Good Reads: The Royal We

After hearing great things about this book, I decided to read it last week.  It was so good! I finished it in two days and I'll be honest..I have a bit of a book hangover now that I'm done reading.  It's definitely fan fiction based around William and Kate but I didn't mind it.

This book does a great job at developing the characters through all their ups and downs.  I was so emotionally invested in this book that I was in a mood all afternoon/evening the first day I was reading it as I went through some of the downs with the book.  This is definitely not just a boring fairy tale with storybook ending, but a hilariously funny and modern take on love.

You begin by reading in current day and are taken back to the first day that Nick and Bex meet.  You are taken through their entire friendship/courtship/engagement while reading.  There are a couple of times where things are just so obviously going to happen and normally that really drives me crazy, but it worked with this book.  And the more I read, the more possibilities there were for what was coming next which always kept me wanting to read more and more (hence why I finished in two days).  The only criticism I have of the book is the ending. It seemed a bit rushed.

Overall, I absolutely loved the book.  I definitely would love to see a sequel.  Now I just need to find another book to read!

Lilly for Less

If you have met me or followed this blog at all, then you'd probably realize that I LOVE all things Lilly Pulitzer.  I know many people were excited for the Lilly Pulitzer for Target collaboration because it meant Lilly prints for more affordable prices.  Much to many people's dismay, the line sold out in minutes.  Today I am posting some tricks to getting the Lilly look for less.

1) Shop the two online sales that Lilly Pulitzer has each year.  One is in January and one is in the summer.  Be prepared if you plan to shop this sale.  Sign up for an account and have your information in there ready to go (including CC info).  You want to make sure you begin your shopping as soon as the sale goes live at 8 am EST. My last piece of advice for these sales are to check out often.  Don't add everything you want to your cart before purchasing or you will find your cart will be missing items by the time you checkout due to selling out of stock. 

2) Shop in brick and mortar Lilly signature stores.  These stores will have sales on older stock that the website will not have.  A lot of these stores will even take over-the-phone orders and ship to you if you do not live close to one.  Some even have useful websites.  (PS. many of these stores honor the Lilly Pulitzer website's big sale pricing if stock is still available online at the time)  I got a pair of shorts for $23 back in January while I was in Charleston.

3) If you live close or are up for a trip, check out the Lilly Pulitzer Warehouse sale.  It takes places each June at an expo center in Philadelphia and has prices up to 70% off.  I have never participated but from the looks of it there are huge lines that move a decent pace and tons of stock so don't be turned off due to the recent Target debacle.  The idea of a roadtrip for this event has always appealed to me!

4) Rue La La.  Rue often has Lilly sales or includes items in some of their boutiques.  You can sign up and get a daily email sent right to your inbox about current boutiques or even sign up for alerts on specific brands.

5) Ebay, Poshmark, Instagram, Consignment, Thrift Stores, etc.  If you are like me, you love some of the older seasons' prints or the vintage dresses.  You can find great deals on these if you keep your eyes peeled.  I check for certain prints (my holy grails if you will) on a regular basis on eBay and Posh.  

6) Make friends in the community of ladies who love Lilly Pulitzer as much as you! One thing you will learn is these ladies are aces.  Join Facebook groups and pages, use Instagram and twitter, etc. to build relationships with some of these amazing women and they can be one of your biggest helps in finding what you are looking for within your budget.  (Not all of us were mad women running through Target with carts full of merchandise just to turn around and sell for double or more the retail price just to make some money!)

7) Buy similar, more affordable pieces. If you truly love the Lilly look and don't care about the name so much to refuse to wear anything but, there are some looks for less that can fit a smaller budget.  Here is what I have found recently that is similar to some Lilly P but at a price point well below the original.

Shorts : JC Penney   Lilly Pulitzer
Dress:   Old Navy     Lilly Pulitzer

I actually own those JCP shorts and just wore them the other day. I find tons of things at TJ Maxx that are very similar.  Some people even get lucky enough to snag a piece of Lilly there.  I have never seen any at mine, however they do get Lilly Pulitzer Lifeguard Press items regularly.  Recently I spied these pieces that are similar to some Lilly pieces.

The shirt in the middle is Cynthia Rowley and really similar to the Iona Sleevless Silk Shell with a button down back.

This pink, red, and white dress was a classic shift in fun, bright pattern and it had an exposed zipper down the back just like LP.

