Scathingly Brilliant

hair today gone tomorrow

2012-02-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

cardigan - old navy

belt - forever 21

shoes - c/o blowfish

I wore this last week so you can't see it yet, but I chopped off my hair! It's about chin length now. I still have a couple old outfit pictures from last week and the week before that I haven't got around to posting yet, so I might not end up sharing a picture with my new do until next week... but I really like it! I get so impatient brushing it when it gets long, and I just felt like a change. Maybe it's an early case of spring fever :) Oh, and side note: how annoying is it when your shirt sleeves bunch up under your cardigan?! ergh! pet peeve alert!

*Take 30% off any one item at Francesca's with the code KATE!

wishlist wednesday

2012-02-15T18:00:00.001-05:00

Collars as necklaces. Awesome, right?! 1. Metal frill collar from topshop ($28) - like a metal version of the collar I wore in my outfit post this morning! 2. ASOS metal collar ($21.49) I think this one would look so perfect over a plain LBD!

I love love love the color of this dress and the super pretty neckline! It's $80.57 at ASOS.. I think I know what I'm buying next time a coupon lands in my inbox!

Aqua and grapefruit is my all time favorite color combination! I wish I could wear both of these dresses at once, lol! 1. Cutout back stripe dress from Topshop ($58) and 2. Yawl come back dress from Modcloth ($64.99) .. the sailboats on the second one are making me long for a day at the beach!

I already have way too many bags but this one is beckoning! It's only $14.80 at forever 21 and it's the sweetest shade of creamsicle orange!

So so tempted to get this dress! It's on sale for $53 at ASOS and it has such a sweet dainty crocheted collar! It's also available in light blue and I'm thinking I need both.

Lately I'm really drawn to shoes with multiple colors like these. I think they're so beautiful! The first pair is vegan leather from Ruche ($64.99) and they're definitely on my get-in-my-closet-now wishlist. The second pair is totally wishing only, though, because I don't wear leather. But they were so pretty I had to include them anyway! They're $89.99 at Modcloth.

Is this not one of the most fantastic cat beds you've ever seen?! It's fashioned out of an old imac computer! I used to think these computers were SO cool when I was younger (mostly because they came in various colors) and I still love that midcentury shape. $129 from Atomic Attic on etsy.

Please somebody buy this mod wonder so I can live vicariously through you? It would be in my shopping cart right now if my hips were just slightly smaller. Honest to goodness, I need to find some magic potion that can either make my hip bones smaller or make the hips on vintage dresses a few inches larger. blargh! $46 from Miss Farfalla on etsy!

Ironically I found that yellow and white vintage dress by searching "go go" on etsy, and the name of this 60's inspired number on the left is the "On the Go-Go dress" ha! ($44.99 from Modcloth) And how sweet is the dress on the right? It's called the "Either orchard dress" ($49.99 from Modcloth) and I can definitely see wearing it to go apple picking in the fall! I know it's not even spring yet, but I just really, really love autumn :)

February 14th isn't the only day to wear hearts! :) I think they would look amazing with these sunglasses, too! They're $10 from Vinette on etsy!

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

2012-02-15T15:50:00.002-05:00

A very happy birthday to my little Chloe! I can't believe it's been nine whole years since we adopted her! I can remember going to meet her on a chilly, rainy night. She still had bandages on her paws from being frostbitten, and the hospital staff had nicknamed her "Frosty." She was so teeny tiny and undernourished, and just so helpless. So it warms my heart to see what an incredibly content (and incredibly chubby!) cat she's become! She's definitely the queen of the house, and I can't help but smile whenever I'm around her!

ps. you can read her adoption story here.

dots and scallops

2012-02-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - h&m

collar - romwe

shoes - c/o blowfish

belt - from another dress

Yesterday was pretty fantastic. We picked up Hubble in the afternoon, and he has adjusted amazingly well to living here! The only hitch was when Hypatia hissed at him once, but I would too if a stranger just randomly started sniffing my face! Otherwise everything has been going more smoothly than I could have ever hoped. And he is SUCH a cutie pie! I can't handle the cuteness!

Also, yesterday I hit 4,000 sales in my etsy shop so that was really exciting too! It's surreal to think I've made and shipped that many things, that there are 4,000 flapper doodle items out in the world! That enough people actually liked my stuff enough to buy 4,000 things?! It's absolutely mind-boggling! If anyone out there reading this is one of those 4,000, thank you so much!!

And finally how fantastic is this collar?! I bought it after seeing Bianca wear it a few months ago and I think it fits perfectly with this dress! Detachable collars are seriously one of the most awesome fashion inventions ever, ever, ever.

Meet Hubble!

2012-02-14T16:35:00.002-05:00

Hubble is home now!! So far everything has gone very smoothly. He wasn't a happy camper in the car (he was yelling and trying to paw his way out of the carrier) but once I let him out he was totally at ease! He started rolling around and purring and inspecting his new home right away. About an hour ago I plopped him in his new bed (yes, it has dog bones on it... I couldn't find any cat beds I liked lol) and he's been asleep and purring ever since. Hypatia is currently sunbathing in my window, and seems totally fine with the new addition :) Chloe doesn't get to meet him for another week or so, but based on her aloof disinterest in the strange new meow coming from my bedroom I doubt I'll have much trouble with their first encounter.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T09:00:00.002-05:00

dress - modcloth

bodysuit - boohoo

shoes - c/o blowfish

My original plans for Valentine's Day included staying in bed watching Bette Davis movies (All This and Heaven Too, Now Voyager & Dark Victory are some of the most romantic movies of all time!) but instead I'm picking up Hubble and spending the day helping him get adjusted to his new home! We were supposed to pick him up yesterday, but he hurt his paw trying to get out of his cage at the vet's, so they had to keep him an extra day. The poor little guy!! It's so weird that this happened, though, because we adopted Chloe on Valentine's Day too! And we got Hypatia on my brother's birthday, so now we have a crew of special occasion kitties! :)

One more thing I'm doing today -- kicking off Unicorns and Old Lace with Amber! We've had this joint blog project in the works for almost a year now and I'm so excited that we finally got the ball rolling. It's going to be outfit posts, lots of girly-ness and oodles of fun! You can check out our matching Valentine's Day outfits here!

The Melody Lingers On // Jeanne Moreau

2012-02-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

Le Tourbillon by Jeanne Moreau // image by me :)

Galentine's Day Giveaway!

2012-02-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

Emerging Thoughts sent me these gorgeous necklaces to giveaway, and I thought what better day to do it than Galentine's Day?! Not familiar with the holiday? Ok, it's not actually a real holiday (yet!) but in the fictional world of Parks and Recreation, it's celebrated every year on February 13th by Leslie Knope and her gal pals. Leslie might make amazing mosaics of her friends using pieces from their favorite soda cans, but I think a pair of free necklaces is just as lovely ;)

To enter simply leave a comment with a link to your favorite item from Emerging Thoughts, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) Also, you must be a follower to enter! This is mandatory! (And, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!) Oh, and this giveaway is open to absolutely everyone who lives on planet Earth!

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win an @emergingthought giveaway on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet.)
2. Follow Emerging Thoughts on Twitter

3. Follow Emerging Thoughts on Facebook

This giveaway ends at 12AM EST on February 20th!

shop my closet update, new flapper doodle item and new blog designs!

2012-02-11T16:16:00.009-05:00

First of all, I finally updated my shop my closet store today! I have lots of dresses, as well as some accessories and coats. You can view them all here! And if you're in the market for blog design or a sponsor spot you can snag those in my shop as well :)

I also added new wooden brooches to my etsy shop! I'm having one of those little "in love with my new product" moments. Would it be weird if I wore one myself? Because I really want to! They're $8 in my shop here!

I also updated my blog design store. It's much easier to navigate now and I have a whole page dedicated to examples of mine & Casey's work. You can check it out here! And I've done a bit of new design work recently so I thought I'd share some of it in this post!

Header design for The Cupcake Earthquake

Header design for HopPipOLLa

Blog overhaul design for Her Name Was Greta

Etsy banner design for Beatnik Gal Vintage (Keep an eye peeled for her shop opening! She posted some sneak peaks of the inventory on tumblr and I'm so smitten!)

Blog overhaul design for Just Add Glitter and Stir. I was so excited about this one that I sort of did the whole entire thing the same night that I got Maggi's order. I mean, a request for a bright kitschy glittery blog?! So so so so fun!!! :D My favorite part is the embroidered header text (you can see it better when you view it full-size on her blog!)

And finally, my little brother's blog! He hasn't written his first post yet, but it's going to be about food, trains, craftsmanship (like woodworking) and his personal style. When he gets the ball rolling we're going to start doing some brother/sister style posts! I'm so excited about it!! :)

instagram

2012-02-10T18:00:00.001-05:00

1. random photo of my feet

2. my freebie valentines (download here!)

3. sweet mail surprise from rachel!

4. little sneak peek of Hubble!!

5. dinner at cracker barrel (yum!)

6. Hubble's collar and name tag!

instagram kept crashing on me last week so I had to finally cave in and update to the new version.. and surprisingly I like it! I love that you can disable the frames (I always hated the black framed ones so I used earlybird almost exclusively). The new tilt-shift is pretty meh since you can't control it as well as you could on the old version of the app, but overall I'm actually glad I was forced to switch! /end random review of instagram ;p

posh frock friday

2012-02-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

dress & shoes - modcloth

lace cardigan - forever 21

necklace - c/o michelle hartney

I love this beautiful monogrammed charm necklace that Michelle sent to me! I don't wear jewelry too often, but this one is so special! I picked the celtic knot to represent my mom's Irish heritage (I'd add a Russian symbol too, to represent my dad's side of the family, but I don't even know if they exist. Does anyone know?) and obviously the K is for Kate! Michelle has tons of different charms so you can mix-and-match to create something unique that fits you to a T! Or in my case, to a K! ;D

ps. Did you enter the cat purse giveaway yet? :)

pastel fade

2012-02-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress - modcloth

cardigan - old navy

shoes - from my grandmom

tights - target

wig - minty mix

I've heard so many horror stories about over-bleaching that I thought it would be a good idea to have a backup wig in case of any emergencies ;) No hair catastrophes have arisen as of yet, but I can't help myself from wearing my new wig anyway! It's so darn pretty!! It fades from a purpley-blue-ish shade to pink, and it's by far the thickest, fullest wig I've ever purchased. They have a bunch of fun colors and I'm tempted to start a mini collection!

Also, how about this (um, sort of wrinkly.. I forgot to iron it..) dress!? Modcloth has a bunch of dresses in this style -- the "Too Much Fun" dresses by Emily and Fin -- but in the product photos they always looked like the shoulders would look funny, for some reason. At least to me they did. But I took a gamble on this one since I loved the color & polka dots so much, and now it's probably one of my favorite dresses ever. The shoulders are totally normal, and the cut is just incredible! I already bought it in another print and I'm tempted to snatch up even more!

and then there were three!

2012-02-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

shirt - old navy

skirt - modcloth

shoes - francesca's*

bow tie - honeybean

tights - target

Yesterday I adopted a new kitty cat to add to my family!! He's a super sweet and shy 1 year old tiger cat, from the same rescue organization that I got Chloe & Hypatia. I get to pick him up on Monday! I am 99.9% sure that his name is going to be Hubble (like the telescope.) I'd wanted to name a cat Dwight or Pongo for a while, but when I met him I knew instantly that neither of those names fit him. He's definitely more of a Hubble!

