sunday simplicity

To Wander and Seek via Floridian Social

"O’er many a heath, through many a woodland dun, 
Through buried paths, where sleepy twilight dreams

The summer time away.” ― John Keats, Endymion

this week's clicks.

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

Jennifer Daigle Photography via Found Vintage Rentals

• Inspiration to throw more dinner parties outside.
• At SMP, a stunning organic wedding in Portugal.
• I can never resist a glam blush and gold wedding.
• Pretty DIY floral party goods from Tomkat Studio.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Oh So Lovely, Roost, Soggy Musings.
• Emily's family road trip makes a stop in Virginia.
• Kate Spade's new collection is for chic cat ladies.
• Juliette's Olympics questions made me LOL.

FLASHBACK.

• 2015: Visiting Sullivan's Island.
• 2014: A Sunday Social about my preferences, soft neutral summer wardrobe inspiration, music-inspired save the dates and wedding invitations.
• 2013: A forward-thinking Sunday Social, my favorite work outfit, colorful kitchen pieces, and inspiration for a soft coral and teal wedding.
• 2012: Navy blue wardrobe and home decor ideas, bohemian weddings and brides in forehead bands.

sunday simplicity.

Troy and Maria's Wedding by StudiOSnap

“Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on 
high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.”

― Vincent van Gogh

this week's clicks.

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

Gideon Photography via Ruffled

• IN LOVE with this chalkboard wedding inspiration.
• Digging the mudcloth trend in home decor fabrics.
• An elegant Harry Potter inspired wedding from APW.
• A super-elegant garden wedding from Snippet and Ink.

SMILE.

• Desktops: Design Is Yay, By Dawn Nicole, and May Designs.
• Women's Health shares a tour of the Olympic Village in Rio.
• Tonga's handsome Olympic flagbearer seems like a nice guy.
• My BFF and I both swooned over this Old Navy moto jacket.

FLASHBACK.

• 2015: Visiting Allie's house from The Notebook.
• 2014: A quirky Sunday Social and my first day of school teacher outfit.
• 2013: Back to the past with Sunday Social, aqua and lime wardrobe inspiration.
• 2012: This in-between season, vacation wardrobe inspiration, Kate Midleton's Olympic wardrobe and budget-friendly versions of her outfits.  
• 2011: Ideas for honeysuckle pink wardrobe and home decor.

sunday simplicity.

Reality and Retrospect via 100 Layer Cake

“Every spark returns to darkness. Every sound returns to 
silence. Every flower returns to sleep with the earth. 
The journey of the sun and moon is predictable. But 
yours is your ultimate art.” ― Suzy Kassem

#5FandomFriday: Make-Up Friday - 5 Characters I'd Name My Kids After

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge for female geek bloggers hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. You can learn more about the Female Geek Bloggers group here. This week, I'm catching up with a #5FandomFriday prompt I missed: characters I'd name my (future) kids after.

1. Emma - I've fallen in love with Once Upon a Time over the past couple of years, and while my favorite character was originally Mary Margaret, her daughter Emma Swan has taken first place in my heart. First of all, Jennifer Morrison is beautiful and a wonderful actress who deserves to win all the awards. Emma Swan is tough, clever, and fiercely protective of those she loves, and those are all qualities I would be proud to see in my future daughter. She also shares her name with my favorite Jane Austen novel.

2. Luna - One of my favorite Harry Potter characters by far is dreamy Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Even though she's suffered horrible tragedy followed by being the object of bullying in school, Luna remains sweet, kind, and always willing to help. She is humble and hardworking. In the books, I love the grounding effect she has on Harry, and the way he values her advice and spirit and chooses to be her friend no matter what others may think.

3. Claire - I love escaping into history and romance through the Outlander books, and Claire Randall/Beauchamp/Fraser is one of my favorite narrators of all time. Raised to be strong and confident, she served as a field nurse during World War II, endured all sorts of hardships in 18th century Scotland and France, because a successful doctor in America, and showed herself to be stubborn and brave throughout it all. She's sassy and intelligent and I absolutely adore her.

