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Every since I was a tiny Tiny Lil Bit, I had dreams of being a fashion designer. Lack of talent be damned, I carried that notebook around like crazy. I would draw dresses, handbags and even shoes (that come to think of it were just tennis shoes colored with various flowers…oh my creativity). Needless to say, becoming a fashion designer, whether shoes handbags or beautiful clothing, is a tough world to be in.

Nowadays it seems all you have to do is be a celebrity to design your own handbags. Suffice to say, most of the time these celebrities have someone else design the bag for them so they can slap their name on the label and call it their own.

Wouldn’t you want a chance? Well, Coach is now giving all of those wannabe fashionistas, designers, and simple Coach lovers, their chance to have a stake in handbag fame.

Now through August 4^th, Coach is offering you a chance to design your own tote. The grand prize winner will have: 

Their design manufactured as a limited edition item to be sold in Coach stores and online at Coach.com, plus a celebratory event at their local Coach store to launch it. If that is not enough, a $2,500 dollar shopping spree that you can spend on even more Coach goodies (if you are feeling generous, I love their new Carly bag in navy blue ) 

If my designs didn’t look like mush on a handbag, I might have a fighting chance. I would rather sit back and watch some real designers get a chance anyhow.

If you think you have what it takes and want this once-in-a-lifetime chance, or just want to vote for your future favorite handbag, click here for complete information and rules. 

Design a Coach Tote  Sponsored by Coach

It happens to many of us I am sure. We walk into the dressing room to try on a great new pair of jeans. They slip on perfectly, hug our butts to perfection, and provide just the right amount of coverage on our gut. We begin to walk out of the dressing room to ogle our designer jean butts in the full length mirror when we catch our foot on the extra 7.5 inches of fucking material hanging off our feet and fall flat on our faces in front of a sales woman who we know is only feeling pity because she still wants the commission.

Designer jeans average 34-36 inches in the inseam and being that the average woman is only 5’ 4”, it is quite unfair that most women would have to pay an extra 20 bucks to get their jeans altered, when the world usually falls by a “majority rules” scenario.

Luckily, the world of overpriced oh-so-delectable jeans seems to be listening. What started out as a petite section full of “mom jeans” appropriately branded, “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans,” has turned into a haven for petite designer duds baring only a difference in size to their model length counterparts.

Paige Premium denim, Seven For All Mankind, Joe’s Jeans and Citizens of Humanity now offer the same exact jeans that make our butts look fabulous but without all the extra material that only reminds us we are not models.

Nordstrom’s currently carries petite sizes online but ShopBop has the best selection. Need to try them on? Head out to your nearest Bloomingdales for a wide variety of cut and style.

My personal favorite. Paige for day. Joe’s for night. Seven “dojo” for the days when I need some more blue to my blue jeans.

Happy shopping! 

Chinese artist Yang Guang has had his images exhibited in many permanent collections of several contemporary art museums.

This photographer prints his computer-generated images on special aluminum foil. Excuse me, why didn’t I think of that? If you hang it up on the wall with lights placed so it hits the sheen, you will get a beautiful iridescent green glow. Play up the contrast with a neutral wall. Entryways or living rooms work best. Bedrooms might be too mellow for this print as it captures a lot of light.

Keep an eye on this photographer / artist. As Crate and Barrel often gets the glory of doing, is introducing new artists into the popular realm. Before many furniture designers and interior artists make it big, they often get exclusive contracts with Crate and Barrel. Jump on this artist before those prices go up.

Two websites have caught my eye recently, not only for the sheer genius of their business model, but as a right brainer, they have a knack for punching you in the gut where it really matters, rendering you useless to the magical charms of brand sales. Using psychological tactics called buy-it-now-or-you-will-miss-it-forever-oh-oh-oh-there-it-goes-oh-no!-it’s-gone, fellow patrons of all things good, evil and delectable can maybe get their hands on fantastic brands and reasonable prices.

Similar to W00t (a.k.a Geek Heaven) HauteLook and Ideeli offer members limited time deals of various high-end and very-high-end designers.

Ideeli focuses on accessories and offers two levels of membership. First row members have to pay a small fee per month but they have access to sales one hour before 2^nd Row members and access to free giveaways. Is the chance to win a free Balanciaga bag worth a few bucks a month to you?

