Guilty Pleasures

Sunday is a day to relax, rejuvenate, and partake in some guilty pleasures. For me, that includes indulging in the latest fashion and beauty books (particularly those that feature celebrity tricks and tips).

At the top of my wish list is The Makeup Wakeup: Revitalizing Your Look at Any Age by Lois Joy Johnson and Sandy Linter. Don’t these celebrity packed pages look intriguing? I love any chance to learn new makeup techniques.

If my Easter Bunny is paying attention, I would love to find a copy of this book in my basket… hint, hint.

What's on your wish list today?

Lilly Mania

Most of you know by now that I have a bit of a love affair with Lilly Pulitzer clothing and accessories. So when my friend Liza, who I met through Re-Lilly, invited me to join her for the Lunch at Lilly event in Austin last weekend, I couldn’t refuse.

Believe it or not, this was my first Lunch at Lilly event. The amazing staff at Lilly Pulitzer at The Domain offered friendly advice as I tried on practically everything in the store before selecting a few lovelies to take home (along with the Lunch at Lilly gift with purchase goodies, naturally). And the fun isn’t over, because Lilly has yet to announce the lucky winner of the drawing for a trip to the Pink Palace… Fingers crossed!




Meeting my friend from Re-Lilly, Liza, in person for the first time





Two of the lovely ladies from Lilly Pulitzer at the Domain, Caitlin and Erin, with Liza.


I had barely caught my breath from Saturday’s shopping extravaganza when Lilly announced a three-day March Madness sale in which many of their Via shops were participating. Of course, this Lilly girl can’t resist a great sale (and some of the stores had merchandise discounted as much as 70%), so I did a teensy bit more shopping, ordering from several of my favorite Via stores, including The Village Palm, Under the Palm Tree, The Pink Door and In the Pink. (I also called my friends at Pink Bee, which I mentioned in my last post, but they didn’t have the sizes I needed. Oh well! There’s always next time!)

Of course, some of the stores were absolutely mobbed, and I’ve already been told that a few of the items I ordered online from In the Pink won’t actually make it to my house. I certainly can’t complain, though, because all in all, my Lilly stash has grown considerably in the last week.

In fact, with all of the new additions to my wardrobe, my next task should probably be a bit of closet cleaning....

Friday Favorites: WHITLEY Designs

I can’t resist a little sparkle and shine. When my friends at Pink Bee in Greenville, SC, announced that they had added a new jewelry line to their wonderful shop, I had to investigate. The line is WHITLEY Designs, which offers crave-worthy pieces at reasonable prices.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Alex Earrings

Ali Necklace

Leah Bracelet

Can you say, “Fabulous”?

Paint By Number

As I mentioned in my last post, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law came for a visit last weekend. (This was in the middle of the stomach flu mania that had overtaken my house. Miraculously, my children perked up for the time our visitors were here, although my smaller twin came down with the bug mere hours after they left. Luckily, neither of our guests caught the virus.)

It was quite a productive trip.

My brother-in-law got to meet our twins for the first time, and he even installed two new light fixtures for us while he was here. (Have I told you how wonderful it is to have a brother-in-law who’s a contractor? Gotta love that!)

And my mother-in-law brought us two bags of yummy cheese straws made by a lady in Georgia. Now I can make cheese straws – I made two big batches at Christmas – but it’s A LOT of work. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to have two bags hand-delivered to us in the midst of all the craziness we’ve experienced of late!

My mother-in-law also mentioned her plan to take a group photo of all eleven grandchildren during our extended family beach trip this summer, and her quest to find matching outfits. She had found the perfect Lilly Pulitzer dress for the little girls at a store in her hometown, but she needed two in size seven – and they only had one. So now she was looking for another idea.

Wait – did she say Lilly? (If you’ve been reading long, you know I consider this an area of expertise!)

I had her describe the dress to me. It turns out that the dress she was considering is the Little Lilly Shift in the Shorely Blue Paint By Numbers print, which is brand new for spring. It has to be the cutest Lilly dress for little girls I’ve ever seen.

Here it is:



Lilly Pulitzer Little Lilly Shift in Shorely Blue Paint By Numbers



























And here’s a close-up. Do you see the numbered spaces that aren't colored in, like a Paint By Number that’s not yet complete? How adorable is that?



A close-up of the print


























I became a woman on a mission. I had to help her find that dress. I told her to call the store in her hometown and ask them to hold the three dresses they had while I tracked down the final size seven. After calling a few of my favorite Via stores, to no avail, I called Lilly Pulitzer at The Domain in Austin, Texas (where the service is always phenomenal). Jackpot! And the best news is that they don’t charge shipping on full-priced items, so this lovely little dress was shipped to my mother-in-law for free! She was thrilled. (I hope I earned some brownie points!)

She’s thinking about having the little boys wear khaki shorts and turquoise polo shirts to match the dresses for the group photo. Personally, I love these cute turquoise and white checked shorts from Orient Expressed, paired with white polos. (Although I realize that sizes might be an issue again. We have seven boys to outfit!)

Tuquoise and White Checked Shorts from Orient Expressed

Either way, I think this is going to be a darling photo. What do you think?