midsummer according to instagram.

Here's what I've been up to lately via IG. I participated in several

Instagram style challenges this month... if you haven't seen them,

they are monthly calendars created by fashion bloggers with prompts

for each day's outfit. My reasoning: having some inspiration would

keep me from staying in my PJ's or gym clothes all summer! It

worked, and I had a lot of fun creating new outfits.

My cousin's college graduation was held at the beautiful

Jefferson Center (which was a high school in its former

life) in Roanoke. / Summer brights and a quirky color combo

(coral, gold, and purple) featuring my fave J. Crew tee

Nautical-inspired with an Old Navy pointelle sweater, Lia

Sophia jewelry and Lily & Laura bracelet / My garden in bloom

World's easiest craft: buy tassels and lobster clasps at Michaels

and add tassels to all your stuff! / Baseball inspired: how about

the NCAA National Champions! Go Wahoos!

In addition to being great practice shooting in macro mode,

I think this teeny tiny grasshopper was a reminder to

stop and appreciate the little things on a day that I was

really suffering with depression / Black and white, mixed

prints and a color pop all in one outfit

Remixing my favorite shorts and a bright Target tee with a

necklace my college roommate brought back from Kenya /

Lunch at Whisk in downtown Charleston aka my dream kitchen

Gorgeous sunset over Charleston as seen from Sullivan's Island /

Blue and teal with my favorite charm necklace from LOFT

 

Jeans and J. Crew jewels for a dentist's appointment (ugh) /

Neon flowers blooming on the patio make me smile

 

A Monarch butterfly in the garden at Boone Hall Plantation in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina / Back from vacation in a new

J. Crew fruit salad tank and DIY tassel necklace (obsessed)

What are you up to this summer? Follow me on Instagram here.

my spring in instagram.

So, I haven't posted an Instagram round-up since November. Lifestyle blogger fail. Just believe me when I say winter wasn't so bad this year, and spring has been pretty awesome.

School snaps: my kids have a sense of humor, but they can

also be deep thinkers when it's poetry analysis time.

 

New fitness routine: I have started a walking club that is a

spin-off of Mr. Q's cycling club - purple shoes and beautiful

countryside paths help me stay motivated.

More teaching life - a neon wall of homophone posters in 

my classroom and my sweet girls on our D.C. field trip.

Day trip to Raleigh - we picked up B's new bike and visited

the Flying Saucer's downtown location.

Easter at Elevation Roanoke with my sweet sister-in-law,

then picking up some new flowers for my container garden.

My sister-in-law's new ink and Paint Nite with my BFF, Breeze.

Mr. Q's relay team won the Smith Mountian Lake Triathlon

this year! It's a lot of fun to watch the swimmers, bikers,

and runners while hanging out at the State Park all day.

Breeze and I had a much-needed bestie weekend that included

seeing Ashley Monroe from the Pistol Annies perform in

a brand-new venue and a tasting at a local winery.

What are you up to this spring? Follow me on Instagram here.

clicks of note: we're home...

get your week off to a colorful start.

LISTEN.

• One of the great mysteries of the music world to me is that Matt Nathanson isn't a household name yet. "All We Are" came up on my Pandora and I realized I'd forgotten what a lovely song it is. I'm linking up with Musical Mondays at My So-Called Chaos.

SWOON.

• Jennifer Blair photographed this perfect beach wedding.
• DIY marbelized ribbon from Oh Happy Day - so pretty!
• Style Me Pretty features an elegant Rhode Island wedding.
• SW shows off a simple, lovely Memphis restaurant wedding.

SMILE.

• Digging a painted geometric welcome mat from The Crafted Life.
• Lovely Indeed's new series is so clever... art and style combined.
• Thrifty Decor Chick shares ways to fit storage all over the house.
• Vogue presents a history of the coolest French It Girl hairstyles.

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I shared a Sunday Social all about the 5's, joined the Literary Junkies link-up, rounded up beautiful bridesmaids in white, let Mr. Q take over the blog for a day, and recapped my April in entertainment.
• Two years ago I recapped my entertainment favorites from April and my spring in Instagram photos.
• Three years ago I shared my big goals for the future and wardrobe inspiration featuring Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango.

my fall in instagram: if you can't get a pony, be a pony.

I was surprised to realize that I haven't done a photo update since August!  As I mentioned in last week's post on Halloween costume ideas, this has been an especially busy fall for Mr. Q and I, for various reasons.  Here's a peek at what we've been up to!

Adding a little fall cheer to our outdoor and indoor spaces.

My Italian basil plant was growing out of control and I had

to snip off some branches to keep it from falling over.  It

dawned on me that I could put some in a vase, the way

people do with boxwood branches.  The smell is an extra perk.

The first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, a Friday gift from

Mr. Q, and a happy coincidence spotted while shopping.

There's a brand-new restaurant in town called The Bootlegger's

Café and we are in love.  Of course, the drinks are served in Mason jars.

My BFF Breeze and I decided to have the most autumnal day

ever - we visited a pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, make apple

seasoned pork chops and apple sangria, and watched football.

We couldn't resist these Virginia Tech and UVa themed hay bales!

Our tribe's Halloween pumpkin carving efforts - the middle two

started with stencils, but Breeze and I did the monograms freehand!

Mr. Q competed in his first Cyclocross race in Roanoke.  Cyclocross

is no joke - the bikers had to ride and jump over obstacles like 

telephone poles, a wooden wall, and a sand pit.

I participated in Color Me Rad with some lovely special education

teachers from my school - the proceeds go to Special Olympics so it was 

near and dear to our hearts.  I actually ran several parts of the course!

Halloween!  Mr. Q was so happy when he spotted this He-Man

costume that I decided we should go for an 80's theme.  When I

saw a My Little Pony hoodie, I was sold.  Hoodie costumes for the

win - most comfortable Halloween ever.  I also kind of want to dye 

my hair pink and purple for real because I loved being a rainbow.

Linking Up:

Be.You.Tiful at Maybe I Will