New Spring Lilly Favorites!

Happy Monday Readers! 

Some very exciting news...the new Lilly Spring line has finally arrived!! I SO wish I could be back at work in NYC to take advantage of all the new clothes because I think this spring line is one of the best I've seen! I love all the pastel, floral prints and the cuts of the dresses seem so cute and flirty! Also the names of the prints?! The cutest! I figured I would share a few of my favorites that I would love to add to my closet! 

Ricci Dress in Lillys State of Mind

Lottie Dress in Cherry Mine Engineered

Alima Top in Hotty Pink A Thing Called Love

Tate Skirt in Bright Navy Yum Yum

Allison Top in Starfruit Yellow Valley Girl

Want, Want, Want...NEED THEM ALL! 

What are your favorite's from Lilly's Spring?

XOXO

Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday everyone! 

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and I can't wait to read all about it on your lovely blogs! I was back at Lilly today so I was able to finish the last of my Christmas shopping! Tonight I finished wrapping all my gifts and put them under the tree! The onlyy gift I have yet to figure out is something for my 9 year old nephew...he's really into legos? I guess...but also loves gameboy so I might stick to getting him a game- but any creative suggestions?! 

As I mentioned yesterday- I got home late Saturday night (the flight was 45 minutes long! hellooo flying is SO much better than sitting on a 4-5 hour bus ride- gah) and on Sunday we decorated my tree and apartment for Christmas with my niece and nephew! And then we were off to my cousins apartment in the city for a Christmas party! Here is my sunday in photos (warning photo overload!): 

(christmas tree before the ornaments...)

(Christmas Tree after! The tree is on the shorter, fatter side than we usually get- that's what happens when my parents pick it out without me!) 

(the same nativity set that we've had since I was a baby!)

(our nutcracker collection!)

(coffee table decoration) 

Cousin's Christmas Party!

(Set table!)

(Decorations on the window and some view of NYC)

(my cousins painted the back of their bar in their kitchen with chalkboard paint! And always have different colored chalk handy- it's the perfect way to keep kids occupied with little cleanup!)

(Roo- who has been in the family for years!)

(me and my wonderful daddy)

(boys!)

(girls!)

(homemade chestnut soup- AMAZING-perfect winter soup)

(leg of lamb)

(cornbread stuffing and stringbeans) 

*the cornbread in the stuffing was homemade...pretty impressive I would say!*

(Cranberry/Cream Cheese/Chocolate Cake...)

(One picture just wasn't enough!)

The whole afternoon and evening was a perfect first day back in New York. It was great reuniting with family who I haven't seen for a long time, especially around the holiday season. All of the food was homemade and absolutely delicious! My cousin's husband was responsible for the entire meal and he is an absolute genius in the kitchen! I'm glad we all get to spend Christmas together just next week! 

How was your weekend?!

XOXO

ps so sorry that some of my pictures are horizontal- blogger was giving me a really hard time tonight! 

What I'm Loving Wednesdays + New Lilly Purchases + an Award!

Happy Wednesday Readers! Just one more day until Thanksgiving! I can't wait to spend the day with my family, relaxing and eating some of the BEST foods of the year! 

Today I'm linking up with Jamie from This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesdays! And there's SO much I'm loving about today! 

I'm loving...that my mom was my alarm clock this morning! She used to wake me up every morning from high school ( I was a bit of a princess...) and always had fresh brewed coffee ready on the stove! Such a nice change from dragging my butt out of bed in my apartment to make my own coffee while I'm half asleep...

I'm loving...the new book I'm reading on my kindle (slash I'm always loving my kindle in general)! I'm currently reading One Day by David Nicholls...it had kind-of a slow start but it's starting to pick up and I'm really enjoying it! I have about an hour commute to Lilly so it gives me some time to catch up on my reading! (And my magazines! I had 3 issues of SELF! waiting for me at home!!) 

Has anyone seen the movie? I'm waiting until I finish the book but I would love to hear your comments! 

This is my Lilly case! Technically it's for a nook but the kindle fits in just fine! 

I'm (not) loving...my blackberry (insert angry face here!)...I've basically had the WORSE phone luck over the last 2 months and BOTH of the blackberry's I've been using aren't working :( I literally want to rip my hair out- it is SO frustrating! And the T-mobile customer service it SO unhelpful! I've finally given up on Blackberry and I'm thinking about getting a Wildfire. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips? I'm waiting till I graduate/am employed to get an iphone because I want to be able to pay my phone bill on my own! (Ending rant here...) 

I'm loving...how AMAZING my kitchen smells right now! My mom is preparing for tomorrow (stuffed mushrooms, homemade cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies...photos and recipes to come tomorrow) and she is cooking my favorite pasta dish for tonight- orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe and bits of sausage! I'll upload a photo once it's all done! It's very filling but since there's no heavy sauce, it's not so so bad! 

