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Retreat at Mountain Brook
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Year: 2021

Come on out Tuesday, May 18, and celebrate spring and laissez le bon temps rouler! We have so much to be thankful for–like nice weather, great friends, and food from Gumbo to Geaux Food Truck! Look for them at The Retreat at Mountain Brook’s community garden. #rmbresidentevent

Come on out Tuesday, May 18, and celebrate spring and laissez le bon temps rouler! We have so much to be thankful for–like nice weather, great friends, and food from Gumbo to Geaux Food Truck! Look for them at The Retreat at Mountain Brook‘s community garden. #rmbresidentevent

Happy National Pet Month!

Retreat at Mountain Brook - dog park

As far as we’re concerned, every day is pet day at The Retreat at Mountain Brook in Birmingham, Alabama, so of course we’re excited about May being National Pet Month in the United States!   According to the Humane Society of the United States, pets live in two-thirds of American homes, and 72 percent of the people who rent their homes have pets. We know how important it is for a luxury apartment community to be pet-friendly, and that’s why our Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ made sure we incorporated a dog park into our landscaping plans from the very beginning. Because, barks and recreation, right?   And, we celebrate our fuzzy friends all the time online in social media posts and in a gallery at our website. Nothing brings a smile to our faces like seeing sweet kitties and good doggies!   Do Dah Day Birmingham has a tradition of having fun at Do Dah Day for National Pet Month—this year, the gathering will be held Saturday, May 15, at Cahaba Brewing Company, complete with a “reverse parade” on 3rd Avenue South and live music at the venue. The 2021 beneficiaries of Do Dah Day are the Greater Birmingham Humane Society and Friends of Cats and Dogs Foundation. Tickets are $5; learn more at: https://www.dodahday.org/faq   Treats! If you haven’t tried any of the monthly subscription boxes for cats and dogs, maybe this month is when to check out meowbox with fun toys and fine treats for finicky felines (plus, hey—the box itself!), and BarkBox with its themed collections that the company calls “month-long dog parties.” BarkBox partners with thousands of rescues and shelters across the United States and Canada through its Rescue and Shelter Affiliate Program, and meowbox donates a portion of each box sold to shelters and rescues. Prices start at about $23 a month for both.   Critical Care You probably already have a favorite vet, but it never hurts to have the number of an emergency care provider on hand. The compassionate and highly skilled multi-specialty staff members at Veterinary Specialists of Birmingham on Resource Parkway off U.S. Highway 280 are just who you want on your side when your good boy decides to eat a bottle of shampoo _and_ entire bath towel at 2 o’clock on the morning, and their ICU facility is state of the art.   Pamper, Play & Stay Is it time for somebody to get his coat cut for the upcoming summer? Does the kitty not do well by herself when you decide to head to the beach for a spur-of-the moment weekend trip? Not to worry—Birmingham has many excellent pet boarding and grooming facilities. Our Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ have been hearing good things about a few in particular lately: Dog Days of Birmingham, Howlin Hollows Farm, and My Spoiled Pet Resort & Spa.   Howlin Hollows (conveniently located off Highway 280, I-459, and near The Summit and Colonnade) features several acres of land with plenty of open space for running and playing, water misters, and even a canine swimming pool! What a great place for your best four-legged friend to get some exercise and burn off a little energy   We love the fact that the owners of Dog Days live above the kennel on Birmingham’s 18th Street North. Sue and Jimmy provide your puppies with a truly cage-free environment during the day, supervised, of course. Come the evening, they’re happily worn out and ready for bed. The dogs, we mean!   And who doesn’t love a spa day? My Spoiled Pet, down 280 near Inverness Corners, features bath packages for cats and dogs of all sizes, including blowouts and brushouts, and provides boarding for dogs, cats, and small pets. And they offer military discounts.   Share photos of your fur-babies!

It’s May and the food trucks are on the way! Mark your calendars for food and fun at The Retreat at Mountain Brook’s Community Garden. Mountain Brook neighbors and friends welcome! All plant-based Rendezvous Kitchen Co. today. #rmbresidentevent

It’s May and the food trucks are on the way! Mark your calendars for food and fun at The Retreat at Mountain Brook‘s Community Garden. Mountain Brook neighbors and friends welcome! All plant-based Rendezvous Kitchen Co. today. #rmbresidentevent 🥑 🍒 🍏 🌶

Let the Spring Games Begin!

