It snowed today!

View from the Bluff Our house! Downtown Birmingham Pin It

Girl with a pearl oyster

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. Pin It

2 of my favorite portraits

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! Pin It

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

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There's nothing like old friends

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ABF Dinner

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! Pin It

Cheaha: Alabama's highpoint

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! Pin It

Dusty LOVES pepperoni!

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Pink rose painting

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. Pin It

Baby Announcements

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! Pin It

Cheap and pretty Christmas wrapping

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. Pin It

Shake it like a polaroid picture!

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! Pin It

Jupiter, Venus and the Moon

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. Pin It

River stone doormat

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. Pin It

Thanksgiving table setting

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. Pin It

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

WAR EAGLE ANYWAY!

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Glory days

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! Pin It

Chicken Saltimbocca

This weekend I finally had some time to make an Italian dish I've been wanting to try. This is chicken saltimbocca with angel hair pasta. It was in no way a quick dinner but I think it turned out good and was definitely something new to us. Joel was my guinea pig and I don't think he minded. Below is the recipe if anyone is curious and so I will always have it. For chicken:

• Start with (3) chicken breasts or cutlets pounded flat
• Rub chicken on one side with herb mixture (chopped sage, basil, oregano, parsley, chives, minced garlic, butter)
• Layer a few thin slices of prosciutto over mixture then top with just a little shaved parmesan cheese
• Start from the small end and roll flattened piece of chicken then secure with toothpicks
• Season rolls with salt and pepper and then saute them with olive oil over medium high heat for 2 minutes on each side.
• Add a cup of chicken stock to pan then cover and transfer to oven for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees
• When done, remove toothpicks from chicken and slice into 1 inch pieces

For the pasta sauce:

• Saute 1/4 a cup of chopped shallots in a tablespoon of butter
• Add a 1/2 cup of cream and salt and pepper
• Add chopped basil leaf to taste
• Add 2 cups petite diced tomatoes and reduce
• Toss with cooked angel hair pasta and serve immediately topped with parmesan

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Fall

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Halloween costume

This is my best Edie Sedgwick impersonation. She was a 60's icon and Andy Warhol's muse. If you don't know what she looks like - google her! It was fun and one person even knew who I was supposed to be! haha! Pin It

Caddie painting

I painted this for a wonderful friend. It's a 20"x 25" acrylic portrait of her sweet Boston terrier, Caddie! I hope she likes it. Happy Halloween!!! Pin It

Weekend update

Joel broke in his new place this weekend by having a cookout on Saturday. We played ladder golf, watched football on a tv set up outside, and played with Dusty. We ate chicken and sausage kabobs, ribs, hot dogs, chips and rotel dip and brownies! Later, the girls and I drove out to the Atrox Factory in Leeds and went through the haunted house. I got to meet Linda Blair who played the lead role in The Exorcist. It was a fun evening! Pin It

White camellia

With Spring and Summer's blooms long gone and the leaves on their way to turning, it is nice to see something beginning to bloom with the first cold snap. The camellia bush in our front yard is gorgeous and a welcome sight. It's our state flower but is originally from China! Goldenrod used to be Alabama's flower but many people considered it little more than a weed so the camellia was later adopted. I think they are both beautiful. Pin It

Sweet Malea

I love this pic of Malea and hand-tinted it in Photoshop. She's a pretty princess! Pin It

I LOVE Halloween!

Yesterday was perfect for carving a pumpkin outside. It was definitely fall weather and a little chilly. Joel and I made this Nightmare before Christmas-looking jack-o'-lantern and I love how it looks all lit up at night. I just hope it lasts for more than a day or two. Can't wait for HALLOWEEN!!! Pin It

Goldenrod and purple wildflowers

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What's better than this?

Destin, Florida on my birthday with my BEST friends! Pin It