Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I always like to add a little pop of red to my outfit.  Here are some of my favorite poppy and cherry red picks for the 14th, with a little bling thrown in for good measure!

View this set on Polyvore

1. Old Navy striped crewneck sweater (Similar: 1, 2, 3)
2. Dailylook leather polka dot iPhone case 3. Bath and Body Works Forever Red Eau de Parfum
4. Jeffrey Campbell heart flats from ModCloth  5. Merona cardigan from Target
7. Aeropostale love bracelets  8.ModCloth Refine Mint dress
9. Dior nail lacquer in "Rouge" from Sephora  10. Merona handbag from Target

Linking Up With:
Style Sessions at Style Elixir
Wednesday Style Connection at Unpredictable and Chic
What I'm Loving Fridays at Simply Lulu Style

clicks of note: someone like you...

get your week off to a colorful start...

LISTEN.

• As much as I like Kings of Leon, Boyce Avenue and Hannah Trigwell give "Use Somebody" a whole new tone and meaning in their cover.  I'm linking up with Musical Mondays at My So-Called Chaos.

SWOON.

Jessica Burke Photography via Style Me Pretty

• Style Me Pretty features a dreamy, elegant wedding in black and gold.
• Love this Paris-themed birthday party from Hostess with the Mostess
• Lia Griffith's plum living room is totally swoon-worthy.
• A New York Times love story about a couple who found each other again.

SMILE.

• February desktop calendars from Oana Befort and Ruche.
• These tintype photos from Sundance make stars seem like time travelers.
• New York Fashion Week starts this Thursday.
• Oh, and just a little Winter Olympics starting Friday, no big deal.

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I created the Beyond the Aisle Facebook Page, shared ideas for a Valentine's girls night in, and rounded up bridal gowns with lace sleeves
• Two years ago I shared a pretty pink Sunday Simplicity post.
• Three years ago, I featured black and ivory tuxedo style inspiration, my favorite hairstyles from the 2011 SAG Awards, and the reason I went with wholesale flowers for our wedding.

sunday social: the 4's

1. 4 Favorite bands you loved in high school

 

• *NSYNC
• Matchbox Twenty
• Everclear
• The Strokes

2. 4 go to meals you can cook really well

• Keep It Tight Tilapia
• Jillian Michaels' Meatloaf
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Shrimp and Basil Pasta

3. 4 necessities to your daily life

• My cell phone
• Coffee
• Clif bars
• Flair pens (seriously the best pens ever for signing a million hall passes)

4. 4 makeup necessities you must have if you could only have 4 on

• Moisturizer
• Foundation (mineral powder or BB cream)
• Bronzer or blush
• Chapstick / lip balm / gloss of some type

5. 4 favorite apps on your phone or iPad

• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Pandora
• Netflix

sunday simplicity: cool town showdown

Seattle wedding from Azzura Photography

Denver wedding from Brian Kraft Photography

my january in entertainment

my january in entertainment

books i read

Bossypants by Tina Fey - I pretty much knew I'd love this book even before I read it, because Tina is one of my heroes, so when I saw that it was on sale on Amazon I snapped it up for my Kindle!  As most of us had probably already guessed, Tina Fey was a somewhat awkward teenager.  She became involved in community theater before majoring in drama at the University of Virginia, which based on her description and compared to my experience, has changed very little socially since she was there - as a non-blonde WASP she felt like she didn't fit in and spent much of her time chasing a boy who wasn't interested in her.  After college, she moved to Chicago where she ended up as the receptionist at a sketchy YMCA before joining The Second City theater troupe and falling in love with improv and her bestie Amy Poehler.  In between essays that tell her life story, she includes tidbits about her dad, her husband, her daughter, and what it's like to be a woman in the entertainment industry who doesn't quite meet the industry beauty standard.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans - A few of my friends gave me the side-eye when I told them the title of this book while I was reading it.  That's only because they weren't familiar with Rachel Held Evans (I've since fixed that).  The evangelical blogger undertook a year-long project in 2010 based on the mixed messages women in the church receive about their role in their marriages, church, and society.  She decided to take "biblical womanhood" into her own hands by studying what the Bible does say about women and attempting to follow it as literally as possible, focusing on a different virtue each month. This led to a year in which she learned how to cook, sat on the roof as penance for her football-season unruliness, slept in a tent on the lawn during her period, called her husband "Master" and took care of a robot baby - all leading to pretty hilarious anecdotes in her signature sarcastic style.  She also recounts her visits to a finishing school, an Amish community, a Bolivian village, a Benedictine abbey, and a Quaker meeting, and her interviews with a sister wife, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi's wife, and a Quiverfull daughter.  What I love, love, love about Rachel Held Evans is that she does her theological homework - she shares the stories of the Bible's truly diverse standout women and brings in details about the translation of terms used in passages about women, as well as the cultural and historical background.  Here's one of my favorite passages:

"If God is the God of all pots and pans, then He is also the God of all shovels and computers and paints and assembly lines and executive offices and classrooms.  Peace and joy belong not to the woman who finds the right vocation, but to the woman who finds God in any vocation, who looks for the divine around every corner."

