2011.

i realize not everyone is a huge fan of new years eve. i hear people say that it's overrated. but it should go on the record that i am notorious for going crazy about any and every holiday. i love a reason to celebrate. new years is no different.

this year i am going to celebrate ringing in 2011 with some of my very favorite people. i am going to nashville. i doubt we will brave the crowds to rub elbows with everyone at the "guitar drop." more than likely we will stay put at the keaggy's home. that's what new years should be about, having a heck of a time with the ones you love most! that's how i want to start 2011.

another reason i appreciate new years is being given a chance to start over, so to speak. i write out resolutions every year. always have. last night i took the time to write my resolutions. they were perfect. none too overwhelming, just simple changes to be made or to emphasize. naturally there were resolutions about health and wellness, then there were others about saving money {i'm so mature... haha}. but probably the most important was encouragement to let my guard down and let myself love. i haven't done that in quite a while. so here we go... 2011. happy new year! cheers!

where there is love, there is art.

wrote the book on love.

one of my favorite gifts this christmas came in a very small package {and, no, i don't mean diamond earrings or anything of that nature}. this gift was given to me by my favorite little girl, jewel-bug.

this children's book possess some really beautiful truths pertaining to my favorite subject {hint, hint... the four letter word}-- L O V E, in case it's not obvious. this book shows both in word and illustration the various ways that love can be experienced- through nature, ourselves, and with others. it shows how these are all connected. and most importantly this book celebrates love! i love it.
and has it says in the book "love is best when love is shared." so check it out or buy this sweet book here.
oh! by the way, these books are made on recycled paper and printed with veggie-based inks. i did my research...

where there is love, there is art.

red velvet cupcakes.

i had decided that in my mind it wasn't the holidays until i made red velvet cupcakes. therefore, when i signed-up to bring dessert to a pot luck dinner i knew exactly what was in store.

pretty, eh? would you like the recipe? it came to me courtesy of paula deen. actually, i kind of combined a recipe of my mother's with this one. did a little picking and choosing! enjoy.

where there is love {in the kitchen}, 

there is art.

supper club.

seven dinner parties later.

little helen, rachel, nancy, anna margaret, "ed," {me}, molly, and ann hughston.

when "supper club" began i don't think we ever could have imagined how valuable it would be to each of us as time passes. in an attempt to keep up with are closest friends from high school we started "supper club." our college choices ranged from alabama to DC to the carolinas to ohio. we were aware that our friendships would change, and it would be hard to keep in touch. thus we emailed one another religiously {sort of} through college, and every year at christmas time we committed to having a pot-luck dinner party in montgomery where we all grew up together. the most humorous aspect of dinner is when last years "predictions" resurface. every year we predict what will happen in the lives of each of us, only to read them the next year. obviously, many predictions never come to fruition but others do. for example, this year was the first year that a sweet baby joined us and this had be predicted prior. we have watched one another move cross country {though i stay planted}, make job changes, begin and end relationships... though we might struggle to all keep up daily, we are all faithful to dedicate one day a year to catching up and enjoying the company of the girls who "knew you when."

where the is love {of unique friendship},

 there is art.

christmas {photographs} in dixie.

from family game night... to a good ol' country christmas.
hope you had a christmas as merry as mine!

christmas eve. family game night.

we love some soup and catch phrase on christmas eve. 

pike county's most beautiful.

the other "sisters" on christmas day in troy.

i love my hair in my face, my sister, and troy at christmas. 

we are pretty lucky.

where there is love, there is art. 

my favorite christmas song.

merry christmas to all! 

where there is {a labor of} love, 
there is art.

iii/iv.

you were always something else,

there's nothing to replace. 

-from "numbers," ryan adams 

ryan adams {who i could be in love with} released III/IV last week while i was in new york. i'm getting caught up {in it}. check it out for yourself, if you will. 

where there is love, there is art. 

turn to mush.

i am real lucky because people send me beautiful things often. recently i was sent this series of videos. it is indeed a series. that means after you watch the first then you must watch the second. deal? oh! and then you will turn to mush. it's fine. embrace it. xoxo.



p.s.- thank you, little olivia.

where there is love, there is art.

nyc #2.

after the knicks vs. heat game the three of us ventured down to bar breton for dinner. then john and i took a cab to soho for drinks with my friends {lucy, jennie, and barrett} at merc bar. both of these places come highly recommended.

brother and i at the game.

at merc bar. thanks for the photo, lu.

on saturday i woke up at my normal hour while the boys slept in. i walked down to bryant park to grab a much needed cup of joe, as i was anticipating braving the cold to stand in the tkts line in time square. thankfully the line moved rather quickly, and i got two tickets to memphis. all the while the boys woke up and went on their own adventures-- brother to greenwich to be a fashionista and "italy" met up with me in none other than... eataly. this was one of our shared objectives for the trip. eataly definitely did not disappoint. i let john {a.k.a. "italy"}show me the ropes since he is a local of torino, home of the original eataly. we then decided to have lunch at the cafe at eataly. i "made" john order for the both of us. he did a fabulous job. it was a meal so delicious that you can never forget it. completely memorable.

times square bein' crazy.

the italian eataly tour guide.

after lunch we met back up with the brother and walked to broadway. brother and i went to see memphis, while john went to brooklyn to visit a friend. i can not rave enough about memphis, the musical. the music is beyond words. as soon as the show was over brother was "starving," and asked that we go back to john's pizzeria. i obliged his request, and we had a sibling date at john's once again {so not my style... but whatever}.

so deserving of the tony. so wonderful.

inside john's pizzeria. it was formerly a church. obvi?

since this was our last evening in new york we look a long walk down 5th avenue, joined the masses and did a bit of shopping {as in, brother did some shopping per usual}. we then walked back up 6th in perfect view of the tree and radio city.

