Birmingham, AL May 2026

The Women's Issue

“I’m going to make everything around me beautiful—that will be my life.”

This oft-cited Elsie de Wolfe quote feels apt for describing the women featured in this month’s issue. Finding, creating, curating, and celebrating beauty is high art in Birmingham–and we are excited to showcase a few women who’ve caught our attention.

When Ami à Vie’s Maggie Smith described the mag ical childhood birthday parties thoughtfully planned by her mother, I was flooded with my own memories and a thought: what so often looks effortless was in fact, totally intentional.

“It takes someone choosing to make it special,” as Maggie perfectly stated. In this issue, from artful silk scarves to birthday fêtes, pastries, interiors, makeup and wardrobe selections–we see women choosing to make every day more beautiful, more meaningful.

And perhaps none more so than the women we feature in our nonprofit feature, Soaring .

The work being done at Grace House, College Choice Foundation, and Deeper House shows us how passion, determination, and tireless advocacy can change lives and entire families–a beauty that looks like second chances, opportunity, and a future reimagined.

For the women around my age who gather each week to tumble, laugh, and reclaim something just for themselves–we see the beauty forged in community.

There is also a shared tension many of these women navigate—the space between work and home, ambition and presence. So many are mothers, balancing more than anyone sees, and still creating beauty there too—in the details, in the traditions, in the way they make life feel special.

And then there is the beauty that only comes with time, eloquently illustrated by the women of Kirkwood by the River who share their words of wisdom.

Here’s to the women who are making everything around them more beautiful— and to the ones brave enough to do it in their own way. I hope you are inspired as you read the issue to look for, and create, more beauty in the world.

May 2026

PUBLISHER

Kali McNutt | kali.mcnutt@citylifestyle.com

EDITOR

Blair Moore | blair.moore@citylifestyle.com

PUBLISHER ASSISTANT

Shellye Andrus

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Alice Welsh Doyle

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ambre Amari, Mary Fehr, Dr. Joseph Wu,

Laurey Glenn, Mason David Erwin

Corporate Team

CEO Steven Schowengerdt

President Matthew Perry

COO David Stetler

CRO Jamie Pentz

CoS Janeane Thompson

AD DESIGNER Matthew Endersbe

LAYOUT DESIGNER Kathy Nguyen

QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Hannah Leimkuhler

Lynlee strongly believes in and supports residential growth in Birmingham. Since obtaining her license in 2014, Lynlee has completed over 688 transactions totaling over $322 million dollars of real estate sold in the area. “I have made a huge effort to be intimately engaged in the central city and surrounding “city suburbs” from Forest Park to Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia, so that I can provide the greatest benefit to my clients, which I strongly believe is market knowledge”. Her greatest motivation is her clients: She says, “Success to me is doing what I love every day and knowing my contributions positively impact my clients, my company and my city and that I have produced the highest quality of work.”

Entre Deux Mondes

Kristen Hall on raising daughters, building La Fête, and living in between

Three Birmingham women helping the next generation rise higher Featured 08 14 22 28

She’s Good at Getting Dressed

Courtenay Bullock brings instinct, restraint, and confidence to Le Weekend

At Home on Honeysuckle

A serendipitous redesign brings fresh color, layered character, and livable elegance to a Crestline cottage

On the Cover

Le Weekend kicked off spring this year with a shoot featuring the Alémais Summer 2026 collection. Here, model Abby Williams sports the Liana open-back printed silk-twill top and Liana silk palazzo pants. Styled by Sutton Ward. Creative direction by Courtenay Bullock.

Photography: GREDDINS.

Entre Deux Mondes

Kristen Hall on raising daughters, building La Fête, and living in between

Before there were restaurants and accolades, there was a mother with two little girls at her side, playing in the kitchen, hands dusted in sugar.

It was the summer of 2013, and Kristen Hall, owner and executive chef of La Fête, stood with a two-year-old and a five-year-old— Eleanor and Emma—measuring, spilling, stirring right alongside her, sleeves pushed up, hands already sticky, batter clinging to their fingers as something baked in the oven.

“I think we all owe it to ourselves to live our greatest truths. To pursue our wildest dreams. And that’s not only good for ourselves, but it’s good for the communities we live in and for our families.”

— KRISTEN HALL

“It was one of those things,” Hall says. “It was going to be a mess, and I knew that going into it, but that’s part of the teaching process.”

In that kitchen, she was showing them how to live— preparing her daughters to be self-sufficient, to leave her house one day with real skills.

“I wanted to raise girls who could care for themselves,” she says.

Before long, the kitchen was filled with scones, jam-filled linzer cookies, rosemary shortbread, and lemon bars—and the idea to box them up, leave them on neighbors’ porches, ring the doorbell, and dart off before the treats were discovered.

Many in Birmingham remember what came next: Baking Bandits, the sold-out Saturdays at Pepper Place, the lines that formed quickly and kept coming.

Behind the scenes, there was a mother of two working full-time, staying up all night on Fridays to bake, packing the car at dawn, selling out, coming home to rest for a few hours, and starting it all over again.