He seems like a really kind, gentle cat so I just know he & Hypatia will get along swimmingly! He's going to be living in my room for a little while before I let him meet Chloe, though. She's a wee bit territorial, and she's also VERY curious! I don't want Hubble getting the sniff-down on his first day in his new home lol :)

*You can take 30% off any one item at Francesca's with the code KATE! :)

sweet heart

2012-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - c/o emerging thoughts

shirt - vintage

tights - target

shoes - francesca's*

I'm actually still not feeling well, but after a week of trying to get better I just gave up and started getting dressed and working like usual again! There's only so long you can stay in bed before it just makes you feel even sicker, you know? Hypatia's also not doing so hot, but I don't really want to go into it here. Suffice it to say, the last week has just been super rough.

Anyway, today is one week until Valentine's Day! Does anyone have any interesting plans? Being chronically single, my plan is to watch some of my favorite movies and eat ;) It's also technically our 9 year anniversary with Chloe (we adopted her on Valentine's Day but usually celebrate on the 15th so she can have her own day) therefore I will be showering her with lots of treats and new toys!

*You can take 30% off any one item at Francesca's with the code KATE! :)

The Melody Lingers On // Francoise Hardy

2012-02-06T17:58:00.003-05:00

Tous les garcons et les filles by Francoise Hardy // image via blancucha

cat purse giveaway! [closed]

2012-02-06T09:00:00.003-05:00

How could I pass this up?! A kitty cat printed purse!! Ahh! I got one for myself, too -- I actually didn't intend to this time, but after the giveaway one came in the mail I *had* to buy another! -- it's just so adorable in person. You can see more views (or buy one, if the giveaway gods don't decide in your favor this week) on ASOS here!

To enter: simply leave a comment letting me know that you're entering, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) You must be a follower to enter (and, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!) This giveaway is open to US & Canada only (sorry!)

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win a cat purse on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet.)

2. Follow me on facebook
3. Follow me on bloglovin

Giveaway ends ~~on February 13th at 12:01AM EST~~ has ended.

DIY business card valentines with free printables!

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

Remember the valentines we used to hand out in elementary school that came on pre-perforated sheets? Well last week I found some unused business card paper, and thought how absolutely perfect it would be for making those little valentines at home!! I used white Avery business cards #8869 to make mine, and I made up some free printable valentines too! If you'd like, you can download them here! They'll work with the #8869 Avery cards, or you could just print them on regular old cardstock and cut them out!

Guest post by Amber from Laughing with Broken Eyes

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

I asked Amber if she'd do a little guest post for me so I can have one more day off to take care of myself & my kitty! Thanks so much, Amber!! xo Kate

Hi guys! My name is Amber Rose, and I blog at Laughing With Broken Eyes. When Kate asked me to guest post for her, I was a bit tongue tied, so to speak, as of what I would blog about. It's something entirely different when you visit someone else's blog and talk about yourself! So instead... I thought I'd share some really exciting news! I've been dying to share...

Kate and I are working on a book together-- a sort of children’s book for adults!

While I don’t want to give too much away, it will be oh-so-cute and perfect to flip through on a day when you need to embrace your inner child or to escape from the worries and immerse yourself into the simple, charming, and hot-to-trot lives of Eloise and Ramona of Kate’s brilliant Flapper Doodle franchise.

We’re so excited about this as it’s something we’ve both wanted for so long. I do hope that you’ll join us through this exciting process of writing and self-publishing a book, hopefully the first of many!

ketchup and mustard

2012-02-01T14:19:00.005-05:00

shirt - asos

cardigan - forever 21

skirt - c/o francesca's*

shoes - c/o blowfish

It is mandatory that whenever you wear a red and yellow outfit your post title must be "ketchup and mustard." Fact.

I'm finally feeling well enough to get dressed & wear makeup (actually I think it's like a catch-22, being dressed and wearing makeup is helping me feel more like me!) but Hypatia, unfortunately, isn't doing much better. It's been one heck of a stressful week so far. She got a lot worse over the weekend and we took her in to see the vet Monday morning. Her normal doctor wasn't there so she had to see someone else, which always makes me anxious. She has a follow-up appointment with her normal vet tomorrow, and I'll be so relieved when she can finally see him! The other doctor diagnosed her with feline herpes, which is contagious so I've had her quarantined in my room away from Chloe. Having a sick animal is just the most heartbreaking thing... I wish there were simple quick fixes, like a vicks vapor rub for cats or something, so she could have some instant relief. As per the vet's suggestion, I got her a warm air humidifier but I can't tell if it's making a difference. I can only hope she understands me when I tell her that she's going to feel better really soon :(

Sorry whenever Hypatia's ill I end up talking about it, but hopefully if you have animals (or kids) you know that when they're sick you literally just cannot think about anything else. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow they'll be able to give her a shot of some miracle medicine and she'll be back to her playful self by Friday *fingers crossed*

*You can take 30% off any one item at Francesca's with the code KATE! :)

almost there

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'm on the mend but still not in 'getting dressed and putting on makeup' mode yet, so here's another pajama picture! I actually lost my balance when I was taking the photo, but somehow it ended up looking like I was standing that way on purpose, lol!

Also, this is my lazy braids hair. I do this a lot around the house -- it's pretty much milkmaid braids, except that once I get them criss-crossed on top of my head I just secure them with big pink claw clips instead of inconspicuous bobby pins. I usually do this right after I wash my hair, too... I'll just blow dry my bangs and clip the rest up in loose braids so it can air dry!

ps. Lilly suggested in the comments on my last post that I should do pajama outfit photos to go with my slumber party sunday posts (which I promise are going to be coming back really soon!) and I LOVE that idea! I'm definitely doing it! :D

sick day.

2012-01-28T13:39:00.003-05:00

Wednesday night I got hit with some sort of bug and I've been feeling absolutely miserable ever since :( Hypatia has a head cold too, the poor thing, so we've both been laying in bed under the covers sniffling and sneezing. Her vet & my doctor basically prescribed the same medicine -- antibiotics, hot broth (low sodium for Hypatia) and lots of rest. I've also been breezing through Lost on netflix, but it's been creeping into my dreams a lot, which is freaking me out a bit. Recurring dreams about being stuck on an island where people are trying to kill you doesn't exactly help with a peaceful night's rest lol.

Anyway. I'm never sure what to post here when I'm sick... I'm obviously not dolled up for normal outfit photos and I'm usually way too exhausted to come up with anything else that requires the least bit of energy. But I still want to keep blogging... so I thought, why not take outfit photos in my pajamas? It's probably silly, but it's easy and I do have some pretty cool pjs, if I do say so myself!

Hopefully I'll feel better soon but if not expect to see some more of my amazing flannel pajama collection this week ;p

instagram

2012-01-27T18:24:00.002-05:00

Not many photos this week, but the few I did take are pretty much all Hypatia :) Her new favorite cozy spot is burrowed under my pillow (and yup, I'm using a t-shirt as a pillowcase... it's laundry week, what can I say?) She's been such a happy little ball of energy since she was shaved! I swear she's a short haired cat trapped in a maine coon's body.

ps. I have an interview up on The Clothes Horse today!! Rebecca asked me to plan my dream party, and I envisioned a slumber party in an Irish castle, with some of my all time favorite people -- fictional, animated, and real -- as guests! You can read it here. Thank you so much, Rebecca! :)

My top 5 storage solutions for small spaces

2012-01-26T09:00:00.003-05:00

My entire living space is 11 feet by 11 feet. With careful planning, I've managed to include a queen size bed and an 8' long table! My room functions as a bedroom, office and studio and believe it or not I have plenty of floorspace to dance around or play with my cats ;)

I've lived in this snug little room for 19 years of my life, and along the way I've come up with a lot of storage solutions that make the most of my tiny abode! Here are my top 5 favorites!

1. Empty purses are perfect for storage! I keep all of my bags on a coat rack behind my door, but rather than leave them empty, I fill them up with craft supplies! My mini photo scanner is in the purple handbag, my wood burning kit is in the green shoulder bag and I keep sketchbooks in the gingham satchel! It seems like every bag is the absolute perfect size for holding something that didn't fit anywhere else in my room :)

2. Clothing as decor! I've mentioned this before, but using clothing as decoration is ideal if you're low on closet space like I am! I have my dresses hanging on my wall next to my bed, and I keep all of my lacy tops hanging from my curtain rod. They look gorgeous in the daytime when the sunbeams shine through them!

3. Bed risers!! One of the best things I ever purchased, EVER. Thanks to these little miracle workers, my entire record collection fits under my bed. I also keep my sewing machine under there, too, along with lots of under-the-bed boxes stacked up as high as they can possibly go. Push the things you hardly ever use all the way to the back, and keep the stuff you use on a regular basis at the front. It's easy to just throw things under the bed willy nilly, but with the bed risers you get so much extra space that it just makes sense to organize it and utilize every inch! I got mine at IKEA but I think they're sold at pretty much every home supply store.

4. Measure every nook and cranny in your room! Before you shop for furniture, measure every extra bit of space that you have. I have 9" of wall space between my bed and my closet -- that seems way too small to serve any purpose, right? Wrong! IKEA had an 8" wide bookcase that was perfect for storing my books and dvds! Measuring also came in handy when I purchased my laptop stand, Ludvig (I wrote more about this in my room tour here!)

5. Walls aren't just for hanging artwork! As much as you can get off the floor onto the walls, do it! I have my record player (it's a vertical turntable, available here) & my television mounted on the wall. I also have a big storage unit from Michaels that I use for displaying knick knacks and housing craft supplies. You'd be surprised how much table room and floorspace you have to spare once you start using your walls!

ps. Solanah has some fantastic organization tips on her blog today, too! :)

wishlist wednesday

2012-01-25T19:49:00.002-05:00

I love this 1970's crewel embroidery from etsy... I almost bought something similar at a thrift store a couple months ago but when I got up to the register they only took cash, and I only had my debit card :(

1. this dress reminds me of a pretty ballet costume. I want to wear it with my old pointe shoes and twirl around the house. 2. I'm obsessed with finding the perfect plaid dress right now and if this beauty wasn't kind of pricey ($99) it would definitely fit the bill!

Shoes this platformey and awesome are almost always made out of leather (I'm looking at you, Jeffrey Campbell) so I was pretty excited to see these are vegan! I love the graphic woodgrain on the heel, too!

I desperately want this pillowcase set! It's called the "lunar than expected" set, how cute is that?!

Sunshine & Carousels is having a 30% off sale (coupon here!) I already snatched up a hot pink velvet bow headband but this one is catching my eye too!

1. Doesn't this dress look like something out of a movie?! I picture Sophia Loren wearing it with a giant black feather boa in Arabesque. 2. I check the Dorothy Perkins website religiously, and every so often there's a dress that just totally hits it out of the ballpark -- this is such a dress. I think it's going to look amazing with my hair (yup, I ordered it already!) ps. I got 15% off with the coupon INTDP15.

My dad had to go to old navy today to return some shirts he got for Christmas, and BOY am I glad that I tagged along! I think I have cat print radar or something, because I wasn't even really looking for myself, this shirt just attracted me like a moth to a flame. Oddly it was $28 in the store (not on sale) but it's $35 online?

