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Giving thanks by giving of ourselves
If there's a spirit to Thanksgiving, it's one that encourages the expression of gratitude.
And if there's a slogan, it might be this: "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more."
Which is why this season beckons us to appreciate those who have helped us in our journey. To spend time with those we love and to give back in meaningful ways.
Our November issue is dedicated to stories of gathering, gratefulness and giving back. In this issue, we meet Howard Beatty IV, who has lots of reasons for thankfulness this year, including two newborns – a child and a business. And we're thankful for style in Troy, as Antoine Salon's experts show us how to surprise the family at the holiday gatherings this year.
We are so thankful for the families and businesses in our community who support so many wonderful organizations and help make our city the vibrant community that it is.
We are especially thankful for our advertising partners who help bring this magazine to your doorsteps each month. They are part of our vision and purpose of bringing inspiring stories and the good news of the community directly to you.
This holiday season, in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, let’s set aside time to consider our blessings – and how we might be a blessing to others around us.
November 2024
PUBLISHER
Todd Haight | todd.haight@citylifestyle.com
EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
Julie Flores | julie.flores@citylifestyle.com
ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR
Margaret Haight | margaret.haight@citylifestyle.com
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Allison Sommerville allison.sommerville@citylifestyle.com
STAFF WRITER
Marshall Zweig | marshall.zweig@citylifestyle.com
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Marshall Zweig, Cindy Stewart
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Simran Bajwa
Corporate Team
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Steven Schowengerdt
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Matthew Perry
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HR Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Evan Deuvall
LAYOUT DESIGNER Kathy Nguyen
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1: Dave Lambert joins Mahendra and Shama Kenkre for groundbreaking of Troy’s new Cricket Field in Boulan Park. 2-3: Troy City Lifestyle Publisher Todd Haight at the 2024 CL Conference celebrating 15 years!
ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY CINDY
STEWART
Giving Thanks in Troy
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GIVE BACK A LITTLE THIS THANKSGIVING
The Mighty Gobbler
It’s time for the Mighty Gobbler run & walk, hosted Thanksgiving Day by Lutheran Church of the Master. Donated canned goods and proceeds go to Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Micah 6 Community and Troy People Concerned. Visit MightyGobbler.com .
Troy Rotary Team Turkey
Help the Troy Rotary Club raise funds for Thanksgiving dinners that will feed 300 local families. Drivers also needed. Donate via PayPal at RotaryTeamTurkey.com
Show gratitude to military veterans on November 11 at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Day Ceremony in front of City Hall, 500 W. Big Beaver. Music by the Heritage Concert Band of Troy.
Stage Nature Center Fundraiser
Give thanks for Stage Nature Center by supporting Nature Uncorked November 8 at 6 p.m. at Troy Community Center, 3179 Livernois. Samplings of wine, beer, hard cider, hors d’oeuvres and silent auction. Call (248) 688-9703.
Troy Historic Village
Experience Troy Historic Village November 7 and 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. Villagers will prepare cabins for winter, with scavenger hunts for kids. Bring a picnic supper to eat on the Village Green.
THANKFUL FOR STYLE
Surprise the family with a new style this holiday season
ARTICLE BY CINDY STEWART | PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMRAN BAJWA
Do you want to surprise your family this Thanksgiving with a refreshed style? We asked for advice from the experts at Antoine’s Salon (antoinesalonoftroy.com). For an appointment before the holidays, call (248) 822-8115.
Look trendy this fall by toning down those summer highlights to shades of cinnamon. Layers are in right now, and that gives your hair movement. Plus, curls are back in, so pull out your curl enhancers, definers and creams. And it’s always trendy to use professional products, like the brands we carry. The ingredients are proven healthy for your hair.
What’s “in” this holiday? There’s something new with everything – extensions, color, makeup, style, Brazilian blowouts. If you have thick hair, let’s add extensions. You could change your color to match your personality. If you like more fun stuff, let’s go vibrant blue. If you’re reserved, go caramel or ashy blonde. Let’s make you more confident in your hair!
If you want an updated look, freshen up one or two areas. If your hair is darker, go lighter. If you’re longer, do a mid-length. If you don’t have layers, add some. Let’s cover the grays with some color or highlights. Do something just a little different to surprise your family this Thanksgiving.
CONTINUED >
REGGIE SHAPIC
NIDHAL ISSA
NEIVIN POTA
The stylists of Antoine Salon with their holiday style ideas
REM SULAKA
I specialize in color, keratin treatments, haircuts, updos. A lot of people are doing long haircuts or a bunch of layers, because layers are back. Maybe go shorter or add curls – or straighten your hair, if you naturally curl. Let’s find a sophisticated look for you this holiday season.