Hall had spent more than a decade at UAB’s School of Medicine after studying biology and chemistry at Samford. It was steady, demanding work—a full life. When she baked, something larger was happening, taking on a life of its own.

“I have always said that it truly felt like pastry chose me,” she says. “Baking is a lot of chemistry—attention to detail, understanding how things work—so much of my skillset translated.”

What didn’t translate as easily was the decision to leave a successful career for a newly discovered passion.

When she handed in her letter of resignation at UAB, she could not have imagined what would come next: La Fête, her love letter to Paris; a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand designation, and a 2026 James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef (South).

“I remember standing on the Michelin stage thinking, ‘Ten years ago, I would not have believed this was possible.’”

The journey unfolded as she began to step more fully into her own life, a lesson she hopes to see her daughters carry on:

“The way that I got here was continuing to choose myself,” she says.

“I was raised to be small. To be quiet. To go along to get along.”

That expectation can take time to move past.

“It’s been a hard journey to re-parent myself into believing there was more for me.”

At La Fête, it comes to life through pâte à choux baked until crisp and airy, delicate tarts filled with pastry cream and fruit—the kind of layered textures she fell in love with in France. Every detail of the dining experience is meant to bring Birmingham the feeling of walking cobblestone streets in Paris–complete with savory offerings like poulet au citron and quintessential beef bourguignon.

Building restaurants while raising children has required her to live in a space she calls “betwixt”—a space many women know well—the tension between work and home, where “it sometimes feels at odds and sometimes feels cohesive.”

“I spend less time trying to find the balance,” she says. “A lot of people think balance is 50/50, but I’ve discovered that it often looks more like 80/20.”

When she is at work, she works without the guilt of being away. When she is home, she is home, fully engaged with her now 15- and 18-year-old daughters— walking, singing in the car, listening.

Once in a while, the three find themselves in the kitchen again, baking something together—perhaps a pastry or even just brownies from a box.

“Baking doesn’t always have to be complicated,” she says. “Sometimes it’s for me to remember that it can just be for fun.”

Because the lessons learned in that kitchen were never just about baking.

They were about learning how to care for yourself, how to trust your instincts:

How to choose your life and refuse to stay small.

“I think we all owe it to ourselves to live our greatest truths,” Hall says, “to pursue our wildest dreams. And that’s not only good for ourselves, but it’s good for the communities we live in and for our families.”

La Fête

2018 Morris Ave

Follow @lafetebham and @bykristenhall for the latest.

THE ART OF THE SWIRL

LAURA PENKAVA TRANSFORMS PAINT, WATER, AND SILK INTO ONE-OF-A-KIND DESIGNS

A tray of thickened water sits on the table in Laura Penkava’s home studio, its surface dotted with drops of floating paint. With a small tool, she pulls the colors through the bath, watching them stretch and swirl into marbled ribbons of indigo, rust, and soft green.

A length of silk is laid carefully across the surface. In seconds, the pattern transfers—a dreamy design that will never appear quite the same again.

ARTICLE BY BLAIR MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARY FEHR

For Penkava, the Birmingham creative behind Color by LP, that unpredictability is part of the appeal.

“Sometimes the colors work, and sometimes they don’t,” she said. “It’s always kind of a surprise.”

For years, Penkava worked as a nurse practitioner before stepping away from medicine to raise her three boys. But she has always loved to make things.

After leaving her medical career, she began experimenting with marbling — a centuries-old technique that allows paint to float across the surface of water before transferring onto paper or silk.

“I saw marbling somewhere — it might have been on Instagram — and I thought, I could do that,” she said.

Penkava started small, dipping Christmas ornaments into swirling paint baths. Soon she began experimenting with paper and, eventually, silk scarves — a material she now considers both the most challenging and the most rewarding.

A silk scarf must first be treated with an alum solution so the paint will adhere. Once dry, it is laid carefully across the marbling bath, where pigments bloom across the fabric, often softening or shifting as they settle into the silk.

Over time, the silk scarves have become her signature. She tests color combinations on scraps of fabric, adjusting tones before committing them to a full scarf. On marbling days, the silk must be treated the night before, then carefully laid across the bath so the paint can transfer to the fabric in a single motion.

Penkava’s work now appears at pop-ups and events in Birmingham and beyond, though it rarely stays in just one form. A marbled design she created for a wedding was printed onto fabric and wrapped around custom lampshades. In another collaboration, she designed slender silk twilly scarves to pair with ceramic charms by Susan Gordon Pottery, and she has created place cards and paper goods for styled shoots with creatives like Mary Beth Jones.

Most recently, her work has taken her to Oxford, Mississippi, where she appeared at the Tom Beckbe store during the weekend of Double Decker.

As her work grows, Penkava hopes the pieces keep their original spirit.

“I think sometimes we can get wrapped up in doing the same thing everyone else is doing and wearing the same thing,” she said. “It’s fun to jazz things up a little.”

“Just throw it on your bag,” she said. “Have fun with it. Don’t take fashion — or life — too seriously.”

Discover Laura’s most recent marbled creations @color.bylp on Instagram.

