May 2, 2011

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.

May 1, 2011

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.

April 29, 2011

happy weekend!

sweet sarah 
has a few things that make her 
happy.
1. the Chicago skyline
2. a Sanders Bohlke concert
3. watching Gilmore Girls dvds on a night IN.
4. porch/patio sitting with friends
5. Michael Buble music
6. Huey's Cheese fries
7. the Baltic Amber Voluspa candle scent
8. traveling to see friends in different cities
9. MARGARITAS + chips and salsa
10.  going to the movies
where there is love, there is art.

could you use something happy?

{other than the royal wedding}
because i could.

so here are the things that make 
alicia
say
"hooray for summer!"
meet pete.
1. that very first sip of diet coke
2. a good patch of good grass
3. an early summer morning stroll with pete {that's her dog}
4. a fantastic farmer's market find
5. bicycle commuting
6. guava jelly (its my jam)
7. summer camp. for real.
8. dreaming up plans (following through not necessary)
9. newfound freedom
10.  and the infinite abyss of possibility.
where there is love, there is art.



April 28, 2011

i could. i can.

i could take up this space.

giving and asking 
the reasons why...
why i love alabama
why i love my city, the magic city
why this tragedy happened
why i feel so blessed today
i could tell you the story of how... 
how i felt watching a tornado hover over downtown
how it felt to be on the phone with my little brother in tuscaloosa as we fearfully waited
or i could give you the what...
what on earth just happened? 
what is to come for those who lost so much? 
what have i heard about so-and-so
and then there's the who...
who do i know that lost their cars and homes
who do i know that can't be found

but the only thing that i can make sense of today is this:
that there is something 
i can do.
i can't control the why, how, what, and who. 
but i can do something now.
i can help my neighbor.

food and clothing distribution
this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
contact ansleyhayden@gmail.com for more information.

205.251.1160

Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency
205.254.2039

Boutwell Auditorium Shelter Center
donate bottled water, coffee, unopened diapers, prepackaged food
1930 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd. 
Donate to an area Food Bank

Conserve Water 
{if you are a resident of Birmingham or Tuscaloosa}

Donation drop off sites
 located at all Sears across the state.

alabamian or not.
we are all in this together. 

{preach it} where there is love, there is art.

April 27, 2011

happy list. by: ruthie.

today. 
this is what makes 
ruthie 
so incredibly
happy... 
thunder of louisville. taken by ruthie, herself.
1. music. today: the beatles.  
2. unexplainable joy
3. thinking about childhood in montgomery, barefoot and ditches. 
4. Truth
5. my friends
6. Birmingham
7. Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham's love story
8. gas station food, most specifically - coke.
9. freedom
10. ansleyhayden 
where there is love, there is art.
p.s.- keep 'em coming, folks!
happy lists to ansleyhayden@gmail.com

April 26, 2011

happy. happy. joy. joy.

it's about time. 
let me tell you what makes me
happy. 
right.
now.
well, for one, this little chickadee.
1. thinking about summer 2011.
2. the fact that the moonlight is back in the magic city.
4. a cold strongbow on the porch {of my future}.
5. that awesome thing the sunlight does late in the afternoon right now where it shines straight through the tree limbs. dang, that's great!
6. french bulldogs.
7. getting home from a day of doing exactly what i know i'm here to do. teaching.
8. a good break-up song.
9. hiking horse pens 40.
10. hearing from the person you want to hear from.

now: 
calling all happy folks--
tell me what makes YOU 
happy
email me: ansleyhayden@gmail.com
xx
where there is love, there is art.