Lilly Pulitzer for Target

Hey! Did you all enjoy the holidays? I did, but unfortunately got dreadfully sick right after Christmas. Bummer, right? Good thing I was still visiting my parents then, they took real good care of me, and I'm better now.

At any rate, while the weather here in Chicago continues to make me question all my life choices, I found out something very exciting: Lilly Pulitzer is coming to Target stores in the US and Canada and Target.com on April 19th with a 250-piece limited edition collection.

To say I'm excited would be a massive understatement.

Apparently the collection will include 15 exclusive prints featured on items in women and girls apparel, shoes, accessories, home, and entertaining. I know exactly what my summer is going to look like. I'm also hopeful, as someone in the plus size range, that Lilly will stick to Target's more generous sizing range so I can get some good summer dresses. The images from the press event look positively tantalizing and filled with the exuberant colors and patterns the world expects from Lilly Pulitzer, so I'd be extremely disappointed if a small size range limited my purchasing choices to accesories and decor. I remain hopeful.

Anyone else as thrilled as I am?

Picture and info via A Bullseye View.

Gift Guide: Holiday Gift Sets

Hello again, friends! Is there someone in your life you feel like needs something a little extra special this holiday season? Or you just really, really like them? Or you have a lot of disposable income? Well, here are some nice sets for this holiday season!

Jo Malone Travel Candle Collection $110 at Jo Malone As someone who loves home fragrance, and candles in particular, I think this set from Jo Malone is just the bee's knees. It contains travel candles in Pomegranate Noir, Pine & Eucalyptus, and Incense & Embers. Jo Malone's scents tend to fill the air in a way that makes an impression on the room without being cloying or overwhelming at all. Certainly on the pricey side, but sometimes it's nice to throw some luxury into someone's life.

Sephora Favorites Perfume Sampler $60 at Sephora Everyone has a friend who's looking for a signature scent. Is this friend one of your best? Then get her this set of perfume samples. It contains fourteen of the most popular fragrances Sephora carries, plus a voucher for a full size of one of the perfumes. Since perfume is one of those things you simply must try before you buy, this set provides the whole nine yards for a friend in need.

The Art of Shaving Kit - Sandalwood $120 at department stores Do you know a fancy man? Are you yourself a fancy man? If yes to either of the former, do you shave? If so, snag this kit, comprised of a pre-shave oil, shaving cream, and an aftershave balm, all with a luxe sandalwood scent, plus a shaving brush. The men deserve a bit of a pamper, too.

Le Creuset Cherry Mini Cocottes $75 at Sur La Table We all know someone who adores their time in the kitchen and cooking delicious meals for others. Make that person's job just that much easier with this assuredly awesome little combination cookware-serveware pieces from Le Creuset. The cherry color makes this set of three perfectly cheery. I guarantee they'll light up the home cook in your life like an ornament.

Spode Christmas Tree Candy Cane Handle Mugs $48 at Bed, Bath and Beyond What to give the host of all the Christmas festivities? In my family, we go with Spode Christmas serveware, and these mugs are totally adorable. Just imagine how perfect they'd be with some marshmallows floating on top of a piping hot chocolate! Anyone (who celebrates Christmas) would be glad to have them.


So there you go! Hope this gets you brainstorming, and I'll pop in with another addition soon :)

Hello, Goodbye

That's honestly how fast my trip to New Jersey felt, like I was leaving as soon as I got there, ten days in ten seconds. I flew back to Chicago yesterday, and said my goodbyes Saturday. Being woefully sentimental as I am, I wept like a little child.

The magnificent Beau's sad goodbye. Those eyes! Sniff.

My last glimpse of the Atlantic for what I assume will be quite some time.

The closest I have ever been to the outside of the plane.

The last look I grabbed of New Jersey before boarding.

My sadness was tempered only by the knowledge that some new treats awaited  me in Chicago. I promptly treated my janky nails to a fresh new manicure with Essie Naughty Nautical from the summer collection. (Side note: is anyone else getting totally bummed out by the release of fall collections? I swear, it's the only time of year I wish beauty releases could be held off a little longer so I can hang on to the current season!)

This is a beautiful green turquoise with just the slightest hint of a shimmer, so slight as to be pretty much undetectable unless you're in full sunlight. The bottle definitely lies about how much sparkle you're going to get, and I wish it were just a little bit more apparent on the nail to capture a little of that incandescence of summer.  The formula is very nice other than that, a standard two coats will do you for opacity. I definitely like this color enough to put it in rotation, and maybe do some nail art experimentation, who knows?

Nail polish photos edited with the A Beautiful Mess Photo App, available in the App Store.

The Creature of my Heart

I promise I will get back to writing about things that might have some bearing on your lives, but Gemma and I have been having impromptu photo shoots and I really must share.

I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH.

Send me pictures of your pets? I want to see your furry loves!

Home Sweet New Jersey

Ah, to be back in the clutches of my beautiful Garden State, it's a wonderful thing. I thought I would share some of the images from my first weekend home of this trip to give of better impression of why I'm "stranded" in Chicago, despite it's many good qualities.

On the road back from the airport in Trenton.

My dad's new apple tree with little green apples!

My mother, demonstrating our picturesque backyard in all it's verdant glory.

The most majestic dog who ever lived, Beau, my best friend's St. Bernard.

He's also the most camera shy.

My first glimpse of the entirely rebuilt beach club, perfect sky to boot.

These are all my favorite places to be when I'm home in the summer, the places I go to immediately not because I just love them, but because they're a part of me. Of course, it would be disingenuous to pretend its this beautiful all the time, so I must mention we're having some punishing thunderstorms today. But I refuse to let that dampen my spirits, har har har.

I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week!

April Showers and Flowers

Hola mis amigos.

Aquí está donde I paint my nails and do my bloggy thang.  I found some lovely and inexpensive flowers at the grocery store the other day, and I'm finding that they're just the thing to liven up my space.  As you can tell from my wall decoration, I'm quite fond of flowers.  That piece was a simple DIY: all I did was find an upholstery fabric I liked and then staple gun-ed it to those wooden piece you use to stretch your own canvas.  All told, it cost me maybe $40 to do, most of which was the cost of the fabric itself.  Would I love to have curtains of it?  Of course, but I ain't got that kind of money (or those skills).  But this was a perfect solution, and I like how lively it makes my room.

Nails

Base coat: Orly Bonder

Red: Essie Forever Yummy

Pink: Essie Cute as a Button

Nude: Essie Mademoiselle

Top Coat: Orly In a Snap   

Greetings from New Jersey

The stupid Blogger app failed to post this on Friday as I had intended.

It's been a lovely day so far, jaunting around with my mother as we visit the relatives and collect all the fixin's for tonight's lobster dinner. I'm loving all the wonderful colors around here! The sky is blue, the weather is a balmy 48 degrees (remember, my skin is used to Chicago), and I can finally wear nice shoes 😊.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, here are some of the pretty things I've been appreciating.

A Perfect Weekend

This weekend, I got to spend time with my loving family, and the creatures of my heart (our Jack Russell, Gemma, and my best friend's St. Bernard, Beau). It started with a lovely lobster dinner and ended with a tour of my aunt's beach club, which was totally destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. It is certainly heartening to see it going back up so quickly, I can't wait to hang out there when I visit in the summer months!

It's back to Chicago for me this evening, and I'm hoping to bring some of the warmer East Coast weather with me. Happy Monday everyone!