full chroma

Highpoint: Maui, HI

2011-11-24T23:46:00.006-06:00

Haleakala on our honeymoon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T23:25:00.005-06:00

I have a lot to be thankful for lately...including but not limited to a new husband and a new house. I haven't posted much on this blog lately but here are a few of my favorite details from our DIY wedding in September. It was the best day of my life and I wouldn't change one thing about it. All photography is by Kim + Adam Simple Yet Striking. Enjoy!

My lone patio pepper!

2011-08-31T19:26:00.001-05:00

Mmmmmmm...Best ribs ever.

2011-06-19T12:45:00.005-05:00

Props to John for an awesome dinner at the lake! The ribs were fantastic. The dogs display how we all felt after. Good times!

Memorial Day weekend at the new farm!

2011-06-19T12:11:00.006-05:00

We had a blast with Brent, Emily and Amy Grace at their new farm. We cooked (and ate like kings), fished, rode around and did a lot of laughing. The land was beautiful and our hosts were gracious as always!

Steeplechase 2011

2011-05-15T20:02:00.008-05:00

What a fun day. The weather was cool and a bit on the rainy side but nothing could put a damper on it for us. This has become a tradition for us and is always a good time. Thanks to Bart who always graciously hosts us.

Dusty's 11th Birthday

2011-05-15T19:56:00.003-05:00

Happy birthday to my sweet boy. I can't believe he is 11. Where does the time go? I literally have had him since I was a teenager. I couldn't ask for a better best friend. Here he is enjoying a special treat from Joel. I love you Dusty!

Charleston, SC

2011-05-03T22:19:00.004-05:00

Beautiful weekend at THE FARM!

2011-04-12T21:26:00.012-05:00

Joel Danger Snead: Snake Master Family Portrait: Dusty, Star Baby, Bojangles Candid! Ole Charlie's House (Charlie watching from treetop in distance) He caught me a delicious bass Spanish Moss! Dusty - about to do what he loves most

Brent and Emily invited us to their AWESOME farm this weekend and we fished, played outside, rode around the land, ate, drank, and (the boys) hunted. It was absolutely beautiful weather and so nice to slow down and catch up with good friends.

The Avett Brothers and my friends!

2011-04-03T16:01:00.001-05:00

BCS National Championship Game

2011-02-17T21:12:00.012-06:00

In honor of our beautiful trees on Toomer's Corner and the family of Auburn fans that love them, I thought I would finally post some photos from Arizona. What a once in a lifetime, truly wonderful experience. War Eagle!

Dusty says kill the Ducks! WDE!

2011-01-08T10:23:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T22:24:00.007-06:00

Joel and I are getting married! He asked me in Aspen on New Years Eve and it was perfect. I am a lucky girl :)

Best Christmas gift. Ever.

2010-12-25T17:01:00.001-06:00

SEC Championship

2010-12-14T20:26:00.006-06:00

Headed to the game MARTA Cheering on our tigers Victory! Look at all those beautiful AU fans!

World's cutest Auburn cheerleader

2010-12-08T20:08:00.002-06:00

Introducing Megan's new baby, Gizmo. She gets serious on game day.

Mmmmmmm...Thanksgiving.

2010-12-01T22:07:00.004-06:00

I already miss you.

2010 Iron Bowl- AU: 28 UA: 27

2010-11-27T13:06:00.003-06:00

WAR DAMN EAGLE!

AU vs UGA video

2010-11-27T12:48:00.003-06:00

Auburn vs. UGA 11-13-10

2010-11-27T12:31:00.009-06:00

Work rainbow

2010-11-09T21:47:00.002-06:00

Spotted right outside my office. Still looking for the pot of gold.

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T18:42:00.002-05:00

FULL ON - double complete! It's so vivid.

Bham is spooky...

2010-10-31T18:37:00.002-05:00

Warrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Eagle Hey!

2010-10-18T20:32:00.002-05:00

Auburn vs. Arkansas

Tailgating with the fam!

