23 days

In just a few short weeks, I will be taking in the sites of Madrid, Spain with one of my best friends, Stephanie. With every pssing day, I become more and more anxious to get there! So until then, I will be delving into books and reading anything I can in preparation for the trip. Thanks to a dear friend, I can get started right away...

Here's to you, kid.

I spent close to an hour on the phone with a dear friend yesterday; however, the circumstances were slightly different from our usual phone catch-up sessions - it was a "see ya later" of sorts. As we were swapping stories from the last couple of weekends, laughing, and sharing our plans for the immediate future, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly proud of the young lady on the other side of the phone. Proud, and also envious (in the best way possible).

You see, this friend, she's following her dreams. Born a traveler in every sense of the word, she is jet-setting to Spain today where she will spend the next 10 months teaching English to students in Madrid. In my opinion, that is scary. And that fear is what held me back from doing something similar - from leaving the people and places that I know to go on a short adventure while I'm young and without major responsibilities. I may have wasted my chance, but Stephanie is taking full advantage of hers and for that I am so proud of her!

I'm making 23 cooler than 21

In honor of my BFF Brooke coming to Atlanta to celebrate my birthday with me and some of my closest friends:

I can't wait to ring in 23 tomorrow night like Katy Perry. 

And I am certain that I will say something like...

"I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm in a dance-off." -Andy, The Office

I'll bring dessert.

Tonight I went to a dinner party at a friend's house. She prepared a tasty entrée consisting of  arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette topping a breaded chicken breast, pasta, & a-mazing garlic parmesan bread rolls.  Someone else brought the wine. And I brought a dessert. 
I saw these white cupcakes with strawberry icing and fruit garnishing on one of my favorite blogs and thought it was the perfect summer treat! Plus, who doesn't love cupcakes? I was really looking forward to trying out a new recipe, and of course sharing these at dinner. My buttercream icing did not come out exactly  right (No wonder they always say never to try cooking something new before bringing it to share with others!) but luckily for me (and everyone who ate one), they still tasted good and the strawberry flavoring was light and tasty. It was a fun dinner party (especially meal preparation!) with old and some new friends, over a delicious meal and great conversation.

Martha Stewart's recipe for cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing.

JazzFest Friday

In typical Ansley fashion, I waited until the last minute to figure out what I wanted to do for my JazzFest Friday post. I didn't hardly think about it until today....which is Friday....the day I am supposed to post. And of course, when I got to work this morning I realized that the speakers on my computer are not working. Therefore, it made choosing a song nearly impossible to do on my own. 
Luckily, I have a friend who is somewhat freakishly obsessed when it comes to great artists, great melodies, and great songs. She is the one who introduced me to Mumford & Sons and The Avett Brothers. And in a span of 3 months she will have gone to Coachella, JazzFest, and Bonnaroo. So basically I trust her judgement on all things music. So when I sent her a text this morning asking for her genius insight, she suggested "Supply and Demand" and "Colors" by Amos Lee, with a side note that "Supply and Demand" is more up-tempo and fun (I would know this if I could hear the song). Since I am planning to have an incredibly fun weekend, I opted for this jam.

I'll be surrounded by old and new friends all weekend at the Braves game! Where will you be? Whatever you do, I hope it's great!

Counting down the minutes....

Today is Thursday. Which makes tomorrow Friday.

 And I am looking forward to the weekend!

{Sorry for that Rebecca Black moment}

I am extremely excited for this particular weekend because I will finally be reunited with all of my amazing friends from college to CELEBRATE the engagement of Elizabeth & Rusty!

I have been looking forward to this shindig for months now and it is finally right around the corner!

So while I really hate wishing away time, today I just might.

Photos from this great website. 

And thanks to Leigh for sharing that site with fellow bloggers and readers!

JazzFest Friday

New Orleans JazzFest in April/May will be the first music festival I will ever attend. Needless to say, I am quite excited! To truly show my excitement, every Friday until the festival will be "JazzFest Friday." I'll post a different video/song from some of the artists in the line-up.

This week, I wanted to share Mumford & Sons. I pretty much love them and I cannot wait to see them live! I have heard amazing things (from my friends who introduced me to the group) about their live performance.

Hope you loved it, my dear.

Brand New Year

Orlando is where it began. 2011, that is. I rang in the new year with some of my best friends and we had a blast! Not only that, but the first day of the year was spent watching Alabama beat Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. And for the last two days, the South has been hit with a snow storm which gave me an excuse to lay around, drink hot chocolate, and be lazy. Oh! And what snow day would be right without building a snow man?! A great start to what I hope to be an extremely fulfilling and exciting year.

Which brings me to my goals for 2011. Many people set goals and resolutions on January 1 of each year. I must admit that if I have ever made resolutions, they are generally forgotten by February. I'm hoping, however, that this year I can make it all the way. In an attempt to hold myself accountable I am posting my goals for all to read. Maybe you can help keep me accountable as well :)

Read at least one book each month. (I got this idea from my Dad. He has done this in the past, and I really liked it!)

Go to the gym, work out, and get in shape! And not complain while doing so. (At least 4x a week)

Become better at consistently keeping in touch with friends and family.

Cook or bake something new once every week.

I am hoping that by making a conscious effort to accomplish these goals, they will not only be "those things I did in 2011," but they will become my lifestyle. Only time will tell.

The Memories Live On

The year Two Thousand Ten is coming to end, and what a year it was! So much has happened over the last twelve months, and I wanted to share with you some of my favorite memories....

The University of Alabama wins the BCS National Championship on January 7, 2010.

And I was there!

ROLL TIDE.

1407.

Loved my roommates. Loved the times we had in that house.

Spring Break.

My oh my what a fun trip! The weather was sub-par, but plenty of good times were had.

We laughed, we danced, we gambled. 

Brooke karaoked to Cher. 

Adam proposed to Ashley. 

It was a wonderful trip with wonderful friends!

Senior Year...Our Final Sorority Date Parties.

Enough said.

         

           

Family Vacation in Western Europe.

An amazing experience with my incredible family. 

I can't wait until I can go back!

London, England

Paris, France

Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Graduation.

My time at the Capstone ended in August. 

It was a bittersweet moment, but something to celebrate and be proud of!

Visits to Tuscaloosa and Athens.

It is always an adventure to head back to campus for a football game. 

And visiting friends in Athens is always a whirlwind!

The best times are those shared with the people you love.

Goodbye 2010. It's been real. Can't wait to see what 2011 brings!

                   

For Brooke

In honor of my BFF coming to visit in just a few days (!!!!), I decided to share this clip from one of our fav movies--Step Brothers. While maturity and intelligence are slightly lacking from this film, laughs certainly are not.

          

Give Thanks

It is the most wonderful time of the year! And no, I'm not talking about Christmas. I love Thanksgiving. It is my absolute favorite holiday. I look forward to Thanksgiving all year! Why, you ask? Well.....The food. Family. The weather--generally cold but not freezing. College football rivalry match-ups all weekend. No gifts. No stress. It is perfectly acceptable to take a nap after you feast. And lastly, it is a whole day centered around being thankful. I encourage everyone to enjoy your Thanksgiving and wait until after this wonderful day to start getting caught up in the whirlwind that is the Christmas season. And be sure to tell all the people you care about that you are thankful for them. It is just a few simple words that go a long way. And it's what Thanksgiving is all about.

believe

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles." 
-Audrey Hepburn