Conquering the Lilly After Party Sale

In case you didn't know, the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale is today beginning at 8 a.m.  Last year I got a ton of great items for my mom and myself.  However, this year I have decided not to shop the sale. I've collected quite the number of Lilly Pulitzer items the past few years, so I'm pretty satisfied with my current Lilly filled summer wardrobe. I am working on saving money for adult things like a car and moving out of my parents' house, so dropping a few hundred bucks on the sale isn't in the budget for me. I also feel like if I spend any money on clothes it should be Fall and Winter items rather than more summer clothes that I will only wear for another month and a half. We will see how good my self control is because I said I won't be logging on even just to browse, and if you know me then you know that I'm pretty much a shopaholic.

You may or may not know already, but Lilly Pulitzer rarely has large sales... in fact they only occur three times a year (June- Warehouse Sale, August, and January).  Due to the low frequency of the sale there is always a lot of hype surrounding it.  You have to be strategic about your shopping and it helps if you know some of the secrets to conquering the sales, especially the online ones. I have a few tips to help you out, in case you didn't shop the sale yet or are waiting in the over an hour long line. 

Create an account

If you're able to, it's always best to create an online account ahead of time. It speeds up your checkout process. You can also save your billing information to make the check out process even quicker!

Once you're in the virtual line, DO NOT HIT REFRESH!

This is probably the biggest thing you need to know. It can be annoying waiting in line and sometimes it moves pretty slowly.  It is tempting to hit the refresh button to see if anything will change, but I'm warning you that you will regret it. Hitting the refresh button will take you to the very back of the line. 

Know Your Size
It's important to know your size because all items purchased during the After party sale are final sale, which means there's no returning.

Have a Positive Attitude
Just like anything you do, there are things that might frustrate you about this sale. There's a chance that you might not get the item you've been lusting over. You might get jealous that your frenemy was able to log on and claims to have gotten everything she's been wanting from Lilly while you're still patiently waiting in the virtual line. Being optimistic through the whole shopping process will make it much more enjoyable. After all, who can be grumpy when shopping at Lilly?

Self Control
We all know that Lilly Pulitzer items rarely go on sale. It can be quite tempting to go a little overboard when shopping the online sale. Try to make a budget and stick to it. You don't want to regret over spending your money on items that you won't be able to wear much longer since the summer season is coming to a close.

Best of luck shopping!

XOXO

My Bedroom Tour

Today I'm enjoying a day off. I've spent the morning sitting on my deck with a cup of green tea.  Although it's a warm humid day in Pennsylvania, it's quite pleasant out on my deck.  (You'll see why in a week or two). Anyways, the past month or so both my mom and I have been on a decorating kick. There seems to be something about the changing of seasons that has us craving some changes in our family's home. I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite spaces, in my home, throughout the summer. I always love seeing everyone else's homes, desk spaces, kitchens, etc. so I thought why not share mine with y'all.   If there are any areas that you are curious to see, just send me an email or comment with your requests! 

A little bit about where I live. I live in South Eastern Pennsylvania close to Delaware and Maryland.  I live in a neighborhood. I've lived here since I was three years old.  Our house is nineteen years old this summer. We have a decent amount of land considering we live in a neighborhood- about one acre. Our house is new(ish) construction, but my mom decorates as if it's a farm house.  It's really cute and eclectic. 

Today I'm beginning the tour with my corner of the house. It's literally my corner of the house because my room falls on two sides of the house (you'll see in a picture below). I moved back home to my parents house early on in May.  Since then I have been working to decorate my portion of the house in a way that feels inspiring, calming, and organized.  I used some items that were in my room prior to living in my apartment, items I bought for my apartment, and purchased a few new things to get my room the way it is right now.  I think it will always be a work in progress because every few months I like to freshen up or a pinterest pin/ a trip to a home goods store inspires me. 

My room is feminine, has a little art, simple, clean, organized, and relaxing. 

Let's get started!

Bed/Gallery Wall:
Recently my new thing has become gallery walls. I am obsessed! I have started my own and am working to expand it slowly but surely. My bed is literally my favorite thing and clearly I like a lot of pillows. On my night stand I usually keep it simple (a candle, a jewelry tray to remove my daily jewels before bed, some flowers, and a glass of water). 

