One of my favorite designers for gorgeous prints is Marimekko! I just love their fun prints and their collaborations with brands like Target and Uniqlo! Well, this floral skirt is not from Marimekko or one of their collabs, but it does feature a print that I think could be easily mistaken as a Marimekko creation. The great thing about this skirt is that it's under $20 and the print also comes in a dress version and shirtdress version! (If you follow me on Instagram, you will notice that I purchased the shirtdress too!)
The things that I love about this skirt are the fun, slightly abstract print and the fun colors! I think these vibrant orange and pink colors are perfect for summer! To play up these colors, I paired it with a tangerine ruffle top and some pink accessories. This is certainly a skirt that I will be reaching for all summer long!
You might recall that last month I posted a similar dress from the Uniqlo collaboration with Marimekko on my blog. It just occurred to me that I completely forgot to post this large polka dot dress from the same collection! Well, better late than never. Also, the good news is that this dress and the entire Uniqlo x Marimekko Collection are now on sale! As I shared in my post about this collaboration last month, this simple shift dress is always a staple in the Collection whenever Uniqlo does a collaboration with Marimekko. I have the dress in a variety of colors and prints because it's such a chic, yet easy to wear dress. While I probably have too many of these dresses, I fell in love with this fun dot pattern in a cheerful pink and orange print and had to add it to my wardrobe!
I actually wore this dress for my husband's birthday celebration with family and I thought it would make a great party dress for the occasion. I always like to find pieces in my wardrobe that can easily transition to different situations and I think this dress is a great example of one such piece. By just adding a belt and a cardigan, it could easily be something that I would wear to work. I would also swap out these shoes, which are pretty high, with flats. To be honest, that's what I did after these pictures were taken because I did the cooking for the party and, while I would like to think I could cook dinner in 4 inch heels, I'm not really coordinated enough to pull off such a feat!
I've loved Marimekko's designs since I was in college but their clothing can be a bit pricey. Luckily, Marimekko has done affordable collaborations with designers like Target and Uniqlo. A few years ago, Marimekko and Uniqlo did their first collaboration and I have been hooked ever since! I usually buy at least a couple of pieces from the collection that I always treasure because of the unique and innovative prints paired with comfy, easy to wear styles. As you can imagine, I was psyched when the email from Uniqlo popped up announcing that the latest Marimekko collaboration was now available in stores and online. I ended up getting two dresses, this floral print dress featured here and a polka dot dress that I will be featuring at a later date here on my blog.
As I previously mentioned, I love Marimekko because the prints are always unique and usually very colorful! Marimekko is a Finish design and textile house that made a name for itself in the 1960s because of its unique prints. I love that the dresses, such as this one, usually have a little bit of a groovy 60s feel! I also like that their clothing is always cut in such a practical and easy to wear way. I am not always very practical when it comes to my clothing choices, so it's nice to find a brand that can successfully combine style and comfort at an affordable price point!
I'm a couple of weeks into my summer vacation and while normally I am ecstatic about this time of the year and the freedom that it brings, there is something a little bit sad about this summer in comparison to summers past. Usually, summer is filled with concerts at the Hollywood Bowl under the stars, eating out, and exploring new neighborhoods but many of these things can't happen this year due to the pandemic. So, in order to get over my summer blues, I'm trying to find some off of the beaten path places that I haven't been to yet in order to pass the time. For example, last week we visited the Newport Beach Civic Center to look at the amazing sculpture garden they have on the premises!
One of the things that I noticed about the Newport Beach Civic Center Park before visiting is that they have these amazing blue, geometric bridges in several locations. Not being one to miss an opportunity to dress to match my location, I donned yet another Marimekko creation, this time a blue and white shirtdress. This shirtdress proved to be the perfect match, color-wise, for the bridge, not to mention it seemed like the type of "arty" thing one might wear for a stroll of the grounds of a sculpture garden!
Dress: Uniqlo/Marimekko here
Bag: Prada similar here, here
Shoes: Kate Spade
Earrings: c/o Zenzii (Save 25% with code KATIE25) here
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My favorite thing about the sculpture garden at the Newport Beach Civic Center was the numerous bunny sculptures that can be found in a couple of locations in the park. The most famous, or perhaps I should say infamous, scuplture is referred to as "Bunnyhenge" and it consists of 14 large white bunnies sitting around in a perfect circle. (Who knows what they are up to!) I mentioned that this sculpture is infamous, which is mainly due to the fact that my research about it uncovered that it was quite costly and many residents took issue with the money the city spent on it. While I think it was money well spent, I will admit that the bunnies are a little mysterious and creepy but since I love rabbits and I love odd art, it proved to be right up my alley!
(I think this singular bunny pictured below is a little bit more friendly and
approachable!)
