» 2012 » June Kate-Book, the website for Kates, by Kates, and about Kates

Tagged advice, dear kate, katharine luckinbill, politics, relationships

Jun 21 2012

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Trivia

Queen Catherine de Medici hairpin discovered in least expected place

By Kate Torgovnick

Here is a headline I just couldn’t make up, from the Washington Post: “16th century French Queen Catherine de Medici’s hairpin is discovered in communal toilet.”

Apparently , the majority of the Renaissance queen’s possessions have long since been lost, stolen or sold. But, this week, a conservator at the Fontainebleau Palace unearthed a hairpin from the late 1500s—which features two interlocking ‘C’s for ‘Catherine’—in an old communal toilet as the area was being restored. After cleaning off the pin, which was buried deep in the soil, he discovered that it was white and green, known to be Catherine de Medici’s colors.

There is a mystery, however.

Tagged catherine de medici, france, royalty, trivia

Jun 20 2012

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Kate's Dates, Real Kates, Relationships

Kate’s Dates: Why I can’t stand his exes, with zero exceptions

By Kate Richlin-Zack

I’m just going to come clean: I hate every woman my husband has ever dated.

I won’t apologize for it or try to get over it. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I will always hate them to some degree, depending on the depth of their relationship. If she was a random hook up, I’ll hate her slightly less than if she was a serious long term girlfriend. Regardless, I hate them all.

It’s nothing new; I felt the same way with all my previous boyfriends. I always struggled to be pleasant if I was with a guy and we randomly bumped into an ex-girlfriend, especially if they stayed friends after breaking up. I’m simply not capable of being “the bigger person.”

All you armchair psychiatrists out there are probably thinking, “Oh you’re so insecure. So irrational!”

Maybe so.

I think I’m more territorial than anything else and, in situations like this, I completely understand why animals pee on things. It’s a clear statement: “Stay away. This is MINE … and I pissed on it so you wouldn’t want it anyway.” The slightly more evolved equivalent (minus peeing on my husband—that’s just gross) would be to contact all of his exes and deliver a similar message. There’s a majority part of me that would LOVE to do JUST that, but I realize that would only make me look like an absolute nut case, so I resist that overwhelming urge.

Tagged exes, kate richlin-zack, Kate's Dates, relationsips

Jun 20 2012

4 Comments

Gossip

Kate Upton makes an interesting case for bikinis in GQ

By Kate Torgovnick

Kate Upton appears on the cover of GQ’s July issue, wearing a stars-and-stripes bikini and sucking on Firecracker popsicle, because they are masters of subtlety. And inside the issue, Upton makes an interesting argument for why she prefers teensy bikinis.

“For the GQ photo shoot, we were on the ride where the seat spins while the actual ride is spinning, and I’m wearing a one-piece,” Upton explains. “And all of a sudden the whole entire top falls off! I’m holding myself, laughing, turning bright red, but a lot of people are watching, so they kicked us out of the Santa Monica Pier—it was so embarrassing. You wouldn’t think that would happen with a one-piece!”

Tagged bikinis, gq, kate upton, magazines, models

2 Comments

Entertainment

Cait on Culture: I Was An Extra On ‘Girls’

By Caitlin Abber

Last week I was called in to be an extra on HBO’s “Girls”. I had applied for a casting call a few weeks prior, and figured since I live in Greenpoint (the neighborhood most of the show is filmed in), and look like their target demographic, as well as a complete composite of what the casting call was asking for, I was a shoe-in.

It was weird to be told, “You will be playing a hipster at a nightclub”, as if I could put on some costume and parody myself. Trying to decide what a parody of myself would wear out on a Saturday night was even stranger. I ended up putting four outfits together and sending photos to my girlfriends for second, third, fourth and maybe fifth opinions. This is not how I usually roll on a night out, but I guess on most night’s out I don’t end up on a popular cable television show.

Tagged cait on culture, caitlin abber, extra, girls, tv shows

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Real Kates

Kate of the Week: Katie Lyn Capone, whose passion is designing invitations

There are so many fascinating Kates out there. And every week, Kate-book.com is resolving to introduce you to a new one. This week, I would like you to meet Katie Lyn Capone, 32, of New York. Without further ado, 13 questions with Kate.

What do you do?

I am a-work-from-home-mom. I do freelance graphic design for companies, but my passion is designing invitations and stationery under my studio name Oh So Suite. And of course, taking care of my sweet baby all the while! Watching her grow up trumps anything in life right now, I must say. I didn’t think I would be a great stay-at-home mom type, but I love it! I treasure being with her every second. She is the best boss I’ve ever had.

How did you get started in your line of work or study?

I have had a life long obsession with paper and all things stationery. It came to a head when my husband and I were planning our wedding in ‘07 and couldn’t find the perfect invite. Oh So Suite was born and it’s been a pleasure working with many different people on invitations to their special events ever since!

What’s something you wish people knew or understood better about what you did?

I have an extreme passion for invitations. I am not sure where it came from…I just love pretty things and when an invitation screams of the host’s style I get so happy I could pee my pants. OK, not really. But I really do a little dance when I hit the nail on the head with a great design!

