the abrams.

mr. mayfield was right/write on when he penned the lyrics "show us the meaning of lives entwined" for these two. mia and michael abrams have a unique love for one another. it's sweet and it's inspiring. 

photo by rob ingram. 

q: how did you guys meet?
a: we met through mutual friends. michael was living with three guys and i was living with three girls. he actually knew two of the girls i was living with. he lived across the street and down two blocks. we met when he came over to help us rearrange furniture and move in. 

q: mia, what do you find most attractive about michael? michael what do you find most attractive about mia?
a: my favorite thing about michael is that he loves everyone. i'm his wife and he is so loving and kind to me. but the special thing about him is that he treats everyone with such love. from the person he has just met, to the friends he has grown up with. 

photo by rob ingram.

mia was first attractive to me because she cared about others more than herself. i've never been around someone who was so genuinely excited about the things that her friends are excited about. she rejoices with those she loves when they are happy, and weeps alongside them when thy are sad. from a martial standpoint, i couldn't ask for a better helpmate. i'm a dude. i always want to stay up a little too late, play guitar a little too long, and sometimes even have one too many "adult beverages." she thinks for me and wants to help me make the best decisions. she is the "big picture" to my "in the moment" life, if that makes sense. the special thing about this is that she wants me to make wise decisions and be the best me i can be, but she is always so gentle about it. she has always let me be who i am, but has carefully confronted me about her concerns. i couldn't ask for a better wife!

photo by rob ingram.

q: what work of art best represents your love for one another?
a: music. this is probably just because music makes me feel more than any other medium ever has. the funny thing is, some of my favorite songs are now much more special to me when i listen to them with her. 

q: what do you guys think is the key to loving?
a: look, i'm just gonna get this out there because i believe it to be true- i think the gospel is the key for me in loving mia, and anyone else for that matter. i genuinely believe that i'm inherently selfish and that i wasn't able to love others until i was loved. we both see our selfishness daily and are constantly challenged to put the other person before ourselves. love is work. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. i will say, however, it's the hardest and most enjoyable thing i've ever experienced. 

where there is love, there is art. 

in tune with olivia.

man! how i love this picture and this girl. 

she just looks cool, doesn't she? i happen to think she's absolutely wonderful. i consider her a kindred spirit though she is: 1. much cooler than I am. 2. a great deal younger than i. 
the secret is she impressed me with her passion for and opinion on "good music." if ever you want to know the secret to earning my respect, impress me with your taste in music. i have been known to love every type of music. however, there is a difference in good music and bad music. i explained this to my students just the other day. i told them one of my many goals for the school year is that when they leave my class for summer that they would have a deep appreciation for good music {and that does not mean justin bieber, despite popular opinion}. 
so here is a look into the current playlist of miss liv:
"well i feel like all of my music pretty much changes with the season, like bon iver and ingrid are put aside for a while. also, i don't really get stuck on certain songs. but i do get stuck on artists. so for that i will have to say right now it's...
beirut.

wilco {who is coming to our mutual hometown of montgomery, alabama. shock!}

cat stevens {always}.


dr. dog

the head and the heart

larkin poe {previously the lovell sisters}

{these chicks right here are so up the ansleyhayden alley. gimme that bluegrass! all the time}.
thank you little miss olivia. 
i was once told by a friend that i met after college that she did not like me in college because she thought i was pretentious. that i gave off the vibe that i thought my taste, especially in music, was far superior to everyone else's taste. perhaps that could be true? guilty. 

where there is love, there is art.

so this is it?

as many of you know this little girl has been the greatest blessing of my life the past two years. not only her, but her wonderful parents who i call my "bosses." two years later this family has become my family.

"for everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose." it is bitter sweet to say that this season is coming to a close. i knew 2011 would be another year of great change. graduate school is wrapping up, and it's time that i live out my passion. my career as a teacher is beginning. finally a classroom of my own. it's kind of a dream come true.

within a matter of days i will officially be "ms. hamrick"  to some of the brightest 7th graders on the planet. i am unsure what this will mean for where there is love, there is art. but stick around... i can only handle so much change in one week.

where there is love, there is art.

disordered and deadly.

everyone has skeletons in their closet. well here is one of mine. 

i've binged. 

i've purged. 

i've starved. 

i've over exercised. 

i've wrestled with loving myself and my body. 

it's pretty sobering to see it written in black and white. 

but it's time we talk about it. 

this week is national eating disorder awareness week. the annual theme is, "it's time to talk about it." i happen to agree. it's time to talk about what eating disorders are and what they look like. eating disorders are black, white, short, tall, men, women, rich, poor, fat, and thin. 