Let’s warm up your colors with deeper highlights. Maybe you need moisture, as the weather gets colder, so let’s do some conditioning and smoothing treatments. It’s like a therapy treatment. Come to me if you want to look rejuvenated, younger.
I work with Gel products and hard gel overlays, which is the newest trend for natural nails. They last four to six weeks and they can prevent your nails from breaking. Gel-X is popular because it’s really light and gentle on your nails. I also provide Russian manicures, which is nice for both women and men. It’s the “it” thing in Europe and just starting to come to the States.
AMBER MANGENO
VIVIAN BITONTI
Attitude of Gratitude
ARTICLE BY MARSHALL ZWEIG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMRAN BAJWA
Howard Beatty is an exercise in gratitude. In fact, the past three years have been a gratitude whirlwind for him.
“I got engaged, got married, got a home, had two babies – and opened up the agency,” Howard recounts. “I’m blessed.” Howard’s agency offers insurance of all kinds: home, auto, life and commercial.
HOWARD BEATTY IV BRINGS AN ATHLETE’S MINDSET TO PROTECTING FAMILY
AND ASSETS
“WHEN YOU’RE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO, IT’S EASY. I WANT TO TAKE THINGS OFF PEOPLE’S PLATES, RELIEVE THEM FROM THINGS I DO EVERY DAY.”
It's more than just a business. It's an opportunity to show gratitude by giving to others.
This mindset stems from when Howard, a high-school state and national soccer champion and competitive collegiate wrestler, was forced to rethink his life after a serious injury.
“I identified as an athlete,” Howard says. “I had to find my new purpose.”
I hear an athlete’s mentality when Howard talks about getting into insurance. “I thought, ‘If I can have a career be just like a sport, there's no reason I can't get to where I want to go,’” he explains.
He moved from Illinois to Troy, knowing only one person. “If my back’s against the wall and I have to do something,” Howard acknowledges, “I will do it.”
The restart worked: Howard got all his licenses in three months—”while working,” he adds.
Every athlete understands the importance of a strong team; Howard’s has been together since the beginning. “Among all the teams I’ve been a part of,” Howard notes, “this one's the best at doing a great job and being proud of their work.”
To become an insurance expert, Howard again drew on his athletic past. “How I got really, really good at sports,” Howard says, “was I competed with older kids, I practiced with older kids.”
So he found himself a mentor. “She’d been with State Farm for 37 years,” Howard recalls. “I took that as ‘that's a person who can really help me.’”
He spent night after night mining his mentor's years of experience, learning every aspect of insurance, finding opportunities to change lives and express thankfulness to others – and to the community.
“It blossomed into a really great friendship,” Howard says. "I’m very thankful for her mentoring me, even when maybe I wasn’t as easy to lead as I would be today.”
CONTINUED >
“AMONG ALL THE TEAMS I’VE BEEN A PART OF,”
HOWARD NOTES, “THIS ONE’S THE BEST AT DOING A GREAT JOB AND BEING PROUD OF THEIR WORK.”
As a kid, Howard says he “made a lot of mistakes.” The blessing: those mistakes opened him up to others’ gifts. “You can learn anything from anybody,” Howard declares.
I quickly learn a lot about insurance from Howard, as he rattles off at least eight carriers he represents and each one’s specialty. Howard has many clients who’ve benefited from that wide range of offerings.
“A client put his car in reverse, had a heart attack and died,” Howard recounts. “The vehicle kept going backwards into the neighbor across the street’s garage.” Fortunately, insurance covered everyone and everything.
Thankful for peace of mind.
Then there's the Disney-loving couple with thousands of dollars of Disney memorabilia in their basement. You guessed it: a flood. But Howard had insisted all the Disney treasures get itemized. “I made them give me the documents,” Howard laughs. “So they got those replaced.”
Thankful for protection. And a little humor.
Howard’s attention to detail is apparent: to obtain a qualified health coverage letter for a client, he boggles my mind by asking no fewer than nine questions – ones I never would have thought of. The letter was letter-perfect.
“When you're knowledgeable about what you do,” Howard replies, “it's a lot easier to do what you do. I want to take things off people’s plates, relieve them from things that I do every day.”
Since opening in November, Howard’s staff has grown from two part-timers to five full-timers.
“I still remember at two in the morning, doing my business plan while feeding Howard (his son, Howard V) a bottle. Now we have almost 75 five-star Google reviews. It definitely wasn't easy, but anything worth having never is.”
I wonder if there’s anything else Howard wants to say; he gives me the perfect quote to end the story.
“Life happens. Insurance makes it a little better.”
