Dillards LOVE Affair

Sometimes I think I am blind to things. I worked at NorthPark for almost two years and during that time I ALWAYS parked in the Dillard's lot. Lilly was located just a few stores down, but I probably only walked into Dillard's two or three times. Shocking, I know. I guess I am a real creature of habit and would just hightail it right on over to Neiman Marcus for my Taco Salad while failing to notice what gems could be found just down the way. This month I have finally discovered said gems and I will not ever be looking back. I am having a LOVE affair with Dillard's! There are far too many favorite items to post, but I just had to share my two ultimate finds with you all:

I felt like I was taking part in a highway robbery when I found the above and below frocks. I paid under $95 for BOTH of these!! The black and white dress has a little sash which I will tie in a bow (see Twitter photo from Sunday evening). Tres chic!

This pink dress is a few sizes too big, but it can easily be taken in as the price was too good to pass up. I just LOVE the detail around the neckline and of course I can never ever have too much pink!

Both dresses are extremely reminiscent of other brands I love, but cost a fraction of the price. Win-win in my opinion! Dillard's is my new go-to store for all things fabulous!
*Neither dress is available online, but there is one very similar to the first on the Dillard's site. It is by IN Studio and the same color scheme, just different stripes!

Memorial Day 2011

Day is done, gone the sun
from the lakes, from the hills, from the sky.

All is well, safely rest;

God is nigh.

We live in a great, great nation. Day in and day out we get up and worry about what to wear, what to order at Starbucks or what to do next weekend. All the while men and women sitting half way across the world worry about whether or not they will be able to call their parents and wish them one more good night or if they will ever meet their baby. These brave men and women put their lives on the line for us every day so that we may live in the comfort our of homes and lives. They fight for the freedom of those they have, and never will, meet. They make this land the home of the free and the land of the brave!

We must NEVER forget how lucky and blessed we are to live in America and we must NEVER take this freedom and service for granted. To all that serve or have gone before those that currently do so, THANK YOU for your service and thank you for making America great! We owe SO much to you all and those that stand and support you. A special thank you to a dear blog reader and Internet friend, Lisa Musgrove, whose children both serve our country. If you are related to someone currently serving please feel free to leave a comment so that we can all properly thank your family.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

I Remember You

Just a note to say hello this evening. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week and I promise to have some more exciting posts in the next few days!

SIDE NOTE: Did anyone else watch American Idol? I think it was the most star filled finale yet. I am SO glad Scotty won! I think he and Lauren might just have a little something for one another after watching those last few minutes. Did anyone else catch on to that? I guess time shall tell!

Elephants EVERYWHERE!

You know I am a HUGE fan of all things elephant! I just cannot get enough. I think they are the sweetest animals; they are so smart and kind (hence my not loving the movie Water for Elephants...the abuse just made me so sad and was too much for me personally...the acting was good though) and just elegant animals. Of course I always have my eyes out for elephant anything so I have been thrilled with the elephants new found popularity. It seems everywhere I look I see my beloved friend:

Royal Elephant Plantation Basket ($325)

Elizabeth McKay Scotland Ruffle Wrap Dress ($275)

Furbish Studio Elephant Bracelet ($48)

Anthropologie Encased Elephant Hook ($20)

Calypso for Target Elephant Teapot ($13)

Fornash Elephant Necklace ($38)

Dbaer Elephant Belt ($82)

Hermes Gold Plated Lock ($290)

Go Mavs!

Fingers crossed for a Mavs win at home tomorrow night...we want to go allllll the way!

Sorry for the crazy spacing and tiny Polyvore. Technology is not cooperating with me today.

Birthdays

I love celebrating birthdays. In fact, I much prefer celebrating other people's over my own and this weekend I was able to ring in a new year with a dear friend.

Many of you know Southern Vogue and I are dear friends. While we originally met through our blogs, we also worked at Lilly together. We now enjoy going to movie screenings together, chatting about Junior League and Pippa Middleton and planning shindigs. SV LOVES to host events (much like my mother and I) and her soirees ALWAYS live up to the hype.

On Saturday a group of us headed to SV's home to help her ring in her 25th year. The table was perfectly set and ready for the day's celebration.

The meal was simply DELICIOUS as was the cake! SV and her mother really outdid themselves!
All the guests were dressed in their Sunday best for this soiree!

What a wonderful afternoon spent celebrating with SV! You simply must pop over to her blog for a more in depth recap. While you are there be sure to wish her a happy birthday too!

Thank you for letting me steal photos too M!

Photos and Tidbits

I just got the photos from last Thursday's LOFT girl event which I wanted to share with you. They are so fun and give you an idea of the nature of the event; we really had a grand time!! Also, the solo shots should help you understand why I did not become a model...tee hee!
Many of you have asked where my mother ordered the smocked, monogram baby day gown. Well, it was actually ordered from the same lady that did all my smocked outfits when I was a child! I have written about Lynn on my blog before and just have to tell you again that it is a CHARM to work with her! She can do absolutely anything, just email her if you do not see exactly what you want on her etsy site.
I have also got loads and loads of questions about the Dukan diet. The only thing I can recommend to you if interested is that you buy and read the book. You can find quite a bit of information online (lots of recipes), but the book is really the key to the plan.

