I’ve been inspired by this beautiful monsoon weather we are having in Arizona – not so much the humidity; but with the humidity comes RAIN and a breeze so I can’t complain! It goes from 105+ degrees to 75 degrees when the storms roll through. It is so beautiful. In honor of that feeling there’s a short story at the end of this post.

If you’re here to see where you can get this adorable sunflower dress (YES, AMAZON PRIME!!), here ya go:

Shop the Look: Dress in Blue, Also love it in White,
 Shoes (Similar), $6 Hat

The Sunflower Dress

Lucy walked over to her bedroom window, moved the drapes to the side and placing two fingers on the sill, pushed it open. A cool breeze drifted into her room, ruffling the white drapes and blowing her blonde hair behind her shoulders. The moon shone in the sky and she stood there watching the twinkling lights of airplanes and a million tiny stars. It had been so hot these last few days that the breeze dancing across her skin made her eyes close and her head tilt up. She breathed in the smell of creosote and palo verde and dampened dust. Only in the desert could the monsoon rains bring such relief to the earth and the people who called it home.

She stayed like that until she felt the foreignness of goosebumps rise on her skin. They served as a gentle reminder that she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt anything but the heat of an Arizona summer coursing through her veins. Rubbing her arms with her palms she made her way across the room, reaching like a blind man for the wood grain of her four poster bed. She nestled into her sheets and laid her head into the coolness of her down pillow. The words rolling from the depths of a relaxing sigh she whispered into the darkened space, “Dear God, thank you for the rain.” She closed her eyes knowing a beautiful night’s sleep was only moments away.

Lucy dreamed.

She stood in a crop field with such dazzling beams of sunlight she had to shade her eyes. The light seemed heavenly, like ribbons of spun gold were descending on the field, and it took a great amount of curiosity to look away. All around her were tall, sentinel-like, yellow sunflowers that began waving back and forth as if enjoying a summer’s breeze. Lucy inhaled sharply as she raised onto her tiptoes eager to see more. Now the flowers were tall, almost two feet taller than Lucy, but as she reached to see over their petal-laden heads she seemed to miraculously have the perfect view. Rows and rows of beautiful flowers went on for miles. Lucy stretched out her arm, her fingertips aching to touch the golden petals, and felt a silkiness like never before. Eyes closed, she pulled the flower to her nose and inhaled the sweet scent. When she opened them, the flower was no longer in her grasp; instead it had been beautifully painted onto the bottom of her navy blue dress. She giggled with joy and grabbed her dress inspecting the loveliness and detail of the flower she once held. She never thought to wonder who had painted it, for in a dream everything makes perfect sense.

Lucy reached up and grabbed another sunflower, her fingers folding around the thick stem, and before she could pull it towards her, watched as it vanished from her hand. She looked down and right above her ribcage was the radiant flower painted onto the cotton fabric. Again and again, she watched in wondrous splendor as she touched a flower and hand painted sunflowers filled her button-down dress. One on her hip and then on the bodice and then above her knee. She twirled around in the sunshine and feeling giddy, like a young woman in the arms of her love, began to run down the carefully constructed row. She spread her arms wide, face tilted up to the rays of sun as her blonde locks bounced behind her. Her fingertips skimmed across the stem of every sunflower she passed, causing a ripple to roll through the field. When she stopped – not breathless or tired – she looked down at the spaghetti-strapped dress to see that what was once a night-sky blue was now radiating a brilliant yellow, from the luster of a thousand golden petals.