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Lovin the new Lilly 2 in 1!!!

I am totally loving the new Lilly Pulitzer Delphina dress! :)
This dress is reversible, so you're getting 2 dresses in one! Don't you just love it!?!?!

During the summertime, I love wearing dresses and find I am forever looking at them.  Dresses are just so comfortable to me, and so versatile- you can dress up, or dress down a dress depending on how you accessorize it.  The perfect dress can be worn from church, to an afternoon picnic, to a dinner date.

Some of the other dresses I'm currently loving or have just found are:

Lilly Pulitzer Kendall Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Del Mar Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Briddie Dress

Kate Spade Jungle Jacquard "Jo" dress

Eliza J Printed floral dress

Lacoste Polo dress

Kate Spade "Pass the Shades" Avery dress

Don't you just love the last Kate Spade dress... I think it's so darling and appropriate for summer. The dress has these really cute sunglasses all over it. I love dresses- all kinds and could wear them all the time, it's all about being girlie! Now, if only I can get my sister to wear dresses... (Thank goodness she loves the bridesmaid dresses we picked out!! )

XOXO-Vy

VA's Newest Homeowners

It's official now!  We are homeowners!!! :)

I must say this is super exciting!!!

We did the walk through and the close yesterday and now hold the keys to our new home. 

Next Step: the Move.

XOXO- Vy

Wordless Wednesdays- Home Inspiration

All images via

XOXO- Vy

Handbags, purses, and totes! Oh My!

What is this affinity I have for handbags and shoes?!?
I swear it must be some sort of terrible sickness.
I have more handbags, totes, purses, clutches, and wristlets than I have space for, yet I continually feel the need to have more.
As you know, I'm in the process of packing to move South, and as I'm packing, I keep uncovering more and more things. Why has everything been hiding from me? How in the world did I accumulate all this stuff!?!?!  I could have a yard sale with all the stuff I have!

From time to time in between my packing (and to keep my sanity), I take a few minutes to change my pandora station, browse the net, check emails, news headlines, etc.  I got sucked into the web shopping-  again.  (I'm being good, so I'm only "computer browsing")

I just love these handbags from Queen Bea:

Do I need them, you ask? Nay, I say; but I would very much LOVE all of them!!! :)
One of the things I really like about them is that they are made from an invasive water plant that chokes the river and streams of the Thai countryside.  So they're "green", and helps clear the rivers and streams.
I'm thinking I should get them for my bridesmaids... maybe I can get them in my colors and monogrammed with their names! Yes. I think I might. Then maybe that means if they all get one, I should have one to match. Yes. I think that's right. :)
Don't you just love my rationalization? It's right along the same rationalization as Miss Becky Bloomwood's (from Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series).
Ok, back to packing... I just wanted to share a fab find.

Oh and don't forget- RueLaLa is having a Lilly Pulitzer sale THIS Thursday starting at 11:00AM EDT. You have to become a member on RueLaLa in order to purchase anything.  The membership is free and is by invite only. Here's your invite: http://www.ruelala.com/invite/vynuss
I would sign up before Thursday so that you can hop right into the boutique at 11:00 AM and buy your Lilly-whatever. :)

XOXO- Vy

All done with school... for now!

Whew, I can breathe!!! Monday, I completed my finals.  I'm all done!!! :) Unfortunately not all done with school, but I'm done with the semester!  The end of the Spring semester is always hard for me.  I think it's because the weather is just starting to get nice out and summer is knocking on my door.   I'm totally unmotivated by the last couple weeks of school.  I will say that It's going to be great being able to read "fun" books- books I really enjoy reading!  I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep trying to read for school... think philosophy.  Exactly. So, I have a whole slew of books that I want to try and read over the summer. I think I'll start with the 5 listed below:

1. Social Climbers (which I won from the Preppy Mafia Giveaway)
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (which my FMIL gave me)
3. Breaking Dawn (the last book I haven't read of the Twilight Series)
4. Wicked (the book which Tommy gave me)
5. Jesus Life Coach (a book I looked interesting)

Has anyone read any of these books?  I can't wait to get started!!! But for now, I must get packing... and packing I must do for the next few weeks. I'm surrounded by boxes!!! Ahhhhhh. :)

via

XOXO-Vy

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!!!

