sunday simplicity.

Sarah Kate Photography via Style Me Pretty

“Some things you know all your life. They are 
so simple and true they must be said without 
elegance, meter and rhyme...they must be naked 
and alone, they must stand for themselves.” 
― Philip Levine

#5FandomFriday - January 15th - 5 Ways I Am Going To Take Chances In 2016 

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week's #5FandomFriday topic is 5 Ways I Am Going to Take Chances in 2015, and I've enjoyed reading the other girls' responses to this prompt so far. I was finally able to come up with my own list after lots of thought! I decided to focus on ways to take chances in different areas of my life.

work 

2016 is going to be a year of big changes at work! 8th grade English will be going from being a semester course to a year-long course (with the same 84 minute class periods) in order to better prepare our students for our very difficult state standardized test and their high school courses. I'm excited about having twice as much time with students - more than I've ever had before - because I'll be able to give them time for independent reading and we won't have to move on to new skills until they're ready. On the other hand, I'm very nervous about the change because it means I'll most likely be spending one semester on our other middle school campus, where I don't know very many people and which has a reputation for being very straight-laced. I've suggested an idea for a pilot program that would blend a high-level English class with one of our elective courses and several of the other English teachers really like it - we'll see what the rest of the faculty thinks when we meet this week.

wellness

I've been starting to really invest in my own health over the past few years, although I will be the first one to admit I'm bad at remembering to take care of me. I'm going to face my social anxiety by going to the gym more often for cardio, and I'm also considering signing up for a Couch to 5K program our local Parks and Rec department is offering - I have never liked running, so I would like to actually learn how to run properly.

faith

I would love to find a church community to participate in, but I've used my anxiety as an excuse to spend Sunday mornings at home. I think I am going to just put myself out there and see which of my friends, family members and co-workers will invite me to their churches. I know that I got unbelievably lucky when I lived in Charlottesville and found the perfect church for me via Google. I also know that I might not necessarily find a church that meets all my "perfect church" expectations (simple facility, won't make me work in the nursery, doesn't think women belong in the kitchen, doesn't see depression as a lack of faith, diverse and inclusive), but that I might have to work to "be the change" within that community.

family

Where are you, dream house?

Mr. Q and I will hopefully be buying a house in 2016! The idea of moving out of our townhouse gives me very mixed emotions - on the one hand, I'm totally psyched to get out of this temporary arrangement. On the other hand, I really do love our cozy townhouse; it's perfect for us right now and I've gotten very spoiled living so close to work. Moving on to the next phase of grown-up life is scary.

hobbies

I'd like to be able to stop referring to writing as a hobby and begin to truly pursue it as a career. I'm not very good at sticking to a writing schedule or being self-disciplined, and sometimes I worry that blog writing is actually taking me away from creative writing - you may see me taking a break from the blog for a while this year as I try to get more serious about my passion. My writing is kind of all over the place, but almost all of my stories have a fantasy element. I used to write poetry regularly and would like to get back into that as well. I don't know the first thing about submitting writing to magazines and such, so it's time to learn! My goal is to finish my portfolio and apply to the MFA program at Hollins College - even if I don't become a successful professional author, I think an MFA in creative writing will help me to be a better teacher of writing and a better mentor to new teachers.

style: favorite 2016 golden globes looks

As longtime readers know, I love movies and celebrities, and therefore I love award season! Though my taste in fashion tends toward the classic and usually shies away from anything angular or too revealing, I found myself really loving some styles that were very different from the gowns I've loved in the past I watched this year's Golden Globes. When I started pinning my favorites, I realized there were a few common threads (pun intended) in the dresses that were my favorites. [Image Sources]

Plunging necklines were a big trend at this year's Globes, and in my opinion Jaimie Alexander had the most stunning look of the night. Her emerald geometric-print dress was striking without being too distracting, she wore her gown confidently, and her hair and makeup were perfect. Where's our Lady Sif movie, Marvel? Another starlet who looked perfect while taking the plunge was Jenna Dewan Tatum in a navy blue sequined gown that looked even better on television than it does in photos and much better than last year's butter-colored strapless gown. BOTH gowns had pockets, a detail I really appreciate as a real human being who carries things to parties.

Two ladies looking elegant in black with sleek center-parted hairstyles: Fargo's Kirsten Dunst's velvet dress with plunging neckline looked great on video, while Caitriona Balfe's lacy gown might be a nod to some of the costumes her character Claire will wear on Outlander this season when she and Jamie travel to France during Louis XV's reign. 

