fangirl

This weekend Casey came to visit and we went to the Supernatural convention in Whippany, NJ. She had to catch a super early flight (we had to be at the airport around 4am) and I had to wake up way too early for the drive to Whippany each day, so I've pretty much spent the last two days napping and trying to catch up on lost sleep, lol. But it was so worth it!

I'm not obsessive about Supernatural the way I am about some other shows (cough, X-Files and The Office, cough) but I really do love it and I'm completely enamored with Misha Collins, who plays Castiel on the show. He also started Gishwhes (The greatest international scavenger hunt the world has ever seen) which I participated in last year (I was on vacation & couldn't participate this year, sadness!) At first glance it just seems like a fun event but it's really so much more than that. It spreads kindness and helps shy people (raises hand!) to break out of their shells a bit. His work with Gishwhes and Random Acts of Kindness was one of the main inspirations behind my kindness giveaway series this year.



I love his kind heart & quirky, brilliant mind but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I've also got a pretty big crush on the outside of his body, too. Like, so much so that I was a big heap of awkward shyness when I got to meet him. On Saturday he did autographs and when it was my turn I couldn't even look at him, I was just staring at the table in front of me. I had all these ideas beforehand about what I'd say, how I'd thank him for being such a huge inspiration, blah blah blah. Nope. I just stood there sweating and then walked away.



On Sunday he did photo-ops. This time I didn't have a table to look at so I think I just stared at his neck. Seriously, I could not look at his face and make eye contact, I was just way too nervous. I did, however, look at him when other people were getting their photos taken, and DEAR GOD he is even more beautiful in person. I think maybe if I had looked directly at him when I got close my head might have exploded.

Anyway, eventually it was my turn to get a photo and I somehow managed to maintain a teeny tiny amount of composure and then whimpered "thank you" and walked away. At least I have a photo to prove it happened because it definitely feels like a dream (yup, even in my dreams I'm too shy to talk to or even look at the men I'm crushing on. MY DREAMS ARE THE WORST.) Also, when we walked into the photo-op room they were blasting Joy Division which makes it even MORE likely that I was dreaming, because I'm pretty sure if I dreamed about getting a photo with someone I really like, Joy Division would be the soundtrack.



Me and Casey were kind of excited about the whole thing, haha.

dress- asos | shoes - asos | castiel pin - arts daughter | bag - modcloth

happy birthday, moron

My little brother, Kyle, is 20 years old today. WHAT. It's weird being just that much older than your sibling that you're able to vividly remember their entire life. It seems like just yesterday that he was sitting in a high chair with food all over his face, so it's just super weird that he's 20 already. Still with food all over his face.

We've ended up being ridiculously opposite in almost every way imaginable but somehow we're still really close. He's like my honorary big brother, he's always looking out for me and trying to protect me whenever he can. Despite the arguments that ensue over what music to play in the car, we're great road trip buddies and just in the last year we've been to almost every state on the east coast (and Canada!) I say it all the time, but I am SO lucky to be so close to my family, and Kyle is no exception. Even though he can annoy the heck out of me and has obsessions with things I can't wrap my head around (I'll NEVER understand his fascination with freight trains. ever.) I am super lucky to have him for a brother and even luckier to have him for a friend.

TCM Film Festival - Part 2

This is basically the only shot of my outfit from the first official day of the festival -- wearing my beloved bait footwear shoes. I have so many pictures of my feet with stars on the walk of fame -- it was like playing an instagram version of "I Spy" with classic film star names.

I got a decent amount of sight-seeing done on this trip, so I'm looking forward to concentrating a bit more on the actual festival when I go back next year. I saw eight films total which I think is pretty pale in comparison to most festival-goers. I think even all of my friends saw more movies than I did (I can't blame sight-seeing for that though, I just overslept every morning. And skipped one movie for a mid-day nap. oops!)



The first movie that I saw at the festival was The World of Henry Orient with Paula Prentiss in attendance! I've seen it before but I don't remember finding it as funny as I did this time. The film is about two teenagers who stalk a pianist around New York City. The teen girls have a very Mary Clancy-Rachel Devery dynamic, with one kooky adventurous troublemaker and her slightly-less kooky stooge. The pianist was played by Peter Sellers. If you think he's usually too over-the-top, in this movie he is not. If you think he's perfectly lovely in his other movies, in this one he's just as awesome but a little toned down. Either way, he's brilliant. And his love interest is a nervous, paranoid married lady played by Paula Prentiss.