Ideeli creates the “get it now or you lose” urgency in any woman who loves handbags. They are evil. Want to fall pray to the dark side? The invitation code will get you there, comment if you want me to send it to you.

HauteLook puts their efforts into clothes from designers like Yaya, Splendid, Alice and Olivia and more. Sales sell out quick and the worst of it is they reveal if a fellow

patron has an item on “hold in their shopping cart.”

So what do you do? You sit there…waiting, hoping, praying that this person will change their minds. “Please decide not to buy it, please decide not to buy it,” you find yourself shouting at your computer. Hautelook does not need an invitation password…enter at your own risk.

Both of these sites are the devil. The Dark side. Addictive. Enjoy!

Excuse me Sir, but what the hell is this layer? 

Gone are the days of loading an infrared film canister inside a dark bag. Gone are the days of hand rolling 35 mm film and relishing in the process of chemical paradise. Swirling a picture through a development bath, using the creative eye tweak a corner, dodge a shadow and burn an overexposed spot. Saving up for an enlarger has given way to saving up for CS3.

The bittersweet feeling of nostalgia hits me as I open the package from B&H containing my Canon EOS 40D. Part excitement and part fear, I open the book on CS3.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am the last digital convert to walk the artist path.

I say goodbye to my EOS3 as I pack it up for storage and let out a sigh as I fall pray for the joys of Photoshop. I have now joined the CS3 revolution. I just might be doomed. 

Right now, I am obsessed with mixing patterns using a color wash. Adding a few spots of color brings the outfit to life.

I was told by someone today that the best thing to do is anything you want to do without expecting anything in return.

No expectations.

Let’s try it 

Ten things to be happy about…
1. Your pet. If you don’t have one, get one. If you can’t get one, buy a plant. Bonsai’s are fun. I once met someone with pet rocks.
2. Your body. The other day, while trying on swimsuits, I did the owl-turn-of-neck to see how my butt looked. There was a momentary cringe followed by a slight pinch of my cushiony bits. This was a blip. A glitch. I slapped myself (no not in the butt) metaphorically. My body is just fine. So is yours. Keep reminding yourself of that, especially in dressing rooms.
3. Your interests. Whether it is photography, music, technology or cactus, be happy about your interests for they make you unique. Relish in them and keep doing so for as long as you get satisfaction.
4. Your job. Yeah, so maybe you want a different one, a better one, a higher paying one. Unless you are crying every day when you get home, be happy you have a means to an end. If you love your job, be happy that not only do you have a means to an end, but an enjoyable day as well.
5. Your family, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your friends. This can cause the most happiness of all (and more often than not coupled with the most frustration). Whether your loved ones drive you to grow, drive you to be a better person or just drive you insane, the bottom line is they make us happy. Tell them they do so. Try to do things every day that you know will make them happy. They will also do the same.
6. Luxury. If you are reading this, that means you have a computer. If you have a computer that means you can afford luxury, be it large or small. If you love chocolate, buy the best there is. If you love fabric, buy high thread count (email me for suggestions). If you have very little money, borrow two bucks from one of those loved ones you just made happy to get the really good ice cream.
7. Your ability to learn. Can you imagine a fun life if you cease to learn anything new? I can’t either.
8. The mistakes you make. No one ever thinks they did it completely right. No one ever thinks they said the right thing. No one ever wishes they could have a do-over. Realize you are not alone, and your mistakes lead to growth. Often they made lead to a broken bone or a bruised butt….but those heal too.
9. Sleep. Sleep makes you live longer, live healthier, and be late for a morning meeting. But, how fun is it when you roll into work late in a shirt you found on the floor, wearing two different shoes because that was all that was in your car, and a stain on your pants from drinking coffee while driving, hoping no one will notice?
10. E-book readers. 180 books in the palm of my hand. Ok, that was a selfish number ten in my top ten…forgive me please.

I once read an article that gave instructions on how to get what you want out of relations and situations. One of the bullet points was to act aloof and nonchalant if you want to get what you want.

I don’t know about you, but telling me to act aloof is like telling a fish to act like an elephant, I just can’t do it.