I'm always a fan of a beautifully-made ballgown: Gina Rodriguez wore navy, one of the most popular colors of the night (with pockets!), while Tara Lynne Barr wore a classic red gown with an asymmetrical neckline and hem that made it look fun and youthful.

This year's Golden Globe goddesses were Soairse Ronan and Lily James - Lily's co-presented Jaime Foxx seemed to get a little tongue-tied when he took the stage with her!

Jennifer Lawrence, who won Best Comedy Performance for Joy, probably had the most unique dress of the night, though both the color and style are certainly in her red carpet wheelhouse. She looks great in modern styles and I like that she kept the rest of her look simple and sophisticated. I was blown away by how great Lady Gaga, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series for American Horror Story: Hotel, looked - it seems that she's put the meat dresses and other outlandish gimmicks away for good, and her hair, makeup, black velvet dress, and jewelry were all perfectly Old Hollywood.

Also channeling Old Hollywood vibes in their elegant emerald gowns, Jada Pinkett Smith and Rebecca Bloom. Rebecca won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy, for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which has become one of my favorite shows over the past year.

I'm always happy to see starlets take chances with beautiful prints on the red carpet, and both Rachel McAdams and Melissa Benoist managed to make florals look sophisticated.

What was your favorite red carpet look at this year's Golden Globes? Also, should we all buy stock in Hollywood Fashion Tape?

If you'd like to add any of these images to your Pinterest boards or blog, please visit my Pinterest board and pin/save from the original source. Thanks!

winter tv preview!

winter 2016 tv i'll be tuning in for

It's prime couch potato season, and luckily our favorites are coming back, along with a handful of new shows to check out. Today, I'm rounding up the shows I'm most looking forward to this winter, along with their airtimes, networks, and premiere dates. Times are for the East Coast.

sundays

Once Upon a Time (8 p.m., ABC, March 6) - March feels really far away right now, because I'm going through Captain Swan withdrawl. In the second half of Season 5, the main characters will be going to the Underworld to help Emma save Hook and encountering pretty much every baddie who's ever died in the show along the way. 

Mercy Street (10 p.m., PBS, Jan 17) - Civil War medical drama? Sure, Masterpiece Theater, why not?

mondays

Supergirl (8 p.m., CBS) - Melissa Benoist is adorable as Kara, Superman's cousin whose trip to Earth got delayed and whose sister works for a secret organization that captures alien villains, and Calista Flockhart is great as her overbearing boss - it's like Agents of SHIELD crossed with The Devil Meets Prada.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (8 pm., The CW, Jan 25) - I will be streaming this one on Hulu again since Mondays are going to be so packed! Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has elements of Ally McBeal, 30 Rock, and Glee, and star Rebecca Bloom just won a Golden Globe for her performance.

The X-Files (8 p.m., Fox, Jan 25 following premiere Jan 24) - Mulder and Scully are coming back to us at last. Mostly I'm just excited about Scully's sass being back in our lives.

The Magicians (9 p.m., Syfy, Jan 25) - I've heard good things about Lev Grossman's books on which this series is based, which is described as collegiate Harry Potter. I haven't gotten a chance to read the books yet, but I plan on checking out the television series.

Angie Tribeca (9:30 p.m., TBS, Jan 17) - TBS is airing the entire first season of Rashida Jones' new series, a parody of police procedurals like Law and Order: SVU, as a marathon starting at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday the 17th, then debuting the second season on the 25th to air on a normal weekly schedule. You do you, TBS.

tuesdays

Fresh Off the Boat (8:30 p.m., ABC, Feb 2) - I fell in love with the first half of this season of the sweet, funny, sarcastic show about a Chinese family trying to fit in after a move to Orlando, Florida.

Shadowhunters (9 p.m., Freeform, Jan 12) - I loved Cassandra Clare's urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments, and didn't hate the film version as much as a lot of critics apparently did. I hope that the television series will fare better - the snippets I've seen so far look pretty awesome; ideally they will be able to strike a balance between the dark, truly terrifying aspects of the stories and the lighthearted, flirty teenage life bits that made them feel real. ABC Family Freeform is plugging this one HARD so I expect my Cassie Clare books to start flying off my classroom shelves again.

