friday favorites

I'd already be sold on these shorts if they were just high-waisted and mint colored, but the fact that they also have pink ice cream sundaes printed on them totally seals the deal! Cutest shorts ever!



This is so simple and absolutely brilliant! White chocolate + yellow m&m + pretzel sticks = bacon and egg candy!! GENIUS! And perfect for Ron Swanson fans. Even perfect-er for vegetarian Ron Swanson fans who don't eat real bacon (yup, we do exist!) You can grab the recipe here.



Speaking of awesome tv people... Barney Stinson. ♥  I'm pretty sure I need this hanging up in my room. I love the quote (although I think when Barney said it on the show it was betraying how sad he actually was, but that's a whole different me-over-analyzing-sitcoms story) and the embroidery and the fabric! It's on etsy here.



I am SUCH a sucker for novelty things, and this is no different. It's a purse that looks like a ladybug! Not quite as amazing as the unicorn shoes (which are now in my closet.. surprise, surprise) but still pretty darn cool!



I'm kind of in love with Kailey's workspace. Ever since I saw this on her blog I've been staring at my desk contemplating which necessary item should be replaced with a pink ice cream lamp. I'm thinking the printer can go.



I love this DIY valentine bunting from Now That's Pretty! I might whip up one of my own using these vintage valentines I scanned last year.



Marianne Faithfull as a doll. She's one of my favorite singers and a pretty awesome person -- there's a documentary about her life on Netflix and I highly recommend it. I loved her interviews in the film, she's just such a strong, spunky and super talented lady!



Isn't this beautiful? I found it on pinterest but it just links back to an endless stream of tumblr reblogs and I can't find the original source. I hate when that happens! If anyone knows who made it, please let me know so I can add a credit :)



Color Me Katie has a super cute tutorial on how to dye rainbow flowers! If you haven't visited her blog before and have some time on your hands, just go through her entire archives. It's a guaranteed smile-maker and for anyone who loves color as much as I do, a feast for the eyes!



I wish that all elementary schools all had this hanging up in their classrooms.

My parents always taught me to say "thank you" if anyone called me weird (the fact that they felt the need to give me this advice must have meant that they knew what I was in for in school?) and I did.  I distinctly remember during one recess in 5th grade, this girl Andrea came up to me and just said "You're weird." I was so excited and said "Thank you!!" with a huge grin on my face. She gave me a strange look and then walked away -- probably even more secure in her belief that I was weird. To this day though I still see it as a compliment. I'm very happy with who I am (and who I was in 5th grade) and it's mostly because I was taught that being weird is kind of awesome.

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2012 revisited

Last year I kept a "good things" jar. Every time something neat happened, I wrote it down on a little slip of paper and put it in a jar in my bedroom. On New Year's Eve, I emptied the jar and relived all of the good memories I'd had throughout the year. It was a really fun project (and one that I'm currently doing again for 2013) but when it was over I didn't know what to do with the my memory notes. At first I bundled them up with a paper clip and put them in a zip-lock bag in a drawer, just until I could come up with something better. And then it hit me - duh! - a scrapbook! :)



I gathered up all of my notes, purchased a pretty 8" x 8" pink scrapbook and ordered photos to go with some of the occasions I'd written down, like my day trip to NYC with Amber last June, my trip to Disney, adopting Hubble, etc.

My mom and I used to do real scrapbooking -- like the kind where you have tons of gadgets and paper-cutting tools and patterned papers and stickers and embellishments and the pages look like they could be in magazines -- but I wanted this to be more like a journal, kind of messy and fun! I just used washi tape and some cheesy stickers from Michaels, and then doodled a bit on the pages. The result is a sort-of-sloppy but definitely fun little peek into my year, and, I think, the perfect way to preserve all those happy memories!

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shamrock shake

I'm a little (okay, a lot!) tardy to the party, but this week I tried a mcdonalds shamrock shake for the first time! My grandmom loves them and I always thought they looked really pretty when she'd order one but the idea of a mint milkshake just seemed kind of bleh. For some reason though I randomly decided to taste one the other day and boy am I glad I did! It's so delicious! Also as someone who gets super excited about holidays WAY in advance, it was pretty awesome to get a little taste (literally) of St. Patrick's Day almost two months in advance ;D  It must run in the family because yesterday my mom was perusing her recipes for boxty and colcannon! yum!! :)

dress- c/o ever + mi crush | sweater - forever 21 | belt - from another dress

shoes - asos | brooch- under the shade of a bonsai tree

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sweet and sour

The colors I wore here were inspired by Danielle's outfit in her guest bartending post on Making Nice in the Midwest. I love the way the aqua and mint look with mustard yellow and peachy orange! Also I hope forever 21 sells these cardigans again at some point, because they're my absolute favorite. I got one in each color they offered last year, and I'm so glad I did! In retrospect though I would have stocked up on white ones so I could dye them a bunch of different colors.