2010-10-18T20:18:00.005-05:00

NOLA 10/7/10 - 10/10/10

2010-10-18T19:37:00.005-05:00

The Black Keys @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 9/20/10

2010-09-25T16:16:00.002-05:00

TN trip and GA highpoint

2010-09-25T15:28:00.004-05:00

Joel and I decided last minute to go up to Tennessee for Labor Day weekend and take Dusty with us. We stayed in Copperhill, TN, 9 miles from the Ocoee in a small cabin and it was beautiful. The drive was nice on it's own but the weather was cool and it was our first sigh of relief from a long hot summer. We watched football, grilled out, hiked and kayaked the Hiwassee River. On our way home Monday, we drove through Georgia and highpointed at Brasstown Bald. It was a short but STEEP hike on a paved trail to the top (4784 ft. elevation). The views were 360 degrees and I thought it was well worth the detour.

I'm baaaaack!

2010-09-25T15:11:00.007-05:00

It has been a while since I have consistently posted on this blog but now that I am back connected to the rest of the world via internet I am going to try to update more often. The first pictures I want to share are from July at the lake. Dusty is still such a swimming/retrieving maniac.

War eagle country!!!

2010-09-20T21:09:00.001-05:00

Auburn vs. Clemson on 9/18/10

St. George Island, FL

2010-07-02T15:40:00.012-05:00

Red Snapper Shark Containment Buoy A beautiful clean beach for the time being Magic! Dusty is secure enough to wear pink

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky 5-29-10

2010-07-02T15:18:00.017-05:00

Our Cave Group Gypsum Man Hole Elevation Marker Getting down and dirty Tiny entrance to the playground Lion's Head "candlelight" graffiti from the 1800's "tobacco leaves" Bare Hole - tightest squeeze of the tour!

10 years old and still got it!

2010-05-24T21:27:00.002-05:00

The Hangout Festival

2010-05-24T21:25:00.002-05:00

Steeplechase 2010!

2010-05-10T21:20:00.001-05:00

The Dead Weather

2010-04-29T20:46:00.001-05:00

Balancing Act

2010-02-21T15:15:00.001-06:00

The torture only lasts seconds and it's worth the reward :)

Dusty lovin the snow!

2010-02-14T11:53:00.001-06:00

Alabama Winterstorm 2010

2010-02-13T19:33:00.005-06:00

Alabama Symphony Orchestra performs the music of Led Zepplin at the Alabama Theater

2009-12-13T12:55:00.002-06:00

Awesome!

Snowy Magnolia!

2009-12-05T15:58:00.001-06:00

Bumpus Hounds!!!

2009-11-29T19:56:00.003-06:00

Kings of Leon - Nashville

2009-10-22T20:10:00.004-05:00

Kings of Leon - Birmingham

2009-10-22T20:07:00.002-05:00

Kings of Leon - Atlanta

2009-10-14T20:58:00.003-05:00

AU vs. WV weekend

2009-09-21T21:11:00.004-05:00

Feeding the turtles at the Arboretum Beautiful gardens surround our tailgate

Low country boil...not bad for tailgate food!!!

Aubrey is lovin this! My beautiful cousin, Cait!

Dusty's first real outdoor bath

2009-09-13T14:22:00.004-05:00

Looks like he's thinking 'I'm really more of a bathtub guy...'

Beautiful colors in nature!

2009-09-13T14:17:00.005-05:00

Last gardenia of the year

2009-09-09T20:11:00.003-05:00

This flower was definitely a late-bloomer since the rest of the bush flowered in June but it made me smile none-the-less after a day of rain.

Homemade dog treats

2009-09-06T20:30:00.005-05:00

I made some homemade dog treats with ingredients from around the house today. This is a recipe my mom found that is so much healthier (and cheaper!) than anything you get at the pet store. The raw hide chew treats have been hard on Dusty's stomach lately so this is a great alternative and he loves them. I didn't have a bone-shaped cookie cutter so I just used one we already had. These smell so good when they are cooking, you literally want to eat them yourself! Here is the recipe if you are like me and you're tired of spending a fortune on dog bones:

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup applesauce

1 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly until dough forms. Roll out dough with rolling pin and punch out cookie shape with cutter. Place on baking sheet covered with wax paper. Bake 30 minutes, then flip cookie over and bake for another 30 minutes until crunchy and hard.

