3.1 Phillip Lim for Target Collection

Hi all,

I don't know if I've been living under a rock but Target has some really cool stuff... I guess I never really paid attention to how fashionable some of their items are because I assumed they were just like their counterpart (Wal-Mart) and didn't obtain anything young or hip.

I was pleasantly introduced to the Phillp Lim 3.1 limited-edition collection by my sister-in-law, and serendipitously my husband informed us at 3:30AM on the collection release date (Sept 15th/2013) that the items were up online. I guess we got lucky that he was up watching some UFC match that ran late otherwise we probably wouldn't have gotten our hands on these bags. So of course we went into crazy panic mode and bought 2 of the large bags, 5 of the smaller bags, 2 overnighter Cheetah print bags, and I got a weird-looking sweater-dress. We also went into the store and battled the masses, but we only walked away with one small black bag.

When they arrived, I absolutely loved these bags (with yellow being my favorite) and they even have side zippers so you can configure them as shown in the taupe (appears grayish) purse, the pricepoint was $34.99/each:

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset  (Yellow)

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Taupe)

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Mini Satchel with Gusset (Black)

I was even more thrilled a few days later that my overnight bag (only sold online) arrived just as my husband and I booked our plane tickets for a flight to Portland, OR scheduled for the very next day for a freelance booking. The bag pulls up about to double its size (shown in second photo). Now the only real problem with this bag is that it is really intended only for traveling, you can't walk around with it too much, if you pack it too full you will barely be able to get it over your arm, and it'll feel very uncomfortable. That being said, it's a terrifically made bag for its pricepoint ($49.99) and it is quite large, I was able to fit 3 large sweaters, 2 jackets, a scarf, my enormous makeup case and misc. other items.

Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 - Canvas Tote

My sister-in-law, also named Alex, purchased the large bag for herself as well. It's super cute and roomy, I personally love the taupe version of this bag, but she prefers the black so it'll match everything she wears. This bag did seem very large, you could pretty easily fit a laptop in there and I think it's probably an amazing bag for work. They also offered an online-only color of this bag in a deep purple.

 




I have yet to see the sweater-dress, so I will update you guys later on that one, as it arrived after we had already left NYC for Portland. For those of you that are not from the US, you can purchase these items all over eBay, it's pretty flooded with the collection. But buyer beware, I really thought that the majority of the clothes were very poorly made and definitely did not warrant the high price-point (at least in comparison to other Target clothes).

Let me know if you purchased anything from the Phillip Lim for Target 3.1 collection and what you think about it in the comments section below!

DIY Anthropologie-Inspired Hip Cinched Blouse

This is a fabulous DIY t-shirt idea that can be translated into all sorts of different pieces - you can use this technique on the bottoms of shirts, skirts, pant legs, etc. It's really an idea you can take anywhere your creativity guides you!

All you'll need for this project is:

A shirt

1 piece of fabric

1 ribbon

Sewing machine (or your meticulous little fingers and a needle with some color-coordinated thread)

1. Find a shirt and turn it inside out.

2. Lay your ribbon down and cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover your ribbon and pin the piece down

3. Sew on the fabric, making 3 large stitches, between the ribbon and on each side.

4. Cinch and tie and you've completed your project!

DIY Color-Blocking Clutch by Lauren Conrad

Hello to all of my wonderful and loyal fans. I've been away on hiatus for very long now because I started a new job and I wanted to give it everything I had and, frankly, I was way too tired to do any blogging.

Now that I've settled in, I wanted to welcome you all back by showing you this Color-blocking DIY Clutch video by Lauren Conrad's Crafty Creations. To my surprise, I found this browsing the web and it spurred a revival in my interest in arts & crafts once more!!

I'm so thankful that many of you have stuck around and this blog has gotten infinitely more popular than when I left it 3 months ago. I'm going to be picking up with the posts again and hope you will stay tuned for more wonderful beauty, craft and lifestyle ideas from yours truly.

- Alex

Soulfire Artisan Bead Giveaway

Hi everyone,

This is just a quick update to let you know that Soulfire Artisan (a bead and jewelry supply website) is having a giveaway!! They're giving away the following items: 

#1 A full 16" strand of 2mm multi gemstone round beads.

#2 A full 16" strand of 2mm strawberry quartz round gemstone beads 

#3 A 16" strand of 2mm clear quartz round gemstone beads 

#4 A full 16" strand of 2mm dyed lemon quartz round gemstone beads 

#5 A full 16" strand of 2mm Blue quartz round gemstone beads. 

If you're interested then check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/soulfireartisan and their website is http://www.soulfireartisan.com !!

To be eligible to be party of the giveaway all you  have to do is 'Like' their page on facebook and sign up for their newsletter here: http://www.soulfireartisan.com/newsletter/

For more information on the giveaway visit their facebook page and you may earn more entries!!! =) Exciting! Good luck to everyone!

Here's a look at what the winner gets!

Gladiator Get-Up

Gladiator Get-Up by lethalglam featuring green tote bags

Seafolly white tote bag
$136 - my-wardrobe.com

Kelsi Dagger silver sandals
$70 - dsw.com

Green tote bag
$59 - etsy.com

Feather jewelry
maurices.com

Gold jewelry
$12 - bakersshoes.com

To the many loves of my life

I wanted to take just a moment to get something off my chest that has snowballed into a tremendous ball of emotion, ready to burst out of me. This is dedicated to the many loves of my life, those who have been with me through thick and thin, friends of old and new. Regardless of whether you're close by or far away, as is the case with most of you, I want to let you know that even if we don't talk regularly, or even once in awhile, I still think about you. Everyone I've met along the way has had a significant impact on the person I am today and for that I am eternally grateful. Sometimes I catch myself remembering random scenarios from my encounters with relatives, friends, schoolmates and acquaintances and it often brings a smile to my face. Thank-you for holding my hand when I needed you to, panicking and being there for me, celebrating when the time was right, and sharing in the same experiences as me. I don't think there's a limit to how many people you can hold in your heart and the collection in mine spans decades so thank-you for being my friends, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers because my life is a definite representation of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child". To those who are no longer beside us, those whose time was too fleeting, despite our religions and beliefs, I'm sure we can all agree that no one is ever replaced.

Making Hair Clips out of Dangle Earrings

If you have dangle or chandelier earrings which are missing their mate, you may want to consider transforming them into hair clips. I have quite a few that I am in love with but have lost the other one so I can no longer wear them as an earring pair, this is a wonderful transformative idea which can still allow you to get joy and use out of your jewelry.

All you need for this project is earrings, bobby pins, pliers, spring ring (if the earring doesn't have one), and glue (either from a hot glue gun or Gorilla Glue). You can do a variation of this project using chopsticks (if you use a drill to drill a hole through the chopstick and cut it down to size you can attach your earring to the end and use it as hair chopsticks).







First, you should open up the earring from the earring hook with pliers and make sure you add the spring ring to the earring afterwards where you want it to attach to the bobby pin. You can consider coloring the bobby pin with nail polish if you want to add a pop of color or you can skip this step. All you need to do is hook the closed spring ring onto the bobby pin and pull it through to the end. Use a dab of glue where the ring attahes to the bobby pin and make sure that it sticks down so that it doesn't move while it's in your hair. Make sure you don't glue the bobby pin closed, and let the earring dangle beautifully from your hair. This accessory will definitely make a statement, especially if you use a nice vintage earring that pops. If you don't have dangle earrings to do this, you can use studs that you cut the backing off (either with scissors or jewelry cutters) and then glue the earring backing onto the bobby pin and let it set. Voila, either way, you will have fantastic looking pins!