BLUE MOON

Today is the blue moon, as Im sure most of you already know.  Exciting b/c we wont get another one until next August.  Im wishing so badly I had a real life sisterhood close to me here in the hills, that I could gather with and howl at the moon.  Just a little daydream I have.  But I will spend some loving time in solitude with her late tonite.  My connection with the moon for most of my life has been a inner verbal one.  My deepest times with her are when I sit with myself, and talk with her.  Her blood runs so deep throughout my chart, its would be almost unnatural to not have such a connection with her.  Its one I feel very safe in.  She is my guardian angel, she is my mother. 

Speaking of the moon, I posted a guest post blog by Marissa Moondaughter, on The Bohemian Collective this morning.  It is the first in a series on Lunar Animals.  This one is on Owl Medicine.

Today is the last day to jump in on the August section of the Apothecary Circle by Laura Emily from Good Earth Living.  She has an extra sale going on, so if you enter the code BLUEMOON at checkout, you will get 25% off!  And mention the code Herbs170 in the notes to seller at checkout to let her know I was the one that sent you!  Super awesome one time deal.  You will still be able to sign up for this class through december, but there are soooooo many perks for signing up early in august.  Read here for more info.  Scroll down to the section that says August Sign-ups.  The code is also good for anything else in her shop!  Just be sure to enter both codes, one at checkout and one in the notes to seller.  Hope to see you there!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

This is more of a call for help from all of my readers.  Since I changed my domain url I think there may be alot of confusion.  Could you please help me out by posting my new url for your friends in your twitter and facebook statuses?  Thank you so much in advance!!!  If you followed my blog via bloglovin before, you will have to refollow with the link below!

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Also, notice the little share link at the bottom of each post?  You can now use this to share individual posts you like right on your twitter and facebook walls, among many other options!  

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CULTIVATION

 (part of a gypsy flag I made for a friend)

The past few days, everytime I think I want to check in here, I check out.  My mind is so full at the moment.  I spent yesterday afternoon getting a massage, a sweet much needed gift from a soul sister.  Then later last night I read alot and had some deep soul stirrings arise, which kept me spinning until I passed out in bed.  I woke up today with a migraine, no surprise there, but it kept me on the low quiet side of life all day.  As much as it has not been fun having a headache all day, it was kind of nice to check out once again and read some more.  My mind and soul are swirling about, tangling themselves up in a magical dance that I dont recognize, but I am entranced by.  

Side not, I blogged earlier today on The Bohemian Collective.

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CANVAS PRINT GIVEAWAY

Im so very excited for today's giveaway!  I received this awesome canvas print from iCanvasART.com the other, and Im sooo in love.  I picked one of my favorite photos from the latest Bohemian Collective lookbook, that Katelyn Demidow photographed.  I am super impressed with the quality.  It looks just like the photo.  All of the colors were so spot on to the original.  Since most of the colors in my home are neutral, I think this is the perfect addition to liven it up a bit.  And a great way to keepsake a memory of creating this amazing lookbook with my dear friend.  (this was the part of the shoot where we got leeches stuck to us, ha ha)... A day Ill never forget.  

So, here is the good part!  One lucky reader will win a canvas wrapped print of their own!  You have the option of choosing this same photo (it will be the only other one ever made), or any print of their entire site!  They have tons to choose from, ranging from classical art to pop art, to spiritual themed ones to modern musicians.  You name it, they have a bit of it.  So this really is a great giveaway for anyone!  You could even use this as a great gift idea.  

All you have to do to enter is visit their site and send me a link to the print you would pick if you won.  Or, if you would rather pick this photo above, tell me so.  For an extra entry, follow them on facebook.

For more extra entries, share this on your facebook, twitter and/or blog.  Please let me know each thing you did in your comment!  Good luck!  

Winner will be drawn on Friday 31st, the Blue Moon.

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CHANGE

The past two days, I have felt a stirring inside.  A heaviness though, has weighed me down.  I spent the better part of yesterday wondering around lost, in my own home.  I couldn't figure out quite why.  After grumbling for a while because I was frustrated with myself, I decided to put myself in the bathtub with my book, and just read, for as long as I wanted.  It seemed to do the trick.  I hate it when I get days where I feel so restless, but have no direction or motivation to keep myself focused long enough to do anything.  Just long enough to string stuff out in the house to possibly do, and then really just end up with a big ol' mess.  

For some reason, when I get this way, I always feel the need to change my blog.  Which is most likely why there have been so many changes along the way.  I almost did a complete rehaul.  But decided to just change up a few things, like my links.  I must say, it made all the difference in the world to me, in this online space I call home.  I also slightly redid the top 'about' part of the blog.  Messed with fonts and placements.  I may not be quite finished, but it feels good.  And although this was not quite on my to-do list, and definitely not a top priority thing to do, it just was something I needed to do for me this weekend.  Im hoping monday will rip this funk right out of me.  