COURTENAY BULLOCK BRINGS INSTINCT, RESTRAINT, AND CONFIDENCE TO LE WEEKEND

SHE’S GOOD AT GETTING DRESSED

There’s a clarity to the way Courtenay Bullock approaches style—and it starts with knowing what not to bring home.

“GOOD TASTE IS KNOWING WHO YOU ARE AND STAYING IN YOUR LANE.”

“Good taste is knowing who you are and staying in your lane,” she says.

At her English Village boutique, Le Weekend, the racks aren’t crowded. They’re considered. Edited. Intentional. It’s not about offering more. It’s about offering the right things.

“Restraint plays a huge role in style—you can’t have everything, and you don’t want everything.”

That mindset shows up in her own closet, too. Bullock leans into a uniform: button-downs, tailored trousers, a great pair of jeans, a simple tee. It’s a look influenced by menswear—something she grew up around thanks to her dad, owner of menswear boutique Harrison Ltd. The two still joke that they share the same core skill: they’re just good at getting dressed.

It’s an ease backed by instinct.

Bullock doesn’t walk into market with a set strategy. She relies on gut instinct—an almost immediate read on what works and what doesn’t. Within seconds, she knows if something belongs in the store. Not just because she likes it, but because her customer will.

“My clients are my strategy,” she says.

That customer is always front of mind. A trip to New York isn’t about chasing what’s trending—it’s about translating it. What works there doesn’t always work here. Life in Birmingham looks different, and Bullock buys accordingly: pieces that

move from school drop-off to meetings to dinner, without feeling overdone.

Still, she leaves room for discovery: the jacquard jacket, the unexpected silhouette, the piece that doesn’t demand to be purchased, only considered. “You don’t have to buy it,” she tells clients. “Just try it.”

“I’ve bought everything in the store—but for different versions of myself,” she says.

That perspective—shaped in part by her mother and sisters, all with distinct personal styles—allows her to see beyond her own point of view. The result is a mix that feels both wearable and quietly unexpected: the piece you came in for, and the one you didn’t know you needed.

And inside the store, the experience matters just as much as the product.

“We’ve created a space where women can come, even for fifteen minutes, and feel recharged,” she says. “I hope women walk in, take a deep breath, and leave feeling lighter.”

That was always the goal. After spending time in New York, Bullock noticed something simple: women got dressed—not just for events, but for everyday life. That sense of intention—and the confidence that comes with it—is what she’s worked to bring to Birmingham.

Now, as a mother, that perspective has deepened. She understands now more than ever how getting dressed can feel—especially in seasons when your body, your time, and your priorities are shifting. There’s more empathy in how she buys and in how she connects with her clients.

At its core, Le Weekend is not just about clothes.

“Getting dressed should make you feel confident and empowered every day.”

Le Weekend

1917 Cahaba Road

205.767.6857

@leweekendstudio

“I HOPE WOMEN WALK IN, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND LEAVE FEELING LIGHTER.”

Tumbling Into Joy

Where a group of Birmingham women come to tumble, laugh, and cheer each other on

ARTICLE BY BLAIR MOORE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DR. JOSEPH WU

On Friday mornings at Magic City Cheer in Hoover, the bass carries out into the parking lot. Inside, cheers erupt — not for a kid or teenager, but for a mom in her 40s who just landed a roundoff back tuck, met with high fives and whoops from women who were strangers just months ago.

It all started with a playful dare from Coach Tression “Tre” Nash to a 7-year-old spitfire in his class.

“I bet your mom could get her back handspring before you,” he challenged Maylie.

Her mother, Magen, perked up. “Tre, you don’t know what kind of person you’re talking to,” she said. “I’m very competitive.”

“Well, then come out this Friday morning.”

Last August, Magen found herself standing on the tumbling floor.

“I was so nervous,” she remembers. “I don’t think I’ve been this nervous as an adult.”

The jury is still out on who will land the back handspring first. Magen and Maylie are both close.

“I’m sitting here pushing my daughter to get out of her comfort zone — and now I’m doing it too.”

Word began to spread about the class, drawing the interest of women across Birmingham, including 46-year-old Ashley Tatum, who hadn’t thrown a back tuck since cheer tryouts at Auburn 25 years ago. With a little encouragement, she ran through every tumbling skill still in her repertoire on her first day with Coach Tre. She’s been tumbling weekly ever since.

“I live for Fridays,” she says. “As moms, we’re always on the sidelines cheering for our husbands, our families, and our children. It’s such a cool experience to have your peers standing there cheering you on.”

Jessica Gilmore, 30, has found the same spark.

“This group has been so fun — just finding an actual hobby. Not something for my family, my church, my job, or my home, but something just for fun and for me,” she says. “I didn’t know I needed that.”

Pregnant with her second child, Gilmore even threw standing back handsprings during her first trimester.

“With motherhood, it’s not that you have to completely find yourself again,” she says. “It’s figuring out what brings joy for you in this season. And for us right now, it’s this.”

E.P. Cade, 33, owner of barre3 Birmingham, thought her tumbling days were over, but she has found joy returning to the floor.