I leave for St. John in just about two weeks. So many of you had marvelous recommendations on Twitter, but if you have any "cannot miss" things to do or places to go I would love to hear!

I can hardly believe we are already more than half way through May. Summer is just around the corner and before we know it, we will be half way through the year! Crazy, crazy, crazy! I have been working hard to stick to my New Year's resolutions, have you been too?

Have a lovely weekend and for the record, GO MAVS!

Loft Girls

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of hosting a Summer kick-off event at Ann Taylor LOFT with four other fabulous ladies. The event, titled LOFT Girls, was an exclusive event for which the NorthPark store closed its doors to us and all our guests. Drinks and canapes were served and a DJ spun the latest tunes while we all shopped and mingled. It was such a FUN night and I am so honored to have been chosen as a LOFT girl!
The LOFT has the cutest clothing this season! It was so hard for me to pick an outfit (I feel like mine did not photograph well at all, but I promise it was extra cute in person) as there were just so many options. However, after much fretting in the dressing room I decided on a fun top and summer staple skirt with a few accessories.

LOFT has SO many animal prints this season as well as lots of coral and orange. Two things I simply adore and cannot have enough of in my closet. I wore the above top in the coral print...it was a win-win!

Many of the LOFT items are reminiscent of a brand I used to love (it shall not be named, but I am certain you can figure it out) whose quality has gone DOWN HILL as their price has gone UP. The dresses, tops and skirts especially remind me of this brand, but the LOFT fit it much more true to size and thus more flattering too.

I wore this black eyelet skirt and go SO many compliments. I simply adore the a-line fit as it hide all the flaws on your lower half. This skirt is my new go-to piece for summer as it can be dressed up and down and thus worn for work or play.

Another thing I love about Ann Taylor LOFT are all their fabulous accessories. They have the best sunglasses, but I am most obsessed with all their tortoise shell hair accessories. I am wearing my new headband now and will be running back in to stock up on barrettes and other headbands stat. They are the perfect fit and not too big, plus the price it right!

I had the best time at Ann Taylor LOFT last week and cannot wait to see what their upcoming seasons hold. Pop in soon if you have not visited in a while, you will fall in love with the store and their staff. Plus, they have amazing sales which cannot be beat!

Wordless Wednesday

A little pink and green from across the Atlantic...

even the Sloan Rangers like the best color combination!

God save the Queen!

The Look for Less: Hermes Edition

If you have ever perused the Hermes website you know what fun things they have for us all to play with....and dream about too...

You can watch a iconic Pegasus scarf be "built". You even get to choose your desired color scheme. I am sure it comes as a shock that I went with the pink!
Then, my favorite section of the site are the Hermes "printables". Since the vast majority of us cannot buy every single cuff or bag our heart desires, Hermes allows us to print and build a few! I think this is just what the doctor ordered!

It would be extra fun, not to mention tres tres chic and posh, to print loads of cuffs and bags in white and use them at a birthday fete. Make each girl decorate their own and then sport it!

I mean how can one pass up a free Hermes!? This is most definitely divine design!

Summer Movies

In Texas, Summer (July specifically)is HOT, HOT, HOT which makes it the perfect time to go to the movies. It seems as if there are quite a few great movies hitting theaters this summer and I am looking forward to quite a few, but especially these:

The Hangover 2

I just scored screening tickets to this and can hardly wait! The first one was too funny so I am hoping this one blows it out of the water!

Monte Carlo

I know, I know, this is definitely a tween move a la Lizzie McGuire, but it looks so cute and it takes place in PARIS!

The Help

The book was amazing and from the looks of the movie it appears it will live up to the hype too!

Are you a movie goer? If so, what are you excited to see?

Baby Shower: Other Details

After 24 hours WITHOUT Blogger we are back up and running! Who knew how dependent we had all become on the program? Nothing like a day without it to make me really appreciate it...now if we could just get an explanation for all the missing posts...

Just in time for the weekend I have a final baby shower post. It is a mish mash of all the little details around the house.

Every area was prepped for the special day.
My childhood Peter Rabbit bench was used for all the gifts.Lots of pink for little Miss Sloane!

For those of you that have inquired about home interior photos here is a view into the Library from the Living Room.

The table is almost ready for our guests. My parents got this run in India. It is an antique rug from Pakistan and just beautiful. They have another antique rug from Afghanistan at the landing (I will take a photo next time) from Afghanistan. It is so unique in that it was made by traveling women on one loom. So each time they had to move they moved the loom with them...a photo is a must.

My child size Silver Cross greeted all guests upon their arrival.

Everyone fell in LOVE with the cookies I ordered from A Dozen Eggs!

Prizes for the baby shower game winners.

We played a word scramble and a fill-in-the-blank nursery rhyme game....

and also a toilet paper guess the mother's belly size game!

My grandmother's friend (left) made this fun hat and scarf for baby Sloane. We all thought it was too fun!

My mother and I gave this smocked and monogram day gown as well as the monogram diaper cover.

Since the house was all set up we had a derby party after the baby shower. It was the perfect way to reuse all the flowers and decor!

I hope you all have enjoyed a glimpse into our Peter Rabbit baby shower!