this week's clicks.

get your week off to a colorful start...

SWOON.

Michael and Carina Photographers via Magnolia Rouge

• I fell in love with this classic country club wedding in Virginia.
• From Beka Price, a dreamy maternity shoot in a lavender field.
• A sweet, romantic couples photo sesh. In Hawaii. With a puppy.
• Love Alicia's convenient and chic do-it-yourself office nook.

SMILE.

• Desktops:  The Everygirl, CrossCards, Flipsnack, Sarah Hearts
• Rifle Paper Co.'s new collab with Keds is here + includes kids'!
• Love peeking at Bridget Beth Collins' creative floral artwork.
• Currently pinning inspiration for Holy Week and Easter.

FLASHBACK.

• 2016: spring reading challenge recommendations, tattoos I'd love to have
• 2015: my March favorites (and OUAT obsession).
• 2014: inspiration for a sweet mint and baby's breath wedding.
• 2013: memories of Ireland and citron wardrobe inspiration.
• 2012: inspiration for a moody pastel country wedding.
• 2011: creative ideas for wedding card storage and thank you signs.

#5FandomFriday: Geeky Tattoos I'd Want to Have*

*If I wasn't terribly afraid of the pain.

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week, I'm rounding up Geeky Tattoos I'd Want to Have. Maybe one day I'll actually be brave enough to make one of these a reality!

1. A quill pen - If I was to get a tattoo, the most likely choice is a feather. My maiden name led to my dad and I having nicknames of "Bird" and "Birdy," my online alias has been "heatherbird" since the 1990's, and since I'm part Native American, feathers are also culturally significant to my family. I love the beach, so a seagull feather would be a nice touch. Since I'm a writer and English teacher, a quill pen gives the feather another dimension and turns it into a Harry Potter reference! Oh, and who has two giant feather tattoos by Kat Von D? Just my spirit animal, Dave Grohl.

Take #PeggysPledge at SDCC w/ these limited edition free "I Know My Value" temp ring tattoos! We have 100 to give! pic.twitter.com/rRPRZAnTLY

— *Lauren Gallaway* (@LaurenGallaway) July 8, 2015

2. "I Know My Value." - Agent Peggy Cater is my everything right now (my Halloween costume is STILL my Facebook profile picture) and I'd love to see a tattoo of her most famous line in a pretty script on someone's ribcage or bicep (the temporary version shown here is pretty sweet!).

3. Something Once Upon a Time related - I loved reading Peter Pan when I was young, and I've fallen head over heels in love with Once Upon a Time - it reminds me why I loved stories so much as a child and how important hope is in our lives. I'm also a total Captain Swan shipper, so I love both of these sweet little tattoo ideas.

4. A 4-leaf clover - Not necessarily geeky, but definitely nerdy. This is another symbol that has multiple meanings for me; I've been a 4-H member since I was nine, my birthstone is the emerald, and my first time traveling away from my parents (and first trip on an airplane) was when I spent two weeks in Ireland to study literature. I also have an Irish married name and love my family so very much. I think a tiny emerald green clover tattoo would be lovely.

5. A coffee spoon - It's about to get really nerdy up in here - in high school, the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot pretty much blew my mind (modernism can have that effect on a sheltered Southwest Virginia girl). In time, the "coffee spoons" in the poem came to represent the part of me that tends toward being a control freak and not taking chances, so the next logical step was to take that symbolism a step further by getting a coffee spoon tattoo. Until my mom told me people might think I was a heroin addict. True story. Thanks for crushing my youthful rebellion and saving me from potentially awkward situations later in life, Mom.

Do you have any geeky tattoos? I'd love to see them!

Calling All Aspiring Designers!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

I've been a ModCloth affiliate for a while now because I absolutely love their collections of vintage-inspired clothing, accessories and home goods.  ModCloth is launching its second Make the Cut Contest of the year! Make the Cut is a fashion design contest that I think some of you could totally rock at!  In this spring's edition, ModCloth is giving contestants the opportunity to design a print pattern for a scarf. The top 10 submissions will be hosted on the Be the Buyer page, where member of ModCloth's devoted community will vote for their favorite print. The lucky winner will have their design produced by and sold on ModCloth (with their name on the tag!), plus they'll receive a $500 prize!  

