Book Review: Essentially Lilly: A Guide to Colorful Holidays

essentially lilly
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

I have a confession to make. I am an uber-girly girl. Girly as in: full-on pink and green wedding (including a going-away dress made of eyelet), tulips all over my house whenever possible and an impressive collection of hair ribbons that I'd be wearing everywhere, everyday, if I was just a tiny bit younger.

As such, I loved Lilly Pulitzer and Jay Mulvaney's second Essentially Lilly book, this one devoted to Lilly's fabulous holiday celebrations. The stories are engaging, even if the writing's a little bit stilted, the old (and new photographs) are pretty and interesting, and the recipes are reasonably easy and appetizing. I'll make some of them, definitely, just as I've made some of the recipes from Lilly and Jay's first book.

So, if you are like me, and you like the pink and green, the stories of boozy, old-time parties and the beach, you'll probably also like this book - a lot.

On the other hand, if pastels make you slightly nauseous and you find subtle blue-blood name dropping more pretentious and annoying than pretentious and kind of charming, stay far, far away. Chances are, you won't be able to see past the sometimes blinding pink and green to the good, timeless recipes and entertaining suggestions.

But, in the interest of expanding your horizons, you might want to check it out. It's sunny, beachy, and might make you smile. Or not.

As for me, I smiled the whole way through. Occasionally, I rolled my eyes (like when Lilly says her great-uncle "owned half of Cooperstown"), but mostly, I smiled, affirming my belief in all things girly.

And speaking of girly, I picked up a new tablecloth yesterday. Isaac Mizrahi Home for Target. I've had my eye on it for quite some time...I must say, I think I like orange and green just about as much as pink and green:


dining room
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.