Do you ever think that somebody's acting is just SO funny that laughing doesn't seem like a sufficent expression of how joyful they make you feel? I wanted to invent a new form of comedic appreciation for how funny Paula Prentiss was in this movie.  The movie is available on amazon instant watch here.



This is just an awesome mural that I saw on Hollywood Blvd. 

The second movie that I saw was Invasion of the Body Snatchers. My dad is a big fan of 1950's science fiction movies so I knew he'd disown me if I didn't go see it, lol ;) In all seriousness, though, I love me a 50's sci-fi too, and I was pretty excited about seeing this one on the big screen!

I've been to quite a few classic film screenings at repertory theaters and so many times I've been disappointed and annoyed by how many people in the audience laugh at things that aren't funny. I assumed that most people coming to this festival would probably be more respectful, but I was still very apprehensive seeing a movie like this in a theater. Thankfully, the audience was amazing. Nobody laughed, except at lines that were obviously intended to trigger a giggle. The credits were met with applause, and you could hear a pin drop when the movie was playing, it was so quiet. I wish that every movie-going experience could be like this one! The movie is available on amazon instant watch here.

The next movie that I saw was a midnight screening of David Lynch's Eraserhead.



This is me, Millie and Sarah pre-Eraserhead.



This is Sarah, Millie and me post-Eraserhead.

I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks and Blue Velvet so I thought -- yay! David Lynch! I'm in! But this was much more disturbing than I could have imagined. I don't even know how David Lynch imagined it. I'm not sure I can even really describe it? It starts out having a semblance of a plot -- a man finds out his girlfriend is having a baby and they get married. At dinner with his girlfriend's parents he cuts into a cornish hen and the little chicken starts convulsing and oozing a thick liquid. Later on, the baby (which looks kind of like an alien/hairless horse hybrid?) is just constantly crying, in a pitch that lies somewhere on the border between a human infant and a velociraptor. Large worms shaped like pieces of funnel cake start falling from the sky and slithering around. A head explodes.

I'm sure that its reputation as a cinematic masterpiece is apt and I'm just missing something -- I generally try to have an open mind about movies, even disturbing ones, but I just didn't get it. I had a lot of fun attending the midnight screening with my friends, though, and it's going to be a lifelong memory, for sure. Not my favorite movie of the festival though, ha! It's available on amazon instant watch here.

TCM Film Festival - Part 1

I didn't mean to abandon my blog while I was on vacation... oops! I was just having so much fun!! I think I only got to take two proper outfit posts, too! Yikes! Touristy snapshots will just have to suffice for now. I was really happy with all of my outfits so I need to share them anyway :)

The first day was pretty amazing. My friends and I have known each other for five years but this was our first time getting together as a group. We've been discussing it ever since we met, dreaming about our "five year epic meetup" but I think all of us were doubtful that it would ever actually happen. We all have busy lives and the thought that everyone would be able to drop what they're doing for a week to meet at the same time seemed so unlikely! But when the TCM Film Festival idea came up, we all jumped on board. We originally met through our classic film blogs (I used to blog regularly at Silents & Talkies before I started Scathingly Brilliant) and it was just SO fitting.



Left to right: Millie, Me, Nicole, Sarah, Casey

On our first day we went out to eat at a cute little restaurant and then split up temporarily. Casey got to go to a really cool TCM social networking party, and the rest of us played typical tourists on Hollywood Blvd. I majorly freaked out at Grauman's Chinese Theater. I've been dreaming about seeing Frank Sinatra's handprints since I was thirteen, so that was beyond exciting for me. (That's me with Frank's prints in the picture at the top.)

Some of the highlights of the trip were seeing Alec Baldwin in person (Jack Donaghy!) falling in love with The Beatles at the Hard Day's Night screening, seeing my all time favorite movie, Sunday in New York, on the big screen (I wept with happiness, omg!), two midnight screenings (I've been trying to get people to go to midnight movies with me forever and nobody ever wants to do it with me!), late night chats with Millie, and I finally got to go to Disneyland!! At the end of the trip I also got to meet up with Danielle and Diana, too! All in all this was one of the best weeks of my whole life. I can't possibly fit everything in one post so I'm going to break it up by day, with some non-vacation posts in between so you don't get sick of it too quickly ;)

dress - red velvet (by elsie from a beautiful mess) | shoes - c/o bait footwear

worth it.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I got to stay with one of my best friends, Sarah. We've actually known each other for almost five years but didn't get to meet in person until this week! I had SO much fun with her and her family, it definitely made my bout of homesickness worth it. I think getting to meet the three other friends in our little BFF group (Casey, Millie and Nicola) is my incentive for following through on my road trip :) Next year we're all going to meet up together for the TCM Film Festival in California and I can't wait!! :D

