she's filled with secrets

I loved my outfit today but before I finally had time to snap some pictures the sun was already on its way out. I'm usually a little obsessive about my pictures coming out really light and bright, but for some reason I kind of like the effect the sunset has here. The long moody shadows are probably better suited to this particular outfit anyway, with its muted color palette and mysterious Twin Peaks brooch.

I finished Mockingjay this morning (I ended up liking the first two Hunger Games books much more than the last, but I still really enjoyed it) so I'm going to go to the library tomorrow with a list of books from the comments on Wednesday's post. Thank you so much for all of the suggestions!

scalloped pinafore - dahlia | scalloped collar shirt - asos | tights - anthropologie

shoes - c/o bait footwear | twin peaks brooch - kate rowland

sweet and gentle

Today is one month since I said goodbye to Hypatia. It's been, without a doubt, the worst month of my life. But I'm trying really hard to let all of the good memories comfort me instead of making me sad. I was talking to my dad a few nights ago about how much I miss her, and then we got on the subject of painting and art, and how I hardly ever feel inspired to put paint to canvas anymore, as if all of my creativity has been completely drained. He suggested that I consider the qualities that made Hypatia such a special cat -- her gentleness and her sweetness -- and try to channel that into art.. to let her live on as a muse.

I thought about it a lot, and I kept coming back to one image - a photograph of my dad's mother taken in the 1940's near the water (you can view the original here) I was still very young when my Grandmom Eve passed away, but my own recollections of her, along with all of the stories I've heard from my parents, reflect an incredibly kind, gentle woman whose memory still brings comfort to my dad and my mom. I like to think that if there is anything after this life, she's taking care of my Hypatia for me right now until I get to see her again.

As usual I'm not 100% happy with the final product (is any painter/writer/artist ever?) but it was so nice to paint again, even if I did feel pretty rusty. But this particular piece wasn't so much about the final product, anyway, as it was about the process. I forgot how therapeutic painting could be.. letting myself get enveloped in the warm memories of two gentle souls and releasing some of my heartache onto the canvas.

to distraction

I hardly ever wear pants but when I do I think the outfits always end up among my favorites. I love this one so much, with the scalloped collar blouse and polka dot pants that match my shoes exactly.

I'm still having a really, really hard time coping with losing Hypatia. Tomorrow will be a month and I've lost it quite a few times this week... Distractions are helping somewhat though. My mom has been joining me for X-Files marathons almost every night in the living room, and before bed I've been losing myself in the Hunger Games books. I really wanted something to read that would suck me in so my mind wouldn't wander and these have been doing the trick! I'm almost finished though, so I've been limiting how many pages I'll let myself read each night to stretch it out a little longer. If you have any suggestions for completely engrossing books I could read when I'm finished, I'm all ears! :)

blouse - c/o tulle | pants and shoes - forever 21

arrietty's first outfit post

This was my first time taking outfit pictures with Arrietty in the room and to say she was curious would be quite the understatement! "Why is that thing beeping? Why are you standing there? Why aren't you wearing pajamas?!"

I love having my cats wander into my pictures though so I hope she stays this curious for a while :) When I first got Hubble he used to be SO interested in my outfit pictures, I couldn't keep him away, but then after a few weeks he just completely lost interest. Speaking of Hubble, he hasn't actually meet Arrietty yet (she's recovering from an illness and can't share a litter box with the other cats until mid-April, so she's staying in my bedroom) but they keep playing with their paws under my door. It's so adorable! Chloe hasn't even noticed (or doesn't care) that we have a new cat in the house. She sniffed Arrietty's carrier once and then continued over to her food bowl, completely uninterested.

shoes - vintage | dress- c/o dahlia

shirt - c/o oasap | brooch - c/o under the shade of a bonsai tree

blog anniversary giveaway! [closed]

Last week was Scathingly Brilliant's third anniversary! To celebrate I'm giving away some of my favorite things! I have all of these items myself and love them so much -- I hope you will too! :)





What you'll win: One person will win an assortment of some of my favorite things, all packaged neatly in a pink kitty makeup travel case* (pictured below):

A pink faux fur detachable peter pan collar, a ceramic unicorn piggy bank, a mint green lace hair bow, a pink cat makeup case, mint green sunglasses, Maybelline "green with envy" mint nail polish, a kitty cat mirror compact, vanilla lip balm, Hello Kitty playing cards, a set of heart-shaped measuring spoons with my recipe for the best brownies ever (not pictured), a cat head handbag, a mix tape with 10 of my all time favorite songs and a pink cat travel case.

How 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 everyone on planet earth.

PLEASE NOTE! Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st, so if that is how you are currently following me (or any blogs for that matter) please consider switching to bloglovin' or one of these alternatives.

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

1. Tweet this "I just entered to win a super fun assortment of goodies 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.)
2. Pin one of my blog posts on pinterest -- DIY, outfit post, recipe, whatever!

3. Follow me on facebook
4. Follow me on bloglovin

Giveaway ends on April 25th at 12:01AM EST. Giveaway has ended.