So basically, all this article ever did was instill a fear in myself that with every act that shows interest in someone, something or some purpose, will act as a repellent to the very thing that I am showing interest in. To add to the conflict, I cannot manage to turn this switch off at all.

What usually happens is one of two things: Either the subject of interest becomes unavailable or tells me to get lost, or I get it. Yeah basically that is the only two options available right? Except in my head, I always expect the first option while continuing to act in a way that I fear the first option will occur.

I wonder how much of this is true, or if secretly every human being fears this loss. If this were true, it would seem the logical explanation is for each and every human to ignore articles written by nut jobs and show as much interest as possible in things they desire.

Roll Call: Who has this fear?  How do you manage it?

Purchase of the Day

Rock n Republic Scorpions. They will make your butt be your favorite butt in the entire world. They will slim your legs, make you look taller, and thank the heavens that they had one in your size left.

When I feel neurotic, or sad, or scared, or insert-yucky-emotion-here I get a good kick in the ass from my grandfather.

What does he say?

It only takes one sentence for him to slap me back into the reality that everything is not a big deal, and it is pretty damn easy to be happy most of the time.

“Rachel, we are all ants and all we can really see is the top of the ant hill.”

Sometimes I wonder what he means, and why he always seems to talk in metaphor. It’s like having this Yoda in my ear that can only be understood half the time and the other half I am left standing there muttering “huh?”

Sometimes I take this to mean that we can really only see what is slightly in front of us instead of the big picture. Sometimes I take this to mean that all people being equal parts of the puzzle, none of us are as important as we think we are, so self absorption is futile.

Most of the times I take that statement as if we really know so little, and can see so little, then from a universal perspective, we are ignorant.

From that I see that ignorance is truly bliss and although sometimes I don’t understand my grandfather I absorb the information anyway and if we know nothing, we can’t worry about anything…joy then is the only way to go.

I somehow have gotten the reputation that I like expensive things. I do. I really do. Not because they are, in fact, expensive, I just tend to gravitate towards liking things I cannot afford. Frustration follows.

However, when it comes to giving, money my friends is never an issue.

The best gift I have ever gotten was a very nice gift. I wear it everyday and it is a necklace, which aside from being two of my favorite gem-stones, means something very sentimental (gush).

The second best gift I have ever gotten cost about five cents. This gift was a letter. I am pretty sure the cost of one piece of paper, plus the ink and the envelope costs so little one could find the money to pay for it in the sofa.

What makes both of these gifts special? They were given from the heart.

Take note: gifts are awesome and gifts are important. Gifts show someone you care, that you are thinking of them, that they mean something to you, that they would be sad with you not around. All of this is wrapped up in a package that seems to say a whole lot.

However, lately I got to thinking about women and how sometimes what we think and what we want gets misinterpreted. We say we want a gift or a random act of kindness and one automatically thinks the only thing that will do is a new car or expensive shoes.

Gifts and money are not mutually inclusive. Gifts and giving are. The only thing that matters when it comes to a gift is giving it for the simple thought and meaning behind it is the real gift. Sometimes that gift may be big and sometimes it may be small.

Homework: Make a gift using five dollars or less of materials. Give it to someone on a day that otherwise means nothing. Watch what happens.

When I feel neurotic, or sad, or scared, or insert-yucky-emotion-here I get a good kick in the ass from my grandfather.

What does he say?

It only takes one sentence for him to slap me back into the reality that everything is not a big deal, and it is pretty damn easy to be happy most of the time.

“Rachel, we are all ants and all we can really see is the top of the aunt hill.”

Sometimes I wonder what he means, and why he always seems to talk in metaphor. It’s like having this Yoda in my ear that can only be understood half the time and the other half I am left standing there muttering “huh?”

Sometimes I take this to mean that we can really only see what is slightly in front of us instead of the big picture. Sometimes I take this to mean that all people being equal parts of the puzzle, none of us are as important as we think we are, so self absorption is futile.

Most of the times I take that statement as if we really know so little, and can see so little, then from a universal perspective, we are ignorant.

From that I see that ignorance is truly bliss and although sometimes I don’t understand my grandfather I absorb the information anyway and if we know nothing, we can’t worry about anything…joy then is the only way to go.