Obsessed Magazine, Issue 01 | September 2026

September 2026 | Issue 01

OBSESSED MAGAZINE

The First Issue WELCOMING A NEW ERA AS A WRITER, EMBRACING SERENDIPITY AND FULLY COMMITTING TO CREATIVE PURSUITS 1

TABLE OF P A G E

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

INTRODUCING...

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TAKING THINGS UP A NOTCH

CONTENTS PAGE

11 BEING A WRITER PAGE

14 SERENDIPITY

LATEST OBSESSIONS

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FROM THE WELCOME TO THE FIRST ISSUE OF OBSESSED MAGAZINE! I decided to brand the inaugural edition of this Obsessed Magazine as The First Issue for obvious reasons. But more figuratively, there are a lot of issues I'd like to explore through this little world that I’m building, and this is just the beginning.

Thanks for being here from the very start. I’m continuously inspired by having this new creative outlet, and I really appreciate anyone who is engaging, sharing, or simply following along.

The First Issue is a little bit of an experiment, a little scrapbook, and a little collection of my latest obsessions.

Most of the content here is what you’ve already read or heard from me this month, but with a little more polish, and now curated alongside photos from my camera roll and design elements that I had a too much fun incorporating.

As a bonus, I included a little round up of some of my favorite thrift finds, inspired by my essay on serendipity.

In editing this issue, I felt this overarching theme of embracing a new era.

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EDITOR In embracing my identity as a writer, I feel more fulfilled, creatively alive, and connected to my sense of purpose.

In publishing my writing and sharing it publicly, I’ve started to hear from friends from different stages of my life. Some I haven’t heard from in years, or even friends of friends that I’ve never met.

Some have shared that seeing me taking this leap has inspired them to a risk of their own, or to finally make time for something they hadn't felt brave enough to pursue. That means more to me than I can really put into words.

Maybe Obsessed With This inspires you to find ways to find a creative outlet of your own, or take a risk you’ve been ruminating on, or maybe you just want to read and look at pretty things.

Whatever you’re looking for, I hope as you flip through these pages, you feel creativity and courage at the heartbeat of this project.

Thanks for being here from the beginning. xoxo

Chloe Selena Barr Editor, writer, etc.

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Introducing

OBSESSED WITH THIS

Essays.Magazine.Audio.

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LONGTIME LISTENER, FIRST TIME CALLER.

I

recently felt moved to write about the intoxicating feeling of Obsession. Not the horror film... the state of being. To be obsessed. To be dominated by an idea, a person, a feeling, a concept, an experience, a dream.

I’m well acquainted with obsession— from low-stakes, light-hearted stuff, to destructive, all-encompassing obsessions that leave a lasting impact.

I’d like to argue that obsession is a part of our nature, but I literally have no grounds to say that, other than it’s how I feel. Take my word for it if you relate and we can live in this reality together.

Ever since I decided to dissect it, I’ve noticed how casually we throw around “obsession.”

I love a casual obsession.

For example, I’m obsessed with mood lighting…

Picture this, a cozy home full of warm light glowing from lamps and candles.

Now, how would you feel entering a space lit by a blue-toned, rectangular, fluorescent bulb above your head? Right….

I am deeply curious about the casual obsessions that define, enrich, or quirkify your lives.

I’d also like to know how obsessions might have changed how you see the world,

your self-image, your future, your past.

What do our obsessions reveal about us?

What is more meaningful, how we became obsessed with something, or who we became on the other side of it?

I know I said I wasn’t talking about Obsession (the movie)... But it does portray how dark obsession can be.

An obsession can become your entire personality without you even realizing. It can drown out the inner voice that protects you, your values, your dreams, your selfworth.

An obsession can also be euphoric. I’ve relished the deliciousness of many of my obsessions.

Obsession is similar to—and sometimes a part of—falling in love. When all you can see is what’s in front of you, everything else melts away: your problems, insecurities, and fears.

Our obsessions— do they define us? Are they inherently good or bad?

How do you know when it’s gone too far? I want to have conversations about all of it, polite, intelligent, beligerent, dumb, unfinished conversations.

Until now, I never felt brave enough to share personal writing. As refreshing as it is to read something genuine and vulnerable, I’m shaking like a chihuahua...

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Me...

