Love You Too Much – Happy Mother’s Day!!

Posted on May 1, 2012 in Made Me Smile by Lindsay

It is so nice to work for a company that values…first and foremost…family. We spend so much time talking about parties and happy times – which are spent with family and friends. (and of course, these special occasions are cause for fabulous outfits)

When I was asked to write a blog on Mother’s Day, I immediately thought of how many emails and facebook pics we get of you, our amazing customers, in your Lilly’s WITH your Moms. Or Moms with pics of their Minnies (starting them out right!). It makes me so incredibly happy and I completely relate. I thought this was the perfect time to remind ourselves how lucky we really are.

I am a Mom, which is the greatest gift AND I have an amazing Mom. I am SO EXCITED for her to read this because even though I think I tell her all the time how much I love her, I want to be positive she knows. And if you asked her, her greatest gift is that I am a good Mom (and a happy person with an amazing career and LIFE). And let’s be honest, we know she’s responsible for making me the person I am today.

My Mom is the kind of woman that will do ANYTHING for those she loves. She is incredibly straight forward and absolutely HYSTERICAL. She tells it like it is. I grew-up in Augusta, GA and my Mom would walk my brother and me to school every day. Without fail, she was there to meet us at 3:05 and walk us home. We would have a snack outside and play and then head in where we would sit in the breakfast room and watch her make dinner for us. She was just…always there – always around to take us on the next step of our journey. She was so reliable, comforting and supportive – not spoiling us with presents or things, but spoiling us with time and affection. I learned how to be a good Mom from her.

Now I have two AMAZING daughters and even though I work and can’t meet them after school, the second I get home my time is all about them. We spend HOURS cuddling. On the weekends, the three of us are stuck like glue. I know that they have a great sense of home, love and security because of the closeness we share.

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Lilly Pulitzer Picture This! Photo Contest

Posted on February 20, 2012 in Lovin' Lilly, Made Me Smile by Lindsay

SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO HERE

Have you ever wondered who those drop-dead gorgeous ladies are in the photos that appear in our Lilly printed picture frames?? Well all those lovely ladies grace the boardrooms of our Pink Palace looking as lovely as they did on the day those pictures were taken. Oh yes, our team meetings are dressy affairs and we all get downright chummy. What?  You don’t believe us?  OK, well I maaaay be exaggerating a wee bit on how we all look in the office day-to-day, but those Lilly-loving beauties are all employees and now, they’re out of the picture – literally.  We’re prepared to say goodbye to those smiling faces and replace them with YOURS!!

We’re excited to announce that today, February 20th, kicks off our “Picture This! Lilly Lovers Photo Contest!”  Our Lilly loving friends can upload their photos to our online Photo Gallery and be entered in the chance to have their photo appear in our Lilly printed picture frames coming out in Fall!  Be sure to read through all the details so you understand how your smiling face can be seen by thousands of other Lilly Lovers!

- Round 1, the “Entry Period,” runs from Monday, February 20th – Friday, February 24th at 12:00pm ET
- You will have 5 days (until Friday at 12:00pm ET) to upload your photos to the Photo Gallery on lillypulitzer.com (HERE).
- When uploading your photos, please do the following:
- Upload the highest resolution and highest quality photos you have.
- Under “Tell us your Lilly Story” please include “Photo Contest” and how your photo entry best reflects the Lilly Pulitzer spirit of leading a colorful life!
- You may upload as many photos as you like for consideration but do not upload any single photo more than one time as this will not increase your chances of winning.
- At the end of Round 1, Lilly Pulitzer will choose [up to] 20 finalist photos to go into Round 2.  Decisions will be based on the following three (3) criteria: quality of the photo (clarity of photo and high enough resolution for printing & placement in packaging), the photo composition (use your creativity, have fun, and show your Lilly Love) and your Lilly story! (describe how your photo best reflects the Lilly spirit of leading a colorful life!)

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Lilly Loves Pinterest!

Posted on January 12, 2012 in Made Me Smile by

OBSESSED. By now you’ve probably heard of Pinterest.  And if you haven’t, you will in 5…4…3…2…1 – someone will have mentioned it to you in the time it took to read that.  That’s because it’s an uber-fun, absolutely addicting, everyone-who-tries-it-loves-it, drool tool that you just need to know about. We’ve been using Pinterest since the lazy days of Summer and pin whenever we’re inspired! We’ve created quite a collection of pins over the last 6 months and we’re loving every wasteful colorful minute of it!

