The Holidays. Part Tres. 5 Degrees and Counting.

Chi-Town!  W. and I went to Chicago for New Years and my Bday.  We had a blast.  My sister and her husband  were the best hosts.  We are so blessed to have them in our lives...plus they are both really funny.  Another one of our favorite couples Megan and Aaron came with us too. I think the highest the temp reached was about 18 degrees.  Today we were out and it was 5 **FREAKING** degrees...I almost died.  My sister and I live in totally opposite places.  Our summers can reach 120 degrees plus and her winters can be in the single digits!  Northface and Ugg rock.  I don't know how people up here could live without them....




















We did all the touristy things Michigan Ave, The Bean, Oprah's Studio, original Marshall Fields...  We rode the bus and train everywhere. 
























 We dined at couple of places off the beaten path that we loved.  The first is called Hot Chocolate {isn't that the coolest name?} It's located in Wicker Park. They had the BEST coffee I have ever tasted.  My hubby went with the "Medium" hot chocolate and it was a hit too!  Breakfast was divine...The restaurant's decor reminded me of Napa, very modern Americano...if you are ever in Chicago and looking for a great breakfast spot go there!!!

 
"As God is my witness I'll never be hungry again. Scarlett a man hath no better thing than to eat, drink and be merry...." This the quote that is painted on my other favorite place we went called Home Bistro Chicago (located in Lakeview.)  This place is BYOB, so we brought our own vino and vodka.  My sister says a lot of the restaurants in Chicago are like this, because the liquor licenses are so expensive.  We sat in the window and watched the snow fall.  It was a perfect end to our trip.  It is very small and quaint and we were very loud and full of ourselves...they didn't seem to mind ;) They even let my sister and hubby back into the kitchen. 

Hope everyone has a blessed and prosperous 2010!

xoxo, Lily's Laundry
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.Blogspot.com

The Holidays. Part Dos.

The day after Christmas is always my favorite day of the Holidays.  You just get to chill out with your family...So that's what we did.  My parents live about 1 mile from The Black Hammock at Lake Jesup.  The lake is rich in Floridan history and has more gators then any other lake in Florida.  Years ago people use to dump all the gators in the county in this lake.  There are 1000's of them in the lake!  We love to The Black Hammock  because of this old, old gator called Hammy.  Plus the people watching is out of this world!  You can go on airboat rides and eat lunch at The Lazy Gator.  If you have never tried fried gator, you should, its really good.    My husband bought a 11 foot gator head to put in his office.  What a great conversion piece for a business man in SoCal ;)  

(thought this was a cool looking pic)

(W with his prized Gator Head.  He is telling people he killed it)

(My sister and bro. in law with Lily)

My family has been in the citrus business for 100 plus years in Central Florida and has groves on Lake Jesup.  After we left The Black Hammock we went to cruise the groves and pick some oranges.  It has been such a long time since we have done this as a family.  The day reminded me of my childhood. We even drove past a place deep in the groves where we use to party in high school. My Dad loved that! 

(My fam. in grove.  My dad was showing us where the state is pulling phosphate out of lake. Guess its a money maker. Who knew?!)

We are off to Chicago to visit my sister in a bit.  Say a prayer for safe travels.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  PEACE AND BLESSING FOR 2010!

xoxo, Lily's Laundry

www.LilysLaundryBoutique.Blogspot.com

www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

The Holidays. Part Uno.

We are just back from a short but busy trip to Florida.  It was a whirlwind and W. and I are off to Chicago tomorrow  for News Years, so life is busy.  We traveled the state in a Toyota minivan.  My husband was trying to persuade me it was a cool car...I mean don't get me wrong, it is very functional but I am not a functional type of person   I told him look "you married a high heel wearing girl and a minivan to me is more like a  good pair of flats."

We started off by going to South Florida where my husband's family lives.  First stop was his mothers house.  She and her husband are one of the largest orchid growers in the country.  Their property is amazing.  It is  like an orchid wonderland!  Lily loves it too because there is so much stuff to do outside.  We cruised through the greenhouses, rode on the "Gator," fed all the birds...

The next day we got up and went down to Jupiter to W's sisters house for Christmas Eve Day where the girls played with their cousins and ate dinner....

We then get back in the "functional"  minivan and drove 3 hours north to my parents house for Christmas Eve Night so the girls could have Santa on Christmas Morning.

Time frame here is about 24 hours...We are all SO TIRED!

Christmas morning we always go to my Grandmother Claire's house and exchange gifts with my Dad's side of the family.












