Still HERE!

After lots and lots of this

and this (I am sort of an intense packer, but hey, it always pays off!)
I am now surrounded by these
and these!

I am lucky enough to be in Europe working for the next few weeks! Then it is off to India for a little vacation and some sight seeing (and hopefully an elephant ride too)!

I am SO thrilled to have returned to the blog world. I missed updating and receiving comments, but thank you for your many emails. I am still working on responding, but plan to be caught up shortly. Have a blessed Sunday; I am off to have a cup of tea!!

Heaven's Drink!

I honestly do not know why I have been ordering limeades at Sonic since 6th grade. I tried a Diet, Vanilla, Dr. Pepper about a month ago and have NEVER looked back. I really was never a soda person, but I now sometimes crave these. The vanilla really is what makes all the difference. The Sonic vanilla is DIVINE. You really cannot get enough of it! Sonic Happy Hour is now my new favorite time of day! If you have not tried a Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper or regular Dr. Pepper you need to make it your goal to treat yourself to this taste of heaven this weekend! I guarantee you, you will never look back! Oh, and if you need a little something to eat the tator tots with cheese are my personal favorite/guilty pleasure!

Think....THIN!

About a year ago I was at the grocery store and discovered a new bar that caught my eye. thinkThin was well packaged and after reading the item's description is sounded like something I would love. Well, my instincts were right and I have enjoyed trying several of the flavors over the past few months. thinkThin bars are available in seven flavors, of which my favorites is Creamy Peanut Butter. These bars contain no sugar, so they are not sweet, but they are still very tasty and EXTREMELY filling!

"Our all natural, high protein thinkThin bars deliver 20 grams of protein. Draped in rich delicious chocolate, this great tasting bar has only 2 effective net carbs. Rated one of the top bars in the natural industry, thinkThin was developed as a "inner beauty food" designed for those who "think" about what they eat."

thinkPink bars are the brand's limited addition bars. Like thinkThin these are also sugar free and high in protein plus their proceeds help support women's education and cancer research. As a lady, you cannot go wrong there! There are only four thinkPink flavors and I have found they are a bit more difficult to find (since they are limited edition I suppose) compared to the regular Think Thin bars. I have actually only tried one flavor and it is great! I would HIGHLY recommend the Peanut Butter Caramel bars which you can find in my Amazon store! Think has even partnered with Amazon and if you spend over $25 on Think and other Amazon products your order will ship for free!

I would highly suggest trying any of the Think products. They are great if you live an active lifestyle. I tend to be a very busy bee during the day and these bars meet my every need. They are tasty, but SO filling! I am talking filling like it can be hard to even finish an entire bar! If you are often on the go or even if you are just looking for a once a week lunch alternative you need to treat yourself to a box and you will be all set to think thin!

A Few For You!

I hate to disappoint, but I did not get many wedding photos this weekend. In fact, I actually got none at all, whoops! Thank goodness for photographers! However, while I did not get any actual wedding photos I did get several of Sea Island before my camera battery said she had has enough.

Here is is my lovely room in the South Wing. I LOVED the blue and white accents on the curtains, dust ruffle and pillows. It was so very me!
Here is a better close up of the fabric. The pillows were apparently reversible and one was on the purple side, whoops!The out-of-town buckets!

My view down to the river. I used to spend ages and ages crabbing at the river docks. I was really into it and even won trophies at Sea Island in the summer and I convinced father to buy me my own net 'to use at home.' Ha, boy was I cool!

This is the lovely chapel at SI (last weekend's wedding was not held here) that I featured last September too. Though it is somewhat small, I am almost 98% positive this is will my wedding will be held if I ever get married.

One of my favorite trees on the grounds!

My other favorite tree on the grounds!
Finally, here is a blurry photo (I told you the camera was having some major issues) of my entire outfit. I just loved my dress and I want the similar pink one now too!

Pink Summer

Spotted: Pink Flamingos in the oh so chic (and Hopsy's favorite DFW hangout), HPV

Aren't these pink flamingos cute?! I love that they are a more modern, preppy, longer lasting version of the classic pink yard flamingos. I spotted these in the windows of St. Michael's in HPV yesterday evening when running a lighting fast errand. It was sure a good thing they were already closed because this window display as well as the other with a blue and white ginger jar would have had me handing my Amex to over the counter in no time!
Can you spot the darling pink toile tray on the shelf in the background? SM's always has the cutest items at great prices! If you are ever in Dallas you simply must stop in (make sure to do lunch at Celebrity or my favorite, Cafe Pacific, while in HPV too!) and shop until your heart is content!

