vacation

We are on vacation for the next couple weeks, and I could not be happier about it. I've been working part-time (which has actually turned out to be wayyyyyy more than "part" time) since the beginning of the year, and the combination of being a stay at home mom while simultaneously working from home has gotten a little...intense.  It's definitely a situation I'm grateful for, but let's just say it's made me all the more grateful for a break. For the past few days I've been: making blueberry pancakes with lots of bacon for breakfast and grilling my favorite chicken apple cheeseburgers based loosely on Gwyneth's Japanese meatballs from It's All Good. (I added shredded apple, forgot to buy ginger and made them into burgers topped with provolone cheese and caramelized onions)

coloring rocks with sidewalk chalk so we can leave them behind Hansel and Gretel-style on some upcoming hiking adventures.

watching Mad Men (I just finished season one: really, Peggy Olson??)

exercising (for precisely 1 day)

napping

reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown and Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

stopping for a love break on a walk

extra-long mountain naps

I'm too cute for this

playing "cafe" My daughters are also sharing a bedroom right now which is both scary and adorable. Right now Ellie (age 4) is singing Jesus Loves Me to SK (age 2). I had NO idea that there were so many verses to this song nor did I realize that Ellie knows them all. Or maybe she made them up. Either way, it's hard to be mad at these two little cuties who should have been asleep hours ago.

Lilly

image via  On Friday my daughter was getting dressed and said, "well, if I'm going to a birthday party, I'd better wear my Lilly Pulitzer!" That pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? Growing up in South Florida, Lilly Pulitzer's influence was everywhere. You could wear her colorful juice-toned dresses just about any day of the year, but they were especially appropriate on Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Memorial Day, Kentucky Derby Saturday, Master's Sunday, Valentine's Day, Labor Day, wedding showers, baby showers and of course: birthdays. They are happy clothes. I was just commenting to a friend how I like Lilly best in a classic, bright, go-to-hell (Tom Wolfe's phrase, not mine) shift dress that doesn't reflect any particular trend or season. I think Lilly's relentless use of color, cheer and attention to detail really define what it means to be wildly successful: find something you're good at; and do it in a way that only you can.  Cheers to you, Lilly Pulitzer. 

two things

I'm super psyched about two things this morning: 1. I'm doing my first ever guest post at Meredith's blog, It's Like This which is one of my favorite things to read every day because she is hilarious, stylish and very genuine. I contributed a guest post to her "What's on Your Vanity?" series which was a lot of fun to do, and I am so flattered to be included. Thanks Meredith! 2. The Elizabeth Letter got a much-needed new look thanks to the very talented Whitney Voss of Heart and Arrow Design. I cannot recommend Whitney highly enough. I originally found her online boutique via Etsy.com, and I am SO happy with the "new" Elizabeth Letter. When I first started this blog in July, I attempted to do all the design myself (which was probably painfully obvious). I semi-enjoyed the learning process, but there was a pretty vast amount that I didn't know how to do which started to get pretty frustrating. Enter Whitney's creative genius and voila! Do you see how all the little details go perfectly together, and has this really pretty vintage post office feel?  I love it. Thank you Whitney!