Winner of the Red, White, Blue and Lilly Giveaway!!

The winner of the Red, White, Blue and Lilly Giveaway is:

Suburban Prep!


Thank you to all who entered. I have another giveaway coming up at the end of July.

Giveaway- Red, White, Blue and Lilly!

I'm doing a short term giveaway so that the winner receives the items in time for the 4th of July weekend festivities. The giveaway is for a clutch and matching headband set that is in the Vintage Lilly Pulitzer pattern: "Manage", as seen here. It's made with all-new fabric(albeit vintage textile). It's red, white and blue, which is pretty uncommon for Lilly.

Thre drawing for the giveaway will be held on Monday July 28. Here's how you can enter:

1.For one entry- "Like" the facebook Lotus and Lilly Fan Page by clicking HERE and inform me by leaving a comment that you've done so in response to this post (if you already have, just mention it in your comment as that counts too). Simply liking the page won't automatically enter your name in the drawing (it's not the only requirement for entrance so it's in accordance with fb policy. Did you know fb has a policy about that?? I didn't either!).

2. For a second entry-Follow this blog- (easy enough) Again, tell me that you follow in a comment here as I won't automatically enter your name in the drawing.

3.For a third entry- Visit Lotus and Lilly.com by clicking HERE and tell me which items you would like to see more of (yes, I just ended a sentence in a preposition, it just felt right). This helps me in determining which additional items I should place in the shop...that's it!

Museum Items Shipped...

I just recently shipped off the items that I made for the Lilly Pulitzer exhibit which will be held later this summer and will run through May of 2011 at the Museum of Lifestyle and Fashion History.  I think a sent a total of 30 items. Here are photos of a few.  Can't wait to go to the exhibit later this year. I'm still trying to figure out the best date to attend. I'd love to meet up with some fellow Lilly lovers while in Florida! Let me know if you're going.

Amazing labels that stay-put from Razmatags!

My friend, Jen, just opened a brand new online shop.  She sells the most amazing labels and I told her I would spread the word.  Her store is called Razmatags.  She has all sorts of packages available, including Camp, Kinder, Elderly packages and a Food Allergy Alert package (which is just extremely cool, as you know if you have a kiddo with allergies).  You can also order the labels in the sizes that you specifically need if you prefer not to order a package.   

Her website is worth visiting even if you aren't in need of labels because she has it set up so you can preview the pattern of your choice (and there are tons) and custom names printed on the label, this is fun stuff and no easy feat when it comes to web design.

Okay, now the important part, these labels don't budge.  I put them on my daughters' swim suits.  The girls swim everyday and I am amazed at how well these labels stay-put.  I'm also using them on all of my Lotus and Lilly items and will soon order more as I've used several different types and these are by-far the best. They aren't just the vinyl labels that you can typically buy. These beautiful labels are dishwasher-proof, microwave-proof, refridgerator-proof and can stand up to kids wear and tear. They are a great way to kick off summer if you don't want your kids to leave a trail of items behind!

Here's the link: http://www.razmatags.com/

My items in the Lilly Pulitzer exhibit at the Museum of Lifestyle and Fashion History!

I've been asked to provide a number of items from my Lotus and Lilly shop to The Museum Of Lifestyle and Fashion History for the upcoming Lilly Pulitzer exhibit that will take place later this year. Needless to say, I'm seriously flattered and rather thrilled.  When they asked if I would consider loaning several of the items that I make* to the museum for the exhibit to show that there's still an appreciation for the patterns and that they are still being used today,  I responded, "Uh, Yes!"

So now the hard part, I'm feverishly making items with vintage Lilly patterns that I'll soon ship off to the museum. I'll take a photo (or ten) and post before I ship.  The items will include clutches, coasters, baby booties, wooden fabric covered letters, headbands (of course) and a few others. 

Lori J. Durante, Executive Director/Chief Curator of the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History, wears a Lilly Pulitzer outfit. (Lori J. Durante, courtesy / April 2, 2010)

The Museum of Lifestyle and Fashion history is located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The exhibit will run from Aug 3, 2010-May 31, 2011. Click here for more info.  You're gonna go, right??
 
