Let's Flamingle! Lilly Pulitzer inspired Luncheon in Southern Living Magazine

Oh, be still my heart....a Lilly Pulitzer themed luncheon thrown by one of my favorite shop owner's and interior designers, Dana Small.  You may remember THIS post regarding her article in Coastal Living in 2011 where she takes us on a tour of her home.  Once again, she invites us into her home for a pink and green luncheon for Lilly Pulitzer adorned guests.  And the whole soiree is featured in March's issue of Southern Living Magazine.  

Picture courtesy Matilda's (Dana Small); photos by Lindsey Potter

Matilda's is my favorite place to shop when I'm visiting Stuart in South Florida.  Filled with gorgeous trinkets, stationary, baby gifts, cookbooks, handbags and totes, dinnerware, and clothing by Lilly Pulitzer, Gretchen Scott among others....it is just a fun place to shop.  One can't help but smile and put on a cheery face when there, and the smiling faces that greet you are always a plus!  Dana's design experience also allows for great advice and tricks when decorating and planning for your home or parties of any kind.

Don't you just love the theme "Let's Flamingle?"  Love it!  The Lilly shift cookies are amazingly adorable, the menu looks so tasty....and the glasses....I might just have a few of those laying around for my guests (or myself!)
Pictures courtesy Matilda's (Dana Small); Photos by Lindsey Potter

My favorite features of the luncheon have to be the table setting and the fans for the hot ladies (after all, it is South Florida!)  I hope she sells these fans in her boutique!  I think they would make a great accent for my pink and green, Lilly Pulitzer guest bedroom.  What guest in South Florida wouldn't feel lovely sitting by the pool on a chaise lounge with a pink fan, a Lilly Pulitzer glass filled with a signature cocktail and a wide brimmed monogrammed hat.  Preppy South Florida living at its best is what I say!

The floral arrangements are just stunning!  I love the peonies and hydrangeas, two of my favorite flowers.  The picture frames double as the menu and a take-home parting gift for the guests.  What an ingenious idea.  

Both photos above courtesy of Matilda's (Dana Small); Photos by Lindsey Potter

I adore the pink painted beverage cart!  I'm on the hunt for one of my own now!
Photo: Southern Living.com

Chocolate dipped strawberries as part of the dessert menu....such a simple, yet elegant treat.
Photo: Southern Living.com

I love the tips Dana shares in the article such as hanging lanterns with fishing line and  tacks.  You can't see the wires and the tacks leave barely a mark.
Photo: Southern Living.com

If you want more, be sure to run out and pick up your copy of March's issue of Southern Living.  Want even more, check out March's issue of Coastal Living magazine where Dana decorates a lovely cottage on Lake Michigan.


Now onto today's Work OOTD.  Of course, why would I wear anything but Lilly Pulitzer with a post like today's?  I love button down shirt dresses, as does Husband.  I love their fit, look and comfort.  My Old Navy (Tory and J Crew) knock-off flats.  I love these shoes!  They go with everything and they only cost $13.99 (I'm sorry, have I mentioned these shoes already once...twice...three times before?).   Of course, my pearls (rarely do I leave without them) and Angela Moore bracelets.

   And why not a little "Lallie in Lilly" too.  :-)

Daddy was out of town last week, so we had a couple little Mommy-Daughter dates.  This night was a casual night out at a local grill where they have kids activities such as face painting and balloon tying.  Balloons that double as jewelry?  A definite plus in Lallie's book as the Hello Kitty balloon doubled as a bracelet!  (And yes, that is a hair extension tying thing....it's actually quite cute and fun).  

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

Favorite New Product and Work OOTD

I have discovered the most amazing stuff for the under eyes.  Bare Minerals Well Rested Eye Brightener Powder.  

AH-MAZ-ING.  

The dark circles under my eyes.....gone.  The well rested look....hello!  And it has SPF.  I also use it on red areas when needed and it just covers right over with a very natural look.  Love.

I've also tried the Bare Minerals Well Rested liquid, but the applicator leaves a lot to be desired and since it's a liquid, I feel it make my under eye shiny.  

The powder is the way to go and I'm not kidding, it's amazing and you will not be disappointed.

And for my Work OOTD.  I figured we were on a roll with Old Navy, so I thought I'd share one of the crepe dresses in my closet.  After all, after this week, I'm usually at a loss with Old Navy, but I'm the type that when I find something I really like, I buy it in every color!

Black Old Navy Crepe Dress, J. Crew inspired bauble, Angela Moore bracelets, black pumps.

Happy Tuesday Y'all!