Agent Carter (9 p.m., ABC, Jan 19) - My girl is moving to Los Angeles for the second season, and we will meet Mrs. Jarvis among other new characters.

Agents of SHIELD (9 p.m., ABC, March 8) - The fall season of Agents of SHIELD definitely ended on a cliffhanger; the fallout of that episode's events should be very interesting to watch.

Teachers (11 p.m., TV Land, Jan 12) - No show about teachers ever lasts on television, but I'll give this one a chance.

wednesdays

The Middle (8 p.m., ABC) - Always a great little spot of humor in the middle of the week; last week's episode had Sue rushing sororities at her midwestern college and maybe making a new best friend.

The Goldbergs (8:30 p.m., ABC) - Is it a sign that I'm getting older that my favorite character on this show is the mom? My favorite part of this show are the clips from Adam Goldberg's real home movies that show the inspiration behind each episode.

Nashville (10 p.m., ABC, March 16) - I'm not sure whether I come for the music and stay for the drama, or come for the drama and stay for the music.

thursdays

Big Bang Theory (8 p.m., CBS) - Big Bang Theory is the comfort food of TV. I think Howard and Bernadette are starting to hear the pitter-patter of little feet this semester, which should have an interesting effect on our favorite group of nerds.

Colony (10 p.m., USA, Jan 14) - I don't really understand what this show is about (aliens?), but it stars Josh Holloway, who played Sawyer on LOST!

fridays

Masterchef Junior (8 p.m., Fox, Jan 8) - I love seeing what young people are capable of, and I've actually gotten teaching ideas from Gordon Ramsay!

Sleepy Hollow (8 p.m., Fox, Feb 5) - I still need to watch the end of last season on my DVR, but I'm always along for the ride with Abbie and Ichabod.

saturdays

Saturday Night Live (11:30 p.m., NBC, Jan 16) - Studio 8H is bringing some serious star power this season, with Adam Driver and Chris Stapleton on the 16th, Ronda Rousey and Selena Gomez on the 23rd.

streaming

Chelsea Does (Netflix, Jan 23) - I've read all of Chelsea Handler's books and I'm looking forward to seeing her take on marriage, drugs, racism, and technology.

Fuller House (Netflix, Feb 26) - MY CHILDHOOD.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, TV Guide, Nylon

this week's clicks: i'll meet you there halfway between...

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

• The Brothers Comatose are an acoustic quintet whose music blends bluegrass and folk, so naturally I'm smitten. "Morning Time" features vocals from The Gramblers' Nicki Bluhm, whose voice pairs perfectly with singer Ben Morrison's, and the lyrics seem especially relevant to me at this house-hunting stage in my life with Mr. Q.

SWOON.

Loft Photography via Style Me Pretty

• At EAD, a horizon blue ranch inspiration shoot.
• Glam engagement party invites from Lia Griffith.
• Beautiful Hawaiian portraits from Magnolia Rouge.
• Style Me Pretty features a sweet Texas wedding.

SMILE.

• January desktops: Flipsnack, Front Door, Lily and Val.
• 2016 reading challenges from Modern Mrs. Darcy and Popsugar.
• Have you joined Emma Watson's new feminist book club yet?
• 20 reminders for the New Year, from Sunday Chapters:

"Life literally never goes as planned, so don’t waste your time fretting about the future. Life is never going to work out how you planned and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you will start greeting the unexpected with open arms. Let the unknown, the unplanned and the possibility of change excite you. Let the future take you to places you never knew."

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I got my first Stitch Fix, rounded up winter Pinspiration, and joined the PMT Style Challenge.
• Two years ago, I picked my favorite styles from the Golden Globes along with hair and makeup, and continued to work through Lara Casey's goal setting series by reflecting on what didn't work in 2013.
• Three years ago, Sunday Social was all about blogging.  I picked my favorite Golden Globes looks, collected ideas for bridal portraits, and shared my January blog loves.
• Four years ago I rounded up side braid hairstyles.

What are your plans for this week? Have you made any

resolutions or chosen any mantras for the New Year?

Fellow bloggers, I'd love it if you shared a link to your 

favorite recent post/Tweet/Pin/Insta in the comments!

sunday simplicity.

