Remembering Lilly Pulitzer

{a little tribute I did today. I have Lilly pajamas in that pattern!}

You might have heard that fashion designer, Lilly Pulitzer, passed away today at the age of 81. 

excerpts from this CNN article:

Her schoolmate Jacqueline Kennedy, while first lady, was photographed wearing one of Pulitzer's dresses -- and made her a star. The dress "was made from kitchen curtain material -- and people went crazy," Pulitzer said in her book, "Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Entertaining," excerpted on her company's website. "They took off like zingo. Everybody loved them, and I went into the dress business."

She opened an orange juice stand in Palm Beach, and designed colorful cotton shirts for herself to work in comfortably. Soon, customers wanted to buy her shirts as well as the juice.

excerpts from this Washington Post article:

Pulitzer had three children in quick succession. After the third was born, she had a nervous breakdown and ended up in a mental hospital that catered to upscale clientele in New York. A doctor there told her that she needed to find a job.

“The doctor there said, ‘You’re not happy because you’re not doing anything,’ and I said, ‘I don’t know how to do anything.’ I’d always had everything done for me, always had my nanny and my mummy making up my mind. The doctor said, ‘You’ve got to go out and find something to do,’” Pulitzer told The New Yorker in 2000. 

Pulitzer gave the same prescription to her friends. If one of them needed something to do, Pulitzer would open a store in her town. “I don’t know how to explain what it was like to run my business, the joy of every day,” she told Vanity Fair magazine in a story in 2003. “I got a kick every time I went into the shipping department. ... I loved seeing (the dresses) going out the door. I loved them selling in the shop. I liked them on the body. Everything. There’s no explaining the fun I had.”

“I designed collections around whatever struck my fancy ... fruits, vegetables, politics, or peacocks! I entered in with no business sense. It was a total change of life for me, but it made people happy,” Pulitzer.

“Style isn’t just about what you wear, it’s about how you live,” Pulitzer said in 2004.

“We focus on the best, fun and happy things, and people want that. Being happy never goes out of style,” she said.

Here's to a trailblazer to who left behind a very colorful mark. 

until next time,

g

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

 

what plans & projects will fill up your spring?

 

until next time,

 

g

 

 

Inspiration For Your Week

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until next time,

g

Dearest Future Self

Dearest future self,

Remember that time you successfully pulled 10 inches of a pain catheter out of your boyfriend's neck without fainting?? As your mother smiled and said (yes, you heard her grinning through the phone), "Gin, if you can do that, you can do anything."

Love,

me

Let's just say these past few days have been a growing experience... I'm not gonna lie, they haven't been easy. And I'm not even the one in a ton of pain and restricted to the use of one arm/hand! Attemping to help someone do everyday tasks who's nearly a foot taller than you in a teeny-tiny-obstacle-course-apartment makes for a ridiculous scene. And just a random sidenote, who knew my dry shampoo from "Sandy week" would come in handy again so soon?!  But in all seriousness, I really don't like to see a person I care about so vulnerable and in pain...it's such a terrible feeling...so when I'm the one in charge of pulling off surgery tape or ya know, a cord out of the back of his neck (!) while functioning on limited sleep, I am left feeling like I need to just bury my face into a pillow and cry. Where is the adult in charge in these kind of situations??? Oh, right...

Patrick seems to be doing better each and every day, though, which is wonderful. To say it's been a long road to this point would be an understatement; a successful recovery will remain high on my prayer list. Witnessing and sharing someone's struggle is difficult - but it's the low moments that not only build your patience and force you to grow and learn, but they're the moments that make you appreciate the better times. So, really, we should be equally as thankful for all the difficult things in life - the chapters that test you and break you down and the metaphorical mountains that seem impossible to climb. Because without them? We wouldn't know how good the good is. In a time of acknowledging things for which we are thankful, I ask you to look around at the not-so-good, too. Maybe it'll teach you what you need to change...maybe it'll remind you of something better for which to feel blessed....and hey, maybe the not-so-good won't seem so bad, after all. Keep in mind the quote, "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back." You might even find out you're thankful for more than you realize. I know I have.