This is another case of "intended for my wishlist but ended up in my closet" ... I bookmark things all week to put in my wishlist wednesday posts, and if I'm having a particularly retail therapy kind of week, at least some of the items are bound to end up in my shopping cart! This pretty dress was on sale for $35, so can you blame me? (When I placed my order I also picked up something for another giveaway that I'm *really* excited about!)

I'm in love with this sweatshirt but I'm pretty sure I can DIY it with a plain old sweatshirt and fabric paint. In high school I saw a photo in a magazine of Kate Moss wearing a sweatshirt with a mini skirt, and I thought it was so incredibly chic. I've been smitten with that style ever since, but I don't think I ever replicate it myself. Perhaps I finally will after I make this? :)

something or other

2012-01-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

dress - asos

sweater - old navy

shoes - c/o blowfish

hairbow - honeybean

I may or may not have spent 20 minutes trying to think of a title for this post and just gave up... Anyway, I've had this dress for almost six months but it has a weird open back flap that made me a little confused on how to actually wear it. Then I saw this outfit on pinterest (which I think includes the exact same dress) and I realized I could just wear a normal sweater overtop! duh! I don't know why I never thought to do this myself to winter-ize summer dresses, but it's brilliant!

ps. I have a guest post on Bubby + Bean today if you want to check it out :)

pss. I made a new fancy little paypal form for my sponsorship page, so if anyone wants to test it out that would be pretty nifty ;)

Style Idol - Elizabeth Taylor

2012-01-24T17:58:00.001-05:00

//image links back to the source

black and grey

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - h&m

cardigan & belt - old navy

tights - target

shoes - c/o blowfish

I'm not quite sure why, but I think this is one of my favorite outfits ever. I just felt so great wearing it! I completely forgot that I even had this dress until I cleaned out my closet -- I hadn't even worn it before! But it fits so perfectly, and it has a neat little zipper detail on the bodice that makes it more than just a plain LBD.

Speaking of cleaning out my closet, I've picked some dresses that I just never wear or don't really like anymore, and I'll probably put them in my shop-my-closet page sometime either at the end of this week or early next week if anyone is interested :) They're all freshly washed and ready for new homes, I just have to find the time and muster the energy to photograph & measure all of them.

The Melody Lingers On // Eisley

2012-01-23T18:00:00.000-05:00

one last song by eisley // image via sintwister

it's giveaway time again! [closed]

2012-01-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

I was at H&M again last week and I guess it's just second nature now for me to pick up some giveaway goodies each time I go! I bought myself everything in the picture, and then another set to giveaway! It includes a blue faux leather shoulder bag and matching wallet/phone case, super cute tan 30's style sunglasses, a pack of colorful nail polish, colorful heavy duty bobby pins and a set of earrings that includes (oh my gosh!) unicorn studs! eep! One winner will receive everything in the photo.

To enter: simply leave a comment letting me know that you're entering, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) You must be a follower to enter (and, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!) This giveaway is open to US & Canada only (sorry!)

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win some H&M goodies on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet.)
2. Follow me on facebook
3. Follow me on bloglovin
4. Follow me on tumblr

Giveaway ends ~~on February 6th at 12:01AM EST~~ Giveaway is closed

the awkward call for sponsors

2012-01-21T15:20:00.002-05:00

It's that time of the month again! I'm now accepting sponsors for February, so if you're interested you can find my rates, traffic, stats, etc. on my sponsorship page here. Ads start at $10 and you can get 10% off if you pay before Jan. 25.

By the by, I lowered my rates for February for the extra large, large and medium ads. I read a blogger help thingy in December about how to properly formulate your rates based on your subscriber count and traffic, so I adjusted my rates accordingly... but it just didn't feel right. I know that I can't charge like $5 because that wouldn't be fair to other bloggers, but I don't feel comfortable charging a lot either, so I think I found a happy medium with my new prices. Fair but also affordable :)

Ok, well now that that awkwardness is all out of the way, here's a picture of my little Hypatia without any fur:

The picture is actually from a year or so ago, but she was shaved again yesterday so she looks just like this again. She's just been so rambunctious she hasn't sat still long enough for me to take a nice picture! My brother said it looks like somebody screwed a cat's head onto a rat's body, but I think she looks adorable! More importantly though, she's a happy camper now, and that's all that matters :)

ps. My hair is still pink, that photo up there was taken before I dyed it :)

instagram

2012-01-20T18:00:00.000-05:00

1. new cat print shirt from asos

2. new personalized drawings in my shop

3. at Beauty & the Beast 3D!

4. having fun painting my nails :)

5. hand-drawn art deco fonts in my shop

6. trying on a fun headband at h&m

song as old as rhyme

2012-01-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress/cardigan - h&m

shoes - c/o blowfish

This is what I ended up wearing to see Beauty and the Beast last week -- much warmer than the outfit I originally picked out, but still a little yellow tribute to Belle's gown ;)

I'm switching up my blog schedule a little next week. Not too many huge changes, but I felt like I needed to shift things around since I've had this same schedule for about a year now and it was getting a bit stale. Most of my current features are sticking around, just changing format or moving to a different day, and I have some new ones as well! I'm really excited about it! :)

ps. I posted some cute valentine's day freebies yesterday if you missed it.

vintage valentine freebies

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last year we found a huge bundle of valentines from the 1950's in the basement! They're just so incredibly adorable (especially the kitty cat ones!) they deserve to be shared, not stored away where nobody can see them! I scanned them & uploaded them as-is to flickr a while back, but this week I decided to clean them up and make them into .png files with transparent backgrounds in case anyone would like to use them for blog-related things. You can download all 20 valentines here! They're for personal use only, so feel free to use them on your blog or print them out and give them to loved ones next month!

ps. I also have flapper doodle valentines in my shop here! ;)

Style Idol - Brigitte Bardot

2012-01-17T18:00:00.000-05:00

//image links back to source

tale as old as time

2012-01-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

dress - modcloth

cardigan - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

belt - h&m

I wore this on Saturday morning to go see Beauty and The Beast 3D, but as soon as I stepped outside I realized I had to wear something a lot warmer! So I went back in and changed into a longsleeve dress, sweater and tights* (darn you, January weather!) But I'm glad I took the photos of this outfit first because I had it planned for weeks before the movie -- it's my version of Belle's ball gown! :)

Saturday was one of my favorite days ever! Me, my mom and my grandmom had a girls day out. First we went to the movie (my first time at a movie theater in like 2 years -- whoa popcorn is expensive!!) which was absolutely amazing!! I was afraid the 3D would be too in-your-face and hokey, but it was so subtle and pretty! It was like there were a bunch of layers to the animation. The scenery was especially beautiful, sometimes it looked like there were vines and flowers inside the theater around the screen.

After the movie we wandered around the mall window-shopping for a couple hours (we played "guess the price" in Anthropologie ... it was so fun!) and then we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner and dessert (yum!!) It's rare that the three of us get to spend time together alone, so this was such a fun treat! Seeing one of my favorite movies on the big screen with two of my favorite people -- it doesn't get much better than that! :)

*I'll post the other outfit Thursday :)

uh-oh spaghetti-o!

2012-01-16T18:07:00.002-05:00

Modcloth is having a huge sale again... Is it possible to be a dress junkie? Because I just took some money I had put aside towards paying off my student debt and spent it on new dresses. eeek! But I'm seriously not feeling the least bit guilty because these babies were all ridiculously marked down, and they had all been sitting patiently in my wishlist for months just waiting for the day that modcloth would reduce their price so they could come home to me.

I'm so helpless when it comes to these sales (can you tell?!) but I don't think I've ever regretted indulging myself when they come around. Some of my all-time favorite dresses were snagged during huge modcloth blowout sales, and I know that some of the dresses arriving on my doorstep this week will be future favorites that I'll love for years to come :)

Here are some of the ones I snatched up today (from left to right)

1. Vibrant variety dress - ~~$47.99~~ $13.99

2. Wish in the wind dress - ~~$109.99~~ $32.99

3. For the right moment dress - ~~$149.99~~ $44.99

4. Out to sea foam dress - ~~$64.99~~ $18.99

5. Seeing bubble dress - ~~$107.99~~ $31.99

6. Fondue of you dress - ~~$119.99~~ $35.99

giveaway time! [closed]

2012-01-16T09:00:00.002-05:00

JoJo's vintage & retro is offering these three gorgeous vintage handkerchiefs to one lucky winner!

To enter simply leave a comment with a link to your favorite item from Jojo's Retro and Vintage shop, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) Also, you must be a follower to enter! This is mandatory! (And, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!)

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win a @jojosretro giveaway on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet.)
2. Follow JoJo's on Twitter

3. Like Jojo's on Facebook

4. Follow Jojo's blog

5. Join the Jojo's mailing list by e-mailing Josette [at] jojosretroandvintage.com

Giveaway ends on ~~January 23rd at 12:01AM EST~~ Giveaway is closed.

instagram

2012-01-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

1. so sleepy! I want to spend all of 2012 in bed

2. hypatia, my cute goofball

3. back to pink!

4. I love Chloe's three white whiskers!

5. new drawing (in the shop)

6. astronaut ice cream = best invention ever.

Are you on instagram? I'm @kategabrielle :)

omg this coat.

2012-01-13T16:41:00.003-05:00

Remember in my wishlist wednesday post I mentioned that I bought two coats from the asos sale? This is one of them, and I'm head over heels in love with it. Like, so in love I want to hug it when I go to sleep tonight and never let go. There are so many reasons...

1. I've been looking for "the one" ever since my beloved black h&m swing coat bit the dust two years ago. It had a really thick woven texture and ended up getting pills beyond repair. This one is a flat quilted material that looks like it'll last forever.

2. The fit and flare shape!! It's my favorite silhouette of all time, and I never ever see coats like this. It's going to be perfect with my dresses that used to get all bunched up under normal straight coats.

3. I can wear belts with it! Thanks to the fitted shape, I can accessorize with belts that match my bright tights. Or just spice up an all-black ensemble with a pretty bright belt! I'm so excited about this it's ridiculous.

4. It has nice deep pockets! My favorite coat from last season didn't have pockets and it used to drive me nuts since I don't like wearing gloves.

5. The neckline. I folded it down into a button-up shirt sort of look, but it actually buttons up into a funnel neck so you don't even have to wear a scarf if it's super chilly outside! If it's a little nippy and I just have to run out real quick I can go sans gloves, sans scarf and still be a-okay in my new super fantastic coat! hooray!

6. The price. It was originally $143 --- it was (and still is) on sale for only $44! :-O

Okay, I'm done gushing now. And I know it's silly to get so excited about a coat. But I just love it so so so so much I had so share! I almost want to make some excuse to go out tonight just so I can wear it. Or maybe I'll turn the heat off and just wear it around the house. I need to wear it.

ps. In this picture you can kind of tell that my bangs are much more pink than the rest of my hair (or you couldn't tell and I just brought your attention to it myself) anyway, I'm going to let it go and fix it next time I have to touch up my roots. I sort of like the grapefruity pinkish redish orangey tone going on in the back right now lol

posh frock friday

2012-01-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - modcloth

lace cardigan - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

hair bow - honeybean

Yup, it's pink again... I'm seriously the queen of indecisiveness ;p I feel so much more comfortable and confident with pink hair, though... it's odd but somehow I feel more like "me" again.