Also, I again apologize for the lack of posts and comments this week. However, I am more busy than I have ever been this year and have to keep my priorities straight. I would love to on every single blog I read and email each and every one of you back, however I haven't the time right now with work and a big trip coming up. So, if you have emailed me it is sitting in my inbox unread. No need to continue to send email after email as I will hopefully find a few moments to try and respond closer to the weekend! Thank you for understanding and I promise to get back on track as soon as possible!

Oh, My Goodness, O'My Goodness!

Tonight, I ran into Eatzi's after the gym and was greeted by some DARLING cookies!

I spotted this cute pink shirt cookie and headed right over to the basket that was filled with a number of pink and green delights. I found that the cookies are made by O'My Goodness cookies which is a new bakery for me. I love finding out about darling, fun and preppy companies and OMG is just that. They offer a wide selection of lovely cookies at wonderful prices! Each cookie is $4 (yes, ust four dollars!) and comes packaged in a celophane bag tied with tulle. OMG will even work with you to create a custom design! However, when you have polos and alligators (and your own shift cookie cutter too) what else could you really need?! Head on over to O'My Goodness and check out their darling items. Also, for those of you Dallas be sure to head to Eatzi's and snatch up your pink polo, watermelon or pink and green golf clubs before it is too late!
Mmmm, prep and yum all in one!!

Short Recap

This weekend was just too wonderful for words! Every event was perfect and no detail was overlooked. The ceremony was delightful and the reception was such fun! From the food to the band to the cake cutting to the lovely bride and groom it was marvelous. Even though I grew up at the old Cloister, I will say that the new was is growing on me. It is just so lush and well done. I love the resort and it will always be like a second home to me so I cannot imagine a more perfect location for the perfect wedding! Well, I am quite exhausted now so it is off to bed. Ah, but before I sign off I must tell you that in less than TWO WEEKS I will be sound asleep in Europe and in FOUR WEEKS I will be on a flight to India!! Life is just as wonderful as can be!

Somewhere, Beyond the Sea

This afternoon I am off to Sea Island for D's wedding! I am about to burst I am so excited to see everyone and take part in this wonderful event! D is BFF N's sister and so of course this will be a fabulous affair. The wedding is sure to be lovely as is laying by the pool and lounging in my perfect room at the Cloister!

I fly into JAX and will then head up to Sea Island and my super spiffy rental car. I hope to hit up the Tibi outlet before the Beach Club Bash in D and T's honor on Saturday and am also going to try and squeeze some ray catching in before I have to do my hair for the wedding. Since it is an evening affair I am pretty certain I shall have time to put my Fritz to good use or so I hope! I take the last flight out on Sunday evening so after spending some quality time with BFF N and Mr. and Mrs. I might also go back out to the pool. We shall see!! This is just going to be lovely and I am so honored to have been invited. I will be sure to take it all in so that I can provide you with a full recap (and finally decide if SI will take the place of the Mayflower as my wedding venue of choice)! Until then here are a few things I have packed in my LV for this marvelous weekend (the shift is not the actual one I will be using as a cover up, but you get the idea!):

McKims!!!

My goodness, there were 283 official entries for the McKim giveaway! I NEVER in my wildest dreams thought that many people would read my blog, let alone comment! I feel so very honored! I loved reading over each and every outfit you all submitted. There are going to be some stylish ladies out and about this summer that is for sure. Now, onto the winner...

I am SO excited to announce that comment THIRTY SEVEN was chosen by http://www.random.org/. That means the winner is HENLEY ON THE HORN! Congrats to you HOTH!! I have been reading your blog for quite some time and you are very deserving. If you have not checked out Henley on the Horn I would highly recommend reading her. She is the mother of FIVE (she has triplets!) and her blog is full of fun hostess tips, great ideas and inspiring stories. You are sure to love it too.

Survery

I have a good friend in Dallas who is working on her PhD in psychology at SMU. She always has the very best stories from her research and classes, you all would love them! Anyway, A is an a VERY small class and needs help with a survey. If you have a bit of free time today I know she and her classmates would love if you could help them out. Go here to take the relationship survey!

