What It’s Like To Live With Anxiety

I’ve got an essay to write today on my journey with depression and anxiety, so how fitting is that I’d come across these illustrations? Catherine Lepage perfectly captured the reality of living with anxiety in her new book Thin Slices of Anxiety: Observations and Advice to Ease a Worried Mind, which is filled with beautiful illustrations I think we all can relate to at some point in our lives…

I’d love to hear your tips, friends! How do you combat anxiety? How do you stop it before it takes over? Exercise? Meditate? Get together with friends? Obviously, writing about it always helps me, so if you’ll excuse me, I hear an essay calling my name… xoxo

Sponsor Spotlight: Chaotic & Collected Stationery Launches New Site

When I heard that creative extraordinaire Jess Downey was re-launching Chaotic & Collected Stationery, I knew I had to chat with her about all the excitement! The new site is still stocked with her trademark cards, party decor and party kits, but she’s turned the volume up a notch and really kicked things into high gear! I mean, just check out that pretty logo! Read on for all the scoop straight from the source! xoxo


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Congrats on the launch of the new site! What made you decide to relaunch it?
Thank you! I am so excited about it. For a while, I’ve been thinking about ways to streamline my process. I’m only one little person and running a blog, a stationery store website and an Etsy store became a really big job. I also found that people weren’t really understanding my brand and who I am/what I do — people who knew about the shop didn’t know about the blog and vice versa. So in an effort to make things easy-peasy, I decided to do a little redesign. Make things easier for me and all of my readers/followers. Plus, any reason to make something pretty is good, right?

What was the most exciting part of working on the new site? The most stressful?
The most exciting part was making all of the new images and discovering exactly what I want my online presence to be. There are so many things you can do and places you can go! The most stressful was making the actual site. I used a theme and I’m pretty comfortable with the basics of code and all that tech stuff, but there’s things I don’t know and in the middle of designing, I broke my site. I thought I knew how to fix it, but I broke it more and I lost everything. I managed to restore it, but then some stuff still wasn’t working. It was quite the challenge, but it gave me a chance to really start fresh, so I guess it’s also a good thing.

What is new and cool about the new site?
I have a fun new bio that’s in a Q&A form. And now you can find everything — blog, shop, ME — all in one place. There’s also a spot to sign up for my newsletter, which I didn’t really have before. I’m being more active with newsletters. Subscribers get advanced notice for sales, plus deals, DIYs, recipes and many other things that aren’t available anywhere else.

What do you have in store for the future, in terms of new product launches, specials, events, etc.?
I’ve been working on adding some home décor items to my shop. It all started with a welcome mat, and now I’ve started to add other things (more welcome mats, signs) and other things are in the works. I plan on making lots more fun and unique items (including some things for Shark Week!).

What is most rewarding about running Chaotic & Collected?
So many things! I love seeing the things that I create out there in the world. I love writing a post that might inspire someone in some way or that others can relate to. And I just love being a part of something that I created.

What’s surprised you the most over the years?
Honestly, I think the amount of support I’ve received from people I don’t even know. Other bloggers and small biz owners that I’ve connected with through social media. It’s kind of amazing.

Is there anything else you think I should know?
I’ve started a new post every Friday called Happy Fridays. It’s basically just a post about things that made me happy that week. It started because one of my goals for this year was to remember to appreciate all of the things in life that make me happy — no matter how big or small. I’d love to get more people involved in it.

Adorable Illustrations About The Father/Daughter Bond

Anyone who’s ever had a close relationship with their dad can probably relate to these sweet and powerful illustrations by Snezhana Soosh, a young painter who really gets at the heart of a father’s love.

The beautiful art made me think of my own father, who would seemingly do anything just so we could spend some time together. Walk around the mall while I shopped and carry all my bags. Help me pick out the perfect shade of lip gloss and didn’t care who saw him in the makeup aisle. Stay up late making me mix tapes back in the day before there were computers for that sort of thing. Sit at the table for hours helping me with math or chemistry until I understood everything.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him or think of those happier times. So hug your father today and tell him, “thank you” for everything he’s done for you. I’m sure he’s appreciate it! xoxo

P.S. A new disability-themed post is coming up! 🙂

[Via Bored Panda]

Celebs on Sandwiches Is My New Favorite Instagram!

Here’s a fun find for a Thursday afternoon! Have you discovered the brilliance that is Celebs on Sandwiches, the hilarious Instagram that features today’s hottest celebrities modeling on, well, sandwiches? It’s oddly mesmerizing, scroll-worthy and super addicting — and, now that I think about it, I’m sort of hungry!

What a wild combination!! Oh, the power of the Internet is real, friends!! xoxo

These Lisa Frank Tarot Cards Will Give You Serious Nostalgia

I just couldn’t resist posting about these AMAZING throwback tarot cards today! Children of the ’90s will surely remember bright colors and fanciful illustrations of one Lisa Frank — you probably even saw her work every day on your school supplies or sticker collection. If you wanted to be hip, Lisa Frank had you covered.

Well, thanks to Ariel Hart, an artist from the West Coast, we can ALL relive our childhoods and maybe even get a peek into our futures with her set of tarot cards! Yes, you heard that right — tarot cards. I’m just imagining the possibilities here, aren’t you? How awesome are these, friends? xoxo

P.S. This week’s Tuesday Tunes is coming up! 🙂

[Via Refinery29]