Holidazed.

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I'm not quite sure why, but I'm definitely having trouble getting in the holiday spirit this year. Maybe it's because I've already had a busy and stressful December, but I have zero excitement for the next ten days until Christmas and even less for the few days after that until New Years.

Does anyone else just get holidazed like this? How do you avoid the holiday blahs and get back into the holiday spirit?

Penguin Drop Caps series

You've heard of the different editions of classic books that Penguin releases, right? They did the fabric-covered ones a few years ago, then these Mr. Boddington ones this past fall.

Well, they also did a "Drop Caps" series with covers and spines inspired by typography. And they are absolutely gorgeous.

Per the Penguin tumblr: "Penguin Drop Caps is a series inspired by typography—its beauty and its power of expression. A drop cap, or an initial cap, is the first letter of a word when designed and set larger than the surrounding text. It is used to introduce a new idea, paragraph, or chapter. We may recognize such elements from books of our childhood, from sacred and historic texts, and from beautiful early editions of classic literature. Whether they appear in illuminated fifteenth-century manuscripts set by scribes or digitally displayed on Jessica Hische’s own Daily Drop Cap blog, a drop cap letter impresses upon the reader the arrival of something of which to take note, something unique and special that deserves to be savored."

Check it out:

How perfect would these books be as a gift for either the book lover or design geek on your list? I want to stare at the covers for forever, but the spines would look amazing lined up on a bookshelf as well. And just think of the graphic impact of all those brightly colored spines in an all-white library! I. Die.

All information and pictures from the Penguin tumblr.

Ahhhh

Life has literally been crazy for the past week or so...and will continue to be so for the next few days. Since the last time I blogged I've graduated college, packed up all of my stuff in Auburn, interviewed in Atlanta, driven 12 hours back home to Texas, and now I'm currently working on cleaning out what's in my room here so I can move all of my stuff in. Yikes. I'm so ready to be settled and not living out of a suitcase!

I'll try to get back to a regular posting schedule ASAP!

painting

Planning...and Not.

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You may or may not know that I am an obsessive planner. I am relatively ("somewhat" might be a better word?) easy-going in the majority of the areas of life, but schedules and plans and itineraries and to-do lists are absolutely essential for me. I get stressed out and anxious if something isn't scheduled or if I don't have a set plan of what's going to happen and when it's going to happen. Planning is one area in life where I am uptight and obsessive and can be absurdly rigid and honestly, kind of a bitch. (We all need grace for different aspects of our personalities, obviously this is one where I require a huge amount of grace from everyone in my life.)

Needless to say, graduating and having no clue what I'm doing after has been one of the most stressful experiences of my entire life to date.

Long story short: my original plan for graduation was to find a job pre-graduation, then start job right after...my revised plan was to move home after graduation and then concentrate on finding a job.

Well. Fast forward to today. All of my stuff is packed,we have a truck coming in the morning to take my furniture to Goodwill, and I get a call from a company in Atlanta (my #1 target city for a job! 2 hours away from Aubs!) that they want to interview me.

I'm pretty sure a million thoughts went through my head in about half a second, mostly along the lines of "umm...what? This isn't my plan!!" Well, no, it wasn't my plan, but it was God's. I can just picture Him listening to me making my plans and clinging to them for support, laughing the entire time about what He has in store for me and how it's so much better than anything I could ever dream up.

Coincidentally, the topic of my daily email devotional this week has been God's timing and plan. This is all just a way of the Lord nudging me and saying "Hey--your plan? Nowhere near as good as mine. Follow me, lean on me, cling to me and it'll all be okay. Better than okay, even. I'm always there, I hear you--and I've got it."

Right now, my heart is peaceful and thankful for such a loving God who shows His plan at the most perfect of times. Life is good.

30 Day No Spending Challenge: Wrap-up

Remember this post about consumption and how I was trying to reduce my spending/consuming of 'stuff'? Well I guess it's time for a wrap-up about that, since it's now December and all.

Overall, I did decently well. I did really really well for about 3/4 of the month, and then I had major wardrobe boredom the week before Thanksgiving break and treated myself to a new pair of shoes and a new flannel top. I feel like I made other random little purchases, but maybe not? I don't know.

