Label Love: Bernie Dexter

Hi, all!  Jana of small town... BIG SMILE! is off celebrating her wedding, so I'm over on her blog today with a guest post that highlights one of my favorite designers: Bernie Dexter!  I'm showcasing all of my beloved Bernie dresses and talking a bit about the fit & features of her pieces.  If you love this brand as much as I do, head on over and take a look-see at my post!  I think I may make this "Label Love" idea into a little series -- what do you think??  :)

 Have a great Monday!

xox Sammi

Song for a friend

I've been trying to figure out how to write this post for a week, and grappling with whether I should write one at all.  I try to keep things light around here, but when something is this heart-breaking, it warrants telling.  Saying goodbye to someone is unfathomably difficult, and in this case, it feels almost impossible.  My dear, dear friend Carl died last weekend.  It was incredibly sudden and wholly unexpected.  He was only thirty-two.  I'd known and adored him for over ten years.  I thought there would be many more ahead.  That's what we all think, isn't it?  That we have all the time in the world?  

We first met when he worked as a camp counselor for the children's theatre camp I'd attended since I was little.  Although there were seven years between us, he always treated me as a peer -- albeit one he took under his wing.  He could have very easily chosen not to keep in touch with an awkward 14-year old girl, but he always made a conscious effort to stay in my life.  In retrospect, I think Carl saw the potential in people.  He didn't put up with a lot of bullshit (which was one of the things I always liked about him), but he was the most encouraging, warm-hearted person towards those who were genuine and hard-working.  I feel honored that he deemed me worthy enough to fall into this category.   

Carl in Biloxi Blues (courtesy of KHphotographics)

He always made me feel special.  I don't know if I ever told him how much I appreciated that.  In many ways, he was the first guy who made me believe the good qualities about myself that I'd hoped to possess: that I was talented, attractive, desirable and valued.  Carl was a hybrid of mentor, older brother and former flame, and he has always held a special place in my heart.  He was there for me through every breakup (always ready with threats to kick some ass, should I ever need him to).  He was one of the few people in my life who just "got it," especially in terms of how political the theatre community can be; we both cared immensely about our craft, and we commiserated about our frustrations often.  We were often in complete agreement on our approaches to acting and how we handled the pettiness that can occur, while still seeing the good in those around us.  He was incredibly supportive of my blog, and I think he kept up with it without really telling me.  I don't remember us ever fighting with each other about anything.  There were times where we didn't connect for a while, but we always picked up right where we left off.  I'm still in denial that we won't get to catch up over coffee or finally be in a show together one day.  He had so much to live for: he was engaged to the woman he loved, had started teaching, had lots of plans for the future and thought he had ample time to figure them out.  It simply isn't fair.  I know these things never are, especially when someone dies so young and so full of promise.  But when it happens to someone you care about so deeply, it personalizes the whole thing in a way you never wanted.

A program from the summer we first met, a ticket to Hedwig and the Angry Inch (which we saw together 10 years before it became a Broadway hit), and a playbill from a show I saw three different times, just because he was in it.

Upon reading the numerous Facebook posts that reflected on his untimely passing (because that's largely how we collectively mourn as a society nowadays, for better or for worse), I realized just how supportive he was of the people he cared about.  I am lucky that he cared so much about me.  I am also incredibly thankful that I got the chance to spend time with him recently.  Of course, I'm greedy and wish I'd had more time with him, but at least I had the chance to see him last summer, and then again on our vacation to Disney World.  I'm kicking myself for not getting a photo together during one of those times.  At the time, I didn't want to bother him with it.  But now there's just the one photo of us, from when we first met, and I can't even find that at the moment.  I did, however, find a slew of cringe-worthy e-mails and AIM conversations (remember those?), playbills and ticket stubs that are all Carl-related.  I looked through my books and found the copy of Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting that he gave me after I graduated high school.  The inscription shows just how kind-hearted and supportive of a person he was.  I'm just glad I got some good hugs in the last time I saw him.  They'll have to hold me over for a while.

I suppose I have a choice in the face of this tragedy: I can either let it consume me, or I can let it motivate me.  I think Carl would want the latter for me.  Although I will always mourn the loss of my dear friend, I think it's okay for his passing to light a fire under me.  The truth of the matter is, we don't have infinite time.  Life is too short (which is a hackneyed expression at this point, but it's true).  It's too short to not pursue your dreams.  It's too short to spend with someone who doesn't make you happy.  It's too short to not do what you love.