Anyway, how amazing is this cardigan thingy?! I picked it up while I was shopping for Christmas presents last month, and I've had it hanging in front of my window ever since (I'm obsessed with how pretty lace looks when it's backlit by sunlight!) so I can just gawk at it all the time. Recently I've really grown fond of delicate clothing, and I find myself gravitating towards it more and more.

perfect for the occasion

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but probably half of the clothing I own was purchased because it would be perfect for [insert event here.] I'm not talking about one time events like an art show opening or going on vacation, just casual occasions when wearing a certain article of clothing would be pitch perfect. For instance, when I bought this dress I knew I'd be wearing it pretty much every time my family and I went out for ice cream. It just screams "wear me when eating ice cream!!"

Here are some examples of dresses I adore and places I'd love to wear them!

1. star print midi dress ($17) would be absolutely perfect for going to the planetarium! Or add a sweater, tights and boots and it would even be great for laying on the hood of the car doing some star-gazing at home.

2. multi color block dress ($57) just screams "roller skating!" doesn't it?! I'm a pretty crappy roller skater, but I always think it looks like fun :)

1. zest is more dress ($49) reminds me so much of Belle's gown! I already started making a dress to wear to see Beauty & The Beast 3D this weekend but if I wasn't, I'd totally buy this and wear it to the movie!

2. good enough to eat dress ($69) would be ideal for a county or street fair! I have this one and let me tell you, it makes drinking a milkshake or eating a funnel cake 100x more fun!

1. paws and play dress ($59) I love wearing cat themed clothing when I do volunteer work for my local animal shelter. I wore this one to the book-wrapping fundraiser in december :)

2. painted lovely dress ($59) You could go to the art museum and stand in front of a Jackson Pollock painting in this dress and nobody would even know you were there.

1. graceful greenery dress ($129) I would love to wear this to a garden estate like Winterthur! I haven't been there in a few years, but last time I went with my family it was just so pretty and for some reason I remember it smelled heavenly! Not like flowers, just really sweet.

2. seasons to believe dress ($129) This green frock would be so pretty for St. Patrick's Day! When I was little I used to celebrate by dying *everything* with green food coloring. Eggs, milk, rice... I think this dress is much more appetizing ;D

1. blue striped dress ($99) If I went sailing I'd say this would be a fantastic sailing dress.. but since I'm a land lover, I'm going with a trip to the seashore instead ;)

2. pink floral print dress ($55) I have so much fun choosing an easter dress every year, and I definitely have my sights set on this one already, even though it's only January! The colors are just so springy and easter-egg like!

wishlist wednesday

2012-01-11T18:06:00.005-05:00

The cutest brooch ever! $36 from pannikin on etsy

Two modcloth dresses I'm drooling over this week -- the sparkling cider dress ($54) and the cats the ticket dress ($49.99) Basically if it's frilly and girly or if it has a cat on it, I want it!

I love this fawn figurine from Circus Bear Vintage on etsy (The Dainty Squid's vintage shop)

Peter pan collars make my heart go all-aflutter! They can be oh-so sixties-ish, like the scooter dress on the left ($49 from dorothy perkins) or thirties inspired like the red polka dotted number on the right ($80 from Miss Selfridge)

ASOS was having (is having?) a coat sale this week, and I snagged two pretties for 70% off! This coat wasn't one of them, though, because it's full priced.. but I love it so much! The color is to die for, and I think the shape is so Doris Day-ish! ~~$172 from ASOS~~ On sale for only $60 if you buy it directly from the designer's website!! Thank you for the tip, Gwyneth! :)

How cute would these mary janes be to wear on valentine's day?! $90.90 from ASOS

And how adorable is this S&P set?! I'm *this* close to starting a salt and pepper shaker collection, I just keep finding so many adorable ones on etsy!! $15 from Georgia Peach Vintage

so so

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

shirt and belt - forever 21

skirt - h&m

tights - target

shoes - francesca's

I've actually liked my outfits every day for the last week or so, and I've tried photographing all of them but I keep deleting the photos afterwards. It's that whole "looks so good in the mirror but terrible in a picture" syndrome :p This was the only one where I thought it came out moderately okay, but I'm still not thrilled with it. I swear, it looked so cute in the mirror, lol! I think I'm just posing awkwardly. I've been feeling pretty so-so lately, and I guess posing for my camera isn't coming naturally when all I want to do is be curled up in bed!

Style Idol - Francoise Hardy

2012-01-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

//image links back to source

let me get this straight

2012-01-10T09:00:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, Misikko contacted me to ask if I'd like to review their hair straightener, and I jumped at the chance. Before I get into my review, though, I'd like to give a short history about why being offered the chance to use a high quality hair straightener was such a huge deal to me.

I have not quite curly, not quite wavy, very thick, oddly puffy hair. I hate it. So ever since I was old enough to style it myself, I've been wearing it in an updo of some kind. But at the same time, I've always wanted desperately to wear it down. From my pre-teen years to today, I've gone through an endless series of curling irons, hair straighteners, straightening hair brushes, curlers, straightening cremes, thinning hair-cuts and basically anything that might make me love my hair. Here is one of the most embarrassing videos from my youth (I can't even believe I'm sharing this!!) It was the first day of 8th grade, and my mom was using a curling iron to try to tame my extremely puffy hair.

A pretty surly 12 year old, right? It seemed like all the other girls at school, even at 12 years old, had perfect locks while mine were frizzy, puffy and thick enough to hide a small animal. After the failed attempt to subdue the monster on my head, I ended up wearing it back in a ponytail, as usual. Over the years the puffiness has sort of deflated a little bit (thankfully) but I'm still uncomfortable enough with my hair that I rarely wear it down.

Right now I own a conair hair straightener, and while it technically straightens my hair it doesn't seem to smooth it out and help control the volume as much as I'd like. Enter, the Hana 1" ceramic flat iron that Misikko sent to me. I hoped so badly it would finally help me manage my unmanageable hair. The instructions suggested the lowest setting for bleached hair, but I had to put it on a higher setting to get it to work, because my hair is so thick. It worked a lot faster than my conair, and it glided over my hair more smoothly (not as much catching and tugging, which can really hurt!) but the end product seemed pretty much the same. (You can see how my hair looks straightened with the conair straightener in this post.) My hair ended up being pin-straight, but still sort of frizzy and puffy. I like it a lot better than my natural texture, but it's still not like this:

I guess maybe my particular hair texture is just never going to get that straight. I had a friend in high school with tight ringlet curls, and hair straighteners worked fantastic for her! Gliding hot ceramic plates over her tresses turned them perfectly silky straight. So I'd imagine this iron would work a lot better on curly hair or wavy hair, but as for me? If a high-end hair straightener can't get my hair the way I want it, I basically give up, lol!

I will admit though, being unaccustomed to anything fancy, the presentation and packaging was pretty impressive. It comes with a silicon pad to put on your counter so that you don't burn it, along with like 4 different carrying cases and lots of little extras like makeup, an eye mask, a hair towel, sachets and more! It was sort of like a hair product equivalent of hotels leaving a mint on your pillow, haha!

The Melody Lingers On // This Mortal Coil

2012-01-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil // image via AniseSprout

exciting news!

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

Scathingly Brilliant blog design is now officially a two-girl team! I'm so excited to announce that one of my closest friends, Casey from Noir Girl, has joined forces with me to create tons of blog designing goodness! Casey is a 1940's-loving style and movie blogger, an amazing graphic designer and artist, and she has the most impeccable taste of anyone I know! And she's a wordpress gal, so blog makeovers are no longer limited to blogger! We're doing headers, etsy banners, makeovers, illustrated portraits and more... you can check out our site here!

shop update

2012-01-07T17:15:00.003-05:00

I haven't done a shop update in a long time, so I thought it would be fun to catch up a little, especially since I've been adding a lot of new stuff to my store this week! Today I added the print above, another little homage to cat ladies like myself ;) I don't know if I can withstand the pain (I'm a huge baby) but if I get my first tattoo anytime soon, I'm pretty sure this will be it.

Anyway, that drawing is available in my etsy shop as a print, and also in my society6 shop on iphone cases, laptop skins, etc.

I also made a version of my telephone illustration with a guy. I've had a lot of people ask me about this over the last couple years, but I've always been *pitiful* at drawing men and kept putting it off. I'm surprisingly really pleased with how it turned out, though! Maybe I might start working men into my art more often now :) It's available as a print set and a pendant set, and I'm working on a PDF embroidery pattern too!

Last but certainly not least, is an exciting collaborative project! I've teamed up with Kaitlyn from isavirtue to create a limited edition series of stationery projects for National Letter Writing Week (January 9-15) The envelopes, letter paper, stickers and journals will be available in both of our shops now through the end of January :)

I've also added bachelorette party invitations, an Audrey Hepburn art print set, a PDF activity book, and I relisted my old valentines for the season of hugs and kisses coming up! ♥

instagram

2012-01-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

1. present from my dad - an iphone case from my own society 6 store

2. just hypatia looking beautiful, as usual

3. reluctantly taking down my Christmas decorations :(

4. arranging my nail polish in rainbow order

5. blogging in bed on wednesday, under the weather

6. my all-time favorite candy bar

a posh frock friday kind of un deux trois

2012-01-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

remixed item: vintage velvet dress

outfit 1: cardigan - forever 21 // bag, tights, shoes - h&m // sunglasses -fred flare

outfit 2: tights - we love colors // shoes - h&m

outfit 3: cardigan - h&m // shoes - target/DIY // tights- we love colors

This is one of my all-time favorite dresses, ever! The only thing is that the top button kept springing open whenever I was wearing it and nobody would tell me. I wore it in April to a street fair in Princeton, and who knows how long I was walking around with my top wide open before I finally looked down and noticed myself. eek!