OKAY now on to bigger and better things- since I was back to work at Lilly today I got to indulge myself in some purchases! Here are a few: 

I bought this for my sorority formal! I'm usually not a fan of a one shoulder but this one looked very elegant! Now I just need to find a pair of fun earrings to go with it! Any suggestions?

It's difficult to pass up anything with a bow...

I thought this was a good balance between being a bright Lilly print but still appropriate for the winter months since it has a black background! 

How useful is this?! It unzips to fit cards, cash and change and even has a holder for lip gloss on the inside and a pouch for cell on the front!

Adorable holiday cards! 

Perfect for iced coffee in the mornings! 

This picture doesn't do this sweater justice! It's so so cute and has a little gold zipper up the back which is the perfect touch! It'll be great with black dress pants for my internship next semester! 

And now for my blog award! I so love Loving Life and Lilly for giving me this lovely award. 

Liebster means "favorite" or "dearest" in German. This award, which originated in Germany, recognizes up and coming bloggers! In accepting this award, I agree to;

1. Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to their blog.

2. Copy and paste the award to my blog.

3. Reveal the 5 blogs I have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blogs.

4. Pay it forward to 5 blogs.

Thanks so much for passing on this great award :) I SO much appreciate it! We fellow Lilly lovers have to stick together :) 

Here are some of my daily reads that I would love to pass this little award on to: 

Ally from La Mia Bella Vita

Caitlin from Peaches and Pearls

Emily from Life of Emily

Turtles and Pearls

A Sweet Simple Southern Life

Hope everyone had a marvelous Wednesday! 

XOXO

E

Top 5 Tuesday: Thanksgiving!

Happy Tuesday Readers! Today I'm linking up with Rachel from Just Peachy! I'm loving these link ups and a big thanks to their hostesses! 


This week is your top 5 favorite things about Thanksgiving! Is it possible to choose my top 5 things about Thanksgiving this year? Well let's see...


1. (Obviously) the FOOD! I think Thanksgiving's menu is by far my favorite holiday menu! Christmas is a close second though...since my family is Italian we traditionally only eat fish on Christmas Eve- can you say beer battered fried shrimp YUM...


Here are some photos I found on Pinterest this week that show some of my favorite Thanksgiving foods! 

Mini Pumpkin Pies! Such a cute idea! 

Sweet Potato Casserole! One of my favorites! 

I think these are so cute! I might try to be ambitious and make them as my contribution to Thanksgiving! I usually try to contribute a sweet, last year I made pumpkin oatmeal cookies :)

2. Thanksgiving Day Parade! 

My mom always puts the parade on in the background when she's making her dishes for our Thanksgiving feast (stuffed mushrooms and pumpkin pies!). I love to watch the performances on all the crazy big floats! 

And the very best part of the parade is when Santa and the Christmas float comes out! It means that it is officially the BEST time of the year! 

3. Blogging, Pinteresting, and SLEEPING

I plan on spending quite sometime preparing blog posts for next week so I can have them in advance and will most definitely spend/waste a few hours on Pinterest (sorry, but I'm not sorry) 

4. Being back at Lilly Pulitzer!

Can't wait to be back and pick up a formal dress, a gift for my blogger secret santa, and start some Christmas shopping! 

5. Mia familia!

I haven't seen my dad since August so I'm super excited to see him again, (and of course my mom aka my bff also!) I love being home and spending quality time with them! Shopping, movies, dinners, whatever! 

What are your favorite things about Thanksgiving!? 

XOXO 

E 

It's OK Thursdays!

Happy Thursday Readers :) 

Today I'm linking up with Neely @ A Complete Waste of Makeup for It's Okay Thursday! There's a lot of things I'm okay with this week (especially today..)

Hey it's ok...

to have woken up this morning at 9:01am when I had to be at work at 9am..(um hello freaky internal alarm clock) 

to run to work in yoga pants, a t-shirt and my glasses (ew) but to skip my first class just to go back to my apartment to put normal clothes and makeup on (good thing I only live two blocks from where I work!) 

to be going home in less than a week! I cannot wait to sleep in my old bed and see my family! And especially to get back to work at Lilly Pulizer! 

to be accepted into both of the internships that I applied to for next semester, when I didn't think I would get either! (gives me a ray of hope for real-life job applications!)

to be overly obsessed with the french onion soup from Panera...I order it at least once a week!

to carry around my Lilly planner, Lilly mini-notebook, and Lilly post-it book everywhere I go...hey! when I girl likes to make lists- she likes to make lists! 

to sport my Vineyard Vines pullover today since it is such a yucky fall day :( 

to be excited that it's Thursday and that means it's the official start to the weekend! If you read mypost below, you know that I have a very exciting weekend coming up! 

to be continuously working on my Christmas list and send my mom 10 emails a day with new ideas only for her to respond with "aren't you too old for Christmas lists Elena?" NOO...a girl can never be too old for christmas lists right?!

to be planning my first GIVEAWAY for next week! I would like to reach 30 followers by that time :) Seasoned bloggers, any advice for going about planning this?

What do YOU say is okay today?

XOXO

E