War Eagle baby!

2009-09-06T20:23:00.001-05:00

Me and Amy Grace on Gameday!

Bonus day!

2009-08-02T23:58:00.007-05:00

Megan and I were supposed to go home on day 4 but our flight out of Jamaica got cancelled. After much confusion, our airline put us up in another all inclusive resort in Montego Bay. It was very nice but we were very tired! We had a great time and were very glad to be there for Allison and Shaun's big (yet very small) day. Everything turned out wonderful and I know we will all remember it forever.

Jamaican Wedding - Day 3

2009-08-02T23:39:00.008-05:00

We ran into Tommy Tuberville after the wedding at our resort - War Eagle! :) Great backdrop Wedding party...I got to be the best man :) Even Megan and I signed it! Signing the wedding certificate Sealed with a kiss Walking to the main event Helping the Bride get ready Most relaxed wedding day I've ever been a part of Hello! Resort from the water Sea Kayaking

Rick's Cafe - Day 2

2009-08-02T23:28:00.006-05:00

Check out the local guy who jumps from the tree! One of the best bars in the world! That's me in the air Megs and I both jumped! Hanging out at Rick's Cafe, Negril

Jamaica Mon! Day 2

2009-08-02T23:16:00.007-05:00

Going snorkeling Weird jellyfish I caught BeautifulSandal's pool I guess that is a raft for lovers Glass bottom boat Resort grounds

Jamaica Mon! Day 1

2009-08-02T23:06:00.007-05:00

Beach party Our room Hour and a half drive from Montego Bay to Negril Driving on the left side of the road

Watercolor sign

2009-07-24T23:46:00.013-05:00

Inviting Company invitation

My customized invitation

___________________________________________________

People often give me invitations that they love for inspiration but want them to be more personalized. I recently was asked to do a larger version of the top invitation but with different colors (plum, celadon and peach), a different vehicle (silver Toyota tundra truck) and a vintage 'Just Married' sign to top it off. This is what the married couple will actually drive off in so hopefully it will be special. This is 11" x 14" actual size and will be framed and put on an easel in the hotel lobby where friends and family will be staying. It is a fun way to remind guests about the post-wedding breakfast.

Who knew a Costco parking lot could look so beautiful?

2009-07-19T21:58:00.004-05:00

Allison's bachelorette weekend

2009-07-12T15:51:00.001-05:00

Fun weekend but I am exhausted!!!

Letterpress business card

2009-07-10T15:06:00.004-05:00

This is my new letterpress business card. You can't see the all the detail in the photo but I LOVE the richness of the texture. Letterpress printing dates back to the mid 15th century but to me there is nothing better. I designed the card to be abstract but it could look like many things - raindrops, petals, even feathers. I just wanted the card to be unique and different. This site has great deals on black and white letterpress calling cards. You can custom design one like I did or you can pick from 9 other designs.

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-05T22:07:00.004-05:00

Cheddar and asparagus omelette

2009-06-24T10:57:00.003-05:00

This was breakfast this morning. I just sauteed some garlic, onion and asparagus with a little olive oil in a pan and then poured the eggs in after. I topped it with shredded cheddar before I folded and then it was ready to eat. Yum!

Sweet girls!

2009-06-21T17:28:00.003-05:00

beach pics

2009-06-18T09:33:00.005-05:00

St. George Island - offshore fishing trip

2009-06-16T21:56:00.010-05:00

Sunrise on the water Capt. Duwayne Snapper! The box is full We had great weather fishing this morning and were all tired from fighting the fish by lunchtime. We caught grouper, grey snapper, red snapper, ruby red lips, sharks, spade fish and a few unidentified monsters that broke the line. We threw back the stuff we weren't going to eat or that wasn't up to the size limits. Jake even caught a 7 ft. nurse shark (see side bar for video soon). It was a really fun day and this evening we grilled half of our catch with the family (almost 20 people here!) for dinner along with some mango salsa and coconut rice.

