Carrollwood - Vol. 3, Issue 6, June 2015

The Premier “Shop Local” Community Magazine Directly Mailed To 15,000 Homes In Carrollwood, Lake Magdalene & Avila

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:From an Advertising Perspective...........................3

Community Calendar/ News Briefs..................4-5

Northwest Family Medical Center.....................8-9

Stewardship Financial Group........................12-13

Arbor Terrace of Citrus Park........................16-17

Child Adoption Education Day.....................18-19

The Red Cross Needs YOU...........................30-31

The Fresh Market at Wiregrass......................32-33

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDTAMPA FL

PERMIT 1185

Your neighborhood. Your magazine.

Vol. 3, Issue 6, June 2015

By Pam Sica

Their name says it all…Brunchies. When you have a hanker-ing for a well-prepared breakfast,brunch or lunch, let owner BillKranich and his wife Janet serve youup some of their delicious fare in thisbright, open and cheery establishment

nestled between Abbey’s and YouFit at14366 North Dale Mabry Highway.The regulars surely know what goodis… one noting that, “It’s a greatplace that feels local… the food andservice are both excellent. Everythingabout it keeps you coming back.”

When I first walked in, I was

See “Brunchies” on page 20.

By Kim Thomas

If you love a personable shoppingexperience where there is friendly andknowledgeable help when you need it,but where you also are welcome totake your sweet time to browse everyknickknack on every shelf, then youmust stop by J & C Consign and De-sign, which will celebrate its One YearAnniversary in July. Located at 8809

Gunn Highway in Odessa, J & CConsign and Design has a fast rotatinginventory of new and like-new furni-ture, plus home décor items for everyroom in your house! Some items arebrand new, some are consigned – buteverything is quality. On the outside, J& C Consign and Design looks kindof like a warehouse, but inside is a

See “J & C Consign” on page 28.

Brunchies of Tampa – aCarrollwood Favorite for

Over 10 Years!

J & C Consign and Design FineFurnishings & Gift Boutique

100s of New Items Weekly,Discounts Daily!

®

Carrollwood Area Neighborhood News & Lifestyles2 JUNE 2015 For Ad Info 813-928-6124 • NNLFlorida.com

Carrollwood Area Neighborhood News & Lifestyles JUNE 2015 3For Ad Info 813-928-6124 • NNLFlorida.com

Neighborhood News& Lifestyles

Directly mailed once a month to 15,000households in zip codes 33618, 33624 & 33613

220 S. Safford Ave. Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

Phone: (813) 928-6124; Fax: (727) 942-2432Advertising E-mail: [email protected] E-mail:

[email protected]© 2015 Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles

is published by M Selby Publications, INC.

Nothing that appears in Carrollwood NeighborhoodNews & Lifestyles may be reproduced, whether wholly or inpart, without permission. Opinions expressed by Carroll-wood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles writers are their ownand do not reflect the publisher’s opinion.

The management of Carrollwood NeighborhoodNews & Lifestyles is always happy to accept outsideeditorial submissions to the paper. Please call for outsideeditorial submission and advertisement deadlines.

Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles willconsider previously non-published outside editorial submis-sions if they are double spaced, typed and less than 500words. Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles reservesthe right to edit and/or reject all outside editorial submis-sions and makes no guarantees regarding publication dates.Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles will not returnunsolicited editorial materials.

Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles reservesthe right to edit and/or reject any advertising. CarrollwoodNeighborhood News & Lifestyles is not responsible for errors inadvertising beyond the actual cost of the advertising space it-self, not for the validity of any claims made by its advertisers.

Carrollwood Neighborhood News & Lifestyles ispublished by M Selby Publications, INC.

PublisherMatt SelbyAdvertising SalesJared Nager (Manager)Linda ViegaMike BirdAccounting ManagerAlexis SelbyMarketing & DevelopmentAshley KnoblachArt DirectorTony Sica

EditorAlexis SelbyCorrespondentsJulie KanehlMarcy SanfordPamela SicaKatie ThomasKim ThomasDara TuckerDeborah Bostock-Kelley

By Matt Selby

In truth, this editorial is directedtowards local Business owners andserves to prove why reaching theirtarget market of local customers withour magazine is so effective. Withthat being said, if you don’t own alocal business and are strictly a con-sumer, I still would like you to readthis, so stay with me.

When you flip through ourpages month in and month out you’llsee the same simple concept- the no-tion of fueling a “shop local” mental-ity. Our readers know this about usand they understand we aren’t tryingto provide them with anything otherthan what we are, and that’s a qualitylocal publication that prides itself oncovering what’s going on in Carroll-wood and surrounding areas and theintricate web of entrepreneurial inno-vations our local business ownerspossess. If you read my “shop local”feature a while back, I brieflytouched on how impressed I am andcontinue to be with the businessowners in our community and theirstory. Every single one of you have astory to tell and most of you proba-bly have already come to the conclu-sion that if you could just tell

everyone that special story of yours,you’d have a lot more customers;customers that understand not onlyyour business but also YOUR uniqueand inspiringly powerful journey.Our readers want to know what setsyour business apart from competitorsin the area. They want to know whythey should spend their hard earneddollars with you and not your com-petitor down the street. The pages ofthis magazine offer you a chance totell that story!

Here’s something we aren’t:we aren’t “that publication” that al-lows advertisers to pay to write theirown “advertorial” all about howgreat they are and how everyone elseis left in the dust. We take the confi-dence our readers place in our wordsextremely serious, so we have a verystraight forward way of doing things.Yes, we do business features on ouradvertisers, because they are loyal tous and spend good money to placean ad within the pages of our publi-cation. It’s not to say however, wedon’t provide feature articles on nonadvertisers as well. For example, Cic-cio Cali received a great dining fea-ture in our very first issue of ourNew Tampa edition just because welove their food and enjoy the experi-

ence my wife and I receive every timewe visit. We write these stories as athank you to the fantastic local busi-nesses in our area. Ad campaignswith us are simple, effective andcheaper than anything comparable!If you find something comparablewith our quality and distributionwe’ll beat their price, and that’s aguarantee! In most cases we caneven beat the price of a media outletwith lesser quality and circulation!Our readers know we focus on thelocal businesses heavily so they use usas a resourceful tool to find goods,services, dining and entertainment.

Readers go through our maga-zines cover to cover, taking the time tonot only read over the articles but toalso take a second and see what kind ofdeals our advertisers are running.

Building a business is all aboutbuilding credibility and developing arelationship with each customer. Wecreate your ad, help you with a mar-keting strategy and tell your story, allat no extra charge! My family hasbeen in this business here in the Bayarea since 1994. You can trust us togive you the very best exposure inyour market, bar none!

