Monday, April 30, 2012

Luxurious Lilly on Monday's!! #2

It is that time of the week again. Having a bad start to the week? Rough time waking up and getting started today? Well my suggestion to you, would be to put on that bright piece of Lilly hanging in your closet and make a statement today! I am positive you will get lots of compliments :)

My Lilly outfit of the week is one of my favorites and firsts. I bought this dress a little over a year ago, right when I got into my "Lilly-craze". The style is called "Brighton". It is halter top with beautiful white detailing at the top and has a fitted bust and flowy bottom. This is perfect for my shape, small on top and bigger on bottom! I love the color, it matches my eyes :)

These photos are from my Europe trip in 2011! We took these on the last day with our tour guide in Barcelona, Spain!

I Love Lilly :)



Throwin' up the KD sign with a sister from another chapter!


Some of the girls and the tour guide, Apostolos!



I hope you have a Lilly-filled Monday!! I am going to try and upload more photos of the bodice later today, when I get a chance :)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Friday Fancies! {{Date Night}}



Loving the theme this week! Date night allows creativity and just about any outfit goes. I picked two outfits here. Both completely Lilly Pulitzer. The one of the right, is my going to the movies or just a casual date night. The outfit on the left is my more get dressed up we are going somewhere special date.

The outfit on the right is one of my favorites outfit. I have been dating my boyfriend for 6+ years now and I love the looking cute but not super fancy look. This all Lilly Pulitzer outfit is great for almost any occasion. The White Elsa and the Murfee are a great combo! Just enough pop of color to get people's attention! You can also wear just about any colored jean with the White Elsa and Murfee. I currently own Coral and Baby Blue, which I LOVE! I added the classic White McKims to go with the outfit, because they are so comfy and are easy to slip on and be out the door! And of course you can't leave without the classy Lilly sunglasses! Any boy would be lucky to be seen with a girl wearing this attire!!

Now for the more classy elegant look on the left! I LOVE, LOVE the pattern on this Bellanna dress in Coral Siesta. It is preppy, comfortable, but dressy all at the same time. I paired the Set in Stone Wedge with this because I love gold and the white stones make it more dressy. I love the coral bracelet and it matches the shoes so well :) You could also make this outfit more dressy by having the matchy tie with your hot date! Lilly makes some of their popular prints in ties so you and your hubby can be a true Lilly pair! My boyfriend has the tie in this print, I just need to find the dress to match! That's one of the MANY things on my ISO list, haha.
Summer Date Night
To see more "Date Night" ideas go to Long Distance Loving's Blog! Love participating in Friday Fancies :)

IT'S MAIL TIME :)

Isn't getting mail like one of the most exciting things? (As long as its not bills, that is!!) Well, when I was little I use to run out to the mailbox everyday in hopes of something with my name on it! To this very day, I still check the mail everyday but in hopes that the Lilly Gods have brought me something :) 

The Lilly God's delivered today :)


Well today was that day of the week! I got some great mail :) I had recently won the cutest halter top from eBay and I was just dying for it to come in.

Hillview Halter from Lilly Pulitzer
I am so excited to wear this once the weather stops being so finicky. I can totally picture it with my light blue colored jeans, that I just recently bought from NY&C!! Does anybody else just love getting mail? Anything good this week for you all?! 

{{ Senior Send-Off }}

KD. It's not 4 years. It's for life!
WOW. These past 4 years have flown by! Literally I feel like it was just yesterday I was being told that I got accepted to Kappa Delta's 2008 pledge class! I remember being so excited to start a new chapter in my life, and just as quickly as it started it is coming to an end. One of my favorite sayings is "It's not just four years, it's for life." Thank God it is, because I don't know what I would do without some of these girls!!

In order to commemorate the seniors my chapter makes the last meeting of the year dedicated to us! We call it, "Senior Send-Off". They plan a huge meal for us, give us gifts, come up with senior superlatives and put together a slideshow of photos from the past 4 years. It was a great way to wrap up the past four years but at the same time made me that much more sad that I am growing up!

All the Seniors Eating Their Last Supper Together.
KD Love! My Wonderful Pledge Class!
Gifts for the Seniors!

My Senior Superlative was "Best Hair", haha. 

