posh frock friday

dress - vintage

necklace - handmade

shoes - blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

I bought this dress in the spring, right when it was getting too hot to wear it and I've been dying for cooler weather to get here ever since! Unfortunately I've gained a few pounds in the mean time, so it was a tight squeeze getting the zipper up. But I guess that's just an incentive to not overdo it on cookies and pie in the coming months, right? ;)

The dress I was wearing in my post yesterday had a really neat collar, but you couldn't tell from my distant full length photos. I had toyed with the idea of posting close-up photos several months ago but I really didn't like the way it broke up my posts so I stopped doing it. I really like having just the one photo accompanied by some text. Well, yesterday it hit me! I can take close up photos of all of my outfits all week, but save them for a little detail round-up post on Friday night! That way you can see all of the pretty little details like collars, embroidery and patterns without me sacrificing my clean one-photo outfit posts throughout the week ;) Since I only thought of it last night, I didn't take any detail photos this week but I will start to next week!

shimmering substance

dress - vintage

shoes - modcloth

hair bow - hive & honey

I ordered this dress online last winter, but couldn't tell from the photos that it had a drop-waist (which I kind of sort of hate), so Casey was super amazing and fixed it up for me! I just love the wild print & interesting colors... I think this is what it would look like if Andy Warhol silkscreened a Jackson Pollock painting.

Now that I have pink hair I find myself matching it to my clothes more often than I ever did with the red. I find that so funny! Speaking of hair, I'm going to have to touch up my roots again probably in the next week and I was just wondering, if you have dark brown hair & dye it light.. how often do you normally bleach your roots? I feel like mine have been growing in insanely fast since I went pink and it's driving me berserk! I start seeing the brown after about a week. I'm so incredibly envious of natural blondes right now, I swear..

ink stained

dress - modcloth

tights - we love colors

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

This was the first dress I ever bought from Modcloth, almost two years ago... and I think it's still my favorite, actually! It just fits so perfectly, has the most pretty ruffled neckline and a-line shape and I absolutely adore the 60's schoolgirl style! Unfortunately, one of the many times I wore it I sat on a pen. I had no idea that this happened until I was putting it on yesterday and saw a massive blueish purple spot smack dab in the center of the back hem. Seriously, it's really huge. I must have been sitting on a pen without knowing it for like a month to make this big of a stain!

Oh well. I wore it anyway. If someone in line at Staples (totally random scenario) wants to stare at my behind, that's their problem... I still love the front, and that's really the only side I ever see, so who cares, right? ;)

Style Idol - Anna Karina

// image links back to the source

pink pumpkin

dress - h&m

tights - we love colors

boots - alloy

belt/necklace - forever 21

hair bow - hive & honey

I'm still incredibly under the weather (*sniff*) but today is going to be kind of awesome. Well, as awesome as it can be when you have a 100' temperature ;p I set up a little workstation on my bed with my laptop, notebooks and pens and I'm going to just work and draw and watch The X-Files in bed all day long. Except for around lunchtime when the delivery guy usually comes, because oh my goodness the Modcloth sale order I placed yesterday is out for delivery today! Whoa! And you bet your buttons I'm going to peel off my pj's and try on pretty dresses whether I feel up to it or not! (Oh who am I kidding, I'd feel up to THAT even if I had a 120' fever! lol)

Like human like cat, Hypatia isn't feeling up to snuff either. She has a vet appointment this week because she's licking all the fur off of her back legs :( It's probably going to be another UTI, but it always seems to coincide with her fur getting too long for her to groom herself properly, so next week I'm going to have her shaved again. She always seems so much more energetic, happier and healthier when she's a naked little kitty anyway! :)

my modcloth sale loot!

Sooo I dipped into my savings a bit today. CAN YOU BLAME ME?! Oh my gosh! Most of these dresses were originally over $100! They've been sitting in my modcloth "loved items" for who knows how long... every once in a while I'd just stare at them and wish with all my heart that I had $149 to drop on a single dress. And now that I started making dresses, I'm being really weird about how much I'll spend. The total cost of materials for each of the dresses I've made so far was about $28-$35. So my new rule is that I won't spend more than $50 on a single dress. This rule came back to bite me in the behind, though, when so many of my favorites were discounted at less than that, lol!

Here's the link for the sale, and here are the links to the ones I purchased (shown above) but there are over 400 dresses (!!!!!!) and like 1,000 items altogether that are way discounted!! My mom is going to kill me when she finds out I bought myself more dresses, haha!!