If you’re contemplating adver-tising with us I can personallyguarantee nobody will work harderfor you than my team!

From an Advertising Perspective


sport administrators in effective youthdevelopment through sports. Thisone-day event gives young athletes theopportunity to sharpen their skills,while learning invaluable informationthat is applicable in both sport andlife. Join us for everything youthsports related – all under one roof.

Interactive Skills Zones The Interactive Skills Zones are a

series of scheduled skills developmentsport clinics for girls and boys ages 6-15 presented in 30 minute sessions

throughout the day starting at10:00am-2:00pm. Clinics will be of-fered in basketball, baseball, football,hockey, tennis, volleyball, cheer &dance, golf and soccer by professionalteams and local professional trainers.Each skill zone gives participants theopportunity to engage in sports train-ing and activities. The zones are de-signed for youth to learn and practicetheir favorite sport while being intro-duced to new ones. There will also bea Kids Fun Zone for children betweenthe ages of 3-5.

Specialty Clinics Join Pro Players representing

Community Calendar & News BriefsFirst Annual Golf Tourna-ment of Believing TampaFoundation

Believing Tampa Foundationproudly welcomes you to join in theirfirst annual charity golf tournament,which will be held at the WestchaseGolf Club, located at 11602Westchase Golf Drive in Tampa, onSaturday, June 6th.

Registration begins at 7 a.m. witha shotgun scramble starting promptlyat 8 a.m. The registration fee of $100for individuals or $380 for a foursomeincludes the greens fee on the beauti-ful Westchase Golf Club, a cart and aprime lunch served when players finishtheir rounds of play.

You can register online by creditcard at www.westchasegc.com/believ-ing or mail entry with check payableto “Believing Tampa Foundation”7008 N Himes Ave, Tampa, FL33614. For more information, pleasecontact: [email protected]

Believing Tampa Foundation is anonprofit organization committed tohelping people who suffer with spinalcord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, mul-tiple sclerosis and other neurological

impairments to have access to ad-vanced rehabilitation therapy. Since in-surance companies do not cover thespecialized long term therapy that ac-tivity based exercise centers offer, po-tential clients who are not able toafford rehabilitative therapy costs donot have the opportunity to seek re-covery options that are beneficial totheir well being and quality of life.This event will help to fund a therapyassistance program that would enablethe individual to participate in a ther-apy program geared towards recovery.

The Westchase Golf Club is lo-cated at 11602 Westchase GolfDrive in Tampa. For more informa-tion on the golf tournament pleaseemail [email protected] orvisitwww.believingtampa.org/events orwww.westchasegc.com/believing.

Tampa Bay Youth Expo –Educate. Train. Empower.

Saturday, July 18 from 9 a.m. – 2p.m. The Tampa Bay Youth SportsExpo (TBYSE) is the region’s pre-miere forum to educate, train and em-power youth, parents, coaches, and


football, basketball, baseball, andhockey as they provide tips and in-struction on how to improve yourgame at the Expo Specialty Clinics!The clinics provide various specializedfundamental skill stations tailored toprovide the competitive edge neededfor high performance.

A liability waiver is required for allplayers participating in the InteractiveSkills Zone and Specialty Clinic.

*Group rates are available forschools, teams and leagues. Pleasecontact Ken at [email protected] formore information.

Workshop Zone Building the Student Athlete -

Live workshops and demonstrationswill cover nutrition, training, injuryprevention, and college recruitment &NCAA guidelines. Workshops &Demonstrations are presented in 30minute sessions throughout the day inthe main stage area starting at 10:30am-2:00 pm by local organizationsand leading sport experts.

Exhibit Zone Stop by the Exhibit Zone to pick

up products and services related toyouth sports, kids and families.

Tampa Bay Convention Center

This year’s activities include: • 9 Inter-active Skills Zones • 4 Specialty Clin-ics* • LIVE Workshops &Demonstrations – Building the Stu-dent-Athlete • Exhibit Zone • Char-acter Awards • Tyler’s 3 on 3Basketball Tournament and more!

About The Skills Center, IncWe believe sports offer young

people the skills and knowledge theyneed to function effectively in life,thus The Skills Center, Inc. was cre-ated as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit sportbased youth development organiza-tion, “Creating CHANGE throughSports”

Using sports as a powerful learn-ing tool, we teach youth how to trans-fer the skills learned naturally throughsports to other environments in theirlives such as school, work and commu-nity. We offer school day, afterschool,and summer programs as well asleagues, skills development trainingsand travel teams.

Mission: To intentionally utilizeathletics as the mechanism to acceler-ate academic achievement, build char-acter, and promote health & fitness foryoung people ages 3-18 in Tampa Bay.

Vision: Our participants are well-rounded individuals who achieve their

life goals through academic achieve-ment and sound character based onintegrity, responsibility, respect, sports-manship and teamwork.

100% of the proceeds will benefitThe Skills Center’s afterschool andsummer programs for at risk, delin-quent and low-income children andteens.

To learn more about The SkillsCenter go towww.theskillscenter.org

June Event Calendar for theCarrollwood Cultural Center

The Carrollwood Cultural Cen-ter, located at 4537 Lowell Road inTampa, will host several events andactivities in June, including:

ART RECEPTION: VSA’s Vi-sions – My Home, Our World

When: Sat, June 6 at 2 – 4 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: “My Home, Our

World: will celebrate the 40th anniver-sary of VSA as well as the 25th an-niversary of the Americans withDisabilities Act (ADA). The exhibitshowcases the wonderful work that isbeing done with children and adultswith disabilities in Florida and Nigeria.

Admission: Free

SOUNDS OF SWINGWhen: Saturday, June 6 at 8 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: Dance shoes aren’t

required to attend this concert…butwe guarantee your toes will be tappin’!The Sounds of Swing will perform bigband and swing music. Swing Timewill give a free dance lesson at 6:30p.m. The lesson is free for all ticketholders, and no partner is needed.)

Admission: $12-$18

A RED CARPET EVENT:Always the chorus…Never the star

When: Friday, June 12 at 7 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: Every show has its

stars, but a good chorus can make anordinary show extraordinary! Joinchorus director Mary Jo Hahn and theCarrollwood Cultural Center Com-munity Chorus as they perform showstopping chorus numbers from award-winning musicals like Hairspray, Rent,The Music Man, Chorus Line, andmore!

Admission: $10-$16

See “Calendar/Briefs” on page 24.