Then everyone comes over to our house for Christmas dinner.  We then finished the night off with some sparklers left over from our wedding (8 YEARS AGO.) They still worked and Lily LOVED them.

To Be Continued...

oxoxo, Lily's Laundry
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

WRAP IT UP...

I love gift wrapping paper.  I always have.   I also love untraditional ways of wrapping presents.  This year I used all sorts of bright, funky, colored paper.  We live in a resort community, so it is perfect. I keep bows, ribbons, faux flowers and unique decorations throughout the year and I use them on my gifts.  I used ornaments, peacock feathers, lace, sequins, tulle and ribbons to wrap these up. Lily and Claire loved them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
xoxo, Lily's Laundry
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

Oh Santa..Where are you...

It's that time where you are trying to find that perfect gift.  Man, sometimes it is so hard.  I think women are easy.   I tell my husband you can never go wrong with a good handbag (a.k.a Chanel) or a piece of jewelery ;} wink wink {;  I have a hard time finding that perfect something though for the men in my life.  Something that is unique yet that they will get good use out of.  So I go to the ole' tried and true gift guides that pop up this time of year.

Here are some of my favorites...

My sister's and my all time favorite magazine was Domino.  Sadly it went out of business this past spring but and new version has come out called LonNy Mag.  You can view it at www.Lonnymag.com
They have a great gift guide OR buy the magazine and give it as a gift...love those kind..they last all year.

I found this awesome website through LonNy that is very 20's, Flapper, East Village inspired called  www.patchnyc.com.  Perfect if you are looking for a unique, luxurious present.  THEIR WEBSITE IS WAY TOO COOL!

Oprah always has the gift department covered.  Check out her great list.  She has  food, stocking stuffers, art work, clothes and more.  I love this photo by www.allpopart.com that has been Andy Warhol-ized.  It would be cute for a favorite pet!   You can also do something similar on canvas through your local Costco.

www.Oprah.com




Cool Mom Picks has some good stuff. I love how they list it everything $, $$ or $$$. They also have some coolly worded titles like "For Your Twilight-Infatuated Niece" or "For Your Sister and Best Friend who's a Million Miles Away" (like mine, sniff sniff )

Hope these help. 
Oh P.S. Neiman's is offering free Rush shipping and gift wrap with code HURRY.  You can never go wrong there!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

xoxo, Lily's Laundry

www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

Merry. Merry. Merry...I am worn out!

This has been the week of parties and I am exhausted so I am going to put the whole week in one post. Wednesday night we had my husband client apprecitaion party at Franklin Loan Center. We hosted about 300 people. Ruth Chris did the food and we served beer and wine. I was in charge of the decorations. We did LOTS of red roses, crystals and candles and the tables looked great. A girlfriend Kelly of mine did these crystals on her table for her birthday and it looked amazing. You can get flowers delivered in bulk from Costco. This is the third party I have done this for and every time they have turned out fantastic. You have to order them the week before, on a certain day, for the flowers to be delivered fresh. I got 200 long stem red roses for about $150. Its a great deal. If you need bulk flowers check it out, (make sure to read shipping info though) not a lot of people know about it.

Friday night we had the employees party for FLC.  It was a great time too.  Walter and I are so grateful for everyone that works at Franklin without them we would not have the company that we do.

Everything looks cool at night with all the lights ;)

Today I was at the Sacred Heart Tea selling LLB stuff.  It was lots of fun.  There were about 600 people there and some really great vendors too!  A few of them were Ashley Hackshaw from www.Lilblueboo.blogspot.com, Lisa Walker from www.ellebows.blogspot.com, two sweet sisters Amy and Cara who own She She on El Paseo, Allison Hanlon Clothing and the ladies that own www.happychickadee.com which has darling things too!  If you have a chance check out these blogs and website.  Everyone has great things..I am adding some pictures and then off to bed...12 more days will Christmas...and I haven't even done any of my shopping ahhhhh....

Christmas Tutu's $40 at LLB

Christmas Bucket for $18 perfect for hostess gifts!

Pacifier Clips only $8 perfect to add to gift baskets for showers by Cranberries and Capers

RuffleButts and Gift Baskets by LLB

Merry Christmas, Lily's Laundry
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

The Sacred Heart Shopping Extravaganza!

LLB is going to be at The Sacred Heart Shopping Extravaganza on Sunday Decemeber 13th form 9:30-1:30.  Here are the details.

You won’t want to miss The Sacred Heart Shopping Extravaganza!  This Sunday Only!  A Terrific Opportunity to complete your shopping in one day and support your Sacred Heart Family with over 40 Fantastic vendors, offering wonderful deals in all price ranges, and all styles from Chic to Classy!  

