clicks of note: the world's just spinning...

get your week off to a colorful start...

LISTEN.

• Seattle band The Head and the Heart released their second album last year.  The title track, "Let's Be Still," is calm, soothing, and a perfect cure for a case of the Mondays. I'm linking up with Musical Mondays at My So-Called Chaos.

SWOON.

Vue Photography via Elizabeth Anne Designs

• Glamorous bohemian inspiration for autumn at Elizabeth Anne Designs.
• Erin from House of Earnest always has impeccable style and taste.
• Modern Sequins created a whimsical fall tabletop with West Elm items.
• Southern Weddings features a sweet, sparkly DIY soirée on the  farm.

SMILE.

• Cheerful desktop wallpapers from Design Love Fest and Sarah Hearts.
• Daniel Radcliffe's rap skills on Jimmy Fallon win the Internet this week.
• NPR's interview with Mindy Kaling... and Cosmo's new (feminist!) editor.
• Congratulations to Laura from Finding Home on her fun new venture!

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I rounded up my November favorites, my favorite neutral pieces and studded ballet flats (a trend that's still going strong) for fall, decor and recipes for a modern Thanksgiving, my fall blog loves, fall entertainment favorites, and an Instagram recap.
• Two years ago, I shared inspiration for a black and white anemone-themed wedding and my favorite healthy pumpkin pie oatmeal breakfast recipe.
• Three years ago, I featured our indoor wedding portraits, recapped our social hour, showed off our outdoor bridal party portraits, and the ones of just me and Mr. Q.  I also posted about gratitude, shared my recipe for slow cooker baked apples and a peek at how we used cedar and teal as our main kitchen colors.

sunday simplicity: don't walk away.

Evan Hunt via Elizabeth Anne Designs

“I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in,

 stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't 

walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't 

take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds

life and faith together. Powerful stuff.” ― Jon Katz

my fall in instagram: if you can't get a pony, be a pony.

I was surprised to realize that I haven't done a photo update since August!  As I mentioned in last week's post on Halloween costume ideas, this has been an especially busy fall for Mr. Q and I, for various reasons.  Here's a peek at what we've been up to!

Adding a little fall cheer to our outdoor and indoor spaces.

My Italian basil plant was growing out of control and I had

to snip off some branches to keep it from falling over.  It

dawned on me that I could put some in a vase, the way

people do with boxwood branches.  The smell is an extra perk.

The first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, a Friday gift from

Mr. Q, and a happy coincidence spotted while shopping.

There's a brand-new restaurant in town called The Bootlegger's

Café and we are in love.  Of course, the drinks are served in Mason jars.

My BFF Breeze and I decided to have the most autumnal day

ever - we visited a pumpkin patch, carved pumpkins, make apple

seasoned pork chops and apple sangria, and watched football.

We couldn't resist these Virginia Tech and UVa themed hay bales!

Our tribe's Halloween pumpkin carving efforts - the middle two

started with stencils, but Breeze and I did the monograms freehand!

Mr. Q competed in his first Cyclocross race in Roanoke.  Cyclocross

is no joke - the bikers had to ride and jump over obstacles like 

telephone poles, a wooden wall, and a sand pit.

I participated in Color Me Rad with some lovely special education

teachers from my school - the proceeds go to Special Olympics so it was 

near and dear to our hearts.  I actually ran several parts of the course!

Halloween!  Mr. Q was so happy when he spotted this He-Man

costume that I decided we should go for an 80's theme.  When I

saw a My Little Pony hoodie, I was sold.  Hoodie costumes for the

win - most comfortable Halloween ever.  I also kind of want to dye 

my hair pink and purple for real because I loved being a rainbow.

Linking Up:

Be.You.Tiful at Maybe I Will

clicks of note: in the midnight hour...

get your week off to a colorful start...

SWOON.

Flora + Fauna via Ruffled

• From Ruffled, lush bohemian wedding in Florida.
• So much Southern pretty in this NOLA wedding.
• Love this bride's chic, romantic style (from SMP).
• Your fall wedding or party needs a menu pumpkin.

SMILE.

• Craftberry Bush's cheerful autumn home tour.
• Sydney found the coolest 3-way fall trench coat.
• Brooklyn Limestone's Ghostbusters-themed decor.
• I've been pinning some last minute Halloween ideas.

FLASHBACK. 