Lilly + Target!

Happy Sunday!Did anyone else burn the midnight oil last night trying to score some Lilly Pulitzer for Target online before the stores opened today like I did?  Luckily, I managed to get some tips from twitter and ordered my three top items from my wish list.  Being as I live in north central Indiana, I wasn't expecting there to be a big crowd waiting.  I was correct in no big crowd, but there were enough ladies waiting ahead of me that it made getting any clothes impossible. As is the case, I stuck mainly to focusing on the tote, scarves, and accessories.

About 5 minutes after doors opened at my local Target

I am happy with my haul from this collaboration.  I absolutely love the Nosie Posey print (as can be seen in the items I purchased). I obviously wanted about 40 items and only ended up with a handful of them but I cannot complain.

My Lilly + Target purchases.

I hope you all some success like I did and managed to get at least a couple of things on your wish list.  Word is going around that online will be restocked on Tuesday.  Happy shopping!

My Week In Snaps

This week has been a slow and less hectic week than expected after working until 7 on Monday night.  Here's what my week looked like in pictures.

Courthouse at dusk.  Downtown was pretty Monday night.

Prettiest sunset ever. This picture doesn't come close to doing it justice.

Street art.

First time trying this campus restaurant.

Made my favorite gnocchi soup.

Wore my vintage Lilly Pulitzer dress to work.

Washington, DC: Part 3

I promised several posts for this trip recap because we crammed as much as we could into our short trip (my foot felt the affects of such and decided to get hurt midway through - it's finally almost back to normal).  Our third day in the district was no slouch itself.  We had our routine stop at Bayou Bakery and then we caught a bus to Georgetown.  One of mom's requests was to go to Georgetown Cupcake, a bakery made famous by the TLC show, DC Cupcake.  We got there about twenty minutes before it opened and managed to get a pretty good spot in line (yes, it's famous now and it has lines just to get in). Mom and I both had the cherry blossom cupcake.  Let me just say it...it was AMAZING! I've never had cream cheese frosting that was that good before. Yum!  We walked around Georgetown and along the canal before taking the metro towards the White House.

We saw the White House and Lafayette Square and then we ate at Potbelly's for a quick lunch.  We were blessed with amazing weather for a second day in a row.

After lunch, we went and toured the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.  I was very excited to get to tour this venue. And the views from the terrace at the Kennedy Center were breath taking.  I only wish we had walked around more up there.

That night after dinner, I met up with one of my long lost IU best friends, Laura, who I haven't seen in a few years!  She happened to live in the area where we stayed so I met up with her for drinks.  Looking back, I am very sad that we didn't document it with a picture!

The next morning we visited the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Museum of American History before we retrieved our luggage and went to the airport that afternoon.  As always, my time in Washington was not long enough.  There is so much to do, see, eat, etc in that metro that I am certain I could never tire of visiting.

Until next time, DC.

Washington, DC: Part 2

I'm back with Part 2 of my recap of my quick trip to Washington, DC.  On our second day, we began by walking up the street for breakfast at the Bayou Bakery.  I found this place when researching things for our trip...of course my list of restaurants to try far exceed the number of meals we'd eat.  That being said, I'm glad we found this little gem.  We ended up having it every morning (I tried something new each time).

We went to the Tidal Basin next.  Since we didn't rent a car and relied on transit to get us everywhere, we took a metro but still had a decent little piece to walk.  Lucky for us because we got to see the First Family on their way to Easter service.

A video posted by Amanda Condra 🍍🎀💄 (@ascondra) on Apr 5, 2015 at 3:49pm PDT

After watching the motorcade, we walked around the Tidal Basin and checked out the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr memorial.  We were about a week too early to see the famous cherry blossoms.  We saw the Lincoln meorial, the WWII memorial, and the Washington monument before taking the metro to the Banana Cafe for lunch.

FDR Memorial

A somewhat cloudy morning turned into a gorgeously sunny and blue skies afternoon.  We walked around and saw the Library of Congress, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court (from the grounds in front of the Capitol), and then we went and found something else I had found in my research, Blind Whino.  It did not disappoint!  It used to be a church but now it is home to Blind Whino SW Arts Club that was painted by HENSE and turned into a magnificent piece of art.

We ended up having Five Guys for dinner after searching for an Italian restaurant that Dad and I had when we went to DC five years ago without any success.