How to lose your mind. Slowly.

I have a million and one things to do. There are literally 18 days left that I actually have classes on. There are of course more if you count non class days, but seriously. There's no time left. And I can't even think about it for longer than five seconds because I may end up institutionalized before I can even get through the week if I extend that train of thought.

But I have this really awesome/horrible defense mechanism when I'm stressed out. And I literally turn into a crazy person. I begin frantically feeding my soul with things that make my heart happy in spastic, spur of the moment ways that probably just really make everything worse because ultimately... I'm procrastinating.

OH, you want to have a dance party in the car on the back roads?? LET'S GO!

Drive forty-five minutes to sit by a pond and breathe in air that feels less stuffy? YOU BET.

Get hyped up on espresso and brainstorm million dollar ideas that have nothing to do with anything on your to do list?!? RIGHT NOW!

I'm not quite sure if it saves me or lets me caress rock bottom in a happy deluded state. But I think I like it better than alternatives. So. Moving right along.

I just wanted to share something making my heart happy right now. Some friends and I stopped at IKEA last week and it was my first time. It literally made me want to throw out everything I own and start all over again. I was in physical pain. So clean. So organized. So affordable. So FREAKING AWESOME.

Alas. I still have all my belongings. And only indulged in a candle. FROM HEAVEN. For real, people.

When I picked it up and smelled it, I literally yelled, "OH MY GOD THIS SMELLS LIKE... JESUS!" I don't even really know what that means. But there were witnesses. It just popped out. Without consulting my filter. But if you have the opportunity. Buy yourself one.

❤love.

Wishful Thinking.

I have a to-do list miles long. But I feel so unmotivated because it seems like I just keep working to cross things off and nothing has fallen off the list so far. In fact, more just gets added! Can you picture with me for a moment a to-do list totally blacked out? Every. Single. Thing. DONE. Ahhh it just makes me feel wonderful. But then I snap back to reality and want to violently scribble all over mine with a sharpie.

Breathe.

If I didn't have a thing in the world to do... this is how the rest of my day would go.

I would take off my chipped polish and paint my nails OPI's No Room For the Blues because, A. I've been wanting to for some time now, and B. It's an appropriate thing to remind myself at the moment. Then I would go to Starbucks where a new cute barista boy would make me a dirty chai or a triple grande caramel macchiato, I can't quite decide, but either would include a smiley face lovingly sketched on the side. I think that may take me to meander through Borders where I'd pull out all the fashion and music magazines and camp out in a cushy chair because that suits my mood today and feels like it might be fulfilling. By the time I'd get ready to leave, the cold rain would have changed to snow, and walking into the parking lot would be magical and calming and serve as any further therapy I needed to put me back into a good mind set. I'd sing at the top of my lungs all the way home and implement my perfected art of car dancing while dreaming up plans to occupy the rest of the night. Music making? Snuggles? Snow angels? Oh, the possibilities.

But instead I'll be running errands and at the school printing and working on projects. I can feel my brain hurting already as I try to dig creativity out of its crevices. I'm pretty sure it packed up and went on some kind of vacation it forgot it was supposed to take me on. That or snuck out during the night while I slept in ignorance. Come back! I'll appreciate you this time. Things will be different, I swear!

Okay. But really. I have to get myself in a better place mentally. I need productivity. Motivation. I need to be so full of optimism, its spilling out my pores. (That sounds gross. Maybe not that full. But you know what I mean.) Let's get excited about design! Fake it 'til you make it. Cue montage of things to make me feel inspired.

❤love.

Back to school. For the last time.

I was always a little bit of a dork. I loved fall, loved going back to school. It was always so fun for me to go up to the school and find my name on the lists, discovering my teacher and the rest of my classmates for the year. And later, picking out the perfect outfit, running around with my schedule of classes hoping for similarities among friends. I still love it, even though now it's not really any surprise who's in my classes, and I know who teaches what when I sign up. That comes with being at a small art school. I just love the season. Love school supplies. I wish I could go out and buy boxes of crayons, pretty binders. I probably will anyway, because hey, it's my last back-to-school. Ever. So strange. How did it get here so fast?

I've come across a few things lately that I'm loving. Just wanted to share. In case anyone else loves the back-to-school shopping excuse too!

Aren't these elephant measuring cups the cutest!? What a great housewarming present. Or, you know. Maybe it's about time you got new ones, what with all that baking you're going to start doing... find them here.

Ah, the typography nerd is getting the best of me. I love this. Something fresh and different for your wall. And appropriate for school, right? What's more back-to-school than the alphabet??

I am loving this dress from Modcloth. They call it Mojitos on Monday. Which just makes me love it even more!

What's on your back-to-school shopping list?

❤love.