PEOPLE.CULTURE.LIFESTYLE.BUSINESS.Summer 2011

THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE FOR A GROWING MOBILE

PEOPLE.CULTURE.LIFESTYLE.BUSINESS.

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CoolAppsPAGE 4

MusicScenePAGE 5

Real EstatePAGE 11

REALLIFEPAGE 7

SCenes of mobilePAGE 15

IN THIS ISSUE

FlavaPAGE 8

MOBILE

LIVE

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GAZ

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ProfilesPAGE 14 S O C I A L

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As if your non-iPad colleagues and friends didn’t already have a

reason to be jealous of your effortless tech lifestyle, now there’s an

app that makes taking notes on the iPad about as effortless as

breathing.

Bamboo Paper, a new app from Wacom, launched this month. If

you were lucky enough to know about this app before June 30th, it

was free. But after that date, you’ll have to pony up a little cash.

What does it do? Think pen and paper. Old school. You know how

no technology has really given you the ability to freely jot down

notes or sketches the way good old pen and paper does? Bamboo

Paper does that.

You get one notebook to write or draw in and can choose from

three page types, three pen widths, and six ink colors. You also get

“undo” options for erasing. You can save pages to your iPad’s

camera roll or print them.

This app is great for an intuitive note-taking experience. It’s not

bloated with features or technical like the more serious drawing and

sketching apps. So for that first meeting with a client when you

want to simply write down a few notes about them, what they’re

looking for, etc., Bamboo Paper is a breeze. Or, imagine pulling out

your iPad on your next inventory tour and jotting down notes while

standing in front of a house.

You can use Bamboo Paper with or without a stylus. I tested it

without (just using my finger), but imagine it’s even more intuitive

with a stylus since you’re mimicking pen and paper.

Bamboo Paper is currently available in the iTunes store.

Bamboo Paper Makes iPad Note-taking a BreezeBy John Thompson InteroMojo Blog

COOLAPPS!NEW

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LOCAL MUSIC SCENE

GenreROCK

MembersJOSH EWING:VOCALSBRANDYN ULMER:GUITARRYAN CAMPBELL:BASSCHAD SUTLEY:DRUMSKEVIN HURT:GUITAR

HometownMOBILE, AL

BiographyTop of the Orange is an American rock band formed in Mobile Alabama and consists of members Josh Ewing, Brandyn Ulmer, Ryan Campbell, Chad Sutley and Kevin Hurt. Top of the Orange has not stopped since dedicating themselves to putting Mobile Al on the map! With new songs “Who Turned Off the Sun” and “Let Me In!”, Top of the Orange again and again blows audiences away with shredding guitars, booming bass, killer drums, and amazing vocals paired with an energetic stage presence leaving audiences begging for more! In the midst of writing, recording, producing and touring, the band continues to draw new fans far and wide, sharing the stage with the likes of 3 Doors Down, Staind, Shinedown, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Theory of a Dead Man and many more. As of 2010, Top of the Orange has gone back to the studio again, this time in Nashville, Tennessee, in hopes that the new tracks they lay down will be the ones to bring them out of the Gulf Coast and across the nation.

Websitehttp://www.topoftheorange.com

MOBILELIVEMAG.COM

SITTING ON“G” ...WAITING ON“O”RANGEBy Trenz Pruca

Photography by Austin Sims

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www.ORACLEOFMOBILE.com

CLICK TO VISIT

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The life of a single motherovercoming life’s sticky situations

