Blast of Colour

Woo, another week, and we get closer and closer to the closet swap-over and another Limbo sale. I'm excited, but I'm also finding it very easy to let go of things that are just not working for me. 

Oh, you know it's coming...

• Cotton turtleneck sweater - Northern Reflections, thrifted; last seen here in April, layered under a cornflower corduroy dress
• Cerulean suede studded dress - Danier Leather, vintage 80s, consignment; last worn (but not seen!) here in August
• Shoes - Sea Maidens Kelpies, Fluevog; last seen here in August with a leopard maxi
• Cotton fleece cardigan - Agnes B., thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) for brunch in April

I wanted to wear this studded suede dress again, because my camera ate the pictures last time. 

I decided to layer under it - and while I liked the bright pink, especially with the tights - I'm done with this dress. It hasn't got pockets and I feel 4 outfits at $17 per wear is good enough. 

The tights popped a ginormous hole, so off they go to Hosiery Heaven. I thrifted them in 2018 for 95 cents or maybe $1.50? so not bad for 8 years! 

I'm still waffling on this cardigan, but it's in the closet for now. It's a good colour and I'd wear it more if I remembered I had it. 

Incognito. 

I loved all these colours together - it's a lot! I do like to blast the eyeballs...

The...hey, get off the table, Whateley. 

He approves of the shoes. Let's try this again. 

The stuff: 

I added the gloves at the last minute - they're still not stretched to my hand. I didn't need the scarf or gloves by the end of the day. 

• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment
• Leather gloves - Martin Ria's, vintage 80s, thrifted

Colourful bling: 

I'm also done with the Biko earrings. They are...fine. 

• Silicon bangle - Materia Design, thrifted
• Carved jadeite bangle - consignment
• Earrings - Biko, consignment
• Silver/aquamarine Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower, vintage 00s

Kittens on the deck. 

Enjoy the sun while it lasts, bud. 

Whateley was fascinated by the rainbows my crystal ring was throwing. 

You never know what will catch a kitten's eye!

I'll be back on Wednesday with a Two-Fer, as I have an after-work thing tomorrow. See you then! 

Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Lemon and Licorice Friday; Sequins for Brunch

Woo, the weekend! I'm eager to get back to some quiet time with my fam, so let's dig into what I wore. 

I felt like getting in another wearing of this velvet and silk tunic. 

It won't stay out for fall/winter - that black pattern is all velvet. Can you imagine the Velvet Rage? 

• Silk tunic - Jean Paul Gaultier, vintage 00s, thrifted; first worn here in May with green linen pants
• Skirt - Babette, thrifted; last seen here in May with space blues
• Leather boots - Doc Martens; last worn here in July for a Mom-Day

The last time I wore this tunic, I layered a bright orange camisole under it.

This time, it's a matching lemon yellow cotton tank (not tracked, but it's an Eileen Fisher). 

I loved wearing this licorice black skirt again - it just hangs straight, with no clinginess at all, and it's SO stretchy! 

The lemon yellow Docs made me feel strong, which I needed, as I was absolutely slammed at work, missing my lunch and working an extra half hour. Gah, expense reports at year-end! 

Incognito. 

I slightly missed having gloves in the morning, but it was 17 and sunny on the way home. 

The stuff: 

Such a good scarf. 

• Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted

Bold bling: 

I wore the same necklace the last time I wore that top. 

• Silver/Lucite bracelet - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Green stone bracelet - vintage mall
• Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
• Silver loopy ring - consignment, Sidney
• Silver/smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neumann, Sweden, vintage mall
• Hammered silver ring - consignment, Sidney
• Fingerprint earrings - Daisung Kim, MoMA, thrifted
• Pewter necklace - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, thrifted, Sidney

Kitties wrestling! They are silent and there are no claws.

They tumble all over the floor. 

Barnabas is usually the instigator. 

The paw ventures over...and then Whateley springs. 

L and I hung out on Friday night, playing games and chilling with the boys, then he was up early for his Ultimate Frisbee game, and I played around in my closet, building some outfits for the coming week, and getting ready for brunch at John's Place afterwards. 

I've been waiting for it to be cool enough to layer this thin cotton sweater under the dress. Finally! 

• Cotton sweater - Tabi, thrifted; last seen here in January with velvet leopards
• Sequin dress - Ralph Lauren, consignment NWT, Vancouver; last worn here (2nd outfit) for brunch on our anniversary in March
• Boots - 7th Heaven Mega Racer, Fluevog; last seen here in April with Weird Adidas and tulle

A better look at the sequined plaid. 