“Coming back to skills I worked so hard toward as a young athlete, but now through the lens of playfulness and enjoyment, has been such a full-circle moment,” she says. “It feels rare to find an outlet like this in adulthood, and it’s made even more special by the community of women who show up week after week ready to cheer each other on.”

Coach Tre believes age is no excuse not to tumble. Many of the women say they now feel physically and mentally stronger than they did in their teens.

“A lot of us work out at the gym to prepare for these tumbling skills,” says Tatum.

“They’re very transparent with me,” says Coach Tre. “If I’m pushing them and they tell me it’s not the day for it, that’s fine — we’re not going to push it.” The women know when to respect their limits. “We’re at the age where we can listen to our bodies and play it safe when we need to.”

Kathleen Varner, a well-known Birmingham floral designer and prop stylist, plans her week around making the class. Once an avid tumbler and pole vaulter, she’s found her way back to a lifelong joy.

“These women who had never met are now full-on besties,” he says. “This has become a small group for them. Sometimes we tumble, sometimes we heal.”

“We all call it our therapy on Fridays,” she says. “It’s just nice to have something outside of work and kids that’s truly for you. You literally feel like a kid again — I’m doing a childhood sport I never thought I’d do again.”

None of them knew each other before this.

“We never would have pictured being here doing the things we’re doing,” says local realtor Ashley Brigham. “Now we’re all close, and the encouragement means the world.”

In 2014, Brigham donated a kidney to one of her two sons. Like many of the women in the class, she had long spent most of her time caring for others.

“Most of us are moms, and you spend most of your time taking care of them,” she says. “This is the first time in a long time I’m really doing something for me. It’s been getting back into shape, having fun, and doing things I never thought I’d be doing again. It’s been the best gift.”

“Good luck at your closing, Ashley!” several women call as she heads out the door.

The camaraderie and environment, they say, begin with Coach Tre.

“These women who had never met are now full-on besties,” he says. “This has become a small group for them. Sometimes we tumble, sometimes we heal.”

Each week, Coach Tre sees them walk out happier than they walked in.

Magen says the tumbling is only part of why she comes. As a mom of two terminally ill children, this group has become a lifeline.

“Yes, we’re all here tumbling and doing all of that,” she says. “But there have been mornings when I come here after taking one of my children into the hospital. These women are right there asking me, ‘How did it go?’ They’ve become my people.”

She pauses.

“I think I come every Friday so that I can keep going, because outside of these walls, it can be really heavy. We’ve all blocked this time off on our calendars. We’ve made a point to be here, and I think we are better people outside of here because of it.”

Behind her, cheers burst from the mat as another woman tumbles through the air.

AT HOME ON HONEYSUCKLE

A serendipitous redesign brings fresh color, layered character, and livable elegance to a Crestline cottage

ARTICLE BY ALICE WELSH DOYLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAUREY GLENN

Call it serendipity, good fortune, or sheer luck, but when Birmingham decorator Zoë Gowen received a phone call from a young couple asking for help, it was a full-circle moment. “When I was a homes editor at Southern Living, I scouted this

house in Crestline and did a curb appeal makeover story, but we never photographed the interiors. It was crazy to realize the connection,” says Zoë. “I had the opportunity to freshen up a house I already admired and help transition it for Lollie and Dustin’s lifestyle and plans.”

The homeowners, Montgomery natives, felt fortunate as well. “We tried buying a home while we were still living in Dallas, and it felt impossible, especially given how hilly Birmingham is,” says Lollie. “It was hard to tell from the photos how you even accessed certain lots. My sister-in-law was our agent, and we eventually discussed the inclines like skiing. I would ask her, ‘Does

it lean more green or black slope?’ We finally just made the move and looked from here.”

After losing out on a couple of houses, the couple got aggressive and ended up with a home in Crestline on a family-focused street. “We didn’t realize how great the neighborhood was; we honestly fell into it and feel so blessed,” says Lollie. “That we can walk to restaurants and retail is something I never expected when I lived in Dallas!”

Architect Matthew V. Costanzo had carefully designed the Cape Cod-style shingle cottage for the prior owners, so the heavy lifting was over, and the CONTINUED >

“That we can walk to restaurants and retail is something I never expected when I lived in Dallas!”

focus was on those personal expressions and last layers. “It really was move-inready, but we wanted it to reflect our lifestyle and personality,” adds Lollie. “I also found the open floor plan a bit daunting, so I needed someone with experience to help with that as well.” The new-to-Birmingham couple did what Southerners often do, querying family members and college friends for recommendations, and Zoë’s name popped up more than once, so that was that.

During the process, both Lollie and Zoë embraced a palette that neither one of them expected when they began. “The living room included closets on either side of the fireplace with great storage, so we decided to trick the eye by adding handpainted de Gournay wallcovering panels to the fronts,” says Zoë. “The clients came to the project with a minimum of pieces, so the panels doubled as art in the space, and we fell in love with the metallic abstract pattern and the textured silk finish.” The

pattern had shades of lavender, which were pulled out for sofa pillows and elsewhere. While the client leaned towards white with blue notes, all agreed that lavender was a welcome and distinguishing surprise, and it even migrated to the primary bedroom curtain panels.  Not that blue was neglected; Zoë employed it to great effect by painting the lower kitchen cabinets a pale blue sky and wrapping all the beautiful dining room millwork in a slight chalky blue tone, and even employed a bold peacock for the jazzy powder room.

