Belly Flip Monday

Happy Halloween!

This is me with my five siblings one Halloween, many years ago.  I'm the littlest one peeking out on the far left and, honestly, I have no idea what the hell any of us are.

I like Halloween less for the dressing up part and more for the candy part.  My brother, Stephen, and I used to unload our stash on the den floor and then divvy up and trade for our most coveted crack replacement : Anything with 10 or more grams of sugar.  My favorites were candy corn, butterfinger, nestle crisp, and milkyway. 

But if I was lucky enough to get a full pack of fun dip, it was well worth the 43 minutes of insanity and then the 3 days of nausea that inevitably followed after eating it all at once.

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Into the weekend...

This weekend, we're headed off to a 1920's Speakeasy party.  I'm so looking forward to it.  Nothing makes me happier than to dive into the fashion, music and frenzy of the era between 1910-1930.  My grandmother-in-law is a (fantastically healthy) 101 year old and- lucky for this girl right here- she's let me have a couple of her dresses from about 1925.  The one I'm wearing this weekend is a long, sleek, silky velvet black number and it's stylin'.  Maybe I'll post a photo if I manage to have a "presentable" one taken.  So, anyway, this weekend...

 I'd like to be here...

while wearing this...

and listening to this...

 and this...


Have a spirited and highly unconventional weekend.
Love,
Cath

{ Photos one and two ,  three , Vogue)

Ideas:: Studio

My office is in our home.  It's a workspace for concocting designs, constructing them, and hopefully making some decent pieces of art.  With materials stored around me and the dog at my feet, it's where I work every single day... a home cubicle, but maybe a little more decked out than those found in office buildings.   So last night, I was taking a break and looked around the room and felt a dire need to reconstruct the space.  Rework some of the layout, redesign storage.  Stuff like that.  What's fun about this process is gaining inspiration from others' ideas... like these:

(Large work table- which we already have- layout trays for in use materials [in first image above] and streamlined storage)

(Narrow shelving for artwork and more pops of color... inevitable in an art studio)

(More mason jars for storage!)

(Reclaimed objects for storage and art)

(Larger bulletin board for design ideas)

(Creative use of materials display... maybe not so functional, but still really pretty.)

Now to put some of these ideas into action...

{Images}

Into the weekend...

Lately, I've been given gentle reminders of the preciousness of life.  So I don't hesitate to take note and then, and especially, make sure to let my love for anything and everything be known.  My love for people, the furry creatures, the camellias blooming outside my window, even my love for secret dreams and wild hopes... I let myself feel it all so I won't ever regret not having full love in my life.

So this weekend, I will remember to remind the world that it is loved in any teeny tiny way I can.

Enjoy a remarkable one, dear friends.

Love,

Cath

{Photo source HERE}

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Today...

I'd like to be here...

while wearing this...

... and eating this...

(I realize that it'll be messy on the white dress, but it will be totally worth it.)

{Photos: unknown Brussels restaurant; Emma Cook dress; Olio Pizzeria}

Sometimes...

Sometimes it takes a dose of stupidity mixed with bravery

plus some gumption

add a dose of a frolicking good time

throw in some flexibility

share and accept sweetness and love

while remembering to embrace solitude

...to create something otherworldly and beautiful...

Love,

Cath

Ever need a pick-me-up?  Something that always always makes you happy, no matter if you feel like everything else is going wrong?  (You should totally keep Color Me Katie bookmarked.)

{photos found HERE}
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Into the weekend...

 

This weekend I'll be taking a little afternoon road trip out of town to the south.  The best part of this adventure is driving between the ocean and the mountains at the same time.  It's really extraordinary and peaceful.  The second best part is spending time with talented and inspiring friends.  I look forward to drinking coffee and laughing a lot.

  Enjoy a happy one.

Love,

Cath

{ photo source HERE }

Today I dream...

... that I am here

(I grew up not too far from this place.)

...while wearing this

and eating these (with peanut butter)...

{First photo stock, Second by Elle Moss , and Third photo by Inmost Light}

Oh my.

I like shoes, but am rarely capable of wearing any over the top heel for more than an hour. And because I walk or ride my bike a lot, I end up wearing wedges, for safety's sake. But these... these I really really like for the colors and materials and shapes.

I'm also a huge fan of hosiery... sexy, huh?

{ Photos found HERE }

Swoon*

My head says to stick with a practical newer car (we have a Toyota), but my heart and belly are really telling me to go for one of these...

 

 

 

This one looks nearly identical to the Volvo we had some years back.  Her name was Olive and she broke down on me on the freeway.  But I still love and miss her- the interior was all original and even had an AM radio that played Perry Como and Benny Goodman.  Can't beat that.

{ I did a google search on these and totally forgot to source credit the photos, so if any of you know the photographers, please let me know.  First image borrowed from Wit and Delight}

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Behind the Scenes:: Holiday Photoshoot

Last week's photoshoot was a pretty fun one.  It was a mini-shoot for a mini-collection for the winter holidays and we just ended up meeting up at my home and letting it all unfold there (which is why you'll see a photo or two of Mars the Dog hanging out with the crew.)  Some behind the scenes photos for your viewing pleasure...

(styling a silk scarf as a necklace)

(Mars' new favorite toy.)

(scarf in a cute and classic ponytail)

(I think I would hire Lauren and Myriah to do my daily hair and make-up if I wasn't such a low-maintenance slacker with those such things.)

(Doesn't Erika look so adorable in this dress?  It's one I bought from Vintage Trunk Show for myself, but had to bring it out special for this shoot.)

(Kiel in action and Erika being her usual spunky and beautiful self.)

The new goodies will be launched for holiday sales in November... can't wait!

And a big huge thank you to Erika Leachman who modeled, Kiel Rucker who photographed, Myriah Bujak who styled the hair, Lauren Pitts who did the make up and Mars the Dog who just really probably got in the way a bit, but who also brought the cuddly love.

{photo credits: Kiel, Myriah and me!}

Into the weekend.

I took a bath this afternoon.  Right smack in the middle of the day.  I never do this, but today I did because my very being could not take any more website fixing, a loony workload, and way overthinking.  So, I did it.  I loaded the tub with hot water, dunked in some bath salts and slid into my own little slice of happy place for a well appreciated break.  It was awesome.

This weekend, I am allowing myself to step through a wide open door of secret hopes.  There are many many of these doors and windows and hidden cracks with bold light peeking through that you can go through, too.  I hope you do.

Love,

Cath

{ photo by Gina Conti }

A Reprise*

Been totally out of the blogging loop this week- life took a hold of me and swung me around for a bit, plus we had a photoshoot for the Holiday designs (excited!).  But now I'm back and wanted to share this beautiful photography that a friend passed along to me.

 

Aren't they great?

 { Photo source HERE }