Latest project

2009-06-08T23:16:00.003-05:00

Here is the invitation I finished up today. It was inspired by another invitation that a friend saw and loved. I changed up elements of the painting and used different colors. The bride's colors are plum, celadon, ivory and a hint of peach. This is kind of a bad scan but the bouquet is embellished with a tiny bow and the shoes have rhinestones on them.

So simple, so good.

2009-05-27T17:45:00.003-05:00

Tomato, basil and mozzarella salad... I added pepperoncini peppers cause I love 'em! Salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar... perfect for summer!

Happy 9th Birthday Dusty!!!

2009-05-14T18:19:00.002-05:00

Asking Dusty to pose with his steak birthday dinner seemed like unnecessary torture so here is an action shot instead. I ended up having to cut it up into little pieces so he would not inhale it. We had a good day (with no rain!) and I feel so fortunate to have Dusty as my best buddy. Here's to 9 more great years!

Dandelion wedding program

2009-05-13T17:08:00.004-05:00

I made 150 of these 7 page, 7.5" square programs for a couple that got married last weekend. Their colors were green and pink and they had a dandelion theme.

Ben Harper - Variety Playhouse

2009-05-03T18:49:00.007-05:00

This weekend Joel and I went to Atlanta for the Ben Harper and The Relentless7 show. This is Ben with a new band and their album comes out this week. The venue was general admission so you can see how close we got to the stage. Ben really radiates talent, class and humility... not qualities you see in most rock stars. Great show and a great weekend!

More Fry Canyon pics

2009-05-03T17:24:00.002-05:00

One of our guides took these great shots of our Utah adventure and sent them to us. They really show off the beauty of the slot canyons. They also show a rappel and a swim that I didn't have a chance to capture.

Relay for Life t-shirts

2009-04-29T14:21:00.004-05:00

I designed these 2009 Relay for Life shirts for Joel's company. I really like this picture of the 'manly' construction workers wearing them. The company wanted them to look like college fraternity t-shirts but still wanted to use the Relay for Life signature purple. It's hard to see in the pic but the circle is made up of cancer ribbons and it is in remembrance of their CFO who passed away last year.

Fry Canyon-Day 4

2009-04-22T11:06:00.026-05:00

These are the 'business hours' of the place we were trying to rent gear from in Moab. Fry Canyon is about a two hour drive Southwest of Moab. One of our Canyoneering guides (Jackson Hole Mountain Guides), Aimee Left to right: Dad, Aimee, Jim (other guide) We rappelled into this crack This water was 40 degrees. We did one 15 ft. swim and the rest was wading through waist deep water. You can see my dad in the background taking the temperature with his dive watch. Beautiful slot canyon! Fremont Indian ruins. Our guides had not previously been up there so later we had to scout a way to get to them. Hiking and exploring Me and Dad Scrambled up to the top of the canyon again This guy was looking for some water. This was the rappel down to the ruins. The rope we had was just long enough. Exploring the ruins This is just stacked rock...amazing it has stood for so long. A little color in the desert The climb back up from the ruins. You can't see them in the photo, but there were tiny Moki Steps at the very bottom that the Indians carved out to help them get up the canyon walls. It was really cool to use them. This is Newspaper Rock (petroglyph) outside Canyonlands National Park. 2000 years of Indian story-telling here. AMAZING. A pack of deer in Canyonlands just before sunset. It was challenging driving with them everywhere. Free range cows everywhere too. We had a face-off with one in the middle of the road. She won.

Slickrock, Hole in the Rock, La Sal Mtn. Loop-Day 3

2009-04-22T10:38:00.011-05:00

Entrance to Slickrock mountain bike trail. Do not be fooled - this trail is EXTREMELY hard! This is another place we stumbled upon. It is a 5000 sq. ft. home built into a huge rock from the 1950's. This place is so quirky. You could take tours of the home but there was also a gift shop, general store, petting zoo, sculpture garden and a small cemetery. Ostrich and Emus Cactus Sculpture made up entirely of golf clubs La Sals up close (La Sal Loop) Moab from a distance Snow on the ground in the desert - WEIRD! Fins and things!

