back

I'm back, though I didn't really go anywhere. B did. He left me alone ALL weekend. :( he took a last minute visit to see his Grandma Judy in nevada. him being gone put me in a funk of sorts {so desperately, pathetically needy: i know}. I spent the weekend at my parents eating my sisters baked good, seeing Les Mis with my other sissys and mom, and falling down the stairs. How do you limp when both feet hurt? anyway, B's home now so I can get back to being my cheery blogging self.

and he came back with presents!!

{like only good husbands do when they leave you for 4 days}

3 new vintage cameras to add to our growing collection

+ a CD of the most gorgeous old family photos!

oh what's that?

you'd like to see some?

I thought you'd never ask :)

here is grandma judy.

i love her very much

why don't nurses dress like this now?!

her bridal shower

so pretty

my absolute favorite photo ever.

and DARE told me smoking wasn't cool....

hoping you all had a lovely extra long weekend!

xo

kitty

p.s. smoking is not cool. but if you are going to do it I hope you do it in style like grandma judy used to.

under the weather

I've been in the process of passing yet another kidney stone (at least thats what Dr. me is suspecting) though it hasn't been nearly as bad as past ones. This time around it's like someone has poked their finger in my side and kept it there. so not technically painful, just plain obnoxious. this has been going on for about 2 months so I decided it's time I take part in the tradition and name the annoying stone:

pagoda.

{named after a little indian man}

pagoda, though nicer than my other stones, is a very fickle stone. One moment we're just chillin, just me and Pagoda. Next thing I know, that poking finger is stabbing my insides. also, he throws fits and hurts if I don't eat enough and throws even bigger fits if I eat too much. It's a constant battle trying to find that happy medium. its annoying enough to be debilitating but not painful enough to pull out the pain killers. bleh.

dr. me prescribed Haagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream and a movie.

I better follow the doctor's orders :)

mother nature

thank you for bringing me back to earth

-claire

I'm a softie

and the lucky winner{s) are:

Samantha said...

i would love to win this! not for me, but for my sister. she is a senior this year and it would be the best present ever! so i would pretty much be the best sister ever! and you're such a good photo taker so it'd be great!

meg. said...

count me in.

I decided last second that two give-aways are much better than one :) basically I'm a softie, if I could give away photo-shoots left and right I would, but a girl's gotta eat. For those who entered the giveaway, I'm offering $10 off for senior photo shoots {must take place before end of june} so everyone's a winner!! woot woot!

B and I had a blast on our river run! We came home late last night, sunburnt & beat and a tad under the weather {aka: potential kidney stone }. But I've got loads of photos/stories to share :) stay tuned

xoxo

kitty

p.s. Samantha & Meg: contact me and start praying for prettier weather!!

cathorley@gmail.com

whistle worthy

recent woo-ful web finds

for your saturday

whistle worthy photography

whistle worthy print

whistle worthy sun kisses

whistle worthy view

whistle worthy suit

whistle worthy art studio

whistle worthy mother-to-be

*click image for source

one more day for this giveaway!

tunes

if i were to turn my ipod on shuffle, it might go a little something like this:

blue spotted tail: fleet foxes

hotel yorba: white stripes

it aint me babe: june and johnny cash

these days: nico

chicago: sufjan stevens

fortunate son: CCR

look up: bradley hathaway

road sweet home: brandon white (aka my darling husband)

she belongs to me: bob dylan

wake me up before you go-go: wham

butterfly nets: bishop allen

white shoes: conner oberst

and then I'd likely put that last song on repeat and listen to it again and again and again.

what's playing on your ipod?

***it's a well known fact in my family that i'm no finder of great music. luckily both my sister and husband have good ears. so heres a shout-out to you guys! If it weren't for you my list would consist of B. spears and disney soundtracks...

***only a few more days till this giveaway ends!

Kitty: Blog Alias

"Why Kitty?"

My given name is Claire Andra Thorley

I've always la la loved my name :)

My parents did a pretty swell job at picking it.

I really feel it suits me.

But growing up I was always a bit jealous of people with nicknames.

The only one nick-name I had was "Claire Bear".

and very rarely could I be called that without this rhyme following:

Claire the Bear.

Has no hair.

She wears funny underwear.

{which is just a bunch of lies...in case you were wondering: i happened to have fine taste in panties}

At some time my mom made note that my initials spell CAT.

Claire

Andra

Thorley

Because of this, my brother started calling me "Kitty". He did this for a few solid years during highschool. it became my family's pet name for me: "kitty", "kit", "cat".

and now it serves as a blog alias of sorts.

my name is now Claire Andra Thorley White.

{claire white}

which i LOVE.

but CATW doesn't spell anything.