MOBILE

LIVE

MAG

AZI

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REALLIFE

Living in Mobile as a single mom of a 14 month old girl, my story is not typical.  Two years ago, at the age of 32, I became unexpectedly pregnant by my 23 year old boyfriend.  Oh yeah, made Momma proud.  We had been together for two and a half years and enjoyed our unencumbered single-lives by having fun with each other…obviously.  My life was on a good path: a successful career, exotic travel, lazy mornings, and frivolous splurges.  Days were filled with working out in the gym, playing league tennis, going out with friends, and shopping at boutiques. Although living in Louisiana away from my hometown, Mobile, my family was ecstatic with the news of my pregnancy, never imagining I would have a baby, and neither did I.  Soon the realization came that becoming a typical family raising our baby together was not be an option. Tough times demanded tough decisions which were only compounded a few months later when I lost my job.In January of last year, pregnant, unemployed, and unmarried I moved back to Mobile and made it through a healthy pregnancy with the support of my family and friends. Being 32, pregnant, and unmarried in the South was uncomfortable. People constantly gawked when they noticed my huge belly and the absence of a ring on my left hand.  When one woman stared too hard and gave me a very disapproving look, "I'm a lesbian!" I exclaimed. Last April, on my birthday my daughter was born.  What a grand birthday present!  This was a monumental moment of my life, and it continues to be.    The gym visits over, tennis match is out, exotic travel is Mom's house, and sleep is....could someone remind me what that is again?!  For the first 6 months of my daughter’s life I was living on naps.  Drifting off to sleep to LALALA LALALA ELMO”S WORLD and waking up to a Wiggly party in my head, is now routine.  Shopping is reserved for diapers and a constantly changing wardrobe for toddlers.  It would be nice if babies could wear their clothes longer than 2 months before out growing them.Working full time and still unmarried, I am a MOM. Motherhood has brought blessings, happiness, satisfaction, and reward to my life. The desire to have a traditional two parent home is often in the back of my mind. Parenthood is so joyful, and like most joys, it should be shared. Is it possible to find someone who wants to share those special moments?  Maybe, but for now I am just happy being a mother. 

Visit my blog www.unexpectingmommy.blogspot.com for more articles like this and information on products I use and like.

Contributor: Amy MarieBlog: www.unexpectingmommy.com

Type to enter text

Photography by Rebecca Oliver

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The “King of Herbs”By Chef Phil

Basil. It is one of the most prolific and flavorful of herbs. A breath of summer. One whose fragrance stays with you throughout the day. Its Latin name is Ocimum Basilicum and it is part of the mint family of herbs. Basil is believed to have migrated from India over 5000 years ago. It has found its way to the Far East, being very prominent in most eastern cuisines, from Thai to Chinese to Cambodian. It also found its way west to Italian, French and Spanish cuisines.

Basil is considered the”King of Herbs”. It is believed to have been growing on the spot where Saint Helena discovered the Holy Cross around 326 A.D. It also has been said that it was growing around Christ’s tomb after the resurrection. There is even a type called “Holy Basil” though it is a different species type called”Ocimum Tenuifloum”. It is a perennial and is considered a religious/medicinal plant in India. It can go by the name “Tulsi”. It is considered sacred to the Hindu religion and is given to the dying to raise their souls to heaven. It is also used as a medicinal herb to help lower glucose levels in diabetics and as an antioxidant and thought to help cataracts.

There are many varieties though the most common is”Sweet Basil”. It is an “annual” and has the larger leaves and a slight Anise flavor. There is even Thai Basil with small purple leaves and one variety called Opal, with darker green, small leaves. My wife has even grown a variegated type, with green and purple striped leaves.

I have grown it for at least thirty years, planting it both in containers and in the garden. It likes direct to indirect sunlight

and dry, well-drained conditions, where it’s really hot, and plenty of water. The leaves are where the strongest flavor is, but the flowers can also be used. If you pinch back the flowers as the plant grows your basil will continue to grow until it starts to get cold. When you let the plants flower, they will have vertical rows of small white flowers, pinch the flowers back and dry them. Then crush the dried flower and you will get lots of small black seeds. Let them dry and save them for planting next summer. You can also take cuttings off the plant and root them in water to start new plants.

The plant can grow 2 to 3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide at the top. When treated properly it will produce leaves and new growth throughout the summer. It can be grown indoors during the winter months provided it is kept warm and has plenty of light. As a culinary herb it should be used fresh and added to

your dish at the last minute. Too much heat can destroy the flavor as it will “burn” the essential oils. It can be picked and kept in the fridge for a few days, but eventually start to turn dark and eventually break down and turn soft because of the exposure to oxygen.

I have used it in just about everything from breakfast scrambled eggs to chicken and fish to salad dressings and of course pasta dishes. I have made salsas, sauces and chutneys with it. It has even been used as an ingredient in ice cream and desserts. It can even be used on a sandwich instead of lettuce. But my favorite is still Pesto.

“I have used it in just about everything from breakfast scrambled eggs to chicken and fish to salad dressings and of course pasta dishes”.

