Over the Valley: a mural in downtown Boise, Idaho

Madewell textured rainbow stripe shirtdress casual summer outfit with red Kino sandals — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Over the Valley mural by David Carmack Lewis, downtown Boise, Idaho — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Textured rainbow striped dress casual summer outfit in downtown Boise, Idaho — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Madewell textured rainbow stripe shirtdress casual summer outfit with cotton-linen baseball cap — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

I’m a huge fan of public art and murals, so I couldn’t wait to check out the newest art installation brightening up the downtown Boise skyline: a beautiful acrylic paint on brick piece titled “Over the Valley” by Portland-based artist David Carmack Lewis. It’s his third piece here in Boise, and it’s one I’m going to appreciate for years. It’s a major upgrade from the bland beige wall and absolutely beautiful in person! He painted it entirely by himself—by hand—in only a month’s time. If you look closely, you can still see one of the suspended platforms he used.

I knew my backdrop for these photos was going to be colorful, so I opted for a colorful outfit myself: rainbow stripes!!! I hadn’t worn this dress since last summer and I was thrilled to pull it out again. It’s been fun to wear my “regular” summer wardrobe (shorts and short skirts and dresses) regularly now that I’m working from home indefinitely. The past couple of years, my summer outfits have featured mostly outfits I wore to work—and those almost always included pants or jeans. This summer will definitely not feature as many outfits with pants or jeans!

Rainbow striped dress summer outfit with baseball cap and red sandals — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Idaho State Capitol, downtown Boise, Idaho — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Casual summer outfit with Madewell textured rainbow striped dress and cotton-linen baseball cap — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Over the Valley acrylic on brick mural, downtown Boise, Idaho — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

Another month has come and gone, and I still have to triple check the calendar to make sure I have the right date. The past few months have felt like one large blur…and I think the whole summer is going to feel that way (and probably the fall…and the winter…and probably every season in the future until a vaccine is approved). I’m trying to appreciate the little things, like new murals, even more than I have in the past. The new daily cases of COVID in Idaho are higher now than they were back when the state was “shut down”—we set new daily records almost every day the past week. Sigh. Of course, so many folks here refuse to wear a mask when they go out. #FreeDumb

Anyway, I hope your July goes as well as it can, and please stay safe and healthy if you’re celebrating this weekend! I have Friday off of work (yay!), and I’m also taking Friday off of blogging to work on some minor (but long overdue) blog updates that I hope to have finished before Monday! See you then… 😏

OUTFIT DETAILS

Madewell dress / old; similar or similar by Tularosa
Kino sandals / exact style or similar by Havianas
Madewell hat / exact
Le Specs sunglasses / exact style
Dior Lip Glow in pink / exact