On Lilacs and Lilly Bag Prizewinner Announced
Each May, Rochester holds a Lilac Festival that runs over two weekends.
Some years, the weather is perfect, but the lilac trees have passed their peak. So, you know, everyone traipses around looking at slightly brown buds.
Other years, it’s freezing cold.
Still other years, it freakin’ rains the whole dang time.
Sometimes, it’s mad hot and everyone is sweaty and complaining.
What I’m getting at is that it’s a tough month to hold a festival.
This year, we caught more than our fair share of solidly beautiful days, so I made the mistake of signing up to run a 5K with my son. One of us took 41:00 minutes to come in 900th place, and then puked my way down there to get a few photos.
I love the Lilac Fest. The purple flowers on the trees speak to me.
No, I don’t hear voices.
But I hear a reassuring voice that reminds me summer is on the way.
I also hear another voice. It’s slightly louder. It says:
GIRL, PUT AWAY YOUR SLEEPING BAG COAT! IT’S SAFE NOW. PROBABLY. I MEAN IT MAY NOT BE, BUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE TEMPERATURE DROPPING BELOW FREEZING IS DECREASING DAILY. SO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH AND MOVE THAT PUFFY BLACK COAT FROM THE HOOK IN THE HALL TO THE CLOSET. HIDE IT. DO IT!
And I do.
Because when you see things like this?
Well, how can you not have faith?
And speaking of faith, I know some of you are here because you have faith.
You believe.
And now you just want to know.
Who won the dang Lilly Pulitzer bag?
I know. Not the smoothest segue way.
Be cool.
I have to show you something first.
A couple of people sent me photographs to boost their odds of winning the Lilly bag. Each photo earned folks five points in addition to any points they might have accrued for leaving me comments, tweet and Facebook shares.
And now I have to share them with you!
Aimee Broussard is kind of like the Martha Stewart of the South. Except she’s younger. And perkier. And wicked nice. I met Aimee at BlissDom, and I developed an instant crush on her. She crafts. She bakes. She makes and sells fabulous aprons. If you want to see a gorgeous blog, look HERE. Y’all, Aimee cyber-pummeled me with pictures of all her Lilly-wear. She sent me this photo of herself and some hot plantation owner in Louisiana.
As if THAT wasn’t enough, she tweeted my post and sent this picture of her current handbag.
With her comments, her tweets, her Facebook shares and her photo submissions, Aimee earned twenty-eleventy-two and 1/2 bazillion points. If the contest had not been left up to Random Generator, I think it is fair to say, she would have been the clear winner.
And yet, Random Number Generator was running this show.
Because I knew I could never have been impartial on this one.
Also, I was scared. I didn’t know how out of control this thing was going to get.
~• • •~
Sheri Burns is not a blogger, but she often leaves kind words on my Facebook Page. She told me to be on the lookout because she was sending me a picture of her current handbag. She warned me not to laugh. I assured her I wouldn’t.
What can I say?
I laughed.
~• • •~
Misty of Misty’s Laws just wrote a faboosh guest post for me as part of my #SoWrong series. (Check out “To Bra or Not to Bra” if you missed it.) Anyhoo, Misty submitted two photos of her purse. The second photo features a close-up of the “shreddedness” of her handbag, but I’m only posting the first one. You’ll have to believe me when I tell you there are puncture wounds in her purse.
Another entry came from Maria of brickhousechick. I recently pressured her into revealing her first name, which she did. She wrote a post about it HERE! Maria sent this pic:
And this paragraph:
Hello Renee:
Reasons I would like to win the bag:
- I don’t own one
- I love everything pink (as you can see by my sweater and lipstick), and her stuff always has pink in it!
- I need to replace the sad aluminum foil bag I have
- I, too, have frizzy hair and iron it flat every day.
- I am nice
- I commented on your 1,101st Day in Blogosphere Blog
- I commented on your Lilly Pulitzer Dress Post
- I enclosed a photo of myself holding something Lilly (kinda)
- I emailed an image of my sad aluminum foil bag.
- I tweeted your post and am now following you
- I shared your post on Facebook
- My name is Maria (hee hee)
I counted up all the entries as we went along, putting names on the appropriate number of lines in one Excel document. Then I let Random Number Generator do the work.
Sheri Burns was attached to #73. And how can we begrudge her, right? I mean she deserves a little Lilly, yes? So I’ve got your email already Sheri. I’ll email you to get your home address! Congratulations! And thank you to everyone who entered! I loved reading your words!
tweet me @rasjacobson
Congrats to Sherri!! She so deserves a new beautiful bag. Not since my college days have I used my back pockets for storing my goods. 😉
You are a great sport, Misty. That “M” looks very authentic on your purse, too. Meanwhile, tell the mister it’s time for a new one. Which of your children has been chewing on your bag?
The top half of this post looks like a sneeze fest for me. The bottom, meh. So glad I don’t live in Rochester. Also glad that I’ve got the girls in the office to NEVER bring lilacs into the office. I reward them with a few of my dinner plate sized peony’s.