Below, you will find a handful of other sculptures that are located at the Newport Civic Center Sculpture Park. I thought the
mirrored
stop sign that, ironically, says, "START" instead of "STOP" would be a great place to start...haha! While my photos don't showcase all of the work that can be found in the sculpture garden, hopefully it will whet your appetite to explore this park on your own if you find yourself in Orange County or if you are in Los Angeles and, like me, are looking to get out and do something unique. It's a fun way to spend the day and take some spectacular photos!
For those of you who want to visit the Newport Civic Center Sculpture Park, feel free to check out the city's website here for more information! Between the fresh ocean air and views and lovely art, you won't be disapointed!
Marimekko, which is a brand that's known for it's playful and modern textile designs, has a lot of cool prints from which to choose. If I had to pick the design house's most iconic print, it would either be this black and white dot print or maybe its signature floral print but since I'm wearing this tunic in the dot print, I'll choose it as the most iconic! I've been posting a lot about the Uniqlo x Marimekko collaboration, which is probably due to the fact that most of my new fashion purchases over the last couple months have been from Uniqlo and this collaboration. Honestly, I very seldomly shop at Uniqlo but whenever they do a collaboration with Marimekko, they just seem to create so many affordable, unique pieces that it's hard to resist!
I actually wore this outfit to go to the grocery store last week. While we've been getting out a little more due to things opening up here in Los Angeles, we are still mainly home bound with the exception of a weekly trip to pick up groceries or the occasional trip out to pick up lunch from a nearby restaurant. I just kind of threw this outfit together with the white pants, tassel sandals, and pink headband. I think the pink headband, which has been getting a lot of use this year, really ties the whole look together! Plus, it has been a while since my last haircut, so it hides the fact that my bangs are now way too long and I have split ends!
A couple weeks ago I took a road trip to Joshua Tree with my husband and a couple members of his family. Because I've been cooped up for the last three months, getting out of the house was an exhilarating experience, which was only amplified by the astounding beauty of the natural splendor of Joshua Tree! Before we got to the park, I made the request to stop by the World Famous Crochet Museum located on the outskirts of the park in the town of Joshua Tree. Both my husband and his family members asked me "how do you find out about these weird things?" Well, I guess I have a nose for sniffing them out and keeping up with where all the hipsters on Instagram like to go in the area doesn't hurt either!
If you are planning on going to Joshua
Tree, I would highly recommend visiting the World Famous Crochet Museum and the artists'
community that surrounds it. Be forewarned, however, that the museum is small...very small...as in one person can go in at a time small. But its quirky charm makes it well worth the visit. Case in point, my husband's father and uncle, who joined us on the trip, almost seemed to have more fun looking around and taking pictures than I did! Below you will see some of the other fun things that are located near the World Famous Crochet Museum including a vintage beauty salon and an out of this world art installation!
After we finished taking photos and gawking at the sights in the town of Joshua Tree, it was time to get on the road and get to Joshua Tree National Park. There was actually a line of people in cars waiting to get in so clearly we weren't the only ones who were eager to get out into nature for a while. Once we got past the park gates, we were greeted by a forest of Joshua Trees of varying shapes and sizes. We got out of the car to explore the vast expanse of trees and rocks a number of times. (You will notice that I changed my footwear from sandals to sneakers, especially since I have the misfortune of always getting into an altercation with cacti when we go to these types of places!)
Speaking of what I wore on our road trip, I decided to wear this bright colored tee from Uniqlo's collaboration with Marimekko in addition to my cactus earrings from Zenzii. (You can save 25% on them with code KATIE25.) I know, my love of cacti is ironic due to all of the times I've had cactus needles stuck in my foot or hands! Luckily, it turned out to be the perfect, comfortable, cactus proof outfit to wear combining both a pop of color with a dash of practicality. Yes, believe it or not, I can be practical when need be!
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One of my favorite things that we did in the park is go to the Key's View lookout where you can get a view of the Coachella Valley, Mount San Jacinto and Mount San Gorgonio, in addition to the Salton Sea if it's a clear day. It's truly a beautiful, albeit somewhat windy, location. My husband insisted that he take the photo below of me standing near the view. He actually took a few and for most of them my hair was completely in my face or I looked like I was afraid of being blown down into the valley. The one below, however, didn't turn out too badly! We also discovered a smattering of wildflowers in this location, as you will see below.
Last, but not least, wild animals were not all that visible on the day that we visited Joshua Tree due to the heat. Because I love animals, I was really hoping see a tortoise or maybe even a big horned sheep up in the mountains. Luckily, towards the end of the trip my father in law spotted a black-tailed jack rabbit. I was able to zoom in on it and get some good photos without scaring the poor thing off.
I am ending this post with a picture of me back in the World Famous Crochet Museum to give you a sense of the scale museum. While some of the things found in Joshua Tree, like this museum, might be small, they are big in terms of impact! The park itself, with it's sprawling miles of desert scenery, other worldly rock formations, and majestic vistas also has a big impact and can't be missed if you're in the Palm Springs area! If not, I highly recommend just getting out in nature or finding your own quirky treasure like the World Famous Crochet Museum to explore, as it will help you to get over the quarantine blues of the last few months!
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