Arches National Park-Day 2

2009-04-22T09:48:00.015-05:00

Pine Tree Arch Landscape Arch La Sals in the distance We stumbled upon a perfect wall for climbing Hangin out Hiking in the Devil's Garden My dad admiring the view This arch is no more Famous Delicate Arch - It was a 3 mile hike (about 600 ft. elevation gain) just to see this arch but it was worth it...very dramatic and iconic. That's me underneath it...gives you some perspective of the scale. Ute rock art dating back to A.D. 1650 - 1850 The Fiery Furnaces Balanced Rock

Moab, Utah-Day 1

2009-04-22T09:36:00.007-05:00

These pics were taken on the drive in from Grand Junction, Colorado to Moab, Utah. We had some travel delays that put us in later than we were expecting but none-the-less a beautiful trip. The scenic route followed the Colorado River for over 20 miles and in the distance you could see the La Sal mountain range.

Spring mix watercolor wedding invitation

2009-04-15T16:44:00.003-05:00

This is for a bride who will be carrying a 'spring mix' bouquet and her bridesmaid's dresses are navy blue.

Tampa

2009-04-13T23:20:00.009-05:00

So sweet! Worn out... Dusty at the dog beach My contribution to the girls' bathroom

Creeping Wisteria

2009-03-29T14:11:00.003-05:00

We were just talking about how beautiful wisteria is and today it showed up, peeking over the fence in the backyard. Happy Spring!

March Madness!

2009-03-19T17:30:00.002-05:00

Here's my bracket - so far, so good!

Bridesmaids' luncheon invitations

2009-03-17T01:24:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted any new artwork in a while so here is my latest project. I watercolored this bouquet to tailor it to the bride's flowers and colors: Pink roses, green hydrangea and white stephanotis. The bride plans to carry these flowers tied in a green ribbon. The ribbon color came out strange in this photograph but in reality it is close to the dark green in the painting. The centers of the stephanotis flowers are embellished with pearls and each invitation is printed on cream linen paper and mounted on textured pink art paper.

First beautiful weekend of the year!

2009-03-09T17:49:00.007-05:00

I was truly excited for such a warm and clear weekend after the snow and all the rain we have had! Saturday we spent the day outside at The Exceptional Foundation's chili cook-off and then on Sunday, Joel and I walked to Moss Rock and hiked around. We did a little bouldering, played with Dusty and even saw a fox in broad daylight (that may or may not have been rabid). We spent pretty much the entire day outside and it made me remember why I love spring and just being outdoors in general. It is such a natural mood enhancer and does wonders for the soul.

It snowed today!

2009-03-01T23:22:00.004-06:00

View from the Bluff Our house! Downtown Birmingham

Girl with a pearl oyster

2009-02-27T23:40:00.004-06:00

Tonight I had a great dinner with Joel, Ann and Mark at Lovoys. It was Joel's birthday meal and he wanted an appetizer of baked oysters, the house specialty. He only ordered a half dozen but they were huge! I sampled one and then he offered me another and I refused. He put another on my plate anyway and of course I began to eat it. Suddenly, I bit into something that wasn't at all edible. I tried to spit it out quietly and politely, not realizing what it was. A PEARL! It doesn't look like the kind you would wear on a necklace, mostly because it is misshapen and discolored but still a huge pearl! Tonight I read that pearls from edible oysters are not worth much especially after they are cooked (noticed the dark coloration) but either way I feel lucky. I could count the times I have had oysters on one hand.

2 of my favorite portraits

2009-02-21T18:26:00.003-06:00

I did these in college and still have them laying around - thought I would post them. Bob is acrylic on collaged sheet music and Jerry is an etching print. Let me know if anyone wants one!