Here's a classic picture of me and my mom.  Notice the dandelion I put in her hair. :)  This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me.  This was taken right in our back yard when I was about 2 or 3.  I like to think I remember that day, but I'm not sure I REALLY remember that day, or I re-live it through the pictures I have. 

I am down in Poquoson this weekend spending it with my future mom in law.  Yesterday, we went and got pedicures and had a girl day with mom, me, and my future sister-in-law, Mandy.

I'm in the brown sandals and the green polish. Mandy is in the greyish color and mom is in the blue sandals.  It was a fun girl time. :)  It'll be nice to do that often when we move back home.
For dinner I made one of our favorite Vietnamese meals. My family calls them "roll-em-ups", Tommy calls them Vietnamese Taco Night; but you might all know them as summer rolls.  A lot of times when you go to restaurants, they are appetizers, but our family eats them as a meal.  After about 3 or 4 of them stuffed with all kinds of veggies, herbs, pork, shrimp, and noodles, you're full.  Maybe I'll have to share the recipe with you all in another post.  The fun part about it, and why I love it so much, is that since it takes some time to make, you can enjoy the company of your family and friends.  My mom and I love to eat this, and I'm glad my future mom-in-law loves it too.

Today we're off to Sunday mass and then the boys are making mom, Sunday Brunch. I'll be making Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) for dinner at mom's request. I'm pretty excited!
Well, I'm off to prep and get ready for Mom's day!

A Peony from Mom's Garden

In honor of All Moms on Mother's Day 
By Erma Bombeck

When the good Lord was creating mothers, He was into His sixth day of "overtime" when the angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."
And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order? --

She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; Have 180 moveable parts . . . all replaceable; Run on black coffee and leftovers; Have a lap that disappears when she stands up; A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; And six pairs of hands...

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands . . . no way."
"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord. "It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have."
"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.
The Lord nodded.
"One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word."
"Lord," said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, "Come to bed. Tomorrow . . ."
"I can't," said the Lord, "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick . . . can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger . . . and can get a nine year-old to stand under a shower."
The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.
"But tough!" said The Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure."
The angel asked, "Can it think?"
"Not only think, but it can reason and compromise," said The Creator.
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told You You were trying to put too much into this model."
"It's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear."
"What's it for?" asked the angel.
"It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride," The Lord replied.
"You are a genius," said the angel.
The Lord looked somber.
"I didn't put it there," he said.

Hope every mom has a beautiful day and know that they are appreciated by their loved ones and friends too. :) Love you all!!!
God bless moms all over the world.
XOXO- Vy

Friday Favorites- FRIDAY :)

One of my favorite days of the week is Friday.  Every Friday, I wake up singing in my head a song that was sung to me in High School by my Elvis crazy US History Teacher, Mrs. Patricia Wilgus.  All that I can remember is:
It's F-R-I-D-A-Y, it's Friiiiiiiiday... there were always more to it, and I think she just improvised.  Not a Friday class passed without her singing to us. She always ended class with ".. And don't get shot"
To my surprise, I was able to find a video of her singing in class!!! The quality is not great, and I bet the kid that recorded this really wasn't supposed to, but I'm glad he did! I only wished he'd gotten the beginning part.
Trishy, you'd totally appreciate this video! (notice all the Elvis memorbillia)



The other thing about this particualar Friday is that today is my last day at work.  I put in my resignation 2 weeks ago.  With our new home in Hampton Roads, it would be a tough commute from there back up to Northern VA.  I'm going to take some time off and do some crafty items like invitations, party planning, and things that I could never do when I was working.  Also included in that is my wedding planning and decorating our new home.  I'm really excited for this new chapter in my life.  A little scared because I haven't not worked since I started working when I was about 15 years old, but it will be a nice change in pace.
Things are going to be really crazy in the next few days, so I apologize in advance for maybe being "absent".
Monday is my finals, Wednesday I'll be doing the bridesmaids dresses with my girls, Thursday is our walkthrough and close, Friday I  have to get 4 fillings replaced, and next Saturday is Tommy's godson's birthday party... and all in between: packing, packing, packing!

