Emily

Getting ready to open Milly & Grace!

April 5, 2014 By Emily Leave a Comment

Spring has sprung. That means it’s time to get the store ready to open! Over the winter we close up, clear everything out and freshen up the place. I also do all of the buying for the whole season. Every year April 1st rolls around and we start from scratch. Boxes upon boxes arrive daily and we fill the shop up with the goodies that I find over the winter. It feels like we are opening up a new store every year! It is so lovely to have the time to really think about the previous year – what worked and what didn’t and how can we make this next year better than last year. Bring it on Year 5! We have some fun new things in store for you!

We have a fresh coat of paint and brand new floors! We are getting new fitting room curtains made – here is the fabric:Blue and white is going to be HUGE this season. We are talking every shade of blue; navy to chambray! LoveShackFancy and Joie did blue & white in big way this spring. Black & White is also big for spring. Digging this print from Joie.
season5d Tagging jewelry takes forever!!!!! I’ve been looking forward to these coming in! Might have to come up with a new cocktail inspired by this martini glass. Karen Adams is coming out with some great new products! Here are some new designs: Harry Barker, our new dog line arrived. We’ve done some product testing. Ivy approves. Stay tuned! I’ll be posting more sneak peeks before we open on April 25th!

Filed Under: Emily, Fashion, Milly & Grace, Nantucket Leave a Comment

The Winter Cocktail

March 11, 2014 By Emily 1 Comment

My dear friend Elise gifted me a bottle of Patron Citronge. Up until then I had never heard of it before so it was time to start experimenting. There are so many great warm weather cocktails out there. But what about those of us caught in the polar vortex? I made it my mission to make something just as delicious for the colder months. I figured that Patron Citronge would pair well with citrus fruits and since oranges are in season (and on sale) during the winter that is where it began. To really hit home with the winter theme, I decided to add few drops of vanilla flavor to gives it a rich, woody taste. A new cocktail was born, The Winter Cocktail. I am excited to share it with you! I tested it on my book club girls and they approved.

Here is what you need:
– Freshly squeezed orange juice
– Freshly squeezed lemon juice
– Gin
– Aperol
– Patron Citronge
– Vanilla flavor
– Cocktail shaker (My sister in law Samantha got me this one from Anthro! Isn’t it so cute?!) You must squeeze the juice yourself otherwise it won’t taste nearly as good. Back away from the Tropicana people. Add 4oz of orange juice and 2oz of lemon juice to your cocktail shaker. (This usually amounts to 1 orange and 1 lemon – which makes it easy!) Now add 2oz of gin, 1 oz of Parton Citronge, 1oz of Aperol and 1/2 a teaspoon of Vanilla flavor! Add 2 handfuls of ice to your shaker. Shake it like a polaroid picture until it is cold! Serve straight up. (Something to try when it gets warmer – omit the vanilla and serve on the rocks!)Is it 5:00pm yet? If you test it out, let me know how it goes!

Filed Under: Cocktails, Emily, Food 1 Comment

March Madness

March 9, 2014 By Emily 6 Comments

I’m in the middle of March Madness!! Even though my March Madness has nothing to do with basketball, I feel like I’m playing a basketball game right now. I’m juggling so many moving parts and trying to fit everything in before that game clock goes off!

March is usually a pretty boring month for me. The store is closed, the shows are over, Nantucket is quiet and cold and the only thing that keeps me busy are my daily visits to Stop & Shop so I can have some human contact.

This year, my March is pretty dang interesting!! Steve and I are just back from Amanda and Nick’s ridiculously fun wedding weekend in Miami. In a couple of days we are off to meet up with the rest of the Ott family in Europe!!

On top of all that there is a lot going on at the store. We are painting, refinishing the floors and getting things ready for the upcoming season. I’ve got Julia’s wedding shower to plan. Plus, I’ve got the cutest little puppy that I need to spoil because I don’t want her to be sad when I leave her for the next couple of weeks. (Let’s not even talk about it… I’m feeling so guilty!)

Here are some snaps from my first week of March Madness
This was Tuesday. Yep it snowed again:And this was the sunset Tuesday night:
The sunset progression: The beginning stages of my spiffy new floors (they are still going to be gray):Off to Miami we go!! The hotel: The beach: marchmadness4 The Rehearsal Dinner:
rehearsaldinner Amanda’s stunning family! Her brother, (Amanda & Nick), her sisters Erika and Jessie: Epsteins The bridesmaids! We wore Love Shack Fancy Dresses – we will be carrying this style dress at Milly & Grace this season (Photocred: Dani Epstein):I’m sad to say that I didn’t get very many pictures – I was having way too much fun!! (The photographer’s pictures are better anyway!) With Mrs. Godfrey and my main squeeze! March, I’m loving this change of pace! Keep it up! xo