I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany

2009-02-12T13:49:00.002-06:00

There's nothing like old friends

2009-02-08T14:35:00.001-06:00

ABF Dinner

2009-01-30T09:03:00.004-06:00

Last night was the 8th annual American Baseball Foundation Lead Off dinner at The Club. It was my second year to go and this time the guest speaker was Dale Murphy (pictured above). The dinner and the speeches were great but I didn't 'win' anything at the silent auction this year...very little Auburn stuff there!

Cheaha: Alabama's highpoint

2009-01-18T17:38:00.008-06:00

This weekend Joel, Dusty and I packed up with our friends and their new camper and headed to Cheaha State Park in Talladega National Forest. We had a blast setting up camp and hanging out around the campfire despite the cold and a little bit of sleet. We also got our Alabama highpoint done and took a few pics from the observatory. Great weekend getaway with even greater friends!

Dusty LOVES pepperoni!

2009-01-01T21:07:00.002-06:00

Pink rose painting

2008-12-25T22:54:00.004-06:00

This was a Christmas gift for my wonderful Grandmother who loves pink homegrown roses! It is an 11"x14" modeling paste and acrylic painting on Belgian linen canvas board.

Baby Announcements

2008-12-22T12:17:00.003-06:00

Congrats to my friends, Brent and Emily, for the birth of their beautiful new baby girl, Amy Grace Shepherd! Here is the announcement I designed for them using a green and brown color scheme. I hope they like it!

Cheap and pretty Christmas wrapping

2008-12-11T15:35:00.008-06:00

I used a roll of red dollar store gift wrap and this site to print out free wrapping paper on some scraps I had. I recycled the bows from other gifts/holidays and the presents ended up matching Kelly's 'black, red and silver themed tree.' And yes...we have two trees.

Shake it like a polaroid picture!

2008-12-09T15:51:00.004-06:00

Talk about my cure for boredom. This awesome (and free) software allows you to drag and drop your own digital photos and watch as they magically turn into old school (looking) polaroid pictures! They even slowly expose on your desktop like the real thing. This was a lot of fun but it is also sad to me that many different kinds of polaroid film are discontinued, including what I used for these. The two photos above are ones I have taken in the past but they definitely have a different personality after being 'poladroided' with strange colors. Gotta love it!

Jupiter, Venus and the Moon

2008-12-03T10:42:00.003-06:00

This isn't the greatest picture but I took it out my car window last night as I was driving home. This is the crescent moon with Venus and Jupiter, lower right. They are the 3 brightest objects in the night sky and won't be as close as they were this week again until 2052. Monday night they were at their closest but it was too cloudy for me to witness. It's pretty cool to look up once in a while.

River stone doormat

2008-11-30T13:34:00.005-06:00

This is a project I have worked on here and there for a couple weeks. I was inspired by this much pricier version for sale online and thought I could make it myself. Turns out it was pretty easy but the downside was being exposed to some strong super glue fumes. I used a $2 mat, rocks and all-purpose super glue from the dollar store. The final product weighs about 22 lbs and cost me less than $20. It looks better than I expected and feels great underfoot.

Thanksgiving table setting

2008-11-25T09:09:00.004-06:00

This year I am really looking forward to the holidays more than usual. I especially can't wait to see my whole family and eat some great food. We are having Thanksgiving at my parent's house this year for the first time. We usually travel to Columbus, Georgia to my Aunt's house but we are switching it up. I helped my mom design a festive table setting for the holiday. We used linens and candlesticks she already had and added a table runner made of inexpensive fabric and a centerpiece of pumpkins, squash, sunflowers and leaves from my yard.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-23T12:45:00.003-06:00

I made these turkey cupcakes for my sweet nieces this weekend! Yum!

WAR EAGLE ANYWAY!

2008-11-17T14:14:00.001-06:00

Glory days

2008-11-12T08:38:00.004-06:00

Dusty had surgery yesterday to remove a lipoma (benign fatty tumor) and is fine but is feeling a little rough today. I thought I would post this picture in his honor while he is recovering. This photo was taken at Conway Acres in Auburn when he was much younger. This was one of his favorite places to play and also where he learned to swim. I would say he is about 2 or 3 years old in this photograph. Feel better bud!