Girls In the Desert

When we were in Arizona a couple of weeks ago, we decided to head out to our favorite place to explore and take photos. It's a piece of unoccupied land in the Sonoran desert not far from Robbie's parent's house in Scottsdale, and while it's admittedly surrounded by the obvious civilization of the city, it feels completed secluded when you're there. We go there every year to snap pictures (usually for outfit posts but also for fun), and this year Essley wanted to come with us. We've been trying to teach her about nature and the environment, and this seemed like a great way for her to learn about a completely different type of ecosystem than what she's used to where we live, while also having some fun. (We also have a cool Earth Day inspired project stemming from this photoshoot; stay tuned for more on that in a couple of weeks.)

We were planning to go out to dinner that night so I was already sort of dressed up (for me, anyway), and while the photos we took weren't purposely for an outfit post, it kind of turned out that way. And funny enough, Essley and I were not intentionally dressed alike. I know, I know - that seems impossible, considering how similar the dresses appear in these photos. But it's true. In person, the pieces are quite different - mine is a fabric-heavy, super flowy, sort-of-bell sleeve woven fabric dress with a lot of embellishment, and Essley's is a simple jersey knit cotton jumper dress. The patterns are also not that alike in person, but in the photos they're almost identical. We didn't realize how much we appeared to be twinning until we looked back through the photos. Essley and I don't often do the mommy and me dress alike thing, but I think I might kind of like it...

... CLICK THROUGH HERE TO READ MORE >>



Posing for pictures with Ess is always fun - we love to get silly when we do it and there is a whole lot of laughing (and seriously awkward outtakes). But the best part was seeing how excited she was about the details of the desert - the plants, the land, even the way the sun was setting. I call it "her wonder" and it is genuinely the best thing ever, you guys.

ON MELISSA Dress: Knox Rose  |  Bracelet: c/o Lucky  |  Earrings: H&M  |  Sunglasses: H&M  |  Boots: c/o Trask   ON ESSLEY Dress: H&M  |  Sandals: c/o Bobux (use code BEAN25 for 25% off!)  |  Sunglasses: Target  

We took some other photos on a different day (without Essley that time) in one of my new favorite casual (as if I wore anything else) outfits that I'll share soon. And that will probably conclude my outfit posts for the year knowing my track record but hey, it's a fun change for a non-fashion blog, right?

ALSO FIND US HERE: INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // PINTEREST //  BLOGLOVIN'