Carl as Linus in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

I will be forever grateful to my friend for all that he did for me, and how he continues to inspire me.  I hope he knew how thankful I was for his friendship and guidance.  I hope he knew how much I loved him.  I don't know how much I believe (or how much Carl believed, for that matter) in the hereafter, but I hope I'll get to see him again someday.  Until then... I hope I can continue to make him proud.

Thank you all for listening.

xox Sammi

Ice cream social

Outfit Details:

Sundae print dress: Bernie Dexter

Heart necklace: ASOS (old)

Mel by Melissa wedges: get them here

Petticoat: eBay

This is definitely my second-favorite Bernie Dress (the first is the lilac one I wore in this post).  For any girl who loves a novelty print, I'm pretty certain this dress takes the cake -- or ice cream, as the case may be.  I've worn this dress in the past with my vintage milkshake brooch (by far my luckiest brooch find!), but it felt like overkill without a cardigan.  I ended up wearing this dress, sans petticoat, on Father's Day.  I went to a baseball game with my parents and grandparents, which was a lot of fun.  Since I don't have any sports-themed novelty dresses, I had to opt for a food theme (which is really my favorite aspect of baseball games anyway!).  But in seriousness, I actually do like watching baseball.  I was never an athletic girl growing up, but I do have a competitive side to me, and it's one sport that I can actually follow.  Also, the cotton candy does help.

Tonight's the gig at the Jazz Festival!  It'll be an experience, that's for sure, but it'll hopefully be a fun one.  When I sang with them two years ago, I wasn't expecting to be so physically worn out afterwards; I felt like I had been run over by a truck the next day.  I've been doing musicals for 10+ years, but that was the first time I had ever been that physically-affected by a performance.  Although this won't be as long (that show was 2 sets, and this has only 1), I'm still sort of expecting a similar outcome.  Only time will tell!

Have a great Saturday!

xox Sammi

Friday Favorites #53

Happy Friday, everyone!  Here are some of the lovelies that caught my eye this week...

1 // 2 // 3 

It's summer, which means I'm totally fruit-crazed!  I love these fruit slice bags, but my favorite has to be this Charlotte Olympia peach purse!  If only it weren't a thousand dollars...

These sweet mixed fruit pieces remind me so much of my childhood!

a // b

This sweet dress has little ice cream cones on it!

This sundae pillow is so fun:

And these two skirts from Asian iCandy are downright delicious:

(via)

(via)

I'm really obsessed with the brand Kling, and these shoes of theirs are beyond sweet:

I'm not much of a t-shirt girl these days, but I'd wear the heck out of this one from Skip 'N Whistle:

Speaking of cats, this video is SO good:

Kate launched a new store this week with the cutest pins ever!  You can even have them customized for your own "fan club!"  I had to get a few.  :)

(via)

Okay, I might wear this Muppet-related t-shirt, too.

While we're on the subject of Muppets, I loved this collection of behind-the-scenes film photos -- especially the Jim Henson ones.  They tugged at my heartstrings this week, especially.  But that's a topic for another day entirely.

These little totes are so cute!

a // b

I love these imaginary food diaries of famous authors!

A couple of good novelty prints from this week: unicorns and double-decker buses!

a // b

This mermaid book!  I featured the fairy equivalent a couple of weeks ago, and now I need both!

And finally... this mint and pink flamingo dress from Sourpuss Clothing.  I NEED.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xox Sammi

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, I may receive a small commission, which helps to run my blog.  I only link to items that I absolutely love, from companies I wholeheartedly support.  Thank you for supporting The Soubrette Brunette!

Plaid and popsicles

Outfit Details:

Too Much Fun Dress in Bright Plaid: ModCloth

Just Treat You Up Necklace: ModCloth

Boater hat: River Island (similar)

Ankle strap flats: YesStyle

I really love the color scheme of this plaid dress!  It's so incredibly summery, and it reminded me of grape popsicles.  And then I realized it would pair perfectly with my little popsicle necklace!  (Emily and Fin - the brand that makes this dress - actually makes a great popsicle print dress, which would have been an even better combination... but I digress.)  I'm pretty obsessed with the Outshine (formerly Edy's, I think) brand of juice popsicles these days.  The lime ones are my favorite, but I also love the peach ones, and the tangerine carrot ones are really delicious, too.  They're low in points, and they're the perfect summertime dessert.

