#QOTD

These two tidbits of inspiration have spoken to me recently.

via

via

"I am not afraid, for my road is made open to me; I have God, my Lord, who will know how to make clear the route. It was for this that I was born." - Joan of Arc

Woodstock Music & Arts Fair

The Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, most commonly referred to as "Woodstock" occurred from August 15-18, 1969 on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York. During the rainy weekend, 32 acts performed for almost half a million attendees, even into the early hours of the morning. See the complete schedule here.

via

Abbey Road

via

The Beatles' Abbey Road photo shoot took place in London 44 years ago today. Photographer Iain Macmillan took the famous photo, which appeared as the cover on the last album they recorded together, but not the last album they released. Abbey Road was released on September 26, 1969. In the United States, Abbey Road spent eleven weeks at #1 and spent a total of 83 weeks on the charts.

Have you heard of the conspiracy that Paul is Dead? The Abbey Road  cover plays in to this conspiracy.  John, George, and Ringo are crossing the street as a funeral procession. John is wearing all white, like a clergyman. Ringo, as the mourner, is in all black. George, in jeans, is the gravedigger. Paul wears no shoes, even though it was very hot that August day in London. He walks out of step with the other three. Read more here.

Just to brighten your day

"I can do anything good"

Light up the sky

June 11, 1963

via

Today is the 50th anniversary of Alabama Governor George Wallace's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" and the successful integration of The University of Alabama by James Hood and Vivian Malone. Wallace blocked the door to Foster Auditorium, where UA students registered for classes, until he was forced to move by the Alabama National Guard under orders from President Kennedy. 

Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood via

"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened." - John F. Kennedy 

Autherine Lucy was the first African American enrolled at The University of Alabama in 1956, but she was expelled after just three days. 

Read more about how The University of Alabama is commemorating this anniversary with Through the Doors. 

Further reading on this subject: The Schoolhouse Door: Segregation's Last Stand at The University of Alabama by E. Culpepper Clark and Opening the Doors: The Desegregation of The University of Alabama and the fight for Civil Rights in Tuscaloosa by B.J. Hollars. 

Buy

Buy

During my time as a student at Alabama, I was able to see a closed Foster Auditorium come to life again as the home of women's basketball and volleyball and have been able to walk through the doors myself. 

I have also heard B.J. Hollars speak twice on his books. 

S-ART-urday (Jasper Johns)

I have really been drawn to this Jasper Johns piece recently.

Map, 1961 via

I love this piece because you can obviously tell what it is, but there is still a sense of flexibility and chaos in the borders, really melting the states together in a way. It's very fitting for my life right now because I am about to start working for Pi Beta Phi as a traveling Leadership Development Consultant. I will be traveling the country visiting college campuses to support Pi Phi's collegiate chapters with recruitment, leadership development, chapter organization, or officer education. I am more than excited to start this journey with the nine other women selected as LDCs! I think the key to enjoying this year will really be to relish flexibility and understand that things aren't always going to happen the way you planned them. This is something I have really been trying to work on with my type A personality, so I am excited for what this year will bring!

Just to get an idea of the size of the work via

Jasper Johns was born on May 15, 1930 in Augusta, Georgia. He was raised in South Carolina and moved to New York City at the age of 18. Johns often paints simple everyday objects and has been known to blur the lines separating art and reality.

Flag, 1954

Target with Four Faces, 1955 

Three Flags, 1958

Souvenir, 1970

Scent, 1975-76

Land's End, 1978

Voice 2, 1982

Summer, 1985 

Be All There

My friend Chelsea re-tweeted this Women's Humor tweet today that really got me thinking.

"Wherever you are, be all there." - Jim Elliot

How many times a day am I having a conversation with someone while distracted by something else? Probably too many to count. I need to remember to cherish everything and really live completely in the moment. Here are some pretty inspirational images for you to remember to be all there. 

via

via

via

S-ART-urday (Art Museum Day)

In conjunction with International Museum Day, today is Art Museum Day! 

International Museum Day was established by the International Council of Museums in 1977 to encourage public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society. International Museum Day is organized on or around May 18th each year. Last year, 32,000 museums from 129 countries participated in International Museum Day. Approximately 125 museums in the United States celebrated Art Museum Day by offering free admission or special programs. Click here to see which art museums in your area are hosting special events today.

What museums have you visited recently?

Check out these past blog posts for some of my favorite museum visits: Kentuck; Smithsonian; MoMA

Rick Bragg

Rick Bragg is one of my favorite authors. I have been lucky enough to hear him speak on a multitude of occasions as a student at The University of Alabama, where Bragg currently serves as a Professor of Writing.

I am no wordsmith myself, but to me, Bragg can encapsulate what it means to be Southern in one sentence. His words are smooth, slow, sweet and sticky all at the same time. You can hear his accent dripping off of every sentence in every book.

He also has a regular column in Southern Living; honestly one of the main reasons I am a subscriber.
His words make me laugh and cry; they warm my heart. His stories are relatable; I often think of my Nanny while reading.

Nanny and me, Thanksgiving 2012

He, to me, captures the South without trying too hard. As Bragg says in this video, "I don't want to write about us in cliches. We're too complicated for that. You want to make a mistake in writing about Southerners? Generalize. Rationalize. You'll make a mistake about Southerners." Check out more of Bragg's videos on Southern Living's YouTube channel.

He gives some of us words when we can't find them ourselves. Like this article he wrote after the tornado that destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and brought an abrupt end to my senior year of college.

No water, no power, in desperate need of showers. But we still managed to find the good in the bad and hold a candlelight for  Katie, celebrating her engagement, after the tornado had cancelled chapter Wednesday evening. 

If you are looking for a good summer read or two, check out some of Bragg's books below.

All Over but the Shoutin'

Ava's Man (my first encounter with Bragg's work; it got me hooked )

 Book discussion on Ava's Man (video) 

The Prince of Frogtown

Girls' Weekend

Last weekend, I went to Orange Beach with six of my best friends from college. I haven't seen one or two of them in over a year, but it was like we hadn't skipped a beat. The weather was cloudy all weekend, but that didn't stop us from having a blast!

Me, Julie and Susie at Cosmo's

Friday night group at dinner

Chelsea joined us for a Pirates Cove Saturday 

Mary Catherine and me with our newly engaged friend Catherine.
So excited to be her bridesmaid on May 10, 2014! 

Mary Catherine, Susie and Lydia

The group

I lived with all of these ladies in the sorority house for three years. We spent a ton of time together, and this weekend brought all those fun times back. 

This.