Getting to Know Dr. Heidi Nagel of Northwest Family Medical CenterHeidi Nagel joined Dr. Cromer at

Northwest Family Medical Center inJuly of 2014. Dr. Nagel started collegeat University of Florida in 1991 andwas awarded a music degree with vio-lin performance. She subsequentlyjoined the Asheville Symphony, taughtlessons and performed at weddingswhile working as a computer pro-grammer. She became a self-taughtcomputer programmer and made a ca-reer out of it working for a telecom-munications company, medicallaboratory and then Nintendo ofAmerica in Seattle.

Dr. Nagel, while working as aprogrammer, also worked side jobs atbookstores and restaurants to beamong a more sociable environment,read her biology and psychology text-books for fun, and was active in out-door activities and traveling. Shebegan to realize that she wanted tochange her career to involve helpingpeople through the practice of medi-cine. She returned to school at Uni-versity of South Florida to achieve hermedical school prerequisites as well asanother bachelor’s degree in biomed-ical science. There she was awarded

with the USF General ChemistryAward and explored research in or-ganic chemistry. She completed med-ical school at the University of Floridain 2009 and pursued residency train-ing in Pediatrics. After missing thecare of the adults, she changed toFamily Medicine where she trained inCharleston, SC and Latrobe, PA.Upon completing her training in Juneof 2014 she interviewed with Dr.Cromer and knew she wanted to be amember of his team.

Dr. Cromer was actually Dr.Nagel's doctor during her highschool years when he first starting hispractice 25 years ago. He has beenthe medical provider for her parentsfor the past 25 years. Dr. Cromer wasone of Dr. Nagel’s preceptors duringresidency, exposing her to the North-west Family Medical Center family.He has been an inspiration to her,the local community, and a great in-fluence among his church familysince starting his practice. He leadsby compassion and serves as a rolemodel for the staff and practitionerswith his extensive medical knowledgeand experience. Dr. Nagel was de-

lighted to be seeking a job at thesame time Dr. Cromer was seekinganother physician for his practice.

Northwest Family Medical Cen-ter has given Dr. Nagel the opportu-nity to thrive in her joy of caring forpatients and using her medical knowl-edge to help them improve their

health. There have been several mem-orable experiences since starting herposition. Most notably, Dr. Nagel sawa new patient in his early twenties thathad been active until he suddenly de-veloped spastic tremors of half of hisbody. Previous workup had been neg-ative, but Dr. Nagel was able to find

Dr. Heidi Nagel (second from left) joined Northwest Family Medical Center inJuly of 2014.


the appropriate treatment to controlhis symptoms and greatly improve hisquality of life. Another prominent pa-tient had presented to the office withdebilitating nausea, vomiting, panic at-tacks and depression and after Dr.Nagel worked closely with him and hiswife, the patient has achieved stabilityand control of his symptoms and theability to regain his previously highlevel of functioning and position as aleader in society.

Dr. Nagel’s passion for music hasnot ceased despite her career change.

She enjoys spending her free time atmusic festivals. She especially likesIrish and Bluegrass music. When she’snot listening to music, she likes to taketime appreciating the Sunshine Stateby visiting with local family and friendsas well as scuba diving.

Northwest Family MedicalCenter is located at 4278 W.Linebaugh Ave in Tampa. For moreinformation please call (813) 960-3321 or visitNorthwestFamilyMedicalCenter.com.

Dr. Nagel is grateful for the opportunity to thrive in her career and enjoys car-ing for patients and using her medical knowledge to help them improve their health.


vide them with a blueprint to helpthem reach their short term and long-term financial goals. I offer non-com-mission, fee-based planning and amnot required to sell anything. I onlydo what is right for my client. My ob-jective is to build a customized planfor individuals, professionals and busi-ness owners.”

"Another huge factor that reallysets Stewardship Financial apart, is ourmacro asset perspective to financialplanning,” explains Mathew. “We con-sider every asset you own as part ofyour financial plan and organize therisks of those assets and structure themso that, in turn, we minimize risk,minimize taxes, maximize returns, andmaximize savings.”

Tax Diversification is a huge partof this. Through their macro asset ap-proach, Mathew is able to analyzeyour portfolio and diversify your assetsand investments to help produce re-tirement income that is exempt fromtaxes. “If done exactly how we say,when you invest your money a certainway and withdrawal it another way,you are able to cut your taxable in-come by up to 50%. Most people in-vest where their retirement income is100% susceptible to taxes, essentiallycreating a tax time bomb! Do youthink taxes are going down in the fu-ture? My guess is no! So wouldn’t itbe a good idea to consider taxes whenwithdrawing money from your ac-counts? I can help you get more fromyour money and avoid the dreaded taxtime bomb!”

Licensed through New York Life,at Stewardship Financial you get thebest of both worlds – the advantage of

By Alexis Selby

Whether you have a young familyor are already retired, now is the righttime to have a professional review yourfinancial plan. But, as is the case formany, the hardest part is knowingwhere to start. With so many invest-ment options to choose from, know-ing the right places to put your moneyis a tricky situation and can leave youfeeling overwhelmed and frustrated.So, why not leave it to the profession-als at Stewardship Financial Group!

With over a decade of experience,financial advisor Mathew Stewardhelps his clients to take control of theirfinancial future and puts them on theright track to building the foundationfor financial freedom! Following in thefootsteps of his predecessors BobbyOwens and Kent Moss, Mathew tookover the investment management oftheir practice in 2012. Together, theyhave a combined experience of over125 years in the financial services in-dustry, and working as a team, arededicated to providing their clients

with the highest level of expertise andknowledge. As owner of StewardshipFinancial Group, Mathew currentlyoperates two offices in the Tampa Bayarea to better serve his clients, includ-ing one right here in Carrollwood.

Mathew says, “It’s all about es-tablishing good habits. My goal is toestablish a plan for my client and pro-

Take Control of Your Financial Futurewith Stewardship Financial Group

With over 125 years of combined experience in the financial services industry,Stewardship Financial Group is dedicated to providing their clients with the

highest level of expertise and knowledge.


having the safety and security of alarge corporation, while maintainingthe personal, trusting experience andflexibility of a privately owned com-pany. “I have all the products, backing

and resources of New York Life, in-cluding all the credentials and profes-sional expertise you could ask for, butby having my own privately ownedcompany I have the opportunity to

help my clients to the very best of myability,” says Mathew. "No one entityhas all the best products and options,so having my own company gives methe flexibility to build a plan that isspecific and customized to the client’sneeds, wants and desires.”