Kappa Delta has given me the strength and confidence to be the strong woman I am today. It has allowed me to meet some of my best friends and sisters that I will forever stay in touch with. It has given me an entire different perspective on college life and I honestly can  not imagine my life without Kappa Delta. I would love to know what other sororities do for their seniors and is anybody else a Kappa Delta? AOT to all of my sisters :)


Tuesday, April 24, 2012

A little SPLURGE

Today I was able to visit Lexington's finest mall. Jokes. Lexington's ONLY mall. Luckily they have a Macys!! Right now their Friends and Family discount is going and I just couldn't pass up 25% off some of my favorite brands :)

Of course the first place I go look is the shoe department. Luckily I didn't see anything that I just HAD to have. I did however, walk past the purses section and found the cutest wallet that I just could NOT live without. I also justified it by saying that my current wallet is at least 3 years old. So I really do NEED a new one, right?!


Well here she is.. my new favorite... the Michael Kors Zip Around Continental Wallet in Brown/Luggage!!
Isn't she a BEAUT?

Have you all been to the Macy's Sale?! Come home with anything your just dying to share?! Love Sales!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Luxurious Lilly on Monday's

If anybody is like me, then you will understand my strong dislike for the one day of the week--> Monday. It is just brutal to have to wake up early in the morning after having a nice relaxing weekend. I feel like it really is a hit or miss day of the week. It's like that saying "if it rains, it pours". On Monday its not just missing your alarm, but you also forget to pack your lunch and you have just rolled out of bed looking like a hot mess and rushing to class/work and of course to top it off, on the way you see the one person you did not want to see. Seriously, never seems to fail. So in honor of this oh so lovely day, I am going to blog weekly about one thing that can make any Monday a good Monday.... Lilly Pulitzer.

Seriously, I immediately feel better when I just look at her prints. They are vibrant, preppy, southern, and all around GORGEOUS. I was introduced to this amazing brand about 4 years ago when I walked into a Boutique on vacation in Florida. I saw this gorgeous pink beaded tunic (Newbury tunic) that I just HAD to try on. Of course I did without looking at the price tag, and immediately fell in love. After looking at the tag I realized I would never be able to afford a tunic for $278, unless I wanted to spend all my savings on a cute top. If my mom hadn't been there at the time, I probably would have done so, and now that I look back at it, I wish I had. This is still one of my FAVORITE pieces of clothing that I have tried on. I have yet to see it on eBay or any other of my Lilly selling/trading sights since. Sad day. If I ever see it in my size for sale, I will definitely be snatching it up -- it is definitely one of my Holy Grails! It's my first true piece I fell in love with. Lilly Love at first sight :)
Newbury Tunic in Daiquiri Pink
Of course I did not find out my real love for lilly until later on in college.  Being in a sorority, (Kappa Delta) I slowly became more and more aware of how popular and cute this brand was. I first started out just searching items online, until I finally splurged and bought my first Lilly Dress off eBay. This was the beginning of a new lifestyle. My first ever Lilly dress was the Ricci in Shell Yeah. At the time, I had no idea that different styles of the dresses had names and I could care less about the prints name. All I cared about was how cute it was! I wore it to my Sophomore Bid Day for my sorority and to Keeneland. I got so many compliments and from that point on knew that my life had been forever changed by a beautiful designer name, Lilly Pulitzer. What was your first piece of Lilly? How long have you been a Lilly Lover?

Ricci Dress in Shell Yeah. 1st Lilly item ever owned.
I know a lot of my friends and family think I am crazy, but everybody has their obsession, right? Lilly is just a collectors item to me and it never goes out of style. How can you argue with that? I always tell my parents, there are worse things to be "addicted" to or obsessed with. They never have a comeback for that :) I can't wait to show my growing collection of Holy Grail pieces and items that are forever timeless. Check back every Monday for a new Lilly favorite! Hope your "horrible no good, very bad Monday" was made a little brighter! xoxo



Friday, April 20, 2012

Friday's Fancies - Picnic Extravaganza



This is my first FRIDAY'S FANCIES post :)

Whats a picnic without Lilly Pulitzer? Lame. Lilly is the by far the perfect outfit for almost any spring or summer event. The colors pop, make a statement and are super comfortable. It may be a little pricey at times, but Lilly always has good sales :) 

My picnic outfit on the left is the Somerset Dress in Navy from Lilly Pulitzer, some Ric Rac Bangles (my favorite!!), the Good as Gold Platform Wedges , the Trellis Tote, and some adorable Lilly Sunglasses! 

My outfit on the right is also mainly consisting of Lilly as well. We have the pink buttercup shorts, a white wynne top (love the ruffles), and then some of my favorite summer sandals the infamous Jack Rogers in Gold.  The accessories are the opening night clutch in hotty pink stripes with a couple of gold bangles. 