ModCloth will be accepting contest submissions until 11:59 p.m. PT on 5/30.  Community Members can vote for and comment on those designs from 10 a.m. PT on 6/9 to 11:59 p.m. PT on 6/13 via Be the Buyer. On 6/16, the winner will be announced on Story, the ModCloth blog.

I know that some of you have amazing artistic talents and I love imagining the following situation...

Friend:  "That scarf is so adorable.  Where'd you get it?"
Me:  "Oh, this scarf?  One of my readers designed it for ModCloth."

Official contest rules can be found here. Good luck! 

clicks of note: i'd rather be with you...

get your week off to a colorful start...

LISTEN.

• One of my favorites from the social hour playlist Mr. Q and I put together for our wedding is Joshua Radin's "I'd Rather Be with You." Here it is, in honor of our two year anniversary tomorrow.  I'm linking up to Musical Mondays at My So-Called Chaos.

SWOON.

Sarah Culver Photography via Green Wedding Shoes

• An inspirational easy bridal shower from 6th Street Design School and Minted.
• Sarah from Note to Self shares the prettiest bridesmaid gifts at Snippet and Ink.
• At Green Wedding Shoes, a pretty, whimsical wedding that incorporates tradition and DIY details.
• Style Me Pretty features an art gallery wedding with a yellow and gray color palette and fun patterns.

SMILE.

• Photographer Paul Octavious' Pantone Project should put a smile on your face (via Pugly Pixel).
• Interesting: typeface does influence how we think about what we read, via The Week.
• GROWN UP PEPPER ANN! Celeste Doodles might be my new fave Tumblr.
• I really appreciated Donald Miller's Storyline post on two ways to increase creative output:

"your subconscious has this strange way of knowing what really needs to get done and what can wait or even be skipped."

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I shared my summer Instagrams and fashion, home decor and wedding inspiration in shades of bellflower and chambray.  We got creative and celebrated our first wedding anniversary, and received a mystery marriage book in the mail.

february blog loves: a year of love!

Here are the blogs I'm loving this month.  It's hard to believe that I've been compiling these posts for a year now after participating in Literally Inspired's Blog Romance link party!

Note to Self

• Note to Self - Sarah's blog is elegant, classy, and one of the closest things to a glossy magazine in the blog world.  Her design skills constantly impress me.  My favorite features are the monthly Playlist, Hers/Mine, and Words for the Week.

Rage Against the Minivan

• Rage Against the Minivan - I discovered Kristen's blog while researching international adoption.  Rage Against the Minivan goes into some deep topics, but my favorite feature by far is her guest post series, What I Want You To Know.  In her posts about handling parenting four kids while navigating religion, politics, and life, Kristen is so honest and real, and I love it.

The Vintage Housewife

• The Vintage Housewife has a really fun premise:  the author, Christine, stumbled upon vintage home ec textbooks, and, having always been drawn the June Cleaver era, decided to take on the challenge of becoming the perfect 1950's housewife.  So far, that's included dressing up to go grocery shopping, having flatware engraved, and skinning a tomato.  I think she could totally get a book deal out of this project.

What are your current blog addictions?

Featured in the first year of Blog Loves: 

• Lifestyle and Fashion Blogs: Fabulous K, Henry Happened, Hip Hip Gin Gin, The Everygirl, The Fresh Exchange, Little Tin Soldier, A Cup of Jo, Capitol Hill Style, The Daily Spark, Along the Lines of Style, A Beach Cottage, and Bleubird.
• Shelter and DIY Blogs: The Inspired Room, Home Stories A to Z, Post Road Vintage, Two Twenty-One, Perfectly Imperfect, Dandee, Ella Claire, Making it Lovely, The Swenglish Home, Bright Bazaar, Centsational Girl, Dear Lillie, and A Beautiful Mess.
• Inspirational Blogs: Rosie Molinary, Geninne's Art Blog, and Tiny Twig.
• Food and Entertaining Blogs: The Gracious Pantry, A Farmgirl's Dabbles, Everyday Occasions, SkinnyTaste, and The Pioneer Woman.