& CAW sounds too much like cow.

so I think I'll stick with Kitty :)

What are your favorite/silly/most hated nicknames?

the senior photo shoot giveaway ends sunday!

facts and confessions

I'm more confident in high-heels.

towering over everyone and taking longer strides.

I don't drink coffee.

But I just might be addicted to coffee ice cream. sinner. {i'm working on it.}

I haven't read a book for enjoyment since....I can't even remember.

My average test score is a 75%. A solid C, kids.

my final project in ceramics last semester exploded in the kiln.

My nail beds are super long.

Probably one of my favorite features.

My nails are ALWAYS painted.

Mostly cause I go nuts when they aren't clean (and when you are an art major....it's hard to keep them clean...)

I sometimes break promises.

Like that one time when I said I'd post all the ins and outs of my wedding...yah.

I'm choosy about who I sit by in Relief Society.

Kelsee or Brighton on one side. Woman with a baby on the other.

I stole a baby off a mother's lap in R.S. a few sundays back. Just swiped her. I've never spoken a word to the woman in my life except for the "thankyou" when I gave her baby back 30 min. later.

I love wearing the color red

but only in tiny bits here and there.

I once got sent to the principals office for "beating up" a boy.

he slapped my butt. he had it coming.

she doesn't know it, but I miss my best friend Kaitlyn every day.

She's probably the most quoted person in our home. her and nicholas cage (bleh)

I get jealous of freckled faces and true red heads.

i loved mermaids as a kid. I'd sit in my tub waving my head around in the water so my hair would go everywhere. my mom called it "mermaid hair". and then when my mom would put me to bed she'd tuck the covers tight around my body but loose around my feet so my mermaid flippers could move.

B told me that he was going to grow a mustache JUST for the month of november. the mustache is still here, and I hope it never leaves.

the senior photo shoot giveaway ends sunday :)

leaving on a jet plane..

the title of this blog isn't very fitting because we are NOT leaving on a jet plane.

we are leaving in a car.

with B's aunt & uncle (aka our besties)

on a week of river rafting!

now i've only been riving rafting once, in jackson hole, with a tour guide who promised us life-threatening falls and such. but he lied, it was "putt-putt" and smooth sailing the whole time.

boring.

this trip promises to be much more....life threatening (?!). I kid. i mean we do have to wear helmets in certain parts of the river, and if we don't keep our food in air-tight cans we may wake up to some critters in our sleeping bags. oh, and big chances of rain. but besides that it's should be pretty safe :) (mom(s) don't worry, it's going to be SO safe and we'll take every necessary precaution. seriously, please don't worry)

i'm extremely excited for this trip.

i've needed a vacation: some self reflecting time.

and what better way to do that than get away from civilization: cell phones, computers, work and school demands, even roads! to sleep under the stars, forget make-up and hair, and sit around a fire with some of the people i love most and some strangers too.

to say i'm excited would be a huge understatement.

i wish you all a happy rest of the week!

i've scheduled some posts about a few of my favorite things , and little pointless facts :) please enjoy and feel free to comment your favorites too {so i can read them when i get home!}

love you!

{i really do!}

xoxo

kitty

p.s. don't forget to enter the giveaway!

p.p.s. for those of you wishing you could go back to high school just so you could graduate and enter this giveaway, stay tuned! I promise you a photo giveaway {that doesn't discrimiate} in the very near future :) I like this give-away business. I thinking of making it a monthly event. what say you?

a love letter

dear little studio apartment,

oh how we love you.

sometimes we call you the cupboard under the stairs.

sometimes we call you our castle.

i love that you are ours, even if only temporarily. you are our home and have housed the first year of our marriage. and though you are small, we are grateful. in fact, we believe you've helped us with our marriage! when little tiffs arise (which they naturally do) one can stomp 5 stomps away into the bathroom where they can either sit on the toilet in shame, or in the bathtub and sulk. which is just silly. so kisses and "i'm sorry"s don't wait long.

it's ok you have no room for a table, we like eating breakfast/lunch/dinner in bed. it's alright you have no room for a tv, we get our alfred hitchcock fix on netflix. and i'll forgive you for not having a dishwasher cause your sink is so darn cute. and your walls! oh how i love your tall walls with layers of bubbling wallpaper. i think of others who've lived here, couples in the 20's, 30's, 4o's, who also stayed up way late one night putting up wallpaper and painting walls.

making it their home.

just like we have.

we even love your wooden floors, though they splinter.

because even the cracks serve a purpose

we hide love letters in them, so that someday, if the floorboards are lifted, people will know that

two young lovers lived and loved here.