Sarah and her family showed me and Kyle around Buffalo and we had a blast! I was so sad when it was time to leave! I wish Buffalo wasn't so far away from where I live or I'd visit like every weekend if they'd have me! Really though, they were so welcoming (and awesome!!) and helped me feel a lot less homesick :)

Today we're back in Syracuse again, and then I think we're going to head for either Vermont or New Hampshire. We're definitely winging it lol

ps. On Tuesday morning we did the Maid of the Mist! Kyle has the photos on his phone still but when I finally get them on my computer I'll post some. I'm going to be very stingy with my use of the word "epic" now that I've been on that boat. Seriously, nothing else comes even close to that amount of epicness.

dress- c/o tulle | shoes - asos | bag - c/o wet seal

no winter blues

dress - h&m

collar - handmade (gift from casey)

cat pin - vintage (gift from casey)

shoes - c/o blowfish

belt - forever 21

Spring may be right around the corner, but I'm still really enjoying winter! I love soup, hot drinks, comforters, my cozy bed and cats snuggling up to me to keep warm. For me, spring means insanely bad allergies, neighbors using noisy lawnmowers, stink bugs (does anyone else have them? ahh they're so annoying!) and less soup. Anything that causes less soup can't be all that great. The idea of more watermelon and strawberries makes me a little less hostile towards spring, but man I really love soup.

As spring draws closer I've been finding myself more and more drawn to deep, dark tones. I usually go for bright colors and pastels, subconsciously matching my outfits to my pink hair, but I suppose my clinging-on-for-dear-life attachment to winter must be affecting my current taste in clothing as well.

exciting news!

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!

DIY: cat clutch

Hello, Casey from Noir Girl here! I've whipped up a quick little clutch purse pattern for us to make while Kate is vacationing. Kate was my inspiration for this design. I was disappointed for her that the lovely cat skirt she found didn't work out, so I created this as a way for her to have the look in another form.

Download the pattern and instructions here: (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to see them)

PATTERN
INSTRUCTIONS

The pattern will work beautifully printed on plain computer paper, but I have found newsprint (the blank kind that is sold in art supply stores) a great pattern paper. Just cut a couple sheets down and load them in your printer before beginning.

And don't forget - when printing the pattern make sure it is NOT scaled. Page scaling: NONE. The pattern will become skewed if you forget this step. (Believe me, I speak from experience here!)

Happy sewing, friends! If you have questions about any part of the pattern, write me a comment or tweet me. I will be happy to help you!

THE pink outfit.

shirt - handmade for me by Casey!!

jeans - ASOS

shoes - c/o blowfish

hair bow - hive & honey

My friends and I are HUGE fans of the movie The Moon-Spinners starring Hayley Mills. Hayley, the story, the setting and the adorable Peter McEnery all make the movie amazing but without a doubt the stand-out star of the picture is this outfit. We just refer to it as "THE pink outfit." The shirt is absolutely amazing.. a pretty striped, button down top with a belted waist and free-flowing back. Something so unique and original that it can only be found in a movie wardrobe ... until now! Casey (or, as I like to refer to her, The Seamstress Extraordinaire) whipped up exact replicas for me, Millie, Sarah and Nicole!! No question the best surprise EVER! Casey is always amazing me with her sewing skills, but this seriously just knocked my socks off! The attention to detail -- even rounding the button placket at the top to match Hayley's original -- is astonishing! And her craftsmanship puts the store-bought clothes in my closet to shame. I'm just so ridiculously excited to have it, and I love that every time I wear it I'll be reminded of what fantastic friends I have! :)

ps. you can see more photos of the original outfit in my Moon Spinners Style Idol post from March! :)

Happy Birthday Casey!!