Of course, I never actually fixed the dress, I just kept wearing it time and again, hoping it wouldn't burst open in public (and it always did.) But finally last month I found a black safety pin in my mom's sewing basket and permanently attached it to the dress (I couldn't sew it closed or else I wouldn't have been able to take it on or off) so all future crises are now averted :) Does anyone else have this problem with button-down clothing? For me, the garments don't even have to be tight in the chest, as long as they have buttons, they'll pop open. Even my oversized button-down pajamas that I wear around the house! I think all of my buttons are cursed.

star stuff

2012-01-05T18:00:00.001-05:00

I started reading The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan last week, and when I saw his cosmic calendar in print I knew it had to be the first Star Stuff post of the year! Sagan had a remarkably brilliant way of illustrating the history of time in a way that you can actually wrap your head around. Think of every single second that has passed since the Big Bang as one single calendar year. The Big Bang is the first second of the first day of January. Humans don't emerge until 10:30PM on December 31st, New Year's Eve! You can click on the image to view it bigger and see all of the different milestones in Earth's history, and when they happened on the cosmic calendar.

un deux trois

2012-01-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

remixed item: vintage tan skirt

outfit 1: white shirt - vintage // jacket & belt - forever 21 // shoes - blowfish

outfit 2: dress - modcloth // belt - forever 21 // shoes - blowfish

outfit 3: shirt - vintage // vest - from my mom // belt - forever 21 // shoes - blowfish

Am I boring you yet with all the remix posts? lol ;) This is one of my favorites because, despite the fact that I'm wearing the same skirt & shoes (and the same shirt in two of the outfits) they all look pretty different! I love simple little switch-ups like wearing a button-down skirt backwards or rolling up the sleeves of a long-sleeved shirt to make it spring-friendly!

wishlist wednesday

2012-01-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

1. Naina shoes in Tan corduroy from Blowfish // $39.00

2. Day in and Day out dress from Modcloth // $74.99

3. Morris fine art print from Heather Mattoon // $30.00

4. Feeding the doves dress from Modcloth // $69.99

5. Two finger heart ring from Forever 21 // $4.80
6. Chocolate run boots from Modcloth // $57.99

7. Beaded bow belt from Miss Selfridge // $12.00

8. Curved felt pork pie hat from Topshop // $50.00

9. Pastel quilted bag from ASOS // $27.27

un deux trois

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

remixed item: raining petals dress from modcloth

outfit 1: lace bodysuit - boohoo // shoes - from my grandmom

outfit 2: lace cardigan - h&m // belt - forever 21 // shoes - c/o blowfish

outfit 3: cardigan & belt - forever 21 // shoes - target

This is definitely one of my all-time favorite dresses. Two of these outfits made it into my top 12 favorites of 2011, actually! And it's so miraculously versatile-- it's very dainty and delicate, but somehow works quite well dressed down with a cardigan and flats. And apparently it gives me so much confidence that I actually looked into the camera each time I wore it on the blog, haha!! What a rarity! ;D

Style Idol - Jane Fonda

2012-01-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

//image links back to the source

un deux trois

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-05:00

remixed item: mustard dress from h&m

outfit 1: sweater - h&m // belt - old navy // shoes - francesca's // tights - target

outfit 2: collar - c/o branchbound // belt - c/o softspoken // shoes - blowfish

outfit 3: belt & necklace - forever 21 // tights - we love colors // shoes - alloy

While outfit posts are shelved for the week, I thought it would be fun to play catch-up with un, deux trois (my outfit remix post series) which I haven't done in quite a while! This particular dress is so easy to remix, because it's so simple, with a classic shape and interesting yet toned down color. My favorite of the three outfits is #1. I love the muted colors and it was SO cozy! :)

The Melody Lingers On // Goldfrapp

2012-01-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Strict Machine by Goldfrapp // image via JessicaIllustration

Looking back on 2011

2011-12-29T09:00:00.003-05:00

I'm so glad that I started blogging (almost) daily in 2011. I've changed a lot this year and I don't think I would have noticed much if I hadn't been keeping a detailed record of my every thought and haircolor ;) So here are some of my favorite posts, outfits and moments from 2011!

Favorite outfit: sugar spice and everything nice

Favorite post: Style Idol: Clarissa Darling

Moments: January was pretty uneventful, but I did take these photos for my blog header (replaced by my pink haired illustration this summer) with which I'm still pretty smitten! :)

Favorite outfit: eh-hem

Favorite post: You've seen her kind of eyes, watching you from underneath a rock

Moments: My little Chloe turned 9, I did a Style Idol post for my Grandmom Eve and I discovered Eureka

Favorite outfit: posh frock friday

Favorite post: Happy Pi Day!

Moments: My blog turned 1 year old, I discovered Twin Peaks, I made vegan mac & cheese and it was actually good!

Favorite outfit: what we see and what we seem are but a dream

Favorite post: I hosted a virtual slumber party on Amber's blog

Moments: I was accepted to the University of Toronto (but didn't end up attending), my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary, I discovered the solution for tangled hair, and I fell in love with Arrested Development

Favorite outfit: posh frock friday

Favorite post: come with me where dreams are born, and time is never planned, and my cat shoe DIY

Moments: I celebrated my 4th anniversary with Hypatia, and my dad's birthday in Princeton, and I discovered Parks and Recreation (tv was pretty important in my life this year, it seems!)

Favorite outfit: sunshine on a cloudy day

Favorite post: star stuff, and my video for the blowfish shoes giveaway

Moments: Slumber Party Sunday was born and I won first place at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit!

Favorite outfit: up!

Favorite post: Spice Girls themed slumber party sunday

Moments: I dyed my hair pink, I dyed it back to red, I watched the weirdest movie ever with my best friends, and Andi did a really fun interview on my blog!

Favorite outfit: heart still beating

Favorite post: my favorite Wishlist Wednesday (paleontology themed)

Moments: I went back to pink, The first annual Clarissa Explains it All week, and I decided to try to tackle quantum physics (still working on that..)

Favorite outfit: posh frock friday

Favorite post: look what I made and look what I made #2

Moments: I learned how to sew my own dresses from scratch, I posted a room tour, and I completed the drawings for my 2012 calendar, my favorite Flapper Doodle work yet.

Favorite outfit: no one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining

Favorite post: playing dress up

Moments: I finally started taking full-size outfit photos, I taught myself how to read music, I discovered The Big Bang Theory, Casey gave me the most amazing gift ever, Elycia drew a portrait of me, and I painted a mural on my bathroom wall.

Favorite outfit: posh frock thursday

Favorite posts: DIY faux beehive and DIY anthropologie landscape dress

Moments: I went to Disney World and turned 25, I said goodbye to pink (for now), I co-hosted A Very Merry Indie Christmas, made the most amazing vegetarian meal ever, and managed to capture Chloe in an outfit picture.

Favorite outfit: posh frock friday

Favorite post: messy

Moments: My Aunt Annie turned 100 years old!, I made a classic movie Christmas video, I discovered How I Met Your Mother, I finally found grapefruit tic-tacs, and I celebrated Christmas with my two favorite felines and my wonderful family :)

over the river and through the woods

2011-12-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

dress- dorothy perkins

lace cardigan - h&m

belt - forever 21

shoes - c/o blowfish

I wore this for Christmas at my grandmom's house yesterday. A little fancy considering my brother wore sweatpants, but I couldn't let the holidays pass without wearing this dress out at least once! It seems so festive to me :)

After we opened presents (she loved the carousel, by the way!!) my Grandmom mentioned that she had some boxes of old photos I could go through next time I visited, and I was like "um.. why not right now??!!" so we spent the rest of the evening going through LOADS of old family pictures. It was fantastic! I can't wait to start scanning them all! There were some photos of Aunt Annie that I'd never seen, too, so I want to upload those to her centennial site & take them with me next time I visit her!

Tomorrow I'm going to do a 2011-in-review post, and then I think my next post will be in 2012. I didn't realize until Christmas actually got here how much I REALLY needed a break!! Not so much from blogging but just from constantly doing something every minute of the day. I need to unplug a bit and get some rest so I'm re-energized for the new year! :)

On Christmas Day

2011-12-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - modcloth
belt - forever 21
tights - target
shoes - c/o blowfish

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Mine was fantastic! I absolutely LOVE giving gifts, and I had my parents' presents picked out since like September. I hardly slept at all on Christmas Eve, I was so anxious to see them open their presents in the morning! :D Then in the afternoon we went to see Aunt Annie at the nursing home. This was her first Christmas where she couldn't leave to come to our house, but she was in such good spirits! Laughing, telling stories and relaying anecdotes about life at the nursing home (she slapped another resident! her excuse? "she slapped me first!") She officially turned 100 on Friday, by the way!!

And now today is actually Christmas Part II in my family... my grandmom has us over after Christmas each year to open presents at her apartment. She's taking us out for breakfast, then we're spending the whole day watching movies, eating sweets and having fun! When we were little, she always took me and my brother on carousel rides... it was like our "thing," so when me and Kyle were out Christmas shopping at Michaels and saw a carousel in their Christmas village, we knew we had to get it! I can't wait to see her face when she opens her gift!! We even went through all of our old family photos to find pictures of us as children riding the carousel with her, and put them in a little card to go with it!

Did you get/give anything special this year or start any new traditions? I started one... on Christmas after our parents went to sleep, me and Kyle watched one of the Christmas episodes of The Office. We're going to do that every year now :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from me and Hypatia!

...and Chloe, who refuses to be held, but was, much to my astonishment, okay with letting me prop a hat on her head for twenty minutes.

we interrupt this christmas break to bring you exciting news...

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

The elusive modclothcouponicus has not been seen in the wild for more than a year. The legendary creature was often spotted in 2009 and 2010 but has been hibernating in exile for more than 12 months. But, alas! I opened my inbox this evening and low and behold... a coupon code was waiting for me, standing in plain sight! I could not believe my eyes!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the modcloth coupon code has been sighted once more! Once a candidate for the endangered retail species list, it is now alive and well! Hurrah!!

Okay, but seriously. 25% off all sale stuff with the coupon code SALEAWAY. If you've fainted, here is some virtual water in the face and slaps on the cheek. Wake up! It's true! It's real! I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at the sale dresses and thought "okay, that's nice but it needs to be like $10 cheaper before I can actually buy it." And now, it can be! aghhh! The four beauties at the top of the post are all going in my shopping cart before they sell out (hey, I finished my Christmas shopping earlier tonight.. I can spoil myself a bit now, right? ;) That one on the far right, the beading heart dress, is only going to be $38 after the coupon!! wheee! If you get something let me know what! I love shopping vicariously :D

Ok, now back to the Christmas break ;) I might pop back in with some photos of Christmasey stuff and the cats, but no outfit posts or scheduled features until after Christmas :)

ps. I scheduled this for 6am, but I have no idea what time the sale actually starts. I'm hoping the code will already be working by the time this post goes up, but right now (1am) it's still not live yet :p

christmas break

2011-12-20T15:26:00.002-05:00

I'm taking a little break until after Christmas. I hope everyone has a nice holiday season!

xoxo Kate

that girl

2011-12-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

green suit - c/o JoJo's Vintage

necklace - handmade

tights - asos

shoes - MIA

I feel like a cross between That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore in this outfit! I've been gravitating towards really muted pastel clothes lately so this is a nice little burst of color for my wardrobe :)

Last night my mom was really blue and went to bed early, so my dad, my brother and I decided to super Christmas-ize the house while she was sleeping. She loves Christmas so much, but since me and my dad both work from home we end up spending a bit too much time working and not enough time enjoying the season with her. Hopefully this will help a bit :) I cut out huge Christmas lights from construction paper and taped them to our kitchen cabinets (I posted a photo on instagram here) and then I made lots of Christmas cookies shaped like candy canes and ornaments. I also made little word bubbles that say "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and "Merry Christmas" and taped them to all of the artwork downstairs so all of the kitties and people on the walls are all showing their holiday spirit ;)

the awkward call for sponsors

2011-12-19T16:39:00.003-05:00

It's that time of the month again... the awkward semi-embarrassing call for sponsors! Hooray! ;)

If you've been viewing my blog in a reader for the last few weeks you might have missed my little sidebar facelift, but I re-arranged things so that more sponsors are above the fold, so to speak, and I also added a new XL ad size!