5th avenue snowflake.

standard.

after miles of walking brother retired to his favorite, comfy bed at the ace. john and i went back out to try to find him a hole in the wall chinese restaurant. this is actually harder to do than one might imagine. when we found chinatown express his eyes lit up, only to be disappointed. with a full belly he too was ready for bed, but i was restless knowing this was my last night in the city. i caught a cab and returned to the west village to visit another friend i had yet to see, kacy. shortly there after the worst part of the trip happened, i had to leave new york once again. blah blah blah... it was dumb.

chinatown express. never had i ever. 

home base at the ace.

goodbye, new york. for now.

where there is love, there is art. 

public service announcement.

my friends-- red harp and preston lovinggood will be playing at bottletree tomorrow {wednesday} evening. there will be a lot of merriment and such.

do not be the person that misses this. you will regret it. and i will feel sorry for you.

where there is love, there is art.

nyc #1.

i arrived in new york on thursday afternoon. checked into our cool and cozy hotel- the ace. brother and i skipped around town at first checking things out. we then walked to our favorite pizza spot, john's pizza {appropriately named}. i do believe that in every trip i've made to new york john's has always been our first meal spot. tradish. later that evening i met up with some friends of mine in the city. i saw my friend's place in the west village and then we walked to extra virgin where they had dinner and i had drinks. i do love new york.

hot apple rum cider. boom.

in the hotel room. so cute.

friday john arrived later in the morning. i did a bit of squealing when i saw him in the lobby. after he recovered from that we caught a cab to stand4 burger. i had read a recommendation for this place, and knew i could make the boys happy with a good burger. we walked around greenwich. did a bit of shopping {as in, my brother did all the shopping...}. then we returned to the ace to get amped for the game!

hey noho.

tree in the center before being lit.

view from our hotel room. 

oh. and minor detail of the trip--- we then went to the mecca of basketball, madison square garden, for the new york knicks vs. miami heat game. unreal. once in a lifetime. and then we.... {more to come}

the heat warming up. hahaha.

italy and me at the game.

{side note: i currently do not hear sirens or honking horns, and for that i am sad.}

where there is love, there is art.

tomorrow is christmas.

not to throw you off or anything, but essentially tomorrow is christmas. tomorrow i leave for new york. my bags are packed. the italian is flying back to america. the city is decorated for me. it's time. it's christmastime. so in the sprit of new york at christmas i give to you this: a guide to new york. dearest elizabethann passed this along to me, so i pay it forward and give it to you. notice: the hotel i am staying in (the ace) is seen in this little guide. things are lookin' good, folks...

NEW YORK CHRISTMAS from Matthew Brown on Vimeo.

oh! and another thing, the likelihood of me blogging between now and sunday is highly unlikely. but stayed tuned because there's a lot of goodness to come... a whole lot of l-o-v-e.

where there is love {in the city}, there is art. 

letterpress love.

do you know that i love letterpress? well, i do.

found on etsy. 

there are plenty of things that are unknown about me, as there are plenty of things that i do not know about you. let's be friends and tell secrets. so, i request-- would you please email me ansleyhayden@gmail.com and tell me something... something you believe would be perfect for the blog. someone i've yet to interview. a story that needs to be told. a video or a song. a piece of art. i want to hear from you, pretty please!

where there is love, there is {you} art. 

adventures of a christmas card.

after taking christmas card pictures outdoors yesterday, on what seemed to be the coldest morning of the year,  i awoke this morning to a witty little email from my mother. the subject head read "adventures of a christmas card." what followed was a series of "cuts" from our christmas card photo shoot. not only that, but she had taken the time to create captions for each photograph.  this is precisely what she had to say:

i really do not want to do this.

come on, let's get this over with!

it's too cold for pictures!

what about this?

enough already!

we're out of here!

where there is love {of frost bite}, 

there is art. 

getting caught up.

after finally finishing the fall semester this weekend i got caught up. my mom made a visit to town where we caught up on our christmas shopping, on life over pasta at bottega cafe, and she even helped me catch up with a little cleaning around the apartment. i then visited montgomery for a brief moment to get caught up on relationships there, particular with the two folks below {and i don't mean anne}. the hamrick family also got caught up with one another and with our christmas card photo. then, as i returned to birmingham i enjoyed catching up at a pot luck dinner with my church and the southtown community. followed by spending time catching up with elizabeth ann and kelsey. now it's time i catch up on sleep before a busy week begins {and ends with new york...}. i hope you got caught up this weekend too!

we found santa in downtown of the capitol city.

christmas card option. but not the "winner."

where there is love, there is art. 

a wonderful town.

this photo i took two years ago, on my last trip to the city.

