Magazine hoarding & recent inspiration

I have a confession to make. I'm a magazine hoarder. 

Although I've tried to organize them throughout the house, I can't bring myself to throw them away. I love going through old issues (some go back to the 90's!) and no matter how techy this world gets—there is something about a printed magazine that will NEVER go out of style. Last night I curled up in bed with my magazines and ipad, and had so much fun looking up some of artists featured in the latest issue of Garden & Gun. Here are several of the amazing artists I came across... 

Meet Kiki Slaughter, a contemporary artist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her paintings are beautiful and I love her use of color.

Meet New Orleans artist Rebecca Rebouché. Yes, that's her on the cover of G&G.

I love her whimsy-filled paintings as well as her story, and how she was discovered by Anthropologie. Check out her blog, website and her artwork. She also has an Etsy store that has so much to offer.

And finally, meet the incredibly talented duo, Shovels & Rope.

I'm in love with this band. Read the full article from G&G here. I love their story as well: "On a typical night before a May show in West Virginia, Shovels & Rope tandem Cary Ann Hearst and her husband, Michael Trent, spent the night in a Walmart parking lot. No, they weren’t stuffed into shopping carts or folded into the backseat of a car. They lived it up in the back of their van, replete with a queen-size bed, a television, and a good bottle of red wine."

Listen to them here and you'll discover they are the real deal. My favorite song as of now is Lay Low. I could listen to it over and over again. Aren't they amazing? Their music makes me miss home and the mountains for some reason. 

That's it for now. Happy hump day everyone!

Yes, please!

I LOVE hanging porch beds! My husband swears he can make one of these for our porch — but we shall see if it ever happens :) These dreamy pictures make me want to curl up with a book or take an afternoon nap. With this fabulous fall weather, can you think of anything better?

I sure can't!

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you get to spend some time outside and enjoy this amazing fall weather!

images: {garden&gun} {coastal living} {pinterest} {house of turquoise}

High Times in Chattanooga

I was thrilled to see my hometown featured in the June/July issue of Garden & Gun. Chattanooga is one of the most beautiful, up-and-coming towns, and is truly "a model of urban renewal." I know I may be a little biased, but Chattanooga is one of the best places in the world!

Every time I come home I try to run the Walnut Street Bridge, AKA "The Walking Bridge." It is without a doubt, one of my favorite places in Chattanooga.

And on a random note, it's the little things in life that matter the most. My sweet husband surprised me with these flowers last week to celebrate my new, full-time freelance design business. Wasn't that so thoughtful of him? Now that I'll be spending more time at home, I think I'll need fresh flowers around all the time! :)

xo

Revival Uncommon Goods

So I was flipping through one of my favorite magazines, Garden & Gun, last week and stumbled upon one of my favorite home stores, REVIVAL. I've mentioned them before, and have to say it's one of the coolest stores in Chattanooga, not to mention in the South. So excited to see that Revival was featured among their picks for "The South's Best New Shops"! My mom just loves Rodney (pictured above) and Billy and their entire crew...

I got these pics from Revival's Facebook page, and here's what they had to say:
"Although we've been around for a while, GARDEN & GUN included REVIVAL as one of their picks for the "South's Best New Shops" with our re-imagining at WAREHOUSE ROW in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Begun as an antiques store, REVIVAL has morphed its uncommon goods to include luxury gifts, upholstery, casegoods, lighting, vintage and salvage.....all with a distinctly editorial point of view."

They recently hosted one of my favorite designers, Suzanne Kasler, for a book signing. That's my mama below in the gray, getting her book signed!

I'm thrilled to see such great exposure for such a fabulous store!

Oh, and 1 week from today I'll be drawing names from my follower list for the FREE Personalized Stationery GIVEAWAY! Don't wait too long and miss your chance!!

So, there!

I've never thought of myself as a Mobilian. Actually, I've always seen myself as a "transplant" to this town, but when I read this article in the new Garden & Gun, I was so excited about our Mobile Bay feature story, and for the first time, I actually felt like a Mobilian...if that makes any sense at all.

The article made me feel proud of our town, and it was as if they were referring to my home. This is a big step for me, since I've always thought of Chattanooga as my real home. Although the 'noog will always hold a extra special place in heart, Mobile Bay is my home now, and I love it. What a great article — so well written and witty. Winston Groom, the author of Forest Gump and a Mobile native, wrote this story, and I think he did a fantastic job. He ends every paragraph with "So, there!" Make sure and read the entire article...and I promise you'll be saying "So there!" with Winston....

A great picture of my favorite people's dads! Rebekah Phillips Webb is a fellow graphic designer, and I have loved getting to know her over the past few years. Her father, pictured below, is Charles Phillips, who owns an amazing antique store just outside of Mobile, called you guessed it...Charles Phillips Antiques. I could walk around there for hours. If you've never been, you must see this place! Definitely worth the drive!!

Well, I could talk to Rebekah for hours about fonts, Mac software, whether to get adobe cs4 or cs5 and what plugin to download....you know, we speak the same dorky design language! But I could also talk to her about anything going on in my life...she's one of those people you immediately feel comfortable around. Check out Rebekah's website...she is so talented!

And finally, I can't mention the Garden & Gun article and not give a shoot out to East Bay Clothiers. They were one of the "featured shops" in the G&G article, which doesn't surprise me at all! I'm in the process of redesigning their website, and am very excited about the creative approach we are taking. Stay tuned to see the progress! Genie McCown is fabuous — she is larger than life and such a joy to work with. I am honored to redesign their website. So...if you're in Fairhope, you must stop by EBC and check out their fabulous clothes. Genie has great taste, and the clothes they carry are top of the line!

Tennessee Me

Recently, I'm lovin Garden & Gun magazine, AND their new feature artist, The Dynamic Duo. To listen to their song, Tennessee Me, Click here. They are the real deal!

Also, can't go without mentioning the G&G feature artist of the last issue... The Avett Brothers, one of my favorites!

Click here to watch an original G&G video of Seth and Scott Avett playing "The Weight of Lies" at their farm in Concord, North Carolina. I could listen to this song over and over...great background design music when I'm working today...