Friday, May 14, 2010

Neeeeeeed....

Earlier, I was out walking and saw a little girl under a tree in her front yard, belly flat on her swing, swaying back and forth in her own little world . Instant envy. I mean, geez, I can't be the only one who lived on swings when I was younger, can I? I used to close my eyes and let myself fly over oceans and fields of wild flowers and when my belly wildly flipped... holy crap... exhilarating.
When I got home, a link on Cup of Jo popped up- almost shouting , "See?! SEE?!!! You're not the only one!" This time... indoor swings. Oh the love.






Now I just have to figure out where the hell I can hang one in our place so I won't massacre every piece of furniture and trinketry in the spaces where the swing will naturally want to fly. Tricky.

And, speaking of childhood and dreaming... please check out this wonderful organization, Fresh Air Fund. It offers inner city children to either stay with host families for a part of summer in nature or they offer camps for the children to get away from the hectic pace of the city so they can enjoy the many comforts and peace of nature. I'll be giving a percentage of profits from the sales on my website through to the end of June to this cause. And if you don't wear accessories, I encourage you to go straight to Fresh Air Fund's website to donate directly.

Enjoy a lovely lovely weekend, peeps.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Beauty into the weekend...


Some things to perk up your weekend...

Cupcakes!

This awesome blog.... Thxthxthx . I can't get over how perfect this concept is.


Laziness... (of the wonderful-good-for-your-bones persuasion)


This vintage dress from Mouse Vox. A lovely little summer ditty...

Last day for the Ciara Obscura May Giveaway. Hop on over (HERE)

And one last thing... For all you mothers out there who guide your children to be kind and compassionate and authentic beings- who teach your children to say "please" and "thank you"- who encourage your children to respect others by holding them accountable for their own choices- who love and hug and laugh and stumble, but get back up again- who may not have children of your own but whose boundless love and appreciation for life creates a lasting impact in the lives of children (and children at heart) in the world around them... for all of you... Enjoy a wonderful Mother's Day.


Photo Credits: (glowing female) Papaya, (cupcakes) Heidi Adnum, (tree friend) Double Parlour

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

May Giveaway...


Here it is, folks. A pretty little betty in the form of chartreuse green silk and purple lace button on silver bobby pins... Candy Apple. Oh so adorable. And kind of really sexy, too.

Enter to win a pair here:
Rules... (Deadline is this Friday, May 7th 11:59pm)
1. In two words (just two!) share your most positive trait.
2. Extra points: Go to the Ciara Obscura website (HERE) and tell us your favorite item
3. Extra Extra points: become a Facebook fan of Ciara Obscura and/or follower of this blog
4. Extra points (cubed): Be nice to someone who really needs it today.

Hugs!

UPDATE: Brianna from Brooklyn, NY is the May Giveaway winner... Yay!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Life is like this...

Life kind of starts like this:
and then hands you these:
and then it's up to each of us to choose this:
or this:
and this:

You are your very own chance to live the life you dreamed you would.
Go.


Photos, in order, by Squid Art, Honey Tree, The Photo Zoo , Bomo Bob, Pictures of Her

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Random things.

I've enjoyed reading, lately, posts listing random facts shared from the person, about the person.
It's kind of a little voyeuristic, but still. I like.

I suppose Facebook and Twitter and Myspace and Flickr already offer that inside glimpse. Difference here is... I'd hope this extra slice of authenticity marks the line between masked social networking and a person's true soul. Let's see if I can share some bits of randomness that maybe I wouldn't on, say, my Facebook post.

Here goes...

* I love spiders. Love them. I can watch them for hours. When I was in college, a friend was terrified of them. I mean, panic attacks, nightmares, past life whathaveyous... all of it. So one time, in the middle of the night, she called. Frantic. I had to run across campus to rid her bathroom of a spider. She told me to kill it, right then and there, so she could see it was dead. Couldn't do it. So I took it outside, made a little bed of leaves and sticks for it and set it free. The spider was very happy. My friend... not so much.

* Vintage aprons are my guilty pleasure. I wear them daily at home. Other guilty pleasure: Father of the Bride with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. Other guilty pleasure: Listening to cheesy meditation music.

* I'm embarrassed to be seen inside of gas guzzlers. I had to, once, get a ride from a friend who had a Lincoln Navigator. Mortified. Same goes for being seen inside cars that are way too expensive and fancy. Or being a passenger in a car- especially in one of the aforementioned vehicles- where the driver is rude to other drivers, cyclists and/or pedestrians. I feel like I need to, then, overcompensate for it all by donating to a charity or going out of my way to hold doors for people.

* I fantasize about a lot of highly inappropriate stuff that I absolutely will not share here, but I also fantasize about telling people off. Full on, played out scenarios in my head.

* I can be passive-aggressive. But I'm now learning to just be more assertive.

* I did not choose my own wedding dress. It was a gift from one of my brothers and my sister. And, though it was not what I would have , necessarily, picked for myself, I wore it and felt loved in it. I also was so concerned about keeping the guests waiting that I forgot to put a flower in my hair. I wear something in my hair every single day, but neglected to put one in that day because I was worried about keeping others waiting. I think I was the complete opposite of a bridezilla.

* I could listen to Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea five million times over and still tear up at the end of that song. Same goes for Ben Fold's The Luckiest and The Cure's Treasure.

* Witty men make my heart flip.

* A week or so before my mom died, she told me to look for a rainbow on my birthday. That when I saw it, I would know she was with me, celebrating. That was in February. In August, it was my 7th birthday. I woke up, put on my scuffed up yellow and white sneakers and went outside. There was a rainbow stretched across the sky.

* I've been a vegetarian for 15 years, advocate for animal welfare and am beyond heartbroken when I see a documentary on slaughterhouses, but I salivate every time I smell bacon.

* I can't lie.

* It just takes one genuine smile from a stranger to make my day.

* I dream less about traveling or going out 'til all hours of the night watching bands play these days and more about sitting in a garden while drinking tea.

That should do.
I'd love to hear your own random self facts. Share.

Oh. And please welcome this blog's latest sponsor, BOCAGE. Click HERE for their amazing shop and HERE to read about its most super talented designer and owner, Stephanie Kheder Bodine.

Image credit: Cafe Baudelaire

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Life's perks...

The perk about being an adult is that you can dictate when and where candy will be consumed into your own body. Also, no one is telling you (with any degree of success anyway), how much of said candy you can eat. Same thing for staying up late, reading off the hook books or watching trashy bizarre movies, and eating special brownies while doing so.
Those are the perks.
These are the un-perks of being an adult: Being responsible for our actions. Figuring out how to not be so fucked up in the face of these responsibilities and actions. And giving into the process of learning to just not give a crap.

My problem has always been that I think too much. Worry too much. Worry about how other people are feeling... too much. I sometimes forget about my own ability and freedom to live my life with that same certainty of carefree abandon as occasionally taking part in those aforementioned perks of being an adult.

I'm not an ass. I'm actually probably too nice. So these perks, literal or -even better- metaphorically speaking- could probably be more commonplace in my life. In yours. Maybe start owning that right a little more.

That said, I'm off to consume a chunk of chocolate as part of my breakfast of champions of coffee and toast.
And maybe I'll hunt down some cotton candy for later.

Ah life.

Photo Credit (girl with rainbow over the knee socks): She Hit Pause Studios
Photo Credit (candy): Stoopid Gerl
Pin It button on image hover