1. On Cloud Divine Dress (Originally $129.99)

2. Acoustic Version Dress (Originally $52.99)

3. What's Up Buttercup Dress (Originally $129.99)

4. Blue with En-Vee Dress (Originally $149.99)

5. The Dainty Squid Dress (Originally $124.99)

6. Ode to Summer Dress (Originally $99.99)

slow motion

dress - modcloth

cardigan - old navy

tights - h&m

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

belt - forever 21

Most of the time I love being self-employed, but when I start feeling under the weather I absolutely loathe it. I want to call in sick, but that's not really possible. So instead I'm just working in slow motion. What would normally take me one hour takes me four. What seems to prolong things the most is the constant put sweater on-take sweater off-put sweater on-take sweater off dance that goes with a fever. ugh!

On the bright side, I took outfit photos the last two weeks even on days when I wasn't blogging them (like when I did my room tour or the giveaway last week) so I have a little extra supply to keep me going the next few days that I'll inevitably be spending in sweatpants and hoodies! The sniffles definitely aren't fun, but they do come with lots of soup and tea, which is fantastic. Oh, and extra time spent cuddling with cats. It's not all bad :)

ps. Modcloth is having their end-of-summer sale starting today! I'm hoping soooo badly that some of my favorite wishlist items are marked down! I haven't bought any dresses from them in a while because I've had trouble justifying the prices, but if they're seriously reduced I don't think I'll be able to resist! And seeing the package on my doorstep is sure to make me feel better, right? ;)

blog awards and a-z

I haven't done any memes or blog awards in a long time, but I thought every once in a while it would be fun ;) So first up, I received two blog awards from two very lovely bloggers -- the Tell Me About Yourself Award from Desert Americana and the Versatile Blogger award from The Young Bridget Jones! Thank you so much! Both awards call for seven little known facts, so here we go!

1. I was on my High School Debate team & in Mock Trial. Geek alert! ;)

2. I am a total klutz. I don't think I ever have less than 5 bruises at a time.

3. My very bestest friends are all online. I've never met them IRL! (yet!)

4. I cry really, really easily. It's embarrassing.

5. I stopped driving in 2005 after recurring nightmares of a crash.

6. My ideal job would be to run a cat sanctuary.

7. I hate when tv show characters have babies.

They also call for giving the award to 15 other bloggers, but I always feel weird picking so I'm going to skip that part. And I thought it would be fun to do the A-Z meme floating around too! Although the version I keep seeing is missing the letter T. I'm assuming that's an accident(?) so I added one!

Age: 24
Bed size: Queen
Chore that you hate: Laundry (despise it!)
Dogs: None (but 2 cats!)
Essential start to your day: Hypatia meowing at me
Favorite color: Grapefruit pinkish
Gold or Silver: Neither
Height: 5’ on the nose
Instruments you play: Tiny bit of piano
Job title: Illustrator
Kids: Zip, nada, zero, zilch.
Live: United States
Mother’s name: Judy
Nicknames: Katie-Kate (Mom), Tootsie Pop (Grandmom), Moron (Brother)

Overnight hospital stays: None (knock on wood!)
Pet peeves: Women wearing sweaters/coats over their shoulders without using the arm holes.
Quote from a movie: "What do you really want?" "Everything. Nothing." (Look Back in Anger)
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: Kyle, 8 years younger and 12 inches taller
Television: X-Files and Eureka
Underwear: Yes?
Vegetable you hate: Carrots and onions
What makes you run late: My genes.
X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth/Heart/Lungs/Back
Yummy food that you make: Chickpeas & tomatoes. DELISH.
Zoo animal: Lions

posh frock friday

dress - c/o emerging thoughts

belt - forever 21

shoes - modcloth

hair bow - hive & honey

crinoline - amazon

When Emerging Thoughts offered me something from their shop, my first thought was that I must have been confused with another blogger (Really?! ME??!) and my second thought was "CAT SKIRT!" They kindly sent me the most adorable skirt that has ever been created since the beginning of time, but unfortunately it was no match for my enormous dream-shattering hips. I sent it back in exchange for this dress, and honestly I'm glad the skirt didn't work out because I am head over heels in love with this dress! It's just so beautiful and I love how the skirt is full enough for me to wear a crinoline slip underneath for extra pouffiness! :D

star stuff

Sarah sent me this amazing video a couple weeks ago, and I think I've watched it at least five times since. It's just so incredibly mesmerizing!

give me all of the bacon and eggs you have.

skirt - h&m

lace dress - vintage

blue top - old navy

belt - old navy

shoes - modcloth

hair bow - hive & honey

Words cannot even describe how excited I am about the Parks and Recreation season premiere tonight! AHH! My other favorite show, Eureka, just had it's season finale on Monday so this is the only thing really holding me together this week (you might say I take TV a little too seriously?) Also, I recently got into The Office -- super late to that party! -- so I'm looking forward to seeing that premiere tonight, too! (Although I only started watching it recently, I'm going to miss Michael Scott like crazy. He was such an adorable, awkward, politically incorrect but well meaning sweet pathetic loser.)