We've walked the streets till the night was over,
And we can safely say, the most fabulous sight is 

New York

In the light of day, our only day.

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town,

The Bronx is up and the Battery's down,

The people ride in a hole in the ground,

New York, New York, it's a wonderful town

oh my! a week from today i will be navigating through my favorite kind of jungle, with tall buildings and bright lights. in typical fashion i have planned out everything i want to see and do. but i know all too well there will never be enough time and i will do so many things that i didn't anticipate doing {and those are the things i will be most grateful for in memory}. yet for the time being, here are the top ten things on my list:
1. the tree at rockefeller center
2. the MoMa {particularly the warhol and expression exhibits there currently}
3. junior's cheesecake
4. a new york knicks {vs. my man, lebron} game
5. EATALY
6. promises, promises at the broadway theatre
7. brisbane and all things ace hotel
8. a cupcake from crumbs {"the artie lange, please..."}
9. the burger joint tucked away in it's little corner
10. drinks at the strand
.... can i keep going? there's more.

where there is love {of the city}, there is art.

now.that's what i call music.

i have this friend, ryan. he's the friend whose music taste you can always trust. well this weekend while i was watching auburn {WIN} with some of my guy friends ryan mentioned that he is in the process of a new project. "oh! i love projects, ryan. what are you working on?" he then told me that every year he tries to create a compilation of the best songs from that year. immediately i started comparing this to NOW (or WOW if you are or have ever been into christian music... no shame). i like this idea! so i made him swear on our friendship that he would send me a copy of his own person NOW/WOW 2010. and here it is: 

1.   Arcade Fire- Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

2.   LCD Soundsystem- Dance Yrself Clean

3.   Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith- Not in Love

4.   The National- Afraid of Everyone

5.   James Blake- (I Only Know) What I Know Now

6.   Beach House- Zebra

7.   Kanye West featuring Bon Iver- Lost in the World

8.   Sharon van Etten- One Day

9.   Local Natives- Sun Hands

10.  Sleigh Bells- Rill Rill

11.  Sufjan Stevens- I Walked

12.  Foals- Spanish Sahara

13.  LCD Soundsystem- I Can Change

14.  Deerhunter- He Would Have Laughed

15.  Cee Lo Green- "Forget" {this has been edited} You

16.  Crystal Castles- Celestica

17.  Kanye West featuring Pusha T- Runaway

18.  Sufjan Stevens- Too Much

19.  James Blake- Limit to Your Love

20.  Arcade Fire- Half Light II (No Celebration)

{thank you, ryan!}

where there is love, 

there is art {and a real good tune}.

alabama winter.

dearest alabama,
thank you for proving that you can in fact participate in the winter season.
please stay this way for a long while.
always,
a.h.h.

where there is love, there is art. 

despite it all.

this week is finals week for me {and many, many others}. thus, this past weekend was dedicated to "studying." if you know me at all, you probably are aware that this is basically a joke. i am easily distracted when it comes to studying. my distractions this weekend consisted of: the SEC championship {war eagle}, sunday brunch with katiegirl at bottletree, the birmingham holiday craft bazaar, and girls night out for sushi at jinsei. it was a good weekend, despite the "studying" {haha}. and here's proof...

where there is love {of a good distraction}, there is art. 

plug.

without shame i have to plug stella & dot today. chances are you have heard of this saavy jewelry business. if you have not- do yourself a favor, and clue in. check out the website. my darling roommate, anne autry, is a stylist for stella & dot. she host all sorts of fabulous parties and sells fantastic shiny things. in fact, this weekend she traveled "home" to help all kinds of fashion forward women find gifts for {themselves} christmas. if you like what you see on the website {which i am certain you will} contact her before you make a purchase {anneautry1@gmail.com}! also, if you like what you see and are interested in hosting a party contact her for that reason too {if you host a party there are all sorts of kick backs for you...}.

where there is love {of pretty, shiny things}, 

there is art.

p.s.- be on the lookout for a stella & dot giveaway on where there is love, there is art in the near future!

weekend joy.

happy weekend everyone!

i will spend my weekend studying for finals. 

so here's to that... 

where there is love,

there is art.

dilly.

 where there is love,

there is art.

yawl, we did it.

100. has been a looming number over my head since this blog was conceived. for whatever reason i desperately wanted to get to one hundred. i just felt that if i had 100 dedicated readers then there are many other readers that stumble here from time-to-time. what am i even talking about? all that to say... a big ol' thank you, to you, for reading this! and a special thank you to #100, mrs. katie ford... kelly. i love this girl so. in fact, katiegirl, it's about dang time considering i've featured both you and your huz. 

dang. i got lucky having her as #100 so we could have such a pretty picture to look at. i mean really? {she's a model girl... on the real. birmingham, you will be seeing her soon. shh... top secret!}

where there is love {for the #100},

there is art.