Reflecting on High School

It has only a week and a half since I graduated from high school, even though it seems like forever ago. On the contrary, the first day of high school felt like it was just yesterday. Even though it was probably the most difficult time in my life to date (I can hardly remember a time that I wasn’t absolutely swimming in work), it was definitely also the most fun. Throughout high school, I took some very interesting classes, formed amazing friendships, and had so much fun!

For those of you still in high school: make the most of it! I can’t stress this enough, as it goes by so quickly, and you will definitely have regrets if you don’t.  Towards the end of junior year, I had a realization: I only have one year left. I’m only going to have one more first day of school with these people. I’m only going to celebrate one more birthday here. At this point, I made myself goals for senior year: try to eliminate drama with my friends, study as hard as I can while still maintaining balance, stick with rowing (even though it may be time-consuming) and lastly, don’t forget to have fun. I am glad that I made these goals because they definitely helped me have the best senior year possible!

Sure, we all have things we wish we could have done better. I wish I had studied harder for that test I got a C on, gone to bed a little earlier every night, been a little nicer to that friend who was having a rough day. But the best thing about high school is that it is all a learning experience. Don’t have regrets, but just do things better the next time around. New challenges will present themselves, similar to those that you have faced before. The trick is being ready to deal with them the second time.

High school was a very exciting time in my life, and I know that college will be just as exciting (if not more!) with new challenges along the road. I know that the best is yet to come!

I Love Lilly: Agendas

Ever since junior year of high school, I have always had a Lilly Pulitzer agenda. First of all, I always need to write down everything in order to remember it, as my short-term memory is not the greatest! Also, the amazing prints inspire me to get organized, and I use my agenda for everything. I use different colors for different categories of events to keep it organized and colorful.

Naturally, I was so excited when Lilly Pulitzer announced their new agendas for Fall 2014. I have already preordered mine and I'm counting down the days until it ships on June 23! I actually had quite a dilemma regarding which size to order, as I am starting college next year and I didn't know which one would be appropriate for me. Junior year, I ordered the jumbo agenda in Getaway Garden. I knew that I would need a lot of space to write down all my homework, SAT assignments and dates, crew regattas (I row!), music performances and everything having to do with prom! A picture is below:

The jumbo agenda worked well because I was so busy, but it also took up a lot of room in my backpack. I decided to size down for senior year, and got especially excited because Lilly decided to introduce a new agenda to the family, the Luxe agenda! It's compact design and the gold-plated pages were PERFECT, and I'm so sad that they discontinued it. It's the same size as the large agenda, though, and I definitely want that size again--it was perfect! Here is a picture of last year's Luxe agenda in Chin Chin:

The prints for these years agendas are also so so cute! Even though there is no Luxe agenda :( I am definitely very happy with all of the prints. I decided to go for one of my favorite combos: pink and peonies, and get the large agenda in Tropical Pink Lilly Lovers. The name is appropriate, because I do love Lilly (so much!). Also, it will look great in my dorm room (post to come soon!). Here is a picture:

Let me know if any of you buy a Lilly agenda, and let me know what print!

Grad parties!

One of the best parts of being a graduate is all the grad parties that I get to attend. Grad parties range from just a BBQ in someone’s backyard, to a brunch at a country club, to a house party with a campfire. Of the ones that I’ve gone to so far, some of them invited our whole class and some of them were just a smaller group. Some of them were more family oriented, with parents and siblings invited, and some of them were just our grade.

Personally, I started to plan a grad party for my friends, but stopped because it got too complicated. I didn’t want to invite my whole grade, but I also didn’t want anyone to feel left out. I also couldn’t decide if I wanted it to be an afternoon or evening party, and I wanted to invite family, but also keep it relatively small. I decided to have a family-only grad party in my backyard, just to keep it simple.

Mostly, grad parties are a great way to hang out with friends and people in your grade before everyone goes away for the summer. I’m going to be gone for the majority of the summer (post to come soon), so seeing all my friends before I go is very important to me! Here are a few pictures of some grad parties that I went to:

Here are some pictures of my family grad party:

Graduation!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while—I’ve been very busy with graduation festivities! Graduation was last Friday, and it was a blast (pictures below!). The ceremony itself took place on our town’s green, right in the center of town, and the graduates make a walk around and down the center of the green from the Town Hall. Girls wear white dresses and white shoes, and boys wear white jackets and black pants. Our school has never done caps and gowns; I don’t think it’s very popular in our area!