If you cannot access the link above (I guess many are having issues even though it shows up correctly in blogger....) here it is: www.myrelationshipsurvey.com

Also, if you have not already done so hurry and enter my MCKIM GIVEAWAY!! It ends today and you do not want to be left out!!!

Shop til You Drop

Well we all have loads of favorite books, movies and other fun things and now I have created a little haven where you can shop mine. There are categories like "Mother's Musts," "Story Time Tales" and "Hopsy's Favorites" you are sure to find something for you and perhaps even for those on your gift list. Head on over and check it out and let me know if you have any recommendations or additions too!

I am clearly not in the IT know as I cannot get my store image to fully show up. I apologize!!

Pink Splendor

From time to time I get comments (and emails) about my polish color. For all new readers, I am a pink girl so of course I only wear pink polish. I tried red a year and a half ago for Christmas and it just looked off,very off. So pink is it! However, there are just so many pinks to choose from especially now that Spring and Summer are in the air. I have several favorite pinks that I rotate. They are all so divine that is is hard to choose just one favorite.

Castaway by Essie

This is my summer color. I usually wear it on my toes, but if I am tan enough I also use it on my hands. Unlike a number of bright pinks this is not too purple or too red. It is simply pink! This color matches all Lilly wonderfully too!

Need a Vacation by Essie
This is a fabulous color for hands in the Spring and Summer. You can wear it no matter how much you have been out in the sun. It is a paler version of Castaway.
A True Romantic- OPI for Sephora
This color is a marvelous year round color. It is a pale pink, but you can still tell it is a pink. If you cannot get a manicure every seven days I highly recommend this color as you cannot tell if it slightly chips.

JLD Here Comes Hopsy!

Tonight is my first Junior League of Dallas meeting!! I am so excited as I have anxiously been awaiting for the arrival of May since last September for this very reason. Tonight we will sign our Provisional contract, pay dues and meet all the other wonderful ladies. At my last Kappa event I met three girls that will also be in my provisional class and then I know another dear through Lilly. Though I am all about meeting loads of new people and making new friends it will be nice to have someone to sit with and go to dinner with afterwards. Mother, like many of you, was involved in Junior League for years and years and she has such wonderful stories. I know I am going to love it!

I had not really thought about tonight's outfit at all as I am racing to the meeting right after work. However, when last at Lilly I tried on a dress I knew would be perfect. I was not sold on the Tori dress at all until I tried it on (GASP, even Hopsy found a piece of Lilly she did not immediately love!), however, now I am obsessed! The dress is so comfortable and ever so practical too. The print is much more vibrant in person (the picture makes it look totally subdued), but still a bit vintage looking. This dress is super flattering and it perfect for work, play and travel. I event went ahead and also bought it in the Jubilee Toile. Anyway, without further ado here is my first JLD outfit (the sweater will be tied around my shoulders only if it gets chilly):

Magic of Fabric

Ever since I was in middle school I have LOVED fabric. I never complained when mother would take me to Calico Corners and I have always enjoyed flipping through the pages of magazines and seeing all the newest prints. I think I get this from my mother as she toohas an intense love for fabric and redecorating. In Panama we were in fabric heaven with store after store filled to the brim with designer bolts of fabrics ranging from $2.99 to $5.99 a yard. After we shopped for fabric we would head right over to the dress maker Luzmilla and have our designs made up. We were certainly spoiled!
Well, it appears my days of having clothes made are back now that the parents are in India. Mother has already found a tailor and she is trying him out before I arrive. This weekend I happened to stumble upon a wonderful Dallas fabric store and once again I could hardly contain myself. I ran right in with my designs in the back of my mind and picked up a few lovelies!

Did I ever mention I am a sucker for a cute, preppy toile??
There was no way I could resist the signature blue and white Waverly or the Williamsburg print!
I will be taking the four fabrics I picked up this weekend along with a lovely Cyrus Clark print with me to India. I hope to possibly have one or both of these fabulous dresses copied. They are super comfortable and suitable for work too- they are a win, win design!

There is also a lovely dress Jackie Kennedy wore that I also hope to copy. Now I must decide which fabric suits which style dress. Oh the decisions!! I am getting so excited for India and I promise to post photos modeling my new dresses for all to see!

