My Palm Springs' Dress

When I saw this maxi tunic dress, it simply screamed "Palm Springs!" to me. Between the kaftan stye and the modern print, this dress would definitely feel right at home in Palm Springs. I even had images of wearing it poolside by a mid-century modern house with the desert in the background! While I love going to Palm Springs because it makes for a short day trip from Los Angeles and there's so much to see, it's just too hot this time of the year to go. This is especially true this summer because, due to the pandemic, most activities have to be done outdoors, thus forcing you to be out in the unbearable heat. The idea of hiking around sightseeing or even eating outdoors in 110+ degree heat just didn't sound very appealing, so I found another place to wear this dress. Although, to be honest, this gorgeous wall of bougainvillea looks like it could be right out of Palm Springs!

Once the temperatures cool down a bit in Palm Springs this fall, I will probably venture back for a short trip. It's good to know that this dress will be ready when that time comes! Even though we have visited Palm Springs a number of times, I still have a small list of places that I would like to visit in the area on my next trip there. So, between the promise of checking those things off of my list and taking an epic Palm Springs photo shoot of me wearing this dress around town, I have lots of reasons to get back there...hopefully sooner than later!

Dress: J. Crew here
Shoes: Kate Spade similar pom pom sandals here
Bag: Zara similar here
Sunglasses: Celine similar white sunglasses here

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Smile Often

With everything going on this year, it's sometimes hard to remember to smile. Luckily, if you forget, this mural reminds you to do so! Plus, with its bright, vibrant colors, you really can't help but smile! Last week, I went to this this fun mural that's located at the Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine. One of the things that always makes me smile is the thrill of discovering a new mural! The other thing that makes me smile is shopping summer sales and getting great deals! Luckily, the summer sales this year are really, really good. For example, I picked up this fun pleated rainbow skirt a couple weeks ago on sale and it turned out to be a perfect match for the mural. Between the new skirt and the new mural, I was smiling from ear to ear!

While this skirt would go with so many options, I thought for summer it would look fabulous with my "With a Twist" tee. Another thing that makes me smile is a fun statement tee and I certainly have a lot of them in a variety of colors with a variety of statements on them! I particularly like the statement on this one because the thought of having a drink with a twist, especially in this hot weather and during these stressful times, is always a smile inducing idea as well!

Skirt: J. Crew here
Tee: J. Crew similar statement tee here
Shoes: Old Navy similar espadrille wedges here
Bag: J. Crew here

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Restyling my Confetti Floral Skirt

Last month, I did a post on this pleated floral skirt in a print that J. Crew calls "Confetti Floral".  Because I love the skirt so much (and because it's also now on sale!), I decided I would do a new post featuring the skirt but restyle it in a new way! The first time I wore this skirt, I paired it with a pale yellow eyelet button down blouse. For this new incarnation, I swapped out the more "conservative" button down blouse for a fun red and white striped tee. I feel like it's been a while since I've done any pattern mixing and this skirt is perfect for playing with patterns!

I will digress for just a moment to share a funny anecdote about assembling this outfit. In my mind, I pictured this outfit with the red and white stripped tee but I had to dig into my drawer of striped tees to get just the one I needed. (Yes, I have an entire drawer of striped tees!) As I was doing this, I realized I had more red and white striped tees (both long and short sleeve) than I remembered so I took them all out to figure out which one would go best with the skirt. My husband came into the bedroom while I was sorting through them and was horrified at the sheer number of red and white striped tees strewn on the bed! Well, I then explained to him in a very detailed manner how each shirt was just different enough from the others to justify me owning it! My husband wasn't convinced of the differences or the need for so many red and white striped tees but it made sense to me and I am sure it would to many other women! I also argued that a lot of his dress shirts look the same but he disagreed. Regardless, it might be time for me to go through and purge some of my red and white striped tee collection!)

Getting back to how I restyled the outfit, the other difference in this look are a bit more subtle. For example, I swapped out my "signature" white sunglasses for these red heart ones. I also recently acquired a matching headband in the same confetti floral print so I added it to the mix. One thing that I did keep the same was my Kate Spade camera bag. Due to the color and the whimsy of the bag, I really feel like it was made for this skirt! Overall, I'm going to try to be better about restyling some of the pieces I already have in my wardrobe because, as the story above proves, I definitely have too many clothes!

Skirt: J. Crew here
Top: H&M similar striped top
Shoes: J. Crew similar gold sandals here
Bag: Kate Spade here and here
Sunglasses: YSL almost identical version here

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Return to the Umbrellas

A couple of summers ago, my husband and I planned a trip to Redlands, California to take a tour of a historic house and eat out in the downtown area. (This was way back in the day when you could do stuff like that!) Well, lucky for me, Redlands is also the home of this amazing umbrella installation that we were also able to visit on our trip. We arrived at the location when the lighting was just right and the pictures turned out amazing, which is no small feat because the shadows of the umbrella make photography here difficult. A couple of weeks ago, we were driving out this way again and I planned another visit to see my beloved rainbow umbrellas. Unfortunately, this time around, the lighting was not as good and a new burger joint opened up in the alley, thus causing a lot of foot traffic in the area that wasn't there on our first visit. Regardless, I tried to make the best our of these less than ideal circumstances and was still able to get some okay photos from the experience.

