pretty pictures: marion cotillard in elle france

This Sunday evening I've decided to share a fun fact about me: I think Marion Cotillard is this generation's Audrey Hepburn.  I know that this sought after statement has been claimed about many different actresses but I just feel it's MC.  Why?  Because she is not just classically beautiful but also perfectly quirky.  She is intelligent, talented, witty, endearing beyond words.  Perhaps saying she is our Audrey is too much because Audrey is too unique to be replicated (although some very talented models/stylists/photographers have done a decent job trying to capture her essence - exhibit A); regardless, Marion is timeless.  I just love her.  And I just love her in this editorial from the August Elle France :

happy, energetic, quirky, natural, all-in-all lovely.
*beautiful photographs by Matt Jones; via FGR

friday faves: 9.23.11

helloooooo new format!!  i decided that friday faves should also be the friday FIVE.  so each friday i will highlight FIVE things i've loved.  just an idea - we'll see how it works out!  {but i'm going to keep the title friday faves, for continuity}

here it goes!

notes on the friday faves
1. DIY ruler-mirror frame - simple but awesome!  directions on design*sponge
2. hot pink grandfather clock painted on a door?  yes, please! via the office stylist
3. a field of balloons! as seen in montreal, where a field of 500 balloons went up for the "musée des possibles" or "museum of possibilities."  simply awesome.  see more pictures and an awesome video here.  {discovered on the blog happiness is...}
 4. absolutely killer outfit as worn by emma roberts at the marchesa fashion show in NY.  {note: dress designer unknown - everything i've found just calls it a "prom dress."  frustrating!} image credits --on left: from celebuzz; on right: from street fashion blog, first found on this pinterest board
5. an underwater park, complete with underwater bench!  oh boy, time to head out to green lake in tragoess, austria and experience it for myself!  apparently this is a usually a normal dry park in a valley next to snowy mountains.  but then when it begins to warm, all the snow melts and it is transformed into an underwater park.  seriously, time to go see it for myself!  found on the blog express-o where you can read more and take a video tour of the park.

p.s. all of these images, and much much more, can be found on my pinterest page.  and if you have a pinterest of your own, let me know!

celeb style: kiernan skipka's chic LWD

image lately i've been trying to rock the LWD - little white dress.  i have two main ones and they both have virtually the same silhouette, 50's-esque with a form-fitting bodice and a-line skirt, with some sort of texture or subtle pattern throughout.  guess i have a very predictable style!  i love these two LWDs but would also love one with a little more flair - some touch of color or a more unique silhouette... and then i saw the precociously chic kiernan skipka at "glee: the 3D concert movie" LA premiere :

girl is ROCKING this!  and although i'm usually a big belt supporter, i love its omission here.  ohh kiernan, how are you so stinkin' adorable?!


via red carpet fashion awards

pretty pictures: mia wasikowska in harper's bazaar australia

note: OK before i get to the super pretty pictures, i'd like to sincerely apologize for the weeks of being completely M.I.A. [side note: i was M.I.A.  now i'm doing a post on the beautiful MIA wasikowska.  because not only is she beautiful but also because i am a sucker for a punny pun!]  but back to the missing blogger.  my life has been in a completely state of flux.  and although this is a prime time for documenting pretty things, there has been one major conflict in doing so : i've been sick.  yes, that is my über glamorous excuse.  i have been bed-ridden and without internet for over a week.  before this i was traveling.  so basically, no computer/internet time.  no blogging time.  except i had all the time in the world while stuck in bed - miserable, miserable irony.

but i'm back.... i hope.  i'm posting now because i can and because i am just so apologetic for the absence and just so lonely without the blogosphere [oh dear, did i just admit that?!].  but i can't really commit to being "back" fully.  with all going on, and with this ridonculous health junk, "commitment" is not really a word in my current vocabulary.  but i promise, promise, promise to try my bestest to keep the pretty things coming!  so please keep the sweet comments coming.  i can't stress how much i love them :)

as for the gorgeous photo shoot i can't wait to post...

here is pixie-perfect actress mia wasikowska, photographed by will davidson for this month's harper's bazaar australia.

and one last perfect picture, the lovely mia up close & personal - within minimal makeup no less

i hope to be writing a lot more in the coming days and weeks - most posts on beautiful things in the world, and perhaps a new second blog filled with my eclectic thoughts and musings.  just something to satisfy that need to write and overcome that fear of sharing my writings.  we'll see...