I had to include this next photo, just because I thought it was hilarious how my pose and expression look exactly like my painting of Anna Karina on the wall behind me!

dress and cardigan - f21 | mint loafers - c/o oasap | brooch - vintage | tights - h&m

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Giveaway: Polka dot swimsuit from La Belle Rebelle [closed]

Now that spring is on the horizon, I think it's time we start thinking about things like lemonade, cook-outs, trips to the beach, sunglasses and, most of all, swimsuits! Thanks to La Belle Rebelle, one lucky girl won't have to worry about shopping for a new bathing suit this season, because they're giving away a super adorable polka-dotted swimsuit!



What you'll win: One coney island swimsuit from La Belle Rebelle ($175 value)

Mandatory entry: Visit La Belle Rebelle and then leave a comment letting me know your favorite item in their shop! In your comment, be sure to include some way to contact you in case you win (twitter, e-mail, your blog.. whatever floats your boat!) And you must be a follower of this blog to enter! (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. Like La Belle Rebelle on facebook.
2. Tweet this "I just entered to win an adorable polka dot swimsuit on @kategabrielle's blog http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use this exact tweet. Entries from twitter accounts used solely to enter giveaways will not be counted.)
3. Pin the giveaway on pinterest.

This giveaway ends on February 11th at 12:01AM EST. Giveaway has ended.

Winner:

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february desktop calendar

Here is my February desktop calendar! I'm going with the same technique of adding illustration details over a photograph... I think I'll probably stick with that for all of 2013 and then try something new next year maybe? This one is obviously valentine's day themed. I'm kind of obsessed with those little candy hearts and keep some on display in a jar in my room all year long! They're just so pretty ;) Yesterday I actually found candy heart plates at Michaels! They're heart-shaped and pastel with phrases like "love bug" and "hug me" ... basically the cutest plates ever. I got six and stashed them away for my future home, where they'll be in use all year long, of course! ;)

If you'd like to download the calendar, here are some desktop sizes. Just right-click and save!

1280 x 1024 // 1600 x 1200 // 1680 x 1050 // 1920 x 1080 // 1920 x 1200 // 2560 x 1440

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friday favorites

So many of my favorite blogs do friday favorite posts, and it's something I always look forward to each week. I've wanted to do my own for the longest time but always put it on the back burner until I could come up with something other than "friday favorites" for a title...  oh well! ;) Here are some things I really loved this week:





I am so smitten with the summerland lookbook photos! They're so dreamy! (And they're seriously making me want to dye my hair purple) Summerland is celebrating the grand opening of their brick and mortar store in Portland.. I wish so badly I lived on the west coast so I could visit! It's probably going to be a wonderland of loveliness!



Unicorn shoes. I REPEAT. UNICORN SHOES.



I'm not usually a fan of faux-taxidermy just because the real thing weirds me out so much (why exactly would you want a dead animal's head? It's just not a concept I understand) but an animal that's been dead for millions and millions of years somehow seems less offensive and more awesome (I can't explain how my mind works.) Anyway, I think this is one of the coolest things ever and I want one.



I love these cat stickers from Pony People! One of them (shown in the etsy listing) looks like my cat Hubble! :D His one year anniversary is coming up and I might just need to get these to commemorate it..




I love, love, LOVE, love these promotional pictures for the new season of Mad Men!! They remind me of candid Rat Pack photos. Also: WHOA to Pete Campbell's sideburns.



This might just be the neatest behind-the-scenes photo of any tv show ever. When I was little I wanted so badly to live in Jeannie's bottle! Ok, I still kind of do.



Now that I'm saving up for my first house I'm gathering decorating inspiration like crazy. I probably won't have my down payment saved for at least another year or two but that doesn't mean I can't start planning now! This would basically be my dream kitchen! I love the touches of mint and fun retro fabrics!



I have a floral collar DIY guest post on Kati's blog, Almost Stylish. I'm so happy she asked me to guest post because her blog is definitely a new favorite now!



Finally, this short animation from Disney is just so sweet and well-done. I love everything about it.. the color palette, the music, the story, the expressions. Also doesn't the guy look kind of like John Krasinski?

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