summer is yummy.

the night of bob dylan's birthday
i decided to 

cook up a little something special. 

coincidentally, i love summer recipes. 

this is what happened:

Chicken with Rice and Peas

{it's much more exciting than it sounds}

by Jessica Seinfeld

• 8 small chicken strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 brown rice
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup can of english peas {that i love}
• 1 lemon quartered

Wash and pat dry the chicken. Heat the oil in a large (5- to 6-quart) pot with a tight fitting lid. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper (¼ teaspoon salt & 6 turns on pepper mill per side). Add meat-side down and cook until browned, about 10 minutes; turn the chicken over and cook 2 minutes more. While the chicken cooks, prepare and measure the remaining ingredients.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and stir to coat it evenly with the oil. Add the chicken broth, water, and lemon zest and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, 45 to 50 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the quartered lemon.

you can ask georgiaruth, but i think it was pretty good. give it a try, and let me know how it goes! 

where there is love, there is art.

the final room. sorta.

the guest bedroom.

potentially one of the most important rooms in my home.

i pray my friends and family always know they have a place to stay if needed.

welcome.

one last showcase to come: the porch. {but first i've got to fancy it up a little}. 

where there is love, there is art.

memorial day.

happy memorial day to all my fellow patriots!

and a big ol' THANK YOU to all soldiers and their families. 

today i remember.

no amount of gratitude is ever enough. 

the lovely and patriotic bride and best gal, katie ford kelly. photo by: rob ingram 

where there is love {shown in sacrifice}, there is art. 

strangely personal.

i feel so silly doing this. 

because that's my bedroom and bathroom in the new condo.

so for the three'ish people who actually care to see these places.

this one is for you...

where there is love, there is art {and stuff}. 

obsession.

i have an obsessive {or addictive} personality. 

i'm all in.

or 

all out. 

currently i'm all in with this boy's music:

where there is love, there is art {to enjoy}.

a good week for music

1. paul simon {oh! and the black keys}
2. james taylor
3. the civil wars {and dylan leblanc}
4. {my darling friends} the kicks

it's been a good week {in general} for music and roadtrips. and i've had my handy dandy sidekick, georgiaruth, with me all the while.

here's this {rockin'} week at a glance, according to my iPhone:

where there is {luck in} love, there is art.

new cookin' spot

so i promised condo pictures.
here is the kitchen {that i can finally cook in}:

it's not too exciting. but it is for me. 

and, friend, make yourself at home. 

you can come through the back door and hang out in the kitchen anytime. 

where there is love, there is art {and food}. 

hanging out.

second annual hangout festival.

gulf shores, alabama.

rocknroll.

sand.

done.

where there is love, there is art.

home sweet home.

i just got off the phone with a{nother} friend who wanted to see pictures of my "new place." by the way, i moved this weekend! i move every year. it's just this thing i do. but i am pretty in love with this new place, so we will see if it sticks or not? i now live in a sunny, little condo across the street from homewood park. come have a brew with me on the front porch soon, yes? until then... i will give you a glimpse with a few photos a day. starting with, as you walk in the front door, the living room:

so there you have it! new post: the kitchen?

where there is love {at home}, there is art.

for the love of my beautiful state.

thank you.

tonight--- 

bottletree tornado benefit @ 6 p.m.

workplay theatre: trent dabbs (8 p.m.) and griffin house (9 p.m.)

where there is love, there is art.

missed me.

that boy has a new video release... today! you might even see a redhead somewhere in there for a second or two.


that matthew mayfield boy, he sure is good. isn't he? i love this song for a lot of reasons. but mostly because of the sweet heart it came from. here is what the boy had to say about it himself:

going in, the goal was simple: capture the spirit of a few unique communities and have the song tie them together. but as we went along, it become something much bigger than that. there are no actors, no sets, no scripts. i want people to feel connected as they watch... taking in all the different personalities and all the life in this community. i'm so glad we shot it in birmingham. home is such an important part of who i am and my roots will always be here. with the entire state in the wake of a major disaster, it's imperative that communities come together and help each other- and so many of these folks are doing just that. it's inspiring. 

where there is love, there is art.

the truth is...

even if she weren't my mom i'd go out of my way to be friends with her. 

that is so true.

happy mother's day to 

the {three} best mama{s} in the 

whole,

wide

world.

