my march favorites.

Here's what I've been loving this month...

1. American Shakespeare Center - Did you know that the world's only re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor theatre, the Blackfriars' Playhouse, is in Staunton, Virginia? I went with friends to see a production of the parody The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) in college, but hadn't been since. My co-teacher's parents got tickets for our whole English team for Christmas, and we had a wonderful day driving up to see The Merchant of Venice and eat dinner at the Mill Street Grill.

2. The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima - Several of my male students had recommended this fantasy series to me, so I was surprised when I finally got around to checking out The Demon King from the library, with its super-masculine cover art, and finding out that one of the main characters is a feisty princess! The other MC is a streetlord who's basically a combination of Aladdin and Han Solo. These are definitely time-consuming books to read (each one weighs in at over 500 pages), but I really enjoyed getting lost in the unique fantasy world Chima has built, which includes a matrilineal society that feels medieval, an indigenous culture based on eastern Native American societies, and a magical college.

3. Old Navy Clover Necklace - I picked this dainty necklace up around St. Patrick's Day, but it's also perfect as a 4-H necklace for me :)

4. REN Evercalm Rescue Mask from Sephora - When I got back from my business trip to Indiana last month, my skin was a mess from staying in a hotel and air travel - I had acne on my cheeks, which is really unusual for me. I had a little sample bottle of this mask from Sephora, which is a little thicker than a normal day moisturizer. I used it morning (under makeup) and night (after washing my face) for about a week and it made a huge difference. The full-size version is a pricey product but I feel like it'll be worth it if used sparingly for skin emergencies!

5. Indoor Rock Climbing - The Bible study I've joined tries to have a fun activity in the community each month, and this month we visited a rock climbing gym in Roanoke. I hadn't done any climbing since I worked as a 4-H camp counselor in college and was surprised by how easy it was to pick back up. I didn't realize how much my upper body strength had improved since I've become a yoga junkie! It doesn't hurt the fun factor that the River Rock gym shares a building with Wasena Tap Room!

this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...
LISTEN.

• I've been listening to the Hamilton Mixtape nonstop since my mom gifted it to me for Christmas - my current favorite track is Usher's version of "Wait for It." I need this on a poster in my classroom: "I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original."

SWOON.

Studio McGee

• Studio McGee's fresh take on country club decor.
• From APW, a relaxed and pretty purple wedding.
• A calming master bedroom from House Tweaking.
• Featured on SMP, a chic DC engagement session.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Geninne, Sea of Atlas, Mospens Studio.
• Watch Joe Biden receive the Medal of Freedom...
• and a record-breaking female astronaut's spacewalk.
• Wishlisting Cristina's picks for a home yoga space.

FLASHBACK.

• 2016: a goal-setting moodboard, fave streaming shows, and entertainment picks.
• 2015: Top 3's, cranberry wardrobe updates and black, white, and blush inspiration.
• 2014: favorite Instagrammers and red amaryllis inspiration.
• 2013: January blog loves.

What are you loving this week? Share your favorites

or link to your most recent blog post in the comments!

#5FandomFriday: Make-Up Friday - 5 Broadway Roles I'd Love to Play

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week, I'm joining in with a make-up topic I missed the first time around that seems timely following the Tony Awards: 5 Broadway Roles I'd Love to Play. One fact about me that I haven't written about too much on this blog is that I studied dance from second grade through college - by high school, I was spending hours each week in ballet, pointe, lyrical, modern dance, liturgical dance, and clogging classes, with the occasional jazz or hip-hop workshop thrown in for good measure. I often wish I'd pursued drama classes but they didn't fit into my very academically driven schedule in high school and were almost impossible to get into in college. While I appreciate serious theater (I did take every Shakespeare course offered at UVa!), I'm a huge geek when it comes to musicals. Give me song and dance every day of the week (and twice on Saturdays!). Here are the 5 roles I'd really love to play in the alternate universe where I took voice and drama lessons along with dance classes...

