Spring Has Sprung!

It's official- today was the first day of Spring! I've been anxiously awaiting the official transition into Spring so I can pull out all my lovely floral and pastel clothing to go along with the beautiful weather we've been enjoying lately. Luckily, I was given the chance to bust out one of my favorite Spring shifts today- I was called in to sub at the Junior High!

Lilly Pulitzer Lace Worth Shift in Skye Blue Exbloomsion with my bronze and gold Jack Roger Navajo sandals. (I also wore a green J. Crew cardigan, but it was so warm when I left school I immediately took it off!)

I must have done something right today, because they asked me to come back and sub for the rest of the week. I'd like to thank Lilly for helping me look fun and put together- maybe next she'll help me get a full time teaching job!

Hope y'all had a fabulous first day of Spring! I sure enjoyed the 80 degree weather we enjoyed here in Southeast Missouri!

xx, Emily Ann

St. Patrick's Day the Lilly Way

You've got to love when a holiday that's all about eating and drinking with friends lands on a Saturday! Especially because St. Pat's also fell in line with my weekend off for this month, so I had a St. Pat's Saturday full of fun! Friday and Saturday I spent looking at some houses with my parents and our realtor- I'm on the hunt for a place of my own, and they're helping me find the right place. Friday, after thinking we'd never find one, I fell in love with a cute little house built in the 60's. Since I think I've found "the one" we set up a meeting with the realtor for Saturday so my roomie-to-be could weigh in on the house before we went any further. She and I went over the house top to bottom, talking furniture and fixtures and curtains. Needless to say, we both loved it! Afterwards my parents took us for a late lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Nachos and margaritas was a great way to start off our St. Pat's celebration! After dinner, my parents headed home and Court and I headed downtown to meet up with some friends. It was a gorgeous day, and we spent the evening on the patio at our favorite bar with green beers and our friends. It was a fabulous way to spend the day!

My wardrobe doesn't have very much green- try almost none. I have one green cardigan, which it was to warm to wear, and that's the only item of green clothing I own. So I had to get creative with my green wear. I painted my nails a fun mint green, and wore one of my Lilly dresses with a floral pattern that involved some green leaves. What better excuse to wear Lilly?

Lilly Pulitzer Somerset dress in Just Love with Natural Sullivan belt, Michael Kors watch, and bronze and gold Jack Rogers Navajos. I love this dress, it was so fun and comfortable!

I hope y'all had a great, green St. Patrick's Day!

xx, Emily Ann

Southern Nest Blog Giveaway

One of my favorite blogs to read is Sweet Southern Prep! Her posts about everyday life with her kids, Thirsty Thursday with yummy drinks, and Fashion Friday where she gives preppy fashion tips make her blog one I check almost every day for new posts. She's currently having a giveaway with a decorative monogram from Southern Nest! Head over to her blog, let her know I sent you, and enter yourself to win one of these adorable monograms for your home!

xx, Emily Ann

Saturday Night Pipster

One thing that can be said about good ol' Missouri is that she can't ever make up her mind on the weather! It has been beautiful and in the 70's during the day, but in the evening the temperature has been dropping so low that I was able to find an excuse to wear my new Lilly Pulitzer Pipster sweater dress Saturday night! After an incredibly long work weekend, I ended my work day Saturday at 8 pm and headed straight to a girlfriend's place to change and get ready for a night out on the town with a few friends. Since my work schedule has been shifted to evenings, it's become harder and harder for me to find time with my friends. I'm the last one of the group to still have a retail job, while the rest have transitioned to "real" 5 day a week, 9-5 jobs. So, despite the hard work week, I jumped at the chance to dress up and have some fun!

I couldn't have been happier with how cute my Pipster dress turned out to be. I experimented with the look a bit- with a belt and without. I ended up wearing it with a belt, it helped give me more of a shape that way. As cute as I think the dress is, I'm hopeful that it's only going to look that much better as I continue to drop weight! I'm proud to say I'm down 5 pounds since starting my weight loss mission, and I hope to keep dropping and reach my goal weight within the next few months.

I love the confidence that a cute outfit can instill in a girl. I felt cute, and I think that how you feel about yourself influences how the people you meet perceive you. I was more outgoing throughout the evening, and I had a guy ask for my number for the first time in an embarrassingly long time- talk about a confidence boost! Between wearing my Pipster and having a guy ask for my number, it was a pretty successful evening with my friends!