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling - This is probably a controversial statement to make, but I think I liked Mindy's book even more than Tina Fey's.  Tina, to me, is someone who I might get to see give a speech at my alma mater if I'm free that weekend.  Mindy is someone who if I ever found out was in a 120-mile radius I would try to make my new BFF.  With titles like "Chubby for Life," "I Am Not an Athlete," "Karaoke Etiquette," and "Types of Women in Romantic Comedies Who are Not Real," this book had me laughing out loud more than anything else I've read in a long time.  Mindy describes bonding with friends who also loved comedy in high school and college (and not understanding when other people didn't have the same sense of humor), being the worst Late Night intern ever, writing failed scripts and going to horrible auditions before finally putting together the stage show Matt and Ben and being hired as a staff writer for the American version of The Office.  It's a fun, breezy read and at the end I felt like I'd been on the receiving end of e-mails from a really quirky friend.


Legend by Marie Lu - Our school librarian knows I'm a fan of YA dystopias like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Under the Never Sky, so she's been trying to get me to read Legend forever.  Legend takes place in a post-United States Los Angeles, now part of the Republic.  Day and June are the book's alternating narrators.  They both live in Los Angeles but have very different lives - June has been born into privilege, raised by her military officer brother after their parents died, and is expected to have an illustrious military career herself after being the only person who has ever gotten a perfect score on the Republic's physical, mental, and academic career placement test, known as the Trial.  Day became the Republic's most wanted criminal after failing the Trial and becoming a Robin Hood figure to the people in the poor parts of the city.  When Day's family is quarantined during one of the frequent outbreaks of plagues, his and June's paths cross and she makes it her mission to capture him. In disguise, she convinces him that she is homeless, scrounging for food on the streets, but when she sees his true colors - and how much they have in common - she is less convinced of her mission's virtue.  After reading the book, I saw in the notes that Marie Lu was inspired to write the story after watching Les Miserables and wondering what a modern version of the detective-criminal story could look like.  I'm looking forward to continuing the series and finding out what happens next for Day and June.

television favorites

The Mindy Project - Let's talk about the hot mess that has been Season 2.  I miss Anna Camp as Gwen (having a best friend gave Mindy a sounding board and made her more realistic), I miss Betsy and Jeremy's characters getting screen time, and as much as I like Adam Pally as an actor I don't think his character, Peter, adds anything to the show.  I think writers should develop the characters they have before throwing new ones into the mix.  This show isn't perfect, but I've enjoyed the development this season of Mindy's frendship with her prickly, opinionated coworker Danny Castellano.  She's been loosening him up as a person, and he's been helping her become stronger and more self-assured, and I ship it, y'all  Some of my favorite Danny/Mindy moments of the season have been Christina's art show, Danny thinking Mindy was about to tell him she had a crush on him, Mindy pretending to be Danny's fiancee Chloe Silverado, and Mindy standing up to the midwives when they accused Danny of racism.  But the real highlight, for me, was the episode "Danny Castellano Is My Personal Trainer," which was about body issues and included the amazing quote above.

Sherlock - the world's greatest detective is back on PBS' Masterpiece Mystery.  I've only watched the first episode of Season 3, "The Empty Hearse," and I'm already head-over-heels back in love with this show.  I loved the idea that there was a club devoted to theories about how Sherlock survived falling to his apparent death and that some of the theories were worked into the episode's plot. I enjoyed Sherlock asking Molly Hooper to help him solve crimes as a thank-you for assisting in his escape after Moriarty's suicide.  I loved Amanda Abbington as Mary Morstan and how she just jumped into action with Sherlock when John was in danger.  I also really like the way the show's writers continue to update the character to suit a modern setting while still using deduction and psychology to solve most of the cases rather than the technology that is written into every storyline being a deus ex machina.  I wanted to slap Sherlock by the end of the episode, but I think that's par for the course with Benedict Cumberbatch's version of the character.  He is an ass, but he is a genius, a loyal friend.

Style: My Favorite 2014 Grammys Looks

Two weeks ago, I shared my picks for best dressed from the 2014 Golden Globes, and now that awards season is in full swing, I wanted to give my two cents on who looked amazing at this year's Grammy Awards.

Romance

 

E! Online | Just Jared

I am really into flowing, romantic styles right now, and Katy Perry's Valentino Spring 2014 gown was my absolute favorite look of the night at this year's Grammys. It looked amazing on her - sheet without being too revealing - and the music note pattern was perfect for the occasion without being tacky.  Taylor Swift rocked a romantic, goddess style flowing dress in gray chiffon by Alberta Feretti for her performance of "All Too Well."  I love the style of Taylor's dress, especially the sparkly embellishments, but I think it would look even prettier in a colored chiffon - maybe a light teal or peach.