scanned by dustjacket attic

friday faves: 7.8.11

back to friday faves, my lovely readers!  and oh boy do i have some good ones this week!

design/decor

chic nook

this lil nook by designer melanie coddington is my idea of perfection - classy, simple, feminine, relaxing.  i could absolutely see myself curling up here and reading the day away...

 found on design*sponge

kitchen window nook

more nooks!  clearly i'm obsessed :)

that green color, the cream everything else, and that thick cushion that looks oh-so-comfy.  want.

from my home ideas

fashion

elle fanning in marc jacobs

the girl can pull off couture like no other youngin' and i just love her retro-pretty style.  plus she's just so pretty! {think if i compliment her enough she'll let me borrow this gorgeous dress?!  hey, worth a try!}

picture from getty images, via

SJP channels her animal side in D&G

at the 25th anniversary of "annie" where she presented an award

not always the biggest animal print fan, but when it's done right it's amazing.  and if anyone can "do it right," it's the superstar-fashionista sarah jessica parker herself!

{sorry, best pic i could find.  from rcfa}

p.s. the gown helen mirren wore a few months back was also animal print and also dolce + gabbana - they must be on a roll!

etc

le petit prince journals

all-time fave book in journal form = love

{you can buy it for me - and make my day!! - here}

i want to be a monkey

if i could be any animal, i'd be a monkey.  i would climb trees and enjoy still having fingers and show love by cleaning my friends... and hug little girls like this.  and be happy :)

i mean really, who wouldn't want to be a monkey?!

found on best week ever blog but first posted on cute overload
**correction: this is a sloth not a monkey!  but i would still be a monkey.  and i would still hug little girls and it would still probably be just as cute as this.

giveaways

i'm back to spreading the word about some GREAT giveaways in the bloggy world - whoo hoo!  here's a few ending soon soon soon, so get on it!

preppy personalized platters

 

by dani notes, selection found here.  the always fabulous kiki's list is offering up this giveaway.  if i were lucky enough to win, i would choose the prettypretty platter pictured above.  then again, i would be just as happy if one of my sweet readers one so head on over to enter for yourself :)

fabulous flower accessories

wild & precious always highlights the cutest things!  this time it is the etsy shop the lovely poppy, who makes truly lovely headbands and necklaces and other cute accessories with bright and pretty flower accents.  i definitely encourage you to check out this etsy site and to go to wild & precious to enter for the $20 gift certificate!

have a lovely lovely weekend!

i'll be spending it with my lovely friends downtown checking out a blues club i've never been to, then off to waverly island soaking up the sun.  oh, and then sunday at the office.  can't ever totally get away from my workaholic ways!

xx, kait

 

pretty pictures: jennifer lawrence for flare

she is just so gorgeous.

shot by max abadian for flare, june 2011

via fashion gone rogue

one more look at my fave pic:

friday faves: 5.20.11

i was sick most of this week with what can pretty much be described as a non-stop migraine.  ugh.  when i wasn't drugged up, asleep, or whining in pain, i've been working on some long-term plans currently in the works.  lots of big life decisions coming up, to say the least....

but anywho, between all the researching and phone calls and hours spent in bed hurting, i did happen to find some fabulous pretty things to share ~

design/decor

~ a great diagram to help start your gallery wall staircase ~

as you may remember, i love me some stairwell gallery walls! but as incredible as i find these spaces, the work of actually creating such a masterpiece seems, well... daunting.  where to start, how to make it just right, try to balance the difference size frames... ugh.  but this post on everything fabulous, filled with lots of beautiful stairwell gallery walls, gave me this handy dandy diagram!  appareantly the trick is to: "measure the same distance from the collage to the stairs every second or third step, to keep the distance consistently."  not so daunting anymore!

~ surprisingly chic yellow striped walls ~

i never would have expected to like yellow striped walls anywhere other than a nursery, but man do i love the way the soft yellow pops in this living room!  absolutely lovely.  [via hooked on houses]

fashion

~ everything about this outfit/image ~

everything.  i love all of it, especially tiiu kuik's fabulous pose - & laughter! she is such a talented model [remember this editorial? and she was laughing in that one too!]  but it's not just the model/pose, it's the great outfit - especially those nude lace heels by azzedine alaïa - perfection ~

photo shoot from marie claire australia, march 2011, shot by walther chin [via]

~ fan bing bing in lavender ~

man i must really have a girl crush on fan bing bing!  or at least on her stunning fashion choices.  i love lavender, i love elie saab, i looooove fan bing bing in this gown!  stunning 

[image via red carpet fashion awards]

etc. 