Without the belt

With the belt! Paired the Lilly Pulitzer Azalea Pink Frilly Ferns Pipster with my Natural Sullivan belt, Michael Kors gold watch, dark brown tights, and camel BCBG boots.

I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

xx, Emily Ann

Lunch at Lilly

Just another reason to love Lilly Pulitzer is the wonderful events and gift with purchase specials they run. Today, March 10, is their annual "Lunch at Lilly." Lilly Pulitzer online, and every Via store, is participating in the event. The stores themselves are hosting shopping parties, and the website is offering free shipping on all orders along with the lovely gifts with purchase. Unfortunately for this girl on a budget, I won't be participating in the event. But you better believe it wouldn't be a stretch for me to come up with a shopping bag full of items to reach $1000 so I could get every one of the gifts offered! Since I can't participate in earnest, I'm going to share what I WOULD have bought if I had the money to spend and participate in this festive event!

First thing I would put in my bag would be the Briar skirt in Lavish Lillys Placed. The colorful print and fun feminine shape make it perfect for spring and summer, and an easy item to dress up or down depending on the occasion! The Briar skirt retails at $98.

Next item on my list is the Elsa Ruffled top in Hotty Pink! I love the Elsa, such a versatile and feminine top, and with the added ruffles, lighter weight, and little polka dots it's got to be mine! This shirt retails at $138.

Next thing I'd buy would be the Ricci shift in State of Mind. I've had my eye on this dress since Lilly starting previewing their Spring line! I love the print- a patch for each state- and the style of the dress is to die for! The little details completely make this dress for me. The bow on the shoulder is too cute! This dress retails at $188.

Second on my shopping list is the Peggy dress in Spring Fever Toile. I saw a Lilly Pulitzer Via store belt this with the Sullivan (which I already have) and it was too cute! The seersucker, ruffles, and silhouette on this dress would make it a great spring and summer item for me! Not to mention how fun the Spring Fever Toile is. Lilly is known for putting all sorts of fun themes in their prints, and this one is full of Spring and Summer fun! This dress retails at $198.I have a thing for the A Thing Called Love print! I bought the Somerset in the same print and I just think the colors and patterns in it are lovely! This dress has caught my eye- great shape, pockets, and the back has an adorable keyhole cutout- too cute! This dress retails at $198.This next dress on my list has been a big hit with the ladies in my Lilly-loving community- the shape, details, comfort, and easy to wear dress is on everyone's wishlist! I'm loving the Carolyn Day Lilly- such a lovely print! And with ruffles you can't ever go wrong! I can see this dress transitioning from spring to summer for me, as well as making it's way into the classroom for those early weeks when it's still too warm for fall clothes! I think it's another item that would look great with the Sullivan belt, as well as with Jack Rogers or possibly even cowboy boots! This dress retails at $118.Last on my list is the Buttercup shorts in Pink Seersucker. Leave it to Lilly to take a closet staple and add the perfect feminine touch- scalloped edges! These shorts would be great with any number of tops I already have, great for day wear or paired with a cute top and wedges for a summer evening. I'm spotting scalloped shorts in many Spring catalogs, but I think Lilly did it best- the best price and the cutest look! Not to mention Lilly Pulitzer has been making the Buttercup scalloped short for years now- they were the first! These shorts come in several prints, I'd love them all, and they retail for $74.
Like I said, it wasn't hard for me to "spend" $1000 on Lilly's Spring line! But this girl will just keep them on her wishlist and wait for them to either go on sale, or gradually add these items to my closet as I have money to spend here and there! Were any of y'all lucky enough to participate in Lunch at Lilly? What goodies would you buy?

xx, Emily Ann

Lilly's Spring Fever

If you don't stay up-to-date on Lilly Pulitzer's "A Colorful Blog" you're missing out! I love knowing what they have going on at the Pink Palace, and their most recent blog post is about a few of my favorite prints from the Spring line! So head on over the A Colorful Blog and see what pretty and fun prints Lilly Pulitzer has available for this spring!

Happy Reading!

xx, Emily Ann

Recent Lilly Purchases

Budget or not, if I spot a Lilly item that I've had on my wish list for a while on sale, I can't help but find a way to make it mine! Recently, I've been on a slight spending spree and in the last two weeks I've purchased THREE Lilly Pulitzer dresses that I've had my eye on for a while!