This is the first time since Friends ended that I've had currently-airing favorite tv shows. I'd completely forgotten about the anticipation and excitement of season premieres! My brother is a HUGE fan of Ron Swanson, so he went out and bought bacon to watch with the premiere, and I stocked up on some waffles a la Leslie Knope. We're such huge dorks.

wishlist wednesday

1. Taupe springs eternal dress from Modcloth // $197.99

2. Winter wonderland scarf from Forever 21 // $14.80

3. Petite shawl collar cardigan from TopShop // $98.00

4. Tan horseshoe jeans belt from Dorothy Perkins // $7.83

5. Brandi faux leather boots from Blowfish // $99.00

6. Hitchhiker convertible bag from Nasty Gal // $58.00

7. Couture allure coat from Modcloth // $123.99

cheapsKATE

(image via lovelyish)

I went to Sally's Beauty Supply last week to get some pink hair color for a touch up, and my mom and I thought it would be fun to peruse the nail polish section (actually, I thought it would be fun.. my mom just wanted to go home, but she humored me). Anyway, my eyes were scanning all the pretty colors looking for one to take home when I spotted the price tag. They were like $8 a bottle! Hmph. We moved on to the hair dye, and proceeded to check out. THEN! At the cash register I saw a little display with 99 cent nail polishes, and my heart went all a-flutter. I picked out five and to my mom's delight, we headed home.

I like changing the color on my nails every few days, and with the amount of drawing, order packing and excessive typing I do on a daily basis even the most high quality color starts chipping off within 3-4 days anyway. So 99 cent polish is the polish for me! This little (kind of stupid) experience got me to thinking how many things there are for which I have trouble spending more than a dollar or so.

Broccoli!! It's delicious but if it's the least bit over the normal 99 cent/lb price I usually say "skip it." Will I pay $4.19 a bottle for grapefruit juice? Heck yeah! Will I fork over a good $20 for pizza and fries on a Friday night? You bet. But you just try to get me to pay more than one dollar for AA batteries. You will fail.

There's no rhyme or reason; it's like I have a genetic predisposition to being a cheapskate when it comes to a few select products. A pound of pasta. An itunes download ($1.29? haha, no.) Scotch tape (dollar store or bust.) Bobby pins. A package of drinking straws (Why do the $4 ones look like and work just as well as the $1 ones?) A candy bar (even 99 cents is stretching it there.) Sure, I'll splurge on a nice winter coat or a fun day trip but $8 for a bottle of nail polish? Over my dead body.

ps. This is totally a just-for-fun-in-good-humor post... I already know the saying "buy cheap, buy twice" so please please don't leave any "you get what you pay for" comments, okay? Thank you! :)

Style Idol - Jeanne Moreau

//image links back to the source

a not-so-hot mess

dress/tights - h&m

shoes/coat/belt - modcloth

Ugh! Yesterday was one of those days when your hair won't do a single thing you want it to, none of your clothes seem to lay right or fit, your shoes appear to have magically shrunk a whole size and you generally spend the whole day in a fit of discomfort. Don't you hate those days?

On the bright side, at least it was chilly enough out for me to wear tights AND a fall coat when I had to run errands!! Picking up hot tomato soup at Panera (it seems like every time I mention leaving my house I'm going to Panera to get soup... and that's kind of true) is just more fun if you're wearing a coat and braving the blustery winds to get across the parking lot!

Summer is my least favorite season, and fall is my favorite.. so this transition is always SO fun for me! I'm not just leaving the muggy, sweaty bug-laden days behind me, but entering a cozy season of hot cocoa, apples, pumpkin, sweaters and tights. I love movie nights in the fall with the windows open so the cool crisp air blows in, making me snuggle even tighter under the blanket with my cat purring beside me! Nothing beats autumn in my book.. even my allergies can't keep me from loving every second of it! ;)

$50 Beta Boutique Giveaway!

My sponsor Beta Boutique is offering a VERY VERY lucky lass a $50 gift certificate! :-O I wish I could win this myself, because she has some absolutely amazing goodies in her shop!

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!)

If you see something you must have right this instant (after all, vintage is one-of-a-kind and your favorite item might be snagged by someone else by next week! eek!) you can use code VeryImportantPerson to get 20% off your order!! Nifty!

Giveaway ends on September 26 at 12:01AM EST!

ps! I finished my 2012 calendar and posted some pictures yesterday! Here's the link in case you missed it :-)

the calendar is finished! yay!

The calendar is complete! woo hoo! It is without a doubt my favorite Flapper Doodle thing ever, and I'm just so excited about it! I didn't want to crowd this post with too many photos, so if you'd like to see a close-up view of each month's illustration, I have them on my Flapper Doodle blog here, or in the last picture of the etsy listing here.