eating disorders destroy lives and families. eating disorders kill people. in fact, eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness that exists. a recent study found that 60 percent of American women eat in "disordered ways" (psychologytoday.com). another 10 percent have a diagnosable eating disorders. to live with an eating disorder is not to truly live. 


i live without a scale. 
i take my focus of off food and on healthy living. 
i love myself and my body. 


i'm proud to announce that my alma mater {samford university} is participating in a candlelight vigil for eating disorder awareness. tomorrow {wednesday} night from 7-8 p.m. in reid chapel. locally, in birmingham, there is a renown eating disorder clinic that has proven to save lives {magnolia creek} that will be hosting the event. you can "light" a candle online to honor lives touched by eating disorders by going here.

for more information on eating disorders go here. or you can gain personal insight on eating disorders by visiting the blog of one of my best friends and sisters, elizabethann, at mourning restoration. 

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

Vincent Van Gogh

where there is love {of yourself and your body},

 there is art. 

like a wild mountain rose.

paparazzi.

meet my friend alicia. 

she is one of the most interesting people i know. full of life and an adventurous spirit. i think i could just sit and talk to her for days, never getting bored or having an awkward silence. i think you would find this to be true as well. 

q: please explain what it is that you do {occupation}? 
a: well, i am a nurse. a registered one at that. i've worked mainly in trauma-surgical intensive care and i've loved it. really, it's fun! over the past year, i've turned into a "travel nurse." a gypsy nurse. a professional nomad. i'm contracted out and move every 3-4 months to hospitals that are short staffed and need a quick fix- and a already trained nurse they can use to fill the holes brought on by (for instance) an unexpected boom in patient census. i guess it's kind of like a frozen dinner... it'll get you by for the time being, it's quick and requires little effort in the preparation. 

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, right across from where our camp was.

q: how did you make the decision to be a "travel nurse?"
a: last year i found myself at a crossroads in life. i had what my mom calls the "travel bug" (and i get that from her...) and this desire to move on. i had no idea where i wanted to "end up" in life... and I didn't feel ready to embark on the inevitable grad school journey. yet i wanted a little more out of the here and now. enter travel nursing. the parents were "less than amused" at me wanting to move so far from home. "why? when you have such a great life here?" it was true, i was unbelievably happy in alabama. i had a great job with great people and my family was close at hand. but there's a whole big country out there that needs exploring. why wait, when you have nothing but a little unknown holding you back? i knew i'd regret it if i never went. plus, this gig is essentially a sampler platter of cities. i could take and learn from each one, stay just long enough to get comfy then hit the road for something new. so i packed everything i could fit in my car, my dog pete as co-captain, and off we went. 

hollywood & highland.

q: what is the greatest lesson you've learned through this experience?
a: i can easily say this has been the best year of my life thus far. i turned 25. for my birthday i got some smile lines and a few life realizations. maturity milestones! i'd say the best thing i've learned this year is tolerance. i've been exposed to new personalities and cultures i would have never experience back "home." i've been in awesome situations and terrible situations. through all of this i've learned the importance of that unconditional love that makes the world go round. everyone and everything is unique, and there's something worth loving about each part of it all. 

my birthday lunch. i wanted LA's finest bacon wrapped hotdog.

q: what is it that you love?
a: things i love? oh the list goes on! my favorite loves: pete {her dog}, my hometown {huntsville}, a brass section, organ and a gospel choir {preferably all together}, moss, bulleit bourbon, mail, mixtapes, smartwools, procrastination {guilty pleasure}, cupcakes, the great unknown. 

me and my brother, alex, after "the game."

where there is love {and the travel bug}, 

there is art.

there's no way y'all don't already know about my katiegirl.
she's basically the cutest thing on two legs. is she not?
i'm real, real proud of her. so i show her off on here... because i can!
and i'm totally obsessed with this little behind the scenes video.
probably because 1.) i'm a huge fan of where the wild things are and 2.) katiegirl. 
but check this out:


birmingham sure does have some talented folks. like check out those folks at proper measures. holy moly!

where there is love, there is art.

the story of a sad girl.

i love to tell happy stories.
but today i tell you my pity party, sob story.
this weekend it was in the cards for me to go here... with my girl friends.

oh my, nola.

then, my parents are going here... to my happy place.

my beach house.

and my brother is going here... to a beautiful place.

puerto rico.

instead, i remain. in bed. getting better? i hate being sick. i hate it so much. i'm the worst sick person you know. i don't know how to be sick. totally counterintuitive to everything i am. dangit. if you have anything interesting i can read or watch or listen to. please, send it my way... ansleyhayden@gmail.com

where there is love, there is art.