if the shoe fits

Thank you for all the sweet emails and tweets about my post yesterday -- it's so nice to know I'm not alone in feeling that way (although I do wish I was alone in feeling that way because then it would mean nobody else would be feeling blue!)

Switching to a much more frivolous note -- I'm super obsessed with these shoes from asos. They're the perfect mint color and I'm always a sucker for a t-strap. I ordered a different pair of asos brand shoes last month and thought they sent me a size too small, so I returned them & reordered and got the small size again. So I decided to just order one size up, and finally I got the right size. I figured it was a fluke with that one design, so when I ordered these I purchased my normal size. And I got a size too small again! I think their sizing must be seriously messed up -- I can't be the only one it's happening to, and it's not like my feet magically grew a size overnight lol. I tried telling them but they were kind of really horrible about the whole situation. Blergh! I guess whenever I order their shoes from now on I'll just order an 8 when I want a 7. Just thought I'd give a heads up in case anyone else is eying these shoes (or any asos brand shoes, I guess) too!

dress - modcloth | shoes - asos | shirt - asos | belt - from another dress

I only have eyes for you

Bait Footwear released some of their classic styles in pretty new colors today and I am majorly swooning! I think my favorites are the light pink t-strap shoes and the light blue sandals. Bait has slowly been taking over my shoe collection over the last few years. Every time they release a new color or style I have the hardest time resisting -- the designs are timeless and cute, and the colors are all so fresh and beautiful! I'm getting to a point where I have a Bait shoe for almost every outfit and I wouldn't want it any other way. They're adorable, unique, and (maybe most importantly) comfy!

ps. This isn't a sponsored post, I just really love their shoes A LOT.

oh my love, my darling

If you ever look at the outfit details on my outfit posts, you know that pretty much my entire shoe collection is from bait footwear. I just love their shoes SO much! They have the prettiest, most unique styles in the most beautiful array of colors! They just released my favorite style (Ida) in a bunch of new colors (look at those hot pink ones!!!!) and some new styles that are definitely going to become new favorites, like that coral one with the fan detail at the top. Swoon!

Last Thursday I went to New York and I think walking around in the freezing cold for way too long (I swear every single solitary cab was occupied the whole time we were there) did a number on my immune system, because boy am I sick. Right now the only thing I want for Christmas is to feel better. And maybe some new shoes, too.

Giveaway: Le Bunny Bleu shoes!! [closed]

Le Bunny Bleu is offering one super lucky girl a choice of any pair of shoes from their shop! It's going to be quite the challenge for whoever wins, because there are just SO many lovely shoes to choose from! My personal favorites are the little bunny ones (pictured in the top right corner above) but honestly I want them all! If you can't wait for the giveaway to end, they're offering 15% off with code BUNNYS_GIVEAWAY :)

What you'll win: Your choice of a pair of shoes from Le Bunny Bleu!

How to enter: Like Le Bunny Bleu on facebook. (If you do not have a facebook account, you can follow their blog instead via GFC here!) And leave some way for me to contact you if you win (email, twitter, blog, whatever floats your boat!) Also, you must be a follower of this blog to enter! This is mandatory, too! (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 "I just entered to win a pair of Le Bunny Bleu shoes on @kategabrielle's blog http://www.scathingly-brilliant.blogspot.com" (Only counts if you use that exact tweet.)
2. Share your favorite Le Bunny Bleu shoes *or* this giveaway on any social network (Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)

This giveaway ends on August 13th at 12:01AM EST. Giveaway is over.

Winner: Comment #79

sea green and periwinkle

dress - c/o modcloth
shoes - c/o bait footwear
belt - from a vintage dress
cardigan - old navy

One week of being sick and I'm *finally* starting to feel better. Hooray! I had to venture out to Staples and the grocery store on Saturday and I think it set me back a bit, so I've been taking it easy and generally loafing around ever since. Today is the first day I've gotten dressed all week, actually!