Creative Time

This week is a SUPER busy one (my comments to you all like likely therefore be few and far in between after this evening), but I managed to fit in a little art time. Of course being at Lilly always brings out creative side and yesterday I could no longer look at the sad, uncolored shorts any longer (sadly we were out of my all time favorite shift). Though my print is far from that of an artist I had a grand time coloring yesterday. My pink and green print could be a next Lilly staple, ha!Now if only I could come up with an appropriate name.

UK Connections

This weekend has been tres busy with work, errands, dinner, work and catching up! Today is the THREE WEEK mark until I leave Dallas for a month. It is hard to believe it is almost summer, my goodness! This weekend while running errands I picked up a lovely pair of Staffordshire dogs. Since I am lucky enough to get to visit England again this summer I thought these were rather appropriate. The Staffordshire dogs come for that particular area of England so of course I needed them to help me prepare for my trip!!

Here is a bit of history on the Staffordshire dogs that I found quite interesting:

"English potters, particularly those of Staffordshire, were most versatile. In addition to a wide variety of useful wares, they also produced ornamental pieces of all kinds. Among their decorative objects, figures of dogs were favorites, probably because the English have always been an animal-loving people.
Dog figures in either porcelain or earthenware were made at most of the important potteries. Finer ones of porcelain were produced in somewhat restricted numbers and in small sizes at Bow, Chelsea, Derby, and Worcester. At Staffordshire, on the other hand, those of earthenware were turned out by the thousands. These figures included spotted coach dogs, greyhounds, poodles, and whippets, but it was in their representations of the floppy-eared spaniels that the Staffordshire potters excelled.
They made them in all sizes, from miniatures not over an inch high to practically life-size ones as much as thirty inches tall. They were usually modeled in a sitting position and often made in facing pairs. Many had an all-over brown glaze without added decoration, but the majority were produced in white with faces, fur markings, collars, and leaders in colors and gilt. The most popular colors were brown, red, or a deep shade of purple known as aubergine. Touches of gold were often added.
Smaller spaniels were made solely as shelf or cabinet ornaments; larger ones sometimes had a practical use. When modeled with the dog sitting on an oblong base, the figure was designed to be used as a door stop. Since the base was always a little larger than the dog, it protected the glaze of the latter from being scratched or chipped in the course of its somewhat hazardous use. Largesized ones without bases were intended as mantel ornaments or for the tops of tall pieces of furniture, such as a flat-topped secretary or bookcase.
During Early Victorian years-about 1830 to 1860-spaniels were fashionable as lap dogs and most Staffordshire spaniels were produced during these years. They were always modeled in a somewhat artificial pose with the head turned at right angles to the body. There was also an almost human cast of countenance to the face. This accounts for much of their appeal and charm to collectors today."

(http://www.oldandsold.com/articles/article371.shtml)

To my mother

This likely seems like a very early post for many of you, but I wanted to make sure I posted at the appropriate time for mother in India. It is her day after all!

I have been blessed with the most wonderful mother. She is strong, she is inspiring, she is witty, she is brilliant, she is stylish, she is devout, she is loving and she is my mother! My mother always goes out of her way for others and she has been my role model for twenty four years. She has sacrificed so much for me and has stood by my father through thick and thin. She has every quality and she is simply the best! I love her so!!

Happy Mother's Day Jennypink!!

A very happy Mother's day to my fabulous Nana and marvelous Oma too! I love you both!
I hope everyone has a fabulous day celebrating your mother or being a mother! Also, though several of you do not have children of you own I also wanted to wish you a happy mother's day. Mona, Maureen, KK and Marianne, you all are such wonderful role models to us in the blogging world! Enjoy your day too!!

Summer Giveaway

It is time for get another Monograms and Manicures giveaway! Though I am lucky enough to get to celebrate at the Lilly Jubilee Retrospective this evening we are all lucky that we get to finally celebrate summer! So, in honor of the lovely warm weather and sunny days (hopefully there will be some sunny days in the Dallas future...) I am hosting a MCKIM SANDAL GIVEAWAY! The winner will receive a Mckim sandal in either the signature leather, patent leather or the embossed crocodile patent leather! You get to pick your color and what not!

