Remembering Lilly Pulitzer

This is a tribute post to the beautiful fashion designer, Lilly Pulitzer. She passed away on April 7, 2013 at the age of 81. She was known as the "Queen of Prep" and I've been a huge fan of her iconic prints, which are always easy to spot.

Here's a little background info on her taken from Wikipedia:

Lilly and husband Peter Pulitzer settled in Palm Beach, Florida, shortly after their marriage. Peter owned several Florida citrus orange groves, and with produce from the groves Lilly opened a juice stand on Via Mizner, just off Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. In the course of working at the juice stand, Lilly found that squeezing juice made a mess of her clothes. Seeking to camouflage the juice stains, she designed a sleeveless shift dress made of bright, colorful printed cotton. She found that customers loved her dress, so she produced more in order to sell them at her juice stand. Eventually, she was selling more dresses than juice, and decided to focus on designing and selling what had become known as her "Lillys".^[

I love dressing my girls in Lilly's

My daughter's bedroom was once inspired by Lilly.

I love how Lilly is for all ages.  Here are some of my current favorites.  I do own the pink polo below and love it.

Dress | Bag | Polo | Striped Top | Long Dress | iPhone Covers

MAC in Lillyland.   I did a blog post on it several years ago. Click here.

Last But Not Least:

Some inspiring words by Lilly Pulitzer

These are my favorites!

Love,

Laura

Black & Gold

 My inspiration for this post came from a conversation I had yesterday with Elizabeth, one of my BF's since 7th grade.  She is pregnant with her second little boy and we were discussing maternity fashions.  I sent her the picture below of Jessica Simpson in a black maternity outfit, saying that I love it.  She replied with something like, "Of course because it's all black!" My reply, "Exactly."  I have always loved black and it's my go to "color." My current obsession is black and gold. 

 

 

What immediately comes to my mind when I think of black and gold?  Chanel of course.  Rachel Zoe also comes to mind.  Tonight is Fashion Wednesday on Bravo and I love to escape into the world of Rachel Zoe and Dukes of Melrose. 

Left: Victoria Beckham in Chanel, Rachel Zoe in Gucci and Chanel, Jessica Simpson in Chanel boots, Rachel Zoe in 6 inch Brian Atwood ankle boots.

My interpretation of Black & Gold:

I wore this outfit out to dinner with my hubby.  The coat is Anthropologie Clarissa Coat and I got it for a steal.



Black & Gold for Spring: I'll take one of everything :)

Tory Burch Reva Flats |  Nine West Pahana Sandal  |  Forever 21 Lacquered Bib  |  Starlet Bangle |

Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish, Chanel Polish in Peridot  |  Tory Burch Shelby Thong

Classy and Chic Black & Gold:

 Charlotte Olympia Mirror Platform  |  Kate Spade Cat Eye Sunglasses  |  Tory Burch Flip Flop  | 

Michele Jelly Bean Watch  |  Chanel Raffia Bag

 

Last But Not Least

How fun is this.  It's perfect for a reusable grocery bag.  I can now put into words my love for black and gold as I grocery shop :))
 

 

 

 

These are my favorites!

Love,

Laura

Colorful Cord Organization

 Does this unsightly cord mess look familiar?  Here's one way I used the Washi tape I received for my birthday.  Each person has a color.  Brooke has pink, Nathan has brown and I have green.  Now all the cords can be accounted for.

 

 

 

To go along with the color matching, I bought these little cubes to put all the cords and accessories in.  Brooke has pink and I have green.  Nathan gets the clear plastic basket, for now.  I love organization that's all about fun colors :)

 

 

Last But Not Least...

Another colorful creation!

My kids had fun making this colorful ombre paint chip Easter egg banner. It was easy to make and kept them occupied for a good long time.



These are my favorites!

Love,

Laura

Diaper Bags for Ashley

This is my friend Ashley and she is 34 weeks pregnant in this picture; with baby #4!  Doesn't she look fabulous. She doesn't know what she's having (my guess is a boy) so we're all so excited for her family and can't wait to see if it's a boy or girl. She asked me for some input on a new diaper bag.  Choosing the right diaper bag is about as hard as picking the baby name. Long gone are the days of being limited to the typical hospital bag. Thankfully!  Remember these :)

Here are a few more options:
  

Here are two fun bags that she found. I love them both. I like different things about each one and here are a few more I'm going to add to the mix.


Stylish Bags:



Starting Top left: Tory Burch Stacked Logo Billy Bag | Kate Spade Stevie Dot Print |
 Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Society | Kate Spade Stevie Striped | Petunia Pickle Bottom Embossed |
 Kate Spade Stevie Dot Print




Quilted bags:  Lassig Glam Banana Bag | Babymel Quilted Bags

Metallics & Dots:

Timi & Leslie Annette Convertible Diaper bag (comes in several colors) |

Timi & Leslie Hannah Diaper Bag (also in several colors)







JJ Cole Swag Bags in Silver Drop and Gold Drop | JJ Cole Caprice Dot Bag

 

 

 

Fun Linings:

More JP Lizzy Satchels.  Comes in so many colors! I love these bags.