I've never layered anything under it before - what was I waiting for? 

The blue tights were not this BLUE in real life. 

After brunch we did our weekly grocery shop. 

Incognito. 

A few accoutrements for the slight chill in the air. 

The stuff: 

These boots are a commitment! That's a lot of hooks and no zipper. 

• Leather knapsack - vintage, thrifted
• Leather gloves - Echo, consignment
• Wool "Scardigan" - Mister Ease, vintage 50s, thrifted

The scarf belongs to L (I bought it for him years ago) - it's by 1950s dressing gown company Mister Ease by Rochester, and it has a small buttoned pocket at each end, and it buttons together at the front, giving you a flat scarf covering with two pockets! Amazing! 

Black bling: 

I'm feeling ready for fall, can you tell? 

• Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Studded leather cuff - vintage 90s
• Silver/onyx spider ring - 1986, gift from Mom & Dad
• Silver snake ring - 1986, BC Museum Gift Shop
• Hammered silver ring - consignment, Sidney
• Jet/crystal necklace - vintage 50s, Grandma J's
• Crystal earrings - thrifted

Checking in on Whateley before I headed down to meet L at the field. 

What a sweet boy. 

And Barnabas REALLY wanted to be picked up and cuddled. 

He just goes fully limp - and he's a solid boy! 

Helping us while we hang out. 

Whateley's on one side of the couch...

...and Barnabas is at the other.

Always with his head upside down! What a little weirdo.

We had our pals Cat and Ross over for a rousing game of Arkham Horror - we won! 

Whateley and Barnabas "helped" L and Ross. 

Well, that's all I got this weekend! Hope you had a lovely one - thank you so much for being here. 

Mom-Day in Butterfly, Zebra and Leopard

Woo, what a week! I'm so glad the weekend is nearly here. If you missed it, I've updated yesterday's post (here) with pictures from last night's concert. 

Today was Mom-Day, and we couldn't have asked for a nicer day! 

We worked on our puzzle, had lunch, then finished the puzzle! Very satisfying. Thanks for having me over, Mom! I love you! 

Sneaking in one more wearing of this amazing butterfly/zebra/roses blazer. 

Dolly would have approved. 

• Cotton blazer - Escada by Margaretha Ley, vintage 80s, thrifted, Powell River; last seen here in June with white and orange
• T-shirt - Leonard Cohen tour shirt, thrifted; not tracked, I literally sleep in it
• Skirt - Cleo, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) for Vero's birthday adventure a few weeks ago
• Shoes - Marquis Swordfish, Fluevog; last seen here in March with black jeans and ruffles

I was dripping with sweat by the time I got to Mom's and was like this all day. 

Not with my shoes on! I quite liked the yellow spotted socks, which are Fluevogs. 

I went from that to this:

I did up the top button of the jacket to keep it from flapping around as I walked to town, bused and walked to Mom's. 

It was windy, so I wore my scarf in my hair. 

My green backpack carried our lunch (beef stew), music for us to listen to while we puzzled (Rankin Family and Loreena McKennitt), and two books I took from a Little Library. 

Rear view.

It goes to infinity. 

The stuff: 

Good walking shoes. 

• Leather purse - thrifted
• Silk scarf - consignment
• Droopy leopard brooch - Parklane, consignment
• Zebra brooch - consignment

I did a brooch on each side of the collar.

Bold bling:

A bright jacket needs bright accessories! 

• Enameled cuff - Lauren G. Adams, consignment
• Turquoise ring - consignment
• Steel/Lucite ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted
• Gold-tone leaves bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
• Crystal/gold necklace - Swarovski, CA's mum's 
• Gold-tone necklace - Givenchy, vintage 80s, vintage fair
• Wood/acrylic ear-balls - Sziska, thrifted, Sidney

I blended into all these rich late summer colours in nature. 

I love this car. And look at those gorgeous trees! 

The bright yellow against the blue sky. 

So inspiring. 

The sheep farm.

No sign of sheep, though. 

Wait a minute, what is this!?

SHEEPS! Look at the curly horns on the ram! There were two other people, one who fed apple to that sheep with the white face stripe. 

A lovely walk, listening to the birds. 

All the usual suspects on Merlin: chickadees, juncos, wrens and sparrows, along with crows, ravens and turkey vultures circling overhead. 