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

do what you gotta do.

oh my sweet baby james! i've changed locations annually, for the past six years. i'm not the type that likes to be tied down. as made obvious by... quite a lot.  here i am packing up cardboard boxes once again. there's something very interesting and thought provoking about packing everything you own into boxes. so here is a bit of my heart/mind at the present----

*i saw this cute, little chick in San Francisco a few years back. it was a good time.

Oh give me land, lots of land 

under starry skies above

Don't fence me in

Let me ride through the wide open 

country that I love

Don't fence me in

Let me be by myself in the evening breeze

listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees

Send me off forever but I ask you please

Don't fence me in

Turn me loose let me straddle my own saddle

Underneath the western skies

On my cayuse let me wander over yonder

'Til I see the mountain rise

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences

Gaze at the moon 'til I lose my senses

I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences

Don't fence me in

{thank you, mr. cole porter. one of the first great american songwriters. meaning he has a special place in heaven in my book}

where there is love, there is art.

a happy list for L.

you know in middle/high school when EVERYTHING is an "inside joke." so that way you have something to write in someone's year book, right? this is very important to those developmental years and friendships. well now that i'm twenty-four there are few of these jokes that i remember. i do, however, remember that somehow my dearest lucy and i got to a point in a conversation where we shortened "love" to "L"... though i still can't remember how this happened? i think i'm okay with that joke sticking. after all, i love L. 

so now here's a very happy list for my girl,

L.

man, i L.  this picture of the girl.

1. hook, the movie. {although, the song isn't bad either}.

2. the people who know me better than i know myself.

3. the entire rumours album.

4. laughing with people who don't speak your language. because what's more real than that?

5. venti iced coffee, skim milk, one sugar. please.

6. the face a new yorker gives you when you hold the door open for them.

6. new york in the spring.

7. stadium dogs, roll tide!

8. tuscaloosa, alabama in october and november.

9. a neighborhood bar {you know the type...}

10. un assiette du frommage, err... a cheese plate.

11. coffee table books

12. street performers

13. good ranch dressing

14. an unexpected wink

15. a boozy brunch with friends, new and old.

16. my mexi dress {not to be confused with a maxi dress}.

17. the power of prayer, always.

18. the bond understood between southern people when outside of the south.

p.s.- thanks, L. this was the condensed version, y'all. that's a happy girl! and that's why i L her.

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

last weekend in april.

i anticipated this weekend being very peaceful and quiet. lots of studying before my spring finals for grad school. i don't know why i thought that would be the case. i don't remember the last time that was the case really. instead my weekend involved the magic city art connection {my favorite annual art festival in birmingham}, dinner with a dear friend visiting from carolina, debris clean-up in concord, cooking dinner with friends, and listening to the beautiful harmony of the avett brothers. it was a full weekend to say the least. it was a good weekend, especially in comparison to so many of my neighbors. everything seems so trivial now. everything i do that doesn't involve the consequence of april 27th seems selfish. it's hard to reconcile this with myself.

it's impossible to not have a perspective change after seeing what i saw and experienced in concord {alabama}. it honestly still doesn't seem real. for miles and miles the only thing you can see is rubble, rubble that was once the homes and memories of a community. i arrived with the first group of volunteers to be allowed into concord. we were told in training how to handle the situation of finding a body. processing that information was sickening. there are no words for how it feels to witness families return to concord for the first time since they were rescued. no words of comfort are enough. yet when i pulled out from under the wood pile what i thought was a white sheet, dusted it off, and gave it to the man i was trying to help tears immediately filled both of our eyes. it was a wedding dress, a dress of happy memories, and a symbol of this family's unity. for me it was a moment i will never forget.

i hope you all had a memorable weekend as well. spending it with those you love most, making memories, and counting your blessings.

i urge you still... do what you can for your neighbor.
there is nothing more powerful than actions of love.

 photos from the weekend:

the work of my beautiful friend, claire, at magic city art connection.

my sweet carolina visitor, emily.

miles and miles.

concord, alabama.

the avett brothers. thank you for contributing to help my state recover.

where there is love, there is art.