Olmsted Park Takes Center Stage Annual Gala and Plein Air Invitational Plus: Greater Decatur’s Top 10! Tax Tips Countertop Consult And more! For the communities of Decatur, Druid Hills, Candler Park, Lake Claire, Avondale Estates and Oak Grove Winter 2015 Like us on Facebook to learn about our specials and monthly lunch & learn topic. ADDITIONS | KITCHENS & BATHS | RENOVATIONS DECATUR’S LEADING PLASTIC SURGERY PRACTICE DECATUR’S LEADING PLASTIC SURGERY PRACTICE DEDECATUR’SCATUR’S L LEADINGEADING PLASTICPLASTIC SURGERY SURGERY PRACTICE PRACTICE Now offering aesthetician services Double board-cNeowrtifi eodffer anding sp eaestcializinhetgi cini acnos servmetici ceansd Now offering aesthetician services Dourecoblen sbtroucardtiv-cee prtifilasetdic and surg sepreyci, inaclizinludgin ign faccosemlifte,t iceye anlid Lisa M. 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Follow us! skitren aretmjuaenvndetsn a dftoaionrr kelo anrn geyde reL, laathitissshckeees®r. treatments for longer, thicker www.facebook.com/difrancescomdLike us! Follow us! treatmenandts dfoarr kelonrg eyere, lathishckeesr. Like us! Follow us! and darker eyelashes. twitter.com/DiFrancescoMD 124 S. COLUMBIA DR. DECATUR, GA 404-378-6962 RENEWALDESIGNBUILD.COM DiFrancesco_DL_face_022113.indd 1 2/21/13 11:02 AM DiFrancesco_DL_face_022113.indd 1 2/21/13 11:02 AM DiFrancesco_DL_face_022113.indd 1 2/21/13 11:02 AM ADDITIONS | KITCHENS & BATHS | RENOVATIONS 124 S. COLUMBIA DR. DECATUR, GA 404-378-6962 RENEWALDESIGNBUILD.COM Features 9 Cover Story CONTENTS With the Olmsted Linear Park now fully rehabilitated, OLPA is turning its attention Winter 2015 to preserving the park. Two big fundraising events are coming up: the annual gala, Party for the Park on Ponce, and the first ever Plein Air Invitational. 14 Your Landscape Winter time, while the plants are dormant, is a wonderful time to give your landscape some love and to install hardscape that you can enjoy in the spring. 18 Local Highlights It’s time to rekindle the romance and fall in love all over again with where you live. The greater Decatur area is brimming with swoon-worthy places that you might be missing. We highlight 10 of the best. Departments 6 Publisher’s Letter Home Sweet Home 21 Your Home Is there a kitchen renovation in your future? Renewals’ Peter Michelson shares some tips for selecting the right kitchen countertops. 24 Your Health Now is a good time to get some extra motivation to lose that extra weight. Find out how you can become Decatur’s Biggest Loser and help out local students. 27 Your Children Baby, it’s cold outside! But don’t let that be 9 an excuse to huddle around the TV. Dr. Jane Wilkov shares some tips for keeping your family active this winter. 29 29 Community Spotlight 18 Does your student need funding for a small enterprise? Read about the microloans that Decatur Education Foundation is making available to Decatur students. 31 Calendar of Events 32 Your Money Ready or Not…Tax Season is Coming! 4 DECATUR LIVING Winter 2015 WELCOME PUBLISHER’S LETTER DECATUR LIVING, LLC P.O. BOX 2589 DECATUR, GA 30031 PUBLISHER Natalie Gregory ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, MARKETING Vicki Sarris EDITOR Lorayne Bryan ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Natalie Gregory Theresa Woodgeard Vicki Sarris ART DIRECTOR Brent Cashman PHOTOGRAPHY Nipper Jewett Marc Del Santo Virgine Kippelen WRITERS Sherry Baker Beth Grashof Marcia Lampe Peter Michelson Jessica Neese Denise Pajak Lynn Pasqualetti Julie Ralston Nia Schooler Mel Selcho Home Sweet Home Jane Wilkov, M.D. I HAVE TRAVELED ACROSS the country with work a good bit in the past, and that has given me an ongoing appreciation for our city and region. Sometimes we take our beautiful surroundings for granted, but then you travel to other cities and realize how abundant our trees and parks are in comparison. You can’t help but notice how green Decatur Living Telephone: 404.373.4262 everything is when you are circling and waiting for your plane to land. No wonder Atlanta [email protected] is consistently ranked among the top places to work and live. Our community leaders have consistently worked to preserve our parks and thus Decatur Living is published bi-monthly by Natalie Gregory. Distribution is a minimum of 14,000 with up to 11,000 being improve the quality of life for residents. Decatur has some of the prettiest streetscapes in mailed to households in Decatur, Druid Hills, Avondale Estates, Atlanta. I am proud of the work that Olmsted Linear Park Alliance has done to preserve Candler Park and Lake Claire and Oak Grove. