Purple Shoe Week Concludes, Double Boots, Heart Balls, and Some Shopping

Are you ready? This is a big post - I did mention it was going to be a busy weekend!

Friday concluded purple shoe week with these spat-inspired Fluevog beauties.

I last wore them here in March with a yellow and blue combination.

The top half is my leather vest, last seen here in March with leopard and lace, and my floral blouse that I last wore here in February with pink velvet.

I had planned to wear a different blouse with this outfit (this one), but then I remembered that I had a blood donation appointment, so I went with a shorter sleeve.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to donate blood because my iron/hemoglobin was too low. Whoops, I guess I should have had a proper dinner the night before instead of snacks and wine at Book Club.

The skirt was last worn here with my Vivienne Westwood shoes back in March also.

Vest (CAbi, thrifted), blouse (Esprit, consignment), skirt (Optionelle, consignment), boots (Libby Smith Bellevilles, Fluevog), necklace (Raven's Roost Studio).

After work, L and I napped then we roused ourselves to change into party clothes for our friends' Caro and Ronnie's party. It was Newfoundland themed, so we had fresh-caught Pacific cod (for kissing on the lips; it's some sort of tradition - I did NOT do that!) and Screech to drink (I also skipped that).

For parties lately, my goal has been twofold: wear the heck out of my Fluevog boots, and wear some of my older party dresses that I haven't worn much.

Yowza! This dress got high marks from the partygoers, so it'll stay in my closet. It's a London Times dress, bought at The Bay department store back in 2009. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but it was probably in the $49-69 range.

Here's how I've previously worn it:

• October 2009 for my 42nd birthday party - standard black accessories
• May 2010 for our helicopter trip to Vancouver for our friend Tony's surprise 40th birthday party

I love the crazy pattern of it - it reminds me of Mars or space storms.

The late afternoon light was weird for pictures. Lots of odd shadows.

I walked several blocks in my boots and stood for the whole party (till past midnight), and my feet felt pretty good. I am totally impressed at how-well balanced these are.

I wore them last weekend here.

Here's a look at the dress' construction.

It's that Herve Leger bandage dress type of construction, but the panels on this dress aren't elastic, and they actually work beautifully to shape. The dress doesn't have a lot of stretch, and it is fully-lined.

The stuff:

Rock and roll, baby!

Dress (London Times), boots (LA Malibu, Fluevog), studded cuff/snake ring/spider ring (homegrown vintage, 80s), leather cuff (Guess, thrifted), red stone ring (Oscar & Libby's), earrings (consignment).

Okay, so this bit is me being silly. You know how people make that *heart* gesture with their hands to show love? One night a few weeks ago, L and I saw someone on TV doing it, and I said that more than heart was needed - you had to have balls!

Thusly, I have invented *heart balls*:

*heart*........................................................................*balls*

Make the heart, then turn it upside down for balls. Spread the love that is *heart balls* - or, just give *balls* if the occasion warrants it. Use the gesture that shows, "Oh yeah, you are really special."

This is my "Visible Monday" link-up - go check out Patti's Not Dead Yet Style to see all the gorgeous women there! Ha, Patti is looking "wholesome" - me, not so much.

Props and thanks to my super-mojo-riffic friend, Carollyne (check out her awesome blog and her amazing art), for the pictures above. Carollyne's the best marketer - she wants to make *heart balls* go viral. Hee hee!

We had no Ulty game this week, so L and I slept in a bit then went to our favourite diner for brunch. I went loose and casual.

A big ol' flowy skirt, a couple of fun top layers, and walkable shoes for my slightly tired feet. I did a bit of shopping after lunch.

I wore this kimono-style top 3 times in the September 2012 capsule (recap here).

It was windy out, so this skirt billowed and swirled (and only tried to do the "look at my panties!" once).

This is its second wear - it was last worn on another shopping expedition (with stripes) here. It brought me good luck - I found some awesome things.

Much as I would have loved to have skipped a jacket, it's far too chilly (but I'm still doing bare legs! take that, Spring).

My orange leather one was perfect, with fingerless gloves and a scarf.

The stuff:

These Aldo shoes are fabulous for walking around. The woven leather has stretched to fit my feet exactly. I can't remember if I've worn them since the July 2012 (recap here), but I suspect I have. Ah well.

I had a nice shop. I find shopping very relaxing and soothing.

In keeping with my ethical shopping practices, I scoped out the booths in Bastion Square to see if there was anything interesting. I found some amazing jewelry at "About Tine" (not time, tine). Shahn makes stainless steel art jewelry out of spoons and forks (get it? tine?). I love the idea of re-using vintage and thrifted cutlery to make new jewelry.

They came in this lovely beaded bag

I bought a leaf bracelet made out of spoons (they've been rubbed with oil to change the colour to a nice bronzy shade), and a ring, also made from a spoon.

The bracelet is nice and small for my wrist - and it does up with a super-strong nesting magnet clasp.

Check out "About Tine" - linking 'cause I love. I got both pieces for $75.00 (the ring was $25 and the bracelet was $55, but Shahn gave me a small discount).

Next, I went up lower Johnson Street. I was excited to find a pair of hemp, sheepskin and recycled rubber slippers on sale to replace my awful junky cheap and worn-out slippers. And - bonus - they were made locally! No picture because frankly, they are practical, not pretty. Heh.

But I'll share my find from the Patch.

It's a fantastic coral-red silk skirt! It was $19.99, and since it's marked a size 14, I'm going to say it's from the 80s. It has wonderful "swoosh factor"!

Check out the gorgeous swirly pattern that's woven into the silk.

I can't wait to wear it!

I also stopped in at the Salvation Army - I don't go there often because it's kind of stinky. But I was in the neighbourhood, and I was disappointed to find that one of my favourite stores, Regalia Boutique, had closed! Aw...

I consoled myself with this gorgeous velvet blazer:

It's by Gap and it was $7.99. I love the multiple buttons down the front and on the cuffs. The colour is a rich butterscotch. Mmmm...butterscotch.

It also has amazing seaming - the fit is great.

The pleats at the bottom are a peplum - and the date on the inside tags says it's from 2005, so only 7-8 years and peplums are back. Why buy new?

After my long afternoon of shopping, we napped again, then got ready for Karen's birthday party.

It was later and darker by the time we left

Shiny! This is a sequined dress that I bought new from Plum on clearance from $129.00 for $20.00 back in January 2011.

Here's how I've worn it before:

• July 2011 (last outfit) for a party, and worn backwards...aw, check out the first picture of Vizzini as a kitten with Inigo
• January 2011, with a fancy t-shirt under it to go see "Black Swan"

It's loose and comfortable, although it was prickly under the arms. Sequins can be scratchy.

I love how the dress looks like liquid.

It is covered front and back with sequins.

I did pink tights with my Fluevogs this time.

Another look at the dress.

I think I'd like to try it with a shirt underneath, and see if I can make it work-appropriate. I definitely haven't worn it enough!

The stars of the party:

I walked 4 blocks each way and then stood for several hours. I need to get the heel cap replaced with a super-high density rubber cap (this was recommended at Fluevog). These boots took a beating this weekend!

My feet are very tired today - I'll be wearing flats and comfy shoes all week to get ready for the big 10K race this weekend.

I wore my red leather coat over this, with my lovely 80s scarf.

Purple leather gloves because...purple!

Dress (Esprit), boots (LA Malibu, Fluevogs), scarf (Adrienne Vittadini, vintage 80s, consignment), gloves (Danier Leather).

I hope your weekend has been full of fun, swooshiness, and colour!