FALL FAVORITES

Now that it is finally cooler around Birmingham, I wanted to share some of my new favorite fall items that get me in the festive mood. Let me say, I do like cool, fall breeze weather - not freezing, takes you 15 minutes to get bundled up for outside weather! But, I am excited about sitting around a fire at Melrose! [as soon as we get a chimney sweeper over there!]

sources also available through my pinterest

ONE : chunky cowl scarf
TWO : great lakes trapper hat - I think I need this for our Christmas trip to DC!
THREE : jcrew quilted vest (but in navy blue)
FOUR : report 'belzer' boot - I am currently sporting these and I love them, the height is fantastic!
FIVE : steven 'pembrook' bootie - doesn't everyone need one tall boot and one short???
SIX: nestle sugar cookie creamer - loving this in my morning cup of joe right now!
SEVEN : madewell silk blouse
EIGHT : h&m fur vest


Do you have any new fall favorites? Please share!

WATER DETOX: update

So ... lets just say it was a combination of Halloween (candy) and tailgating for AU football that made this detox not such a great idea last week. Don't get me wrong, it definitely flushed me out, but I did not obey the "eat reasonably" rule to loose any substantial pounds. 


Overall - I think it is worth trying because it tastes good and helps detoxify your body. During my research I read that several ladies drink it on a normal basis to help their bodies stay slim. 


If you have better results than me, please share! I'm not giving up though - I will try again and succeed! 

WATER DETOX

Haven't you all seen this water detox recipe popping up everywhere on Pinterest? Well, it spurred my (and 2 co-workers') interest so much that we decided to try it! I mean, why not? It is all simple ingredients, you can eat normal, and Jillian Michaels created it -  so we figured we would be the guinea pigs! We ordered the dandelion root from Amazon (I think you can probably find it at Whole Foods too) and got started!

I am on day 3 and the drink is delicious (if you like lemon water) and it truly flushes you out. The color of the mixture is deceiving, but don't be scared! I did some research and most articles say this drink helps with digestion and detoxification - both help with weight loss.

I'll report back next Thursday after my full week of detoxing and tell you how many pounds/inches were lost so you can determine if you want to try it too!

Have any of you all ready tried this water detox?

BOOK REVIEW: farm anatomy

My wonderful Dad turned 55 last weekend and to celebrate I got him this beautifully illustrated book, Farm Anatomy by Julia Rothman. I knew he would enjoy it because of his love for cooking and raising chickens. I have seen reviews of this book floating around blog land, so if you have seen some inside pages all ready - my apologies, and if not, enjoy because this book is amazing!

Here is a brief description Julia wrote on her blog about the release of Farm Anatomy:

It’s 224 pages of paintings, mostly diagrams and charts, with some writing about all the parts of a farm. For example, there are illustrations that show the parts of a pig, kinds of tractors, varieties of barns, all the different squash, bugs that are good and bad for your garden, and a chart of all the tools you can find on a farm. There’s also recipes, a few craft projects and lots of how-tos (how to make cheese, split wood, cut up a chicken, make a rag rug, can tomatoes…).

I love the way she created this book. You can definitely tell it was a labor of love and so worth the time. Design*Sponge recently had a great review (and giveaway!) of the book where Julia explained her designed process:

While the artwork looks like each illustration is a complete painting, in actuality, it is made up of many pieces. A book goes through many rounds of editing, so it didn’t make sense to make final paintings until everything was reviewed. Instead, I made the layouts through a series of steps. This way, anything could be easily revised. I started the artwork in ink, doing just the lines of the drawings in large sketchbooks. All of the titles and a lot of the text were written out by hand, so that had to be drawn, as well.

I really love her style and enjoyed seeing how she used several techniques to layer to create her book. Check out these images of her hand lettering, illustrations, watercolor, and layouts she used while creating the book:

above images from Design*Sponge

After a year of editing, the book was complete and hit the market October 1st. I pre-ordered mine through Amazon so it arrived shortly after the release date. After looking through my Dad's copy, I really want my own! How many times do you find yourself in the grocery store standing at the meat counter with no clue on whose shoulder is whose and where that roast came from and what are you supposed to do with those tips!?!? I love to cook and try new recipes so I think this book could really help solve those questions. Here are some more pictures of the final interior of the book:

all images from book by its cover

Does this book interest you?

MELROSE'S FALL DECOR

Pulled together from leftover wedding decor, recent wedding presents,  and the garden shop in Homewood - here is Melrose's updated fall decor! Mom had this beautiful wreath made for me with cotton bolls and dried seed pods from the wedding along with several other fall items. I think all the colors look great against the red door.

I found these cute metal spiders at last year's Country Living Fair - which by the way, the 2012 fair is this upcoming weekend in Stone Mountain, GA if you want to attend. I won't be there, but I have my Mom on the hunt for some fun items!

And for the inside ... just a simple tablescape of extra burlap, pine cones, and popcorn berries to get the job done. And of course - pumpkins galore!

The table looks similar to my styling last year but my new Pottery Barn "Emma" china makes it all look so much more refined and classic. I found these gold hammered napkin rings at At Home in Homewood and they are a new favorite on the dining table.

I love seeing all holiday decor so if you have a blog with photos, please share the address below! Before we know it we will be decorating for Christmas! (my favorite time of the year - I am all ready begging my co-worker to listen to Christmas music!)