all mixed up.

{i knew a guy once that wrote that song}.

all day i've wanted a song to tell me how i feel. 

it {almost} always comes back to bonnie.

but, dang this is beautiful too.

and now i can reconcile my feelings.

thanks again, music.

where there is love, there is art.

mid-summer nights music mashup: part deux.

it's that time of year again. 

time for playlist submissions-- 

send them my way, please. 

{ansleyhayden@gmail.com}

mid-summer music mashup.

lookin' forward to it!

where there is {shared} love,

there is {shared} art.

she's the party, girl.

this weekend we celebrated

olivia.

celebration and joy. 

those are her things so it was only fitting...

i have the best friends. 

sincerely.

the best folks around are my friends. 

it's pretty neat.

where there is love, there is art.

making connections.

she's with him.
or he's with her.
however you want to look at it.
i like it.
moreover, i love this cover of "maps."

prior to listening/viewing this i was a bit anxious--

this is a wonderful song and it seems nearly impossible that anyone could do it justice as a cover--

until

 i heard this.

beautiful, eh?

where there is love, there is art.

i'm frustrated so

thank you god for music. 

my talented friends- the great book of john.

thank you god for katiegirl and my niece/nephew. 

thank you for special folks that i adore. 

and

thank you god for most this amazing day:

for the leaping greenly spirits of the trees

and a blue true dream of sky;

and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes

-e.e. cummings

where there is love {that struggles and wrestles},

there is art. 

you gotta have 'em.

girls nights. 

thanks to bettola. 

words do not do it justice. 

just know---

you may spend a lot of pennies, but it's worth every last one.

where there is love {and good company},

there is art.

did you hear?

SHE'S BACK!

{thank you, jesus}.

she no longer belongs to the island. 

she's back in the south {nashville}. to stay.

does that word stay make you anxious, liv?

where there is love, there is art.

band wagon.

some folks say "no." 

others say "yes." 

everyone has an opinion.

as always.

and i like that.

but i say...

bon iver.

BRILLIANT.

so let me be band wagon for a second.

i can't wait.

it's only a day{s} away.

where there is love {no matter how common place}, 

there is art.

oh... and because 1. bonnie raitt is my mother. 2. this is amazing. 3. because

i love him. 

and i love my papa too. 

i'm a lucky girl. 

happy father's day. 

where there is love {of a man},

 there is art.

the beautiful ones are getting married.

last night we celebrated the engagement of the most beautiful,

will + jeannette.

way to go, will! 

can't wait for the wedding. no, really, i can't wait... so hurry... 

xx.

where there is LOVE, there is art.

slow cookin'.

the other evening i tried a jessica seinfeld {whom i'm obsessed with} recipe that i had been waiting to experiment with-- her slow cooker lasagna. it's a veggie {spinach} lasagna, which wins major points with me. you can ask the jury who tried this yummy meal the other evening, but in my opinion it turned out pretty delicious. slow cooking is the way to go. you can get it started, go workout, walk the dog, run errands, catch up on the tele with a friend, and then TA-DA dinner is ready! give it a try! you ones you love will appreciate it! guaranteed.

Ingredients

• 3 cans (14.4 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic , finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 2 containers (15 ounces each) fresh ricotta
• 2 cups (8 ounces) grated mozzarella
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 12 lasagna noodles (about three-quarters of a 1-pound box)
• 5 ounces (about 6 cups) baby spinach

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, red pepper and black pepper. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella and Parmesan.

In the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary). Spread about 1 cup of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach and cheese mixture. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce and 1 cup mozzarella.

Cook on low, covered, until the noodles are tender—especially in the center of the lasagna—about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

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

sometimes the right thing and the hardest thing are the same.

i have been tempted many a time to make public matters of the heart as they relate to me personally, both good and bad. yet i know my philosophy is ever changing as relationships come and go. every relationship {dating, friendship, family, or otherwise} that ends and causes a crack only brings more light into my life. i will say that it takes a lot for me to get to a place of trust, but once i am there... i am all there. my love is pretty dang deep and w i d e {this is not a reference to a sunday school tune, but maybe?}, which makes for a lot of good times and also makes the break(s) substantial. but i am as thankful for the breaks as i am for the butterflies. thankful for the ability to feel something. thankful for the lessons learned.

sometimes i swear someone has written a song for me, or maybe i wrote it for them?

for this reason, singer-songwriters will have a special place in heaven {according to me}. lissie is no exception. she is about as raw as it gets. listen, and enjoy?