So, speaking of thankfulness, what is everyone doing for Thanksgiving?? I'm signing off early this week as I head home tomorrow! It'll be my first time home since last year (ahh!!!) and I am so, so excited. Even if my wake-up call is 3:30AM...! Between spending my first holiday with Patrick (he'll meet me at home tomorrow!), a lot of time with my family celebrating Thanksgiving and a wedding, and the fact that my mother has already entirely decorated for Christmas (yes), I just. can't. stop. smiling. Oh! And if you see a girl skipping through JFK circa 5AM tomorrow? That'll be me, the birthday girl ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!! I leave you with this quote ::

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until next time,

g

My Goal for Thanksgiving Week

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g

A Thought for Your Week

 

 

until next time,

 

g

Dreaming

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dreaming up a logo...

I've been dreaming more than normal lately. The kind of dreaming that happens during my subway commute when I am overcome by my thoughts and I stare into space...thinking, imagining, envisioning goals happening...dreaming. And I miss my stop. The kind of dreaming that happens when I look outside my office window...into the windows of the skyscraper across the street. The kind of dreaming that happens when I accidentally wash my hair twice in the shower without even realizing it.  The kind of dreaming that happens any time I read or see something inspirational or something I know I could do...perhaps better. It's the kind of dreaming that happens any time my mind wonders. And it wonders quite a bit. 

I reboot by being alone, which doesn't happen often these days. Maybe that's why I'm escaping more to my thoughts, no matter the situation? There sure is a lot of good stuff in those thoughts that I'm trying to translate into actions and reality. Wish me luck.

Do you dream? 

What are your dreams made of?  

What steps are you going to take to make them come true?

:: wisdom ::

"It may be that those who do most, dream most." - Stephen Butler Leacock

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life." - Greg Anderson

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil." - James Allen

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." - Pamela Vaull Starr

"What's the purpose of living if you don't go after your dreams?" - Samson Reiny

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born." - Dr. Dale E. Turner

"For those who dare to dream, there is a whole world to win." - Dhirubhai Ambani

"No dreamer is ever too small; no dream is ever too big." - Anonymous

"Keep your heart open to dreams. For as long as there's a dream, there is hope, and as long as there is hope, there is joy in living." - Anonymous

"Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." - Wayne W. Dyer

"A journey of a thousand miles must being with a single step." - Lao Tzu

"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbably, and eventually inevitable." - Christopher Reeve

"This one step: choosing a goal and sticking to it, changes everything." - Scott Reed

"Life is short, live bold! Be heard, be you, dream big, take risks, don't wait." - Misty Gibbs

"It's better to have an impossible dream than no dream at all." - Anonymous

"All successful people, men and women, are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." - Brian Tracy

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want." - Ben Stein

"Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable." - Wendy Wasserstein

"Be willing to be uncomfortable. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. It may get tough, but it's a small price to pay for living a dream." - Peter McWilliams

"Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements." - Napoleon Hill

"If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney

"Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts." - Anonymous

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." - Anonymous

"If you don't have a dream, how can you have a dream come true?" - Jiminy Cricket

until next time,

g

Effort

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"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment; full effort is full victory." 

- Gandhi

"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming." - John R. Wooden

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort." - John Ruskin

"If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort." - Stephen G. Weinbaum

"If people knew how hard I worked to achieve my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful after all." -  Michelangelo

"The greatest oak was once a little nut that held its ground." - Unknown

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." - Sam Ewing

"I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work." - Pearl S. Buck

"Careers, like rockets, don't always take off on schedule. The key is to keep working the engines." - Gary Sinise

"The highest reward for men's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it." - John Ruskin

"Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted." - David Bly

"An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox." - Lao Tzu

"Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt." - Jose Ortega y Gasset

Let us go and chase what we want.

until next time,

g

Thoughts of the Day

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until next time,

g

Food for Thought

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until next time,

g

Monday Quotes

Good news! Sunday night wasn't spent in the hospital. ;) We're gearing up for a busy, but fun couple of weeks. It kinda feels like the last two weeks of summer (how??) so I'll be making the most of it. Don't get me wrong, I'm already loving the open-windowed-cooler-nights...and the fall fashion in the form of phone-book-sized-magazines...and simply daydreaming about what's to come as fall in NYC is just gorgeous. But for now? I'm soaking up every last drop of summer. Don't put those flippy floppies away quite yet, ladies & gents.

some quotes for your Monday ::

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(I need this.)

until next time,

g

10 Gentle Reminders

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g

Tuesday Thoughts

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i dare you to actually answer that last one.

i'm serious.

say it out loud.

write it down.

it's a little scary, isn't it?

but it's a question that we should all ask ourselves constantly.

until next time,

g