Winner:




*the unicorn doesn't actually fit in here, but everything else does :)

saturday favorites

I'm in love with these kitty cat shoes! Not only are they so much more affordable than most feline footwear (only $20!) but they're 100% man-made, so they're vegan approved :) They're available here in three colors, too!



I was never super interested in lookbook photos before, but I've been seeing some really lovely ones popping up on pinterest lately. This one from Dahlia is my favorite... the scalloped pinafore seals the deal, obviously, but I also love the sixties styling and dreamy filters. (ps. Dahlia is giving away a season's wardobe and the contest ends March 31st so hurry over and enter if you didn't yet! :)



I also love this lookbook from Young Sinners! The collection is SO fantastically sixties and I'm dying over this raincoat and umbrella. I saw a similar raincoat at Target like three years ago and have been kicking myself for not buying it ever since.



Cotton candy, mermaids and pastel colors = lookbook perfection! I love the new collection from She and Reverie and the lookbook captures the breezy summery feel perfectly.



Somebody scanned an old Delias catalog and it's basically the best thing ever. I wish so much I hadn't thrown out all of my old ones, it would be so fun to look through them now! Every once in a while I check ebay but nobody ever has any for sale.



Yay, finally!! A fit and flare 100% cotton galaxy print dress! *commence dancing, cartwheels and high fives!* I cannot WAIT to get this and wear it to the planetarium.



I love the pictures from Danielle's latest post! If you don't already read Ghosts Waltz, definitely check it out. Danielle is a sweetheart, a talented artist and I think (if it's possible) she loves pastels even more than I do! ;)



Potatoes! Bread! Truth.



This is basically my ideal kitchen. I love the colors, the pale blue fridge, the mint green lamps, the wallpaper, everything! I can just imagine sitting here each morning, eating belgian waffles, drinking grapefruit juice and planning out my day. *sigh*



Did I say belgian waffles? I meant pancake pops. Definitely pancake pops. How amazing are these little guys? I love pancakes, but not in huge servings like they usually come in restaurants (or even at home, no matter how much I alter the recipe I still end up with enough to feed an army) so these seem like the perfect solution! Recipe here.



I wish this was mine! I always end up painting my appliances (much to the horror of my brother who thinks sleek and shiny, black and silver is the only acceptable appearance for any kind of electronics) but this would be pretty darn amazing.



This has to be the best clutch ever. I know it's a teensy bit pathetic that I always plan out where to wear things before I even buy them, but I would LOVE to bring this to the art museum! And then take outfit pictures next to a Lichtenstein.



Last but definitely not least -- the Space Jam website is still up, and it's exactly the same as it was in 1996. It's like a little time capsule!!

sweet and lovely update

I've wanted to keep busy lately, adding lots of new products to sweet and lovely, flapper doodle and kitschy digitals. You can view my latest flapper doodle updates here. For sweet and lovely I've added a lot of new jewelry and sweet and lovely versions of some of my flapper doodle best sellers- best friend items and bridesmaid cards. You can view all of the new products in my shop here!

And to celebrate Jurassic Park's return to theaters on April 5th, I'm offering 5% off plus free dinosaur temporary tattoos with any order! Just use code "rawrrrr" at checkout ;) This offer is good through April 5th. You can view all of my dinosaur products here!



home sweet home locket necklace



wooden cat brooch



ice cream cone earrings



ladybug earrings



pink lips earrings



red lips earrings

best friend art print set --- available as shown here, or customized here. In the custom sets you can change hair colors, add glasses and even add cats and dogs!



My new bridesmaid cards are SUPER customizable. I have four different dress options for each girl, countless hair color options (including fun ones like pink and blue and purple!) oodles of dress colors and 10 different hair styles. You can choose between thank you cards or "will you be my bridesmaid" they're available in my shop here.



I just re-listed the birthday version of the book fair kit! I had this available back when the book fair was its own shop, but for some reason I never listed it when I transferred the products over to sweet and lovely! The birthday version of the kit includes all of the items in the regular one, except the pencil says "happy birthday" on it and it comes with this cute BSC personalized card!





I also added two new digital kits to my Kitschy Digitals shop! These scalloped kits include patterned papers, scalloped borders and scalloped frames. They're perfect for digital scrapbooking or use on your blogs and websites. They're available here.

the happiest place on earth

Whoever said getting dressed helps when you're sad was right. It doesn't stop your heartache but it makes you feel a little bit less like the world is falling apart around you. This is kind of tough, segueing back into normal posts when I still feel very blue, but I think blogging [much like getting dressed] can be cathartic. Kind of like how watching a beloved movie when you're feeling sick seems to help just as much as (if not more than) actual medicine. It's not like blogging or changing out of pajamas will actually ease my pain, but it helps in a way that I can't quite pinpoint.

Another thing that helps when you're really sad? The happiest place on earth. Yup, Disney World. I tapped into my house savings (whoops) and booked a mini-trip for me and my mom three weeks from today. It'll be nice to get away for a little bit :)

dress and belt - forever 21 | tights - target | shoes - c/o bait footwear