Visit hbivinsuranceagency.com to meet with Howard.
DZINLY BRINGS ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES OF EXTERIOR DESIGN INTO YOUR HANDS
Modern transformation for a contractor flip
Jackie Mosher
“Think of it as having your own in-house team of experts, dedicated to helping you complete your projects with ease and exceptional craftsmanship.”
Dzinly is revolutionizing the way homeowners and professionals approach exterior home improvement.
While many AI-generated design tools are fun to explore, like “trying on” a radical new hair color, many of these visuals are often impractical, unrealistic and beyond budget. They rarely provide a true path forward.
Launched in 2021, the Royal Oak-based Dzinly, on the other hand, is for those who are serious about making their home-improvement dreams a reality. The digital home-design company, specializing in creating virtual exterior design makeovers, removes the guesswork and elevates the process.
"In the design world, it's often an accepted unknown — an architect or designer proposes a project, suggests colors and placements, and the homeowner must trust their vision," says Jackie Mosher, Dzinly's COO. "With Dzinly, you don’t have to visualize. All the indecisiveness goes away."
Dzinly shows you exactly what your home will look like with your chosen updates. It allows you to experiment with unlimited colors, materials and brands — all guided by the expertise of human professional designers. This isn’t just a visualization — it's a realistic, actionable plan to transform your home’s exterior.
Professionals like builders, architects, realtors and painters quickly recognized this service as a powerful tool to streamline and accelerate their projects. "We noticed the growing interest and developed a tailored process specifically for these industries," Jackie says.
"This allows professionals to differentiate themselves by offering their clients an unparalleled level of service — delivering results faster and at more competitive prices."
The Realtor Package, for example, allows potential buyers to virtually redesign any listing, making even less-than-perfect properties more appealing.
The professional membership offers significant discounts from retail prices and exclusive services not available to typical homeowners, such as front- and
rear-yard design and detailed as-built drawings. "Think of it as having your own in-house team of experts, dedicated to helping you complete your projects with ease and exceptional craftsmanship," Jackie says.
Users begin by uploading a clear image of their project, whether an existing home or a new construction, with detailed notes.
"You can add comments and inspirational photos, provide links or share your Pinterest boards," she says. The project then goes to in-house designers, who send back one or three palettes (depending on your design package) for review and approval. Once approved, it is rendered and delivered the next business day.
From there, the software really shows its stuff. "We built this awesome toggle function that showcases the designer's recommendation while placing the process into the hands of the homeowner," she says. "They can toggle every aspect of the home, add any materials, try out colors and the project never expires. You can use the toggle to try a lighter trim, or see an area with board and batten — everything is put into a sandbox full of toys, and you can play and toggle as much as you want until you come up with the combination you love.”
You can even share your design with friends or your own designer.
Dzinly’s in-house architects are optional, and can add larger-scale elements like a dormer or a porch to a rendering. Once you've settled on a winning design, Dzinly connects homeowners to vetted local contractors to execute the project.
“It's a one-stop shop in every sense,” Jackie says.
What started as a passion project has evolved into a rapidly expanding platform. "We truly built this ourselves, with a full-time tech team. We were involved in every storyboard, every icon, every button — there's not one thing that we did not purposefully build," she says. "Now the train has left the station and it's picking up speed. There are so many amazing things coming — such an exciting time. I can't believe we're here."
BEFORE: These clients were looking for a ‘grand’ remodel to their traditional home
AFTER: Now, with an 'Estate' feel, replete with new landscaping
We built this awesome toggle function that showcases the designer’s recommendation while placing the process into the hands of the homeowner.
THE PERFECT FALL TREAT
ACORN DONUT HOLES
ARTICLE BY MADELINE LEBLANC
As the vibrant colors of summer slowly yield to the warm and earthy hues of autumn, there’s a distinct charm in the air at the arrival of fall. It’s a season filled with the crisp rustling of leaves, cozy sweaters, and the promise of pumpkin-spiced everything. What better way to embrace the changing seasons than by indulging in a delightful treat that captures the essence of both summer’s sweetness and fall’s rich flavors?
My recipe for “Acorn Donut Holes” combines the light, airy sweetness of summer donuts with the warm, comforting tones of fall. Grab your ingredients and let’s get started!
Ingredients:
• Donut holes
• Melting chocolates
• Fall sprinkles
• Pretzels
Instructions:
1. Pour your fall sprinkles into a small bowl for dipping. Lay wax paper down.
2. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the melting chocolates in the microwave, about 15-20 seconds. Carefully watch to ensure they don’t burn.