I'm so happy mint is in style right now! I don't know about you, but I think all of my favorite colors can be traced back to the Crayola crayons I favored as a kid. Sea green and periwinkle were my most frequently used crayons and I definitely gravitate towards those colors as a grown-up too! What were your favorite crayon colors? :)

purrfect shoes

dress - modcloth
cardigan - old navy
tights - target
shoes - c/o pony chops

Is anyone else having a problem with scheduled posts not being published on blogger? I usually blog at night, then schedule my posts to go up at 9am and 6pm the next day but none of them have gone up this week. I've had to manually do it, either hours later when I realized my post never published or frantically on my iphone while I was out :p Anyway, that explains why this is going up at 1pm instead of 9am today. I haven't been switched over to the new blogger interface yet so honestly part of me is just happy that this is the only blogger-related problem I have to deal with at the moment...

On a happier note, how amazing are these shoes?! My all time favorite colors (mint + pink) with little kitty cats (that totally remind me of Hypatia) painted all over!! Cuteness!!!



And check out the back! A kitty cat with my pink bun and hair bow! *dies* Is this not the most adorable thing ever?!?! They have a bunch of super cute designs in their etsy shop, and they also take custom orders! Honestly I wouldn't have cared if they were the most uncomfortable shoes on the planet since they're so darn cute, but they're ridiculously comfy to walk in, too!

DIY: gold-leaf oxfords

This project is really simple and while I've used the gold leaf to jazz-up a pair of old oxfords, you can really use it on practically anything!

You'll need: Something to gold leaf (in this case, old black faux-leather oxfords), a gold-leafing kit (really cheap at Michaels.. like $5 with a coupon!), a paintbrush and tape

1. Using the included adhesive, brush over the areas that you want covered with gold leaf. Be VERY careful not to get this on other parts of the shoe. The adhesive is really tacky, and if even the tiniest sprinkle gets where you didn't want it, trust me.. the gold leaf will find it, and stick to it.

2. Let the adhesive dry for about 30-60 minutes until it's completely clear and tacky. Now carefully lay the sheets of gold leaf over the shoe. Don't worry if a whole sheet doesn't cover the area, you can patch it together and it'll still look just fine! :)

With a *dry* brush, lightly pat the gold into place. Make sure to get all the nooks and crannies. If you miss a spot, you can add some more gold leaf and keep patting. Eventually it'll all stick where it's supposed to.

Brush away any excess gold from the parts of the shoe that aren't covered in adhesive. If you want you can finish it off with the sealant that's included in the kit, but I want mine to get a little scuffy and worn so I'm going to let them go au natural for now ;)

Blowfish Shoes Giveaway!

dress - peacock plume

belt - asos

shoes - c/o blowfish

I've got exciting news today!! Blowfish Shoes is offering one lucky gal a pair of free shoes! whee! I know "free shoes" is amazing to begin with, but it gets even better -- you can pick whichever pair you'd like!! ahh!

To enter you just need to be a real follower (none of this follow-&-leave-as-soon-as-you-lose-the-giveaway jazz... that's super rude!) and let me know what shoes you'll choose (unintentional rhyme) if you win! You can visit Blowfish Shoes here to pick out your favorite pair, and then leave a comment on this post. You have until next Monday at 12:01AM EST to enter. Oh, and make sure to include a way for me to get in contact with you in case you win!

And that's about it! Good luck!! :D

ps. The video at the top is a music video that I made especially for this giveaway.. please take a peek (with the volume on) if you have a chance! It took a lot of work & I love how it came out! :)

I had some brand new shoes

dress - le bomb shop

shoes - c/o blowfish

belt - old navy

bag - h&m

hair bow - forever 21

This is what I wore for Day 2 of my art show. I usually take my outfit photos using my webcam on my imac (super high tech, right?) but since I obviously didn't have that with me in New York, Kyle took my pictures instead. Somehow he always makes me feel like such a goof doing this, and I end up making the weirdest faces. I swear I don't even look human in some of them (the non-human ones were promptly deleted as soon as I saw them..)