 

Starting left: Nest Canvas Bag | JJ Cole Satchel | Hudson Leather Bag | Nest Quilted Bag

 

Tried and True Picks:
Below are the 3 diaper bags I have and have loved each one. The Kate Spade tote was what I used with my first baby (she is now 9).  It was a great first baby bag.  The second is the Petunia Pickle Bottom Fond of Flora backpack and this was great because I had 2 kids and needed 2 free hands, so a backpack was perfect.  I still use it when flying since it's one less thing to carry.  The Juicy Quilted bag I have LOVED!!  I use it as a purse too and it's large which I need since I have 3 kids.  It holds the kitchen sink and is perfect for busy moms.

 

Few More of My Favorite Picks:

Starting left: I have a thing for navy :) Petunia Pickle Bottom City Carry All |
Timi & Leslie Sophia. also comes in black and white | Petunia Pickle Bottom Navy Embossed |
Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Society | Tory Burch Stacked Logo Bag

 

I'm Obsessed:

I love this bag!!  I think it's the structure that I love.  It kind of has a "doctor bag" look to it and you don't find that every day.  It's something unexpected.  As a mom, I wear many hats and "doctor" is often one of them so this bag is fitting :)))   Anyway, this bag is the

 Petunia Pickle Bottom Weekender Bag.

It's perfect for a weekend away too :)



 

Last But Not Least:

What needs to go in every diaper bag? Sophie the Giraffe.



{ Sophie Straps are sold on Etsy }

 I received one as a baby gift when Caroline was born and my mom had one brought from France for her so we have 2.  She used it as a teething baby and at 2 years old, she still plays with it every day.  She also sleeps with them :) 


My little Caroline loving her Sophies.

 It squeaks somewhat like a dog toy but there are many benefits to Sophie. 

 

Good Luck Ashley!  We can't wait to meet your sweet baby! xoxo 

These are my favorites!

Love,

Laura

Birch Box #2

My second Birch Box came today. { Here was my first one }  I could easily get use to this monthly gift of beauty surprises.  Each box contains products I've never used, except last months box contained a piece of chocolate and I'm no stranger to chocolate :)  This is what I received this month:

Whish Shave Cream in Blueberry, Madewell for Birchbox nail file, Twistband hair tie (not pictured), Serge Normant Dry Shampoo, Inco Nail Polish Applique. 

Next month is my last box.  I'll then review all the products and list my favorites so check back!

 

 Last but not Least...

I am very picky about skincare.  I've used Kiehls Supremely Gentle Eye Make up Remover for 10+ years.  The name says it all.  It's very gentle which my skin needs and completely removes all mascara and eye makeup.  I've had no reason to try another remover.  I had a coupon for any Neutrogena make up remover so I took a chance and bought One Step Gentle Cleanser.  It's just as good as Kiehls and I use it with my Clarisonic.  It's one of my new favorites.

These are my favorites!

Love,

Laura

Fashion Forward Friday Boards: Angie

My friend Angie just bought 2 pairs of skinny jeans at H&M in hot pink and blue. I was flattered she asked me to put outfits together for her.  I love a fashion project and doing this is my favorite pastime :)  I had her fill out a questionnaire so I could get a full sense of her style. I then had her "shop her own closet" and take pictures of her favorite shoes and accessories.

These items are what Angie "shopped her closet for."

 

 

The board below are new items I "shopped" to mix and match back to what she has...

All items are from Target, Ann Taylor Loft, DownEast, Forever 21, Gap, Old Navy, and Nine West.

 

  This is what I came up with, combining the two boards and incorporating the jeans in each look.  

=========================================================================

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------========================================================================

 

 =========================================================================

======================================================================== 

 

 =================================================================

========================================================================

 ====================================================================

 

 =======================================================================

========================================================================

 

 

All of these looks mix and match back to each other and I think they reflect Angie's sense of style. The possibilities are endless and I know Angie is going to look fabulous, as always :)

 

All items are from: Target, DownEast,Forever 21, Ann Taylor Loft,Gap, Nine West, & Old Navy.

 

{CLICK HERE for links to each item}

 

 

 

 



Last but NOT Least:

Thanks to those who have entered the giveaway and are following my blog.  It really means a lot :) Click below to see the initial post.  The contest ends on Sunday night!

 

My first GIVEAWAY

 

I'd love to send one of you some of the goodies from Neiman Marcus beauty week.  The winner selects a bag (either the big blue one or small black or small cheetah one in the pic) and I'll stock it with samples and this DownEast Infinity Heart Scarf. I love the fun colors in the scarf and since my blog is about things I love, the heart motif is fitting. See the rules below.

Rules and Requirements:

1.  Follow me on "Join this Site."  Link is on the right
2.  Leave a comment so I know who you are :)
3.  Follow me on Pinterest & Instagram for an added bonus. Let me know in the comments so I can verify.

Good luck!  I can't wait to send you some of my favorites!

Winner will be selected at random.  I'll ship to the U.S. and Canada. Contest closes on Sunday March 10th at 7pm, MST.  I'll post the winner on this blog.  Winner must email me within 3 days or another winner will be selected.  One entry per person :)

These are my favorites!

Love,

 

Laura