It isn’t just Earth Day we’ll celebrate April 22, 2021! Spring has sprung at The Retreat at Mountain Brook in Birmingham, Alabama, and with it the chance to get outside and play!   Group games are such a fun way to spend time with friends and get to know new young professionals in our upscale apartment community. Maybe you want to organize some friendly cornhole competitions, or do something a little more casual, like spend time throwing horseshoes while you’re at one of our grilling stations. Options abound!   We asked the Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ what their go-tos are on the gaming front. Along with cornhole and horseshoes, they are fans of some other classics—bocce ball and ladder toss. Any of those pair well with a cold craft beer or glass of fresh lemonade, soft or hard—or you can try your hand at some of this season’s popular cocktails like a Cherry Blossom or Griffith Park Swizzle. Visit R&R Wine & Liquor in Crestline Village to get just what you need.   Think about taking some indoor clubhouse favorites outside. There’s a giant version of almost everything these days, from yard Yahtzee and ginormous Jenga to checkers and tic-tac-toe on a blanket.   Once it gets just a _little_ bit warmer, you may want to start socializing on the sundecks. When things heat up, you can take your volleyball game into one of The Retreat at Mountain Brook’s three salt-water pools. Or, play the water-based version of cornhole.   Of course, we can’t leave our furry friends out of the gaming fun; one of the reasons our residents recommend us to friends is because we’re such an animal-friendly community. Doggie Frisbee is fun for everyone to watch and gets you and your good boy or girl some great exercise! Our pet park is the perfect place for that, and Homewood Toy & Hobby is the perfect place to buy an Aerobie Dogobie Flying Disc, which is both puncture-resistant and gentle on your pet’s mouth.   If sitting inside the clubhouse out of the sun is more your speed, board games are the way to bring people around the table. Again, our Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ are fans of the classics: Scrabble, Monopoly, and chess (“The Queen’s Gambit,” anyone?). For multi-player fun that doesn’t last as long, they suggest Articulate!, a fast-paced team game for up to 20 players. The concept is that taking turns, each member of a team has only 30 seconds to describe as many words from a category as they can. The catch? No saying what the word rhymes with or sounds like.   Check out the array of games nearby Smith’s Variety Toy & Gift Shoppe in Mountain Brook Village has to offer. You’ll be glad you did!   Fun!

Your Place at the Table

Isn’t it funny how a chore we all tried to get out of when we were growing up is now almost a hobby?   From basic place settings to trendy tableware, our Idea Specialists™ at The Retreat at Mountain Brook in Birmingham, Alabama, are here with recommendations on how to set your table for spring!   HARMONIOUS WHITES There’s no better way to start than with a set of strong white dishes—the potential for mixing and matching them with other elements of your table settings is almost limitless.   An always reliable go-to is the Gibson brand, and its Noble Court timeless rim shape 12-piece set is a value buy at Target.   If you’re in the mood for something a little more funky, check out Mikasa’s Coronado Pearl 4-piece place setting (part of its Portugal Dinnerware Collection) offered by Macy’s. Unique shapes and rich pearlescence turn everyday soup bowls and salad plates into works of art in their own right.   For serving pieces, pop over to Lamb’s Ears in Crestline Village, or visit them online. From elegant Montes Doggett pieces to the whimsical Bow Wow Platter, there’s something for almost every bunny in their stylistically wide range of offerings.   GLAMOROUS GLASSWARES Pair your new dishes with a mix of goblets and glasses in all hues of the rainbow. We could (and do!) spend a lot of time looking at Lulu and Georgia’s Insta, so it just makes sense that we would be drawn to their Estelle Stemware, which comes in a variety of colors. We’re partial to smoke as we head into spring. But if you’re already ready for brighter and lighter, Pottery Barn’s Happy Hour Goblets might be just the ticket!     FUN WITH FLATWARE We will always be a fan of Oneida and its classic Louisiana flatware, even if we do live in Alabama. What’s not to love about the luster and the details, not to mention the balance of the pieces? Plus, it’s always easy to find, just in case you accidentally get the butter knife caught in the disposal. Not that we’re saying we did that, you understand. A 45-piece set now available online at Bed Bath & Beyond includes dinner forks and knives, salad forks, dinner spoons, teaspoons, and more.   For something a little more casual, there’s the West Elm Color Pop Caddy—four place settings in Easter egg colors stored in a clever handled carrier, which means it’s easy to take back and forth from the dining table to the porch if you want to dine al fresco!   For steak knives, The Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ recommend shopping locally at Table Matters in Mountain Brook Village. We like the Vagabond House set with shed stag horn handles, adorned with pewter crown and accent ferrule; it mixes elements of elegant and rustic for useful and striking implements.   GET IT TOGETHER Whether you’re serving a serious Sunday dinner or just enjoy seeing your table nicely set, a table runner is a little piece of magic you can use to draw everything together. No matter your style, from contemporary to Victorian with Southwestern and Scandinavian in between, the Houzz collection features almost any option you can imagine, and at almost that many price points! We decided on the Metallic Glam one in rose for our first one.   Placemats are another way to coordinate, and it’s really hard to have too many. From holiday happies to patterns and solids, again, options abound—it’s all about what makes you happy. The Spruce featured SHACOS round braided placemats as one of its 14 Best of 2021, and we can see why: They’re easy to wipe clean and come in everything from canary yellow to plain ol’ beige. We can work with that!

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