speaking of paint

I'm so proud of one of my best girlfriends, Vitale Buford, who will be featured in her second art exhibit in Lexington. She's gorgeous, talented, fun and a wonderful friend - and that's before we even touch on her art!

The first Gallery Hop of the season kicks off tomorrow night - if you're in town, check it out. It's a great night of community, art and fun. I love all the galleries, but tomorrow night, we'll be staking out the Bodley-Bullock House for her exhibit. Come on out!

Holy smokes! It's been the craziest around here lately. Lots and lots of deadlines, plus work on our home (new paint colors!), topped with travel, holidays, family and...whew. Plus this early warm weather confusion has spurred spring, returned to a frost, popped back to summer and generally wreaked havoc on allergies around here. Do you all have allergies because gosh darn, what are you supposed to do around here this time of the season, eh?


Keep on going I guess...so I'm thrilled that BG Louisville's spring issue (BG Lex here!) has just come through and it looks fab! There was even a wee launch party last night at Napa River Grill in partnership with YPAL, which is a great group of young professionals in the River City. The contributors to this issue brought some great content, like Forecastle...did I mention I have my tickets already? I DO!


Keeneland has also been rocking it out and so the girls and I hit it up this weekend and were a part of the record-breaking Bluegrass Stakes Day (awesome for hanging and cheering and betting and whatnot, but maybe not the greatest for parking - hello!). Maybe next weekend will be a teensy bit more manageable.


Oh, and there are letters up on Lexington's Trader Joe's location! Sad sack because it's not quite ready to go yet, but while Mer and I were up in the ville for the party last night, we stopped on by...just a quick stop.

hello world

You know those times that you just sink into work and life and business and forget how important it is to reflect on what's going on around you? That's been the last week! It's been amazingly busy with tons of assignments (yay, BG!), March Madness (GO BLUE!), new puppies (not mine) and time with friends (Maddy!). 


So here I find myself, nearly at the end of a Monday and I'm so thankful for how quickly (and productively) it went, and thankful for the time I've had this past week.


BG Lexington not only went to print, but it's out and looking good (and it should be online soon). I especially love the stories on our downtown nightlife, art scene and Keeneland (i can haz preddy dres?), not to mention my couple crush, Les & Aumaine (pictured with Victor). I've also nearly picked up the phone more than once to make a reservation at Sabio, but they don't open until April 12. Perfect timing for a new place in town...

In addition to the work life, there's been lots going on, like Mer getting a new puppy! I was in love at first sight and had to be reminded of my own lovie at home (and that I didn't need to adopt Brady's little sister). One of my other besties and I also made a road trip to visit an old friend who just had her first baby (more on this later!). 


And, of course, I could not neglect to mention hometown heroes, the Kentucky Wildcats! In the Big Blue Nation, it is GO TIME as we are t-minus HOURS until the championship game. C'mon boys, bring it home! 


There are just so many things going on right now, and while not every single moment is great and perfect and wonderful, it is life. It is happening. I am experiencing it. I'm thankful for that.

laws: murphy's and motion

Remember a few weeks ago, when my week started off like this? Well, I am here to say thank you so much to Lee at Ridge Construction. He's not only a friend of Jacob's from high school (the wayback!), he's super talented at so many things more intricate and interesting than fixing our bathroom ceiling (he does gorgeous remodeling work as well), but he still came over and spent a couple of mornings of his valuable time doing it anyway. Thanks, Lee! 


(we are totally hoping to bring Lee back for a few days on some projects that might be a little more fun - fingers crossed!)


Now we just have to choose paint colors, because if we're painting the ceiling, might as well, right? This little house is probably due for a couple of updates like that, but I am well aware of the pandora's box we're about to crack open by saying the words "paint swatches". Wish me luck...


P.S. I am no brainiac, but I did once do an entire science project illustrating Newton's laws of motion with The Far Side cartoons, so I can speak to how physical law seems to apply to our bathroom woes. You know the one that goes, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."? That definitely happened Monday night. Just about the time that the project on the ceiling was nearing completion, the counterweight on our old, double-hung windows broke, slamming the window closed and breaking the glass in the process. Come on, now. Come on. What the FAIL. 

late to the party

Do you play social games? I'll admit, when I realized that playing a social game on Facebook was going to be a part of a story I was writing for BG magazine (just finished! headed your way!), I was not excited. All I could think about was the time I'd spent unsubscribing to feeds of Farmville-addicted friends (grumble). 