Mathew prides himself in buildingstrong, long-lasting relationships withhis clients, and to him, being a finan-cial advisor means more than just han-dling their money. "I’m in therelationship business,” says Mathew.“I love working with people and I’mpassionate about what I do. I enjoyhelping my clients to understand thefinancial market and enjoy showingthem how they can attain their finan-cial goals - it’s usually far easier thanthey ever thought possible. I am theircoach and their consultant, and amgrateful for the opportunity to em-power them. Money ties into so manydifferent things, it can be so personaland emotional. I help to break it downso that their goals become attainableand I give them a defined direction ofwhat it takes to meet those goals.”

Stewardship Financial Groupworks with people in many stages oflife. Whether your goal is to preparefor retirement, pay for education, pre-pare for the unexpected, create a busi-ness succession plan, prepare your

estate transfer, prepare for an expectedinheritance, it all starts with taking thefirst step - talking with a financial plan-ner! Taking into account your individ-ual needs and concerns, Mathew willspecially tailor a plan that is perfect foryou; one that addresses all that youhope to accomplish in the future.

You never know what the futuremay hold and what the economy willbe like in 20 years, so it’s better toprepare now and have a plan for suc-cess, as opposed to waiting, at whichpoint it might be too late. So, whatare you waiting for? Mathew wouldlove the opportunity to personally in-troduce himself. Feel free to reach himdirectly on his cell or by email. What-ever your goal, Stewardship Financialcan help you build the foundation forfinancial freedom!

Stewardship Financial Grouphas two locations to better serveyou. Their Carrollwood office is lo-cated at 8910 N. Dale Mabry Hwy,Suite 8 in Tampa. Their second of-fice is across the street from OneBuc Place at 3109 W. Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. Blvd, Suite 300 inTampa. Fore more informationplease contact Matthew directly at(813) 244-7177, email him [email protected] or visitwww.Stewardshipfg.com.

Financial Advisor Mathew Steward absolutely loves the Carrollwood areaand looks forward to raising his family in such a wonderful community!


By Deborah Bostock-Kelley

There are some people who areperfectly suited to their profession.Michelle Lauletta, the EngagementDirector at Arbor Terrace at CitrusPark, is one such person. This gre-garious woman with a contagious biglaugh and even bigger heart is doingher “dream job” with her “dreamteam.” Her face lights up when shetalks about the people she works withand preparing activities for the seniorcitizens who call this newly openedassisted living and memory care facil-ity home.

Conveniently located in the heartof the Citrus Park and Westchaseareas, Arbor Terrace at Citrus Parkopened just a month ago at 13810Sheldon Road, and unlike a sterilehospital environment, this fabulousstate-of-the-art community evokes thefeel of a luxury hotel or resort. “Weare not at all clinical,” said Michelle.“We try very hard to be as home-likeas possible with the normal activitiesof daily living.”

Three types of apartments areavailable for rent – studio, one-bed-room and two-bedroom companionsuites with a shared bathroom andkitchenette. Small pets are welcome,but the resident has to be able to carefor the animal.

The benefits of an assisted livingfacility are plentiful. “Right away,they have the social interaction theywouldn’t have if they were just sit-ting at home watching TV. Theyhave friends who are going throughthe same things they are,” saidLauletta. “We keep them physicallyand mentally active. We do exercisesevery morning. Their health is moni-

tored. We have nurses on site work-ing here 24 hours a day. Familieshave that piece of mind that theirloved ones are safe. We try to keeptheir lives as normal as possible.”

Arbor Terrace at Citrus Park pro-vides different levels of assistance,based up on the individual needs ofeach resident. The first floor offers asecured memory care for residents thatrequire round-the-clock specializedcare. The second floor offers theBridges program and includes a higheracuity level of care provided by theirECC license (Extended CongregateCare) which also allows the residentsto age in place. The third floor is forSenior Assisted Living.

“Bridges is for early onset de-mentia and Alzheimer’s. It’s wherethe same question is repeatedthroughout the day. They’re notneeding a secure community, butneeding a little more attention,” ex-plained Lauletta. “Part of our train-ing is how to deal with this. Somepeople need redirection, some people

need distraction, some people justneed you to sit and listen to themand that’s what Bridges is all about.”

Lauletta said that so often theBridges group of residents gets lostin assisted living communities be-cause they are not yet in memorycare where that is addressed one-on-one, but not able to live anymore inassisted living. “We try to reach outto them and to gear our activities fortheir needs,” she said. “We set themfor success and want them to feelgood about themselves.”

When visiting the nurses’ station,several students from Rasmussen Col-lege were beginning their first day in-terning at the facility. When askedabout their first impression, they re-sponded, “It’s a great facility with agreat staff. The residents are verypleasant. We love it!”

Arbor Terrace at Citrus Parkshowcases rooms themed to theTampa Bay area. The “Tampa The-atre” features a media room withcomfortable seating and a big screen

TV. “We will do popcorn and amovie,” Lauletta said. The “SiestaKey Salon & Spa” provides a placewhere the residents can get pamperedin the salon every Tuesday, Thursday,and Friday. The Multi Purpose Roomoffers a kitchen, couches, TV and ta-bles for the residents to play gameswith staff and a state-of-the-art com-

Arbor Terrace of Citrus Park ProvidesHome-Like High-Quality Senior Living


puter lab connects seniors to the In-ternet. At Arbor Terrace’s Ybor CityBistro and Café guests can enjoy aFriday afternoon happy hour and acappuccino machine.

The Longboat Key dining area isreminiscent of dining in a five-starrestaurant. Cream fabric tableclothscover each table, napkins are balancedin a perfect erect column on the centerof each placemat, and a single beauti-ful rose and baby’s breath sit in thecenter of the table. The dining roomalso boasts a private dining area with awide-screen TV for guests to bring

family to share a private meal. Arbor Terrace at Citrus Park also

offers a special dining program calledDining with Dignity that enablesthose that have lost their ability tohandle utensils or chew food to enjoythe same five-star meal other residentsenjoy. “It’s gourmet dining made in away that guests can eat with dignity,”said Lauletta.

In 2014, Arbor Terrace’s DiningWith Dignity dining program receivedNational recognition, becoming thenewest winner of the Best of the BestAwards at the annual Assisted Living

Federation of America conference. Besides many planned activities

within the facility, like indoor bowling,baking and cooking, residents can par-ticipate in many diverse types of out-ings, from luncheons called the LunchBunch to Mystery Rides. “We havemystery rides where it’s not a plannedexcursion,” said Lauletta. “We’ll go tothe Causeway and watch the dolphins.We try to keep our residents busy –physically and mentally.

“The emphasis here is on the resi-dent, not on the marketing aspect offilling the community. Other commu-

nities will spend hundreds of dollars toget someone in and then ten dollars tokeep them in,” explained Lauletta.“Our philosophy is let’s take care ofthe residents that are here. This is theirhome. They don’t live where we work,we work where they live.”