To be entered to win leave a comment on THIS post with your color of choice as well as the outfit you would first wear your McKims with (all comments that do not include all this information will sadly be deleted). I have not posted all the colors, in fact I left off two of my personal favorites, so be sure to check out the Lilly Pulitzer website for a full selection.

The color you post as your favorite is the color you will be sent assuming it is available in our store.

All comments must be left by 1pm EST on Thursday, May 14th, 2009.

Let's all celebrate summer; enter away!!

Gathering!

Tonight was the Dallas blog gathering and we had such fun! I am not going to do a total recap on here as I want to allow everyone else the chance to sum the night up, but I can say I just adored the company of Emily, Ashleigh, Jill, Meredith and Eloise! I had such fun that I hope we are able to get together more often. For everyone that was unable to attend I hope you can join us later this summer (July perhaps?)! Now it is off to bed as I have a loaded day tomorrow. I have a big day at work and then there is the Retrospective and then a Slipper Club New Member reception. Gosh, I have had three big nights in a row and have another tomorrow, I wonder how the socials handle doing this 24/7?!

Dallas Restorspective!

Tomorrow is the BIG day!!

For those of you in the Dallas area you simply MUST attend this wonderful event. NorthPark is the ONLY Texas store that is getting the Retrospective and it is not something you can afford to miss, just ask Miss Janice and BFF N who already attended FL showings. The Lilly Jeep will be there too! Just think how cute your Christmas card pictures could be (mine were a huge hit last year!!)! Though the event will be going on all day starting at 5pm we will have a social hour with food and cocktails. So come one, come all!

Cha, cha, cha....FIESTA!

Sadly, this is the only photo I took at my Cinco de Mayo FIESTA! I was very busy cooking and entertaining guests so photos were not really my priority, sorry! Anyway, you can get an idea of my pink and green fiesta from these. The plates are no longer fully stocked, but there were plain cheese quesadillas, bean and cheese quesadillas then the build your own nachos and Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream! I had tried to figure out the perfect way to do the build your own nachos and in the end I went with putting out the chips and all the cheeses and just having guests microwave their plate. I know it sounds a bit ghetto, but when you have people coming and going this was the most practical thing to do and that way every plate was fresh. it worked perfectly and I would highly suggest this for any future fiesta you may have! I hope you had a delightful evening too. I am off to bed as tomorrow is a big day, but a very exciting one!!!

Pinas!

Yesterday, I ran into Bath and Body Works randomly. B&BW and I go WAY back. I was OBSESSED with the hand sanitizers in seventh grade and I lived for all things Fresia. However, I had not been into a store in ages until this past December. I ran in to check out the Slatkin collection as I was a long time fan as well. Well, the Slatkin & Co. line has definitely changed, but there are still some fabulous scents that are not too fake food smelling. The 'Fresh Bamboo' smells just like an old Slatkin candle so last December I decided to try a Scentport. I was pleasantly surprised so when I had a few extra minutes Sunday I decided to buy a refill. While I did find a fabulous new lemon neutralizing scent I also saw some darling (and preppy!) items in the store!

This pink pineapple candle was very fun and not too expensive either. I just love pineapples and they always make a perfect addition to your home!Here is the larger version which I also like. It is only $13.25! Either of these candles would be the perfect addition to your summer buffet set up or even just your kitchen or guest bathroom. They are fresh and fun and the candle scent speaks warm weather. Cute, cute, cute!

Ohhh, and on the same table as the pink pinas there were some other darling white pineapple items as well as $5 pink lattice votives! I was so impressed with the collection that I just could not pick anything out. B&BW is now on my HOT list for summer items!

PS- Molton Brown and Phyto products were all 50% off at Bath and Body Works. RUN in because it is rare that either line of products goes on sale!!

Sneak Peek

Here are a few photos of the treats for tomorrow evening:

Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting (tomorrow these will be called Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes!)
The favors for the guests!
I tried to knock all the sweets out tonight before the gym and then again after my manicure. I must say I think I did well- everything looks and tastes fantastic. I also pulled all the serving pieces for tomorrow evening and set them out so I can concentrate on the guacamole, quesadillas and the build-you-own-nachos station when I get home. I am super excited for my little Cinco de Mayo FIESTA!! Do you have any exciting plans for tomorrow??