Landon Jacob via Style Me Pretty

"We have always held to the hope, the belief, 

the conviction that there is a better life, 

a better world, beyond the horizon."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

January Fab Favorites

Rather than make New Year's Resolutions, for the past few years I've adopted the practice of choosing one word for the New Year. For 2016, my word is going to be horizon - I feel like it kept presenting myself to me, so I accepted it! I'm not sure what's on the horizon for me - the future is a blank slate for me to fill with my hopes and dreams for the future. Will I buy a house, write a novel, get a pet, travel the world, or make a new friend this year? I'm making positive changes in my life and habits and hoping that positivity will come back to me. Here are a few favorites making those changes a little easier to adopt.

1. Creative women building each other up - I've kicked off the year with two memoirs by funny women in creative fields (who are not too much older than me), Everyone's Weird on the Internet (Almost) by Felicia Day (read my review from yesterday here) and Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. Both share a common theme: boss ladies shouldn't be competing with one another, we should be building each other up - Felicia addresses #Gamergate and Mindy tackles topics from "Who Wore it Best?" magazine columns to Instagram friendships. Two of my favorite essays in Mindy's book are "(Minor) Fame Has Changed Me" and "Things to Bring to My Dinner Party." My favorite passage in Mindy's book comes from the essay "Some Thoughts on Weddings" (she kind of hates them due to the sense that the bride is leaving her behind):

With my friends, the sad truth is that our best "best friend" days are behind us. In college, we used to be able to meet each other in the common area of our off-campus housing, excited about our evening ahead, which consisted of someone making an enormous tureen of pasta and drinking wine from a box while we took turns regaling each other with details of our terrible love lives. Playful arguments would become fits of uncontrollable laughter, and like magic, that experience would get crystallized into a private joke, and the private joke would get boiled down to a simple phrase, which would become a souvenir of the entire experience. For years to come, the phrase alone could uncork hours of renewed laughter. And as everyone knows, the best kind of laughter is laughter born of a shared memory.

2. A routine that helps me glow - When I finally got my long-awaited Clarisonic Mia2, it came with a bottle of Fresh Soy Face Cleanser which I've been using religiously. Not only has my cystic acne improved, but I think my face looks glowy and my skin looks plumper in the mornings when I wake up. In addition to the obvious soy proteins, this cleanser is full of healthy ingredients like cucumber extract and borage seed oil.

3. Fashionable accountability - I've wanted a fitness tracker for a while now, and Mr. Q got me the Jawbone Up2 for Christmas. I liked the Up2 a little better than some other trackers because it includes a smart alarm feature than I can set to wake me up during the lightest part of my sleep cycle! So far, I'm using the Up2 to track my sleep, daily step count and workout lengths, and food (the Up app has a barcode reader feature or the option to type in what I've eaten and search through a database). I also have an idle alert set so that the wristband vibrates when I am still for a set length of time - currently, I've got it set for 45 minutes. I like that the app gives suggestions to help me reach my goals - for example, on Saturday night, we went out to eat, and when I opened the app to log my meal there was a suggestion from Smart Coach to take a 17 minute walk in order to maintain my average step count for the week - a short stroll was easily accomplished by doing some window shopping after dinner, but probably wouldn't have happened without the gentle nudge. I've lost two pounds since Christmas and I think the Up2 has definitely helped!

4. A cozy glow for cold winter nights - Mr. Q's aunt got us the Bath and Body Works Winter 3-wick candle for Christmas and it's my new favorite smell! The main notes are pine, mandarin orange, and "winter woods," and it's perfect for creating a cozy atmosphere in the evenings when we get home from work.

5. An inspiring calendar - If I have to look at something for 12 months, it had better be cute! I chose the Illustrated Bible Verses calendar from Workman Publishing, which I found at Barnes & Noble. If you still need a calendar to get your 2016 organized, Style Me Pretty has a roundup, and Lauren's featuring the best planners for boss babes at Style Elixir.

Linking Up:

Friday's Fab Favorites at Style Elixir

#5FandomFriday: January 8th - 5 Ways I Grew in 2015

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week's #5FandomFriday topic is 5 Ways I Grew/Changed/Evolved in 2015, and as I wrote this post I realized it was going to get very personal. Instead of how I grew as a geek, I'm writing about how I grew as a person in 2015.