-Chef Phil

-Chef PhilI was raised in Illinois and started helping my mother in the kitchen at a very early age. Moved to San Francisco in the early seventies and finally got to pursue my dream and attend professional chef ’s school. I worked at numerous restaurants in the San Francisco bay area. Eventually, I moved to the Sonoma County wine country to continue my culinary aspirations. I have worked all over the United States from San Francisco to Las Vegas to Chapel Hill North Carolina. Now, after almost twenty five years in the business, I have moved to the Southern Alabama area to spend more time with my grandchildren and family. After all this time I still haven’t lost the passion, the fire is still there. I try to adhere to these five principals:

Buy organic whenever possible. Buy local whenever possible. Stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Eat dinner with your family as much as possible. Plant something that you will enjoy.

Flava’Basil

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By Chef Phil

The first time I ate pesto was over forty years ago at a small Italian restaurant in the North Beach section of San Francisco called Little Joe’s Baby Joe’s. Their motto was “Rain or shine there is always a line”. All it consisted of was a lunch style counter with about 12 stools. It was a noisy raucous style place but everyone there had fun, from patrons to staff. The cooking line was just behind the counter and the wait staff, always female, had about two feet of space to work the counter. So, consequently they always had to squeeze between the counter and the cooks, who were always male. Needless to say the cooks were a

happy bunch and always had smiles on their faces. It was also next to impossible to get a cooks job there because no one ever seemed to quit. You waited in a long line until you got to the front of it and then you got the next available stool. You sat down next to strangers

but by the end of your meal you were always fast friends with your neighbors. I first tried pesto at the recommendation of one of those strangers and I have thanked him again and again for that recommendation. It was the beginning of a very, very long love affair with basil. I went back about 10 times in the next couple of weeks to try the pesto again. Thank you again sir, for your kindness and knowledge.

Buy organic whenever possible. Buy local whenever possible. Try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. Eat dinner with your family as much as possible. Plant something that you will enjoy.

“Chef Phil”

pesto PESTO Recipe

8 cups Fresh Basil leaves, packed

1 cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Cheese

¾ cup Extra Virgin olive oil

½ cup Pine nuts, lightly toasted

6 cloves Fresh Garlic, peeled and minced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Place the basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and add approximately half the olive oil. Pulse the machine until well chopped. Add salt and pepper and with the machine running, slowly add in the rest of the oil until it has a smooth consistency.

Transfer to a bowl and smooth out the top. Add a little more oil to cover, this will keep the pesto from turning completely dark and let it retain a bright green color. Usually about the upper 1/8 of an inch will get dark anyhow but just mix it in and you will never notice it. You can also press a piece of plastic wrap down on top of the surface of the finished product and this will help keep the air off of it. You can divide the pesto into plastic freezer bags at this point and freeze it for later use. Thaw it in the fridge first before use.

When you decide to use it, take the thawed product from the fridge and place it in a bowl and mix the small dark part into the bulk of it. Cook your pasta al dente, drain it and then add the pesto to the pasta and mix well to distribute it well. Pesto will turn dark if heated. My rule of thumb is a half pound of cooked pasta to a half cup of pesto. Garnish it with more Parmesan cheese and enjoy. Warm garlic bread and a nice green salad will make it an unforgettable meal.

-Chef Phil

Flava’

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251-343-9661

7335 Airport BlvdMobile, AL 36608

Walk-ins Welcome

Call for an Appointment

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REAL ESTATE by Oracle Real Estate

mobile market stats

Photography by Austin Sims

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'Peanuts' creator's former wine country estate for saleLocation: Santa Rosa, Calif. Price: $2.275 million

The Skinny: The cartoonist Charles Schulz, creator of the iconic "Peanuts" cartoon, purchased this Santa Rosa, Calif., spread from the Roman Catholic church and immediately set about using the on-site chapel -- he married his second wife there in 1973. That chapel has been converted into a combination media room and gym, but the six-bedroom home still bears evidence of Schulz's presence. His office, complete with typewriter, aging television, and "Peanuts" art, has been left as a sort of shrine to the famed funny pages master. The rest of the property is pretty plush, with two sizable homes totaling 8,000 square feet, two acres of well-landscaped grounds, and broad outdoor entertaining spaces, including a swimming pool.

