the lay of the land

I've recently become obsessed with landscape print dresses.
I've seen a few abstract/landscape type dresses on a few other bloggers, like this dress from The Clothes Horse and Delightfully Tacky.

I think the first dress in this category that really caught my eye was of desert canyons, and it's a dress from Modcloth.

Glam Canyon Dress

In my heart of hearts I know I would never wear this dress...or at least, I wouldn't wear it often. The fabric is shiny and the print makes it a statement piece, to say the least.

Yet still, I find myself yearning to find a lost $100 on the sidewalk to splurge on this impractical purchase. 

Some more Modcloth scenery dresses:

Mount Desert Dreaming Dress

Graceful Greenery Dress

Little Mesa Perfect Dress

Jenna's Field Good Dress 

Scene and Believed Dress

I just can't get over how gorgeous these prints are.

The only down side is that they are all way out of my budget, save for The Mount Desert Dreaming, which rings in around $60 (still a little steep, unless it was for a really great occasion). And I am pretty partial to the desert color palette!

I was able to round up a few more affordable options, which I also love, although they are definitely not as vibrant and breathtaking as the choices above.

Afternoon at the Oasis Dress

Glacial Relationships Dress

Key Best Dress (such adorable detail)

I think I finally realized how in love I was with these prints when I stumbled across an amazing print from Anthropologie. It was on sale, and I was this close to dropping $80 for this thing.

I wracked my brain for a good 10 minutes, trying to find any justification for buying it.

I just stood in the dressing room, not wanting to take it off. What a cool dress.

Skyward Dress

Speaking of skyward, there's another style of landscape print that is definitely surfacing. Not of earth, but of space. The final frontier. Amiright?

Supernova Twirl Skirt (love!)

Moon Rock Concert Dress

Saturday Night Thrive Dress
(technically of city lights, but has a similar vibe)

Moonlight the Way Dress
(question of the day: why is this $350?)

Which one is your favorite?

One of these days, I'll invest in a landscape dress.

Right now my vote is with a galaxy savvy skirt, or one of the three budget-friendlier landscape dresses, like the Key Best. Something I can remix often, and get a lot of use out of! 

Gotta start small, right?

the cusp of summer

I think it's pretty common for me to feel a little bit lost around this season.
It's not quite spring, it's not quite summer. I'm kind of wedged somewhere in between wanting shorts and strappy sandals, and wishing I could go back to boots and sweaters.
The cloudy days are chilly, but the afternoon is hot and humid.

We're visiting Arizona this coming week (we leave tonight!) and I can't wait for true summer. 
The temps are all above 90 degrees, sunshine all the way, and I can already feel the blessed heat on my skin. There's nothing I love more than an Arizona summer.
Although this may be a whole absense-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder delusion. We'll see!

I love the watercolor print of this dress, and how it's always a go-to for remixing.
This dress is definitely in my top 5, as far as how often I've worn the dresses in my closet this past year. Granted, I bought this dress this past year, but that just proves a smart purhcase.

Dress/Belt: Ruche (similar 1, 2, 3, 4), Button-up: J. Crew (similar), Shoes: Gifted (similar)

One of my favorite ways to wear this dress is in the colder months, with a turtle neck layered underneath.
It's a great transitional dress. So far I've been able to wear it all year long, and now I'm just waiting to wear it by itself in the summertime!
It has an adorable cut-out back with a bow, and will be perfect for summer get-togethers.

For now I'm just eagerly awaiting our summer Arizona visit. Counting down the hours!
Maybe I'll bring this dress along. :)

meet me in versailles

Our last day in Paris, we spent the majority of our time touring the magnificent Versailles.

It was nothing like I imagined it -- the chateau itself is one of the largest in the world, and is absolutely glorious in its wealth. Its history is wrought with extravagance, French power and ultimately its fame as a symbol of absolute monarchy.
But in the midst of the leftover winter, the grounds mirrored the dreariness of the skies.

Most of the garden areas weren't in bloom yet, and the statues were covered up and the fountains weren't flowing.
We spent most of our day walking around, a kind of eerie solitude seeming to follow us around.

Dress/Belt: Primark in London, Pants: Forever 21 (shop!), Purse: Target, Scarf: Disneyland, Watch: Gifted/La Mer from Target (shop!), Hat: (similar!), Booties: Urbanog

It was such a windy day, that I was equal parts happy and annoyed with my hat.
It was the perfect solution to keeping my ears warm, but it often attempted to fly off my head in the particularly ambitious bouts of wind.
All in all, I really like it and will try and continue to break my "I'm not a hat person" mantra.

As you can see, Versailles is enormous.
It was overwhelming walking around the property, unsure if we'd ever reach the outer limits.
I kind of had the feeling of walking around an abandoned property, or perhaps a haunted mansion where the inhabitants are long gone, but a mysterious spirit remains.
Even so, the property is littered with treasures, like little restaurants and secret gardens and other smaller chateaus, including the summer home of Marie Antoinette.
I became enchanted with her, such a tragic and strange historical figure. I wished I could have visited her in her prime, before all the chaos and obviously...the beheading.

It was quite an amazing experience, even though we were wishing for Spring the entire time!