Thank you to all of you that helped me with my dilemma with the wedding and BF. I couldn't respond to some of you directly because if the noreply-comment@blogger.com email, but I do thank you. I will be sending her the invite and let her decide what she wants to do with our friendship.  I have to say, the friends I have met blogging have been awesome! Thank you all!!!

Have a fabulous weekend, and Horray for all the Mothers out there!!! I hope you all have a wonderful mother's day and can enjoy a beautiful day of rest and thanks from your children!
XOXO- Vy

Wedding Planning Woes

So I need a little bit of advice/opinions from my friends...
I'm having a lil dilemma and heartbreak involving my best friend.
BF and I have been friends since Sophomore year in High School.  We were so close, that it was like she's my sister... in fact, I have always considered her my sister.   My family has taken her in as a part of the family as well. We'd invite her to all the family events, and if she wasn't there, it was always, "Where's Jamie"? And sometimes I'd have to call her.  She was the one person I could talk to about anything and everything. We'd laugh, we'd cry, we'd do so much together. 
Things started to change a while back. There was a big secret she'd kept from me and I felt hurt... and she felt hurt by me not taking her side on an issue, but I didn't know what to believe when she wasn't completely honest with me.  We reconciled, and things seemed ok.  She started to date someone and things continued to change, whether it was me not completely agreeing with her choice, or her telling me all the reservations she had about him or how he treated her (per her words) or how I felt she put him before her friends with no regard for her friends like me.  It just got worse.  But I was willing to overlook all of that. Why? Because I love her; she was my sister.
She moved to DC in March '09 to be with her boyfriend, and not far from me, but we were never able to see each other. I was working full time, going to school at night part time, and trying to have a semi social life.  A couple times we'd try to make plans, but not much ever panned out.  We got together maybe 3 times since she's been up here, the last time being in Aug '09 when we went to see Blondie and Pat Benetar.  In October, Tommy and I were engaged.  I told her and we texted, back and forth about when we were going to start wedding planning etc.  Christmas time came around and we hadn't seen each other, I sent her a message about how we hadn't seen each other, and she replied back that she'd been trying and the ball was in my court.  I felt hurt because I'd told her before that my schedule was absolutely crazy and when classes were finally over, I was making an effort to get together.  A snide comment like that just hurt.  I'd sent a couple text messages since, phone calls, and FB messages with no response.  If maybe she was upset at me for not getting together, it was extremely difficult given my circumstances. If she was upset at me for not asking her to be a part of my wedding party, how could I have if she didn't return my attempts at contact (I wanted to ask all my bridesmaids in person... I wanted it to be special and personal).  I really have no idea as to why she's not speaking to me.  I sent her flowers on her birthday, Christmas cards, text messages, etc. and have gotten nothing back in return.
So, now, I'm at a loss. I want to invite her to the wedding at least.  I love her and am just heartbroken.  Some people say to just let it be. Some say just invite her, if she doesn't come it's her decision, but at least I tried; and not to be devastated if she doesn't show. (I'm a very emotional person and am easily hurt) I watch Bride Wars or any chic flick with friends, and I get really sad, because I miss her.
What do I do? Do I just write her off? Do I make the wedding invite one last ditch effort? Or do I just continue trying to contact her until she says stop?

Thanks for letting me rant a bit... Just something that's been bothering me.
XOXO- Vy

Wordless Wednesday- Unconditional love

Me and my Mom

Momma B and Tommy

Cousin Krystal and baby blake

Jen and daughter Keenan

Cousin Kim and daughter Lina

Cousin Angie and daughter Courtney

Cousin Kristen and son Ethan

Girlfriend Maddy and babies Noah and Gabby

 A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.  ~Washington Irving

XOXO- Vy