I'm really excited about the things I have planned for Scathingly Brilliant in 2012! I purchased a little weekly planner and I'm already having so much fun scheduling all of my weekly features, DIY projects and (super exciting) giveaways ahead of time! Also starting in January all sponsors will have the option to participate in a sponsor post once a month. It's a little different from normal sponsor introduction posts. You get to select one of my normal features (The Melody Lingers on, Style Idol, Wishlist Wednesday or Star Stuff) and do your own! You can also include links and a little paragraph about your blog/shop! It'll be really fun! :)

SO ANYWAY, if you're interested, I have details on the sizes, rates, statistics and traffic on my sponsorship page HERE. If you're not interested or found this post annoying, here is a cute cat video to make it up to you :)

100 hearts

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - asos

cardigan - h&m

shoes - modcloth

tights - marshalls

This is what I wore for Aunt Annie's 100th birthday party on Saturday! I had bought a light blue vintage dress on etsy for the occasion, but sometime between the purchase & the party, Aunt Annie's health declined a little (don't worry, she's ok!) and we had to change the party from dinner at a local restaurant to lunch at her nursing home and my pretty 60's frock was too dressy. It'll definitely make an appearance on posh frock friday sometime soon though :)

100 years!

2011-12-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

I made this design for the party invitations for Aunt Annie's 100th birthday party! The drawing was from a photo of her when she was a bridesmaid in her sister's wedding when she was only 16 years old, back in 1927! 84 years ago!

Like I said in my post yesterday, Aunt Annie didn't pay much attention to world events. But nevertheless, plenty of them have occurred since she was born. During her lifetime the Titanic sunk, World War I began, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize and Mata Hari was executed. She was 15 years old when Rudolph Valentino died, 30 when Pearl Harbor was attacked and 58 when man first walked on the moon. And it is so amazing how far technology has come since she was born. She was 5 before the first light switch was invented, and now she's living in an age where I can search for and read the entire history of electricity on a portable computer that fits in my pocket.

Me and my mom made a little website for guests who couldn't make it to the party, if you'd like to take a look! It has lots of photos, a guest book and facts that my mom compiled from every year since Aunt Annie's birth! It's really awe-inspiring to look through the list and see everything she's lived through. There's also this video, which is an extended version of the one I posted last year. I found my original raw footage a couple weeks ago, which included about 8 extra minutes of amazing stories that I hadn't included in the documentary I made for my school project! She did seem a little frail this past Thanksgiving, but the cough she had has subsided and she seems just as spunky now, at 99 and 51 weeks, as she did in 2009 when I shot this!

ps. The flowers in the card design are from Just Something I Made :)

instagram

2011-12-16T18:00:00.002-05:00

1. Best. Fortune. Ever.

2. From a vintage pattern (via doe-c-doe)

3. THE pink grapefruit tic-tacs

4. Wearing my susannahbean scarf!

5. Random mirror photo

6. I sewed A LOT of pillows this week

7. I love Christmas!

8. A rare picture-perfect photo of Miss Chloe

posh frock friday

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - modcloth

cardigan - forever21

tights - we love colors

shoes - modcloth (similar)

hair bow - honeybean

Grey and yellow is one of my all time favorite color combinations! I was a little lost on how to make this dress work for winter, but I think pairing it with all-grey accessories really helps!

Tomorrow is my Aunt Annie's 100th birthday party (although her real birthday is the 23rd, we just weren't sure how many people would have been able to attend a party two days before Christmas). I'll have a post up tomorrow with some pictures of her, and an extended version of the interview I did with her in 2009. She is such a spunky lady... in the video she tells stories about how she used to sneak out to go dancing, about the time she went riding on a motorcycle on a trip in Cuba, how she found a gun in a pocket once while she was working in a laundromat and almost killed her boss! She doesn't remember a darn thing about world events (not even World War II, if you can believe it) but she can remember exactly what she wore to the dances, who she went with and what street they lived on. She's a remarkable woman, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life!

star stuff

2011-12-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

Star Stuff and Wishlist ~~Wednesday~~ Thursday worlds combine! How amazing is this star projector!? I desperately want it for my bedroom now. According to the site, "it is possible to set up your AstroStar by aligning it according to your location and the time of the year, so it can project a map of the clear night sky all around you." Where I live the street lamps make it difficult to view the stars in the night sky, so this would be incredibly fun for someone like me who longs to star-gaze, but can't! Available here, and found via Kelly Christine.

weekly watch-along

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

For some reason I haven't quite figured out yet, Thursday is usually pretty quiet over here in the views/comments department. In the past I tried coming up with things to breathe some life into Thursday but it never worked, so I've decided to go the opposite route instead... I figure, while nobody is looking, I'll geek out a little bit and start an X-Files feature! Although, provided there isn't some huge cosmic reason for the deadening silence that befalls this blog once a week, I do hope you'll stop by on Thursdays if you're an X-Files fan or are looking to become one!

Here's what I'm planning -- each week I'll post about one episode, starting with Season 1, Episode 1. If you want to watch-along, just make sure you watch the episode sometime before Thursday so you can chime in (or, if you're like me and know every episode by heart you can do that without watching it right before the post, lol..) The X-Files is available on Netflix Instant, Hulu Plus and on Amazon Instant Video, so it's pretty easy to track down each episode. I'll start next week so that if anyone wants to join in you have time to watch Episode 1 before my first post! :)

wishlist wednesday

2011-12-14T19:26:00.003-05:00

1. Seeing Bubble dress from Modcloth // $75.99
2. Pirate ship ring from ASOS // $10.91
3. Velvet flower clip from UO // $14.00
4. Gold metallic belt from Topshop // $28.00
5. Faux fur cossack hat from Topshop // $45.00
6. Here I bow again belt from Modcloth // $16.99
7. Wooden cat earrings from Allens Woodworks // $20.00
8. Fudge Fountain heels from Modcloth // $34.99

purple lace

2011-12-14T15:17:00.004-05:00

dress - asos

lace shirt - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

I was up so late last night working, by the time I finally finished I was too exhausted to schedule my post for this morning. It's amazing how something as simple as coming up with a little paragraph can seem like the most daunting task when you're tired! I'm actually still pretty beat, even after a good night's rest ... this week has just been so hectic with packing etsy orders, getting ready for Christmas and preparing for my Aunt Annie's 100th birthday party this Saturday!

ps. I have a little interview over at Pie n' the Sky today! :)

Style Idol - Julie Christie

2011-12-13T21:21:00.000-05:00

//image links back to source

coats

2011-12-13T13:29:00.004-05:00

grapefruit and mint

2011-12-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress - dorothy perkins

cardigan - old navy

tights - we love colors

shoes - from my grandmom

hairbow - honeybean

Something amazing happened yesterday. A monumental event in my life that I will never, ever forget. Before I tell my tale, I should probably fill in anyone who isn't already familiar with my obsession with grapefruit: I love grapefruit. The juice, the fruit, the color, anything remotely related to grapefruit, I love it. A lot.

So, our story begins two years ago, when one of my mom's coworkers casually mentioned that her husband had given her a pack of pink grapefruit tic-tacs. My mom's ears immediately perked up, since she has been conditioned over the years to pay attention to all things grapefruit related, and she asked where these tic-tacs had been purchased. Her coworker did not know. She asked her husband, he did not remember. For two long years I have searched for these tic-tacs. At every single grocery store, convenience store, drugstore and mall concession stand, I have searched in vain. I had given up all hope, until last night.

My mom and I had to run out to Staples for some supplies. Just a quick errand run, no biggie. Then, while we were out, my mom remembered that she had to pick up a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond. This realization forever changed the course of my life. We walked into the store, and got in line. My eyes skimmed over the Christmas candy near the cash register, past the pink tic tacs and the iphone stands ---- wait, the tic tacs?! The PINK tic-tacs?! Could it be?? YES, IT WAS THEM! One single pack of pink grapefruit tic-tacs was perched in front of the cashier... and I pounced on them like a panther stalking its prey. They were MINE!! VICTORY AT LAST!!

Sometimes, it's really the little things that make your ~~year~~ day.

ps. Ironically, I happened to wear this mint and grapefruit colored outfit on Sunday, the day before my epic discovery. It wasn't inspired by the grapefruit flavored mints! Weirdness, right?! It's like I was having a wardrobe premonition...

the melody lingers on

2011-12-12T18:00:00.001-05:00

Winter Wonderland by Goldfrapp // video by me!

Every so often I like making classic movie tribute videos, and as I've been listening to this song a lot lately I realized it would make the perfect soundtrack for A Classic Movie Christmas! I included clips from some of my favorite seasonal films, as well as some movies that have snowy scenes in them. I have them all listed on the youtube video page, but I'll leave it out here in case you want to play "guess which movie that's from" lol ;D I hope you enjoy it! I had so much fun making it, and I probably shouldn't admit this, but I've watched it a couple dozen times now... it's just making me feel so Christmassy! ;D

hibernation

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress - trade with amber

lace cardigan - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

hairbow - honeybean

tights - target

I am very much in hibernation mode right now. As much as I have to do for Christmas (the only person I've bought presents for so far is my dad.. eek!) all I want to do is lay in bed with the covers pulled tight and nap the day away. I spent the weekend baking cookies with my mom, listening to Christmas tunes and getting orders packed for my shop, but almost every second was spent longingly thinking about my cozy bed. Sometimes I think how nice it must be for animals who sleep all through the winter. I'd love to get all snuggled up, doze off and wake up in the spring :)

slumber party sunday

2011-12-11T16:53:00.005-05:00

This looks so simple, but so cute! I think I'm going to try it out this week using my own brownie recipe. Honestly, any reason to have strawberries and chocolate together is a plus in my book! Via Daisy's World.

Christmas in Killarney by Bing Crosby

The Christmas Song by Mel Torme

The Grinch Song

I used to love "A Mom for Christmas" so much when I was a kid! I just found it on youtube this week and while it definitely isn't as amazing as I remember, it was so fun and nostalgic to see it again! I thought it was funny that the 'mom' is a mannequin, but the dad was the one whose acting was stiff ;) har har.. Anyway, it's a fun little made-for-tv 90's Christmas movie that's sure to bring back memories if you watched it when you were a tot! :) Buy it on amazon // View it on youtube!

Truth: What is the worst gift you've ever received?

Dare: Sing along aloud to the Christmas songs next time you're out shopping!

instagram

2011-12-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

1. new hair color

2. unicorn scarf c/o emerging thoughts

3. my little kitty on my new blanket

4. favorite wrapping paper ever

5. vegetarian cassoulet (recipe)

6. making lots of pendants for my shop

posh frock friday

2011-12-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress - red velvet

necklace - handmade

shoes - modcloth

I snatched up this beauty when Red Velvet had a 50% off sale for Black Friday! I'm so incredibly hooked on velvet right now. I think it must be the holiday season; velvet reminds me of our Christmas tree skirt, the bows lining our fence and the jingle bells my mom hangs around the house.

Also, I had my hair dyed... kind of an interesting story. On Monday I noticed the dyed ends of my hair were looking kind of greyish so I went to a salon to get it fixed. I told the stylist how I've been bleaching it for almost a year and even brought along the box-top from the dye I used a couple weeks ago. I figured it had something to do with the over-bleached hair mixing strangely with the new dye, so the backstory would help her fix whatever was going wrong...