What I Discovered on Your Blogs This Week

Happy Friday y'all.  Boy are we ready for the weekend!  Husband has been working crazy hours (long story) that will likely continue until the end of February and Lallie has been on allergy meds for a couple of weeks due to the horrible pollen situation down here right now.  If you have a child on allergy meds, you know that they are NOT good to their personalities!  We are looking forward to a fun weekend at the local children's museum tonight and possibly heading to Disney for the day tomorrow (pending how Lallie feels).

Anyways, I found some really great new things on you blogs this week!

I love ballet flats.  Particularly the J. Crew ($125) and Tory Burch flats ($178) in the gold/neutral colors.  But as you know, I like to Spy It, Buy It, so I recently purchased a similar version from Old Navy on sale for $13.99.  You'll see them in my Work OOTD below.  (Thanks Southern Curls & Pearls and Pink and Fabulous).

J. Crew                                         Tory Burch

I'll go ahead and show my Work OOTD with my cheap knock offs ;)  I'm not a big fan of Old Navy clothes for myself, though I do love them for Lallie. They have cute styles and she's going to destroy anyways!  But lately, I've purchased several of their cute cotton striped dresses for casual days and I've purchased four of these crepe shift dresses (in blue, below, black, hot pink and a blue/green/neutral print).  They are comfy and versatile.

With it I'm wearing a J. Crew necklace (from Lallie for Christmas....good taste), a Stella and Dot bangle and my Old Navy gold bow flats.  Pardon the lack of my head....horrible hair day.  :-)

On Sweet Southern Prep today, I was introduced to Design Darling. I'm loving their monogrammed office accessories!  

Also on Sweet Southern Prep, Emi-Jay Hair Ties. They are super cute, go check them out.

Over on Lily Lemontree, I found some great new reads to add to my Goodreads list.  Particularly Ketchup is Vegetable and Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves.  As a parent, it will be nice to read this book and poke some fun at the every day frustrating, but rewarding.(...you know...disclaimer) issues of raising a child.  I'm looking forward to checking this one out.

The following is from Amazon.com

If you don’t have anything nice to say about motherhood, then… read this book. Robin O’Bryant offers a no holds barred look at the day to day life of being a mother to three, running a household and the everyday monotony of parenting. 

It’s not always pretty but it’s real. Whether she's stuffing cabbage in her bra… dealing with defiant yet determined daughters… yelling at the F.B.I... or explaining the birds and the bees to her preschooler… you’re sure to find dozens of humorous and relatable situations. 

From the creator of Robin's Chicks, one of the South’s most popular blogs on motherhood, misunderstandings and musings, comes a collection of essays that will not only make you laugh and cry, but realize that you’re not alone in your journey. 

Sit back and relax, pour yourself some “mommy juice,” throw a fresh diaper on your baby and deadbolt the bedroom door to keep your kids out… because once you start reading you'll be too busy wiping away tears of laughter to wipe anybody's butt.

One last little tidbit for the day, I'm looking for a new clutch.  I love these monogrammed ones from White House Monogramming on Etsy.  Of course, I can't decide.  Should I get the cream with navy or the black with pink? Decisions, decisions! 

Happy Friday Y'all!

Giveaway Winner! Work OOTD and a Spy It Buy It!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Pink Wasabi Ink giveaway!  Through Rafflecopter, a winner was chosen and that person is........LISA R.!!  Lisa, I will be emailing you with details on how to claim your custom made plate from Pink Wasabi Ink's Etsy shop.  Enjoy and congratulations!  (Lisa must claim within 24 hours or a new winner will be chosen).  A BIG thank you to Pink Wasabi Ink for the giveaway!  I certainly will be shopping there in the future.

Remember these Ann Klein leopard print shoes I posted the other day?  They were at Macy's for $89, then went down to $45 and are now back up to $62.  They are full price at the actual store and didn't have my size (bummer).  So, while at Target with Lallie on Sunday, I spied these Merona heels and purchased them.

Love them with my Work OOTD.  The dress is the Crepe Shift Dress from Old Navy and the necklace is the same one I wore yesterday, on the clearance rack at Target.  (Lallie has been getting up with me in the morning and helping me get dressed.  I had a different necklace picked out, but Lallie loved this one so much, she insisted I wear it again today!)  I forgot to take a picture at home, sorry for the poor quality.

 Happy Tuesday Y'all!

"There's gold in that there poop"

You heard that right.  It's a direct quote from Husband as he discussed the black cow soil we used to plant our garden this weekend.  We finally got around to planting our winter crop of tomatoes and herbs and can already smell and taste the wonderful veggies!  We planted four different varieties of tomatoes (Better Boy, Celebrity, German Queen and Cherokee purple), some of which will be planted in earth boxes rather than in the above-ground gardens, as well as some herbs (cilantro, oregano and basil).  Once Husband prepares the earth boxes, I'll write up a blog post on those.  I still have no clue what the earth boxes actually are or how they work.  All I know is I have a bunch of large and cut up tupperware bins in my living room.

