The Stockmarket

Dear Friend,

The Stockmarket was beyond words.

I had the best time prepping, setting up, meeting the other vendors, chatting with the patrons, selling my calligraphy, and basically sweating my face off all day. It couldn’t have been better.

The things though that put the day over the top for me were the friends.

My dear friend Hannah gave me her whole day and was the most selfless support I could have asked for. She helped me run errands, build shelves, pack and unpack the car, and really she is what got me through the day. Thank you thank you for your consistent and unwavering friendship!

And the new friends! I was lucky enough to have my little space set up across the way from Jenny of Hip to the Jive, a fabulous vintage boutique. Jenny and her lovely friend Elizabeth were a breath of fresh air and were styled to perfection. Jenny and I have since met up for coffee to share notes on life, love, and business. Here’s to blossoming new friendships with local entrepreneurs!

Overall, one of the best weekends so far this year and I am anxiously counting down the days until the Stockmarket’s return on July 18!

Are you a local maker interested in being a part of the next Stockmarket? Sign up here!

xx Katie

 

typical outtake

Too Excited

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Dear Friend,

I read an article the other day entitled “Are We Addicted to Stress?” I thought to myself, “what a ridiculous notion. No one would willingly allow themselves to be stressed.”

I have this concept that stress is a reaction to sticky situations. That when hard or bad things happen then stress appears. Cause and effect. Pretty simple.

After reading this article, though, I think I’m wrong. The article essentially says that stress is a habit and even sometimes a choice. People tend to get stressed in consistent ways, so when your brain recognizes a stressful situation coming it just automatically turns stress on. After a while, your body might be stressing out proactively. It might anticipate a familiar situation and BAM! full-force stress. Other people choose stress in a variety of forms. They stay busy and keep their calendar full so that stress is just built in to every day.

This woke me up. Big time.

The end of last week was some of the best days of my life. My mom came to town on her birthday. We had an incredible dinner and were able to catch up after too much time apart. We spent the next two days shopping for wedding dresses. There was so much love and so many tears of joy in each of the bridal salons, I can’t even explain. Then on Saturday, my future in-laws threw us the most incredible engagement party. It was completely beautiful and filled with so many people who love and support us. Never has there been such an amazing party. Finally, on Sunday morning my dad hosted a brunch for our families and a few friends who were still in town. Again, more love, more champagne, and more food. All of the good things.

The catch?

I had a migraine for the majority of the fun, which put me out of commission for some of it. Migraines happen way too frequently in my life and have happened for as long as I can remember. They are also a pretty common side affect of stress, but it took this past weekend for me to finally connect the dots that my migraines could be stress related.

I get these kinds of migraines when I get too excited, when I’ve had a lot of time to look forward to something, when all of the attention is on me, etc. It started when I was young and has become a theme, so much so that I’ve started prepping for big events by preemptively taking ibuprofen. I have basically given in to the circumstances and have pretty much started telling my body when it should be stressed. The triggers are always the same and so are the results.

So, in addition to keeping track of my headache days and increasing the amount of water I drink to deal with potential dehydration, I’m looking into stress control. I don’t really know what that means or what that will look like but I’m looking into it. I’m trying to make yoga a more serious part of my life. It’s something I’ve loved in the past and want to be more consistent with. This is all in hopes of having a migraine-free wedding day a year from now and really a migraine free life!

How do you deal with stress in your life? 

xx Katie

Friday Fashion (11)

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Dear Friday,

How classic is black and white!?

It’s a color combination that I personally can’t get enough of. It seems so limiting and yet there are so many different interpretations. I love that even with only the two colors there are endless possibilities.

Black and white can be timeless, glamorous, playful, edgy, minimalistic, and so much more.

What is your favorite way to style black and white? Or do you prefer color at all times?

Have a lovely weekend!

xx Katie

Dear May

Dear May,

This is going to be a fast and loud month. Oh my word. And there is no time to gear up for it because it’s all here starting tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will be spending the day at a Lovely Letters booth at the Stockmarket!! I will be in downtown Stockton from 11-6, along with other local makers, selling my handmade cards and prints and getting the word out about my love for calligraphy! If anyone is in town or in the area, please drop on by and say hi!

Next up, wedding dresses! It’s happening! My mom is coming to town on her birthday (ideal timing if you ask me) and we will be dress shopping for two days. I can’t wait to share all of the emotions and decision-making tips (if any) from those appointments with you!

Then, we will be having the spiciest engagement party around! It’s a fiesta with mariachi band and sombreros to boot. I mostly can’t wait to walk you through all of the details of prep leading up to the party – the details of making the invites and the decor inspiration and what an incredible mother-in-law I have that she planted cacti with me on Easter Sunday. So many good things to tell!

Anyways, I hope your April was lovely and I would love know what’s in store for you this month!

xx Katie

Let’s just be honest…

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Dear Friend,

Can I just come out and say what everyone else is thinking? and what other people have probably already said…

Joanna Gaines, I love you!

I mean look at how cute she and Chip are! UGH!

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K great. That’s all.

xx Katie

#girlcrush