Palm Trees, Succulents and Cacti...Oh My!

I happened upon this wall of succulents and cacti while going out to lunch with my husband. I can't believe the extent to which these types of plants have become a trend! I have to admit that I have latched on to this trend recently in two ways. The first is regarding certain articles of clothing featuring cacti or succulents and the second was re-landscaping our yard to make it drought tolerant. Due to the process of the latter, I've become quite familiar with various types of desert plants. I think I've actually become a "plant lady" if you can believe it! I sort of enjoy going out and watering them in the evening and checking on their progress or defending them from evil caterpillars that prey on some of the plants!

Obviously, the palm trees from today's post title comes from the ones featured on my linen palm tree skirt. I feel bad that a lot of the things I've been posting on my blog lately, like this skirt, are available in limited sizes or not at all at this point in the year. Usually I wait until things are pretty deeply discounted before I purchase them and then by time I get around to doing a post on them, they're gone! Have no fear, however, as it seems that certain items are popping back up on the J. Crew website from time to time. Also, if you're interested in this skirt, I've linked to some other palm tree skirts that might be of interest.

Skirt: J. Crew linen palm tree skirt here
Top: Zara similar print and style blouse here
Shoes: J. Crew similar silver sandals here
Bag: J. Crew similar here
Earrings: Sugarfix here
Sunglasses: Celine same style here

Lemon Twist

I'm back at it again with the lemons! Yes, more lemons! In my previous post called A Lust for Lemons, I vowed to curb my addiction to lemon print items, or at least I admitted that I had way too many things with lemons on them. After seeing countless people on Instagram with this lemon print shell, however, I just knew I had to get it! I also bought the matching cardigan, but considering the temperature is currently around 100 degrees here, it's way too hot for a cardigan, even one with summery lemons.

The reason I'm calling this post "Lemon Twist" is because I'm changing up my style a little bit with these fun wide-legged striped pants. I tried them on last month at J. Crew and I was on the fence about whether or not I could pull them off, because they are obviously different from the normal silhouettes that I wear. After trying them on and settling on the idea that maybe they weren't for me, I left them on the rack. After thinking about it longer, however, I decided to give them a try and ordered them off the website. I am definitely glad that I did because they are so comfy and make me feel like I have chic pajamas on all day! It should be noted that my husband said that I looked like a fashionable sailor or pirate in them! Perhaps I should have titled this post "Lemon Pirate" instead?

Shirt: J. Crew "Jackie" shell in lemon print here
Pants: J. Crew cuffed pant in shirting stripe here, here and here
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals here
Bag: Clare V. Petite tote similar here
Tassel: Clare V. here and similar here
Necklace: J. Crew Factory here
Sunglasses: Celine

Changing It Up With Rocksbox

As I've stated before, I'm prone to getting stuck in ruts when it comes to my wardrobe. Take, for example, what I'm wearing today. How many times have I worn a check shirt with a floral skirt and a leopard belt? Too many times to count! Getting stuck in a rut isn't always a bad thing, but it is fun to change things up once in awhile, which is why I was so excited when Rocksbox contacted me to try out their jewelry membership service that allows you to try out new, trendy pieces of jewelry every month!

Rocksbox is a fantastic way to try out new jewelry before you buy or to just try some styles that you might not normally wear. Basically, the way Rocksbox works is that you fill out a profile about your jewelry preferences and choose a wish list of jewelry from their extensive collection. A personal stylist then selects three pieces for you based on these preferences. When you get your first Rocksbox in the mail, it's a little bit like Christmas morning, because you don't quite know what to expect in the box! I was pleasantly surprised by the three items pictured below that came in my first Rocksbox set.

As you can see, today I am wearing the pink Kate Spade bangle from my first Rocksbox set. I don't currently have anything like it in my jewelry collection, so it was fun to style it with some different looks. I'm also consider purchasing it, which is a great option that Rocksbox gives you with pieces that you fall in love with!

If you would like to try Rocksbox for free for one month, you can use this promo code: hellokatiegirlblogxoxo

This promo code allows you to try Rocksbox free for one month! After that, the membership is only $21 per month, which allows you to treat yourself to three pieces of jewelry at a time with free shipping both ways. If you decide to buy any of the pieces from your set, they will credit the $21 towards that purchase.

Skirt: J. Crew Factory here
Shirt: Ralph Lauren similar here
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff similar here, here
Belt: Target here
Sunglasses: Prada

Very Cherry

I love the sales this time of year! All of my favorite stores, from J. Crew to Zara, are offering mega deals right now in an effort to clear out summer styles in order to make way for fall. Not being one to miss out on a good sale, I've been taking advantage of these deals over the last week or so.  In my shopping for these summer deals, I've noticed a pattern with some of my purchases in so far as many of the clothing items I've purchased are fruit themed! This obviously includes the cherry print shorts that I have on today, which I picked up for around $20 at J. Crew.