Window Sill:

My curtains don't quite match my room since they are black and most things in m room are navy, but it's okay because they still look cute. Recently I've added some succulents to my window sills since they get so much light. 

Desk Space:

I'm still working on this part of my room. The empty bulletin board will be filled in soon, but it's currently a work in progress. I like a ton of colorful pens and notepads.  I keep my jewelry on my desk because a lot of times I sit at my desk with a makeup mirror when getting ready, so this is the most convenient place to keep it. I enjoy a clean and clutter free work space. 

Closet:

This is my closet. When I was younger my dad installed this shelving unit, which is probably the greatest thing about my room. It allows me to keep my clothes neatly in my closet. 

Other Decor:

I'm working on improving my DIY game, but all of the items shown below I've created or made to some capacity. The Lilly letter I did on my own and the picture frames I hand painted. 

More details about my room to come! If there's anything your curious or want to see just let me know!

XOXO

Lilly Loving

r Happy first day of summer 2016. Today (June 20th) marks the official start to this summer.  The first day of summer is also known as National Wear Your Lilly Pulitzer Day. When I think of my summer wardrobe I immediately think Lilly Pulitzer. The designer's use of bright colors, fun patterns, and an array of styles just speak to me.  Over time I have built up quite the Lilly summer wardrobe. I have a combination of old prints and new ones, but regardless of when they were made I love them all.  Some of the vintage patterns are actually my favorite, and I think some of the older dresses are actually made with a higher quality fabric. 

Oh Shift! Here's a little glimpse at my shift dresses.  These are great to thrown on during a hot summer day, wear to a wedding with a nice pair of heels, appropriate for work, or pretty much any event in the summer months. 

The callahan shorts are my favorite style of shorts. They are not too short nor too long. The perfect length for people like me who have longer legs. I have several pairs of them and am able to mix and match tops to create many outfits out of them.  

Today I'm wearing a pair of callahan shorts paired with a washed pocket tee tank from J.Crew.

I'm spending the day nannying two boys, so I needed an outfit that was cute, comfortable, and included some Lilly!

What are you wearing to celebrate the first day of summer and wear your Lilly day?

XOXO

Crafting Lilly Pulitzer Letters

After three years of Lilly Pulitzer agendas piling up, I decided it was time to put them to use. The other day I had a little free time and decided to go through my craft bin to see what I could use all my Lilly print paper for.  I found my initial (M) that a friend of mine had painted for me awhile back and thought it would be adorable to cover it in Lilly Pulitzer paper.  Before I began I gathered all the supplies I would need.

Supplies:

Scissors

Cardboard

Letter of your choice (for me it was M)

Mod Podge

Sponge brushes

White Paint

Primer (optional)

Paper Plate or palate for paint

Paper of your choice

The original color of the letter didn't match the color scheme I'm planning to use, so I began by priming it with a coat of paint so that the dark color wouldn't show through when I used mod podge to adhere the colorfully printed paper to the wooden letter.  Before priming the letter, I found a piece of cardboard and laid it down beneath the letter so that I didn't get paint on the surface I was using to craft (AKA- my parents' kitchen table).  You can also use newspaper, a plastic table cloth, or a brown paper bag.  I think using cardboard is the best option because you are able to move the letter while it is drying with messing anything up. 

After priming the letter, I gave it a coat of white paint.  The sides of the letter won't be covered with paper since the paper is just on the top surface, so the white paint is for the outside and back of the letter. While the paint was drying, I began to sort through my agendas and pulled out the paper that had prints that I could potentially use.  I then laid all the prints out and decided which ones looked good together. This process takes awhile if you are a perfectionist like me!  

If you don't like Lilly Pulitzer, then no worries you can still complete the project. All you need to do is get scrap booking paper or print your favorite pattern online. You can also cover the letter in all one print rather than the patchwork style I used.

Once I chose the paper I would be using, I began to cut the paper to fit the letter. I found that it was easiest to cut a piece that was slightly larger than what I needed. I then folded the excess paper and creased it along the edge of the letter. I then cut along the creese marks to ensure that the paper was the correct size.  I think it works best to not be picky about each piece of paper being the same size because most letters are irregular in shape anyways. 

