My goose problem is now front page news!

Update on Lucy the Goosey: To my surprise today, I was given the morning paper at work..my lil goose has made front page news! Thank you so much to Tim Chitwood at The Ledger Enquirer for the article (and trying to catch her himself!). Also, a big thank you to Chuck Leonard and Laura Ann Sills with WTVM News for being on the spot with cameras rolling, you might have caught the segment about it tonight on the news ( with me and my mom being interviewed). The game warden, Officer Jolley, was on hand and had made it his mission...he sat there all day today trying to get her, I never heard that he caught her today. He's probably sick of everyone contacting him about it ( thank you!:) He tried a few times while I was there but had to resort to changing into camo and hiding..she is a smart gal and recognizes a net! He wants to get her and take her to the state facility to be treated and re-released. A wildlife licensed expert by the name of Chris Ferguson met me last night to analyze her and said that her leg doesn't look salvageable at all..it will probably need to be amputated. But as long as we can get her treated she will be fine with a little peg leg..we just have to make sure the infection doesn't continue to go to the rest of her body, which could kill her if we don't get her soon. More to come! P.S. A HUGE thank you to Lisa Parrish with Animal Ark Rescue for networking and getting the word out!

Irene's Fury

Roof blown into the water

Snapped trees everywhere

Harris Teeter passing out water and ice

Bent metal Dollar General sign

Down trees everywhere

My sis-in-law Janie enjoying a moment of relief in the eye of the hurricane. Notice her cute rain boots :)

Irene made herself known all over the east coast this weekend, mainly doing the most destruction in North Carolina and Virginia. My brother and sis-in-law were one of the unlucky ones who got the first hit, enduring almost 48 hours of the hurricane's fury.

At one point the eye was over them and they went outside to survey the damage and let their poor dogs use the bathroom for the first time in hours! They were sending me updates the entire time and even threw in a few photos of their poor pups who were absolutely stir crazy.

Did you encounter Irene? Was it better or worse than you thought it was going to be?

(Pics via my bro)

Well this isn't good.

The red dot is my brother and sis-in-law's house. Darn it. For anyone about to encounter Irene please be safe and smart and GET OUT of her way!

Our mined sapphires {wanna see?}

I was finally able to sit still enough to get some good pics of the sapphires that we mined a few months ago. How pretty are these babies?! We found around 100 carats and have many more that we can get cut. I wanted to see the lapidary's work before I got the rest done (see the leftover rough sapphires in the background of the top pic). As I thought, they turned out AH-MAZING! They're all around .5 carats and two of the oval cuts are about .75 carats.

If you are ever in the Franklin, NC area, I suggest going to Mason's Sapphire and Ruby Mine. I PROMISE that you will NOT be disappointed! The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful and you WILL leave with stones that you can have cut yourself. The area mainly produces pink and purple sapphires, which I just think are beautiful. We had the Cowee Valley Lapidary cut them; they know exactly how to handle these types of sapphires and know how to cut them to perfection.

I'm so excited to show these off and to be able to say WE found them!

I Married Adventure

I Married Adventure, The Perfume (oprah.com)

I saw the book, I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson, popping up in almost every interior design blog and magazine a few years ago. Mesmerized by the couples amazing love story and the beautiful vintage zebra cover, I knew I had to have one. I was finally able to track down the original 1940's version at a bookstore in North Carolina that was going out of business for a mere $8. I love this book so much, in fact, that I've decided to use it in my vignettes for my paintings on the new website.

Oprah has featured it in her June 2010 issue and since then there has been a Kate Spade purse, a perfume and even a movie coming out! It's so funny to me how things like this come about, I bet Martin and Osa would be so happy about their books new-found cult following!

Announcement!

I have to admit that I've been a little lax on my post lately. BUT there's a reason that I want to share with you. I've been working my fingers to the bone creating an entirely new website! On this website you will find the results of my first love: Paintings. I've been painting almost everyday and feel the need to take you on my journey as I become the next Pollock. I just can't seem to put the brush down and have decided to stop hiding my true love!

We decided that we wanted a more centralized place where we can have our own creative work on display (instead of Etsy), so I've been hard at work coding out and creating the new site. Don't worry nothing is happening to this one though ( I'll just have a link over to the new one on my nav bar).