But then I grudgingly logged on to WeTopia, the brainchild of Lincoln Brown (Kentuckian, yay!) and his partners at SoJo (Social Joy) studios. While it might look like a typical social game, what sets this particular diversion apart is not the addictive part (it became, despite my best efforts, a serious time sucker), but the charitable aspect. SoJo donates 50% of profits to hand-picked charities and players can help determine where some of those funds go, so while you are spending time playing a social game (meh?) you're "playing for good" (hard to meh about, really).

my name is Anne, I have a WeTopia, and I'm proud of it!

I'm hardly the first one to discover this. When Lincoln and I sat down the other day to chat, I learned that Ellen and the Beib are fans and supporters, too. Good friends to have, I'd say, and WeTopia has grown like crazy in the short time it's been around thanks in part to the grass roots fandom that's sprung up around its do-good determination. Way to go, SoJo, you make Kentucky look good!

Check out more on WeTopia, SoJo and Lincoln in BG Spring 2012! It will be out soon. Way to go BG team!

cultivate grate(fulness)

Good Monday morning! I hope you guys had a great weekend. Over here it was one of those perfect weekends that seemed to be simultaneously relaxing and productive, with a nice balance of movie-going, St. Pats reveling, outdoor walks, necessary tasks and some work completed. It's amazing to have time like that because I can spend an hour messing with my cuticles (an obsession) and not feel guilty about it because the dishes are done and there's laundry a-spinnin'.


I'm just thankful that I have work to do, thankful for the weather, thankful for my friends...just so many things, which brings me to the weekend wisdom.


One of my best friends is a real-life Southern pageant girl ("Watch me do my pageant walk."). She's an Alabama girl all the way, from the perfectly-pedicured-gulf-dipped toes to her always-in-order hair (Even when it's been like five days from a wash or just out of the ocean, I swear.). She's also the daughter of the most gracious, beautiful, fun and sweet mama and a Southern Methodist minister. Her friends are lucky to know her, but we're also lucky to get to know her mama, and daddy, and aunts, and cousin, and brothers...even her sister-in-law! They're a pretty great bunch, and it's something special when you have friends with whom you can share family, too.


Yesterday, we took a stroll through the Lexington Cemetery. This spot is a treasure in our town, with some of the most exquisite gardening lining meandering paths that pass by ponds, benches and bridges. It is a cemetery, yes, but it seems designed to be a place for reflection, not only sadness. It's also inspiring because of the history there. Henry Clay, one of Kentucky's most famous figures, rests there and family plots are places of pride and meticulous care. It seems to be a place of such evident love and care that it nearly balances the pain of mourning it necessarily represents.


So during our time yesterday, my dear friend shared a bit of wisdom from the Reverend Mike Sigler that I want to also share with you, it was so encouraging. If the Mondays are getting to you or if you just find yourself feeling kind of down, think about this (I hope I get it mostly right):


The person is made up of three main parts: body, spirit and mind. You have to take care of each of them every day. For the body, remember you must give it good food and exercise. For the spirit, remember that you must connect with a higher power; pray and meditate. For the mind, remember to make it strong; when your weak thoughts are getting the best of you, fight them by actively cultivating a spirit of gratefulness.


It sounds simple, but it can be hard! We got in the car to head home and someone made a downer comment, so we said, "That will be three 'I'm gratefuls', please!"


For what are you grateful today?

crazy about...

Cloches. Bell Jars. Call them what you like. They are everywhere lately and they are gorgeous and clean and throwback and French...in the good way. 


I've been wishing for one - to do what with, I'm not sure yet - because they're just so pretty without being too feminine (you married ladies know what a challenge it can be to hang on that balance, right?). 

