FAMILY ADDITIONS

No, not an addition to my family. My parents have recently added a few new friends to their farm house and I wanted to share. As you may have noticed in earlier posts, my parents raise chickens ... for the fresh eggs, of course. Currently they have 1 rooster (Bob) and 4 hens that roam the yard. Chickens have really become a neighborhood trend and I like to think my Dad started it.

Dad has attempted to incubate eggs before, but it hasn't always been successful. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. So, he is giving it another try. He has 38 Rhode Island Red eggs in his incubator now that should hatch sometime Friday. He expects 60% to hatch and 50/50 roosters to hens. 

There is more -- Dad also purchased 12 Black Australorp biddies (baby chicks) from a friend that seriously raises chickens. I know, I know, you are thinking "wow, this is a lot" but, in the end, Dad hopes to have a mix of 12 Reds and Blacks and 1 Rooster. He can give away the excess hens.

the batch

the one's Dad chose 

Over Christmas our beautiful weimaraner, Greta,  tragically passed away. It was devastating and completely left a hole in our families' hearts - especially my Mom's. Recently Mom was put in touch with a breeder nearby and she was able to find a blue, female weimaraner similar to Greta - not to replace her - but to share the same companionship Greta offered.  We present to you, Ava! She is about 8-9 weeks old and looks so cute.

I have not met Ava yet, but I will be home in 3 weeks so I can't wait to meet her. I will be sure to snap some photos and document the chicken experiment! 

GIRL CRUSH: olivia palermo

So, after posting my wedding slideshow I think I am in the clear to post a few pictures of my girl crush. Not literally, just in a fashion sense. Her style is remarkable and I love how she is always setting the bar. I have seen numerous posts on her in the past 6 months, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

Olivia is in Tibi's 2011 Spring-Summer campaign via everything fabulous:

Check out her gorgeous, vintage inspired photo shoot in Spain's Vogue:

And, check out her steamy photo shoot with boyfriend Johannes Huebl for Elle Germany last December via socialite beauty. 

Olivia and the handsome bf are also doing some duo modeling. Check out a few images from their campaign for Mango.

And, a few miscellaneous shots of her roaming the streets:

trend :: tights with shorts

simple, sleek, and sophisticated

trend :: bright colored accessories, the orange & yellow combo is so summery!

I know Olivia was a total bia on The City, but I can't help to adore her style. It seems so effortless and chic. Word around the town is that she is getting her own reality show. Bet your bottom dollar that will be on my DVR schedule!

SNEAK PEEK

I am back! These past few weeks have been a whirlwind and has caused me to neglect "the good stuff." Please forgive me. I have LOTS of posts to share so don't give up on me! 

The wedding and honeymoon were a blast and I wish I could re-do them all again -- exactly as they both happened. Thanks to everyone who was a part and helped make the weekend so special. It wouldn't have been the same without you.

Over the weekend Heidi sent over a sneak peek slideshow of the wedding and I wanted to share. It is a compilation of about 50 photos that sum up the day -- more to come! Make sure your volume is turned up and open in Firefox if you can. 

click here

I am in love with all of them and I can't wait to share more! Heidi and Julia are fabulous and totally captured the atmosphere of the entire day. My family invested a lot of time and effort into the wedding and it turned out perfect. We achieved my "vision" and even the weather cooperated -- 75 degrees in February! Thanks again to all who participated. 

BEAUTIFUL

Birmingham received 2" of snow last night and it was such a beautiful sight this morning. I kept my fingers crossed for a "snow day" but no luck. I quickly snapped this photo before leaving Melrose this morning. 

I realize it is time for the AU flag to come down, but there are so many other things on my plate right now that I keep forgetting. Yes, the blog has been neglected due to the wedding (which is 2.5 wks away now!) but I promise to clue ya'll in on everything asap! I have lots of fun projects to post so be on the lookout. 

MORE WATERCOLOR

It seems that the fabulous trend of watercolor usage is still growing and making its way into more and more print pieces. If you remember, I posted about watercolor here and here and featured a few of my favorites at the time. I think I continue to gravitate towards this medium because it allows every piece to be unique and original. Watercolor can be as fluid and free as you want it, or controlled and refined. A few of my recent finds have all involved some sort of hand illustration and I wanted to share a few. 

First, some beautiful business cards designed by Jordan Ferney. I posted about her husband, Paul Ferney, last year and his amazing paintings. How awesome is that for them both to be so creative? 

Next, through the world of Etsy I have discovered some very talented artists that lend a great deal of inspiration. I love the simple backgrounds that allow the illustration to be the focus and the colors to really stand out. These featured below would be perfect in a nursery or a very serene setting.

1. amber alexander

2. lulabies

3. the Wheatfield

Anna Bond's whimsical illustrations have really become famous in the design/invitation world and I am dying for a set of her beautiful cards. Anna and her husband, Nathan, started the company Rifle Paper Co. based off of her paintings and it has sky rocketed. Here are a few of my favorites:

Lastly, I stumbled upon the blog Oh My Deer and fell head over heels for her watercolor 2011 calendar. It is available in her etsy shop. I would purchase this, but I am a little OCD when it comes to organization and planning so I feel the need to document everything in my calendar. But, this would make a fabulous piece of art for Melrose. 

If you like the watercolor trend but don't want to spend the money, check out this lovely free printable calendar by Creature Comforts. I just printed off one for myself to hang in the office. Click HERE to go to the link.