Speaking of monday, tomorrow I have a super awesome giveaway coming up!  One I dont think you will want to miss!  Eeek.  Goodnight my sweet friends...

OH, I almost forgot one big important thing!!!  I also changed the domain name of my blog.  So if you are not following via bloglovin' or google friend connect, you might want to.  It is now 'rootsandfeathers' instead of 'violetbellasworld'.  Something I have wanted to change for a very long time, but I was worried it would change too much, but I decided I needed to make the change sooner rather than later.  You can find the follow links on the bottom of the left column.  If you happen to be displaying my button on your blog, you will also need to change its link.  Thank you!!

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Threads - Jumper + Kicks >>>

I had fun today with my outfit shoot.  It was the golden hour, and I was already done with my errands for the day, so I decided to take the time and play. It had been a while since Ive had a chance to do an outfit post in the evening time, so I took full advantage!  Oh, and I kind of cant believe how long my hair has grown!!

This outfit was pretty much just fun and cute.  I got this denim jumper a while back from Lost Boys & Lovers and realized I keep forgetting to break it out of the closet.  And Im starting to really see my obsession for the color brown.  I almost cant make an outfit without some brown in it.  I layered the jumper with one of my favorite little pieces from Whats Olivia Wearing, this little crochet top.  I can layer this baby over anything!  And this wide belt just came off of another dress I own.  The uh-mazing necklace is from Spiral Drift.  I dont think Ill ever get over how much I love her work.  A truly talented artist.  The fedora, seen on this blog a ton of times... is the only hat Ive ever had really, besides my beanies and such.  The first hat Ive ever found that I truly feel comfortable in... Its from Forever 21.  And last but definitely not least, my new kicks from Blowfish Shoes.  Wowsers these babies are adorable.  I can see these going with so much.  I cant wait to wear them in the fall with my skinnies and a sweater!

Yeah, that was alot of talk about clothes... geez.  But, I dooo adore them. 

Im excited to meet up with some of my parents old friends today for lunch.  Always good to visit with them.  Growing up, my parents had a big assortment of really amazing people in their life, and they all treated me like I was one of them.  I never felt like I couldnt be their friend or talk to them, just because they were my parents age.  They were always just my friends too.  So although it is bittersweet to come together with them without my parents being there too, its nice to reminisce with folks who shared the same love for them that I have. 

Also for the first time in a while yesterday, I was able to spend a little bit of time back in my studio!  So I have a brand new little something coming soon.  I may spend the time to make a few more before releasing them into the wild, but I love them!  Im feeling its time to dig in and work on new beauties.  Ive been feeling a little burned out after the big creative flow of the lookbook we just created... so the best remedy for that is to work on something entirely new!  Well see what happens. 

P.S. You should go check out my friend Moorea's pretty pictures I posted last night on The Bohemian Collective, they are dreamy.  Also, the September Willow sale starts today!!

September Willow >>>

Im excited to bring you an awesome sale, from my large sponsor September Willow.  She has two beautiful shops full of feminine pretties.  She will be hosting a 50% off sale to all of my readers for 3 days!  The sale starts tomorrow, Aug. 24th and ends on Sunday evening, Aug. 26th.  To receive 50% off anything in either of her shops, just enter the code 50blog at checkout.

Visit both her shops here:

September Willow

Paige and Penelope

a little word from the artist, Tami, herself:

Hi, my name is Tami Cicale and I own and operate two Etsy shops- September Willow and Paige and Penelope. I am married with two boys, 15 and 5, and work full time as a police officer for a large metropolitan department. I also teach police report writing seasonally at our local community college. Though I am very busy, I absolutely love creating jewelry and hair pieces for my Etsy shops. It gives me the balance that I crave after dealing with work and students all day. I usually can be found late at night after the house is settled and quiet working in my dining room on my latest pieces. I love supporting homemade, individual artists, and endlessly browsing though one great shop after another on Etsy. My style has evolved and continues to change. I make what moves me, whether its using crystals, stones, beads, or metal. I especially love mixing it up and using materials together that you wouldn't typically think would work. 

When I am not working, I enjoy reading, trying new recipes that I have found on Pinterest, blogging, catching up on my missed episodes of True Blood (it's an addiction!) and most importantly, spending time with my family. My husband is also a police officer and works three K9 dogs so we sneak in time together whenever possible.

Though life can be hectic at time, I believe that you can make your own happiness- wake up and decide that you are going to follow your passion no matter how bumpy (or busy) the road may be. 

Take care and would love to see you around, Tami.

visit Tami at her facebook page and blog to keep up with her new creations!