So we picked out a shade and she dyed my hair (oh, and pretty much tried to rip my scalp off while combing my hair. OH MY GOSH I have never felt so much pain.) I went back to the washing room and she shampooed the dye out and then said "hmm." and left. Then about 15 minutes later she came back with another stylist and said "see, it's not supposed to be green" ... yeah, GREEN... and then they left again! They never said a word to me. Then another 15 minutes passed, and she came back and told me she'd have to dye it again, and I would be charged for 2 colorings :p My hair ended up brown in the end so I guess it worked out, but the whole thing took five hours, my stylist was incredibly unfriendly and extremely rough and the experience overall was very unpleasant. I'm so glad I'm done dying my hair for a while so I don't have to go through stuff like this again anytime soon.

messy

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's been raining like mad here this week, so it's been too dark for outfit photos*. The only reason you can even see anything in this photo is because I have every light on in my room and I lightened it in photoshop (hence the graininess!) But I thought this was a good opportunity to show me and my room on an off-day!

Yesterday I packed up all of my pending etsy orders and made quite a mess in the process... I also didn't put much effort into my appearance, I just thew on a black dress & tights and put my hair in a messy bun. As much attention as I've paid to every organizational detail in my room, I still end up with something like this when I'm working. No amount of de-cluttered drawers, filing cabinets and shelving units can prevent Hurricane Kate! I usually take my outfit photos in the morning, when I've just gotten dressed, the lighting is good, my hair is perfect and my room is still neat and tidy from straightening it up the night before. And then all hell breaks loose when I actually get to work, lol! This is a tiny bit worse than usual since Christmas has (thankfully!) brought me a few more orders than usual, but I'd be lying if I said this wasn't typical of my workspace all year long ;)

*I took this photo around 3pm. Can you believe that?! I'm beginning to forget what the sun looks like.

nepotism and earrings

2011-12-07T19:14:00.002-05:00

Now it's my mom's turn! ;D My mom runs a little etsy shop called Baubles Bangles and Beans, where she sells handmade earrings. She sells two kinds -- coffee bean earrings, made with real fair trade coffee beans, and "extreme decaf" earrings, which are similar to her coffee bean style, but without the coffee! My mom is so cute, it's ridiculous... I am not exaggerating in the least bit when I say that each time she's made a sale she's positively GIDDY with excitement. She usually has the order packed up and ready to go within like 10 minutes because she's so excited that she made a sale. It's so adorable!

So if you have a coffee addict on your Christmas list, this is a pretty cool gift, right?! She offers free shipping on all orders, no coupon necessary (and you know you'll get it for Christmas since she ships it within like 10 seconds of your order, lol) and if you mention that you're visiting from my blog when you order there will be a little flapper doodle goodie in your package, too! :D

ps. If you're super amazing and want to order from my mom AND my dad you can let one of them know and the orders can be shipped in one package :)

nepotism and t-shirts

2011-12-07T14:58:00.002-05:00

My dad has owned a small mail-order music t-shirt company since the late 1970's, and since times are tough right now I thought I'd try to help him out a bit! If anyone on your Christmas list is a music lover (or movie lover -- he has movie shirts, too!) this is the perfect gift! He has merchandise on literally THOUSANDS of bands, everyone from The Smiths to Adele, from Death Cab for Cutie to The Spice Girls. If you like them, my dad probably sells their shirts. He also has baseball caps, hoodies, stickers, keychains and basically everything music related you could ever possibly want. All those music shirts UO sells for $45? My dad has them for $16. Seriously.

...AND since I'm his daughter, he gave me a coupon code for my blog post! You can get 10% off with code SB10. Make sure you use that coupon code if you order, because I'll be sneaking into his office and throwing free flapper doodle prints into orders placed with the code!! ;D

ps. He started the business in the late 70's and named it after a Brian Eno song, "Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More." It's been excruciatingly awkward since 2001, and honestly I get embarrassed every time I have to explain this, but let's just blame it all on Brian Eno. ;p

Style Idol - Giulietta Masina

2011-12-06T18:00:00.001-05:00

image links back to the source // suggested by Matthew!

sniffles

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

dress/sweater - h&m

shoes - target/DIY cat faces

I'm feeling majorly under the weather this week, so I'm trying desperately to get work done while also spending lots of time laying in bed watching netflix and eating soup. Speaking of netflix, I just discovered How I Met Your Mother and I'm totally hooked! Is anyone else a fan of the show? Who are your favorites? I really like Marshall and Lily!

the melody lingers on

2011-12-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

Usually I include an image to accompany a song for The Melody Lingers On, but this week I have something a little different (and so much cooler!) Continuing with my Christmas theme for December, the song is "Angels We Have Heard on High" by Hue & Hum, and instead of a static image, the video shows Caitlin (the "hue" half of Hue & Hum) creating the album cover!

You can buy their Christmas album in their etsy shop here! :)

$50 Paraders Vintage Giveaway!! [Closed]

2011-12-05T09:00:00.005-05:00

Super exciting giveaway today!! Rachael from The Paraders is offering one SUPER lucky girl a $50 gift certificate!! Just in time for the holidays! If you will you can either pick something out for a friend or (this is what I would do) pick out an amazing vintage frock to wear on Christmas Day or New Years!

To enter simply leave a comment letting me know that you're entering, and some way to contact you (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) You must follow my blog and The Paraders blog! This is mandatory! (And, please, none of this follow-and-leave as soon as the giveaway is over jazz.. that's super rude!)

For additional entries: (leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tweet this "Just entered to win a $50 @paraders giveaway on @kategabrielle's blog! http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that tweet.)
2. Follow The Paraders on Twitter

3. Like The Paraders on Facebook

4. Join The Paraders newsletter

~~Giveaway ends on December 12th at 12:01EST~~ Giveaway is closed!

In the meantime you can get 20% off in The Paraders shop with code BRILLIANT! :D

slumber party sunday

2011-12-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Every year we make 10 different kinds of cookies (I am NOT complaining. Let me repeat, I am NOT complaining.) but this year I want to try something different, and these seem perfect! Chocolate covered marshmallow reindeer with pretzel antlers! Too cute for words!! (via Betty Crocker Wannabe)

Home for the Holidays by Perry Como

White Christmas by Bing Crosby

Fairytale of New York by Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues

If you ask me what my favorite movie is, without skipping a beat I can answer "Sunday in New York." But ask me what my favorite *Christmas* movie is, and I could deliberate for hours. I just love so many of them! I can say, though, that Christmas in Connecticut is always one of the ones competing for my top slot. It's the coziest movie to watch at night with hot chocolate, bundled up on the couch while you can see your Christmas tree twinkling out of the corner of your eye! Watch it // Buy it

Truth: What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Dare: Go make cookies right now. GO!! ;D

A Scathingly Brilliant gift guide!

2011-12-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

I asked my sponsors to help me out with a little Scathingly Brilliant Gift Guide to get you started on your weekend Christmas shopping! :) They had the option to spotlight some items from their shop, or to create a holiday wishlist. I love what everyone came up with -- I already spotted a few things that are going on *my* wishlist too! :D Oh, and make sure to look carefully, there are quite a few exceptional coupon codes sprinkled throughout this post!! :)

Shop: Sweetest Love
Coupon Code: PINKSANTA for free shipping on domestic orders!

"Inspired by cupcakes, watercolor paints, and the color pink, Sweetest Love is a line of thoughtful greeting cards and adorable prints. Whether it's a lovely thank you card or a personalized name print, we have something sweet for your loved ones!"

Shop: Susannahbean Handmade
Coupon Code: SCATHINGLY11 for 10% off!

"My name is Susannah Bean, and I make little pretties to keep you warm and adorable all winter long. I also make crocheted jewelry that would make a great gift for the lovely ladies in your life. I'm excited to offer 10% off to all Scathingly Brilliant readers for the month of December! Stop by and say hi, and happy shopping!"

Shop: Staunch Studio
"In a nutshell, I recycle scrap wood into new and bold abstract paintings."

Shop: Printed Peaks

"I created my shop recently this year because I had moved away from my first and always home, Vermont. I missed the rural landscape and all the people in it and decided to open a shop centered around abstract images of that beloved landscape. And so Printed Peaks was born and it continues to evolve. All Printed Peaks necklaces and bracelets are made by me from wood, leather, or vintage scarves."

Shop: Marissa B
Coupon Code: SB1211 for 10% off during the month of December!

"Marissa B. has been designing up-scaled fashion jewelry since 2002. Her collection of earrings, bracelets and necklaces is a fresh take on handmade jewelry and reflects a modern artistic style. From her Boston-based studio, Marissa works with a delicious array of colorful semiprecious gems and metals."

Shop: Jojo's Retro and Vintage
Coupon Code: BRILLIANT10 for 10% off!

"Jojo's is an online vintage boutique where you'll find real vintage from the 40s-80s. Jojo's specializes in pristine wearable vintage with classic silhouettes in every day wear as well as formals. Affordable pricing with layaway and gift certificates available for the holidays!"

Blog: Tales for Karina

"I'm a 23-year old executive assistant by day, and by night, I'm a violinist/vocalist, part-time Journalism student, a crafter, a folk-bluegrass lover, a film-buff, and a subscriber to Vogue since I was 15 years old.I started Tales for Karina Marie with a different name about a year ago. I wasn't completely committed to it, and it was completely directionless. A little less than two months ago, my best friend died in a tragic car accident. I felt a push towards the blogging community and decided to immerse myself into it full-time It has been extremely therapeutic, and it is starting to grow rather rapidly. Right now, I'm focusing Tales for Karina Marie more from a personal/lifestyle aspect, along with crafting and outfit posts. I'm REALLY trying to find my voice in the blogging world, and in the "real world" I am an extremely honest and frank person. I am finding it difficult to share anything too personal or close to my heart right now. Hopefully that will change eventually. Gah! Stay tuned."

1. I REALLY want some tights from We Love Colors
2. My momma is buying me a tripod for my camera which I'm SUPER pumped about!
3. Family Peace- My family has been going through a rough division, and my wish is for peace and love among us.

Shop: Under the Shade of a Bonsai Tree
Coupon Code: Brilliant15 for 15% off!

"A variety of jewellery items made from designs laser cut from Tasmanian myrtle and oak combined with brightly coloured acrylic, Japanese papers and sweet resin birds and flowers. Vibrant, bold and a little bit quirky!"

Shop: This Enchanted Pixie
Coupon Code: SCATHINGLYBRILLIANT for 20% off!

"A collection of handmade bohemian jewellery and clothing for the free spirited. A flower child at heart, my creations are inspired by birds, flowers, leaves and earthy colours."

Blog: Time After Tea

"A blog about outfits and travel and all of life’s other little adventures in between. For me Christmas gifts are all about spoiling people; picking out things that they wouldn’t usually buy for themselves. For me this year my wishlist is all about sparkles…."

1. Starlight Crown from Crown and Glory
2. Fab-Fetti Heels from Modcloth

Blog: Lilac & Lace

"Hi there! My name is Heather and I am a blogging, burger-loving, bad-ass ballerina. I write a blog called Lilac and Lace, which focuses on my life in Los Angeles with my Irish hubby. It's my personal, digital space for sharing my daily adventures, failed fashion attempts, artistic endeavors and a very serious quest for the perfect burger in the City of Angels. I dance in several regional dance companies, dabble in film-making, and I love finding new blogs to read! I do have a severely ignored etsy shop where I share the things I enjoy making, such as tutus, hair accessories and yarn wreaths. I love 1950's fashion, 1940's films and the music of George Gershwin...Let's be friends!"