Also Me...... ...thinking about about my my un-filtered un-filtered (but (but cautiously cautiously edited) edited) thoughts thoughts being being put put out out ...thinking for anyone to consume. for anyone to consume.

After sitting on this idea for a while and getting a pep-talk from my therapist, I decided to to just just start. start. Glued Glued to to my my screen screen like like an an iPad iPad kid, kid, typing typing feverishly, feverishly, decided hours passed by without me noticing. hours passed by without me noticing.

While it’s a tad terrifying to think of putting these words out into the world, I realized it it scared scared me me because because of of how how much much it it mattered mattered to to me. me. As As II came came out out of of realized the haze of a writing binge... the haze of a writing binge...

I realized it was exactly what I was meant to be doing.

We have have one one life life on on this this strange strange planet planet and and we we owe owe ourselves ourselves a a courageous courageous one. one.

We I guess that’s pretty much what we all find around 28. Our Saturn returns and we decide to stop caring about being embarrassing and run a marathon, go to Japan or or in in my my case, case, start start writing writing on on a a public public forum forum for for anyone anyone to to read. read.

Japan 7 7

TAKING THINGS UP A NOTCH...

When I started Obsessed With This, I really just wanted a place to write. I wasn’t thinking about building anything serious. Honestly, the opposite. I wanted a place to express myself, just for fun.

I love that I’m creating just for the sake of creating, and through that, I’m connecting with people, documenting my life, and sharing stories that I think really matter.

In the process of building this little world, I’ve been inspired to incorporate some new elements to this project. In the spirit of Obsessed With This, we certainly can’t go halfway, so we’re taking things up a notch!

What you’re flipping through today is the very first edition of Obsessed Magazine.

In this space, I’m curating a digest of the essays I published in the past month alongside additional content that I’m obsessing over.

I’ve been a magazine girl since the aughts. I was a loyal subscriber to Seventeen Magazine for YEARS. Picking up a new, glossy J14 from Barnes & Noble was a luxury. I hoarded a mile high stack of magazines in my closet. I lived for the fashion & beauty tips, taking the quizzes, unfolding the posters and pasting them on my wall, and checking my horoscope.

I couldn’t wait to grow up and be a Cosmo girl, or one of the chic women at the airport with a thick Vogue in their lap, holding a black coffee or a martini. Magazine editor was the dream job.

This magazine is Inspired by that inner-child.

I’m so excited about how this pursuit is making me feel and I’m excited to let my creativity soar a bit more as it develops. In future editions, you may see guest columns, interactive elements like quizzes and word games (why not!), recipes, hosting tips, and so much more.

The possibilities are endless, because I’m very much making this up as I go.

All I know is I want the Obsessed With This world to continue to be a thoughtfully curated, creative space that makes you think and feel, and adds a little bit of delight to your life.

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LATEST OBS 1. Mood lit bars & martinis, always, but bonus shout out the Last Word from Code Red in DC. 2. Portable fans and when they matched Hannah & I’s cocktails at Le Diplomate in DC. 3. Girl Grip.

4. Press on nails.

5. At home blow-outs.

6. Swimming in the ocean & a super chic hotel beach chair set.

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ESSIONS

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BEING A WRITER HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN SOMETHING THAT HELPED YOU UNDERSTAND YOURSELF?

I’

ve long considered myself a writer but rarely made time to write anything for myself. I’ve often dreamed of retiring in my cozy little cottage, where I have an adorable little writing nook in my parlor…and that’s where I’d finally start writing.

I’m imagining a typewriter or a quill, even.

I’m proud that I didn’t wait 40 more years for that, because writing here, in my own voice, about my life experiences, has already surprised me in the best way. Even if it’s Carrie Bradshaw style on my computer (or iPhone, editing from the bar with a martini in hand).

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s it What doe ea take to b writer?

TO BE SO OBSESSED WITH WRITING THAT IT BECOMES PART OF YOUR IDENTITY?

Writing and I have had something of a toxic relationship, on-and-off, for the last 20 years or so, and it took someone else’s recognition for me to consider myself a writer Do you remember the first time someone told you that you were good at something?

Of course you do.

It happened for me in 4th grade when I took my first stab at creative writing. Some weird project about a parrot. And according to my infamously hard to please teacher, Ms. Matthews, I nailed it.