1. Velma Kelly in Chicago - Chicago is my absolute favorite musical and my favorite character is definitely Velma - Roxie may be the protagonist, but Velma knows exactly what she wants and how to get it, and her fire burns hot from "All That Jazz" through "Hot Honey Rag." I probably first learned about Chicago when the 1996 revival was getting publicity on TV and Bebe Neuwirth was making the rounds on talk shows as Velma. The combination of 1920's style and Bob Fosse choreography is pretty irresistible for me. Plus, I'd love to have a good excuse to get that flapper haircut and blunt bangs.

2. Penny Pingleton in Hairspray - Going from a bad girl to total naïveté with a rebellious edge, Penny Pingleton is Tracy Turnblad's loyal best friend in Hairspray. I thought Penny was a cute character as played by Amanda Bynes in the 2007 film version (my introduction to Hairspray), but loved the nerdier/more awkward way the character was played in the 2009 traveling production of the play. Bonus: the verse "If they try to stop us, Seaweed, I'll call the NAACP" is one of the best lines in the whole play.

3. The Girl in the Yellow Dress - A Broadway role where I wouldn't have to sing? Yes, please. I was in high school when I saw this performance from Contact on the Tony Awards and I wanted to be the Girl in the Yellow Dress so badly. At the time, the choreography didn't look nearly as intimidating to me as it does now.

4. Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun - Clearly, watching the Tony Awards as a high school student had an effect on my life because I still sing "Old Fashioned Wedding" all the time. I want to be Bernadette Peters.

5. Éponine Thénardier in Les Miserables - Éponine is such a complex character - after being spoiled as a young child by her terrible parents, she is brought low by poverty and falls in love with the equally poor boy next door. Even though she now understands that her parents are the worst, she still tries to help her family while also mostly doing right by Marius. Éponine breaks my heart.

#5FandomFriday: Fandoms I Couldn't Get Into

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week, we're being honest about the fandoms we just can't get into (don't hate me if I don't love your fave!)

• Dr. Who - A lot of people in the same fandoms I am (especially Harry Potter) LOVE Dr. Who - my friend Tiff owns a cardboard cutout of David Tennant as the Doctor. I think part of the reason I'm not a Whovian is because I am intimidated by a fandom that's been around for such a long time, and I have no idea where to start. I've liked the few episodes of the show I've seen on BBC America, but not enough to want to start watching on a regular basis, let alone watch every single episode ever or have an opinion about which actor makes the best Doctor.

• Hamilton - All of Tumblr seems to be obsessed with Hamilton, and while I'm sure it is awesome, I can't fangirl over a play I haven't seen. Lin-Manuel Miranda seems like an awesome guy, the songs are fun, and I love that the show has an intentionally diverse cast, but I don't think I'd be able to listen to the soundtrack and make sense of the story the way so many fans obviously have.

• DC Comics - I wasn't always the superhero-loving lady I am today; my "gateway drug" was the X-Men movies that came out when I was in high school with Anna Paquin as Rogue. Since then, I've pretty much only cared about the Marvel universe. While I have enjoyed the Supergirl television series so far, the big DC heroes, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman just do not hold the appeal for me that the X-Men, the Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Defenders, and the Guardians of the Galaxy do.

• Game of Thrones - Part of my absence from the GoT fandom is probably me not having HBO, but I haven't even tried reading the books despite several friends recommending them to me. A fantasy medieval universe with dragons does indeed seem like my sort of thing. I feel like I need to finish the Outlander books and the other series fiction I read before taking on another big fictional universe.

• Downton Abbey - I always wanted to get into Downton Abbey because it's pretty much my mom's #1 fandom. I love history, I love British stuff, I love Maggie Smith, so it should be a no-brainer, but I always seemed to be watching something else when Masterpiece Theater aired the episodes. I just haven't had the desire to go back to the beginning of the series and figure out the storyline. The costumes look really pretty, though.

#5FandomFriday/The Circle: Holiday Traditions

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week's #5FandomFriday topic is holiday traditions, which is also one of the topics for The Circle link-up this month. I wrote about some of our family's traditions back in 2012 for Sunday Social, and it's interesting to look back and see what's changed and what hasn't.