I cut the paper and sized it to fit the letter beginning with the top left corner, of the letter M.  I did this for the entire left side and then I began to glue.  In order to glue the paper down, use a sponge brush, dip it into the jar of Mod Podge, and then apply the paint to the surface of the letter.  Be careful not to use too much because then the paper will be over saturated, which could cause it to rip or bubble easily. After glueing down the entire left side, I then cut the paper to size it to fit the letter along the left side.  I then glued down the left side. Next, I sized the different pieces of paper to fit the middle of the letter and then glued them down.  Finally, I painted a layer of glue on top of all the paper to seal it and ensure that all the paper was glued down.  I then let the letter dry on a piece of cardboard for about 24 hours. 

This project is really easy and the letter(s) can be used for much more than a simple college apartment decoration. Depending on the size of the letter you could use it on a wreath, a classroom door, or anywhere in your home. This is DIY project can also be a great item to give as a gift.

Enjoy Crafting!

XOXO

Planning Decisions

As you have probably read by now, I love the Lilly Pulitzer agendas.  July is half way over so it's time for me to order my new agenda. Freshman and sophomore year of college I used the large style, but junior year I chose to upgrade to the jumbo size.  I enjoyed the larger version, but the spiral that held it together fell apart mid way through the year and it was a bit too large to carry around.  After last year's mishap I have decided to go back to using the large agenda. I love that the large version has two copies of the monthly outlook of each month. This allows me to keep track of sorority events on one calendar and my personal life on another. This year Lilly has come out with a covered spine version of the large agenda and I can't decide if I should purchase that one or the original version.  These are the two that I am debating between and would love to hear your thoughts!

Option 1 or Option 2

Which one should I buy?

XOXO

They're Back!

Lilly agendas have hit the market another year.  Just last week Lilly Pulitzer announced that preorders were now being accepted for their August 2014 through December 2015 agendas.  I was so excited to hear this! As I've talked about numerous times, I absolutely love my Lilly agenda.  Not only is it adorable, but without it my life would be a complete disarray.

There are so many cute prints and sizes to choose from.  The past two years I've purchased the large agenda.  The large agenda is a great size, but this past school year I found myself wishing for more room to write my daily to do lists.  I have decided that I will buy a jumbo agenda this year...the question is now which pattern do I get?

I have three options for prints:

Multi Tusk In The Sun

 Bright Navy Trippin and Sippin

 Tropical Pink Biggest Fan

I'd love your opinions as to what print I should buy and what agenda you like use!

Xoxo

-mQs-

Lilly Pulitzer- Sorority Sale

Happy Saturday!

The other day one of my sisters informed me that Lilly Pulitzer was having a sale on some of their sorority prints. 

 All sorority printed picture frames are currently $8, plus there is free shipping too.  This is such a good deal.  The frames come in the following sorority prints: Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Delta Zeta, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, and Sigma Kappa.

 I am debating purchasing one because they are usually like $28.  This is such a bargain! 

Xoxo

mQs

Wednesday Pinsday

Fall break is over and it's back to school for me.  My "break" went to quickly.   I spent my two days off doing observations in a middle school science classroom.  I absolutely loved it.  It was refreshing to see what I am actually working towards doing.  I saw it as quality motivation to help me persevere through school.

My break was not all spent on school related things.  I was able to enjoy myself a little bit here and there.  I even spent some time perusing on pinterest.  In case you forgot, I am addicted to pinterest.  I try not to go on the website too frequently because I end up spending way too much time pinning when I should be doing other productive things.  Since I allowed myself to go on a pinning spree, I thought I would share with you some of my favorites.

I just found this picture to be so adorable.  It's one of those things that makes you smile.

I want the leopard print shoes so bad.  When I was at DSW last week, I almost bought a pair similar to these but I restrained myself from buying two pairs of shoes.

Lilly for men.  Love it! Personally, I like the looks of the two men on the right.  I think the lilly print pants are a bit obnoxious.  The lilly prints ties are perfect though.

Just some mid week inspiration for you. After today it's almost the weekend.

Pumpkin ice cream sandwiches. I am dying to make these, I just need to find the time to do so.  I love pumpkin flavored anything. 

I have been look everywhere online for cute sorority lettered shirts, they are so expensive.  I would love to make my own.  I found this website that provides you with step by step directions. Have any of you ever made your own shirt with your letters on them?

It seems like the chilly Fall weather arrived yesterday.  I can't wait to wear fall clothes.  I think pinterest has the best inspiration for outfits.

I'm off to my first class of the day.

Have a great day!

Xoxo

mQs