Just a T-Shirt and a Skirt

For me, summer is now over and I'm officially back to school and teaching! What does that mean for my blog? Well, I'll probably be writing many of my posts, like this one, late at night while I'm half asleep, although I did that a lot during the summer too so you might not notice too much of a difference! Much like my students, I am prone to procrastination. If I was more organized with my time, I would write them in advance. (There's that pesky procrastination thing again!)

Although this is an outfit that I wore during my last days of summer, it is very much representative of what I tend to wear on a daily basis to school, sans earrings because I don't want my students to get the impression that I'm too fun! Anyway, nothing beats a cute skirt and a simple T-shirt; it's an easy outfit to throw together that's comfy and cute. It really is perfect for when you procrastinate and don't plan your outfits ahead of time!

Skirt: J. Crew tie-front skirt in rainbow gingham here
Tee: Target/Merona here
Bag: Clare V. leopard foldover clutch here
Shoes: J. Crew Gemma flats similar yellow suede flats
Earrings: Charming Charlie here
Sunglasses: Celine

In Portlandia

A couple of weeks ago, my husband, some members of his family, a family friend and myself all took a trip to Oregon. (We were all in one van if that gives you any idea of what the trip was like!) Well, I'm currently in the works of putting together a post on the experience featuring my travel recommendations for Oregon. For now, however, I thought I would post me next to one of the most iconic walls in Portland. Yes, even while traveling, I'm on the look out for colorful walls!

I wasn't sure if we would be able to get to visit this wall, which is located in the Arts District of Portland and right outside of the city. In fact, I wasn't sure if we would be able to get to Portland at all because no one had much of an interest in visiting the city on our trip. Luckily, the family friend we were with expressed an interest in going, so while everyone else was doing some hiking we ventured into the city to see some of the different neighborhoods and get a feel for the city. In my mind, I was expecting the adventure to be a little bit like an episode of the show Portlandia. Let me just say that I was not disappointed by how accurate the show is in depicting the city and its inhabitants!

Even though I have a good laugh at the show Portlandia, I could easily see myself being a character on the show. I would probably be the stereotypical blogger girl who is constantly looking for the perfect wall or backdrop for her Instagram posts and making her poor husband/boyfriend do all the photography. Luckily, no one in my family or my husband's family knows this! Due to this, I think our family friend probably thought it was a little strange that I was making my husband take a bunch of pictures of me in front of the wall, but then she started getting into it and was even telling me how to pose! (Imagine a 70 year old woman yelling "you go girl" at me!) It actually turned out to be kind of hilarious! That's one thing I love about finding walls: there's always a good story behind them, which makes them worth the hunt! (Also, there was a great ice cream place down the street from this wall too!)

Shirt: J. Crew eyelet top with tassel trim here, here and Factory version here
Jeans: J. Crew "Reid" jeans similar here
Shoes: J. Crew "Emma" flats similar red flats here
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff "Sofia" crossbody here
Sunglasses: Celinesame style here,  similar here

Smile and Say Cheese!

One of my favorite things about wearing quirky pieces like this camera bag is the reaction I know I will inevitably get from my husband and his family. For example, I know that my husband will always harp on how impractical my choices are. I wore this outfit, complete with the camera bag, out to lunch with him last weekend. When he asked me to put his wallet in my bag, I showed him that I could only throw in a few credit cards, my driver license and some makeup into the bag. I also demonstrated that my iPhone 6 Plus was about an inch too big to fit as well. To this, he sarcastically and rhetorically asked, "Who would have thought that a bag that looks like a camera would be so impractical?"

After our lunch, we stopped to see my husband's grandmother and after assessing how big and seemingly painful my earrings were, she moved on to looking at my bag. (A side note: these earrings really are heavy, but I think my ear muscles have been built up over the last year to the point where they can withstand the weight!) Anyway, upon seeing the bag, she thought that it was an actual camera! I tried to explain to her that it was a bag by opening it up and showing her the inside, to which she asked, "So it doesn't take pictures? It just scares people?" I didn't realize that a metallic camera bag was scary, but my husband and his grandmother clearly disagreed. Regardless, the three of us had a good laugh over the comment!

Shirt: J. Crew Postcard print ruffle blouse here and here
Pants: J. Crew white "Toothpick" jeans here and here
Shoes: Ralph Lauren similar red espadrilles here
Bag: Charming Charlie similar here, expensive version here, budget clutch version here
Earrings: J. Crew beaded oval earrings here
Sunglasses: Celine

Pastel Palms and Pineapples

I wore this very colorful and feminine outfit last week to go out with my husband to see the movie Dunkirk, which is an excellent film that follows three separate narratives surrounding the military evacuation that took place in France during World War II. Clearly there was some incongruity between the tone of the outfit and the subject matter of the film! Anyway, it was very hot in the IMAX theater so I'm glad that I dressed in something summery and light to keep me cool. After watching Dunkirk, I realized that things could be much worse than just having less than ideal air conditioning!