Happy Birthday to one of my absolute best friends in the whole wide world, Casey! I tried making my own Astreus ship, plugging in the coordinates of the Eureka set in hopes of wrapping up Zane and giving him to you as a birthday present but unfortunately Beverly highjacked my mission and I wound up in Singapore instead with a drug dealing hotel escort named Ah-Mezzi! Anyway, I hope this picture will suffice instead! ;D

Silents & Talkies - A Matter of Innocence (1968)

As you can probably tell from my blog title, I'm a pretty big Hayley Mills fan (if you're out of the loop, "scathingly brilliant" is from a line she used repetitively in her film The Trouble with Angels) so when Casey & I found a dvd of this rare film, I HAD to see it! Being a fan, I was really hoping for something to rival the greatness of The Trouble with Angels or The Moonspinners, but this was definitely a flop. Not just a "what a bad movie" kind of flop, it was pretty much indescribable. I think Leslie Knope sums it up perfectly:

Hayley Mills plays a plain young girl (read: she wears glasses and her hair is not in a fancy updo) accompanying her aunt on a trip to Singapore. Not long after they arrive, her aunt has a heavy lunch that results in her sinking to the bottom of the pool when she climbs in on the ladder. It's the most bizarre death I've ever seen in a movie, and yet it was so funny that my stomach actually hurt from laughing so hard. (I should probably add here, so as not to seem like a total lunatic laughing alone in my bedroom over the death of a woman in a movie... I was watching this with Casey, Millie and Sarah during a chat. They were equally hysterical ;-D)

The movie just keeps sliding downhill from there... Hayley gets un-plained (read: contacts & a fancy updo) and begins dating a very strange hotel escort who seems to be moonlighting as a pimp/pornographer/drug dealer?! And I am 100% positive they changed his name repetitively throughout the film. I won't give away much more (I haven't actually given away anything yet.. honestly all of this takes place in the first 15 minutes or so of the movie, if you can believe it!) in case you want to see it. As strange and mind-boggling as this was, I'd still recommend it. Not every film has to be Citizen Kane, right? There are some wacky little weirdos that deserve some love, and I think this is definitely one of them. It's bizarre but definitely fun to watch, especially if you have some friends to watch it with who love bad movies just as much as you do ;-D

Buy it: ioffer

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice - Sarah from The Wicker Bar

Sugar, Spice and Everything nice is my new series that spotlights exceptionally sweet bloggers! This week I'd like you to meet Sarah from The Wicker Bar! Besides being a complete sweetheart, she also has a KILLER wit and I constantly wish that I was just 1/10th as funny as her. This is going to sound so geeky, but Sarah is just SO awesome and cool, I kind of want to be her when I grow up (and she's like 6 years younger than me.) She is one of my closest friends, and I'm super excited that she agreed so share some of her sweetness (and awesomeness) here today!

I have a lot of favorite pictures, but this one is a current favorite. I'm totally besotted by Twin Peaks at the current moment. Kyle Maclachlan is pretty easy on the eyes, so this picture of him and Lara Flynn Boyle is basically the sweetest thing ever right now.

Garden State is one of my absolute favorite movies. The whole thing is very bittersweet yet hilarious, but this scene is particularly touching. I can't describe it without totally giving away the story, so you should definitely watch it!

To be honest, I don't bake/cook as much as I'd like to...mostly because whenever I do, I end up eating the entire tray of brownies or whatever I've made! For a margherita pizza, I just kind of toss it together, but I do something along the lines of this recipe from Pink Parsely. Then for dessert I'd whip up some Trader Joe's truffle brownies, or grab a few Minty Newman-O's if I was lazy ;)

Soul Meets Body by Death Cab for Cutie
I've loved this song since forever, it seems. It's such a summer song, and it's PERFECT UGH. I'm disgusted with how perfect it is. The whole "Plans" album is just incredible as it is but I'll never stop loving this particular song. Can't you just picture driving with the windows down to this?


My two friends, Chris and Kevin, like to drop by my house unannounced from time to time. Last summer they showed up at my doorstep, so I let them in. Chris immediately went to the pantry to fetch the box of Wheat Thins, and Kevin sat down at the counter and picked up a newspaper. I was getting something out of the oven, so I was too preoccupied to notice them making themselves at home. I turned around to Kevin intently reading the paper, and Chris on his blackberry munching away - in silence. I stared at them for a second, then said, "You know, I'm really glad you guys came over to spend time with me!" obviously testing them. Neither of them looked up, and they both replied with a spacey, "No problem, we love coming to your house," and continued reading/eating. I burst out laughing because it was like something out of a movie. They snapped out of it, and then we took a trip to PetSmart at 9pm so they could buy beta fish. I have the craziest friends.