Lallie and I also had a Mommy-Daughter date on Sunday.  We went to Target and the grocery store and ate out at her favorite restaurant, Steak N Shake.  Of course, no weekend is complete without Lallie's version!

The adorable little long sleeve navy and white stripe dress Lallie has on is on sale at Old Navy for just under $4.00 each!  They had several different colors.

 Lallie also taught me how to play Hop Scotch.  She did take some pretty good pictures of me playing hopscotch that I almost shared.  But there was only one picture of my hopping forward (with an overwhelmed expression) and the rest were of my backside from not particularly flattering angles!  Hop Scotch is not easy when you're 5 1/2 feet tall!  The bending over on one foot makes for some clumsy balancing!

We also played dress up.  Lots of dress up, one outfit being a bride.  

Yes, Daddy cried a little (maybe more than a little). 

 Last but not least, here's what I'm wearing today!  It's a dress from Kohl's that I bought for $30 (it was 70% off!)  I rarely shop there but was out picking up some clothes for Lallie and saw this dress in Kentucky blue as well.  It fit so well, I purchased both colors.  Paired with a necklace I picked up on the clearance rack at Target for $7.99, I think it went together pretty well.  I have a black cardi with me as it gets chilly in my office.

Don't forget to enter the Pink Wasabi Ink giveaway!!  It ends tonight at midnight and is open to everyone whether you have a blog or not! 

Happy Monday Y'all!

Work OOTD and Amazon Prime

Happy Wednesday Y'all, it's Hump Day! 

Do you have Amazon Prime?  I think it's $75 per year, but you get free two-day shipping all year long (which we do a LOT of Amazon shopping, so we actually save money!).

Anyways, it seems Lallie is invited to two birthday parties per weekend!  Of course, we can't possibly make all of them, but I like to send presents as these children always return the same courtesy to Lallie.  But for this working mom, it's hard to make special trips for each and every party, so I'm thinking of just stocking up. 

Enter Amazon Prime.  I can buy several birthday presents and have them all shipped for free and usually it costs less than buying them retail!  It's a win-win.  In addition, I don't have to buy in bulk, but as the parties occur and there's not a time-crunch since it's two-day shipping.  Do any of you use Amazon prime?

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On another note, Lallie got ahold of my iphone again yesterday.  It always makes me chuckle seeing the things she finds worthy of picture taking.  Yesterday, it was her favorite things.  ME (of course!), her Rapunzel doll and naynay (that go everywhere with us), her toes and fingernails and the pool.  (Lallie hasn't quite grasped that you have to hold the phone still while taking pictures). 

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Last but not least, my work OOTD (not a fabulous picture, I really need to work out my mirror situation)!  Today it's an Elizabeth McKay dress from last season (I think)?  It's giraffes and I've only worn it a couple times but I love it.  It's just fun.  My shoes are from Ann Taylor (suede and alligator leather) and they are older than Lallie!  I've had them re-soled, re-inserted and buffed up so many times at our local cobbler and they always come out shining new.  As long as that keeps happening, I'm a happy girl (especially since they were $200 shoes to start! They are getting their useful life for sure!)

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

Goooooo CATS! Kale receipe and Work OOTD

Yes, we are such loyal UK fans that I'll have Lallie wear a smocked UK cheerleader dress (can't see them but they're embroidered on) to church DURING football season IN Gator country!  :-)

The sun was in her eyes and this is a picture of a picture but isn't she sweet?  Her Sunday school teacher took this picture and gave me the hard copy (thus the horrible quality) but I didn't get any pictures of my own, so I'm happy!  She was NOT thrilled her dress was blue rather than pink so it took some coaxing to get it on!  She does love her CATS though (she's loving the pink on the football field for Breast Cancer Awareness month though she is clearly too young to understand why). 

She's also refusing to wear anything in her hair anymore *sigh*.  My baby is growing up! 

Here's a FABULOUS kale recipe my friend shared with me (I don't think she'll mind, thanks R!).  She and her husband are huge kale fans and have turned Husband and I onto the fun veggie as well.  Even Lallie tried it (but she didn't like the red wine vinegar flavoring).  I'm just thrilled she tried it because that means she's not afraid to try anything, even limpy, curly and weirdly colored veggies!  

And here is my work OOTD.  Black House White Market yet again!  I love their clothes and their fit on my particular body type.  They are my go-to place for anything work or cocktail related.  I should become a sales rep, think I'd get any fun perks?  Hmmm.....

(I need to get a better mirror if I'm going to continue with these.  Do you like me posting work OOTD's?)  

Happy Tuesday Y'all!