3. Dip the top of each donut hole into the melted chocolate, covering about halfway down the donut.
4. After dipping, immediately dip the chocolate-covered portion of the donut hole into the bowl of sprinkles, coating it with the fall sprinkles.
5. Insert a pretzel into the top of the “acorn” to create the acorn stem.
6. Carefully place the decorated acorn donut holes on the wax paper to let them cool and allow the chocolate to set.
7. Once the chocolate has hardened, your acorn donut holes are ready to enjoy!
These delightful treats are perfect for fall and make for a fun and tasty dessert or snack. Enjoy!
HOW TO: seasonal home scents
ARTICLE BY CELENA CISCO
M SWEET
B E W E L L N E S S
Fall essential oil combinations provide a warm and cozy scent while also protecting those from sickness prevalent in the colder season. Follow these oil combinations to create your own seasonal scent.
immune boost
DIRECTIONS :
Combine the following essential oils with a base oil (coconut oil).
INGREDIENTS:
• Cinnamon: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Clove: Antibacterial; Antiseptic
• Lemon: Uplifts, Kills Bacteria; Reduces Inflammation
• Oregano: Antimicrobial; Antioxidant
• Eucalyptus: Decongestant and Provides Healing
HOW TO USE:
Apply to wrists or feet. Do not use it on your face.
home defender
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the following essential oils.
INGREDIENTS:
• Orange: Reduces Stress; Antimicrobial
• Eucalyptus: Decongestant; Provides Healing
• Cinnamon: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Black Pepper: Supports the Nervous System
• Clove: Antibacterial; Antiviral
• Rosemary: Reduces Stress; Helps with Respiratory fatigue
HOW TO USE:
Fill the diffuser with water and apply the desired amount of drops.
dip -giving
ARTICLE BY ANGELA BROOCKERD PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
Fall is synonymous with gathering with friends and family and enjoying time together. Whether it is for Thanksgiving, a football watch party or a simple fall gathering, these easy appetizer dips are the perfect shareable snack to share.
garlic herb feta dip
ingredients:
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 whole garlic bulb, roasted
• 1 ¼ cup feta cheese
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dill
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste
fig & honey brie
ingredients:
• 8 ounce brie wheel
• 1/3 cup fig spread or jam
• ¼ cup pecans
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley
directions:
First, cut the head off of the top of the garlic bulb, and drizzle olive oil on top. Wrap in foil, and place it in an oven heated to 425 degrees. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft. Squeeze roasted garlic into a bowl, and set aside. Next, add the yogurt, feta, lemon juice, salt, pepper and water in a blender and lightly blend. Add the roasted garlic and blend until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables. Enjoy!
directions:
Place brie in a baking dish. Spread the fig spread on top of brie and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Drizzle with honey. Add fresh herbs, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with pita chips or crackers.
creamy pumpkin cheesecake dip
ingredients:
• 8 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
directions:
Place cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl, and soften for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in pumpkin and blend until combined. Mix in heavy whipping cream and mix on high for 2 minutes. Next, stir in pumpkin pie spice. Serve with sliced apples, pretzels, graham crackers or vanilla wafers.
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A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS
NOVEMBER 2ND, 8TH, 9TH, 15TH, 23RD
The Magic Soiree, Michigan’s only magic comedy dinner show Camp Ticonderoga, 5725 Rochester Road, Troy
This is a must-see magical, funny dinner show for everyone. Tickets include a delicious buffet meal, close-up magic at your table and the hilarious magical cabaret featuring Keith Fields and Lady Sarah. Don’t miss the Family Brunch on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 11:30 a.m. It’s not a “kids’ show” – it’s simply perfect for the entire family. Visit TheMagicSoiree.com for tickets.
NOVEMBER 19TH
Selling Your Business: 10 Steps to Creating an Exit Plan
Oakland Thrive, 35 W. Huron Street, Pontiac | 5:00 PM
Selling your business may be one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an entrepreneur. Join this comprehensive workshop to ensure you leave your business on your terms. Learn 10 essential steps to a successful exit, including preparing your financials, assessing your business value, identifying potential buyers and understanding legal considerations. Presenters: Cat Toone, Dan Zech of Stalt Financial. To RSVP, call (248) 791-6004.
NOVEMBER 28TH
The
Mighty
Gobbler Run & Walk
Lutheran Church of the Master, 3333 Coolidge Hwy., | 8:30 AM
Don’t miss the Mighty Gobbler 5K Run & 1K Fun Run/Walk, hosted by Lutheran Church of the Master, 3333 Coolidge Hwy. Donated canned goods and proceeds go to Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Micah 6 Community and Troy People Concerned. Register in person Nov. 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the church or race day at 7:30 a.m. Visit MightyGobbler.com for details.
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