101 followers of pretty things

 

 chicka-whaaa?!  

this is even better than a dalmatians!  

i started blogging about a year ago but kept it all to myself.  it wasn't until mid-june that i decided to do it "for real."  i created a new blog called pretty things and made it open to the public.  i didn't tell any of my friends and thought no one would ever find it - i just figured these pretty images would be out in the middle of nowhere, seen by no one but myself.  and really, that was fine with me, because the whole point of blogging for me was to create a virtual scrapbook where i could stow away all things i find beautiful for the one day i may need it.  but somehow you all found me!  and now, 101 followers?!  wow!  thank you to all you dear readers for making me feel so special today and every day :) 

link love 

 ~ gorgeous ladies in red [my faves = dianna agron in michael kors & brooklyn decker in escada] ~

~ speaking of red, a stunning ODLR dress that is exactly my style! ~

~ some beautiful beautiful mantles ~ 

~ the origin of the bathing suit ~

~ messy buns galore ~ 

xx, kait

celeb style: fan bing bing in atelier versace

yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!  i could not be happier right now!  okay that's a bit dramatic.  i could definitely be happier - if i weren't sick, if my dogs weren't barking, if i had complete faith the bulls would win this game... but anyways, as far as red carpet fashion goes, i couldn't be happier about this: the gorgeous and always fashion-forward actress fan bing bing stepping out at cannes wearing one of my fave gowns from the atelier versace ss 2011 collection.  it's even slightly altered to make it even more amazing than the original! 

not only did fan choose a breathtaking gown, but her beauty and poise really brings the dress to life.  stunning, stunning, stunning.

my love for ombre continues to grow...

[picture from red carpet fashion awards]

friday faves: 5.13.11

before going on to all the other pretty things i found this week, i must share how big & beautiful my tiger lillies have become!

last tuesday they had yet to bloom.  one week ago they were just starting.  and now?  they are the definition of full and vibrant.  by far the best thing about being cooped up in an office on these sunshiney days!

but anyways . . .  a few things that have caught my eye over the past seven days . . .

design/decor

~ perfect way to display coffee mug collection ~

pretty sure i need this type of storage in my life.  yup, definitely need! 

i love coffee mugs (and have a huge mis-matched and totally awesome collection myself!) but hate that they are typically stowed away in a traditional kitchen cabinet with - sigh - doors.  but this solution from a canadian quirky-candyland, a.k.a. amy and keith's fabulous home, is beyond perfect.

 fashion

~ my faves at cannes, thus far ~

karolina kurkova ~ shining in armani privè

salma hayek ~ gucci glam [première couture]

fan bing bing - atelier versace

diane kruger ~ calvin klein

gong li's purple perfection ~ roberto cavalli couture

uma thurman as the feather goddess in versace

can't wait for more!  all images from red carpet fashion awards

etc

~ but i like, really can't wait to see this movie ~

bridesmaids!  hopefully one day next week... pic from the super hilarious site, but you're like really pretty

lovely links

~ a super cool photo series of feet on vaycay [feet first]

~ tree branch + lace + wedding = simply love

~ can someone please buy me the dude's cardigan at this auction??!  if you do, i'll get you princess beatrice's fascinator in return...  deal?  deal.

a weekend reminder...

the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

- eleanor roosevelt

p.s.  sorry for no giveaway tips this week!  i'm sure there's some fab ones going on right now but i just haven't had the time to search around.  hopefully next week all will be back to normal :)

friday faves: 5.6.11

my weeks are always stressful, increasingly so. it's hard to keep my stress from seeping into this blog but i know it does - almost always on fridays as that's when i have to prepare for the true hurricane of stress: my store being open on the weekends (a.k.a. no sitting, no eating, no stop to the talking, no rest from the lecturing, virtually no sleep). this is a common fact amongst my friends. i've lost many of them due to my demanding work schedule and it has been difficult to justify this to myself. i just have to keep saying that while they are off having fun, they are likely racking up debt and struggling to stay afloat in this economy. i may not make a lot of money and i may not get a lot of sleep, but i am gaining incredible experience virtually unheard of from anyone my age (hellooo - CHINA?!). so it's worth it. it has to be worth it or else i'll lose my mind.