I could totally see myself in any of these two outfits for a fun picnic with the boyfriend or just an outing with the girls. Either of these outfits would win you tons of compliments :) All you need now is the adorable wicker picnic basket, GWP Lilly picnic blanket and some yummy grub! 
Lilly Picnic
Lilly GWP picnic blanket and fun hats-perfect for a picnic :)

If you cant tell, I might have a slight obsession with Lilly Pulitzer :)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I Survived State Street

Roomies in front of our house on State Street. Goggles Up! 
Were you on State Street for the UK vs. UL NCAA Final Four game?

It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. Who knew that this game would go down in Kentucky's history? This was being called the "Dream Game". If your not from Kentucky, you may not understand the rivalry between the two teams but trust me, its insane. Thankfully I was able to watch the madness after UK won from my wonderful front porch. My house was right in the middle of all of the state street rioters . The thousands of UK fans, hundreds of police officers, and the multiple flashers kept the people watching exceptionally interesting. To say it was just an incredible experience would be a understatement because afterwards there was shirts made stating "I survived St8 Street". The question is.. how many people did not?! Just from my front porch I was able to watch policemen and women arrest students on my front lawn, tackle fans that were starting fires and throwing glass objects, and shoot pepper spray bombs at fans that were trying to tip and light cars on fire. 

The t-shirts that are being made are going to look like this.
Car being flipped over and destroyed on State.
A different car after being flipped and burned - police are towing it away.
Police arresting fans in front yard.

Fans starting fires in the middle of the street.

The police are in heavy gear ready to take on the rioters. A daunting task.

Unfortunately a few people did not get the memo before the game to move their vehicles off the raging street. Consequently, their cars were smashed, beaten, rolled, and then sacrificed in order to prove how much the fans really do LOVE UK. A little excessive? I think so! Not sure exactly what the fans thought processes were on these hideous crimes. I thought a celebration of winning consisted of cheering and chest bumping. Who knew it really required burning cars, couches and pulling stop signs out of the ground?! None the less, it happened and the University and police knew better than to let cars park on State for the Championship Game. Cars were towed at 5pm that day and police were monitoring the street starting at 8am, mind you the game didn't start till 9pm. I would like to say that the championship celebration was more calm, but that would be a lie. Thousands and thousands of fans poured onto our street and they dug up stop signs again, threw bottles, burned couches, and managed to flip and burn a car one street over at a local gas station. Luckily my house only had minimal wear and tear to the lawn, piles of bottles and cans. We were lucky compared to our neighbors, who had their bathroom window broken into and had their back lawn destroyed by hundreds of people.

As much as I love UK, I think the actions of the fans were outrageous, inconsiderate, and gave the state of Kentucky a negative name. I can only hope that in the future, when UK wins our #9 championship that the fans can be more civilized. I think we all know that probably won't happen. But time will tell! 

Here are some funny/creative banners that were hung on and around State Street houses.





I am a survivor of St8 Street and I LOVE my BIG BLUE NATION!

Small Town Southern Belle

        This being my first blog post, I am going to give you a brief introduction of myself. I was born and raised in Louisville, Ky. I was blessed with a twin brother and a little brother. My family is dedicated to two sports, running and tennis. I just completed my first marathon (26.2 miles) this past October. I ran in the Chicago Marathon and completed it a little under 5 hours!! Besides running, I love to craft, scrapbook and of course shopping is one of my favorite pastimes. I would go ahead and say that I am slightly (ok, maybe more than slightly) OBSESSED with Lilly Pulitzer. I can just not get enough of the Pink and Green colors and all around summery feeling of her clothes. Another one of my favorite things in life is my sorority sisters :) I am a Kappa Delta, so AOT to all of my sisters out there! I am graduating from the University of Kentucky with my Bachelors in Nursing and am hoping to land a job in a ICU in Louisville. I have been making a list of things that I hope to get involved in once I graduate and move back. Some of these include, taking piano lessons, joining the Junior League, volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, going to graduate school and experiencing new places and things in my old hometown.I have been dating a wonderful boy, by the name of Andrew for 6 years and he treats me like a Princess :)! He will be starting medical school in a few months, so this will also be a new beginning for the both of us and will make the adventure of moving back all the more exciting.

          I decided to name my blog "Homeward Bound" due to me leaving my  home for the past four years, Lexington Ky to return to Louisville, where I grew up. It will be a new and interesting transtition, moving from the college life to the reality of gettting a BIG girl job. I am looking forward to a new beginning and experiencing real life. I will be blogging about my shopping finds, Louisville events, growing up and any and all experiences in between. Come read and enjoy the homeward bound experience with me!

 Here are a few pictures of my loved ones :)


The rents & me before my 22nd Birthday Dinner!
My twin brother and I this past summer in Rome, Italy.
The BF and I ready for the Mardi Gras Date Party!