I picked one up today at a favorite shop, House by JSD. These three boys are so cool and they have the best taste ever. I totally want them to be my friends. Not only do they feature fun, affordable, collectible pieces for your home from furniture to decor, they also do the most beautiful, tailored interior design. And they are single-handledly bringing burlap back. I swear I have never been so enamored of burlap. It figured prominently in my Christmas decorations this year. Did I mention they also do custom wreaths and Christmas decorations? Let's just say this was not helpful to our wintertime budget. More on that later.


But for today, oh, I'm so excited to figure out what to pair it with now that I have it home. My first inclination was one of our French reproduction absinthe saucers, also from House. We'll see, I have a feeling I'll be switching it around a bit, giving each room a little time to be cloche...

appreciation

There is something undeniably intoxicating about the scents on a spring breeze; their composition a little tell of what is to come. This early morning, as I ducked out into our backyard with the pup, I stopped for a moment to breathe it in. Clean like new grass, sweet like early flowers, cool and tinged with rain. No season more than spring does the wind carry life and promise, and I think more than anything that's what I love about the season. I'll admit, I really love the freewheeling warmth of summer, but there's so much about spring I mourn when we [sometimes] skip over it in our hasty and odd Kentucky weather patterns or when I, in my own haste, wish it away as I look toward the next thing. 

Today, there will be rain and wind and spring. And today I will enjoy every minute of it and not wish for the next thing (I especially will not daydream about Keeneland - yet). And I will be thankful for everything I have and can do today. I will take a moment to appreciate how perfectly rumpled Jacob is when he wakes up. I will be excited about sharing ideas with intelligent and capable friends. And I will spend the whole entire afternoon playing in the kitchen and cooking with my sisters in law (I love being married to my husband, but I also love that marriage gave me my first sisters!) as we prepare to celebrate a birthday in the family this evening (Happy Day, Marge!).

I am going to enjoy this day. And be thankful for the ones that came before.

metaphors & madelyn

Happy Monday everyone. We awoke this morning to the most peculiar sight for March, a thick layer of spring snow! While I mourn my poor daffodils and tulips, it's always amazing to experience the soft, quiet blue mornings of winter. And even though it's supposed to be spring, I'll take it (for now). We were short on snow this winter, after all.  

Another surprise that greeted me this morning was the birth of a dear friend's daughter! I'm thrilled to welcome baby Maddy into our sisterhood (she's the first baby in our little group). I can't wait until we can get over to visit her and mama and papa. Congrats! 

*

I'm also excited for the time that we can do all kinds of fun girlie things with her and her mama, and carry on our favorite traditions like shopping and beach vacations and mani/pedis and getting in only a tiny bit of trouble. In the mean time, I've been inspired try out this little project, courtesy of sweet friend, fabulous photographer, and super-momma-of-two (and, incidentally, something of a seamstress), Elizabeth Chapman. I love sewing, but I must admit I'm a bit of a novice, so this may be a practice, practice, practice situation. And since that can take a while, I think I'll have Elizabeth whip one up for me. Thank goodness for talented friends! 

*I'll try to see if I can locate the pattern and post it once I know from whence it came...

is this work?

One of the things I get to spend time on in my writerly pursuits is working with my longtime-friend, fellow-blogger and sometimes-editor, Meredith Lane. She's always sending me out on assignment to talk with the coolest people. People I end up admiring by the end of our too-short times, people with interesting stories and brave pursuits and lots of joie de vivre. People I always wish were my friends...sometimes I get my wish. 

Nathan & Maggie Mick (see page 30), for example. I had the blastiest of blasts with them at their home in Lancaster last year (even though it was an hour each way to get there in a torrential downpour!), where they served up a dinner (so above and beyond for a meeting with a writer) of Garrard-county specialties and some fun stories. Now Nathan is running for state representative. So exciting - good luck Nathan! 

Stella's Kentucky Deli

And then this morning I met with Les Miller and Aumaine Mott of Stella's Kentucky Deli and Al's Bar (and a bunch of other things, actually) for a profile that will be published in the Spring issue of BG Magazine. I left that little get-together with a hankering for my favorite Stella's meal (Fried Green Tomato BLT) and a side of Al's (Hand-Cut Sweet Potato Fries), as well as a total crush on this sweet, enterprising, community-oriented couple. 


Is this work? Come on. Life is too sweet.