As the couple had lived in Dallas for several years, they leaned towards a more cosmopolitan atmosphere,

but as Southerners, tradition also played a part. “We strived towards light and sophisticated, certainly not stark but still young,” says Zoë. “We layered in a few antique pieces, such as the dining room table, an Italian mirror over the foyer console table, and a Biedermeier chest of drawers in the stair hall.

With an open plan and no separate downstairs den, the living room seating and placement were of utmost importance. “We wanted to have as many options as possible without it feeling like a furniture showroom!” says the designer. She kept the foundational pieces in shades of white with dashes of color

CONTINUED >

in the pillow fabrics and wallpaper panels on a neutral carpet, which made the room feel spacious and plush.

Zoë and her client also focused on storage in plain sight—a large coffee table with hidden compartments; a dining room buffet with deep cabinetry; and the artfully concealed living room closets. “I am so happy we did. With two small children now, I’ll take all the storage I can get,” says Lollie. “Our home may not look exactly as polished as when we first moved in, and plastic toys in primary colors are a part of our life, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!”

“We strived towards light and sophisticated, certainly not stark but still young.”

Soaring

THREE BIRMINGHAM WOMEN HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION RISE HIGHER

Pamela Reed Phipps

Executive Director of Grace House Ministries

There she stood—an 8-year-old girl holding an unusually large purse. Curious, Pamela Reed Phipps asked why she carried such a big bag.

“I never know when I’m going to need to stuff things in it and leave,” the girl told her.

Phipps devotes her life to helping foster girls like these at Grace House Ministries, a residential campus for girls removed from their homes because of abandonment, neglect, or abuse. What began in 1992 with one house and eight girls has grown into seven homes across a campus that now spans nearly 20 properties in Fairfield. There, Phipps and her team work to give them something many have never known: consistency, care, and the chance to imagine a different future.

“These are girls whose childhood has literally been taken away from them,” Phipps says. “They deserve someone to fight for them.”

Grace House currently serves about 50 girls, with plans to double that in the coming years. Still, Phipps is quick to say the work has never been about numbers. Each girl who walks through the doors carries a story, and every life changed shapes families and future generations.

One girl arrived at Grace House at age 17 after moving through eight foster homes. Determined simply to reach her eighteenth birthday and run away, she tested every boundary placed before her. But after learning that her mother and brother had relapsed again, she broke and began rebuilding her life, including a relationship with God. She went on to finish high school, studied

ministry at Highlands College, and today works at Grace House as Phipps’ executive assistant.

“She’s such a shining example to every single girl who comes through our doors,” Phipps says. “While I love the girls and have a heart for them that is undeniable, I’ve never been in foster care. I’ve always had my mom and my dad. I’ve always had my entire family. This girl hasn’t, so she can share firsthand, ‘I know what you’re going through, but guess what? There are brighter days ahead. Stick with us at Grace House.’”

Phipps remembers another girl who arrived at Grace House withdrawn and discouraged, her head down as she crossed campus each day. Staff soon discovered that she enjoyed drawing and provided opportunities for her to nurture her creativity. Before long, Phipps looked out a window and saw the same girl who once shuffled across campus now skipping, almost running, with a glowing smile on her face.

“It happened years ago, but the mental image has stayed with me as a reminder of what’s possible.”

She first walked through Grace House’s doors as a college volunteer. Eventually, she returned to lead the organization, with encouragement from her mentor, Mama Lois, who started Grace House, and unanimous support from the Board of Directors.

“I may work a job, but I don’t see it as one,” Phipps says. “It’s a calling. These girls need an advocate, and they certainly have one in me.”

“Every girl here is a cycle breaker, a change maker, and a heritage builder.”

Josephine Lowery

Executive Director and Co-Founder of College Choice Foundation

Josephine Lowery knows what it feels like to be capable of more than your circumstances might suggest.

She grew up in Auburn in a home with ongoing financial strain and instability. Her father was mostly absent, and her mother struggled as a single parent with alcoholism. School became a place where Lowery could focus her energy and determination. She worked hard, excelled academically, and hoped education might open doors that seemed far away.

By her senior year of high school, Lowery had the grades to aim high. What she didn’t have were the resources or guidance to imagine herself at a place like Vanderbilt or Emory. Then a guidance counselor stepped in.

The counselor paid Lowery’s college application fees and urged her to apply to schools she had never considered. Acceptance letters followed, along with financial aid strong enough to make college possible. Lowery chose Sewanee — a campus she had never visited — because she liked its brochure. It turned out to be the perfect place for her.