Arbor Terrace of Citrus Park islocated south of Sickles HighSchool at 13810 Sheldon Road inTampa. For more information or toreserve a suite please call (813)333-9996 or visitwww.at-citruspark.com.

Engagement DirectorMichelle Lauletta


The 1st Annual Child AdoptionEducation Day will be held on June13th from 2–5 p.m. at Old McMicky’sFarm, located at 9612 Crescent LakeDrive in Odessa. This FREE, casualevent allows attendees to learn aboutthe adoption process.

At any given time, an average ofover 200 local Tampa Bay area chil-dren are in need of a forever family.Old McMicky’s Farm, in partnershipwith 13 Tampa Bay Area Family Serv-ices agencies, will be hosting the FirstAnnual Tampa Bay Child AdoptionEducation Day to educate the publicabout adoption. This first of its kind,cross-agency and cross-county effort,aims to educate potential parents inorder to help find more Forever Fami-lies for local children. The goal of theevent is to invite anyone who has everhad interest in starting or growingtheir family to come and learn in oneeasy afternoon how the adoptionprocess works, all of the support andservices available both pre and postadoption, and most importantly, all of

the personal and emotional rewardsfor their family and the children. Over100 people have already registered toattend.

This event is being organized andhosted by the beautiful OldMcMicky’s Farm in Odessa, Florida.Representatives from each organiza-tion will have the opportunity to ex-plain the role they play in the adoptionprocess. Plus, adoptive parents andtheir adopted children will speak to leteveryone know what adoption hasmeant in their lives. It is FREE to allattendees and is a casual, no-pressure

learning atmosphere where everyonecan have open conversation and get allof their questions answered. Everymajor organization that is involved inthe adoption process in the TampaBay area is partnering to make thisgreat day happen.

About Old McMicky’s Farm: OldMcMicky’s Farm, located on the His-toric grounds of Camp Keystone (Es-tablished in 1946), is part of acherished 68-year-old Tampa Bay tra-dition. The Children’s EducationalFarm is dedicated to providing fun,

educational and hands-on guidedtours to groups, the general publicand kids birthday parties. This uniquefarm is nestled on a beautiful 40-acrelake and is both rustic and elegant.The Farm also hosts special eventssuch as Barn Weddings, Company Pic-nics, Corporate Events, CharityEvents, Private Parties, to supporttheir educational programming andcommunity giving. Everyone at theFarm is dedicated to continuing thiswonderful tradition for kids and fami-lies in our Tampa Bay community.

Old McMicky’s Farm and 13 Tampa Bay Area Family ServicesOrganizations Announce 1st Annual Child Adoption Education Day


OMF is dedicated to giving backto the community in many ways. TheFarm’s “1000 Kids” Program’s goal isto host 1,000 kids a year in the TampaBay area who are facing challenges foran awesome, educational and fun dayat the Farm, at No Charge. The Farmhosted was honored to host 1276 kidsin 2014 under the “1000 Kids” pro-gram in its introductory year. As ofApril 2015, the farm already has 505kids reserved to come out for freeunder the program.

The Farm’s “Mission I Do” pro-gram provides Free, All-InclusiveDream Weddings to Wounded Vet-eran’s. The second “Mission I Do”wedding just occurred in February2015.

The 1st Annual Child Adoption

Education Day is presented by:Old McMicky’s Farm, EckerdCommunity Alternatives (Hills-borough, Pinellas, Pasco),Camelot Community Care(Hillsborough), Youth & Fam-ily Alternatives (Pinellas), Di-rections for Living, CountyFoster & Adoptive Parents(Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco),Family Tyes, Hope Builders,Adoptive Related Services,Guardian Ad Litem (Hillsbor-

ough, Pinellas, Pasco), Heart Gallery(Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco), TheChildren’s Home.

The Old McMicky’sFarm Child Adoption EducationDay brings more prospective adop-tive parents in to the process to findmore families for children. Formore information about the Chil-dren’s Adoption Education Day onthe Internet, please goto: www.OldMcMickys.com/chil-drens-adoption-education-day andto learn more about Old McMicky’sFarm please visit www.OldM-cMickys.com or call 813-920-1948.Follow Old McMicky’s on facebookat www.facebook.com/ OldM-cMickysFarm.


immediately struck by just how ac-commodating Bill was to his guests, ashe quickly and effortlessly made acomfortable space for a wheelchair-bound patron at the breakfast bar.Fortuitously, it gave me a chance totake in the bevy of multimedia art andpaintings decorating the restaurantwalls. The one that especially caughtmy eye was Romero Britto’s “TheHug” that hangs on the far back wallin front of the kitchen. It most defi-nitely makes you feel welcome backinto the fold!

Bill then escorted me to what heeuphemistically calls “The BoardRoom,” a private dining area just offto back, right-hand side that can ac-commodate up to 18 guests. Henoted that the “CABA Room” nextdoor was currently occupied by mem-bers of the Military Officers Associa-tion of America, as it can easily holdas many as 60 guests. Having thesetwo enclosed rooms affordsBrunchies of Tampa the opportunityto welcome and host networkinggroups, bridge parties, baby andbridal showers and well, you name it!

Even though typical hours are from7:00AM-2:00PM seven days a week,Bill offers these two private roomsafter hours as well, and will even caterthe event for you… Just ask for de-tails when planning your next party,meeting or event. Don’t forget thatBrunchies also caters off-site eventslike Teacher Appreciation Days forschools in the area, Operation Help-ing Hands and the like. They willmost certainly do right by you.

A long-time Bay area resident andoriginally from the Philly area, Billgraduated from USF and entered intothe restaurant business up in Atlanta.

Lucky for us, he then decided to bringhis family, knowledge and skills backhome to set up shop right here in theheart of Carrollwood. The Kranichslove to travel, especially in SouthAmerica, so you can understand howthe inspiration for some of thismonth’s specials came to be. If youlook closely at the menu, you’ll evennote that the specials are actuallynamed after family members and staff.There’s a back story for each one, soyou might want to ask your waitper-son for the scoop or even grab Bill fora quick minute while he walks throughthe restaurant engaging in conversa-

tion with his guests.Have you signed up for The

Brunchies Breakfast Club yet?Doing so will put you in a positionto rack up points each time you dinewith them (double points are offeredon Tuesdays). Once you’ve earned200 points, you will be given a $10Brunchies Gift Certificate to enjoyon your next visit. Give yourself atreat, join up and celebrate in stylewith a free Brunchies birthday entréefor members.