I was no academic superstar, but according to Ms. Matthews, I was GOOD at writing.

That meant something, and I felt it, too.

So I started to journal obsessively. But sadly, when I entered my tweens (the cutest moniker out there btw) I decided to tear out all the embarrassing pages (which was all of them).

Now I really wish I still had those pages to look back on... I look back at pictures of my younger self and I yearn to know what was going on in her head.

But I still resonate with that version of myself who wanted to just erase it. Our own imperfections are the hardest to reckon with, and seeing your inner world splayed out on the page is a little terrifying.

And that’s exactly why I decided to start writing. REALLY writing. I want to dive right into my inner self.

But to be a writer… do you have to share it with the world? No.

BEFORE I PUBLISHED MY OWN WORK, I WAS STILL A WRITER. 12

PUBLISHING MY WORK MADE MY WORDS FEEL MORE REAL AND MORE CONSEQUENTIAL. In writing about something that happened to me years ago, I felt a deep relief.

I had to fully dive into myself for this story— one that I hope to find the courage to publish soon—but I was so pleasantly surprised by the process, because what I found is that I knew myself. I knew this story because I lived it.

I felt relief in releasing my story to the page. I was able to actually refine my story in a way that I often struggle to fully articulate verbally. I became obsessed with that feeling.

Writing became a therapeutic process for me, and I’ve leaned on it that way ever since.

While it’s quite terrifying to think that these innermost thoughts of mine will have a digital footprint, it’s more important to me that I actually spend time writing and reflecting on my life. Already in these efforts I’ve made I feel lighter, and I feel more attuned to myself.

I didn’t become a writer by starting this Substack, I already was one. I just finally started treating that part of myself like it mattered.

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Ahhh,

SERENDIPITY

FINDING GOOD THINGS BY CHANCE, WITHOUT LOOKING FOR THEM.

WALKING THROUGH LIFE WITH A LITTLE ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH

I

Zip-a-dee-ayeeeee

n January of 2022, right before I moved to DC, I sat down to set intentions for the year. It was a tradition my mom started in the early 2000s. On new years, we’d sit around the kitchen table

making vision boards out of Seventeen Magazine clippings.

That year, I was really drawn to words starting with the letter “S”… serendipity, serenity and synergy.

I even went as far as making little vision boards for each word, to show what they meant to me and how I wanted to embody them.

Upon reflection, I think I was drawn to these words because they healed something in me.

In the years prior, I was following a lot of selfimposed rules, and living a sort of regimented lifestyle, even when it didn’t suit me. I tried really hard to fit into a certain box and I got burnt out from all the effort it took to be someone I wasn’t.

For years, I was trying so hard to be someone who had it all figured out…to be this person I had convinced myself I had to be. But when I finally started to just embrace who I really was, great things started happening.

My original vision boards from 2021

I realized how amazing life could be when it was authentic rather than prescribed AND I WANTED

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More.

In 2021, I came out as bisexual to my friends and family. I traveled the country, trying to figure out where I wanted to live and start my life. I started doing hot yoga and realized how good movement could feel when the intention was to be kind to your body, rather than shrink it.

So after living in nine states in one year, finally understanding what it felt like to really fall for someone, and taking care of my body rather than punishing it, I realized how amazing life could be when it was authentic rather than prescribed.

And I wanted more.

Not being able to stick to these routines led to feeling constantly disappointed, and that was no way to live. I realized I could have a really awesome life by embracing my natural zest and chaos.

Spice Life OF

RY FOR A B G O UN

& I’M

F LO W

I want to talk more about the beauty of serendipity in particular because I think all of my favorite things in life have come from it.

I saw people who were so successful and accomplished doing their perfect morning routines and going to the same workout classes every day, so I thought that was the key to becoming who I wanted to be.

VARIETY IS THE

H

Serendipity, serenity, and synergy were all emblematic of this new me.

But everything about me is categorically against it.

Spicy

LIF

E SOUP

Spicy

– Cat Cohen

I’m what my family, friends and colleagues have affectionately branded as “Type B+.” I’m essentially the human version of “organized chaos.”

Appreciating the element of surprise, not knowing where the day might take me, and loving that each day was going to be totally unique, completely enriched my life..