One of the reasons this particular calendar is so special to me is that I chose to base two of the drawings on photos of my grandmothers when they were young! The May illustration is based on a photo of my Grandmom Eve, and September is based on a photo of my Grandmom Dawn.

The calendar is available as a wall calendar and a PDF in my etsy shop HERE. psst! If you're thinking about buying one, don't forget my blog readers can always get 10% off in my shop with the code BRILLIANT! ;)

work in progress

I finally finished all of my 2012 calendar illustrations last night! yay! It took me a lot longer than I originally planned but I'm incredibly happy with how it came out. It's far and away my favorite Flapper Doodle project so far... I'd love to continue working more in this style, so I really hope the calendar goes over well!

Now I just have to spend the day working on the calendar part of the calendar (months, dates, etc), which isn't a super amount of fun but I'm so excited to see the finished product that I'm actually looking forward to it! :D

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! :)

posh frock friday

dress - handmade!

cardigan - forever 21

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

belt - Dorothy Perkins

This morning has been so incredibly wonderful. We turned off the a/c and slept with the windows open for the first time all summer, and when I woke up I just felt so incredibly refreshed! My room was so cool, and surprisingly my allergies were practically non-existent. As I was slowly waking up I heard Hypatia meowing at me, and then felt her "brushing" my hair with her paw. *so cute!* Then while doing my morning blog-reading I saw THIS *squeals* which totally made my month! eep! Then I checked my email and saw that my brand new record player that was supposed to ship on September 20th is out for delivery TODAY!

I went downstairs in my brand new handmade blue dress, and saw that my dad had been grocery shopping and bought me some snapple and grapefruit juice (yay!!) AND a modcloth order that shipped LAST NIGHT was sitting on the kitchen counter!

I just love when all the little things align to make for a perfect day. It really doesn't happen to me that often so when it does I'm just floating on a cloud of rainbows and sunshine. Now I'm just listening to Goldfrapp (perfect Happy Day music) sipping tea, and feeling incredibly wonderful!

room tour part 2

Part two of my little room tour is my work area! The table is made from two 2' x 4' pieces of 3/4" thick wood mounted to my wall with brackets, and supported in the front with table legs from IKEA. It's really perfect for me... I get 8 whole feet of table space that I can use for packing orders, drawing, measuring fabric for sewing, etc. It's even perfect for folding my laundry!

(Notice Hypatia in the photo above? haha!) Right now my television is sitting on my table, but I have a bracket coming in the mail today so I can finally mount it to the wall! yay! Also, above my workspace I have art and movie posters to inspire me! Here's a little rundown on where everything came from:

Anna Karina painting - by me

Cat poster - a little store in New Hope, PA

Still from the movie Darling - ebay

Green painting - Elizabeth Bauman

White haired lady - Vivienne Strauss

Sunday in New York poster - I forget!

Cat embroidery - by me

Bette Davis linocut - Baking with Medusa

Painting of two girls - Valerie Pensworth

Prism girl - Dada Dreams

Blue painting - Elizabeth Bauman

Yellow painting - Elizabeth Bauman

Dirk Bogarde postcard - Immortal Ephemera

Jane Fonda collage - Catwalk

Purple painting - Amanda Blake

Everything will be OK screenprint - AJB + MTK

The two little pieces of art next to my thread are by Heidi Burton ... I have quite a few of her pieces and they always make me smile! Over on the left corner is my Fargo bobblehead (from Eureka!) All of the pen holders are from.. wait for it.. IKEA! :D

At the end of my desk I have this little shelving unit I got at Michaels (with a 50% coupon! huzzah!) It's absolutely *perfect* for storing all the little things I need on a daily basis as well as displaying my precious knick knacks! Also, now I always keep a little pail on my desk for garbage. When you're sewing or cutting paper you always end up with tons of tiny little scraps all over the place. Now I just keep this garbage pail by my side, and all of the trash gets disposed of immediately! Chloe will eat anything in her path, so I need to be super careful about what's laying around, especially bits of string or ribbon!

I use my under-the-table area for a LOT of storage now, so I decided to conceal it with a pretty curtain! I got the fabric at Jo Ann's this week, hemmed the edges and attached it to my table with velcro!

Under my table I have three red cabinets from IKEA (which I'm sure you're familiar with already thanks to my outfit photos lol) a garbage can (behind the middle curtain), the hamper I used as a kid, which I now use as a bench for my table and a shelving unit that I got at IKEA this weekend. Here's a tip -- if you have a tiny living area, always look at the kid's section while you're there! They have so many short storage options that are perfect for under-table or under-the-bed organization!

So that's part 2! I have one part left, which is just all the other little corners of my room and maybe I'll do a peek in my "closet" which is technically just a clothes rack in the upstairs hallway, lol! The one downside to converting your bedroom closet into a workspace... ;-D