WITH THAT BEING SAID- I wanted to announce that I'll be taking a little break to work on my new site; possibly a week or two, just to make sure my new baby is taken care of in it's infant stage :)

Above is a sneak peek of a few of my paintings as well as a peek of the user friendly site. I plan on selling mainly paintings with prints and Josh's concrete creations as well, but who knows what else we might create! ( Ray and Charles anyone?  :)

I'm so excited to finally tell you and can't wait to share it with you all!

My bro started a blog {go follow him!}

My brother-in-law Bo just started a blog. Thanks to Josh's genius and my annoyance his name, Bo Milk, was born (read about it here). Now go follow him and make him famous!

A BIG P.S. Please excuse the sideways video where I'm humping the dog. Apparently I had too much to drink :/

Puppy left behind

I'z been left behind!

I can't believe some wacko thinks he has predicted the rapture. As a christian I have to say, I think this hoopla is REDIC. Don't forget that it happens exactly at 6 p.m. (so don't forget to set your clocks). So silly :)

Need a happy moment? Watch this.

I couldn't help but share this. She is so precious, I just wanna put her in my pocket. Or better yet, she and her three cats can just come live with me and Josh.

God love it!

Alabama Tornadoes {pics via our lake condo}

Note: If you're a new reader just know that I try to not talk about serious topics because, honestly, this blog is my safe haven from all the yucky news of the world. But since the news is happening all around me I can't help but to not post about this. I'll be back to our regularly scheduled fun and inspiring topics tomorrow :)

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you've heard that we (Alabama) got hit with an epic amount of tornadoes on April 27 (see exactly how many on this map). In fact, the government has just recently declared Alabama a category one natural disaster, which is in the same category as Katrina and 9/11.

It was a very scary night. The tornado siren went off just as we were finishing up  Modern Family and we very quickly (yet calmly) jumped into action. We were watching the radar from our computers, candles lit throughout the house, trying to keep the pups calm, staying near the hallway where we had brought in and flipped over wrought iron outdoor chairs to protect our heads. There wasn't a minute where the sky was actually dark even though it was nighttime. It looked as if there was a giant strobe light on outside and it just felt extremely eerie. Luckily, the tornado we were bracing for hit just north of us and we just had hail and wind damage.

Once place out of many that wasn't spared was Lake Martin, where our lake condo is located. Luckily, the damage wasn't that bad to our property but the pics above are a few that my mom snapped this past weekend of what used to be houses a few slough's down from ours. The tornado ended up being an EF-4 that was 44 miles long and 1/2 mile wide.

On a more humorous note, the guy sitting in what used to be his room (last pic) yelled down to mom  "Want a house? It's a bit of a fixer-upper but a few coats of paint could do wonders!"  Gotta love his optimism. So there you have it. My super serious post. Please PLEASE donate if you can. Our poor little state is shattered beyond belief :(

To Donate:  Visit www.alredcross.org and click on the “donate now” link on the homepage

Text $10: Text “REDCROSS” to 90999 to donate $10 straight from your phone. A response will include two options for donations, either to Japan or to the southern spring storms.

The Royal Wedding..1 day away!

youandyourwedding.co.uk

Alexander McQueen

Are you as pumped about the royal wedding as I am? WHAT a princess story. I don't think I'll be getting up at 4 am but will be DVR-ing all of the festivities. Kudos to anyone who's getting up to watch live!

I'm SO curious about which tiara the Queen will give Kate and, of course, which dress she will choose. Will it have sleeves? A huge train like Diana's? Oh, so many questions unanswered!  I personally think it's been created by a British designer; possibly Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, but with a lot of input from Kate of course. We'll just have to wait and see, huh?

Keds

New York Fashion Week 2011

Chictopia.com

Weardrobe.com

I don't know how to ease into this so I'm just going to hit you with it: I want Keds.

Call me crazy but I'm seeing them everywhere lately ( NY Fashion week, anyone?) and I can't help but to jump on board! Wonder if Kelly Kapowski still has hers from her Saved By The Bell days??

What do you think of the growing Keds trend? Now that I'm out of the I Like Keds Again closet I have to come clean...I'm getting a red pair!  Don't hate!

Have a happy Friday my friend!

Hail Storm

Five days ago, a hail storm made its way upon our little Auburn plains. It was so quick and so unexpected, my poor little garden barely made it. Spring storms in the south are so unpredictable this time of year...bringing in the plants every other night is really starting to get to us!

How's the weather in your area right now? I wanna know!

