JUST INCASE YOU MISSED IT :)

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

<3

FABULOUS WEEKEND!

Pasadena and the boyfriend's Birthday festivities were lovely :) Beautiful hotel, yummy food, fun with friends and exploring the city all made for a perfect weekend together!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

I know I needed one, especially because of a busy week ahead with conferences in LA and a promise to at post at least one video! 

xx Alex

So Happy :)

...and couldn't help stopping for a photo op with this perfect pink door!
I promise, this will be the color of my front door, or bedroom door very soon, even the boyfriend liked it ha! :)

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

It's my boyfriend's birthday this weekend and I/we've planned a mini vacation not too far away from both of us with friends, should be a great time!

A photo of us at a speaker dinner.
Pasadena is an adorable city in Los Angeles who has managed to preserve its original charm. They have a cute downtown area with boutique bars and restaurants, where we plan on celebrating. Though we've chosen a hotel, we still aren't sure where to go for dinner and nightlife... Even worse, we have friends joining us and still haven't decided on a venue...
OOPS!

It would be great to hear of any suggestions you may have!

The Hotel

MY KINDA WEEKEND

I love weekends spent doing things I love...I mean who doesn't? 

This was one of those kinda weekends!

...SATURDAY...

After a long night on Friday we woke up late Saturday and decided to have lunch at a delish little Japanese lunch spot with the best tuna/ avocado/ brown rice bowls, ever. 

I hadn't been to my favorite posh French bakery in a while so next was Bottega Louie for a huge macaroon with cream fresh, huge blackberries and an extra strong coffee. 

.YUM. 

...NOM NOM NOM...

...SUNDAY...

On Sunday, we went to a small flea market with only around 20 vendors and surprisingly, I made out with a couple adorable pieces; one of which I am super excited about!

Remember this vanity stool I found at the Rose Bowl flea market a couple months back (pictured here)? 

I wanted it so badly (and replace the orange with a white or cream shag) but the seller wouldn't go lower than $150, so I passed. 

This weekend, I came across a similar one... 

 and for $5....

I would say it was a definite score!

I'll be making a cover for the orange cushion of a cream or white shag material and re-finishing it's brass legs to their original shine.

 ...and couldn't pass up this adorable little silver box for $10. Though silver plated, it's still a charming little piece of vintage I couldn't resist. 

GNO

On Friday night, before leaving for a girl's night out, one of my BFF's and I thought it would be fun share our OOTN in quick video. Heather and I always have the best time together and we have very similar senses of style and tastes...Love you girl <3

WORK --> PLAY

Don't you hate it when you're excited for a date after work or cocktails with the girls, but a meeting runs later than expected and you just don't have time to make it home to change without being late?

With just a few simple changes to almost any basic outfit, it's easy to go from conservative to glam!

Here's my take on an outfit I often wear to work and dress up for a night out...

M.I.A.

The short week, after MLK really put me behind and Thursday came sooner than I anticipated

...Good because the weekend is near

 but bad because I haven't had any time for blogging... 

Yikes!

I had a great weekend with an old friend in San Diego and got a lot accomplished at my place, organizing and finishing up my design/ jewelry making area :) It's looking fabulous!

I'm shooting for a long awaited video tomorrow but still haven't decided what to vlog.

Here are some photos, to catch you up on some randomness in my life...

 The Anger Jar by Jonathan Adler

The newest addition to my interior collection. 

 New Canisters for storing pearls

Some new and re-found makeup that I'm totally loving:

Benefit: Moon Beam iridescent complexion enhancer 

MAC: Lipstick in Tanarama 

Stila: Lip gloss in Vanilla 

MAC: Pencil in I Get No Kick

Maybelline: Lip Stains  in Touch of Toffee and Feelin' Rosie 

IT WAS LIKE MAGIC

Sadly, I had to cut my long hair off in China because the water there was so tremendously damaging to it. Since then I've cut it again but have always missed my long hair. I never really liked the idea of permanent extensions but I've noticed that lots of girls with gorgeous hair wear clip in extensions not only for length but for fullness and body too. 

Today I decided to give these a try. 

