There’s a new shop in town offering guests a quick trip that is distinctly Target. Target’s newest and smallest format store yet — dubbed TargetExpress — is opening this week in Minneapolis. In keeping with the test-and-learn philosophy behind this 20,000-square-foot beta store, Target will begin serving a handful of guests on July 23 (what retailers call a “soft open,”) giving the team time to get ready for opening weekend. Of course, we couldn’t wait until then! We asked store team leader Karl Anderson to give us the exclusive first look inside TargetExpress. Check out our tour below: Tailored to city dwellers and students (the store is just steps away from the University of Minnesota campus), TargetExpress features an edited assortment of merchandise, including fresh produce, grab-and-go food and snacks, pharmacy, home, seasonal, electronics, beauty and more. And while the smaller, hand-held baskets and two-tiered carts might be designed for quick trip shopping, that didn’t stop us from packing them with everyday essentials and some awesome, unexpected finds — like these Room Essentials bowls.

Digitally-connected shoppers can also enjoy seamless access to all of Target’s offerings, both in-store and online, at TargetExpress. One of our favorite examples was demonstrated during our tour — the store is testing the new “In a Snap” app, which enables guests to scan a poster in store and immediately shop items from the page. While the first TargetExpress may have opened in Target’s hometown, Minneapolis guests aren’t alone. Target plans to open four new TargetExpress stores in 2015. Three of these stores will be located in the San Francisco Bay Area as the quick trip store experience fits right into the busy Bay Area lifestyle. Target will also expand its TargetExpress presence in the Twin Cities with one store that will open in the Highland Park area of St. Paul. Most of you live in places where winter happened this year. I heard about it and even saw it on the news (and by news I mean Facebook and Instagram). At first it looked romantic, then chilly and then just terribly inconvenient what with your coat wearing and all.

Well, I think that Spring is finally here and we are styling about it. The newest Target video is up, and it’s all about creating a happy sunroom to celebrate spring. This time we actually transformed the space because nothing is more satisfying than watching something improve right before your eyes – like Matthew Lewis. Target’s new spring line is very good, as you can see, full of blues, whites, natural materials and whimsical beach-y motifs. Asian Leopard Cat NamesWe simply mixed in a couple vintage/DIYs to create this very happy, bright and well-rounded sunroom for your viewing pleasure. Sage Green And Brown Queen Comforter SetClick on through …Puppies For Sale In South Central Ky This room was clearly a good shell – it was bound to be happy no matter what direction we took it.

We (along with Chris and Scott) came up with this concept of a bright yet soft beach inspired sunroom full of Target and a few vintage pieces. So we shopped, styled, played and installed this pretty little room to ease all your winter blues. Slowly the room came together – as demonstrated in my favorite gif ever made on the internet: The daybed was just a simple twin frame, with two foam pads on top wrapped in canvas dropcloth (that had been washed and dried 10 times). While we obviously wanted to show off Target product we knew that bringing in a few vintage pieces would be more realistic and tell a fuller story (nobody has pieces from just one store). The two trunks were just vintage trunks from the flea market ($40 each) that we painted and added legs to. The woven chair is vintage but you can buy a new/similar one here, and the daybed was something we really just threw together and added pretty linens and pillows on top.  We added that pretty fan collection, the old bedspread and some real sea shells and books, but, everything else is from Target.

Every side table, accessory, bookshelf, pouf and pillow. Man, I love this happy room, full of clean, bright colors that are just so easy for the eye to understand. Sometimes when you go ‘bright and fun’ it can become chaotic, but not these white and blues – it’s just simple, mediterranean-inspired, happy living … with a California bent. Blue and white can go a bit cold, so we kept it feeling balanced and warm with all those natural materials – wood, the woven pouf, the hanging wood sculpture in the window and the woven side table. The greenery added that perfect accent = cactus, succulents, olive branches and even the fern which helped us obscure that dark functionless fireplace.Art by Kate Smithson My friend Anne Sage stopped by and we chatted about spring decorating, blogging, our upcoming books and the fact that she looks smarter because she wears glasses. And probably because she is smarter. We’ve known each other for years via the blog-u-verse so it’s always fun to actually see and touch people in person.

So I gave her my friendly ‘elbow touch’. Anne wrote a lovely post about the experience here on her blog. Hurricane Candle Holder | Dark Blue Vase Large | Wooden Candle Holder | Silver Leaf Clam Shell | Antique Navy Milk Bottle Vase |Ceramic Whale Bone | Dark Blue Vase Small That shot up there is such a good example of how you can mix whites, creams, and taupes and have them look so inviting and warm together. That blanket is one I’ve had forever – and you can find them on eBay or at the flea market pretty easily if you just rummage through the piles of fabric riddled with tea stains and mold. The fresh new pillows make that bed spread feel relevant and trendy, and the vintage granny blanket give the pillows a little bit of quirk and soul. The throw next to it, with the fringe, is Target, too.Ikat Dot Pillow | Diamond Ikat Pillow |  While my heart still belongs with brass (a matte brass these days) I am beginning to love silver more and more. Here is the quiet metallic – still going a bit glam but needing less attention.

That gif clearly exhausted me – so I decided to lay down and tell you about my spring, with my eyeballs. Wooden Candle Holder | Ikat Design Pillow | Blue and Clear Table Vase | Ceramic Sea Urchin | Wooden Bird Figure | Chair Vintage (find a similar one here) In case you missed the first round of Target videos go check them out here.  Let me know what you think about the new video and once again, if you are into the products up there grab them before they sell out. Because they do sell out. The easiest way to shop the whole new line is to go here or check out this post for more of my Spring picks. 1.Wooden Candle Holder 2.Basket 3. White Candle Holder 4. Silver Leaf Clam Shell 5. Diamond Ikat Pillow 9. Ceramic Sea Urchin 10. Ikat Design Pillow 12. Ikat Dot Pillow 13. Blue and Clear Table Vase 16. Dark Blue Vase Large 18. Wooden Bird Figure 22. Antique Navy Milk Bottle Vase *Photos by Tessa Neustadt for Target. Hair and Makeup by Danielle Walch, Wardrobe by Jordan Rudd.