Years later, after earning a law degree and practicing as an attorney, Lowery found herself helping her own daughter navigate the college admissions process. Around that same time, an educator friend shared an idea that resonated with her: helping high-achieving students from low-income families discover affordable college opportunities they might never have known existed. That idea became College Choice Foundation (CCF).

What began with one student — the daughter of Lowery’s landscaper — has grown into an organization that has guided nearly 300 students toward college, with most continuing through college with ongoing support from CCF. The foundation provides these services at no cost to students and families, helping them prepare for the ACT, visit campuses across the country, navigate financial aid, and gain the confidence to imagine themselves in college, often at schools far from home. Just as importantly, CCF continues to support Scholars once they enroll, providing ongoing mentoring and guidance to help them persist and graduate.

“College Choice changed my life,” says Yale graduate Jillian Jolly. “There’s no way I would have been able to complete the college admissions process successfully or attend Yale without their guidance and support. I finished college with no debt and am still seeing the benefits of that today.”

Lowery says the goal has always been to open doors and remove barriers.

“We want to help high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds enroll in college, thrive in college, persist through, and graduate college,” she says.

What stays with her are the ripple effects she sees in families and communities.

“Access to higher education is a game changer in these students’ lives,” Lowery says. “It can change the trajectory of an entire family for generations.

Jena Forehand

Executive Director of Deeper House

Jena Forehand didn’t set out to do prison ministry.

It began with a Bible study.

Years ago, Forehand was a speaker for LifeWay Christian Resources and wrote a discipleship series for women. Someone suggested she take it into prisons, where many women would soon be released but had little preparation for what waited outside. She started visiting a Birmingham facility on Tuesday evenings, teaching Scripture and getting to know the women.

Forehand expected to find that women in prisons might be hard to relate to.

“But when I walked in there, I was shocked. They seemed a lot like me and you.”

One night, the Bible study took an unexpected turn.

“I felt like the Lord said, ‘Don’t teach them tonight. Ask them what they need.’” So she did.

Two or three of the women began to cry. That alone surprised her.

“They don’t cry,” she says. “Because that makes them look weak to the other inmates.”

Their collective answer was this:

“We need a safe, clean place to start life again.”

Forehand sat in her car afterward and prayed a hesitant prayer: If this is something You want me to do, God, You’re going to have to do it.

The answer to that prayer became Deeper House, a transitional home where women leaving prison can rebuild their lives with structure, accountability, and hope.

“When they walk out of those prison doors, it’s almost like they’ve been thrown out of a plane,” Forehand says.

Many leave with little more than a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a bus ticket. Without support, many return within months to the same cycles that put them behind bars in the first place.

Forehand believes the answer is to love them, meet their tangible needs, and expect better of them, all built on a foundation of faith.

“My goal is not to call out what they’ve done wrong,” she says. “My goal is to call them up—to see the better potential they have.”

It isn’t easy work. Some women make it. Some don’t.

But when they do, the change reaches far beyond one life.

“When you help one woman,” Forehand says, “you’re not just helping her. You’re helping every child and grandchild that comes behind her.”

And that is what keeps her going.

“Everybody deserves a second chance.”

A Campus and Life Like No Other

At Kirkwood, we don’t just share a campus; we share a legacy. Our landscape is shaped by the stories of the people who call it home. Hear from women in our community in this month’s feature, “Pearls of Wisdom,” and see how a lifetime of experience creates a community like no other. Visit kirkwoodbytheriver.com or call 205-956-2184 to schedule a personal tour today. More Than a Home. A Living Legacy.

HOW HOLLY GLOWS

Birmingham makeup artist Holly Sims shares the products behind her signature glow

ARTICLE BY BIRMINGHAM LIFESTYLE

For some, wandering the aisles of Sephora in search of the perfect product can feel overwhelming. For Holly Sims, it’s always been the fun part. Even as a teenager, she was the one trying new things, testing products, and doing her friends’ makeup—drawn less to transformation and more to bringing out what was already there.

Years later, while in pharmacy school, a friend encouraged her to start sharing those finds online. To balance long days of studying with something purely creative, she began posting what she was trying, what she loved, and what she didn’t, with no real plan beyond that.

More than 35,000 Instagram followers later, Sims has become one of Birmingham’s most sought-after makeup artists and consultants, known for helping women highlight their natural beauty while letting their own skin shine through. As a part-time pharmacist and a mom of two young children, she brings both an understanding of how products perform and a careful eye for what truly enhances each face.

Here are eight products she wouldn’t want to live without:

See more of what she’s loving @thehollyhighlight

Holly

Sims

1. VICTORIA BECKHAM LID LUSTRE SHIMMERING EYE SHADOW POT

Favorite Shades: Chiffon, Tea Rose, Honey

These deliver luminous, light-catching depth without fallout. I layer Chiffon all over, Honey at the center of the lid, and Tea Rose to contour the outer corner. Tea Rose is effortlessly chic and endlessly flattering on its own.

2. NATASHA DENONA HY-GLAM FOUNDATION HYDRATING & BLURRING LUMINOUS LONGWEAR SERUM FOUNDATION

This is my “radiant but real-skin” foundation. It gives medium, naturally blurred coverage with a luminous finish that never looks heavy; just healthy, hydrated, second-skin glow.