I think I did pretty well for my first attempt at this though! I think I'll try again in the spring or summer and see if I can go for two months or longer!

What Kate's Listening To: Study Playlist

I'm currently in the midst of my last finals ever (!!!), and I've been going kind of crazy just studying in silence. Normally, I'm not a music person, I actually prefer to study or work in silence, but for some reason this year it's making me fidgety and generally just kind of ADD.

If I ever do listen to music while I study, it's very chill, calm, relaxing music. You know, acoustic and whatever. 95% of my iTunes library is acoustic and the other 5% is random stuff. I am definitely not that person who's up on the latest music or bands or anything...so don't expect any of that from me. In fact, at one point, I hadn't updated my iPod in about 8 months....shameful.

Here's what's keeping me sane this week:

1. Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
2. Let Her Cry (Hootie and the Blowfish)
3. Wedding Dress (Matt Nathanson)
4. Christmas Song (Dave Matthews Band)
5. She Is Love (Parachute)
6. Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show)
7. Austin (Blake Shelton)
8. Details In The Fabric (Jason Mraz feat. James Morrison)
9. Highway 20 Ride (Zac Brown Band)
10. All My Loving (Jim Sturgess, from Across the Universe)
11. Fire and Rain (James Taylor)
12. Welcome to the Black Parade (Piano Tribute Players)
13. Only Wanna Be With You (Hootie and the Blowfish)
14. Closer to Love (Mat Kearney)
15. Carolina In My Mind (James Taylor)
16. 5:19 (Matt Wertz)
17. To Sir With Love (Glee Cast recording) (go ahead and judge me for that one...)
18. Brielle (Sky Sailing)
19. Chances (Five For Fighting)
20. Stand By Me (Ben E. King)

What do you listen to when you're trying to focus?

Update: I just re-read this list of songs...y'all, I swear I have a) upbeat songs in iTunes and b) female singers/bands/songwriters. I am seriously not this depressing in real life...

What Kate Likes: Neiman Marcus x Target

You've heard about the Neiman Marcus x Target collaboration, right? I've had today, the launch of the collaboration, marked in my planner since I first saw a preview of the pieces over the summer...as pathetic as that may be. I'm nearly always a fan of the Target collabs, mostly because I just love Target that much.

Anyway. This collaboration is definitely a new one for T, but I think it's a great direction for them to head in with future collabs. I think that the items all look to be high quality, but as I haven't seen them in person yet, I can't be 100% sure that they're worth the higher prices than Target usually charges.

Here are my picks...

1.

This Tracy Reese sequined top is so pretty. It would be so versatile--throw it on with jeans and boots for a touch of glam for day, or skinny black pants and heels for a night out. I wish the back was sequined as well, instead of being solid blue fabric, but that's minor.

2.

I love these Band of Outsiders cookie cutters! These would be such a fun little gift for a friend who bakes a lot or as a stocking stuffer. I'm already imagining all of the ways you could ice that little necktie...I may pick these up for myself :)

3.

Have a Tory-obsessed friend? This thermos would be a perfect Christmas gift, paired with a box of hot cocoa or her favorite coffee. I love a good thermos, and this one is eye-catching enough that it wouldn't get lost in a cupboard or pantry. Such a chic way to keep your drinks warm...I'll also most likely be picking this one up!

4.

Ahhh I love these Tracy Reese plates!!!! I am a total sucker for anything that's a) brightly colored, b) damask patterned, and c) a dessert plate, so obviously these plates check all of those boxes. I need want these so badly...and I have no use for them. These would be such a perfect hostess gift for your super-stylish friend who loves to entertain since you can never have too many plates. These would also be such an adorable wall decoration for a kitchen or living room as well.

5.

When I say that I've been dreaming about this Lela Rose top since July, I'm really not exaggerating. I am obsessed with this top. It's everything I love in a top: delicate details, a sleeveless shape so it's seasonless and easily layered, lined, not cropped...perfection. I just emailed a link to this to my mom so she can "forward it to Santa" ASAP because I need this in my closet. This top would be great with skinny jeans and fierce booties, black pants and glittery heels, colored pencil skirts and neutral heels, a cardigan  and jeans...really the list is endless. LOVE.

You can see the entire collaboration here. What's on your list? Anything you absolutely need? I want to hear!