I wore a Lilly Pulitzer Dress and Tory Burch wedges (both had to be white), along with some pearl earrings, a David Yurman silver bracelet and a gold and diamond tennis bracelet. I had a French manicure on my fingers and Essie Geranium on my toes. My makeup was natural-looking, using the Urban Decay Naked palette, Benefit They’re Real Mascara, Urban Decay eyeliner and a Stila bronzer.

Here are some pictures of my me, my friends and my family during and after the ceremony:

It’s also a tradition for our school to go on an overnight after graduation, as a grade. The location is secret, so the teachers don’t tell us where it is, just what to pack. This year, we had a dinner and a dance at a country club, and then went on a Boston Harbor Islands cruise to an island where we spent the night. When we arrived at the island, there was already a dance floor, campfire, moon bounce, obstacle course and gym set up. It was so much fun! In the morning, my friends and I walked over to the beach to watch the sunrise.

Here are some pictures (before and after!) of the overnight: 

Congrats to everyone in the class of 2014!

How to Dress: Graduation

With my high school graduation right around the corner, there is a lot of buzz around what to wear. For my graduation, we do not have caps and gowns (as it is usually really hot and humid in Boston in June). Instead, the girls wear white dresses and the guys wear white tuxes. It looks really classy, especially with the maroon and white flowers that the girls hold and the boys wear on their corsage (maroon and white are our school colors).

It never occurred to me how hard it was to find a perfect white dress until now. Because so few stores have graduation-appropriate dresses, I was also concerned that someone else would wear the same dress as me! The girls of 2014 have created a Facebook group to keep this from happening.

I have since found my dress (pictures to come later!), but I wanted to share a few of my favorites that I stumbled upon. Finding the perfect white dress is much more difficult than one would think…

Per usual, Lilly Pulitzer has many perfect white dresses (I got mine there!). Lilly's styles are timeless, and you can wear them to many other events besides graduation. Here are a few of my faves:

Lilly Pulitzer McCallum Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Surrey
Sweetheart Lace Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Macon Tunic Dress

Vineyard Vines also had this very cute (and classic) one:

Vineyard Vines White Eyelet Dress

In my (many) searches, I also found some cute ones at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales! As you can probably see, I'm a sucker for the eyelet, but these are all really cute!

Free People
Daisy Waist Dress

BB Dakota
White Crochet Lace Dress

Maggy London
Pique Sheath Dress

I hope everyone graduation has a wonderful graduation and congratulations to the class of 2014!

It's sale season!

Who doesn't love a good sale? This past week has been amazing with all the sales that have been going on, and I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to blog about them! In the future, I'll try to post about noteworthy sales!

Last week, Vineyard Vines had 25% off their entire store, so I used it as an excuse to buy some pieces that I had been eyeing all season. They will definitely come in handy during grad parties and throughout the summer!



Kate Spade also just had one of their "surprise" sales, where everything was 50-75% off! That's my kind of sale… Kate Spade is one of my total weaknesses--and splurges! I can see myself carrying this purse all over Paris this summer!

Lastly, Tory Burch also had an amazing sale (which is actually still going on!). I love their shoes, especially their wedges, so I definitely stocked up for this summer! With graduation parties, weddings and summer vacations, I'll have plenty of chances to wear them! 

Also, I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale started today! They usually have a good selection, so check it out and let me know how it is. Reviews to come soon (and unfortunately for my wallet, probably more purchases…)!

Keep it classy!
xoxo J

Welcome to The Pink Flamingo!

Let me start off by introducing myself. My name is Juliana and I'm originally from San Francisco, but I've lived in Boston for most of my life. I'm headed to Vanderbilt in the fall, and I couldn't be more excited! 

I've always wanted to start a blog, and now that senior year is winding down, I'm so glad that I finally have time! I'm taking inspiration from some of my fave bloggers: Carly from @collegeprepster and Hannah from @thepinkandgreenprep. Thanks for the inspiration, ladies! I really like blogging about outfits, but I also want to blog about accessories, food, shows, and other miscellaneous topics. Maybe even one on inspirational quotes? 

Thanks for giving my blog a try, and remember to keep it classy! xoxo J

p.s. First official post coming soon!