1. This happy dress from Modcloth
2. This Camera
3. These adorable sunglasses from Tumbleweeds

Site: Chantilly Songs

"Chantilly is your friendly neighborhood crazy cat lady/ singer-songwriter. She just made a magical new set of recordings, and is trying to raise funds for it via kickstarter. This holiday, you can gift someone with music, tote bags, online personal shopper services, or all of the above! All while helping a starving artist achieve her dream. "

Shop: My Hideaway
Coupon Code: BRILLIANT for 15% off, this weekend only! Expires Sunday night.

"Handmade felt animal brooches, flower brooches, vintage earrings, Christmas ornaments, illustrated journals & one of a kind accessories."

Shop: Moorea Seal
Coupon Code: BRILLIANT for 10% off!

"Handmade modern bohemian jewelry inspired by the magical mixture of Northwestern mountains and cities."

Shop: The Dolls Cabinet

"My blog it's my little online space, where I can upload everything that I love or inspiration for all dream girls I love to help others, to search new art, stores, and more. Recently bloggin it´s like a fun job, because also Ï like to show my creativity and my work at my etsy shop, The Dolls Cabinet"

Shop: Local Honey

"Local Honey is a place for all things sweet + handmade for you and your home!"

Blog: Cheeky Cheeky

"I'm Carmen and I blog over at Cheeky Cheeky, an online universe full of giggles, music obsessions, funny little writing pieces, top 5 lists, recipe recommendations, outfit attempts, life adventures and lots of sass. I'm in the process of launching my very own online vintage shop, so stop by and say hi!"

1. This year, I'm asking Santa for mostly things technology related! I can't stop perusing Society6 iPhone cases. I'm hoping to find this pretty design by Norman Duenas in my stocking this year.
2. Another item I'm hoping to find under the tree this Christmas are these red Urbanears Plattan headphones. The perfect pop of color for any music fiend like me!
3. The last item on my wishlist this holiday season is this cute mustard yellow vintage bag from Salvage Life on Etsy. The perfect size to hold my laptop, camera and all of my other crap. Plus, mustard yellow is my absolute favorite color!

Blog: Laughing with Broken Eyes

"My name is Amber Rose. My blog is a fashion blog (although in its infancy) inflected with poetry, words, thoughts, and the things that make me smile, stop and say 'how lovely'.. the things I want myself surrounded with! I feel that taking the time to surround yourself (albeit web-based) in a pleasant environment, taking the time to wear those nice shoes, wear your pearls and lipstick.. well, that's all we can strive for! I try to embrace the little lovely things in a day and to me, my blog is a reflection on that."

1. With winter in the air and the crisp leaves beneath my shoes, there is nothing quite like a warm blanket and a cup of coffee. My holiday wishlist is quite simple this year, consisting of the perfect coffee mug (is this not the most creative thing ever?)
2. A rich supply of my favorite coffee (mm, the smell in the morning makes leaving the warmth of a cozy bed a bit more manageable)
3. And of course the perfect outfit to toss on upon a dash across campus to French class (dress // shoes // tights // coat, all from modcloth)...unless I stay in bed all day, which is a very real possibility!

Blog: Take Hart

"Hi, I'm Stephanie and I run Take-Hart; a mix up of anything and everything that brings personal style, marriage, photography, and all things pretty to one cozy little internet space. "

1. Alpine leggings
2. American gothic sweater
3. Blowfish Jack's in tan

instagram

2011-12-02T17:52:00.005-05:00

1. me + hypatia

2. I love the way lacy things look when you hang them in front of a window

3. chloe and her cute death stare

4. new drawing in my shop

5. hypatia peeking out from behind a curtain

6. photobomb! (look closely, you'll see it)

I love when other bloggers post instagram photo updates, so I thought I'd share mine, too, whenever I have some goods ones to post :) Oh, and my username is kategabrielle if you want to follow! ps. Any ideas for a clever title for these sort of posts would be much appreciated! I'm drawing a total blank.

posh frock friday

2011-12-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress - modcloth

lace cardigan - h&m

belt - forever 21

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - honeybean

This is one of the dresses that I have on my dress wall, and I honestly think I love it equally as a piece of clothing and as a piece of art. I love re-arranging which dresses I have hanging on display, admiring my new dresses and re-discovering old ones. But this one is a constant, I don't think I could ever take it down. I love the floaty hem and the beautiful delicate teardrops on the bodice. I almost feel like I'm messing with a precious museum piece when I remove it from its hanger and slide it over my head.

ps. I've been offline a lot this week because of a family emergency... if I owe you an email I promise I'll be replying very soon!

star stuff

2011-12-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so in last week's star stuff post I mentioned how I always tend to skip over videos on blogs, and I'm pretty sure everyone does too, but please just watch this little 4 minute video, yadda yadda. Well, this one today is one hour and 42 minutes long. I know, I'm asking a lot. But TRUST ME, it is soooo worth watching. And you can actually just listen to it, you don't even need to sit still and watch... hit play, and fold the laundry or make dinner while it plays. I was actually sad when it was all over, I enjoyed it so much!

Now I guess I should add what "it" is, right? It is Stephen Colbert - out of character - interviewing Neil deGrasse Tyson. And it is brilliant, informative and hilarious! Fast forward about 6 minutes to skip over the hosts introducing the event and doing obligatory "thank you's" to everyone who made the event possible ;)

tuxedo junction

2011-12-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

top/skirt/belt/tights - h&m

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - honeybean

When I saw this dress on the rack at H&M my heart literally skipped a beat. The sleeves are just to die for, and it has really thin golden thread running throughout the ivory lace. It's drop dead gorgeous! The only issue is that it's form-fitting on the bottom, which isn't especially flattering on me. So, unless my hips magically shrink a few inches (or until I stop eating food like it's going out of style) I'm going to just wear it as a top with a skirt! Which is fine by me because it lets me switch things up and wear it a bunch of different ways! :D

Speaking of eating like it's going out of style, is anyone else as excited as I am about holiday treats?? I'm going to pester my mom to start making cookies this weekend. Expect me to start wearing potato sacks in January because none of my clothes will fit.

wishlist wednesday

2011-11-30T18:08:00.002-05:00

1. Auburn brightly coat from Modcloth // $109.99

2. Crocheted knit scarf from Forever 21 // $9.50

3. Fight for your brights coat from Modcloth // $99.99

4. Mustard velvet coat from Topshop // $150.00

5. On the avenue coat from Modcloth // $119.99

6. Collar of the wild collar from Modcloth // $17.99

7. Twill faux fur collar coat from Topshop // $150.00

cats

2011-11-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

dress - modcloth

cardigan - old navy

tights - we love colors

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - honeybean

As thrilled as I am that cats are "in" right now, so I can fill up my wardrobe with cat-themed clothing (like this dress!), I can't help but hope that it's trickling down to real live cats, too. There are so many cats in shelters right now (more so than usual since so many families are giving up their animals because of the economy) and they desperately need loving homes. Me and my brother do a really simple fundraiser every year for our local animal hospital's charity, Animals in Distress... Barnes & Noble allows charitable organizations to gift-wrap for donations!* If you're interested in doing it too, it's so simple to set it up! Call your local B&N and ask if they have any gift-wrapping openings left, and if they do, you just sit in a bookstore and wrap presents for an afternoon, all the while helping our furry little friends!

Sorry this is such a gooey post! I just love cats SO much, and sometimes I look at Chloe & Hypatia and wonder what would have happened to them if our shelter hadn't saved them. I just hope so badly that this little bout of feline mania sweeping through the commercial world will result in more real live cats being rescued and becoming members of loving families :)

Oh, and since I'm already on the topic of cats, here's a new cat lady drawing I did yesterday!

ps. When trying to come up with a title for this post, the ONLY thing that I could think of was "Break me off a piece of that Fancy Feast," from The Office. I'm just titling it cats because I seriously cannot get that out of my brain long enough to come up with a good title, lol...

*You can gift-wrap for other charities, too! The local shelter is my choice, but as long as you have permission from the organization you can do this for any charity! :)

Style Idol - Elizabeth Taylor

2011-11-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

//image links back to the source

vegetarian cassoulet fit for a queen

2011-11-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

In Disney World we ate at Cinderella's Castle one night, and I had this amazing vegetarian cassoulet. Absolutely mouth-wateringly stupendously fantastic! So this weekend I decided to try to make it at home myself! After searching around a bit, I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and used it as the basis for my own version. I'm a really lazy cook, so you might want to switch out all my canned/dried stuff for fresh instead but I can never tell the difference myself. I also hate the texture of onions but love the taste, so I use onion powder in the recipe. You'll probably want to switch that out for real onions if you don't have a similar pet peeve ;)

You'll need: 3 medium zucchini, cut into 1" pieces, 3 stalks of celery, cut into 1" pieces, 4 cloves (or more if you're like me and really love it!) of garlic, 4 cups of broth, a 15oz can of diced tomatoes, two 15oz cans of small white beans (or cannellini beans), 3 tbsp of tomato paste, dried parsley, dried basil, powdered onion and 1/3 c. olive oil.

Directions: In a large pan, add the oil, zucchini, celery and garlic and then sprinkle with some basil, onion powder & parsley to taste (I personally like a lot!). Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the celery and zucchini are soft. Then add the broth, beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a little boil (I have no idea what the right term for that is?!) and let it cook for about 40 minutes, stirring often. I wanted mine to get a really thick consistency to mimic the meal I had at the castle, so I let mine cook about 10 minutes longer than the Smitten Kitchen recipe said, and I also left mine uncovered so more of the liquid would boil off faster.

While the bean & tomato mush is cooking, cut up a loaf of day old French bread into little cubes. Toss with olive oil, garlic and parsley and then cook in the oven at 350' for about 15 minutes. If the croutons finish before the rest of the meal, try VERY hard not to eat them all before everything else is done cooking. It's hard, but try. They're pretty darn good. Once the veggies and beans and such have cooked down so that there isn't much liquid left in the pot, scoop some out into a bowl and top it with a heaping helping of your fresh-baked croutons! It's so delicious, I swear!!

Now, I obviously have no idea what I'm doing when I cook (are you even supposed to let something boil without a lid on the pot? I have no clue) but it worked for me, and I ended up with a really scrumptious dinner that tasted a heck of a lot like the meal I ate at Disney World! :)

the melody lingers on

2011-11-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

Winter Wonderland by The Eurythmics // image via boopsiedaisy

pumpkin spice

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

dress & sweater - h&m

shoes - MIA

tights - target

belt - old navy

I wore this for Thanksgiving last week. I wanted to be warm and cozy, but I also wanted a belt on to serve as a little reminder for when I'd eaten too much ;) And it worked.. as soon as I felt like the belt might have to come off, I stopped eating, haha!

My Thanksgiving was pretty lovely, but also really bittersweet. My Aunt Annie, who is turning 100 next month, came over for dinner and she was so much less exuberant and spunky than she used to be. When she visited in July she was a ball of energy, laughing and telling stories. I never expected her to have become so frail in only a few short months. It was just so heartbreaking. We tried to discuss details about her birthday party to cheer her up, tell her about relatives she hadn't seen in years that would be attending, all the food and presents, but she would just weakly smile and then stare off into the distance. I kept trying to enjoy her company, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking it's probably the last Thanksgiving we'll get to spend with her. I have been so lucky to have her in my life, I wish she could live to 200.