P.S. How cute is the garden mushroom that my gnome sits under? The hubs made it!

The legendary Charles Wright

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Tammy

Josh's uncle, Charles Wright, passed away yesterday and I just wanted to take a moment to honor his life. You would have never known what a legend you were among when talking to uncle Charlie, as we called him. From the first time I met him, about 13 years ago, he would always greet me with a big bear hug and a 'Hey girl' as he wrapped his huge arms around me. He was always the first to crack a joke on my not-so-flattering haircuts, or pick on me about the leftover dessert on my face after a Thanksgiving meal. He was always laughing and cutting up, yet always took a moment to look me in the eye and ask 'Seriously though, how are you really doing?'. After listening intensely to whatever was on your mind he would add in his little doses of wisdom so perfectly, and somehow it was exactly what you needed to hear at that moment.

It wasn't until I had known uncle Charlie for about 5 years until I learned of his legendary men's softball status. You would have never known he was one of the greatest legends whom essentially put it on the map as a cool sport to watch and play in the 70's and 80s. The 'Men Of Steel' as they were called, were created in 1979 as living, hulking billboards fore Steele's Sports Company of Grafton, Ohio, a $4.2 million softball- and - baseball - equipment manufacturer. Charles held the all-time season record of 503 homers and was featured in Time magazine and Sports Illustrated and traveled the world for Steele's Sports; Although you would have never heard any of this from uncle Charlie, he was far too humble to boast of himself and his history with the sport.

When we learned of his heart attack we were not surprised to hear that he was doing none other than what he loved to do..playing softball. It is times like these, when God calls up a soldier like Charles to join him, that makes you hug your friends and family a little longer and reminds you to always say I love you.

We love you and are going to miss you dearly uncle Charlie.

Love, Rachel

Citrus peels to start your seedlings

Who would have ever thunk it? Apparently any citrus peel ( including lemons!) works great as little starter containers for your baby plants. Just make sure you put a tiny hole in it for drainage. Voila!

Image via My Roman Apartment

New print now available for purchase!

Such an exciting day! My newest print, Costa Rican Shell (in sunshine yellow) is now available for purchase in my print shop! It looks great layered with a typographical print, as one interior designer has in her house ( see pics in the shop).

This print was created from a sketch I created of a conch shell that my husband found on the Costa Rican coast. I was so mesmerized by the texture and lines of the shell that I found myself sketching it one night.

I hope you will consider it for your home to brightening up this spring season. And as always, have a wonderful weekend!

Nerd chic

Nerd chic is back and I'm loving it. Check out more of Paul Smith's collection HERE.

(Photos by Vogue.com)

Oscars 2011

Credit: Jason Merritt; Photos: Getty

So the Oscars 2011 went off without a hitch; I was so excited about Natalie Portman winning for her role in Black Swan. But, I must ask– who was your favorite star of the evening?

Oddly enough, my pick for best dressed was Mandy Moore (although I found myself asking..where has she been lately??). She looked like an angel in her Monique Lhuillier dress..a true star.

Limited Edition Tee Collection Available NOW!

 

I'm so excited to tell you all that my Inspired House of Wright limited edition tees are available NOW! Grab one today!

Happy Friday everyone!

Toomer's Corner Oaks Poisoned

This weekend was rough. If you haven't already heard all over the news, our [Auburn University's ] historic twin oak trees have been poisoned by an angry rival team's fan and they have a less than 1% chance of survival. If you aren't an Auburn fan I know it's hard to understand why we're so upset...

To me, this corner and more importantly, rolling these trees after a victory, has been a family affair my entire life. My grandpa passed these oaks everyday when he played football for Auburn. It's hard to see them dying, helplessly, and not be able to do anything about it. You can read all the details on CNN.com (and see me sitting on my bro-in-law's shoulders when we rolled Toomer's Corner during the national championship, blogged about HERE).

We went to the Tree Hugging Rally this Saturday; it was so sad. I couldn't help but to break down and cry seeing "Please Do Not Roll The Trees" signs everywhere. It's sad to think that I will never get to meet with my family and friends at the oaks after a victory and roll them again.

I quickly created two tee-shirt designs HERE and am going to show my support for our poor oaks...

This isn't a normal blog post for me, I just needed to share and express my sympathy. I want to write down a few of the stories of my years of fun at Toomer's Corner, but right now, I think I'm still in shock and have extreme sadness in my heart.