4. Carter - Carter is basically the best name ever for a baby geek - there's John Carter of Mars, SHIELD director Peggy Carter, and, for country music geeks like me, the Carter family from Virginia. But my first beloved Carter was Dr. John Carter, played by Noah Wyle on E.R. Oh, how I loved that man despite his many flaws. He was patient, kind, and devoted to saving the world in order to fight his inner demons.

5. Sawyer - I love a rogue - think Han Solo, Mal Reynolds, and Killian Jones - and one of my all time favorites is James "Sawyer" Ford from LOST. Even though he did some despicable things, I was rooting for him and the knight in shining armor I knew he could become throughout all the dark and twisty seasons of that crazy show.

pinspiration: fiesta forever

Since school starts next week for us, I have to remind myself that it is still actually summer. I'm going to be intentional about this - that means sitting on the patio after school, going to local festivals on the weekends, and crashing my sister-in-law's pool as much as possible. Another thing that's definitely going to remind me that summer is still in full force? The heat! It's still in the 90's here in Virginia and very, very humid. Finally, the Rio Olympics begin tomorrow with the Opening Ceremonies, and I'll get to feed my Olympics obsession. Four years ago, as the London Olympics drew to a close, I celebrated the Closing Ceremonies by experimenting with some Brazilian recipes - my favorites were the pan fried herbed pork chops, hearts of palm and avocado salad, and avocado-coconut milkshake. I also did one of my one and only fashion DIYs - my Olympics Ring tie-dyed shirt. This year, I'm thinking I'll be a little less literal with my Olympics-inspired fashion: instead of a shoutout to Baron de Coubertin, I'll be incorporating some Rio-inspired colors into my wardrobe, like this summer's Pantone pick, fiesta red. For this week's Pinspiration, I've also thrown in a Joni Mitchell quote because my 70's obsession, like the humidity, isn't going away any time soon.

Will you be watching the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night?

this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...

Happy August, y'all. This week, I'm focusing on reminding myself to be content with what I have and with my current season in life. Can I get real for a minute? All summer, friends and family members keep asking how the house hunt is going. It's painful to have to say... "it's still going" when in truth we have found a one-of-a-kind home but it is out of our price range. Several friends are mamas-to-be, and I have to remind myself that it's not my time yet. Teachers head back to school today, and there's a part of me that feels like I should be further along, more accomplished in my career. More, more, more.  I often forget that comparison is the thief of joy, until I realize that I've spent fifteen minutes or half an hour scrolling through Instagram or Facebook and feel worse instead of better. Two posts that really resonated with me this week were "The Traps" at The Inspired Room and "Of Elder-flowers and Jealousy" at Design for Mankind.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

SWOON.

• From 100 Layer Cake, a boho wedding's cool ceremony arch.
• A gorgeous interfaith wedding in NYC from Snippet and Ink.
• At Style Me Pretty, a graphic designer's beautiful wedding.
• How cute is this sprinkle-covered pink birthday cake?

SMILE.

• August desktops: Organised Housewife, Smashing, Flipsnack.
• Lunchbox love: Lisa Frank zebra cakes from Studio DIY.
• Girl Meets World's season finale will be a big BMW reunion!
• On my wishlist for fall: J. Crew's cute, colorful signet purse.

FLASHBACK.

• 2015: The SC Aquarium, a date night LBD outfit, midsummer in IG, fave fictional pets.
• 2014: My August favorites.
• 2013: The things I can't live without and punchy wardrobe picks.
• 2012: Brazilian pork chops, a hearts of palm and avocado salad, an avocado-coconut milkshake, and an Olympics Ring tie-dyed shirt.
• 2011: Orange wardrobe and home inspiration, rustic and modern fall wedding ideas.