I arrived at Mom's and I had to see her progress on her next picture. 

This is the base image, ready to be coloured. Exciting! Multiple versions allow Mom to experiment with colour and shading, and make sure she's got good balance. 

She's been working on the puzzle since we last did.

I was assigned the plaid blanket and then we both worked on the wood parts at the top. 

A mere three hours later! It was a wonderful afternoon in harmony, with the sun shining. 

Thumbs up! I can't wait for the next puzzle! 

Before I sign off for the weekend, more leaf-watching shenanigans. 

Barnabas watching. 

If he's doing it, Whateley is not far behind. 

What's going on? 

Must go see! 

Who messed up this chair? Why is that lampshade askew? 

Hmm, I wonder. 

It's very entertaining watching them discover all of this only for the second time in their lives. 

And there we go - have a great weekend, and please stop by on Sunday for tales of adventure. Thank you for being here.

Black and White and a Fin for Lyle Lovett

Hello, Gentle Reader, and once again, I am in a hurry! L and I are off to see Lyle Lovett live in concert! Please do check back tomorrow for more pictures of the concert (I'll add them to this post), and speaking of...do check out a few added pics from yesterday's Book Club (here). 

I selected this outfit specifically to do my office work all day, plus a lot of walking, and then sitting at the concert (and walking home!). We saw Lyle live in July 2012 here, with pictures here.

• Ruffled cotton blouse - J. Crew, consignment; purchased here for $34.00
• Denim/brocade "fin" top - 3.1 Phillip Lim, consignment; last worn here in June (same shoes) with my bronze skirt
• Skirt - Cydney Mar, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in June with orange and copper for L's birthday lunch with Mom
• Sneakers - Converse; last worn here for a haircut in June in stripes

I had a gorgeous view of the Castle today. 

Ooh, glowy morning light...

I finally got around to styling up this white ruffled cotton blouse that I bought a couple of months ago. White shirts are not terrible exciting to me - they fill a niche for layering and that's it. I do really like the crispy ruffles on this one, though. 

My fin top which is always fun to waggle at my coworkers. The long skirt is worn bare-legged with wee shorts. I was not sure if the Royal Theatre would be warm or cold. 

Incognito. 

Doing the ol' scarf and glove thing for the chilly mornings. Did not need the gloves after work, but it was really nice to have them after the show for the walk home. 

I took a picture of the empty purse in the morning. 

Showing my practical walking sneakers and sparkly socks. 

The stuff: 

I didn't want to unlace the sneakers and do them up again...and then put them back on. 

• Purse - fake Hermes, thrifted, Vancouver
• Silk flies scarf - Smoking Lily, vintage 90s, thrifted
• Leather gloves - Echo, consignment

Silver bling: 

A lot from Sidney! 

• Silver S bracelet - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
• Silver/onyx squares bracelet - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
• Silver/onyx flat bracelet - consignment, Sidney
• Silver/onyx necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River
• Silver clip earrings - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower, gift from Cindy
• Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
• Hammered silver ring - consignment, Sidney

And Mom's lobster. 

I like the surreal aspect of just wearing a lobster. 

• Lobster brooch - Bermuda, vintage 90s, Mom's

I did take a picture of my shoes. 

Whateley helped. 

Barnabas...did not.

What a cute boy! He's showing all his "feathers." 

Stay tuned...more pics coming! 

And here we are! 

Fresh from some delicious Brickyard Pizza, me, L and Caro, checking to see if there was any merch for Lyle (there wasn't! Boo!). 

View from our seats. 

During the first act, we were on the edges of a cloud of vile farting. 

Poor Carolyn was in it, as were the ladies in front of us and on the other side of her.

Sorry for the crude detail - it was gone by the time Lyle took the stage. 

The opening act was the Hello Darlin's - they were sweet but the lead singer was mourning the death of her husband only a few months ago. It was quite emotional and both Caro and were in tears in parts. 

Lyle himself was....not as he once was. We did not check on his health (he's only 69!) and assumed he'd be the awesome show that he was when we saw him in 2012. However, since then he's been experiencing vocal issues, with his singing sounding very strained, and at times almost hard to listen to. 

I appreciated being in the presence of a legend, and I'm happy to have supported him with our tickets, but can't recommend him.

I choose to remember the experience, and the fun evening with two of my favourite people. 

One more kitty picture.

Falling leaves are endlessly fascinating.