so what does this have anything to do with friday faves? it has to do with something that happened tuesday of this week. i spent my day off on monday in bed, flipping through bridal magazines (because really, i can't stop working even on days off) and feeling very lonely. i was also texting a long-time friend who is currently stationed in the army in north carolina. unlike my now-gone friends here, he has stayed there for me. he made me laugh, made me think, made me feel like things will get better. those were his words: things will get better. he promised that they would get better the very next day even! of course i laughed. but then i got to work on tuesday and an hour in, the ups guy arrived...

bright & happy tiger lillies in a lovely pink vase! they actually arrived still as buds - this picture was taken one day later when they really became to blossom and fill up the whole office with the most beautiful scent ever.

and he was right, it made my day better! it actually helped me through what ended up being a very difficult work day. funny how little things can make such a huge difference... but that's why i started this blog - to fill my daily life with the little pretty things we can too easily forget.

but without further ado, more images for this week's friday's faves . . .

{random note: i just NOW realized i forgot a friday faves last week! many, many apologies - i could've sworn i wrote one but somehow it disappeared! hopefully this post, full of pretty, pretty images & great giveaways, makes up for it! can you ever forgive me?}

design/decor

~ perfectly whimsical fairy lights ~

all pictures found on the great miss walker's blog [unfortunately, the original source for all images are unknown. please, please tell me if you know it!]. it was impossible to pick just one fave, so here are my top 4. want more? check out her original post!

~ perfectly "kait" vases ~

meet hoot vase, the most perfect hand-blown glass ever. absolutely adorable. but unfortunately only available for Canadians. so sad, eh? found on the one and only, design crush

fashion

~ more flowy dress + leather jacket lovin' ~

as much as i'm a sundress kind of gal, this leather jacket really adds that extra something-something to abigail spencer's look. [images via the vogue diaries]

~ dita's red hot dress ~

a woman who doesn't need a red carpet to look absolutely stunning, the epitome of the modern day pin up, miss dita von teese. goodness gracious is she hawt! [from red carpet fashion awards]

etc.

~ two of my faves... kissing ~

love them. love, love, love. love everything about this picture... well, except for the whole lakers thing [GO BULLS!!]
pictures from getty images; via best week ever

~ more from my favoritest ~

goodness gracious is he incredible. and completely dead-on. [via]

giveaways

~ a pretty clutch for a pretty girl ~

from emerson made, of course -- where all pretty little things are made! hosted by one of my favorite blogs/bloggers, lindsey over at lee la la. head on over to this post to enter for yourself - giveaway ends monday morning! and then thank me for introducing you (if you hadn't been already) to such a lovely blog :)

~ a 200 follower giveaway that will take your breath away ~

... because it's for an item from TIFANNY & CO.!! woah! super sweet blogger lindsey, who has a fab blog called my dolce vita filled with pretty pictures and exercise motivation and also spiritual motivation, is celebrating her 200+ followers by offering one of us our own choice of items from tiffany's! double woah! the choices are exceptional - everything from jewelry to perfume. my personal choice is the tiffany blue coin purse, pictured above. so go on over to this post, become a follower if you aren't already, and take your pick! you have another two full weeks to enter, too :)

~ fuji instant mini camera ~

a friend of mine from korea had a snazzy lil camera just like this and i completely fell in love! so when erin over at sunshine and carousals posted that she is giving away one of these mini instant cameras in honor of her birthday, i nearly squealed! if you think this camera is about as cool i do, then head on over to enter for yourself!

~ link love from around the blogosphere ~

- i usually save this for wednesdays, but you must check out this parisian masquerade wedding!
- a fellow polka dot lover's fabulous collection of PD finds
- a gorgeous tattoo, exactly the spot where i want mine!
- some crush-worthy twisty-buns
- keri russell's gorgeous home

~ in cased you missed it ~

some of my fave posts right here on pretty things from the past few weeks:

vera wang bridal 2012

vintage wedding dress,

"one fine day" editorial

atelier versace ss 2011 gowns

my dream apt kitchen

have a fabulous weekend and especially lovely mother's day!

xx,

kait