*image source

steph & the wind

this champ of a graduating senior {cough cough model} braved the cold, the wind, cat-calls and admiring looks from fisher-men, and a few unexpected hikes for this shoot.

worth it?

you tell me :)

I will certainly be featuring more from this shoot on my photo blog.

need senior photos taken?

want to win FREE SENIOR PHOTOS!?

click here to enter the giveaway,

{lets just say the odds are really in your favor}

the giveaway ends sunday.

oh dear

I'm not sure how many of you fell victim to the blog issues these past couple of days, but it was no fun.

no fun indeed.

of course blogger would go nuts in the middle of my

SENIOR PHOTO SHOOT GIVEAWAY!

unfortunately all comments were deleted :(

for those of you who e-mailed me about comment issues or who had previously commented: please re-comment! and for those of you who didn't comment: what were you thinking?! we are talking $free.99 photo shoot. i mean seriously...

due to all blog related complications, (and to the fact that I am taking a little vacation next week) the giveaway has been extended! You now have until sunday evening, may 22nd to enter.

so enter away!

in other news I had a much deserved girls day out shopping with my sis, my mom, and my bestie :) I'm not sure what entitles me to a shopping day, except that I am a girl, and a girl needs to shop. right? right. also, unrelated, i have a new found (or just stronger) obsession with lipstick. i like it a lot, but only the cheap kind. the kind you can get at rite aid and know you are going to like it cause some other customer broke into one already. the kind that taste like what you think lipstick would taste like. yeah, that kind.

sporting some spoils from the day including hat for aforementioned vacation, new cheap-o lipstick, greasy parting of the red sea bangs (note: forehead wrinkle) and my new favorite sweater (under $10 & has sparkly thread. sparkly thread people!!)

hope you are loving this beautiful sunny friday!

xoxo

kitty

p.s. i just remembered this post from forever ago, i guess this obsession with lipstick is nothing new. only difference then and now is then i thought i had some potential as a fashion blogger and now I do the service of sparing you my silly make-up advice. also, then i was buying mac {ya know, the good stuff} , and now i'm a rite-aid-regular. oh how i've grown ;)

13 {really legit} reasons you need

senior photos NOW

1. after 12 years of embarrassing school photos you deserve one that captures the real you

2. your mom has been nagging you to get them done all year

3. be honest, your facebook profile pic could use some updating

4. you've accomplished big things by golly! it's time you got recognized!

5. you get to hang out with me :)

6. your grandma wants them (to add to her shrine of you)

7. Brandon will beat you up if you don't

8. the weather is ideal for photo taking!

9. I suffer from the tri-fecta: newly-wed, starving, college (art) student.

aka: help a sister out?!

10. your mom and dad will be so impressed with your pro-active-ness

(no doubt resulting in bigger and better grad gifts)

11. your gf/bf wants to show you off

12. my camera, Hank, is dying for a date

13. it's only $75 for crying out loud!!!

okay...so Brandon won't beat you up, and maybe #5 isn't that cool but the rest are really legit!

so really, what are you waiting for?

claire white

cathorley{at}gmail{dot}com

801.885.0866

and for your chance to win a free senior photo shoot click here!

GIVEAWAY!

I'm so excited to announce my 1st ever

PHOTO SHOOT GIVEAWAY!

I will be giving away one senior photo shoot

-1 hour

-1-2 locations/ 2-3 outfits

-CD with high resolution edited images (60+)

-printing rights

-valued at $75

{see full shoot details and related work here}

you have 3 chances to get your name in the "raffle"

here's how to enter:

{must be a public follower}

1. commenting on this post gets you 1 "raffle ticket"

2. post/link about this coolness on your blog & include

link in comment gets you 2 "raffle tickets"

this giveaway is open to graduating seniors in utah county

{or those who are willing to travel to utah county}.

shoot is to take place in the month of May, 2011.

Giveaway has been extended until

Sunday May 22nd 7 p.m.

and a winner will randomly be chosen and announced that same evening.

are you as excited as I am?!!!

love and luck to you all

xoxo

claire

p.s. check out my senior photo work here

p.p.s. for those of you NOT graduating and feeling left out on all the love....stay tuned! I'm thinking the month of June will be good to you as far as giveaways are concerned :)

p.p.p.s. for those who'd rather not play their luck (though, I thinking your chances are pretty high) and would like to book a shoot now, contact me at

cathorley{at}gmail{dot}com

801.885.0866

*sigh*

to be young again...

hahah okay so maybe I'm not that old... but I do miss that crazy driven ambition that only almost-graduates have. I think thats why doing senior portraits are my absolute favorite (shh! don't tell the brides!) i crave the energy! i love the optomisim! the giddy excitement of nearing that ever fateful day of GRADUATION! and it is a big day. it's the last day of your small high-school world and the first day of the oh-so-big-world! I cried big time at graduation (which probably isn't a huge surprise since an episode of the office can get me sniffling, i mean come on? Michael gone?!) there were only a few tears of sadness at graduation. maybe like 2 or three. the rest were super happy tears! happy because busting ones butt k-12 is a lot of work. and it is a HUGE accomplishment.

and I believe something so big should be documented

check out my most recent shoots

here

one brown-eye-bombshell

and one blue-eyed-beauty

and check out my senior photo shoot special here!

he & she

it's good having him back.

it's good being he & she again.