Let us paint a picture of Pinterest for you… Pinterest is basically an online inspiration board where you electronically “pin”, via a browser add-on or via the Pinterest website,  something to a “board” you’ve created.  It’s a great tool to collect ideas, recipes, photos, inspirations, etc, in an organized and very visual way.  And probably the best part of Pinterest? How incredibly easy it is to SHARE content. Your “home page” will constantly be flooded with new images from the “pinners” you follow and you can simply take it all in or you can “repin” to your heart’s delight, collecting all those new ideas on your own boards for later perusal.  That’s the basic idea but we think you’ll get a better idea of it if you just take a peek yourself. And here’s a quick peek of ours…

Of course, you can’t use Pinterest until you get an invite. Blergh. But… it’s not too hard. You can request an invite & wait or you can get invited through a friend who is already pinning!  Here are some great tips on taking that very first step to your newest addiction.

Oh and most important… make sure you’re following Lilly Pulitzer on Pinterest!! We hope to inspire and repin you!

Embracing Tangerine Tango – Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year

Posted on January 5, 2012 in Lovin' Lilly, Made Me Smile by

Every year, Pantone, the internationally known authority on all things color, has recently announced that 2012′s color of the year is… drum roll please…TANGERINE ORANGE!  Oh boy did we relish in last year’s color choice of Honeysuckle Pink because duh- it was PINK, but leave it to Lilly to know EXACTLY what color is going to be fabulous and embrace it like no one else can.

Just you wait…it is going to be eeeeverywhere. Oh wait, it already IS here at Lilly!  For our first delivery of the new year, coral (the Lilly interpretation of the color of the year) reigns supreme.  Coral is incredibly chic AND flatters your complexion all year round. It’s just one of those colors that makes you look incredible and brightens you right up.

We just loooove what Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®, says about this year’s color:  “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

How can you not like the sound of that?! And really, how can you not want some of this?!

Holiday Cocktails!

Posted on December 20, 2011 in Made Me Smile by

Since Lilly girls fancy themselves as the Hostess with the Mostest, we thought we’d bring you a few holiday cocktails to add to your ever-growing list of libations that always make your fetes fanciful and fabulous!

We’ve partnered with one of our favorite blogs, Fashionably Bombed, for a 12 days of Christmas giveaway – they brought the drinks & we brought the goodies!  Katherine & Flannery are giving away our Shaken ‘n Stirred necklaces (ummm… this necklaces is PERFECT for them!) but there are only 4 days left to win!!  Be sure to visit their blog here so you can enter to win! (and visit every day through Friday for another chance!)

The ladies of Fashionably Bombed are always doing fun giveaways — by way of COCKTAIL RECIPES!  We’ve chosen 3 of our fav holiday cocktails from the lovely f-bombed girls so you can bring the sauciness to your next soiree!

 1.  White Chocolate Candy Cane Martini 2. Gingerbread Martini  3. Holiday Sangria (obv we included a cocktail with oranges!)

And we’d be remiss if we didn’t pass along the recipe to this season’s favorite drink – The Scorpion Bowl!  The holidays are all about sharing – may we suggest you & your GFs share a Scorpion Bowl?!?  Print & pour!

* Must be 21 to drink. Please enjoy these beverages responsibly & stay safe this holiday!

Be the Hostess with the Mostest – 10 Tips for Entertaining from Janie

Posted on December 2, 2011 in Made Me Smile by

Janie is the ultimate hostess. Stories from her parties are legendary around the office. Polaroids are either shared or destroyed – depending on the level of fun & how late that particular party guest left. And Janie absolutely abides by Lilly’s guide to entertaining – fetes should be all parts fun & no parts fussy.  While we all wait for an invite to Janie’s next soiree, we can have our own party to remember with her tips!

1. Ummm, duh…tip number one is to wear a JAW-DROPPING DRESS! Lilly usually has about a million to choose from. It simply guarantees that you will have a blast – even if you burn the roast, drop the platter of hors d’oeuvres or spill your champagne cocktail on the dog. The outfit MATTERS. Fun dress = happy hostess = elated guests.

2. Whether indoors or out, everything should be inviting. I love fancy, yummy smelling candles and an enormous bar. For some reason (hmmm, I wonder why) everyone seems to congregate around there. Smarties! Whether a Peach Bellini, a virgin daiquiri or a cherry coke, people want to chit-chat right next to the libations so make it comfortable. And it’s OK to linger.

3. Candles are my best friend. Everyone looks prettier, more handsome, better, whatever…by candlelight. It is our ultimate goal in life to look pretty, right? (Well, among other things like world peace and putting an end to hunger but an array of candles might be a quicker fix) So light up! Lots of candles at different heights. Votives and big Moroccan jars filled with pillar candles. Smelly candles: bamboo and jasmine are my favorite. Candles…everywhere! Just don’t go to bed with out blowing them out!

4. Sit down dinners are special. OF COURSE any party is fun but I adore the intimacy of a sit down dinner. Last week I had 25 over and although that sounds like a lot, it feels festive AND intimate when you are all seated together. Place cards are critical. Sometimes I put little hearts next to peoples names or stars or !!!! if they are super-fun. Making toasts during a seated dinner is a great way to get everyone laughing and focused on FUN. Once I littered the table with joke books and everyone read them aloud…great for all ages.