Shimmer/Metallics

InStyle | Just Jared

The biggest trend of the night fashion-wise was probably metallic and shimmer.  Taylor Swift's gold Gucci dress for the gold carpet was perfect for her statuesque frame.  I also thought Queen Latifah's shimmering black boatneck gown was a great choice - she looked so elegant.

Red

E! Online

Stars like Tina Fey, Lupita Nyong'o and Taylor Swift were ladies in red at the Golden Globes, and at the Grammys, Pink was one of the best dressed stars on the red carpet in a formfitting Johanna Johnson gown and a surprisingly feminine take on the undercut hairstyle.  I like the geometric panels on her dress.  Her performance, which featured aerial acrobatics, dance, and a duet with Nate Ruess, was one of the highlights of the night.  I'd love to attend one of her concerts.

Girlie

E! Online | Just Jared

Ariana Grande and Sarah Hyland both wore looks that were sweet and age appropriate on the red carpet. Ariana wore floral Dolce and Gabbana (are BLACK floral prints going to be a big thing this spring?  Because Tina Fey's Golden Globes red carpet dress was stunning and now this... I'm onboard.)  Sarah Hyland's black and white colorblock Emilio Pucci shift reminded me of the Mod looks of the 1960's, but she accessorized with modern strappy sandals and an Art Deco inspired black and white clutch.

Best Dressed Men

Just Jared

Robin Thicke showed us that he is capable of classy during his performance with Chicago - there was no Beetlejuice suit, life-sized stuffed animal, or twerking to be seen, just a classic tux in luxe velvet.

Just Jared

I like when stars look great on the red carpet while still being true to themselves and their genres, and that's just what Blake Shelton did, pairing a perfectly-cut vest and jacket with jeans and boots.  Blake's performance with some of Country's most well-known Outlaws - Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson - was one of my favorite performances of the night, and I also loved Miranda Lambert's duet "When Will I Be Loved" with Green Day's Billie Jo Armstrong (somehow I'd missed the fact that Billie Jo released an Everly Brothers tribute album with Norah Jones last year until recently).

E! Online

Also in the "be who you are" category, Ryan Lewis and Macklemore color-coordinated, flashy, but still very well-cut tuxes.

What were your favorite looks at the Grammys?  Which performances did you enjoy the most?

A Classic Winter Blended Family Wedding

I wanted to share a few photos I took at my friend Kendall's wedding last weekend.  She had a very classic winter wedding at a local venue, The Woodland Place, that has a rustic style.  The wedding colors were navy and white.

This wedding was unique because it blended two families, so Lee wasn't just making vows to Kendall but to Bre as well.  Our middle/high school Biology and Government teacher, who is also a minister, performed the ceremony and included a section where Bre sang "You Are My Sunshine" and Lee promised to take care of her.  I teared up and Mr. Q even got goosebumps, it was such an emotional moment.

I loved the pictures I caught of Kendall and Lee's first dance - their facial expressions said it all.  I loved the twinkling branches on the altar and the swags of fabric added a lot of light to a space that can unfortunately be really dark.  I found myself wishing we'd brought our big DSLR camera because of the low light, but I was able to clean up the pictures I took with my point and shoot until I was pretty happy with them.

Lee's best man was his Air Force roommate and Kendall's was her younger sister.  I loved the classically elegant wing tip collar on the groomsmen's shirts and the long navy dresses the bridesmaids wore.  Each bridesmaid's hair was styled in a different way that reflected their personalities.

One of my favorite details at the wedding was the sand ceremony, which Kendall and Lee did after the garter and bouquet tosses and cake cutting.  Their parents had already added their jars of sand before the ceremony, and Kendall, Lee, and Kendall's daughter Bre each added their own touches to the artwork.  I thought it was a very sweet way to represent the blending of two families and loved that it gave Bre a chance to participate and have some fun.  Side note: isn't Bre's hairstyle adorable?  It's a bow made of hair!

Overall, Kendall and Lee's big day was beautiful, sentimental, and fun.  As far as I knew, it went off without a hitch.  I am so happy for these two as they begin their life as a family.

Spring Color: Dazzling Blue

Pantone confused style bloggers and fashion magazines alike when they announced a Color of Spring before announcing 2014's Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid.  For a few weeks, Dazzling Blue was enjoying full-on Color of the Year status thanks to the misconception.  This year's take on cobalt is bright, saturated, and cheerful, and can look modern, edgy, or completely feminine depending on how it's styled.  Designers are creating Dazzling Blue takes on several of our favorite trend pieces - pencil skirts, studded shoes, envelope clutches, cluster earrings, and of course, florals.  Which of the pieces below is your favorite?

Disclaimer:  ModCloth items contain affiliate links.

View this set on Polyvore

1. The Limited pencil skirt  2. Charming Charlie chronograph watch  
3. The Limited envelope wristlet  4. Charming Charlie floral phone case (Similar: 1, 2, 3, 4)
5. ModCloth cluster earrings  6. ModCloth floral dress  7. J. Crew leather ballet flats
8. J. Crew studded flats  9. J. Crew tassel loafers (Similar: 1, 2)