I was happy that I was able to snag this pineapple print skirt when it went on sale a few weeks ago at J. Crew. It meets all of my criteria for the perfect skirt: lots of color, comfort (due to the elastic waistband) and pockets. I decided to really play up that tropical theme by throwing on a palm print tee. This outfit makes me feel like I should be vacationing on some tropical beach! Sadly, vacation time is almost over for me. Even though I am lamenting this fact, I keep telling myself that at least it's not as bad as being in the midst of the evacuation of Dunkirk!

Skirt: J. Crew A-line Ratti pineapple print skirt here
Shirt: J. Crew muscle tank with sequin palm trees here
Bag: J. Crew similar here
Shoes: Nordstrom's Rack similar here
Watch: Wristology here ,save 10% with promo code katie10
Sunglasses: Celine

Trying Something New

I tend to buy my clothes from the same handful of retailers. Once you find a brand that fits you well, both literally and in terms of you personality, why not stick with it? It's nice, however, to change things up a little bit and try something new. So when I came across the Australian designer Doops Designs on Instagram, my jaw dropped at their amazing screen and digitally printed clothing! It was something new, but also something that totally fit my aesthetic. I followed them immediately and contemplated buying something from their Etsy store, but it wasn't until I saw this graphic cacti print skirt that I knew had to have it in my closet ASAP!

Another thing that is new for me is the world of fashion watches, namely Wristology! You see, most of the watches that I wear on a daily basis are mechanical watches, meaning you have to wind them by hand or wear them so that your arm movement winds them. Quartz watches are much more convenient because they are always set and ready to go due to them being powered by a battery. Because I love watches, I was truly thrilled to collaborate with Wristology because they have such a fun array of fashionable quartz watches in various colors and designs from which to choose. The one I am wearing today is the Olivia and I love the rose gold dots! You can get this watch or one of their many other cute watches for 10 percent off with code: katie10

Last, but not least, this wall is a new discovery! Just like the skirt, I came across this wall in an unexpected location via Instagram when I started following a few accounts that document murals and street art in areas of LA. (It's actually on the side of a Marshall's!) So, as you can see, it's fun to try new things and it seems Instagram can really help you to discover them!

Skirt: Doops Designs here
Tee: Target/Merona similar here
Shoes: J. Crew similar here
Bag: Louis Vuitton Epi Speedy in Grenade similar here
Watch: c/o Wristology
Belt: Target similar here
Sunglasses: Celine similar here

Wacky Watermelons

I'm honestly not sure what would be my favorite fruit . Actually, it's probably the obscure star fruit, but watermelon would be a close second. Not only are watermelons delicious to eat, they're also a lot of fun to wear as well! This spring I picked up this cute watermelon crossbody bag and even though it's quirky, it seems to go with everything I own; I get a ton of use out it! The watermelon button-down here is a more recent find, plucked straight from the clearance racks of J. Crew Factory.

I thought it might be a little much to pair one watermelon themed item with another, but since the print of the shirt is relatively small, I think it works and therefore doesn't scream, "Hey! There's a woman who is obsessed with watermelons!". If you are also obsessed with watermelons or want to wear them head to toe like I am in today's post, check out some of my watermelon picks below. Many of them are on sale, now that summer is coming to an end, so it's the perfect time to stock up!

Shirt: J. Crew Factory similar watermelon button-down here
Skirt: J. Crew scallop chambray skirt here
Shoes: J. Crew similar red flats here, here
Bag: SheIn love this leather watermelon bag here
Sunglasses: Prada "Baroque" here
Earrings: Charming Charlie "Austin" here

Summer Shift

It seems like it was only a short while ago that I was excitedly writing about the beginning of summer vacation and my overwhelming joy of having a lot of free time on my hands. Sadly, I am now lamenting the fact that I am down to my last few weeks of vacation time. It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun and not working, but I can't complain because I am lucky to have so much time off.

At the beginning of summer, I wrote a post about my aspiration to be a "lady who lunches" or a lady who has essentially a life of leisure! Well, to bookend that post from the beginning of summer, I think this little shift dress also embodies the spirit of ladies who lunch. Plus, I went out to an extraordinary lunch of potato leek soup, filet mignon and a glass of Cabernet the day I wore it, so I was really "classing it up". Sadly, in a few weeks it will be back to microwavable frozen dinners for lunch (yes, I eat them most days at school), so I might as well enjoy the nice lunches with wine while they last!

The earrings I wore for my lunch date are courtesy of Rocksbox, which is a jewelry subscription service. The earrings were part of my three piece set of jewelry that I got for the month. I actually think they were probably my favorite thing that I received in the box because I am really enjoying wearing fun, dangly earrings this summer. If you would like to get a free one month subscription to Rocksbox, use code hellokatiegirlblogxoxo so that you too can try out earrings like these or any jewelry that suits your fancy!

Last of all, I think the picture below sums up my feelings of shock regarding the end of summer! I am not really sure what I was thinking when I took this, but a woman walked by the alley where I was shooting this photo and she probably thought I was insane! Maybe I would best qualify as a crazy eccentric lady who lunches?

Dress: J. Crew similar shift style here, here, and here
Shoes: J. Crew similar silver wedges here
Bag: Louis Vuitton Epi Alma similar yellow tote here
Earrings: c/o Rocksbox (use code hellokatiegirlblogxoxo for one month free subscription)
Sunglasses: Celine