My New Year’s Resolutions + Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale Details

Happy 2016, y’all!  What an awesome year 2015 was!  As always, thank you so much for following along!  Makes it all so worth it, and I’m very grateful to have so many loyal readers!  It’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging for almost six years!  Unreal to me!  Back then I could never have imagined that I’d be still blogging daily, especially with babies being born and life continuing to get busier.  But I wouldn’t change it for the world!  I’m so thankful to be able to do what I do in the comfort of my own home, and still be able to be keep up with the kids and my home.  As for resolutions, I always try and keep it simple.  I find that making too many resolutions, I get overwhelmed and don’t end up following through with them.  So this year, here they are…

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Running
I’ve been waiting for January 1st to finally commit to a regular routine.  I find that I do much better at it, when I’m consistent and record my runs.  I’m planning on setting up the Activity part of my iPhone Watch today, and trying my first run with it.  I’m hoping it’s as accurate as everyone says it is.  In the past, I usually would just run three miles each time I run, no time goal or anything.  I’ll probably do that again this year.  As I run more consistently, the easier it gets and the faster I get.  And nothing feels better than when you get through with a good run.  Pretty excited to get back into running.  I feel like I am so out of shape right now.

Reading
I can’t even remember the last time I read a book.  Seriously.  It’s been that long.  I love reading, don’t get me wrong.  I just need to commit and set aside time to do it.  Rather than watching whatever’s on tv, I’m going to attempt to grab a good book instead.

Organization
This word seems so easy, but it applies to so much of my life.  Not only am I planning on organizing and cleaning out actual clutter in our house, I want to work on being more organized with my life.  Just like running more consistently, I would love to have lunches/dinner/activities more prepared and organized than they are now.  I know life gets crazy, but I can’t even count how many times we’re running out the door in the mornings for school.  I get all four out of the door, dressed and ready, by 7:15 which is pretty early – but I think even if I just wake up a little earlier, I can make that time so much smoother, like laying out clothes and prepping lunches the night before.

Eating & Drinking
It all adds up.  And in my opinion, when you’re not always aware of what you’re consuming, you overindulge on not exactly the healthiest things, and I feel like you don’t really enjoy food as much this way, when you do.  I love the reward of good food, when I know I’ve earned it, especially after a good workout.

The best part of any goal or resolution is having a partner that wants to work on the same goals.
Lanier and I are going to tackle these together.  Bring it 2016!

Just announced on Lilly’s Instagram page – the Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale will be this Monday!  Trust me, you’re going to want to be prepared for this one!  Like all Lilly sales, items go quickly and if you’re ready, then it’ll make it a lot easier for you to shop, check-out smoothly, and hopefully get what you wanted at a great discounted price!

For those of you who may not know, for the past few years, Lilly Pulitzer has offered two online sales each year.  One usually being in January and the other in August.  They markdown a ton of Lilly items from clothing to accessories, usually over the course of 1-3 days.  This time, the sale will last one day, this Monday beginning at 8am and ending at midnight.

 Sisters being sisters yesterday, in their new Lilly dresses!
Flamingo Shift // Seashell Shift // Pink Hunters // Silver Hunters

I hope they always stay as close as they are now!

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

The most important thing to prepare yourself for the After Party (sale) is to create an account and/or make sure yours is updated with your correct address and current credit card info.  The reason?  When the sale goes live on Monday at 8am SHARP, you’re going to start adding your favorite items to your cart.  And when you go to check-out, if you haven’t created an account, it’s going to take you that much longer to go through the check-out process.  And during this sale, longer is not a good thing.  Lilly Pulitzer doesn’t allow you to hold/reserve items once they’re in your cart, so they’re not confirmed until you’ve completely checked out.  Sometimes items leave your cart as soon as you’ve added them.  Not joking on that one.  Go ahead and CREATE/UPDATE YOUR ACCOUNT here now because if you decide to wait and do it right before the sale starts on Monday morning, you won’t be able to.  They’re closing down the site from 7-8am that morning to prepare for the sale.

One strategy I always use is to pick out my absolute ‘must-have’ favorites quickly first, then check-out as fast as I can.  That way I know my most coveted pieces are confirmed mine.  Just like the new technique they used for the first time this past summer, they’re using it again: THE VIRTUAL LINE.  Basically, when you enter the site Monday morning, you may be added to the virtual line.  Be sure and get what you can when you get on the site after being in line, because if you want to shop again, you’ll be added to the back of the virtual line again, after you check-out.  It definitely isn’t as quick of a process as previous sales, but it did run smoother than previous sales Lilly has had, and the site didn’t crash as often as it used to.

Lilly Pulitzer offers FREE SHIPPING during the sale, so you can always go back for more.  Which I ALWAYS do.  The sale lasts one day this time, which is different than the usual two days.  This one lasts from January 4th at 8am, until midnight.  Even if you’re not planning on shopping a lot during the sale, maybe just wanting to check it out, I’d still set up an account ahead of time.  Just wait until you see the prices.  You’ll be kicking yourself when all you may have wanted is that one thing, and then it sells out before you could finish checking out.  When I shop this sale, I’m thinking summer.  I stock up on Little Lilly Shifts, and especially if there are girls’ swimsuits I try and guess what size they’ll be wearing this summer.  Great ideas for baby gifts and birthdays, as well.  What little girl wouldn’t want a little shift dress for their birthday?  Click here to create an account.

LOADING ERRORS.  I’m going to be honest, Lilly’s site ALWAYS crashes.  Like I’m talking every year.  No matter how well they prepare for this sale, their system can’t handle the popularity of this sale and the flooding of all the clicks, hits, etc.  I say it every single year, but here’s hoping this won’t happen this year.  Maybe this will be the year that all of us have smooth transactions.  I know it’s hard, but if it does crash, have some patience.  The Lilly team works extremely hard to prepare for this online sale, and how great is Lilly to even offer all of us such a fabulous online sale?  If you’re anxious, just keep checking back, refreshing, whatever works for you, until the sale is back up again.  You can usually check their Facebook page too, for the latest updates during the sale.

Alright, I hope I’ve prepared y’all as much as I can for Monday!  And remember, the most important thing you can do now is to create an account.  Oh, and if you want to be one of the first ones to check out the sale come Monday morning, don’t forget to set your alarm!  There will be plenty up for grabs during the day of the sale.

Be sure and check back here early Monday morning, maybe while you’re waiting for the sale to start? I’ll be providing some photos of recent Lilly items I own, that may be part of the sale.  I’ll also include sizing help and fit guides.  After the sale goes live at 8am, I’ll be updating my site throughout the day with my favorites from the sale, and what some of the best deals are, so be sure and keep checking back.  As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve got a surprise that I’m announcing on Monday morning, if you’re a Lilly Lover, you’re going to love it!

So tell me, what items are you hoping will be part of the sale this year??  I’ve got a few favorite styles that I’m loving.  You know I’m all about a good swing dress, like this Mimi style and this Ophelia style.  And I really would love to score this Wright Dress in the Dahlia Purple Party Girl print and another Elsa Blouse.

In case you missed ‘My Favorite Things: 2015 Edition,’ check out yesterday’s post.

Whatever your year has in store – A wedding? A new birth? A big move? A graduation? Good luck to you!

May 2016 be your best year yet!