My first purchase was the Pipster Sweater Dress in Azalea Pink Frilly Ferns. I decided I needed this dress when I saw a friend wearing it with brown riding boots- such a cute look! I found this dress at Village Palm, a Lilly Pulitzer Via store, at 50% off! Living in Missouri, our weather can be a bit bi-polar! Spring may be arriving in some places, and we have our warm days here, but we are far from having the cold days behind us here! So I plan on wearing this dress with tights and boots and maybe even with some wedges for a while until the weather gets too warm to wear it. I also think this would be cute with my Sullivan belt- one dress, so many ways to wear it!When I received my dress from Village Palm, they included a coupon for 15% off my next purchase. The bargain hunter in my couldn't let that go to waste, so I called up the ladies to see if they had the Somerset dress in Just Love- and they did! I've loved the look of the Somerset since Lilly Pulitzer released the first round of items for Spring. It's very similar to the Cassie dress, with the frilly details on the sleeves to add just a little something extra. I've seen this dress worn in several ways, all of which I mean to try myself! Of course it will be adorable when the weather gets warm with my Jack Rogers sandals for the day, or some ruffled wedges for an evening out. To wear it now, I've seen it paired with navy leggings, boots, and the Sullivan belt. I can't wait to try that look out myself! I also think this would be fun with the Sullivan belt and my cowboy boots- can you say fun?? I think this dress will prove to be very versatile and fun for several seasons.
My final purchase is a dress I have been wanting for months now! Ever since Lilly Pulitzer released the Helena Sweater Dress, it has been on my wish list. The versatile navy color, the ruffles on the sleeves and the hem- this dress screamed "Emily" to me! When Lilly Pulitzer posted this photo on their facebook page showing the versatility of this dress, I absolutely knew it had to be mine! I couldn't afford to pay full price, but in the last few weeks several Lilly Pulitzer Via stores have been marking it down, and a few women on websites I belong to have started to list this dress now that it is past season for them to wear it and they find that it sat in their closet all winter! So I was lucky enough to snag this dress at a little over 50% off and I'm thrilled! Once I get it, I can't wait to find a way to wear it a few times before it gets to warm to wear it, but I know it will be a staple in my closet next fall and winter when I'm (hopefully) teaching full time!Have any of y'all found any great buys lately? I love sharing when I save and hearing about how others have snagged something they love at a great price!

xx, Emily Ann

A Very Colorful Happy Hour

One of the most frustrating parts of working retail is the hours. Working weekends, evenings, holidays, and only having time off in the middle of the week can really start to take it's toll. The fact I haven't had a weekend off work since before Thanksgiving is tough, especially when the majority of my friends are working regular jobs that are five days a week, 8-5 pm, while my schedule is all over the place. Because my work schedule really takes a toll on my social life, I was unbelievably excited to be off work by 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. Just enough time to run home to freshen up and change out of all the black (yuck, my work dress code really dampens my style) and meet a few friends at a local Mexican restaurant for happy hour and half price appetizers!

I love the quote by Oscar Wilde, "You can never be overdressed or overeducated." As a (hopefully) soon to be teacher, I couldn't agree more that you can never be overeducated. Education is a lifelong pursuit, everyday should be a new opportunity to learn something. But what I really love about the quote is that you can never be overdressed. I fully believe in looking and feeling your best, whatever the occasion. I never feel better than when I'm decked out in a fun and colorful Lilly dress, skirt, shirt, or murfee scarf! So of course I decided that the rare happy hour was the perfect chance to wear a Lilly dress I've been dying to wear every time I open my closet door. I had originally purchased the dress hoping to wear it for a holiday party, but again my crazy work schedule prevented me from attending any Christmas or New Year's Eve parties. So then the dress was meant for Mardi Gras festivities. And again, work prevented me from going on my trip to visit college friends and wear my colorful dress. So I may have been overdressed for a casual Mexican restaurant for drinks with friends, but I decided that there was no better occasion for my Lilly Pulitzer Booty Caw Shauna dress than Wednesday night.

Lilly is perfect for any occasion, especially when you feel as fun and festive as I did wearing my Lilly dress last night! I bought my Shauna in Booty Caw from a fellow Lilly-Lover who ended up with two dresses in the same print and didn't need them both. I was so grateful to her for passing along the great deal, so I could own a dress I love in a print that's to die for!

Always remember that you can never be overdressed- as long as you love how you look, you can dress however you want no matter the occasion!

xx, Emily Ann