Two Grand Neighbors

Congratulations to two lucky families who will soon be moving into their new homes on Grand Avenue! The three families already living on the most prestigous street in Hoover look forward to welcoming their new neighbors. Congratulations to Matthew Calhoun, the sales representative who sold these two homes. He's been working hard for several months to bring more life to Grand Avenue!

2921 Grand Avenue

2960 Grand Avenue

Cupcakes & Cocktails

Thanks to Emily Haygood for providing the delectible treats for our Cupcakes & Cocktails party at the Village Center model home! Sponsored by Signature Homes, residents of Greenside, Freestone Ridge and the Village Center were invited to drop by for Cupcakes & Cocktails from 1 to 6 on February 13th. It was our little neighborhood tribute to Valentine's Day. Although guests were sparse the first hour or two, by the time the bus dropped the kids off after school, the model home was crawling with people! We were so pleased with the turnout, and everyone loved the miniature chocolate, strawberry and buttercream cupcakes. Looks like we may have to make this an annual event... only next year, we'll be in our new James Hill model! Because the camera battery died, the only photo we were able to take was of adorable Lauren and Emma Hines... who both preferred the chocolate cupcakes. For the record, the model home favorite was strawberry! :-)

Flop, Turn, River

It's always funny to watch men plan get-togethers. Girls plan major events like the Mad Hatter Tea Party. The men get together, each chips and salsa/queso/guacamole, and play cards. Difficult to get a picture of the group because there are no girls allowed, and let's admit that it's sometimes hard to get a man to corral a bunch of other men for a group photo. ;-)

Looks like Daniel Pittman left the big winner, followed by John Haygood and Justin Hardy. I think the biggest loser award goes to Steve Davis... sorry Steve, maybe next time!

It also looks like there is another team of poker-playing men who get together once a month in the Village Center. These two groups, now aware of each other, are going to combine forces for a mean poker night in March. Maybe we can bribe one of them to take a photo for us so we can all get a glimpse of what goes on during the super-secret poker nights!

Glad the men can have just as much fun as the ladies! If you are a man interested in playing (sorry ladies), please let us know and we'll tell you who to contact!

Girls Night Out

By order of the queen, all Ross Bridge Ladies were asked to attend a Mad Hatter Tea party on Friday night hosted by the Ladies of the Village Center. There is usually a Girls Night Out about 5 or 6 times a year hosted by a different community in Ross Bridge. In December, Butler Springs hosted an Ornament Exchange. In May, Greenside and Freestone Ridge will be hosting a Cinqo de Mayo party! And I'm so excited to see what the rest of the year will bring.

Dawn Ey, Rebel Gregory, Lauren Nickels, Rachel Leader and the other ladies in the Village Center did such a great job transforming the Town Hall into an English garden for our party. The food was fantastic. Thanks to Diggscape for loaning the beautiful plants for our garden, Birmingham Home Theater for providing the music and speakers, Ross Bridge Spa for donating the door prizes, Louise's Cakes and Things for the fun Mad Hatter cake, and Signature Homes for the delicious edible fruit arrangement!

I was so impressed with the creativity of all the Ross Bridge ladies. I had no idea that everyone would participate so enthusiastically in the hat contest! The votes came pouring in throughout the evening.

And the winners are....

The Ugliest Hat award goes to this lady who was adorned in University of Tennessee garb from head to toe!

The Most Useful Hat was created using shot glasses and Christmas lights.

Elizabeth Bennett and Valerie Hughen won Most Creative Hat for their Ross Bridge heartbreaker theme!

Bobbie Bowman took home the Best Homemade Hat award with this gigantic headpiece full of flowers and blow-up bunnies. Believe me, this thing was HUGE!

Maybe we should take a few tips from this lady who won Most Stylish Hat.

And the grand prize winner is the Village Center's own Shah Hines for Best Overall Hat!

Congratulations to all the winners, but we can't overlook these three who all received lots and lots of votes for their fabulous hats... so they all received an Honorable Mention award.

Here are some other pictures of some of the ladies who came. We had such a fun time visiting with everyone and getting to know our Ross Bridge neighbors. :-)

Mary Jim Blackerby, Whitney Hardy and Dana Pittman

Julie Kent, Emily Haygood, and Whitney Hardy

Rebel Gregory and Vicki Davis

Rachel Leader and Pam Ashworth

Lanier O'Hare, Kate Giffin, and Leslie Jackson

Debbie Calvert, Emily Haygood, Marta Self, and Julie Kent

Rebel Gregory, Ashlie Grubb and Shah Hines

Wendy Rohrer and Brandi Belcher

Jane Lewis, Allison Licht-Brown, Sandy King, Rachel Leader

Kathy Cawley and Theresa Tate

Sandy King, Liz Darby, Leanne Ruffin, Amy Alford, Stacey Spears, Kathy Cawley, Sharon Blair

I'm quite sure the Town Hall will not be so beautiful ever again!

Ross Bridge or Breckenridge?

Saturday morning brought Ross Bridge a beautiful treat! I think we had all hoped to see a little of the white stuff... after all, it had been almost a decade since Birmingham has had any snow to speak of. Ross Bridge was absolutely beautiful covered in white. Neighbors gathered in the street to sled down hills, have snowball fights, and build little snowmen. Even the slopes on the golf course were covered with families trying to find the perfect place to sled.

Using creative homemade sleds... Tip: plain cardboard covered in a big black garbage sack works pretty darn well!

Ross Bridge Golf Course (there were actually people playing golf in the snow!)

Village Center residents/Snow Bunnies Amy Anderson and Whitney Hardy just trying to stay warm!

If you have any pictures to share of how you spent your snowy Saturday, e-mail whardy@danielhomes.net, and we'll be happy to post them!