 
 
* All items available through Lotus and Lilly are made by Lotus and Lilly and not made, sold or endorsed by Lilly Inc.

Last Day to get 25% Off your entire Lotus and Lilly Order

Just a reminder that the code for 25% off your entire order for Lotus and Lilly expires tonight at midnight PST.  The code is: LILLY510. Thank you!

Sugar Free and Hating It

I'm quitting sugar.  It almost hurts to write that, but it's true.  It's time.  My energy level is nil and I'm sick of it.  That's not to say that I'm not bursting with energy at 9:15 am after my morning visit to Starbucks where I often walk away with one venti mocha (iced please) and a cranberry-orange scone in hand.  Yeah, plenty of energy at that point.  But then there's the inevitable crash.  It can strike anywhere from 11am-2pm.  I get crazy tired, not just, "I could use a nap" tired, but Poppy Field in the Wizard of Oz-tired.  It's as if I can't keep moving. But, you see, I (like everyone else) have things that I have to do each day.  My four year old twin daughters couldn't care less about my "energy level".  So we go, go, go...

Plus there's the whole thing about owning aprox. 32 vintage Lilly skirts that almost fit.  And by "almost" I mean that I can almost pull them up over my hips.  But we don't need to get into all that.

I was talking to a friend about this and she mentioned this diet that she's been doing.  She raved about her energy level while sticking to the diet and basically had me sold.  She said she'd be happy to let me borrow the book that explains the diet. I conveniently forgot to grab it before I left and went home without the book.  Not to worry! She was so sweet and brought it to me later that day. I discovered that the book explains, not so much what to eat, but mostly what not to eat.  But I put it on my desk with every intention of reading it.

The next day, my computer was slow and the book was sitting here, so rather than swearing at my laptop screen, I started to skim through the book and I found myself thinking, "I can do this".  So you know the deal right?  It's not Atkins, but same concept as far as how glucose levels encourage the release of insulin which converts sugar into fat and so on.  So the trick is to make your body start using fat stores and eventually dietary protein for energy.  But, and this is key, you've got to get off sugar because our bodies love sugar, it's a cheap date and loaded with energy, just not the long-term kind, hence the crash.

But before I can do anything, I'm supposed to do this two week liver healing phase for this particular diet.  The liver healing-two week phase is brutal. I swear, I've not given my liver much thought, in fact, I can honestly say that on more than one occasion (okay, way more than one) I pretty much abused the ol' liver.  Yet, here this well-intentioned book is telling me to "love thy liver" for two short weeks and I find myself doing it with complete resentment, as though someone besides me really needs the diet and I just got stuck going for a ride on the diet bus.  It's all pretty silly, because this is what I want, right? "Right", angry diet girl agrees.

I'm on day four. I want chocolate so bad I could scream and pretzels have taken on a whole new appeal. We'll leave cupcakes out of the discussion, as it's just too painful.  Just to give you an idea, usually when I look for images to include in posts, I do it pretty quickly.  When I was looking for images of candy for this post, I spent a good half hour looking at, I mean for just the right one. It does look super cute though, doesn't it?

 So dear readers, please tell me that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and that this is all a normal part of sugar withdraw.  And please, tell me this without using the word: exercise.  It's next on my list, I swear.

Thanks Much!

I had an item on Etsy's front page today!

It's funny, I'm really trying to work on the new shop, Lotus and Lilly, as a result, I've been neglecting the etsy shops and not working on the inventory for either one.  And then...etsy puts me on the front page today!  Now it may not sound like much, but for us "Etsians", it's a pretty big honor.  Here's the screen shot (my item is the Sand Dollar headband in the middle of the right hand column, or for those of us who grew up on 70s television, the Peter Brady square):   

Thought it was fun and had to share.  Here's the actual item a tad closer (no, it's not Lilly fabric. But, you are allowed to love it anyways!):