• Last year I rounded up graphite gray wardrobe updates, participated in a link-up for Harry Potter fans, and revealed my Effie Trinket Halloween costume.
• Two years ago I shared edgy cobalt and black fall wardrobe picks.

sunday simplicity: sunshine...

Justine Elbertson

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; 

they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind.” 

― Luther Burbank

halloween costume ideas i'm considering

I love Halloween, but I feel like a major slacker this year with less than a week to go and no costume planned.  My lack of planning for the holiday stems from the same reason blog posts have been very light lately - between all of my responsibilities at work and Mr. Q starting a new job, we are swamped.  I'm grabbing the first thing in my closet to put on every day, we're eating a lot of takeout, and the extent of our fall decorating was putting mini pumpkins around the house.  Just this week, I had a department meeting, a planning committee meeting, a team activity, a standardized test examiner training, a team meeting, parent-teacher conferences, and a dance to chaperone, in addition to 120 essays and 60 web projects to grade.  Of course, I came down with a sinus infection halfway through the week and feel like I've been hit by a dump truck.  This weekend, I've decided to cheer myself up by getting my head into the Halloween mode.  These are the costume ideas I'm considering for our friends' bonfire party.

1. A witch - Hocus Pocus is my all time favorite Halloween themed movie and my current writing project is a fantasy spin on witchcraft allegations in my own family tree during the Civil War.  I'm loving anything "witchy" these days.  Can you believe that both of these beautiful costumes are from Wal-Mart?  And do you think I could talk Mr. Q into going as Billy Butcherson?

2. Stevie Nicks - This is probably a good time to tell you that I'm going to see Fleetwood Mac in March!  I would love to put my own spin on Stevie's signature bohemian look - some flowy pieces, lots of jewelry, a top hat with or without a feather plume, and of course, a tambourine.  My word of the year for 2014 is "gold," so dressing as the Gold Dust Woman is very appealing.

3. Wyldstyle - My favorite new thing this year has been The Lego Movie, and Wyldstyle would be a super easy costume to pull together with a black hoodie, pants, fabric paint and temporary hair dye or clip-in extensions.  If I go with this idea, I will be an Elizabeth Banks character for two Halloweens in a row.  EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!

4. Thor or Black Widow - My geekier readers have probably heard the news that Marvel has given the powers of Thor to a woman.  I already have a toy Mjolnir hammer and it would be fun to be the new Thor for Halloween.  I also love Black Widow and it would be a fairly easy costume - really, the belt and red hair are all that's needed to get the point across, but I'd add a SHIELD logo because I'm a nerd and an arrow necklace because I loved that detail in Winter Soldier.

5. Nyota Uhura - I love J.J. Abrams' take on Star Trek and I love Zoe Saldana.  Trek costumes are fairly easy to find at the big costume shops that pop up in empty strip malls this time of year, and I can totally rock go-go boots and a high ponytail.

6. Ghostbusters - Mr. Q lists Ghostbusters as one of his favorite movies, and with the recent announcement that the remake will feature an all-girl team I think this would be a fun (and comfy, because I would get the jumpsuit and not the "sexy" version) costume idea.

Which of these costume ideas should I go with?  Do you have plans to celebrate Halloween?  Feel free to share links to your favorite costume ideas, Pinterest boards, movies, songs, and photos that help you get excited about the holiday.

clicks of note: if you gave me a chance...

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

• Ordinarily I don't feature Top 40 hits in this space, but "Rather Be" makes me smile every time I hear it - what a cheerful song and beat!  It reminds me of some of my favorite music from the 90's.  I'm linking up with My So-Called Chaos for Musical Mondays.

SWOON.

Domestically Speaking

• Loving Domestically Speaking's colorful fall home tour.
• The Effortless Chic threw the cutest woodland party.
• Snippet and Ink features this rustic, romantic wedding.
• A great idea via SMP: lovely three-generations ring shot.

SMILE.

• We were featured in Simple Moments Stick's costume round-up!
• Loving Baby Noah's costume-a-day Halloween countdown.
• I've collected plenty of spooky Halloween ideas on Pinterest.
• FXX is hosting a Treehouse of Horror marathon this weekend.

FLASHBACK.

• Last year I put together some fall outfit inspiration in olive and pumpkin.
• Two years ago, I shared my favorite bold purple wardrobe pieces for fall.
• Three years ago, I gathered home inspiration based on our kitchen's cedar + teal color scheme.

sunday simplicity.

Todd Pellowe via Style Me Pretty