She uses as many local artists as she can and ones from other areas that she feels are just too good to pass up. She has a lot of pieces made from local driftwood, including large furniture, and will soon offer a new line of impressionistic shells from an artist out of Los Angeles. Martin also runs an interior design business that she says goes hand in hand with what she’s doing in the shops. If she can, she likes to start at the beginning of a project, with the architect, but she can also step in at any point of a project to help with the look. She works to make sure her projects are timeless and not trendy so the look will last, and she never does the same thing twice.

“My goal as an interior designer is to never look like it’s furniture store decorated,” Martin says. She works to make houses look “collected with beautiful things,” and, to echo the coast atmosphere, she makes sure her rooms are casual, durable, and comfortable. She tries to make everything she does “a room that you walk in and want to spend time in,” she says. She uses her passion for the craft to take what her clients love and bring the best out of it, being sure to focus on what they want. “I just love pretty things, pretty rooms,” she says. And her customers like them, too. To browse some of Martin’s favorite things, visit mtwointeriors.com.

The power of a handwritten note is truly unrivaled. In today’s digital age nothing can be more touching, or stand out more strikingly, than a personal note on beautiful stationery. Our mailboxes are stuffed with bills, our inboxes cluttered with e-mails, and our phones filled with texts, voicemails, and missed calls. So why then, when we need to send a thank you, or ought to write an encouraging note or even invite family and friends to a celebration do we spring for the generic card, the convenient e-mail, or the quick text? Stationery is the fun, creative, and sweet alternative. Spending those five minutes to jot down a hand written note on beautiful stationery can make all the difference. After all, you never print off an email and showcase it on your desk or put it away to look back on and cherish. A generic card you signed your name to won’t warrant the same warm feelings as your own words. It is the handwritten note that is proudly displayed on desks, and treasured as true keepsakes, making any handwritten note truly priceless. And in today’s stationary market there truly is no limit on how unique and personalized your stationary can be!

music, and prayer. All activities, including a parade, train rides, kayaking, and boat rides, take place on the St. Margaret’s Church grounds. The fleet will be blessed by Mobile’s Archbishop, the Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi, with the purpose of ensuring the safety of the men and ships at sea, and a plentiful bounty upon their return. Other clergy members lower a wreath from the bow of the boat to honor those lost at sea, followed by a procession in which they bless each vessel. Each year, the St. Margaret’s Ladies Sodality contributes a beautiful, hand sewn quilt as a charitable tribute. While each quilt has a nautical theme, they are all unique. The Blessing of the Fleet has spread along the eastern seaboard to Louisiana, Florida, and Georgia, and has become a sacred communal event. This year’s event will be May 4-5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m both days. For more information on participation or event sponsorship’s, visit www.fleetblessing.org.