Hope y'all had a Happy Easter! I am thankful for the celebration of Christ's Resurrection and the hope it brings.
"Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" -Luke 24:5b-6a
"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." -Matthew 28:5-6
I did not wear the hat to church, but it the Lilly Pulitzer gift with purchase hat that I got as part of my birthday present. I think it is just precious and really want to go to a Kentucky Derby party so I can wear it!
Tomorrow is Easter, which means it is finally okay to wear seersucker again-if you're a stickler on that rule like I am! There are still supposed to be a few more colder days Tues-Thurs of next week, but I'm hoping after that it will start to be consistently warm so I can wear my seersucker shorts and skirts a lot! Here are my favorite seersucker pieces this Spring!
From my closet (and currently available in stores and online):
This dress was part of the Lilly Spring 2012 line and they have brought it back for Spring 2013! This was my Easter dress last year and I will wear it again for Easter this year since it will be a little too chilly for the strapless dress I originally planned to wear.
So I'm a little late getting this up here today, but better late than never right? 1. Good Friday
Today isn't just any other Friday. For me, this is the day that Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sins with His death on the cross nearly 2000 years ago. I am thankful for His sacrifice of taking the punishment I deserve upon Himself. But I am even more thankful that the story doesn't end there and death doesn't have the final victory!
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5 Image via
2. Towne and Reese Long Necklace
A dear friend gave me this gorgeous long necklace as a birthday present. It is by Towne and Reese and this particular style and color isn't available on their website right now, but you can check their retailer tab to find a local boutique that may carry it. The color of the beads is super close to Carolina blue and it complements my Shorely Blue Lilly cardigan quite well. And the elegant gold chain looks great with my Kate Spade cocktail ring!
3. Tory Burch iPhone 4 Case
Last week Tory Burch had a private online sale shared with email subscribers and I got this beautiful hardshell iPhone case. My Lilly case that I had for over a year and a half was in sorry shape. It still protected my phone fine but the print was peeling off horribly and was looking really grungy. As cute as the Lilly iPhone cases are, I feel that this TB one is nicer and sturdier.
4. Florida Gulf Coast University Basketball
Florida Gulf Coast University is one of the biggest stories that emerged from the first weekend of March Madness. FGCU (which sounds like a credit union name, as one of my friends said) defeated #2 seed Georgetown in the first round, then went on to beat San Diego State in the second round to earn a berth in the Sweet 16. They made history by becoming the first #15 seed to ever go to the Sweet 16! This is a team that didn't expect to win even one game in the tournament so it is super fun to watch them celebrate their success. It is so precious how excited they are and I especially love the footage of them celebrating in the locker room after their victories.
5. Breyer's Blast Birthday Blast
In honor of my birthday week, I bought a new flavor of Breyers Blasts frozen dairy dessert to try: Birthday Blast! It has cake pieces and sprinkles in a birthday cake flavored frozen dairy dessert and is super delicious!!! While it's not the healthiest thing out there the nutrition facts really aren't too awful as far as frozen desserts go.
Last night I had another early birthday dinner with a few of my close friends from high school. So much has changed in the years since we've graduated (won't say exactly how long it's been :)) and our lives have taken different directions, but we have still managed to keep in touch and I'm so thankful that they live nearby and were able to help me celebrate on a Wednesday evening! Since this week has been unseasonably cold, I have still had to wear tights with skirts and dresses (not cool!). Thus, a sleeveless/strapless Lilly sundress with bare legs and Jacks was out of question for this dinner. However, I opted to wear my Lilly Pandamonium shift from the Spring 2010 collection with a black cardigan, black tights, and classic black Tory Burch Revas. This outfit worked great because I was able to incorporate a fun printed Lilly dress while still staying warm! Plus my Lilly panda dress will always be special because it was the first Lilly dress I ever got.
Sadly, I somehow made it through four years of college without going to Carolina Cup. It's still on my bucket list to go someday with a group of post-grads. I would also really love to go to the Kentucky Derby someday too. I don't really have a vested interest in horse-racing, I just love the excuse to dress up in a favorite Lilly dress and a big floppy hat. Here are my top picks for Cup/Derby dresses this Spring. (I know some people break the "no seersucker before Easter" rule for Cup but I just wouldn't feel right doing it. So the seersucker dresses below would best be saved for Kentucky Derby :) )And if you're still looking for an Easter dress they would be great to wear on Easter Sunday too!