Now, let’s talk about the food…You simply must try some of theirDuck Bacon, an offering that has beenon the menu for about a year, now. Ithas 61% less fat than regular baconand tastes absolutely “mahvelous.”With specials changing seasonally,check their website for your favoritesat www.BrunchiesTampa.com. Don’tforget to order a delicious smoothie,new to their menu, featuring MangoSorbet (my personal favorite), Straw-berry Banana Yogurt and ExpressoMocha Frappe. They are all madewith real and wholesome ingredients(no sugar added). Yummmm! Youmight want to try one of their skillets,Build Your Own Omelettes or any oneof their Late Riser sandwiches, wrapsand salads, too – they’re all amazing.

“Brunchies”Continued from page 1


My server Lyndsey and her side-kickMargarita (hailing from Peru) helpedme to decide on a Chipotle TurkeyBLT Panini to go with my MangoSorbet smoothie. What a meal folks…the sandwich was as tasty as it was im-pressive looking, with just a hint of akick provided by the Chipotle mayo.Not to worry, the smoothie was theperfect accompaniment to the sand-wich for light-weight taste buds likemine and the amazing homemade po-tato chips served on the side comple-mented the plate. Get your taste budsrevved up and try some of Brunchie’sfabulous offerings. Come on now,

you know you deserve it! Bill and I finished up our discus-

sion and as we were walking out of“The Board Room,” he asked me if Ihad seen the charming painting hang-ing just outside, named “Fruit of theWomb.” As the story goes, it was lov-ingly created by his mother back in1960 when she was pregnant withbaby Bill. I guess that would explainthe price tag noted on the adjacentplacard… a whopping$75,000,000.23!!! It’s my guess thathe’s wanting to keep that in the family,no? What a tribute.

Come on in and enjoy the casual

and relaxed atmosphere thatBrunchies of Tampa has created foryou right here in your neighborhood.Join the other 2500+ folks in theBrunchies Breakfast Club and those“in the know” for Breakfast, Brunchor Lunch all week long. I am surethat my friends and I will be gatheringthere soon. Hope to see you there!

Brunchies is located at 14366 NDale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa adja-

cent to Starbucks, YouFit & Abby’s.They are open seven days a week

from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more infoor upcoming specials please call

(813) 908-7023 or visit their web-site at

www.BrunchiesTampa.com.�

Brunchies offers a variety of delicious options for Breakfast,Brunch and Lunch!

Named “Fruit of the Womb” this lovely painting was created by Bill’s motherback in 1960 when she was pregnant with him.


NORTH TAMPA MARKETWhen: Saturday, June 13 at 10

a.m.-2 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: The outdoor market

will include fresh food, hand crafts andlive music. For more information, visitwww.tampabaymarkets.com.

Admission: Free

SHANA BANANA’SPAJAMA PIZZA PARTY

When: Sat, June 13 at 5:30 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: Join children’s enter-

tainer Shana Banana for a musical pa-jama party to remember --- one thatteaches kids important healthy bed-time routines and uses creativity andstory-making to make the wholeprocess fun! A slice of pizza is in-cluded with the ticket price.

Admission: $7 member / $8 gen-eral admission / $28 Family 4-Pack

ART MAKERS &COCKTAIL SHAKERS

When: Thursday, June 18, 6:30p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: Carrollwood CulturalCenter, 4537 Lowell Road in Tampa

More Info: Students will learnbasic painting techniques as they workin a classroom setting to complete awork of art following the step-by-stepdirection of an art instructor. As theypaint, they will be able to purchasecocktails and socialize with one an-other. At the end of your two hoursession, participants will be able totake home their completed work.

Admission: $38-$42 (Admissionincludes all of the materials for theevening’s project as well as one bever-age. A cash bar will be available andparticipates are invited to bring non-al-coholic beverages and snacks to class.)

JAZZ WITH JIMWhen: Fri, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: Jazz with Jim is a

monthly concert hosted by Jim Burgeand The Jazz Directions. The concertis best known for fusing personal sto-ries by the musicians with popular jazztunes suited for that month’s theme.Patrons can purchase home bakedgoods donated by the Center’s volun-

teers, which help complete the inti-mate ambiance.

Admission: $12-$18

MOTOWN HEAT with theSounds of Soul

When: Friday, June 26 at 8 p.m.Where: Carrollwood Cultural

Center, 4537 Lowell Road in TampaMore Info: Join us for one of

the hottest shows in town. TheSounds of Soul return to the Carroll-wood Cultural Center for an encorepresentation of last year's sold out per-formance: Motown Heat.

Admission: $29-$35All performance tickets can be

purchased at the box office, onlineat www.CarrollwoodCenter.org, orby calling (813) 922-8167.

Medical Center of TrinityPlans for Citrus Park ER,A Free Standing EmergencyCenter

Medical Center of Trinity an-nounces its plans to open the CitrusPark ER, a free standing emergencydepartment of Medical Center ofTrinity. Citrus Park ER is a 24 hour,seven day a week emergency room foradults and kids. Planned opening is forJune 2015.

The Citrus Park ER will offereasy, convenient access to emergencycare 24 hours a day with all the re-sources needed for acute care of a seri-ous illness or injury. The free standingER will provide even more advancedemergency services than an urgentcare center. This full service ER willalso accept patients via ambulance andhave on site CT scan, ultrasound, x-ray and laboratory services.

The Citrus Park ER will bestaffed by physicians Board Certifiedin Emergency Care and nurses withemergency care experience and certifi-cations. The new free standing emer-gency room will offer residents ofCitrus Park and surrounding areas:· Convenient access from home,school and work· Shorter wait times· The same services and level of careconsistent with a traditional hospitalemergency department· Warm and inviting clinical environ-ment· Telemedicine capabilities· Enables first responders to returnmuch more quickly to the field· National certification through Med-ical Center of Trinity

New Volunteer Opportunities

“Calendar/Briefs”Continued from page 5


are Now Available With Med-ical Center of Trinity’s NewCitrus Park ER

Volunteer opportunities arenow available at the new Citrus ParkER, a department of Medical Centerof Trinity. Volunteers of the newCitrus Park ER will be members ofMedical Center of Trinity’s highlyrespected Volunteer team. VolunteerAmbassadors provide hospitality andnon-clinical support to patients andtheir families.

The free standing emergencydepartment will be located at12922 Sheldon Road (at CitrusPark Drive and Sheldon Road),Tampa, Florida 33626. For moreinformation about the new CitrusPark ER, call (813) 282-2850.