5. Attending a Play - This is a new tradition my BFF Breeze and I decided to start this year. She got a hankering to see a play this fall, and when I found out that one of my childhood dance studio friends who is bound for Broadway stardom had gotten a part in Mill Mountain Theatre's production of 42nd Street we set a date. When we saw that next year's season includes White Christmas we decided a theater must become an annual event! We are so lucky to have some amazing drama venues in Virginia, including the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, which is one of the oldest theatres in America and the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton.

4. Dodgeball! - A few years ago, the P.E. department at my school started the tradition of having a charity dodgeball tournament the last week of the fall semester. Eighth grade's is the last day (and the last hour!) of school before break, so we have the Red team versus the Green team, the kids wear Santa hats to play, and the last round is teachers versus students, with the teachers wearing the most ridiculous holiday/athletic outfits we can put together - one of our Civics teachers played in a Clark Griswold sweater and Captain America socks this year. The kids go crazy cheering for their teams, make posters, and paint their faces, and we don't have many discipline problems that day because they are so happy.

3. Fashions for Evergreens - This is another tradition Breeze and I have and we're trying to get as many friends involved as possible. The beautiful Hotel Roanoke hosts a charity event where local businesses and organizations decorate Christmas trees that are displayed throughout the lobbies and halls of the hotel. Here are my pictures from last year's event.

2. Small Town Christmas Celebrations - I was raised in a small town and love the little community where I live now. Give me a short parade with miniature horses, high school marching bands, baby baton twirlers, and fire trucks over huge floats any time! My town hosts an annual Christmas celebration where the streets are closed to traffic and fill with vendors selling food, crafts, and Christmas decorations. There are also carriage rides, local performers, pictures with Santa, and a group carol sing. It's a lot of fun and we always see lots of friends, students, and family members while we are there. This year we took Breeze's one-year-old niece for her first picture with Santa - which, of course, ended in tears.

1. Family Christmas Gatherings - I think Mr. Q and I are lucky that negotiating where we spend the holidays has been fairly easy so far. Growing up, my family spent Christmas Eve with my maternal grandmother at our house and Christmas Day at my maternal grandmother's house with my huge extended family, but both of my grandmothers passed away when I was a teenager. Since before Mr. Q and I were married, my mom and I have joined his extended family for Christmas Eve dinner and gingerbread, watching A Christmas Story, and exchanging gifts (always youngest to oldest). On Christmas Day, we head over to my uncle's house in the mountains for more yummy food, visiting my cousins, and hearing stories from my mom's childhood in rural Kentucky and Southwest Virginia - I think I learn something new about my family every year. 

paper chase: movie and theater-inspired save the dates

Previously while chasing the best paper goods from around the web, I've featured save-the-dates inspired by sports and music.  Today, I've rounded up chick save-the-dates inspired by the movies and theater - perfect for the union of two cinemaphiles, actors, or fans of Old Hollywood.  Save-the-dates are the perfect opportunity to have a little fun with wedding planning.

Miranda Olive on Etsy via Venue Safari

This save the date suite by Miranda Olive featured text that could only be read with the enclosed 3-D glasses... it's an idea that's a little geeky, definitely fun, and way cool.

Letterbox Ink || Old Hollywood Movie Ticket by NoblestHeart on Etsy

Love these ticket-inspired save-the-dates, which can be fully customized with your names, date, and wedding location.  These designs would be so perfect for a black-tie wedding with vintage flair.

"Popcorn" by Deeply Impressed

"Art Deco" by Origami Prints on Zazzle

Wit and Delight

"Marquee Date" by Jill Means on Minted

This marquee-inspired design is modern and fun.

Heather C. Johnson Photography via Confetti Daydreams || via Weddings by Lilly

Love this idea!  With a little help from a local independent theater, classic marquee signs present a perfect engagement photo opportunity that can double as the perfect save-the-date.

Bryant Hardwick

This movie-poster inspired save the date is completely unique, and makes an adorable keepsake.

Theater save-the-date from SouthCityPress on Etsy

Finally, for future newlyweds whose tastes run a little more toward the stage than the screen, these red curtain-inspired invitations with an art deco font are the perfect way to set the tone.

Which of these save-the-date ideas is your favorite?