B brought me back a little surprise from his backpacking trip:

herbs he picked to make indian tea!!

he made me some today and it was wonderful!

it tastes similar to chamomile tea.

of course we had to drink it out of our He & She cups I painted a few weeks back while kid-sitting these cuties.

and of course I had to take photos :)

cheers!

& happy monday!

p.s. there is a rumor going around that I'm going to have the most glorious of give-aways. the rumor is true. (i should know, i started it). I understand your excitement is barely containable, but please contain it. and please stay tuned. it is coming.

dear mom,

i love you to the moon and back and maybe a few times around too. thank you for being my closest friend, my biggest fan, my constant example. and thank you for always being right :)

happy mother's day

xooxo

claire

him.

husband has been gone for the past two days

{camping with his men-friends}

and i'm dying!

i miss him all sorts of crazy.

it's like i don't know how to function without him.

needy much?

oh yes indeed.

i need him very very much.

i need him to wake me up in the morning so I don't miss my class {oops}

to remind me to take my vitamins so i don't drain-out in the middle of the day

to send me little "love you baby" texts so i can get through my 3 hr long classes

to tickle my face at night before we go to sleep

to snuggle me in the morning so i start the day out right

to remind me to eat, and to eat healthy

to model his hot body for me so i can finish my figure drawing homework.

and i need to tell him i love him and hear he loves me back.

yes.

i am needy.

which, in all honesty, is a humbling experience for me. I use to pride myself in being so independent, but loving someone has taught me to lean on them and trust them entirely, that it is OK to need.

baby,

i miss you.

come back home so i can kiss your scruffy mountain man face!

xoxo

wife

when considering audreys

dare I say I love Tautou as much as Hepburn?

I believe I do.

favorite hepburn movie: Love in the Afternoon

favorite tautou movie: Amelie

P.S. I'm having another giveaway! check in later today to see what it's all about! or take a sneak peek over here to get an idea...

feathers & art

{copper plate I worked on last night in prep for prints! If the prints turn out successful, I just might maybe sell some....}

I keep talking about art projects I'm working on but never share them. I suppose it's because it's hard to find an end point with art. Even when I turn a project in, my mind is buzzing with "what ifs" what if I added more black paint, more glitter, less of this more of that. etc. Also, in the art world there is this idea that the less you share of your work the better. That your work has more value if it isn't overly abundant, that you have more control of how you are viewed by the select work you put out. And I suppose this is true, and at times has stopped me from sharing. But the truth is I, myself, am a work in progress. This struggle I have of trying to find "the artist in me" (sounds so cheesy) is a big trial for me. It involves me making lots of mistakes and {hopefully} learning from each one of them. But I like that process. I enjoy the process because it makes the small successes that much better. It's okay that my final project in ceramics exploded in the kiln. It's okay that my grisaille painting of glass jars looked like monochrome throw-up. It's a messy process, this art journey. But I'm grateful for it. And it's a big part of me, so I'm going to try to be better at sharing:

21 grams

art installation

*oh how I wish you could have been there to see this in person!

Installation art doesn't really translate in photograph...

the initial idea behind this work was a sort of therapy session i created for myself. ya see, someone had said something to me that hurt my feelings, like REALLY bad. and the more I thought about said comment, the more frustrated i got. after all, they were only words. why was i letting a combination of letters weigh me down so much? in a physical sense, they weigh nothing, but I let them be a burden. The work was to represent the unnecessary weight we give to things, things that don't need to and shouldn't burden us. it was mean to be a reality check of sorts, something everyone can relate to.

a single white feather weighing down a scale placed on a white fur rug in the middle of the room

I was much more fascinated with my classes' interpretation. Each person had a different take. the feathers were "people, waiting to be judged" the feeling was "slightly eery, though the content warm and soothing" and lots of "i wish there was a title!" My teachers noted the uncanny fact that the feather weighs 21 grams on the scale, and wondered if it had anything to do with Dr. Duncan MacDougall's ideas about the soul weighing 21 grams. After looking into that theory, a title was born.

this rusty old fan was the only noise, and hit the feathers that were suspended on fishing line,

so that they slightly quivered.

what do see/feel? what do the feathers, scale, layout mean for you? one of the most amazing parts about art is the subjective nature of it. I'd love to hear what YOU think.