The most forgiving under-eye formula I’ve found. It brightens without settling, creasing, or exaggerating texture and is especially beautiful on mature skin that needs coverage and flexibility.

6. ONE/SIZE BY PATRICK STARRR POWDER MELT GLASS SETTING SPRAY & ON ‘TIL DAWN

Powder Melt first for a radiant, skinlike finish, then a light mist of Mattifying to lock everything in. Makeup stays fresh, smooth, and

7. YVES SAINT LAURENT LASH LATEX

3. SAIE GLOWY SUPER GEL LIGHTWEIGHT DEWY MULTIPURPOSE ILLUMINATOR

One pump mixed into any base instantly adds life. I use it to sheer out fuller-coverage foundations or wear alone for that effortless, lit-from-within summer skin. Shade Roseglow is my personal favorite.

My current mascara obsession: Lash Latex gives glossy, sculpted volume with real length— no flaking, no smudging, just lifted, defined lashes that stay put.

5. DIOR BACKSTAGE GLOW MAXIMIZER PALETTE

Blended, the four highlighter shades create a sophisticated, light-reflecting glow that flatters without sparkle. I also press it onto my eyes for a seamless, luminous finish that feels modern and polished.

8. LAWLESS FORGET THE FILLER LIP PLUMPER LINE SMOOTHING GLOSS

Shade Velvet is the gloss I reach for every time. It gives plush shine and a subtle plump over any lip look: no stickiness, just smooth, fuller-looking lips.

GIRLS, THEY WANNA have fun

Maggie Smith is bringing intention back to entertaining—designing celebrations that feel personal, immersive, and anything but expected

ARTICLE

There’s a difference between a party and a feeling, and Maggie Smith knows exactly where that line lives.

“As soon as you walk into a room, you know,” she says. “It’s the lighting, the music, the service—you might not be able to pinpoint it, but that’s what makes or breaks a great party.”

As the founder of Ami à Vie, Smith has built her business on that instinct. What began as elevated bachelorette planning has evolved into something more expansive: immersive, design-forward celebrations for women who have hosted it all—and are ready for something better.

“I think there’s real hosting fatigue,” she says. “Women in their forties, fifties, sixties—they’ve done every version of the same party. They don’t want it to feel repetitive anymore.”

Instead, they want intention. Atmosphere. Surprise. And increasingly, they’re outsourcing it.

Where It Began

The spark for Ami à Vie can easily be traced to Smith’s mother.

“From a young age, my mom was really focused on hospitality,” she says. “All of the attention to detail, the creativity—that comes from my mom.”

She remembers Candyland-themed parties with scavenger hunts, handmade invitations adorned with fringe, and myriad thoughtful details that made each celebration feel distinct.

“They were simpler parties,” she says, “but they felt so special. That’s what I’m trying to recreate.”

Details, Details

Paper goods, once an afterthought, are becoming keepsakes—die-cut, tactile, often layered with unexpected elements. Invitations arrive less like mail and more like gifts. A recent 30th birthday invite included the makings of a Miami Vice cocktail— setting the tone for an epic 30-person extravaganza.

Party favors have also evolved. Now, curated “shopping” stations allow guests to select custom pieces they’ll actually use again— design-forward and intentionally unbranded.

And while some clients shy away from the word “theme,” Smith reframes it.

“It’s really about a design identity,” she says. “A cohesive look and feel from start to finish.”

That same attention to detail can even extend to entire trips.

“The atmosphere you’re creating is what makes or breaks a great party.”

Smith also credits Neillie Butler, founder of Mariée Ami, who planned Smith’s wedding and later sold her the name Ami à Vie.

“She’s incredibly professional, but also so personal,” Smith says of the elite wedding planner. “That white-glove experience—it really stuck with me.”

A recent client hired Smith to plan a six-person bachelorette trip along the Italian coast. Ami à Vie handled everything— accommodations, itineraries, design, gifting—down to a private boat day and reservations at the Dior Beach Club.

It’s the kind of work that has positioned Smith among a rising group of young female founders redefining entertaining in Birmingham—creatives building businesses rooted in collaboration and a strong point of view.

Her own ventures extend beyond events. She also runs HAPPYYHATS, a custom headwear line born from the same instinct: that even the smallest detail can carry meaning.

Or, as she learned years ago, watching her mother turn birthdays into something memorable:

“It takes someone choosing to make it special.”

Learn more at amiavie.com and on Instagram @ami.a.vie

Rooted in Relationships. Growing Together.

When Birmingham’s work crosses state borders, we’re there to help. And as our city grows, so does our commitment to its people, its progress, and its future.

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Three residents of Kirkwood by the River share what time has taught them

“You just have to keep your faith.”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Nan Wingo, born in Birmingham in 1930, met her late husband James at Birmingham-Southern College. Their first date was a football game, followed by dinner, where their waiter sang Nat King Cole.

Looking back over her 95 years, the advice she would give her younger self is simple:

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. I can remember lying awake at night worrying about things that turned out to be nothing.”