Lots of people around these parts are pretty miserable right about now. It is a pollen fest. Hubby has been using his nasal mist for a few weeks as this is his allergic time of the year. Don’t your enormous peonies have tons of ants in them? Or do you dip them in ice water to drown them first? Curious.
Congratulations Sherri! Yes, this was the most perfect Lilac Festival weather I could remember. Mother nature saved the best for last, my last Lilac Fest. Dang, I can’t even take a lilac plant over the border as I leave town! I asked not one but two lilac authorities. Enjoy the blooms while they last, they are as fleeting as the summer that follows them.
Aw, Stacy! You are making me sad. I have every faith you will find many new wonderful festivals to attend! Best of luck to you in your travels. New adventures await you all!
Yay to Sheri! This post cracked me up in a number of places. Thank you for that! And those lilacs are gah-orgeous! So happy to see flowers, and happy that sleeping bag coat is hiding, at least for a little while. 🙂
Was it my barfing? Because that’s true. Also I really did come in 900th place in exactly 41:00 with absolutely no training. What is it Beiber sings? “Ohhhh! I’m alive! I’m alive! I’m alive!” Oh, and I can hardly walk today. #TrueStory
I believe the barfing. I would have too! Those are impressive stats. Hope your legs come back to you soon. I’m super impressed that you did it. Seriously. It’s impressive.
Need a deep tissue massage and Advil. And thank you. I’m glad I finished before the 10K folks started coming around the mountain. That would have been really embarrassing!
Congrats to the winner! Lilacs are beautiful. It’s funny, nature has always been the thing that’s reminded me to have faith, too. 🙂
Nature really is the clock to which I keep time. The calendar may say it’s Spring, but it isn’t until I see pansies and tulips and lilacs that I’m certain. (Can’t wait to see you at Jenny Hansen’s!)
LOL! Yes, hers was definitely interesting subject matter today. (Of course August McLaughlin and I are part of a blog hop/ Twitter party celebrating the clit today, so you might enjoy checking that out as well.
I saw your post said “coming soon” — I’ll check on it now!
Awesome!
Congratulations! I use the same purse as Sheri’s! Hahaha!
Oooh! That’s a pretty one. Something tells me you could have any bag you want right about now. You know, if you wanted to work that angle. I’m glad you are who you are so you aren’t!
No question a back pocket is a much better “bag” than an aluminum foil bag. Congrats to Sherri! I’ll have to make one out of funky duct tape that mimics a Lilly! 🙂 Lilacs are my favorite! Thanks so much for your technical help as well. I will have to take you up on that Twitter tutorial. 🙂
It really was Random Number Generator; otherwise, Aimee Broussard would have had this in the bag. Did you see what I did there? It’s punny. I loved your entry! And I’m following you now! 🙂 Yay! So nice to meet you, Maria. Feel free to call me about Twitter. In the meantime, change that handle girl!
Thanks, Renee! You might do better following my blog since I am not yet a twitter chick!!!! Working on it. 🙂
Yeah, I see that. I will indeed! You are my new fave! So nice to meet you. Can’t wait for you to meet all my cyber-pals.
Thanks for being such a great mentor. How do you do it all and still look so fabulous??? 🙂
As usual, I laughed my way through your post and comments. SO GOOD! I love lilacs too and was sticking my nose into all the bushes in full bloom when I was up north (… that’s how we refer to the ski area two hours north of Toronto … don’t ask … ) last weekend. The Lilly giveaway was great fun and hopefully Sheri will send a photo of her using that gorjus bag instead of her back pocket. Congrats, Sheri.
Oh … and I’m sorry you barfed, Renée … I think I would have too … props to you for finishing!
Patricia: Do you have any idea if/when you might be heading down this way? WIth the exception of 7 days somewhere in July, I’ll be around. And the boy will be in summer camp for 7 weeks. So unless you come during visitor’s day, we’re good! I am really hoping to connect with you this summer, in real life. I have so many questions.
Now I’m forced to buy myself a Lily bag. What a fun contest!
Don’t do it! You’re an outlaw. You need something more practical to hold your pistol. Like a pretty little holster. 😉
I hope you don’t have to pull out your puffy black sleeping bag coat again until November! I love lilacs, too, more than any other flower except for lily of the valley. Congrats to Sheri Burns. I’m jealous, but I’ll deal.
Oh! Sandra! I’m soooooo with you! I hope I don’t need that coat until next November. I swear, I put it in the closet today. Yes, I dared to live dangerously. And guess what? The temperatures are supposed to dip again into the 50s, if you can believe it! Ugggggh! I swear, keeping that thing on a hook is like insurance or carrying an umbrella: as long as I have it with me, I don’t need it. But the second I put it away, we’re in trouble.
I was in Dillard’s a few days ago and guess what they just opened?? A whole Lilly P. department! Or maybe it’s been there forever and I just never noticed because it’s not near either the little bitty corner for petite/short chicks or the boys department (the only two places I usually go in that store). Anywho. Right there in Metairie.
Congrats to the winner! Am I jealous? You’re damn right I am!