5. Oh oh, fun entertaining tip…have a CUTE date. Sneaking a kiss during the dinner party makes it SO MUCH MORE FUN! Husband. Brother, adorable new neighbor, boyfriend…everyone gets a match. Although not essential, the mix of boy/girl and different people from different places and backgrounds makes for a lively group. Lilly was famous for her parties in Palm Beach, one reason being that she had everyone from the gardener to the heiress who just flew in from Monte Carlo. Life is a party and EVERYONE is invited. (note to self…I need a gardener and need to make friends with the new heiress that just moved in next door wink wink)

6. Serve Food. Does that count as a tip? Well, you need to give them SOMETHING to eat. I am no Julia Childs but WHO CARES. You can order in Indian and have a buffet of exotic tastes…you can have platters of fried chicken from the grocery store (I do this in the summer and tell everyone it is an old family recipe and they n-e-v-e-r know the diff, shhhhh)…one time I served everyone a take-out container of chicken lo mein and chopsticks. If you are in fact, Julia Childs…go nuts and invite me please.

7. An eclectic table makes me happy. There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON (ever ever ever) to be perfect. So striped and floral napkins, mixed plate patterns, flowers in various shaped vases…more is awesome, different is better and when nothing goes together somehow…it does!

8. MUSIC and DANCING are…expected. BYOM- bring your own music! Have guests make mixes…my friend Lindsey is famous for her late-night dance mix. If we win the lottery we should all have a DJ that follows us around so we have ‘walking music’ and our own ‘theme song’ but until then…we’ll stick with Apple. After dinner the music should get louder. That hints to guests…time to either GO HOME or GET DANCING.

9. Let’s get back to the bar, shall we?  MAKE IT A SPECIAL BAR…like a martini bar! There can be different kinds of martinis with instructions and a ‘make your own’ vibe. Appletinis and Chocolate martinis and…oh oh…Cosmos. It always adds color and fun to the conversation!

10. An easy crowd pleaser…I always have a tray of hangover helpers by the door for people when they leave: aspirin, Alka-Seltzer, M&Ms, breath mints, vitamins. It says…I love you enough to make sure you feel as fabulous tomorrow as you do right now.

11. Was this supposed to be 10 tips??… I can’t help it I want 11 because this is the most important one! SMILE. Let nothing stress you out. Hug everyone tons. Kisses are encouraged. Let them know you are thrilled they came. Friends and family are a girl’s best friend and making a guest feel welcome is the most important tip of all.

A Greecian ταξίδι (Getaway)!

Posted on September 23, 2011 in Made Me Smile, Travel by

Jose, Visual Director here at Lilly, came back with a dark tan, a HUGE smile & over 700 pictures from his recent trip to Greece. We couldn’t wait to hear the details and when we did- we just had to share. Here’s Jose to tell you about his AH-MA-ZING trip (and the sandals he won’t stop talking about)…

My 10-day whirlwind in Greece started with champagne and chocolates in Athens at the Grande Bretagne. Then off to Crete to enjoy the country and peaceful outdoors at the Blue Palace. And then to Mykonos via propeller plane, where we rented ATV’s to explore the party island of Greece and enjoy the amazing Sunset at the Santa Marina….

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A Lilly Lover’s Trip to Paradise!

Posted on September 16, 2011 in Made Me Smile, Travel by Lindsay

Aloha Lilly Lovers! In anticipation of our favorite summer months slowly winding down (I’m jealous of all you Floridians!), I decided to take an end of summer vacay to one of the most beautiful spots I have ventured thus far: Maui, the second largest island in Hawaii. What better way to escape the end of summer blues than to pack my Lilly and play in the sea, sand, sun?!

Now, I’m not really sure where to begin with this magical journey. The whole trip was a blur of beautiful beaches, the bluest ocean I’ve ever seen, and LOTS of Lilly clothes to accompany me on my journey. I’m going to give you a glimpse of my trip…where I went & what I wore! The first, and one of my most favorite, the Cassie slub Dress, came in most handy out of all my Lilly’s- perfect for wearing as a cover up or as an easy dress to dinner. The Cassie was perfect for almost every Hawaiian occasion.  Here’s a quick pic of me while driving the Road to Hana on my way to our lux hotel, the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua (!!!!!) How cute is the color on this Cassie? (I have the Warehouse Sale to thank for this sample purchase…we never offered yellow on our line!)

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JC Countdowns her Top Moments

Posted on August 5, 2011 in Lovin' Lilly, Made Me Smile, Miscellany by

Happy Friday Lilly Lovers!  Its JC again, the Marketing Intern and I am sad to say that posting this blog is my last official intern duty.  I feel a bit like Cinderella, except when the clock strikes 2, instead of losing my McKim and  my carriage turning into a pumpkin, I lose my @lillypulitzer.com email and have pack up my pink mini.

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