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But I gotta keep an eye out for Selener💍

Congratulations are in order for Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco!

The singer-actress, 32, announced that she and the producer, 36, are engaged!

She shared the news via an Instagram carousel on Wednesday, Dec. 11, including an up-close snap of her engagement ring and a pic of her and Blanco celebrating their engagement with laughs and a hug.

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It’s Certainty Holiday Season at Chanel👑

On December 12, Chanel gifted one lucky fashion designer the best gift of all: a job! Last Thursday, the house announced that Matthieu Blazy will become its new artistic director of fashion activities. Going forward, Blazy will design a stupefying sum of ten collections per year for Chanel’s haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories departments.

The forty-year-old Parisian is an industry veteran with experience for some of the biggest names in fashion. The houses on his resume—Maison Margiela, Céline, and Calvin Klein to name just a few—would make the Christmas list of any true fashion girl. In 2021, Bottega Veneta appointed him as their creative director. His resounding success at that house despite a downturn in the overall luxury market helped him catch the eye of Chanel’s higher-ups.

Chanel is far from the only house instating new leadership this year. As early as March, industry journalists were lamenting what they dubbed “fashion’s designer musical chairs”. Seemingly every brand was either in search of a new creative director, as was the case for Valentino and Givenchy, or testing out a new one with varying success, as Sean McGirr of Alexander McQueen learned the hard way. 

With an industry leader like Chanel, the second largest luxury brand in the world, finally coming to a decision, perhaps this whole uncertain chapter will come to a close. Hopefully we’ll all receive the gift of stunning collections in the new year!

The months go on changing somehow. The air slips from cool to brisk to freezing, and suddenly we’ve reached the point in the year where I hole up in my room or the library. Only a couple of weeks later, I shift to relaxing in front of a fireplace, a dog or two on my lap. Here’s to December, and all it is. 

1. “The Artists Who Turn Us Into Artists Are Like Family” 🎙This is heartbreaking and true. It is a thing I carry around with me for reasons I’ve held onto for so long, they’ve begun to fray at the edges. “Maybe one day I’ll do something like that,” indeed. 

2. “December” 𓃔 Talk about an apt title. Not much to say, really, beyond “the cattle, / their silhouettes / simple as faith.” I think that pretty much sums it up. 

3. “I Went Out to Hear” ❆I think we could all benefit from learning to listen so intently, to pay such attention to the quiet, that “in the absence / of anything else, my own / breathing became obscene.” December, in my experience, moves from a rush to stillness. I want to spend more time savoring that.

Hey everybody!👋 Guess who’s in the throes of finals week currently (who isn’t?). As is appropriate for the mood around campus lately, I think I deserve an abnormal amount of sweet treats per day. But let’s not move too quickly – there’s not many things worse than a horribly disappointing treat during the worst week of the semester. To save myself some grief, here’s a list of sweet treats you should be on the lookout for.

SEEK OUT: The Humble Cookie🍪

1. In the moment, cravings are often so immense you can convince yourself a 24 oz milkshake is just enough to satisfy it. In reality, sometimes all you need is a bite or two of a cookie.

2. Additionally, there’s not much that can really go wrong with a cookie. It won’t melt into your fingers and make a mess (usually) and it will taste good whether you eat it right away or four hours later.

AVOID: Hot Chocolate🍫

1. This may be controversial, especially since it seems like hot chocolate is the quintessential winter drink. To be clear, I’m not disagreeing with the merits of good hot chocolate. I’m merely arguing that there are infinite ways a campus cafe can easily mess up such a seemingly simple drink. 

2. But wait! I have some suggestions (obviously). 

   1. If you’re like me and are a control freak, everything tastes better when you do it yourself. I recommend bringing hot chocolate powder (can be stolen from the dining hall) to the library. When you’re ready, buy yourself a cup of steamed milk and mix it in.

   2. Alternatively, if you know for a fact that a certain campus cafe has consistently yummy hot chocolate, I strongly recommend parking yourself in that cafe for the entirety of reading week.

Good luck everyone! Happy finals week!📚

Cool girl Gift Ideas Ideas🎁

You know the friend who’s always somehow ahead of the trends? Have a sister that’s the human embodiment of all of your saved Pinterest fashion inspiration? Maybe you’re shopping for a cousin who even makes Daisy Edgar-Jones look like she’s going out of style? Although “cool girl” sounds like a broad term, this type of person arguably calls for the most specific (and perfect) holiday gift.

Finding the perfect present has never been easier, right? Lucky for you, there’s even more where that came from—click here to browse our entire holiday gift guide 🎀

Holiday Watch List 2024📺

Serendipity (2001) – An underrated rom com where love comes about through a fortunate accident or fate. It’s up to you to choose.

The Holdovers (2023) – If you love Dead Poets Society, you’ll like this film. It’s a funnier, yet just as heart-warming movie where sometimes you think the student is the asshole, and other times you wholeheartedly believe it’s the teacher. If you’re in college, watch this in the days leading up to your return home. 

Pride and Prejudice (2005) – What says winter more than yearning? Who does it better than Mr. Darcy?

A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOCKING IN PLAYLIST…

Sometimes you need to listen to chill lo-fi while you’re pulling an all-nighter, but what about when you need that extra boost of energy? That’s when you crank up the real music.

💌 lesadore.com | @lesadoree 💌

_{See you next week!}