In addition to cherries, I've also purchased other fruit themed items including ones with watermelons, lemons and ladybugs. Yes, I realize that ladybugs do not qualify as fruit, but they do help to keep pests off plants (possibly fruit plants?), so I am going to throw them in the fruit mix as well! Why not?

Styling these shorts was easy! Online I saw that J. Crew had paired them with a striped ruffle top. Luckily for me, I have many such tops already in my wardrobe! In the future, I could definitely see these shorts paired with either a navy or red striped T-shirt or just a polo shirt for more of a preppy look. Just like a fruit salad, the possibilities for what to mix these shorts up with are endless!

Shorts: J. Crew chino shorts with embroidered cherries here
Top: J. Crew similar ruffle top here, here
Shoes: Ralph Lauren similar red espadrilles here, here
Bag: H&M similar gold straw clutch on sale here
Necklace: J. Crew Honeymoon necklace here
Sunglasses: Celine same style here

Rainbow Shirtdress

When my husband saw me in this linen colorful stripe shirtdress a couple days ago he asked, "Don't you have that same print in a skirt or a shirt?" I sheepishly replied, "I have it in both." Yes, it's true! When I like a print or pattern, such as this rainbow print one, I really will go all out! In my mind, that's totally justified because the way I would wear each piece is completely different. Also, with this particular print I think the rainbow print is just "so me" so why not?

In one of my posts last week, entitled The Mad Hatter of Summer, I discussed some of the pros and cons of wearing a hat. Although I came to the conclusion that there are more cons than pros, I seem to be getting more and more into hats, as you can see by this straw hat that I have on today. Luckily, it wasn't too windy, so it didn't blow all over the place. Also, luckily I found this pretty purple wall to match my dress, although a dress that features a rainbow print will match just about anything, which is another reason to buy up this print in every conceivable form!

Dress: J. Crew Factory here
Bag: Louis Vuitton
Belt: Target similar here, here
Shoes: J. Crew similar here
Sunglasses: Stella McCartney here
Hat: Off Fifth similar here

Morning Floral

At first, I wasn't sure about this morning floral tie-waist skirt from J. Crew. It kind of looks like a tablecloth from 1960s, which is either really cool or really lame. Either way, the print eventually grew on me and I loved the myriad of ways that the skirt could be styled, so I decided to go for it! Additionally, it was on super sale last week, so I figured I might as well give it a try. As you can see, I'm extremely weak-willed when it comes to sales!

I debated how I should style this skirt the first time wearing it, but I definitely think it looks best with a striped t-shirt. (Honestly, what doesn't pair well with a classic striped tee?) To complete the look, I also reached for what's now becoming my favorite pair of earrings: the Austin earring from Charming Charlie. A few weeks ago I bought this style of earring in three different colors because I had a coupon. The earrings are a dead ringer for some more expensive options sold by companies such as Baublebar and Kenneth Jay Lane, but for a fraction of the price! The $12 price tag (and that didn't include the coupon!) allowed me to justify buying them in every shade of the rainbow, which for someone who loves color, made me very happy!

 Skirt: J. Crew Morning Floral tie-waist skirt here and on sale here
Shirt: H&M similar striped tee here
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals here and here
Bag: Louis Vuitton similar here
Earrings: Charming Charlie Austin earring here
Sunglasses: Celine same style here

Mad Hatter of Summer

Some people are hat people while others are not.  In my opinion, the problem with hats is that they mess up your hair and if it's windy or even just a little breezy, they blow off your head and you spend half the day chasing them around. On the plus side, however, when hats do stay on your head, they protect you from the sun and they add a stylish element to any outfit, even a casual one like I have on today. Personally, I rarely wear hats. When I bought this one from Off Saks Fifth Avenue two summers ago, however, I wondered if I should, perhaps, give hats more of a chance. The great thing about this particular hat is that it's made in Italy and is currently on sale for only $15, so, even if you're not a hat person, the price and quality make it worth a try.

Another reason I decided to don a hat this day is that the blouse I am wearing has a hat print, although my husband joked that they were flying saucers! Another quick thing about what I am wearing today is that my sneakers were only two dollars! Yes, that's right, two dollars! I bought them the weekend before the Fourth of July at Walmart and I couldn't believe the crazy low price. In fact, I bought them in three different colors for a grand total of only six dollars! So I would say that, in addition to hats, the other thing my outfit for today has in common is that most items were a deal.

Shirt: J. Crew hat print top here
Jeans: Old Navy "Rockstar" here
Shoes: Walmart similar here
Bag: Gucci similar here
Hat: Off Fifth here ,similar here
Sunglasses: Prada here