mixing prints: dress in a dress

This past week consisted of some pattern play in my outfit choices. I've been playing around with mixing different prints and trying out bold patterns.
For some reason I was feeling adventurous, and certain things were catching my eye as I perused my closet each morning.

I've tried to get back into the habit of setting out my clothes the night before - it makes getting ready in the morning so much easier! But I don't always think about it.

Floral Dress: Zulily (remixed here and here), Polka-Dot Dress: Primark in London
Shoes: Ruche/Poetic License (shop!), Ring: Ebay (similar), Earrings: Fossil

This outfit is actually a dress on top of a dress.
Completely foreign territory to me until now.
In theory, I think it works. This pairing was a chance encounter, as both these dresses were hanging on my closet door for different purposes and it suddenly dawned on me that I love floral and polka dots together.
This floral dress has become one of my most interesting remix pieces.

I think it depends entirely on the dresses you'd want to wear together, but I think I may try this idea again. Just like wearing a skirt over a dress, or a sweater/top over a dress, or a top under a dress, this layering technique can exponentially expand my dress-wearing. Which I'm always in favor of.

I've definitely mentioned before that I love cutesie things, which includes critters and cute prints.
This ring was no exception. I'm a sucker for foxes (still on the hunt for a perfect budget-friendly fox sweater) and kittens, so this ring kind of encompasses both. I found it on Ebay for 99 cents, so how can you go wrong?
These types of rings are all over the place, places like Ebay and Etsy.
I like looking through some of the more expensive options of cutesie rings, like this, but in all reality I'm more of a 99 cent ring girl than a $60 ring girl. Unless it's of the engagement/wedding persuasion.

I love our balcony, even though it stretches along the entire back side of our apartment complex, so it's a shared space. It still feels secluded and private, with the forest of trees and the lanterns that light up at night.
I'm planning on buying some bistro style patio furniture, hanging some twinkle lights, and spending a lot of quality time on this balcony this summer. I'm looking forward to taking on a lot of home improvement projects in the next few months.
It only took me a year and 8 months to actually be motivated to finish things up. :)
We have a little over a year left until my husband finishes law school and we move back to Arizona, so I'm planning on making it count.