Wanderlust Wednesday*

Lately, there's been a whole lot of working in my daily and so I treated myself to something I've been hoping to try out for a long while.  I got a polaroid-type/instant mini and took this photo as my second ever shot. The film is costly, so it would behoove to be a little more selective about what moment you want to capture... which is counter intuitive to our digital camera age.  But I think it's a good way to appreciate your vision in a whole new way, don't you?  Eye something beautiful and love that moment in the single shot... polaroids have a great way of keeping you in the moment.   Anyhow, welcome to Wanderlust Wednesdays which will document these wonderful little pieces in time. 

{ This photo was taken when we took Mars the Dog to the beach.  The sun was intense, beaming on the water.  I love how surreal and bizarre the image turned out.  Is that dark spot the sun (do you see the ray reaching from it off to the right?).  Or is it a UFO?  I think we've solved the mystery behind all the UFO sitings of the 70's and 80's!}

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Top Five Tuesday: Books to Love

Are you a book lover?  I sure am.  Here are some that I have rounded up and hope to add to my book shelves soon...

{All books - and more- can be found on my Pinterest boards HERE.  I'm just getting started over there... holy crap, it's addicting.)

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Belly Flip Monday*

These days I'm into the clouds, the peacful, the distractions from my mind wandering into things that offer me frustration and doubt.  Today I am a believer in the radiance of hope and of sparks of inspiration that lead me along brand new, wide open, transformative adventures and dreams waiting to be revealed.  Today is a good day to open your eyes really wide and take it all in.  I hope you do.  

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smoke from floto+warner on Vimeo.

To be thankful...

I'm of the philosophy that we shouldn't reserve all thanks and kindness for one or two days of the year.  Much better to divvy it up a bit and spread out the nice stuff a little longer throughout the year and, heck, throughout life in general.  But given that Thanksgiving is upon us and, soon after, the Winter Holidays, I'm going to share a few things that I am currently thankful for.  Which are...

* A mind and a journal filled with ideas

* The ground wet from rain and the plants reaching toward the sunlight

* That moment of stillness when I step into a new space

* Hugs and kisses when I need them

* A steady flow of work

* Watercolor inks in every single color imaginable

* A lesson learned to stop being so damn hard on myself

* The same lesson teaching me to stand up for myself a little more

* Baths

* A hot drink and a great book

* Witnessing loved ones succeed

* Getting tingles running through my body when I hear a good song (case in point: Just Like Heaven is currently playing on Pandora)

* Having the entire day off tomorrow wherein I will sit and eat as much as humanly possible.

* Luna's verison of Ride into the Sun

* Feeling huge hope for what's now unfolding...

Enjoy a fulfilling weekend, friends.

Love,

Cath

P.S.  If you are in the shopping mood this weekend, come visit the Ciara Obscura SHOP for at least 10% off everything plus Free Shipping... Black Friday through Cyber Monday!

{ Felted acorns... how adorable... found HERE}

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Top Five Tuesday: Swings (revisited)

I've often said that I am a six year old- ninety seven year old.  Meaning, simply, that I am both an in-the-moment enthusiast plus a sentimental appreciator of life.  I can make for an oddball in conversations sometimes.  But... but...no one can ever accuse me of not living life to its fullest (for the most part anyway- sometimes I let myself get distracted by meddlesome worries).  That said, one of life's greatest gifts is the swing.  Wouldn't you agree?  I mean, try thinking about anything but freedom when you're on one.  I don't think it's possible. ( I think they're so awesome, I dedicated another blog post to it ->HERE) .  Enjoy a little daydreaming while looking at these...

{girl on swing , colorful bedroom swing , wooden swing with pillows , Indian home swing , "bead" swing }

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Belly Flip Monday*

I came across this short film the other day and am blown away by this artist's innovation and clarity of senses.  It's really worth taking the (less than) ten minutes out of your day to experience this sort of genius.  I remain astounded.

Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim on Nowness.com.
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Into the weekend... Blue*

This weekend I'll be taking deep breaths and having a diversity of drinks ranging from green tea to hot chocolate to hard apple cider- but not all at once.  It's been one hell of a whirlwind week as far as work goes (this is good -> a way lot of orders and a side design project that has slightly consumed me <- but, man oh man, am I eyes-crossing pooped out.).  I'll also be fine tuning the guest blogger element of this blog and hope to have new faces and voices joining in over the next couple of weeks.  Until then, I'll share my latest love of velvet in the color of blue.  And then an extra special treat at the very end of this post to take you into your weekend...

And then this song...

Enjoy an inspiring weekend filled with happy discoveries that make you gasp.

Love,

Cath

{ *Outfit *Room *Shoes *Office Chair }
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A neat book

This book looks awesome.  Bonus: my good friend Brian Newlin is one of the authors.  I'm going to snag myself a copy for a Holiday gift (but not without taking a few peeks inside first).

Scoot on over HERE to have a look inside for yourself!

Belly Flip Monday

The brief intermission was due, in part, to having been out of town for my brother's wedding (Congratulations, Ed and Kasey!) and then having to finalize last minute orders before I left.  But now I'm back in the game and thought maybe these vintage quilts would make you feel as happy as I feel when I look at them. Also, I finally hopped onto the Pinterest train and - Yes.  Yes, I am hooked.  I plan on adding many more goodies to the boards over this coming week and I can't tell you how giddy this makes me.  Meantime, some pretty pretty quilts just for you...

{All quilts found HERE}

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The visual definition of Cute*

I just want to hug all of them...

( I have a very similar romper... now to hunt down those sweet tights.)

(If you haven't seen the Bill Cunningham documentary, you really should.  He's the loveliest man.)

(click to enlarge to see the detail on her shoes!)

(reminds me of my high school days, except she's got a bit more style and class than I did.)

{All photos from The Sartorialist}

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Belly Flip Monday

Today my belly flips because of this...

Aren't we very very lucky to have this kind of beauty in the world?

{Artwork from My Folk Lover}

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Into the weekend

This weekend it's off to a friend's surprise party, reworking and sewing a 50's style bridesmaid dress for a wedding I'll be attending next weekend, and drinking probably more hot chocolate than is good for me (I'm doing it anyway.).  I'll also be keeping an eye out for a tree to climb, a new book to read, and an autumn inspired cookie recipe.

Wishing you a cozy one, friends.

Love,

Cath

{Photo found HERE}

Enter Love...

Who are we to think that we can't have full, sustaining, wildly awesome love in our lives?

I think we can.  I think it's all about how much freedom and aliveness we allow ourselves.

Don't ever... for one single second... underestimate this kind of love in your life.

Enter love ...

“The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead or smiling into your eyes or just staring into space.” — Marilyn Monroe

{Photo source HERE}

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Holiday Collection!

Couldn't wait to launch the Holiday goodies just a wee bit early this year.  It's not normally how I would do things, but the recent snowfall back east kick started my nostalgia for winter and the holidays and Christmas and that sort of thing. And so it goes...

Want to see the new designs?

(the first and last photos here are neat ideas for different styling with the same silk scarf)

Enjoy a visit to the Ciara Obscura SHOP here!

{Photographer: Kiel Rucker ; Model: Erika Leachman ; Hair: Myriah Bujak ; Make-up: Lauren Pitts}

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