I'm so glad that you guys like my new layout as much as I do!  Every time I look at it, I smile.  Oh, and I'm also really glad that lots of my clothes are already going to new homes!  In case you missed it, I have toooons of pieces still up for sale in my "shop my closet" store.  Thank you to those of you who've already purchased something!  <3 

What about you?  Do you have a favorite summertime icy treat?  

Have a great Wednesday!

xox Sammi

A brand new look & a huge "shop my closet" update!!

Ahem... notice anything... different?  I am absolutely thrilled with this brand new layout that Kate made for me!!  I've been wanting to do a bit of an overhaul for a while now, and the timing finally worked out.  Kate designed my original layout, which was great for when I was first starting out, but I definitely wanted something more personalized.  Amazingly, I pretty much told Kate the bare essentials of what I had in mind (color scheme, aesthetic), and she dreamed up all the rest!  I wanted something that combined a kawaii sensibility with a retro feel, and I think she did a wonderful job at marrying the two.  I'm especially smitten with the header she made; tying in my novelty purse collection into the page navigation was a stroke of genius.  Kate was also kind enough to make new ad buttons for me -- they're on the bottom right if you'd like to grab one!

And speaking of ads... I'd been doing some informal ad swaps and sponsorships for a little while, but I finally decided to start offering advertising opportunities through Passionfruit!  It streamlines the whole experience and takes a lot of the back-and-forth out of the equation.  You can get all the information on my advertising page, but essentially, I'm offering three different sizes of ads to choose from, and all are very affordable.  I'm still a relatively small blog (though I'm still growing, thanks to all of you!), so all of my ads are priced from $5 - $15 per month.  If you have any questions or want to contact me about a sponsorship opportunity (like a giveaway, a product review, a shop feature, etc.), you can always e-mail me.  If you are a small business owner, blogger, or offer a service or product that would fit right in with my girly, kitschy aesthetic, I'd love to work with you!

Finally, I have another piece of news: my "shop my closet" store is open again... with a MASSIVE update in items!  I now have over 65 pieces available for purchase in my shop!  It's been a long time coming, and I know I'll have at least one other big update to do later this summer; I'm really bad at getting rid of things, so I have a huge pile of clothes that I'm not quite ready to part with yet, but I know I will be soon.  I have some fantastic dresses (from brands like ModCloth, Urban Outfitters, Sugarhill Boutique, Trollied Dolly, Anthropologie, ASOS, Forever 21, H&M, and a couple of vintage finds!), plus a bunch of skirts, shorts, jeans, and even some jewelry and shoes up for sale!  In addition, I have a pretty wide range of sizes available (thanks, weight fluctuation!) -- there are lots of mediums and larges, but there are also a few XL pieces that are really great.  Essentially, if you are a US size 6-14, I have some great finds for you!  Here's just a sampling of what's in store in my store!  ;)

The last couple of days have been incredibly difficult ones, for reasons that I may or may not go into at a later time.  Working on this little "re-launch" has been a much-needed source of distraction, and I hope you like the new layout as much as I do.  On a sentimental note -- albeit a very important one -- take the time right now to hold your loved ones close.  Tell them you love them and how much they mean to you every single day.  Because one day, you might not get another chance.  Thank you all for bringing a lot of brightness into my life.  As silly and superficial as this little blogging habit of mine might seem to some, your support means the world to me, especially now.  Be safe, and may your lives be filled with light and love.

xox Sammi 

Springtime Round-up

Happy Saturday and Happy Summer!  I've gotten into the habit of doing seasonal round-ups of my favorite ensembles, so here are my favorite outfits from this spring:

March

Hello, Little Girl // Popcorn and ice cream // Pink plaid

Shamrock shake // It's a jungle out there // Mint condition

April

High violet // A taste of honey // Let's do brunch

C'est magnifique // Little queen // Starlight, sweetheart, melody

May

Come back as a flower // Spots and stripes // Magnolia

Telephone hour // Wedding Bell Blues // Chicory

I think my collection of outfits from May is my favorite out of the three, but I like being able to look back on everything and remember ensembles that I particularly liked!  Which post was your favorite?

I actually have some time off this weekend (normally, I work on Saturdays), which is great, because I have a lot to get done around here.  FYI, my blog is going to be set to private late Sunday night to do some fun revamping... I'm excited!  I hope you all like what I have planned as much as I do!  :)  Be sure to check back on Monday morning for some fun new things!

Have a wonderful weekend!

xox Sammi