Corbett Prep Fifth GradeLeadership Council openstwo Little Free Libraries oncampus

The Corbett Prep Fifth GradeLeadership Council opened two LittleFree Libraries on campus this schoolyear as part of a community serviceproject to benefit the school. Studentsare encouraged to recycle their oldbooks by bringing in books they haveenjoyed and leaving them on the

shelves for someone else. Anyone canstop by the Little Free Library tobrowse the collection and take a bookthat interests them.

Fifth graders worked on the li-brary boxes, which are modeled afterbirdhouses, with family and friends.Fifth grader Patrick Smith, an avidreader, shared the Little Free Libraryidea with the Leadership Council thisschool year after spotting several boxesin Dunedin, where his grandparentslive. He loved the idea and the waythe boxes looked. More than 20,000Little Free Libraries have been estab-lished worldwide.

The newest library box openedthis month.

Corbett Preparatory School ofIDS is located at 12015 OrangeGrove Dr., Tampa, Fla. 33618. Formore information please call (813)961-3087.

Homebound Heroes ProvidesHomes to Heroes in ourLocal Community!

Homebound Heroes is a privatelyfunded, locally run, non-profit organi-zation dedicated to providing mort-gage free homes to returning warveterans who have served our country.The majorities of our returning heroes

suffer from multiple levels of PTSDand have difficulty returning to a civil-ian lifestyle. Homebound Heroes was

created to help relieve the pressure ofmaking one of the biggest investmentsof their lives. By providing a house forthese brave veterans Homebound He-roes can help them adapt to their nextmission of succeeding in America andturning their new house into a home.

Homebound Heroes is com-mitted to ensuring that over 90% ofall received donations goes directlytowards providing mortgage freehousing for our veterans. For moreinformation or to donate please call(727) 638-4418, email [email protected] or visitwww.homeboundheroes.com.


beautifully arranged and organ-ized boutique-like store that offers aone-of-kind shopping experience andearns many repeat customers!

In addition to furniture and décorfor your home, there are many lovelyand unique choices for gifts. Whowouldn’t love a sweet gift of HenHouse linens, Tyler Candle Com-pany® candles, or handmade soapsand lotions? I love the adorable GloryHaus photo frames with sayingspainted on them. And I’d like to pur-chase all of the beautiful handmadeand painted wooden crosses that aremade by a local artist – they wouldlook so awesome massed together ona wall! Fun and inexpensive items areabundant, such as hand-painted wineglasses and photo frames (worthchecking out if you need a gift for agraduate going to UF or FSU), insu-lated cups and so much more!

Since my last visit, owner Chris-tine Jackson has added even more arti-san crafted merchandise. I love thebeautiful horsehair pottery they nowhave available. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind and the colors are simply beau-

tiful. J & C Consign and Design evenhas handcrafted gift bags and cards.

Let’s Talk Furniture! J & C Consign and Design spe-

cializes in new and “like new” highend furniture and home décor. Someof the brands you’ll find are Lane,Thomasville, Bernhardt, Vanguard,Ethan Allen, West Elm, Stanford and

Stanley. Literally every time I go to this

store, I find something to add beautyand function to my home. So far I’velucked out in finding pen and pencilframed artwork, an antique rosewoodtable, a fireplace screen, a wroughtiron bed, and on my last visit I pur-chased a duo of timeless side chairsthat are in near perfect condition! I

saw those chairs and knew that it wasan “act now and act fast” situation if Iwanted them because they are excel-lent quality and I know the price Ipaid is a fraction of what the originalowner paid for them. I knew if Ididn’t act fast, someone else would.

That is the thing about J & CConsign and Design; there is a fastturnover of furniture pieces. With such

“J&C Consign”Continued from page 1

Find giftware and house decor handmade by local artisans - from wallhangings, to frames, horse hair pottery & more!


high quality furniture at greatly dis-counted prices, people are finding outabout this gem of a store and most cus-tomers are like me – they keep goingback because you never know what J &C will have gotten in. I spied somegreat pieces on my last visit – a brandnew farm-style dining table, a brandnew tall back loveseat that makes astatement all on its own, and a gor-geous wooden and leather upholstered

bench (also new). There are some greatdesks – both feminine and masculine.From side tables and chairs, to bed-room sets, chests, and living room sets,J & C Consign and Design is a greatplace to shop for furniture.

100s of Items Weekly,Discounts Daily

J & C Consign and Design re-ceives hundreds of new items in the

Furniture is arranged with complementary accessories - sometimes you canpick out an entire new room to take home!

store every week. Every item is taggedand dated and if it doesn’t sell withinan allotted time period, that item isdiscounted so there are literally newdiscounts daily.

If you are looking for some newart for your walls, J & C Consign andDesign has a great collection featuringa variety that ranges from the elegantand timeless to the artsy and folksy.My favorite wall hanging last visit wasa big needlepoint featuring a couple ofBahamian women – so fun!

The consigned items include top-quality furniture and home accents in-cluding lighting. There are lightfixtures and chandeliers available atgreatly discounted prices. I saw a three-some of new pendant droplights whichlooked antique yet modern and mademe wish I had a bar to hang them over– trust me, they won’t last long!

If you are interested in consign-ing, J & C Consign and Design takesvery gently used high end furnitureand home décor in “like new” condi-tion. Christine and store managerCandy are very particular about whatitems they will carry, but that is whatmakes the store so awesome – every-thing is in excellent, saleable condi-tion! Consignments are taken byappointment only, and they prefer that

you email a photo first if possible.

J & C Consign and Design islocated at 8809-B Gunn Highwayin Odessa, and is open from 10a.m. until 5 p.m. on Tues. – Sat.and from 12 – 5 p.m. on Sun.;closed Mon. Please call (813) 920-0800 for information or log on towww.jcconsign.com, where you canfind information about how to sub-mit photos of items you’d like toconsign and sign up for email up-dates. “Like” J & C Consign andDesign on facebook for updates onthe latest merchandise they receive.


The Red Cross Needs YOUDo you know what your Ameri-

can Red Cross does? I'll bet you arenodding your head – you think youdo. Everyone thinks of the RedCross as the big disaster people –hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes –especially here in Florida where weget all three. It is what you see ontelevision, whenever there is a bigcrisis. They are at every major disas-ter before the TV cameras arrive, andlong after they are gone to help feedand shelter those who have losteverything. They give hugs. Theygive hope. They help communitiesendure.

