clicks of note: the magic we make...

get your week off to a colorful start...

WATCH.

• I was more excited about Janelle Monae as the musical guest than Edward Norton hosting SNL this past Saturday, but Norton was perfect as Owen Wilson in this parody of Wes Anderson's quirky films - with a Halloween edge.  I'd probably go see it in the theater.

SWOON.

Daalarna via Bridal Musings

• Bridal Musings features exquisite fairy tale dresses from Daalarna.
• Brides-to-be: APW features solid rehearsal dinner planning advice.
• Fall must-have: pumpkin place card holder DIY from Everyday Occasions.
• This salvage warehouse wedding at Ruffled has a lovely color palette.

SMILE.

• From Chatelaine: my dance teacher was right on for having us do things backwards.
• Lindsey from Follow the Ruels explains why brides are like celebrities.
• Via io9, a map showing what almost every country leads the world in.
• Rifle Paper Co. pairs Anna's colorful designs with real florals and fruits.

NEST.

• The IBB At Home blog shows that you don't need a pricey bar cart.
• These spiced pear cocktails from Anthropologie's blog look amazing.
• Fashion + Decor, one of my new faves, pairs runway and interior design.
• Dana Tanamatchi's chalk art is rad; so's her collection of art for Target!

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I shared my favorite cobalt and black wardrobe picks for fall and a round-up of cute outfits featuring fun striped blazers.

clicks of note.

get your week off to a colorful start...

LISTEN.

• IT HAPPENED.

SWOON.

Sonya Khegay via Wedding Chicks

• Gloriously colorful bohemian bridal inspiration from Wedding Chicks.
• The perfect rehearsal dinner outfit from Betsy Transatlantically.
• New York Magazine offers a closer look at the fashion inspiration and choices in The Great Gatsby.
• I want to stay  in this warm, inviting guest room from Red Fly Creations.

SMILE.

• Ashleigh's sweet reflection on her son, a ballet dancer (can we all agree to be this kind of mom?)
• Casual entertaining picks in a fresh green color scheme from Celebrations at Home.
• I hope our next house has a mudroom (round-up from The Inspired Room).

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I shared neutral wardrobe inspiration and home decor ideas and daydreamed about a mod-influenced citrus wedding.  Two years ago I shared inspiration for a destination wedding in tropical shades and a pump-it-up playlist.

clicks of note: that's what's up.

get your week off to a colorful start...

LISTEN.

• I am a fan of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and the video for their song "That's What's Up" might possibly be the cutest music video ever made.

SWOON.

• Emily's geocaching proposal story is so cute and unique!
• I wish I'd come up with these handmade gold table numbers featured on Emmaline Bride.
• Helpful rehearsal planning tips from Estate Weddings and Events.
• Intimate Weddings features a romantic destination wedding in Maui.
• Purple Wedding of the Week:  this pretty California celebration at Style Me Pretty.

CELEBRATE.

Camille Styles

• These gold-dusted cupcakes from Camille Styles are a great Oscar party idea, and there's more gilded goodness at my Pinterest board devoted to all things sparkly, Champagne!
• Just in time for the Oscars, CasaSugar shares home decor ideas inspired by Les Miserables.
• Babble has come up with Oscar party food ideas inspired by nominated films.

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I shared a very pink Sunday Simplicity and some snapshots from my weekend.

wedding memories: the coolest kid i know...

Family photo - please do not steal.

My favorite little girl in the world, my best friend's daughter, celebrates her fourth birthday this week!  FOUR.  It shouldn't come as a surprise to me, since she was born the summer before I started teaching and I just finished my fourth year, but it seems like just yesterday we were sticking socks over her little hands to keep her infant self from scratching her own face.  She's important to me partially because her birth was the if you leave Virginia, you'll miss a lot wake-up call I needed to keep me in this valley for the forseeable future.  Now she's wearing a child-size flapper dress and Audrey Hepburn glasses and eating cake and a lollipop at the same time.  If the above picture does not demonstrate the utter coolness of this kid, I don't know what does.

Significantly to this blog, she was our flower girl a little over a year ago!  Was it a great idea to have a three year old flower girl?  Probably not - three-year-olds are kind of notoriously terrible and she didn't have a concept of how she should behave because she'd never been to a wedding before.  I could tell at our rehearsal that she was going to either be a hot little mess going down the aisle or have a meltdown and not make it at all.  I could also tell that Mr. Q didn't care, and neither did I - we'd have a little girl in a pretty dress at our wedding, and she'd be our favorite little girl in the world whether she made it to the end of the aisle or not.  

Our Wedding: We rehearse.

In retrospect, I wish I had delegated someone to take pictures of our wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I didn't, so all I have are some shots from my friend S's camera phone.

Friday afternoon was a bouquet- and centerpiece-making party at my house. BM Philly and I got started pretty early, and were joined by BM Breeze and Coordinator C around lunchtime (and Breeze brought some yummy Bojangles sweet tea and sandwich fixins!). I was very thankful that I'd recruited help with the flowers, because we were working right up until time to go rehearse.  I took the lead on most of the bouquets. I'd start with a "base," maybe one hydrangea and three roses, twist the stems and have someone hold them while I wrapped them with floral tape, and keep adding that way until the bouquets looked full and pretty.  The girls were kind of nervous to get going on the centerpieces - maybe they thought I'd go Bridezilla on them if they weren't perfect? I finally made some "prototypes" for them, let them know I really trusted their judgment, and let them go to work putting roses, leather leaf, baby's breath, and lisianthus into milk glass. We had a little time to get into our dresses and throw on a little makeup, pack our cars with vintage books, centerpiees, and other various wedding decor, and then it was time to go!

While we'd been doing all that, the boys had been busy as well- buying booze!  They made a run to Kroger for wine and beer for the reception and stocked the big fridge in our venue's kitchen. There was another couple getting married on Sunday the 10th, so they had to rehearse on Friday as well. While they rehearsed at 5:00, the bridal party helped Mr. Spin and I set up whatever we could in the reception space and lobby of the War Memorial. Our venue director told us to put the centerpieces with hydrangeas in them in the fridge with the wine because they made her nervous, but she said the ones with just roses could stay out because the air conditioner would be on all night.  At 6:00 it was our turn to practice getting married.

It took a while just to get everyone situated.  I was thankful our venue director suggested having someone stand in the very back of the room to make sure everyone was spaced out correctly.  We asked the other people on hand (mostly family members and significant others of wedding party members) to space out in the ballroom so we could tell how loud we needed to be.