At the Rancho Las Palmas Resort Grand Ballroom this Sunday Dec. 13^th from 9:30-1:30! 

Support your fellow Sacred Heart Parishioner and School Family and cross off everyone on your list with one stop!

Up to 20% of your purchase will come back to Sacred Heart! Free Parking and Admission and the selection can’t be beat! These Spectacular Vendors will be ready to wrap up your shopping needs!

Merry Christmas, Lily's Laundry 

So if you are local come and check it out!

www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

Ahhhh...The Nutcracker!

Today was a sad day for the Gator Nation! I woke up this morning nervous but thought since Lily was going to be a mouse in the Nutcracker that is was a good omen. Aren't mice suppose to terrify Elephants...ahhh...to no such avail. I was at the Nutcracker checking my iphone every second. I felt like a man. LOL. In the end the Gators lost bad to Bama...Oh well...at least I had a bunch of three and four years old to cheer me up! Merry Christmas!

xoxo, Lily's Laundry
www.LilysLaundryBoutique.com

Georgia on My Mind...Florida in My Heart!

For Turkey Day we traveled, with the two babes to Thomasville, Georgia. It is a small town about 35 mins northeast of Tallahassee and the Florida border. It is deep into the southern sea, for a girl, who for the last 8 years has been indoctrinated into the SoCal lifestyle. My parents bought a darling condo there and have been asking us to come. So we finally succumbed and made the trip. Every time we step off the plane my mom says "Welcome to Dixie," which cracks me. Anyways, I have to tell you I was pleasantly surprised by Thomasville and loved the way it was decorated for the holidays.

Here are are couple of things that I found and loved.

One is a store called LAVISH. Isn't that such a great name? It is an apothecary boutique and specializes in soaps, perfumes, jewelry and some children's items. Nancy the owner also has a blog if you want to learn more about LAVISH. http://www.lavishapothecary.blogspot.com/ My parents bought my sister and me some Christmas presents from there. They wrapped them with a twig of cotton. Isn't it so creative?!?

Another store on Broad St. that is darling is called FireFly. The name reminds me of a humid summer night, catching fireflies in a mason jar and putting them next to my bed thinking they would give off enough light to be a nightlight and would still be alive in the morning. Ha. Wishful thinking.

I picked up some glitter covered reindeer. Everyone who knows me knows I like the bling. They are perfect! I will be getting all of my Christmas stuff out this week and will find the perfect place to use them.

Lily loved them too. She already knocked one of their red jeweled noses off. Opps!

On Saturday my parents watched both girls for the night and Walter, my brother and I went to GVille to watch the Mighty Gators kick some Nole Booty. We had so much fun. It really was one of the best football games I have been to. The energy in the stadium was crazy. It was Tim Tebow's last home game and crowd was twinkling from all the pictures that were being taken.

This is before game!  I asked the guy if PETA was cool with this...he said yeah ;)

With one of my BFF Meg's.  She left her man in Tampa and came up all by herself.

Got myself a new hat!  It's now my new FAV!

Wished I had one of these today when I came home from vaca and my imacs hard drive crashed...ahhhh..everyone keeps asking..."Didn't you back it up?" No! It's brand new!!!! Duhhhh...I know better!

Hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving. I cannot believe Christmas is almost here. Wow! 2009 has gone by quickly.

The "LaLa's"

While I was at Florida I was an Alpha Delta Pi.  I have the best girlfriends in the world.  I had 9 bridesmaids when I got married 8 years ago and all of us are still very close.  We are all spread throughout the country and 1 of us will soon be living in the BVI but we still get together a couple times of year. October was New Orleans and January will be Dallas.  We will call it The LaLa's do Dallas!  We call ourselves the LaLa's for a couple of reasons. 1. All of our names either begin with L's or A's 2. We all are in our own "LaLa Land," and 3. We are all close like the women of the YaYa Sisterhood.  Each of us has completely different personalities and that's what makes us work so great.  They all call me Madonna because I now live far away from the South and I am always changing my look. The are all very Southern and pride themselves on it!  We love each other for our individuality....Anyways to make a long story short...One of the LaLa's told me she had her own blog but she is writing it anonymously. So I had to check it out.  I have one word to define it, HYSTERICAL.  Maybe I am just biased because I know and love this person and her fuuny personality but if you want to follow a blog that will make you laugh while giving you some great tid bits on life you should check out www.sweetdreamspreppy.blogspot.com.  To get yourself started in the southern land of Miss Sweet Dreams Preppy read the post on Isacc Mizarhi first.  It is sure to give you a giggle!