Local Treasures - CatMooreDesign

Well, hello! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I've got a picture-heavy post for you guys today, so here's a quick recap of Friday's outfit before we get into the good stuff :)

It's been one of those weeks  - tons of stuff in my closet, nothing to wear (and let's not talk about the fact that my closet has collapsed...long story) - so I threw together this little number because I've been wanting to wear this stretchy black skirt I picked up at Macy's for a while. It's just a basic, nothing special, but I wanted to wear it in a way that was casual rather than dressed up. That's why I paired it with this gray tie-dyed tee from Target that I've had for ages, gray tights, my Evan's boots, and a long black sweater from H&M - another oldie but goodie.

The real star here though is my necklace - a loaner from the lovely Cat of CatMooreDesign.

I discovered Cat's shop while browsing on Etsy one day. Etsy, if you've never visited, is an online marketplace which hosts thousands of shops selling handmade and vintage items. I'm a sucker for handmade jewelry hand have ordered from various different sellers there. Cat's beautiful jewelry caught my eye, and after a few messages back and forth, we discovered we both lived in NJ, and funnily enough, would both be attending the same hockey game last Thursday! We made a point to meet up, and Cat was nice enough to lend me a few pieces of her handmade jewelry to share with all of you!

I'm wearing the Monica Crystal Quartz Cluster Wire Wrapped Necklace. This piece is so up my alley - the silver links and gorgeous crystal drops are delicate while still making a bold statement. Even with my bad quality outfit pics above (sorry about that, I don't know what's going on there!), you can still see the necklace and especially the crystal drops sparkling through the blur.

I think what I was most impressed with while I was trying on and snapping pictures of Cat's jewelry is her attention to detail. For example, even the clasp of the Monica necklace is beautiful - the tiny crystal beads are a extra special touch that not every designer would include.

I'm so glad that I got the chance to meet Cat and chat for a few minutes, because she is sweet as pie and absolutely adorable. She went to undergrad at Rutgers Mason Gross, and then moved to Brooklyn for a few years to attend grad school at Pratt and to work. She came back to her Jersey roots last fall after meeting and moving in with the love of her life :) Aw! Such a sweet story!

And she does matching earrings as well! These are delicate enough that wearing both the necklace and earrings together isn't over powering, though of course they are both beautiful on their own.

For the next few days I'm going to be featuring a few more of Cat's pieces from her Etsy shop CatMooreDesign, so stay tuned! You can also visit her on Facebook - If you "Like" her page, you get a 10% Fan Discount! It's also a great way to keep up to date on upcoming events, book a home show, to make a custom order for weddings or gifts, and to hear about Cat's seasonal sales, promotions and coupon codes :)