Good Earth Living >>>

Im very excited to take Laura Emily's apothecary class coming up this next year.  Its a year long class, and it is packed full of all kinds of valuable information about creating your own natural home care products.  After apprenticing for a few years with a good friend of mine, with her own amazing herbal business, I feel like Im a bit prepared for what is ahead.  Although, I know that in the field of herbs, there are limitless things to learn, and limitless possibilities of what you can create.  Im excited to dive in deeper and learn more for my own personal knowledge.  At the end of the course, I will get a certificate of training in Home Apothecary, which will be pretty cool.  But Im taking this mostly just for myself, and my family.  To focus more on my own health.  And to learn more about all the herbs I love.

When I worked for my friend, not only did I help her with the process of making her product, but I got to spend hours going through her apothecary, cleaning out the old herbs, and organizing the new ones.  It was one of the most delightful things to do.  Each herb had its own unique smell and aura.  I truly miss those days, and sometimes get sad that life has brought me to a place where I can no longer assist her.  So, Im excited to get my hands back in this place.  Although she had an entire room dedicated to her herbs, and I will most likely have a small closet, if that, it will still be joyful to work with them.  My Nanna is handing me down some of her old blue mason jars, and Im going to use them just for this.  

Beyond making products, there will also be emphasis in the class on Space Clearing, Holistic Nutrition and Detoxing.  All three of which I have interest in.  Im excited to see where this journey leads as far as my own personal walk with health and healing.  Im hoping a more in-tune, balanced me.  

I wanted to share this with all you, because I have the amazing offer of extending a discount to anyone who signs up for this Apothecary class, or buys any products from Laura's herbal shop, Good Earth Living.  You can use the code Herbs170 at checkout to receive 15% off anything, including this class. If you are interested in this class, and sign up by the end of August, you get alot of amazing perks!  You have until December to sign up, but the sooner you sign up, the more you get!  Read more about this class and what it has to offer here.  You can find a link to her shop at anytime under my affiliates links. 

Hello December, where are you?  Speaking of... the whether is beginning to get tiny little tinges of coolness here and there in my parts, and it is making me very excited for fall, my favorite time of the year.  Mmmmmm... I cant wait!

P.S.  Thank you for all of you who showed us love on the new Bohemian Collective lookbook! And I have a few awesome giveaways coming up this week, so be on the lookout!

AUTUMN MOON - The Bohemian Collective Fall Lookbook >>>

Yesterday was the release of the new Bohemian Collective lookbook, AUTUMN MOON.  It was such a labor of love and Im wildly excited that it is finally out in the world.  Please read the post here on the blog and then go pour through the images Katelyn and I created together.  It was so much fun working with a friend on a collaboration like this.  Along with each artisan who contributed their work, it all made for a stunning collection that I am so very proud of.  

After a long two weeks, I am pumping myself up to get back into the groove of work.  After the collection was released yesterday, I cleaned and mopped all our floors, and all around the house, picked up, freshened up, re organized.  Clearing my space for a new intention, always helps me clear my mind.  Now this morning, I am getting back to tons of unanswered emails, and filling orders.  We unexpectedly had to buy all new tires for my car yesterday, so this just might result in another sale in the shop... Ill keep you posted if so.  Until then, I am still have the 15% off sale if you buy more than one item, by using the code MULTIPLE15 at checkout, in my Roots and Feathers shop.

Threads - Tee Pee + Dreamcatcher >>>

This was my getup for my date night with my bestie the other night.  We went to our local wine bar and a lovely evening out with each other.  Just what I needed before diving head first into The Bohemian Collective preparations.  Im off for a busy day.... so this will be a quickie..

<<< outfit details >>>

shirt // skyline fever (coming soon)

skirt // f21

barefoot sandals // run with the tribe

leather sandals // my moms from italy

earring // gypsies caravan

ring // moorea seal

makeup // cosmic bath and beauty

Bohemian Collective Autumn Lookbook Preview >>>

A preview of The Bohemian Collective's autumn lookbook, coming into full bloom on monday.

Hello new moon.  Thank you for your presence today.

Soul Story >>>

Today you will find my first soul story on The Bohemian Collective.

Himalayan Salt Lamp >>>

My sweet friend Katelyn brought this beautiful himalayan salt lamp to me as a gift when she came to stay with me.  I replaced my bedside lamp with it, and I cant even express what a difference it has made in the atmosphere in my bedroom.  It is soooo beautiful to look, that it just makes my heart swoon.  I love that it is much softer than my normal lamp to read by, so James can actually fall asleep easier while I read.  I like to stay up and read and he snoozes within second of hitting the pillow.  And, James like to lick my lamp.  I licked it once or twice, but he keeps licking it, ha ha.  Beyond its yummy taste, Ive never seen a prettier lamp.  And reading about them, its awesome to know all of their benefits, beyond just their beauty.

Now, between this and having the record player in the bedroom, Id say its just about perfect.  Now I just need to get my Portishead Dummy album on vinyl, and it will be complete.