Tagged kate of the week, katie lyn capone, real life kates

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Real Kates, Uncategorized

FabriKate: A Kindle cover with personality, for pennies

By Kathleen Neafsey

Summer’s almost here! Which means, it’s time for beach reads and trashy novels. I don’t know about you, but my Kindle goes everywhere with me. Before the Kindle, it was a book. Books have saved me from many boring waiting room visits or, what felt like, interminable show rehearsals and soccer practices.

Recently I’ve been thinking that my Kindle cover is so boring — practical and functional, yes — but boring. I’m not so bothered by this fact that I would run out and buy another (like the Kate Spade designs that I covet), but it got me thinking … What could I use to make my own cover? It would have to protect the e-reader, be lightweight, colorful, and inexpensive. My first thought: padded envelopes would be lightweight, would offer protection, and would be inexpensive – but still boring.

Then in a flash of genius, actually two, it came to me: gift bags! Contact paper! Nearly everyone has a gift bag or two lying around, and there’s some really cute contact paper out there these days!

Here’s all you need:

Continue reading →

Tagged crafts, fabrikate, kathleen neafsey, kindle, kindle covers

1 Comment

Gossip, Real Kates, Uncategorized

Catherine Zeta-Jones, err Cath, seriously misses Wales

By Kate Torgovnick

Academy Award winner Catherine Zeta-Jones is a bonafide New Yorker these days and, before that, lived in Bermuda. However, that doesn’t mean that the actress doesn’t miss her home country, Wales.

“America has been really good to me—really, really good to me— but I like to hold on to my British status. It’s really hard for me because, you know, I’ve been out of Wales longer than I ever lived there. I left when I was 15,” Zeta-Jones says in a new cover story in Stylist magazine. “I really miss just being able to say to my mam or my friends, ‘Just come on over for a cup of tea’ … Sometimes, you know, it can be when you want to speak to your mother or your friends and you just go, ‘Aw shit, they’re sleeping.’”

Zeta-Jones, who is married to actor Michael Douglas, admits that she is shocked that their two children haven’t picked up more of her British tastes.

“They don’t like Branston Pickle—to my horror. They don’t like Yorkshire puddings—to my horror,” Zeta-Jones explains. “They love a good shepherd’s pie because they’ve been brought up with it, because it’s pretty much all I can make fantastically well.”

It’s interesting that Zeta-Jones mentions her relationship to her home, Wales, and what an odd sensation it is to have lived away from the place where you grew up for longer than, well, the growing up. Because I’ve been thinking about this lately, too.

Tagged age, catherine zeta jones, celeb news, home, north carolina, wales

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Beauty Fashion

Obsessed with: Catherine Baba

By Kate Torgovnick

I would like to thank W Magazine for introducing me to my new favorite stylist, Catherine Baba. An Australian living in Paris, Baba has created her first line of accessories with French brand Gripoix, which she models here. Let’s just say that these pieces put Rachel Zoe to shame, as they are inspired by the writings of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley and take the word ‘bling’ to the next level.

“I’m a slave to accessories. Belts are my oxygen,” Baba tells the magazine. As for a turban, which has become something of a signature for her, Baba says, “I’ve ordered them in every color.”

Love a Kate who marches to the beat of her own fashion drummer.

Tagged accessories, catherine baba, fashion, obsessed with

3 Comments

Real Kates

ExpliKate: Why can’t I get a tan?

By Kate Hakala

Each summer, as I dare to don the shorter garments in my closet, I’m taken back to junior high gym class. Playing kickball and running laps with no athletic ability was pretty humiliating, but worse was doing it as the most pallid, Gollum-like adolescent in the gym. As classmates caught sight of my near translucent, purplish legs, I’d hear the common refrain: “Get a tan, girl!”

Could I get a tan? Should I get a tan? I’ve asked myself these questions countless times since I first came to realize I looked borderline cadaverous. Now, more than a decade later, I have the answers.

You may look around you and notice people come in just about every color. As most of us know, this all boils down to ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun. As humans evolved and lost their fur, their bare skin had to adapt to being confronted with the heat and light of a great fiery ball in the sky. Enter melanin. This ancient molecule, made in the skin by pigment cells called melanocytes, reacts to sunlight. When we’re soaking up rays, melanocytes pump melanin into nearby skin cells, and as those cells migrate to the surface, they protect the body. The more melanin, the greater the protection, and the darker your skin.

But if melanin is such a well-decorated skin solider, why are there so many people with fair skin?

Tagged explikate, health, kate hakala, skin, summer, sun, suntanning, tanning

1 Comment

Trivia

Trivia: What ‘Kate’ means to technophiles

By Kate E. Stephenson

Kate is generally a contraction of another name. But when it comes to computing, Kate is an acronym which stands for “KDE Advanced Text Editor.” So what exactly does that mean? Kate is a text editor for KDE, or the K Desktop Environment, on operating systems based on Linux or UNIX. Kate is a big upgrade from text editing programs like NotePad or TextEdit, since it offers spell check. (Knowing how poorly technophiles spell, this must be a godsend?) It also features a thesaurus, and highlights lines of code to make them easy to edit.

So how did this text editor get her name? Here’s how it’s explained on the website Kate-editor.org:

Tagged coding, computers, Kate Stephenson, trivia