She suggests letting go of worry and leaning into what matters most. A longtime choral director who filled churches and classrooms with music, Nan believes life is best spent with the people you love.

“Spend as much time as you can with your family—and take trips with your children,” she says, recalling the road trips she and her husband took with their children decades ago.

Those are the memories that stay.

They met in their fifth-grade Sunday school class, and nearly sixty years later, Meda Keefer still means it:

“Larry’s my best friend, and I’m his.”

From the start, she was drawn to his kindness, sense of humor, and integrity.

“And he was a hunk!” she says, smiling.

The secrets to a long, happy marriage?

“We’ve told each other ‘I love you’ several times a day since we married.”

“We made a pact to always back each other up, especially when it came to the children.”

“And we like each other as well as love each other.”

One thing she wishes she’d realized sooner is to slow down.

“I was a chemistry teacher, cheerleading sponsor, student council leader, and somehow always ended up in charge of the prom. I couldn’t say no. I had so many things to do—I just went too fast. I wish I had spent more time at home.”

And one more pearl, offered with a smile:

“Don’t try to be your children’s best friend while they’re growing up—but you can absolutely be your grandchildren’s.”

Juanita Hoskins

Juanita Hoskins was born in Kansas City in 1930. When asked to sum up her life, she laughs.

“Oh, that’s kind of hard, because I’ve had a long life.”

She married young, raised three children, worked for TWA, and traveled widely before her husband, Carl, died suddenly after 28 years of marriage.

“I remember saying, ‘I can’t believe this is happening so soon,’” she says. “I was 49. He was only 50. It was hard to get through, really.”

“You just have to keep your faith,” she adds. “I had to create a new life and accept it. I had a lot of friends, so that helped.”

In the years since, she has built a full life.

Today, her greatest joy is family, especially her five great-granddaughters, with another on the way.

“They say she has my blue eyes,” she says of one with a smile. “They have wonderful parents. That makes all the difference.”

“You can absolutely be your grandchildren’s best friend!”

Anders was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that was affecting his immune health and significantly impacting his overall development. His doctors determined his best treatment option was a bone marrow transplant, and luckily Anders found his match and received his transplant. Now Anders is reaching new developmental milestones and is starting to get back to being a normal kid.

Wise Counsel

By

Your Side

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ARTICLE BY KALI KASORZYK

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED

BECKY HILLYARD

From Side Hustle to Style Empire

The power of taste, trust, and the courage to “just start.”

She didn’t have a business plan, a media budget, or even a name anyone could pronounce. What Becky Hillyard had was taste, a young family, and the instinct to just start. Today, her lifestyle brand Cella Jane commands an audience the size of Vogue’s, she’s nine collections strong with Splendid, and she’s built it all while raising three kids — refusing to sacrifice one for the other. In an exclusive conversation for the Share the Lifestyle podcast, Becky shares what it really takes to build a brand, a career, and a life you love. Read the highlights below, then scan the QR code for the full conversation.

Q: WHEN DID YOU KNOW CELLA JANE WAS MORE THAN A HOBBY?

A: Two moments. Women started emailing me saying they bought something I recommended and felt amazing — asking me to help them find a dress for a wedding. That felt incredible. Then I looked at my affiliate numbers for one month and realized I could cover our mortgage. I thought, I can actually do this. I never set out to build a business. I started it because I genuinely loved it.

Q: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST RISK YOU EVER TOOK WITH THE BRAND?

A: Designing my own collection. It’s easy to point at items on a website and say I love these. But to create something from scratch, put your name on it, and wait to see if people connect with it — that’s terrifying. I had an incredible partner in Splendid, and women loved the pieces. It was the biggest risk and the biggest accomplishment.

Q: HOW HAS INFLUENCER MARKETING CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED?

A: When I started, brands didn’t know whether to take it seriously. Now it’s a legitimate line item in their marketing budgets — sometimes bigger than TV. Because what we’ve built is trust. People trust a real recommendation from someone they follow far more than a commercial. There’s no question about it now.

Q: YOU’RE A MOM OF THREE RUNNING A FULL BRAND. WHAT DOES YOUR DAY ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?

A: I try to get up at five and not hit snooze — that first hour before the house wakes up is the most productive, most peaceful hour of my day. Then it’s all hands on deck with the kids and school drop-off. After that I work — planning content, connecting with my team, editing. After pickup, the day shifts completely and it’s all about them. I’ve learned to protect both halves fiercely, because both matter.

Q: WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO BUILD SOMETHING OF THEIR OWN BUT KEEPS WAITING?

A: Don’t wait. Don’t wait for the perfect camera, the right strategy, or enough followers. We find every excuse to stay comfortable. Just start, be consistent, and be authentically yourself. The right people will find you — and they’ll stay.

This conversation is just the beginning. Becky goes deeper on the risks that almost stopped her, the design process behind her latest Splendid collection, and what she’d tell her 2012 self today. Scan the QR code for the full, exclusive City Lifestyle interview on the Share the Lifestyle Podcast.

“Trust is the only metric that actually compounds.”

— Becky Hillyard