I turned my back
You were gone in a flash
Like you always do
You’ve always gone off
Somewhere else

And when the phone rang
And I thought it was you
And I sprung like a kid
Who just got out of school
But it’s almost
Always never you
Never you

I scream like a child
My insides went wild

When I’m alone with you, you make me feel, you make me feel
When I’m alone with you, you are the one, you are the one

When I reach out and I only grab air
And it kills me to think
That you never did care and it’s hopeless
You’ve always gone off somewhere else

And I’m throwing a tantrum
Why are you such a phantom

Reminds me of home
When you’re around me
Next time you leave
Don’t go without me

where there is love {past or present},

 there is art.

horse pens 40.

during a not so happy time in my life i went on hikes every sunday. it was my ritual. sometimes i would watch tears hit the ground with every step, but it was sacred time for me. thankfully i am in a happier season of life. now going on hikes remind me of how far i've come, and how far i have yet to go. there's something very reassuring about being in near solitude in nature.

this sunday i took one of my dearest to my favorite hiking spot- horse pens 40. there's not another place like it in the great state of alabama. it's a hidden gem. the boulders of horse pens 40 are historical both during the trail of tears and during the civil war. it also happens to be "the home of the south's bluegrass music." walking into the park i imagine the story i've heard of emmylou harris' standing barefoot on the rocks during her first public appearance. to top it off the lookout point is remarkable. so we packed a picnic and were on our way...  take a look {if you wish}:

where there is love {to explore}, 

there is art.

home girl.

part of me feels like i wrote this song.

maria is a birmingham girl. and mercy! she can write a good song.

where there is love, there is art.

i love this girl.

the end.

where there is love, there is art.

summer time and the livin' is easy.

as evidenced by iPhone app shots. 

where there is love, there is art.

let me tell you about a rockstar...

my brother is one of the greatest rockstars i know. i tell him this as often as i can. but here is a story to exhibit just what i'm talking about. when i heard about this first-hand i couldn't help but cry. this kid is absolutely resilient, and i could not be more proud. here is an article written about him below from al.com:

Eight hours after he left the Stillwater Medical Center, where he was treated for a high fever and migraine headache, Alabama junior golfer Hunter Hamrick teed off Tuesday afternoon in the NCAA Championships at Stillwater, Okla.

Imagine what he would have shot if he had been healthy.

Hamrick shot a 1-under par 71 to help put Alabama in third place after the first round.

"I would go to war with that guy," Alabama coach Jay Seawell said of Hamrick. "Trey (Mullinax) got off to a horrible start, and we didn't know if Hunter could go or how many holes he could get in.  I wasn't sure if he could go 18 holes. For Hunter to go out there and shoot 1-under par, for as bad as he felt, I am very proud of him."

Fellow junior Bud Cauley began his last hurrah as a college golfer with a 2-under-par 70, and that combined with Hamrick's toughness got third-ranked Alabama off to a good start.

But second-ranked UCLA was better, and fourth-ranked Georgia Tech was the best.

Alabama shot an even-par 288 in the first round on the par-72, 7,416-yard Karsten Creek course. That put the Crimson Tide five shots behind Georgia Tech and two shots behind UCLA.

Playing on its home course, top-ranked Oklahoma State is in eighth place at 4-over-par, nine shots out of the lead.

The six-day event features three rounds of stroke play, after which the 30-team field will be cut to the top eight for three days of match play.

Cauley had five birdies and three bogeys.

"I played well," said the Jacksonville, Fla., native, who will turn pro next week. "I made some birdies. I hit a couple bad shots and made some bogeys, but that is going to happen out here. I just tried to make sure I did not make any doubles and then see if I could hit the fairway and score."

But Cauley was upstaged by Hamrick's performance. The Montgomery native had four birdies and three bogeys.

He was at the hospital from 11 p.m. until 4:30 a.m., then teed off at 12:40 p.m.

"I don't feel good," Hamrick said after the round. "I went last night and got some treatment, and that took a while. I didn't get much sleep. I felt better on the back nine. The front nine was kind of a struggle. I drank a lot of fluids, and I think the medicine was finally kicking in."

Hamrick said he worked his illness to his advantage.

"It just allowed me to play one shot at a time, which is what you have to do on a golf course this hard," he said. "I was just taking a step at a time, and that helped me play well. I couldn't get ahead of myself. I couldn't think about anything but moving along and hitting the next shot."

Hamrick said he had a sore throat last week and started battling the migraine four days ago.

"The migraine escalated into body aches and a fever," he said. "When I checked into the hospital last night, I had a 102 fever. When I came out this morning, I had a fever and it was hot. I think it broke on the back nine, because I was able to cool down a little on the back nine."

Freshmen Cory Whitsett and Bobby Wyatt each had an eagle to highlight solid rounds.

Whitsett had two birdies and five bogeys, but his eagle 3 on the par-5, 623-yard ninth hole, the last hole of his round, capped a one-over-par 71. With a hybrid club, he stroked his second shot within 7 feet of the cup and sank the putt.

Wyatt, a Mobile native, eagled the par-5 18th hole, the ninth hole of his round. That, combined with a birdie and five bogeys, added up to a 2-over-par 72.

Mullinax, a freshman from Gardendale, started his round with a 9 on the par-4 10th hole and went on to finish with a 12-over 84. Only a team's top four scores count each day.

one day, not too far away, this kid is going to make me famous. 

where there is {strength} in love, 

there is art.