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced without written permission and restore the beautiful swath of green in the Druid Hills neighborhood, and excited from the publisher. Advertisers and advertising agencies assume to see their work transition focus to the maintenance phase of the park. On page 9 liability for content of all advertisements. The publisher does not necessarily share the editorial opinions expressed in Decatur we spotlight two events the alliance is hosting – the annual gala, Party for the Park on Living Magazine. Personal decisions regarding health, finance, Ponce, and the area’s first ever Plein Air Invitational. and other matters should be made after consultation with the This event exemplifies another thing I really appreciate about where we live — the strong reader’s professional advisors. artist community and abundance of arts that we have access to like the Decatur Arts Festival (in its 27th year), the Decatur Book Festival (the larg- est independent book festival in the country), and all the wonderful local artists that bring beauty to our lives daily. For a sampling of some of the things that make our city so wonderful, read the roundup on page18 spotlighting a few of the local eateries and institutions who are continu- Natalie Gregory ing to raise the bar and make Decatur even greater. Publisher, Decatur Living Decatur Living is now on Facebook. CHECK OUT THIS ISSUE ONLINE @ WWW.DECATURLIVING.COM 6 DECATUR LIVING Winter 2015 ON THE COVER: Olmsted Park Annual Gala - Painting by: John Brandon Atlanta’s Favorite Presidents for 35 Years! Day “A unique mix Rug Sale of old and new, where designers, set decora- % tors and hipsters meet.” 50 OFF Voted ‘Best of Atlanta’! Furniture 3 DAYS ONLY Antiques FEB 13, 14 & 16 Industrial Special Sale Hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM MidCentury Closed Sunday Lighting Sofas Annual President’s Day Sale Feb 16-28 Norwalk and Rowe Sofas on SALE! Plus Storewide -1000’s of items up to 40% off! Restore furniture with our Amy Howard Chalk Paints Take a class! Celebrating 84 years! www.sharian.com • 404-373-2274 Find Your Fabulous Take $100 Off any IN SANDY SPRINGS TOO! 6450 Roswell Road Sandy Springs rug purchase over $1,000. Kudzu. As Unique as You. *Can not be combined w/any other offer, expires 02/16/15 Winter 2015 DECATUR LIVING 7 You found the perfect home and the best mortgage – right in your zip code! Emory Alliance Credit Union is right in your neighborhood. We offer free pre-approvals 24/7, so you can shop with confidence, knowing that you 1237 Clairmont Rd. can afford that perfect home. Come in Decatur, GA 30030 today or visit us online: emoryacu.com 404.329.6415 P Federally insured by NCUA Dekalb County residents are eligible to join. 8 DecLiving_1114_3.indd DECATUR LIVING 1 Winter 2015 11/21/14 11:12 AM COVER STORY by Beth Grashof and Julie Rolston Preserving Olmsted’s Masterpiece A Bright Future for the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance A THRILLING YEAR IS ahead for the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance (OLPA) as it makes plans for two excit- ing events in 2015. In February, OLPA will hold its 11th annual gala—the Party for the Parks on Ponce, followed in April by the Olmsted Plein Air Invitational, the largest outdoor, fine art painting event ever held in the Atlanta region. 11th Annual Party for the Parks on Ponce This year’s gala, Party for the Parks on Ponce, Preserving Olmsted’s Masterpiece, reflects a bright future for OLPA and the park. With the park fully rehabilitated, OLPA now shifts focus to preserving this treasure for future generations. This year’s gala, to be held Sunday, February 15, 2015, at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, will have a French theme to tie-in with the Plein Air Art Invitational.