DIY embroidery hoop wall

One of the first projects I did at my new apartment (and definitely one of my favorites!) was this embroidery hoop wall displaying some of my favorite family photos. I have a DIY post explaining how I did it over on Bubby and Bean today! You can check it out here.

mustard and mauve

After I took these photos yesterday I went to Sally's and got supplies to re-dye my hair -- it was just really bugging me. Plus I'm meeting two of my very best friends next week and wanted to look super spiffy! I've been really good about bleaching (the last time I even touched up my roots was in October) so I decided to bleach the purple out (I know, it's not good for my hair, I know, I know!) and it turned my hair.... green. Not horribly green, actually kind of a cute light mint, but I really wanted purple. So I panicked a little, then put toner in and hoped for the best. It actually lifted out most of the green so I decided to throw caution to the wind and put in my new purple dye. If it turned out murky brown or throw up green, I have a back up wig for emergencies ;)

Well, it turned out PERFECT. I mean 100% completely head-over-heels perfect. I'm typing this at 2am before I go to sleep and I cannot wait to wake up and look at it in the daylight! Honestly the darker purple wasn't that horrible but it just didn't feel like me. This is a light pastel purple and, ugh, I'm just so giddy about it I could dance. I just might dance. At 2am.

Also, how about these tights?! I got them at Target (you know those little rolled up $5 ones that come in a bunch of colors and fill the hearts of tights-lovers around the world with boundless glee) and I'm so in love with them! They're almost a neutral since they aren't too bright, dark or light -- just a happy medium pink. And they match this cardigan so well it's almost scary.

dress - modcloth | cardigan - c/o modcloth

tights (in bold rose) - target | shoes - c/o bait footwear

giveaway: projecteo instagram projector [closed]

I meant to post this last month and then got sidetracked by being horribly terribly sick, but I'm excited to finally be sharing it with you today! Projecteo is a nifty little service that turns your instagram photos into a slide reel that you can project with their itsy bitsy teeny tiny super cute projector. For my reel I chose a highlight of exciting things that happened to me in 2013, and I think this year I might order one at the end of each month and slip them into my good things jar.

Projecteo is offering one lucky winner a projector and one slide reel! yay!



What you'll win: One person will win a projector and a slide reel

How to enter: simply leave a comment letting me know what pictures you'd want on your slide reel 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!)

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

1. Tweet this "I just entered to win a projecteo instagram projector 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. Follow projecteo on facebook
3. Follow projecteo on twitter

4. Follow projecteo on pinterest

Giveaway ends on January 15th at 12:01AM EST. Giveaway has ended

Winner:

recipe: mashed potato pasta sauce

Let's just get this out of the way first -- I really love carbs. I also love my green veggies and fruits and try to eat as healthily as possible but I'm not one to shy away from a meal that includes multiple carbohydrates all living happily together in one single dish.

Initially I wanted to make a creamy tomato sauce without using any dairy to make it creamy, and came up with the idea to put a mashed potato in my sauce. It ended up making it more hearty than creamy but it was SO good, I definitely filed this in my "do-again" file.

You need: 1 crate of cherry tomatoes, a few tbsp. olive oil, 4 cloves fresh garlic (minced), 1 tbsp. olivio (or butter), some parsley, one baked potato (mashed), pasta

While your pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil on low heat and add the minced garlic. Cut up the tomatoes into slices (I cut about three slices per tomato) and add them to the pot with the olivio. Let it all simmer on a low heat until the juices from the tomatoes are starting to fill up the pot. Then add the parsley and the potato and stir until it's all well blended. Serve over the pasta and eat up! :)

One of my personal resolutions this year is to cook more often instead of always eating out or eating pre-packaged foods and so far I'm doing really good! I've been having waffles or eggs for breakfast every morning and cooking lunch or dinner every day. Yesterday I used the leftover pasta from this dish (I had some extra that I tossed with olive oil & put in the fridge) and combined it with butter beans and green beans in a skillet, and it was so yummy!