Then all you need are a pearl necklace and pearl earrings and you're ready to head off to the races! Are you going to Carolina Cup or Kentucky Derby this year? What are you wearing?
This past weekend I took a break from watching March Madness to go out for dinner and frozen yogurt with some dear friends to celebrate my birthday a little bit early. Since spring is taking it's sweet time in getting here it wasn't anywhere near warm enough to wear a Lilly sundress. However, I still found a way to sport my Lilly. My Somerset Dress from the New Year's Cheer Sale made its debut and was perfect because it looked fine with brown tights and cowgirl boots. (Seriously I'm soooo sick of wearing tights with skirts/dresses though!) The colors in my North Carolina Lilly scarf complemented wonderfully with the Worth Blue color of my dress.
This is one of the best weekends of the year: four days of non-stop basketball to kick-off the NCAA Tournament. Upsets are fun to watch even if they destroy your bracket, as long as it's not your team that is getting upset! Even though my Tar Heels aren't a Final Four contender this year I'm still super excited and enjoying it so far! I wish Davidson could've pulled off the 14 seed over 3 seed upset yesterday, but was stoked to have picked the #14 Harvard upset over #3 New Mexico State correctly. (Image via)
2. Easter Candy
Easter candy is my favorite of all seasonal candy. The pink, light blue, and pastel wrappers are so pretty, and candy shaped like bunnies is adorable, and Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs are a classic favorite!
3. A Southern Lady Wall Plaque
My best friend gave me this precious wall plaque as an early birthday present. I especially love the "knows pearls match everything" part.
4. Mason Jar with Snack Mix
And my best friend's mom gave me some snack mix with Easter m&m's and peanuts in a Mason Jar with my name on top and a ribbon around it. I will definitely be copying this packaging idea in the future when I give away snacks and baked goods as gifts.
5. Vineyard Vines Classic Navy Mini Skirt
I scored a great deal on this Vineyard Vines classic navy chino mini-skirt on a recent visit to the outlet. I love the embroidered whale logo above the back right pocket as well as the pink and white whale print fabric on the inside of the waistband. This will be a great staple for my spring/summer wardrobe. There is a similar style available here on the Vineyard Vines website.
If you have been reading my blog lately then you know I am obsessed with this print and the adorable pink elephants! This skort would be such a great casual spring/summer staple!
As y'all know, I love Lilly scarves and feel that you can never have too many! I do not have one of the lighter weight Murfette scarves and would love to add one to my collection. This would be a perfect scarf for spring/summer, since it gets a little too warm by about May to wear the regular Murfee scarves in the South. Plus it's my current print obsession in a different color scheme, but with the same adorable elephants!
Finally, something non-Lilly! I don't have any Kate Spade Idiom bangles, but I was admiring my cousin's collection a couple weeks ago and want one now! I'm really liking this mint "Sweeten The Deal" one.
Since Jacks are the ultimate preppy staple in spring/summer footwear, you can't have too many of these either. This year, I would like to add these platinum Sardinia navajos to my collection. I love how the metallics go with everything, but the snake texture makes these something different from my classic gold and silver pairs.
What's on your wish list currently? Have a great Wednesday!
Someone shared this beautiful poem by Teilhard de Chardin with me last week and I just had to share it with y'all. I hope that it can encourage y'all as much as it encouraged me!
Hope everyone had a fun St. Patrick's Day! I wore two different outfits with the same green Lilly cardigan during the course of the day: one for church in the morning and the other for the rest of the day.
First up is my outfit for church:
And here's what I work for the remainder of the day while watching basketball and going to a party:
Cardigan: Lilly Pulitzer; Camsiole: LOFT; Scarf: Lilly Pulitzer; Jeans: Citizens of Humanity Avedon Skinny; Cowgirl Boots: Ariat Heritage Western R-toe; Earrings: Kate Spade; Cocktail Ring: Kate Spade; Bracelet: Spirit Pearl
Here's a close-up of my UNC Spirit Pearl bracelet. I had to add this to my green outfit to show some UNC spirit on Selection Sunday, and to cheer them on in the ACC Tournament Championship (just wish the outcome of that one could've been different!)
And here is a close-up of the festive goodies I brought to the party, along with my "Kiss Me I'm A Tar Heel" t-shirt that I used as dessert table decoration:
Recipe for covered pretzels is here (just substitute green m&m's)
