Carolina Cup & 2015 Lilly Picks!

My most favorite time of the year is here - Carolina Cup!! This will be the first time in seven years that I haven't attended the iconic horse race in my husband's home town of Camden, SC. It's even where I met Ryan six years ago, right there on that muddy field.

Fast forward and I guess the reason we're not going this year is a pretty darn good one considering our little girl could be here any moment! So in the meantime I'm just going to dream about Cup from afar, including which Lilly dress I would choose this year. You can click here to see picks from year's past, including last year's winner! For 2015, here are my top contenders, along with some other must have accessories...

1. Flamingo & Pineapple Tervis Tumbler - Ya gotta have somethin' to sip ya mint juleps out of all day at the Cup and this pretty little tumbler is the perfect vessel! Pop a straw in there and you're golden, not to mention how cute is this new pattern?!

2. Tory Burch Leather Phone Wallet - I'm in LOVE with the Juniper Berry blue on this wallet which is perfect for Cup with the wrist strap and room for your iPhone. 

3. Vineyard Vines Straw Pom Hat - Now y'all know no horse race would be complete without a big 'ol hat and I am just a lovin' this pom pom straw number from Vineyard Vines. I think it will be perfect for beach and pool trips this summer too!

4. Ban.do Glitter Backup Charger - Guaranteed, your phone IS going to die at the Cup because everyone is trying to use theirs as well, so a backup charger is a must and I'm loving this glitter pattern!

5. Classic Jack Rogers Sandal in Platinum - The go-to shoe of the Carolina Cup, I love the Platinum version because its a mix of gold and silver and matches everything. Although, I will say you should not wear a new pair, its rather muddy out in the field.

Now, here's the hard part, what Lilly would you choose? 

Here are my top three favorites for Cup this year. I always like to go for a punchy, brightly colored dress for this event and make sure its a good one for Easter as well. 

6. Mila Lace Detail Shift - I feel like the detail doesn't come through as well via computer, but zoom in and you'll see how gorgeous it really is up close!

7. Raegan Fit and Flare Dress - I am obsessed with fit and flare dresses and the First Impression print is one of my favorites (see my About page) and I love how they brought it back in yellow.

8. Darcelle Full Skirt Party Dress - This dress has an overlay that flounces out at the bottom and I think its just perfectly feminine! 

Tell me in the comments which you would choose, maybe one of these will be my post-baby summer gift to myself :).

I couldn't help but go down memory lane for a minute too... and from the first time I met Ryan, to the most recent Cup, I sure am going to miss it! But oh how we have something big to look forward to this year!!

PS: Did you SEE the amazing look book that Target has up for their Lilly collection?! See my picks in this post.

Lilly for Target Look Book Picks

Happy morning Lilly lovers! Target has released a look book and fun interactive party on their site and I easily want one of everything, especially once I saw the prices! The line officially launches April 19th and I'm already tagging my favorites I hope to scoop up.

To try and narrow it down though, here are my favorites at first sight...

WOMEN

$38

$38

$38

$34

$34

$34

$26

$24

$32

$24

$24

$24

$36

$16

$30

TODDLER GIRL

$14

$20

$22

$26

$16

$18

$10

HOME

$100

$35

$10

$30

$60

$20

$25

$25

ACCESSORIES

$20

$30

$25

$8

$8.49

What are your favorites? Are you as smitten as I am? Who wants to create a game plan to ensure we get all our favorites, I feel like there could be a good strategy put together for this :). 

We Bought a Bed in a Box: Costco Novaform Foam Mattress

Ever since I got preggers, we started realizing quickly that having a king size bed would be awesome. So I popped over to Craigslist and found an amazing king bed frame from Arhaus that ended up costing under $500 (originally over $2000). 

Well, having a frame is nice and all, but then you gotta buy the mattress and bedding. And oh man did I underestimate how much a good mattress runs. After a lot of research and visiting a million mattress stores, we decided to take a risk and buy a mattress in a box - the Novaform ComfortGrande 14" Gel Memory Foam mattress from Costco to be exact. 

Yes, you heard that right, a big 'ol king size mattress was all squished into that little tiny box. I'm not going to lie, Ry talked me into it, it would be a stretch to say I was fully on board with this decision ha. But, Costco allows returns up to a year and we actually read good reviews online. Plus, most sets we were looking at were going to run us $1600+, so buying this mattress and a box spring and mattress cover off of Amazon saved us about $1000.

Here's a peek into how it unfolds...

Notice how flimsy it looks above? Give it two days and it poofs up to full size and gah is it tall! I will warn you though, in those beginning days it has quite a smell to it so you have to sleep somewhere else while it airs out.

It's pretty comfortable, but is really firm, so make sure you like firm mattresses before purchasing. It does warm up with your body temperature and gets softer than when you first lay down. I feel like I'm a bad judge on comfort right now though because I'm always uncomfortable when sleeping these days. Ryan loves it though! 

So now I'm on the hunt for some great bedding, any suggestions?! Oh and make sure to check out our DIY side tables that we did for under $70 each in this post here!

Chic Coral & Gold Shower for Baby Girl!

A few weeks ago some of my best gal pals from near and far showered me and baby girl in the most spectacular way! This seriously is the most beautiful baby shower I've ever seen and the amount of love and effort that went into pulling it off is amazing. 

I'm going to let the photos that one of the hostesses, Anna, took speak for themselves and you'll see why! Oh and you may recognize Anna, she is the face behind the blog Chasing Young and co-founder of Dogwood Brides.

Another familiar face may be that of Allie who is blogger extraordinaire at Alexandra Bee Blog. She was ring leader in the group of six spectacular hostesses and you can see her full recap of the shower here.

Now, get ready for cuteness (and photo) overload...

We decided to have the shower at my house and I was so blessed to got a mani/pedi and massage while the girls set up!

This was my reaction when I walked in my front door to see all of the goodies and gals ready to party!

Even the pups were ready to party! Oh, and Anna did this sign freehand, can you believe how talented she is?!

It was so funny to see our baby photos in my living room! I love the simple gold frames from Dollar Tree and the banner that Allie made!

The food was spectacular! Even featuring Sam's amazing pasta salad I've loved ever since we were roomies after college.

I love this invitation so much, it's actually now hanging in the nursery.

I can't wait to read the funny messages written on these diapers late night!

Thank you note writing was a breeze because I had all the addresses on hand and the gift they gave written on the other side, genius! 

Go Clemson Tigers!

Ok so after seeing all these photos again, I'm not going to lie, I have some pregnancy hormone tears a flowin' :). This was such a special day and such a great reminder of how blessed we are to have an amazing support network of friends that love us and our baby girl. 

THANK YOU to everyone who spent so much time and effort putting this shower together and to everyone who traveled from near and far to attend!

Sources: My Dress / Invitation / Balloons / Cupcakes, Cake, Cake Pops