Cat Cohen, one of my favorite comedians, actually articulated this feeling PERFECTLY.

Her quote really captures my thesis here.

Serendipity - that’s the spice of life honey!!!

I love serendipity because it’s literally freedom. Life is best when it’s full of surprises.

For as long as I can remember, I have yearned to be a routine girly…

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visiting the LA area recently for work, and on a whim, I decided to extend the trip for just one day. I snagged a spot at a hostel in Venice (I know… WHAT). But it was RIGHT on the beach, with an amazing view, and it was kind of heaven on earth. I checked in, dropped off my bags, and hit the beach instantly.

I kind of just let the day happen, and I stumbled into the most fun experiences.

Walking along the shore without a plan, I stumbled upon a fabulous little beach chair and umbrella setup. It certainly belonged to a fancy, expensive hotel… and there was one set of chairs laying unused. It seemed like a crime so I decided to accept my blessing from the serendipitous universe and lounge for a few hours.

u o y h Wis ! e r e h e r e w

I ended up strolling all the way to the Santa Monica pier, riding roller coasters, eating a vegan corn dog, taking an hour-long stroll home as the sun set, making new friends at a local dive, and I left feeling reminded of how magical life can really be.

If I had made a plan, none of that would have happened.

It was serendipity that made my quick little trip extremely special. It’s things like this that drive my Type A friends truly crazy, but I always want to encourage them to trust the process a little. The best things are on the other side of making no plan whatsoever!!!

So many of my favorite things have come from serendipity…

I mean, my favorite book, which I thrifted on a whim, ended up being my cat’s name, who was brought to me by the cat distribution system.

Thrifting, my favorite hobby, is ALL about serendipity. I mean… My record player. My favorite lamp. My iconic leather trench. My vintage rose china. My favorite purses.

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I even moved to DC on a whim. My dad found my first apartment here on CRAIGSLIST for god’s sake. And moving here has been full of serendipity that brought me the best memories, friendships, and life.

Everything that derives from serendipity is magical, because you didn’t even know you wanted it.

I encourage you to look back and think about something that came into your life unplanned. Because I don’t think serendipity is about being lucky. It’s about leaving enough room in your life for luck to find you.

Make space for the unknown and watch the magic happen.

YOU CAN SPEND FOREVER YEARNING FOR SOMETHING, AND DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO FINALLY GET IT. BUT SOMETIMES, IT’S THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU WANTED THAT CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

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Vintage Favorites Beaded lamp sourced from in Goodwill in Annandale, VA

Floral ceramic soft up-light sourced from in Goodwill in Annandale, VA

nightgown set sourced from Music Valley Antiques in Nashville, TN

THRIFTED OBSESSIONS Rose pattern china sourced from Goodwill in Rockville, MD

Copper tea kettle sourced from Fetch in Frederick, MD

I can pinpoint exactly where I fell in love with thrifting. I was 11 years old, elbow deep at the Goodwill Bins in Portland, Oregon with my cool, stylish, thrifty cousin Carly and I found an Abercrombie hoodie. This was basically like striking gold in the 6th grade. Ever

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since then I’ve had an addiction the adrenaline rush of a stellar thrift find. This month I’m highlighting just a few of my latest and greatest thrift obsessions, from my favorite vintage items to funky statement pieces, please enjoy this round up of some of my favorites that I’ve found through the serendipity of thrifting.

Statement Pieces

A New Day cut-out swimsuit sourced from Goodwill in Jacksonville, FL

Trinka Turk Dress sourced from Goodwill in Alexandria, VA

Agape embroidered overalls and Hunter rain boots sourced from Facebook Marketplace

Reversible GANNI Zebra Top sourced Vintage kiss pattern dress sourced from Secondi in Washington, DC from Secondi in Washington, DC 8 20

That’s all for our first issue of Obsessed Magazine!

This was truly such a blast to put together, and I'm already dreaming up what might make its way into the next one.

Thank you for every page turn, every read, every message, and every little bit of encouragement along the way.

Have an idea for a future issue? I want to hear it. What areyou obsessed with? What should we talk about next?

P.S. Meet Eleanor— the other cover star, head of household, and arguably one of my longest-standing obsessions.

OBSESSED MAGAZINE