Because I knew that we would be stopping at this umbrella alley, I decided to dress to match my surroundings because that's just what I do! This included donning my pink embellished sweater and tulle skirt. I also added these fun blue suede bow sandals that I got for a steal last year during one of J. Crew's summer sales. I thought the pink and blues of my outfit would nicely complement the various hues of the umbrellas in this installation. So, while I might not be over the moon about the conditions surrounding these photos, overall I can't complain. How can you be upset when you're surrounded by colorful umbrellas?

Top: Boden here
Skirt: H&M here
Shoes: J .Crew similar blue pumps here
Bag: J. Crew Factory similar clutch here
Sunglasses: Gucci here

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Summer Floral

I love a good floral print but not all floral prints are created equal. Some floral prints can be dull or look dated, so you always have to be careful in selecting the right one to fit your style. Obviously I love floral prints that are vibrant and colorful, like the one that's featured on this dress from J. Crew! Because I already have a lot of floral dresses, I went back and forth about whether or not to get this particular dress but ultimately I decided that the print was different enough from what I already owned. Besides, the price was right so it was a no-brainer!

Another thing that factored into my decision to get this particular dress was that while this dress looks perfect for the summer months and when on vacation, it will also transition nicely into my work wardrobe (when I eventually physically go back to work!) due to the longer length of the dress. I also think this dress would look fantastic with a sweater or blazer over it, thus making it perfect for transitioning to other seasons as well, even though current temperatures here are nearly 100 and going to work in cooler weather is far from my mind right now!

Dress: J. Crew here
Shoes: Old Navy similar here
Bag: Louis Vuitton similar cross body bag here
Headband: J. Crew similar here

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Lavender Fields Forever

My mission each week this summer is to find at least one new place to visit so that I don't go crazy being stuck at home! This is challenging because most places have been shut down again here in California so most of the adventures I plan have to be outdoors and summers are pretty hot here. Luckily, Southern California has no shortage of amazing outdoor places to visit. For example, last week we visited the lavender fields in Cherry Valley. The fields are located at 123 Farm where they usually have a lavender festival this time of year. Although the pandemic prevented the festival from taking place, they still offered visitors the opportunity to wander around the fields and take pictures. In addition, they also sell many lavender themed items and foods. My husband sang a rendition of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and changed it to "Lavender Fields Forever", which was quite amusing. I wore this new striped dress that I thought would be the perfect complement for these gorgeous fields of purple!

While in many ways this was the perfect pandemic field trip, in other ways it was less than ideal. For one thing, there were a lot more people than I had anticipated in the lavender field, despite the fact that it was a weekday. The other thing that put a damper on the experience was a gigantic snake that slithered across the pathway into the lavender fields pictured below! I actually am not that afraid of snakes but this one was huge and I wasn't sure if it was poisonous or not. (After doing some research on snakes, I found out it probably was not.) It made me seriously question my choice of wearing sandals and going too far into the fields! Well, I must say that the snake, although frightening, did make for an interesting story and a memorable experience, which definitely beats sitting at home!

Dress: Boden here
Hat: H&M similar straw hat here
Sandals: similar gold sandals here
Bag: c/o Red Dress Boutique similar bamboo bag here
Earrings: c/o Zenzii here  (Save 25% off with code KATIE25)

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Sunshine and Rainbows

This summer, we're not getting out nearly as much as we usually do during my summer vacation so something simple and mundane like a trip to the grocery store suddenly becomes an opportunity to get dressed up! While I normally just don a T-shirt and shorts to run errands in summertime, lately I'm willing to take any event as an excuse to put on normal clothes and do my hair and makeup. This colorful outfit with this rainbow skirt and sunny yellow ruffle blouse is what I wore on my most recent trip to pick up the essentials at the grocery store. I should also mention that we picked up lunch at In-N-Out burger on this outing, so I guess I can say that this was also an outfit for a lunch date with my husband!

I decided to top off my colorful outfit with my favorite accessory for summer, namely this Kate Spade wicker camera bag! As I mentioned in a previous post, the purse is the perfect size for my wallet, phone and, now, mask, which, let's face it, is really becoming the official accessory of the summer of 2020! My husband actually accidentally spilled a little water on my bag when we were in the car "dining" and having our burgers but, luckily, no damage was done to the bag. He tried to avoid some of the blame by mentioning how impractical it is to wear such an outfit and bring such a bag to eat fast food in a car and go to the grocery store but I simply responded that "being extra" is what I do and that I wouldn't want to be any other way!

Skirt: J. Crew almost identical version here
Top: Nordstrom here
Shoes: J. Crew similar silver wedges here
Bag: Kate Spade here, and here
Earrings: c/o Zenzii (Save 25% with code KATIE25) here

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