Blog | Alexandra Adams

December 20, 2016 — 2 Comments

Introducing For the Glitz!

Over the past couple months, I’ve been working on separating this blog from my personal design portfolio, and I’m happy to say that I’m moving on over to fortheglitz.com as of January 16! So when you come searching for my new blog posts, remember to check over there and not here. I'm so excited to launch in the next couple of weeks; I hope you guys love the new site as much as I do.

As far as links go, all the previous links should forward you to the corresponding post on the new site, and the blog button in the upper right on this site will take you directly to For the Glitz. I'll be changing my social media handles as well, so make sure to tag @fortheglitz in anything you want me to see!

Now that the big announcement is out of the way, I thought I'd show you a bit of my inspiration and thought process behind the rebrand.

As you probably know, I’m a big fan of everything pink and sparkly, and while much of my life reflects that, I was having trouble showing it in my blog posts. X-Height-Ment was originally created to be the name I operated under as a freelance designer, but as it began to change into this blog and the content shifted, I found that it wasn’t creating the image I wanted. I started from scratch and built For the Glitz. I started with a mood board, pulling images, colors, textures, and patterns that I connected with and that I knew would fit with the image I wanted to create. After culling this massive collection down to a reasonable number, I was able to see patterns and trends in the images I had selected, and discovered exactly what I wanted For the Glitz to look like and laid out a clearer vision of what the content should look like.

Take a peek below at some of my early mood board collections. The full brand reveal will be up on For the Glitz on January 16!

I've separated my inspiration categorically for the sake of this post – the moodboard above is typography. You'll find throughout my inspiration that a pale pink (not quite as pale as a blush pink, and not as bold as a bubblegum) and a sharp black are the main recurring colors of my scheme. Accents like lavender, gray, and metallics appear occasionally, but pink + black are my go tos.

The main categories I've found myself honing in on are personal style, home decor, and entertaining, so I tried to tie those things in to my inspiration search as well. I get so excited just looking at these images; I can't wait to get the ball rolling this year.

If you head over to fortheglitz.com now, you can sign up to get notified when we launch on the 16th! I can't wait to get this party started.

And of course in the meantime, you can always follow along on Instagram and Pinterest!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Branding

December 16, 2016 — 3 Comments

DIY: Christmas Morning Mimosa Bar

I love to decorate my bar cart for the holidays! In the midst of moving and not having my it with me for a couple months, I haven’t gotten to decorate it since Valentine’s Day! I’m glad to finally get the chance again, since Christmas is my number one favorite holiday, hands down. I love that everything is so much more sparkly and cheerful this time of year, and I definitely tried to bring that vibe to my cart with this mimosa bar.

My younger sister turned 21 this year, so it’s the first time all the members of my family will be able to drink over the holidays. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with a mimosa bar on Christmas morning! I suppose technically it’s a champagne cocktail bar, since a mimosa is traditionally made with orange juice, but the sentiment is the same. Orange juice, peach nectar, and cranberry juice poured into pretty carafes helps to dress up the overall feel and add consistency to the spread. Make sure you have a couple bottles of champagne so there's enough to go around!

I’ve been adding pink into my Christmas decor for the past several years now, so it made sense to bring that theme to my bar cart as well. I wrapped gold and silver tinsel around three sides of the top bar, and strung some small ornaments from the front. The ‘cheers’ balloons provide a great backdrop, and can even be left up year round - or at least through New Year’s Eve! I also had these pink glittery cone trees from a few years ago, and they fit perfectly underneath. I added a few bottles that fit my color scheme on the bottom and displayed the leftover ornaments in a bowl to add some more color. Obviously, you can play around with the display and customize it to fit your own holiday decor!

If you’re hosting extended family for the holidays this year, try adding a mimosa bar to your breakfast spread!

SHOP THIS POST:

Tell me about some of your favorite Christmas morning traditions in the comments!

Christmas Morning Mimosa Bar Cart | Alexandra Adams

Published by Alexandra Adams in Christmas, Drinks, Entertaining, Happy Hour, Holiday

December 9, 2016 — No Comments

Hair How To: Crown French Braid

As we move into cooler weather, I’ve been digging deep into my sweaters and scarves to bundle up–one of my favorite things to do! I am such a sucker for chunky knits and blanket scarves I can bury my face in. However, when I’m wearing bulky clothing like these, the main problem I run into is what to do with my hair? I have really thick hair, and it’s getting longer (I need to trim those split ends!), so I’m always looking for new ways to put it up.

This braided updo is so pretty, and can easily be dressed up or down. It’s been a go to of mine for work, but I’ve also been known to fall back on it for a date, too. It would be a great look for a holiday party! Check out the video below to see how to achieve this look.

If you recreate this braided updo, tag me on Instagram @xheightment so I can see it! I love to see your posts. 🙂

Published by Alexandra Adams in Hair, Style

December 6, 2016 — No Comments

Free Winter Phone Wallpapers

It's that time of year again! We all love to change our phone backgrounds around the holidays, so I've created SIX new ones for you to use this season.

Download the size you need below, and leave me a comment telling me which one is your favorite!

Note: The knit sweater and fa la la patterns both work great as wallpapers, but make the time on your lock screen more difficult to read. If you love the knit pattern and still want to read the time, try the red version instead!

And if none of the above fit your mood, check out last year's designs!

Published by Alexandra Adams in Download, Technology

December 2, 2016 — No Comments

For the Coworker | Gift Guides 2016

The last (but definitely not least!) of my gift guides this year is full of gifts for your coworkers. We all have Christmas white elephant parties and Secret Santas with our office mates that we might not know very well, so I’ve curated this list to be perfect for those situations. Gift your coworkers with the items on this list and you’re sure to win the favorite employee award. And don't forget to pick something up for your freelancing and small business owner friends!

Swarovski Crystal Stardust Pen in Rose Gold (also comes in black, white, silver, and pink)
Kate Spade Desktop Calendar
Office Supply Set
Whistle While You Work Laptop Case
Acrylic Tape Dispenser (also found here)
Acrylic Stapler (also found here)
But First Coffee Travel Mug
Post-it and Flag Notes
Gumball Desk Lamp
Portable Phone Charger 1 | 2

What are you getting your coworkers this year?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Christmas, Holiday, Round Up

Tags: gift guides