House of the Week: from Curbed.com

BY CURBED.COM

REAL ESTATE

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The Mobile Residential MarketPrices: The average sales price increased from $130,586 in April to $133,013 in May. The median sales price decreased by 0.85 percent – from $110,000 to $109,060 in the same period. Sales: The number of sales in May increased by 3.40 percent from April. The number of sales in the $100,000-$149,999 range decreased from 74 to 68. Five sales occurred over $500,000, resulting in an increase by 2 from April and an increase by 2 sales from May, 2010. The highest volume of sales was 138 in the $0-$99,999 range, which showed an increase from April by 6 sales. Volume: Of the 304 total sales in May, 206 sales were under $200,000, representing 67.76 percent of the entire market. Thirty-seven properties sold in the $200,000-$299,999 price range, sixteen in the $300,000-$499,999 range, and five above $500,000. In May, 93.09 percent of all sales were $300,000 and below. The number of sales in the $300,000-$499,999 range decreased from 18 in April to 16 in May, 2011. Overall Analysis: For the month of May, the Mobile housing market showed increases in number of sales and average sales price, compared to the previous month. The month’s-to-sell inventory of 11.36 in May reflected a decrease of 3.81 percent in the number of months it would take to sell out of inventory, as compared to April. Overall, the Mobile housing market followed a similar trend to that of the U.S. housing market, which also showed increases in number of sales and average sales price, and a decrease in month’s-to-sell inventory from April to May, 2011.

MAY 11 MAY 10 MAY 09SALES FOR MAY 2011

$130,000

$145,000

$160,000

$133,013

$137,596

$150,091

MAY 11MAY 10

MAY 09

AVERAGE SALES PRICE

0

190

380

304

374

306

MAY 11MAY 10

MAY 09

NUMBER OF SALES

0

30

60

90

120

150138

68

40 3716 5

134

112

60 58

6 4

90 93

54 53

12 4

<$100K 100-150K 150-200K 200-300K 300-500K 500K +

OracleofMobile.com

Data provided by USA Center for Real Estate Studies

REAL ESTATEMOBILE MARKET REPORT

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I left Mobile about 14 years ago. My husband I had both grown up here and were ready for some changes. His job involved relocating first to Louisiana then Nashville and finally Knoxville. We divorced shortly after moving to Knoxville but the schools there were great for our 3 sons and both of us had good jobs so I settled in for the long haul. As first one son then the next began college my nest was getting emptier. My youngest son began to approach high school graduation so I made  decision in January that I would move back home to Mobile finally and begin a new chapter in my life surrounded by old friends a family. How richly God has blessed me in that 2 of my sons decided to follow momma and will be attending the University of South Alabama this Fall. After being involved in the real estate industry for several years in Knoxville in both the exterminating business and home warranty business I decided to get my real estate license in 2008. It was something I had always wanted to do but for a single mother of 3 it was one of the scariest decisions I have ever made. I had never worked harder for the successes that I achieved in 2009. That year I was honored to receive the Century 21 Sapphire Award and Knoxville Area Association of Realtors Silver Award of Excellence. Both of these Awards were based only on production. My greatest awards however were receiving both the New Horizon Award from Century 21 and the Rising Star Award from Knoxville Area Association of Realtors in 2009. These awards are given to someone for their production and community involvement in there very first year of real estate.  Since returning home a couple of months ago I have gotten my Alabama real estate license am excited to be working with Oracle Real Estate. One of my longtime girlfriends has been at Oracle since it started and she and I have formed a team. She enjoys listing property and I enjoy working with buyers so it is a great match. The energy and forward thinking at Oracle is unmatched more than in any other real estate office I have been in. I am so proud to be part of Oracle . I love my job! I know that my life has come full circle  and that I am right where God wants me to be. I love the challenges and rewards that selling real estate allows me. Everyday is different and that is what make it exciting to me. I would encourage you to follow your dreams and listen to your heart....and NEVER....NEVER... NEVER give up.Nothing changes...if nothing changes.

Profiles

Lynn HarperREALTOR® LynnHarper@oracleofmobile.com

A Mobile native returns with a positive outlook

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Scenes of Mobileby Local Photographers

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Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Rebecca Oliver Photography

Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Rebecca Oliver Photography

Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Austin Sims

Photo by Austin Sims

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And Thank You!

25PEOPLE.CULTURE.LIFESTYLE.BUSINESS.summer MUddiN’S O C I A L