Anyway, though! I was so excited about my outfit for Day 2 because I wore my brand new Gimmik shoes from Blowfish!! My feet were killing me after the first day when I wore my favorite Target flats, and even though my other Blowfish shoes are comfy, I really wasn't sure about wearing heels to walk around the city. But they were fantastic and SO comfortable! It was the first time I've worn heels out and about in a while (I usually end up making a last minute switch to flats every single time I attempt to wear high shoes out of the house) so it was odd feeling so tall! I'm only 5' so I'm used to seeing the world from a very short perspective. My dad & brother kept joking that they could finally see me with these on, they didn't have to stare down at the floor searching to find me ;-D

Oh, and I put together this little video to show my mom, since she missed the show this year, and I thought I'd post it here in case anyone is curious about what my shows are like! I did a time lapse for setting up my booth and going through the Lincoln tunnel, and of course there are the obligatory obnoxious-brother-punching-at-my-camera shots lol... I broke it up into two parts: the first is more subdued, to represent the first day of the show, which was really slow and unsuccessful, then the next two days which included winning the award and actually having some sales!

cat shoe DIY

Remember a couple weeks ago I mentioned doing a DIY of the cat shoes in this post? (Scroll down a few pictures to see them).. well today I have a little cat shoe tutorial guest post up on Adele's blog! They're not nearly as perfect as the originals (I'm still not that great at embroidery) but I think they're kind of cute and fun! Click here to go check it out!

walking on air

dress - vintage

shoes - blowfish

First, I just want to thank everyone for the incredibly sweet comments on my post yesterday! I'm really excited, yet simultaneously terrified and I know that having you guys here for me when I make the big move will make it much easier! :)

These are by far the most comfortable heels I've ever purchased in my entire life. I couldn't believe how light they were when I put them on! It's seriously like walking on air. Even though I wear heels in most of my photos, I'm much more of a flats girl, just because of the comfort factor. I love being able to run around without being afraid I'll fall and break my nose ;) But these remind me of those giant foam platform flip flops that were popular when I was about 15, only much better looking! I can definitely see myself wearing them every day, all summer long!

Oh, I added a new little feature on my blog called the question of the day. Here's the story behind it: I visit tons of blogs every morning, probably at least 20, sometimes more, but I hardly ever leave comments. (I've written about my commenting paralysis here before) I just can never think of anything to say that doesn't sound redundant or stupid... so I thought, maybe other people have this same dilemma! Enter: Question of the Day! Each day I'll have a fun question at the bottom of my post, so if you want to leave a comment but can't think of a darned thing to say, this should help ;)

Do you want to comment, but have no idea what to say? Trust me, I've been there! So to make things a little easier, here is a question you can answer if you can't think of anything else to say! :)

Do you prefer Peeps, Chocolate or Eggs at Easter? You can also answer "all three" ;)

a shoe to stand on

I've been a huge fan of platforms ever since the Spice Girls made them all the rage when I was an impressionable pre-teen. Naturally I'm tickled pink that they're back in style again so I can stock up! I really hate being on trend for some reason (the fact that my dad incessantly nagged me for playing with "trendy barbies" as a child may have contributed to this..) but I love when my favorite styles become popular, since it gives me a chance to hoard them for the future. 70's style platforms are a case in point -- adore them to no end, but they haven't really been readily available since I was about 10. Now that they're everywhere again, I'm going to stock up and save for the lean years when they're are out of vogue ;-) I'm leaning towards buying either 1, 8 or 12, but if only I could find a pair of 6" tall union jack ones... hmm...

links: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12

ps. You have to see these AMAZING white platforms my mom wore to her prom & graduation! :-O Aren't they awesome?!

these flats were made for walking

dress - H&M
shoes - Target

I'm not big on exercise... I used to come up with every kind of reason to get out of gym class (think Mary & Rachel in The Trouble with Angels) and as an adult I've done maybe one sit up and half a push up before giving up on work outs altogether. So I'm pretty darn proud of myself for going walking almost every single night last week. I only missed one day, and that was because it was pouring outside! It's without a doubt the most exercise I've had in the last six years since I was able to walk out of high school gym forever. And hey, walking outside for a half hour is about 800 times better than getting dodge balls thrown at you and having to wear a bathing suit in front of all your classmates ;-)

My only complaint is that, since I don't own a single pair of sneakers, I've had to go walking in either my little black flats, flip flops or rainboots! I'm thinking of getting a pair of traditional converse sneakers but I'm not sure which color yet. I'm leaning towards purple...

ps. That's the dress I got in New York last week as an early birthday present from my mom!