5. I stopped reading books I wasn't excited about.

Reading is my favorite hobby, it's basically my identity, and I like being able to feature book reviews here on the blog - particularly for new releases! However, this year I realized I wasn't looking forward to some of the books that I had downloaded to review for one service I had joined. I realized that I really didn't like the way that particular service was set up - if I didn't review a book in a certain amount of time, they would drop me from their list of bloggers, but there often wasn't a book I was super-excited about on the list of offerings. I finally came to the realization that there are so many amazing books out there I haven't read - award winners, classics, bestsellers, books in series and by authors I already love - and life is simply too short to slog through books that don't spark my inner fire! I left that not-so-great service behind and am mostly getting books from the public library now, with the occasional new release from NetGalley.

4. I realized that I can't be everyone's friend.

After the spring field trip I had a serious falling out with a co-worker who I had tried very hard to befriend even though she had a reputation for being hard to work with. This coworker posted some passive aggressive comments on my personal social media (basically suggesting that I could have done a better job planning the trip) and other co-workers, and eventually administrators, saw them. She was reprimanded and there was just no getting back the friendship - I did not feel like I could trust her. Both in my private and work life, I've learned over the past year or so that if a friendship feels like work, it's probably not working, and that it's okay to let go. I've always been really friendly to everyone I work with, and I still will, but ultimately I've realized that the fewer people I confide in the less likelihood there will be of my feelings getting hurt.

3. I took initiative with my family.

My extended family lost a lot of our closeness when my grandmother passed away about 15 years ago. She was definitely our matriarch - nurturing, vivacious, and tough - and most of my Saturdays growing up were spent at her house with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and cousins' kids. This year, I took a baby step toward trying to have a better relationship with my cousins, and a few of us had a girls' weekend in Charlottesville and went to the Fleetwood Mac concert. There were a few hiccups, but ultimately it was a great weekend, we really bonded and opened up to each other, and I think my cousins see me as a real person now and not a little kid.

2. I started seeing myself as beautiful again.

It sounds silly to write this, but I find myself smiling when I look in the mirror for the first time in years. I was bullied about my appearance in middle school and my self-esteem has been fairly low ever since - I've been confident about being smart, being a good leader, being a good person, but I've been anxious about my looks. I think I've always had this crazy fear in the back of my mind that Mr. Q or one of my friends would turn to me one day and go, "you know, I never noticed before, but your face is covered in gross acne scars and your hairy arms make me want to vomit!" This summer, I participated in a few style challenges on Instagram. I thought that seeing my picture every day would be annoying to my friends - I seriously believed people hated selfies - but I got lots of nice comments, both on Instagram and in person! As the summer went on, I realized that I was actually feeling better about myself. I've also started getting "real" haircuts and color this year - for years I had been going home to get my haircut, and while those $12 haircuts were easy on my wallet they weren't actually very flattering! Finally, this year I feel like I was able to nail down my personal style with help from capsule wardrobe bloggers, Stitch Fix, and lots of time on Pinterest, and I feel much more comfortable and confident in clothes that actually fit both my body and lifestyle.

1. I admitted that I wasn't as strong as I was pretending to be.

In December, I went through my worst bout of clinical depression in nine years. As I was dealing with the usual funk that settles in around the anniversary of my father's death, the thought, "This has been the most disappointing year of my life" popped into my head, and I wept for pretty much a day straight. My reasons for feeling that way weren't just in my head: first, we intended to purchase a home this year, but the market where we live has not had many options that are in our price range and right for our lifestyle. I was heartbroken because I felt like I'd "lost" opportunities due to the sacrifices we'd made to save "house money" for a house that doesn't exist. On top of that, the boxer puppy I'd been promised by a friend-of-a-friend and was so excited about was sold on Craigslist in a very dishonest way. Even as Mr. Q helped me to count my blessings - we rent a lovely townhome in a convenient location at an affordable rate, skipping theater and restaurant dates helped us get creative, and giving up my dream vacation helped us discover a new favorite American city - the depression wasn't lifting. I was starting to have physical symptoms and had to take a day off work. When I went back the next day, intending to make an appointment with a psychologist during my planning period, my hands were shaking so badly during homeroom and my chest felt so tight that I had to take a second day off. That was it - if I couldn't do my job, I obviously wasn't okay. The depression was real. Mr. Q came home from work to take me to the doctor, and I'm on some new medication. It felt a bit like a step back, since I'd worked so hard years ago to stop taking antidepressants, but here's the thing - my brain doesn't produce serotonin correctly. Taking medication for depression is no different than taking medication if any of my other organs weren't working the way they should be. I've been more honest with my family, friends, and co-workers this go-round about how bad my depression really was and how much the medication is actually helping, and I'm feeling much better.