But the biggest disaster they re-spond to is not a tornado, flood orhurricane. It's not a man-made disas-ter like a train derailment or a planecrash. More than 90% of the disastersthey respond to are local home firesright here in our community everyday. On average here in Tampa Baythere is a home fire nearly every sin-gle night – about 350 per year. Tothe family that loses everything thatnight it's a big disaster – one of theworst days of their lives – and the

Red Cross is there.When a family loses their home

and has no place to go, the fire de-partment calls the Red Cross, 24hours a day, 7 days a week. Volun-teers from the Red Cross respondimmediately, having a continuouscommitment to be on scene within 2hours. They verify the situation andtake care of the family's needs, mak-ing sure they have a roof over theirheads that night, that they have foodand clothing, that the kids are readyto go to school the next day. Nursesare on call that can help replace med-ications and eyeglasses, and the RedCross gives a small toy to the childwho lost all of their cherished be-longings and needs something soft tocuddle; but that's just the beginning.

In the days and weeks that fol-low, trained Red Cross volunteercaseworkers help that family on theirroad to recovery; making sure theyaren't alone; making sure they haveaccess to every community resourceavailable. Unless you've been in theunfortunate circumstance to suffer ahouse fire you probably don't know

that's what keeps our local Red Crossvolunteers busy every day.

Over 90% of the work done bythe Red Cross is done by volunteers.These special people make a differ-ence in someone’s life every day. Vol-unteers like Lisa, who tells the storyof one of the fires she responded to:“ I was called to the scene of a burn-

ing house at 8:30 one night. Theelderly lady who lived there had left aspace heater too close to a curtainand it sent her wood frame home upin flames very quickly. She called 911and ran out with nothing in herhands but her cat and car keys. Shewas left with nothing. Nothing.When my team arrived she was sit-

More than 90% of the disasters they respond to are local home fires right herein our community every day. On average here in Tampa Bay there is a home fire

nearly every single night and the Red Cross is there to help every time!


ting in the back of a police car shiver-ing. We wrapped her in a Red Crossblanket and hugged her tight. Cry-ing, she was able to give us herdaughter’s phone number to call forher – but her daughter was in Ohio.It would take some time for her toget to Tampa. The Red Cross is asupport system, a safety net. We wereable to put her in a hotel for 3nights, and help her with other im-mediate needs until her daughter wasable to come down. It was important

to stay in constant touch with her –she needed our support system. Shecould have been my mother, mygrandmother. I could only imaginehow grateful I would have been forRed Cross volunteers. Her relief atseeing us and knowing she would besafe was palpable. And her hugs andthanks gave more back to us as vol-unteers than we ever imagined. Ilove my work with the Red Cross.”

This amazing organization hashundreds of wonderful volunteers

just like Lisa who want to give backto their community. But, the RedCross desperately needs more. Inaddition to responding to housefires they're helping their commu-nity get prepared- installing smokealarms and teaching kids how to beready for disasters. They are deep inplanning for the upcoming hurri-cane season that begins in just a fewweeks and are training volunteers inlogistics and sheltering, etc. Many oftheir volunteer jobs are yet to befilled this season and they need yourpassion for helping others to helpmake a difference. Whether you have20 hours a week to give, or just 2,won't you consider joining thisgroup of caring and compassionatepeople?

To learn more about RedCross volunteer opportunities inyour local community please visitthem for an open house on Thurs-days from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.at their Tampa office, located at3310 W. Main St, or contact(813)-348-4820 [email protected] formore information.


The Fresh Market at Wiregrass Offers Fun and Goods for Everyone! By Kim Thomas

The Fresh Market that comes toWiregrass Mall every first and thirdSaturday is a great way to spend yourmorning! I recently visited and can’twait to go back, but I have a few tips.Take some kind of tote bag, or evenbetter a rolling cooler! I found somany great items at the Fresh Marketthat I found myself envious of theyoung moms with strollers where theycould stash their goods under thebaby. Next time, I’m leaving thenotepad and camera at home, and I’mstocking up on the goods!

The beautiful weather, fresh airand fun shopping are reason enoughto go to the Fresh Market at Wire-grass Mall, but you’ll also love meet-ing the hundreds of vendors. Thereare so many offerings and I truly en-joyed getting to meet so many differ-ent people with their own stories totell. From farmers who are carryingon a family legacy and entrepreneurswho are marketing new products onthe weekends while they work theirother jobs during the weekdays, to

artists, bakers and pet-lovers, you’llmeet wonderful people.

There is stand after stand ofbeautiful locally grown vegetables andfruits. They will give you plastic bagsif you don’t have a tote, but if you’relike me, you’ll want to buy more thanyou‘ll want to carry. I couldn’t resistthe heirloom veggies offered fromSmall Town Farms – beautiful blackand chocolate red bell peppers, rain-bow carrots, gorgeous vine-ripenedPita Boy tomatoes, and white zuc-chini – that were to make up a few

fabulous meals at the Thomas house!I passed by the Live Oak Organicsstand and bought the last bag of babyspinach, plus some turnips and one ofmy favorite snacks, sugar snap peas,which were so tender, juicy and sweet– the best I’ve ever tasted! The fresh-picked strawberries were abundant,with more than one place to getthem, but I picked mine up at theParke Family Hydro Farms’ stand –they were delicious in my homemadestrawberry lemonade!

It smells so good at the Fresh

Market, you will want to bring yourappetite because there are fantasticofferings from chocolates to artisansausages on fresh rolls at The SausageFactory. Nothing hits the spot on ahot day better than a handcraftedpopsicle at Whatever Pops (mine wasEarl Grey Tea, Lavender and Lemon– so refreshing!), and the pulled porksandwiches at The Hogfather BBQstand looked delicious and worth atrip back.

For one dollar only, my tastebuds took a trip to Paris with a deca-


dent chocolate truffle made byRichard at Cow Paddy Irish Fudge.Richard says he has customers whosay they truly haven’t tasted better,not even in Paris.

My family has become spoiled bymy love of handmade soaps and I washappy to find a great source at theSwanson Soapworks stand.

If you like pickles, you’ve got tostop by the Chill Dill booth for someof their perfectly crispy dills. My fa-

vorite was the spicy pickledcarrots!

Pet-lovers will love theFresh Market’s pet-friendlyatmosphere – friendly, leasheddogs are welcome – and thereare great products for healthypets. Watch out though, theDoggone Good Goodies areso healthy and doggone goodthat they turn mild-mannered

dogs into cookies monsters! There is so much more, from

homemade whoopie pies, fresh bakedgoods, free range eggs and roastingchickens, seafood, even plants, orchidsand cut flowers. There truly is toomuch to name, so just hop in your caron the first and/or third Saturday ofthe month and check it out. Bring thewhole family. Little ones can ride onthe train and teens can hit the stores.It’s what I call a win-win!

Carrollwood - Vol. 3, Issue 6, June 2015

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Transcript of Carrollwood - Vol. 3, Issue 6, June 2015