Needless to say, I'm more than impressed. 

They're not tacky in the slightest and match my hair color perfectly. All I did was curl them a bit while clipped on my head to mix in my hair with the extensions.

 Its going to be hard to not wear them everyday! 

FOR ME AND FOR YOU

Its already difficult enough to muster up the energy/squeeze in time for exercise after an 8+ hour day and a night full of jewelry making....But I think it’d be much easier to motivate myself if I had some amazing jams to look forward to listening to while on a run…

What are your favorite workout songs atm? 

Any songs from international artists? 

....and my newest video... 

...IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE WEEKENDS....

I'm actually happy it's over. 

It was just one of those weekends where nothing seemed to go right.

On January 1st I was promoted :) and tomorrow I'm officially starting my new position as Marketing Manager and Social Media Director. 

I'm so excited to really dive into the projects we have planned and it's even more appealing that I will be working from my own beautiful, private office :) 

.........

Though my weekend was blah, here are some things that are making me smile lately...

I strung heart shaped doilies through fishing line and hung them in an alcove in the living room, above my TV. 

It's pretty and delicate....Perfect for Valentines day <3

 I found these adorable gourmet, pastel-y marshmallows...All I need are some pretty apothecary jars to hold them in.

I now have a silver version of the "Key to My" and I love these pretty and sparkly crystal beads. 

They shine like colored gems in person!

I love wasting time in Barnes and Noble and Borders Bookstores, especially in their sale sections. 

I found this adorable hardback, coffee table book on all of the Louis Vuitton iconic handbags for 98 cents. No joke.

OOTD {WORK EDITION}

I snapped a few photos of yesterday's OOTD and thought I'd share, especially because I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of my handbag collection! 

I saw her at Banana Republic one night and fell in love. 

Though the price tag wasn't outrageous, I knew that BR often held specials online so I waited. After a couple weeks of stalking their site, they finally offered 25% off your entire order and free shipping (and are currently offering the same discount!). 

I jumped at it.  

She just arrived yesterday and I am very pleased. 

The leather is luxe, there are ample and strategically placed pockets throughout and is lined in a durable thick canvas. 

OUTFIT DETAILS: 

• Aqua long white tunic, tucked in as a shirt  
• H&M black pencil pants
• Moschino belt I purchased in Greece while on a family vacation in high school.  
• HRH COLLECTION agate stone necklace 
• Banana Republic Top-Handle Satchel 
• Chanel Wedges 

NEW!

I HOPE YOU LIKE MY NEW PIECES!

SIMPLE YET BOLD

{CLICK} ON THE TITLES OF EACH PICTURE TO SEE MORE DETAIL

THE HOLLYWOOD

 THE CRYSTAL TIDE

THE PHOENIX

NEW VIDEO!

DRESS DOWN YOUR CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTINS/ 

HOW TO: SLEEK BUN

2011!

.:RESOLUTION TIME:.

1. SAVE MORE AND SPEND LESS. 

I see buying a place of my own in the near future as well as a trip back to Shanghai, so I'm really going to try and keep the aimless Target and mall runs to a minimum. 

2. KEEP UP/ IMPROVE MY CHINESE. 

I am going to somehow work a language course into my schedule. I love speaking Chinese and am so grateful for the time I spent in China learning the language....It makes me so sad that I'm not keeping it up. 

3. KEEP HEALTHY. 

Basically, move more and eat less. I vowed to myself that I would never reach the weight I once was, so this year I want to continue working to keep my weight at a normal level. 

4. GIVE TO A CHARITY. 

I feel so blessed and want to give back this year. I've decided to donate to an animal rescue or local shelter to help abandoned or abused animals. Though I have always been an animal lover, more recently I have been thinking about how many people abandon or abuse animals. It truly hurts my heart to think about how cruel people can be. Though I know many times it's done for survival or a means to earn a living, I hope that somehow, in the future society can learn to care for all animals and the importance of breeding for profit in a more humane way.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe NYE! 

Let's wish for an even better 2011!

{a candid shot, getting ready and having some champagne before going out on NYE}

P.S. What are some of your New Years resolutions?