Bigass Long Weekend: Tool in Van, Cat Tail, Lame Ulti, Etro Dinner with Dave, Shopping

Well, it has been another lovely long weekend! This one was much rainier, gloomier and colder overall but we still had fun. 

The first thing we did was get up early on Thursday and get ready to go to Vancouver to see Tool! Tool is a metal prog-rock band - both L and I have been fans for ages. You can check out L's review of the show here at his blog. 

 What do you wear to see a prog-metal band in concert? A psychedelic cat t-shirt and camo, of course!

• T-shirt - The Mountain, thrifted - first worn here (6th outfit) in October 2016 for a birthday visit at Mom's
• Long-sleeved shirt (underneath) - can't remember, thrifted; I wear this around the house, so I don't track it
• Camo pants - Gap, consignment; last seen here (4th outfit) in April with heeled runners
• Shoes - Dunlop, thrifted (were Lesley's); not tracked, as I wear these nearly daily
• Jacket (below) - Lazy Susan's; last seen here on Wednesday

 I wore my Clash "London Calling" t-shirt on the way home (and slept in this one), but didn't take any pictures. It was a surgical strike - just ferry to Van and back again on Friday morning. A whirlwind!

 Comfy and warm enough for walking around and sitting for a concert. I can't travel in fancy clothes for something like this.

Besides, I did wear a nice floral satin jacket. That totally counts for dressy. I got heavily rained on in this because it always rains in Vancouver!

 I didn't look like the majority of Tool fans (mostly male), but I felt like me and had a good time.

The stuff:

 Excellent shoes!

• Cuff - vintage fair
• Earrings - local

I didn't take too many pictures of the trip, as I focused on having fun with our friends. Chris and Ali were generous enough to take L, Nick and I in their car with them, and we met up with Spence for the show. All six of us had a great time, just hanging out, road-tripping, and seeing the concert.

I haven't taken the Swartz Bay to Tsawassen ferry in years! I forgot how long it takes! However, it was fun to be on one of the big ferries again after nearly 10 years.

 These little ferries are for the runs to the Gulf Islands, all the little populated islands that speckle the Juan de Fuca Strait between Vancouver Island (where I live) and the Mainland of BC (where Vancouver is).

We were on the Spirit of British Columbia, one of the ginormous car ferries.

Locals call this water "a good chop" - the ferry rocked a bit

 That's probably the other Spirit class vessel in the distance. They hold hundreds of cars and people.

Several hours later (1 hr, 40 min sailing time, plus about 1 hr 30 min driving into Vancouver), we checked into all of our hotels, then chilled out in Nick's room until it was time for dinner before the concert.

 Nick and Spence, conversing.

L, Ali and Chris.

 I had a nap in there too - traveling is exhausting!

We walked past BC Place (on the right) to Rogers Arena, further ahead on the left, after we had dinner.

 This is about 7pm, and you can see how gloomy it was.

Among other concert-goers, walking there.

 Spence, Nick, Ali and Chris. We got there early to scope out the merch table, and to get to our seats before the crowds came in (I can handle big crowds if I do this).

L and I walking back to our hotel along Robson Street.

 Up past our bedtimes! L, you look tired...poor man. Such a hard life...partying and rocking out, ha ha!

I love these lit-up trees.

 Ready to go to sleep, get up and go home. All concerted out!

It was a little nicer coming home, but we missed the 10am ferry and had to wait for the next one.

There will always be another ferry, Chris! You have to be a bit Zen about these things when you live on an island!

Coming back through the Gulf Islands.

 The blue sky didn't last long.

I went out on the decks to get some air - there were a lot of people out there.

 Mostly smokers, but the tourists like the views - it is a very pretty part of the world. On the drive to/from Vancouver we saw tons of bald eagles.

We were sitting on the 3rd floor above the car decks, and there's another deck above that.

 Are we there yet? Ferries take forever...this is why I like taking the seaplanes!

 We were happy to be home, arriving early Friday afternoon!

I don't usually buy concert tees, but I really liked this one.

 Not sure yet if I'll just wear it around the house. It's not really a work tee.

Vizzini was very happy to see us.

"Yawn...oh, are you home?"

 He doesn't stay still for long.

"What is that movement?"

 He's been mesmerized by shadows lately, since it's been windy, and the tree branches outside make shadows on the inside of the deck.

"I know I can catch that."

 Watch the tail...

"Where did it go?"

 Look how the tip of his tail is wrapped around the chair leg. So cute!

Funny kitty.

"You taunt me with all these moving shapes, Woman!"

 It was too much for him. He couldn't catch the shadows.

"I'm just going to give up."

 L and I chilled for the rest of Friday afternoon and evening, watching TV and playing board games. We were up somewhat early for a game of Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday morning.

 I thought it was going to be sunny and warm out, so I wore a light sleeveless dress.

• Lame (lah-MAY) dress - vintage, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in July 2016 for another Ulti game
• Sandals - Born, consignment; last worn here (5th outfit) last weekend, for Ulti again!

 I should have worn a cardigan - I was freezing after the game!

I do love this dress, though.

 Outerwear addition of a ginormous floppy hat (thrifted) and my sunglasses.

 A bunch of us went for brunch at Floyd's afterwards, then L and I did a few chores before walking home.

The stuff:

 That's a lot of bling for a Saturday!

• Belt - vintage 60s, Mom's
• Leather cuff (left) - thrifted
• Leather cuff (right) - Catalyst Reaction Leather, thrifted
• Earrings - 5th anniversary gift from L

We had a nap, then got ready for company.

"What? I don't remember being consulted about this."

Congrats to my brother Dave and his new fiancee Shelley! We took them out to dinner to celebrate their engagement. 

 We just went to the local pub, but it was awesome getting to know Shelley and seeing them both. Good times!

Linking up to Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style. Go, go, go! This week's theme is "Closet Favourites" and this dress and pair of shoes (and my jacket) certainly qualify. Nothing new here, all well-worn and loved (and previously loved, in the case of the dress).

• Dress - Etro, thrifted; last worn here in April with orange
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog, Fluemarket; last seen here in May with faux lace
• Leather jacket (below) - Danier

 I wore a full-length vintage slip under this - it is still a very low-cut neckline!

 L and I walked home after and hung out playing boardgames for the evening.

It was cold and spitting rain - I was glad of my leather coat!

 I even changed purses for the evening - all classy, that's me.

The stuff:

 Awesome shoes! I want more colours of these.

Yellow and blue bling:

 The purse is by Reiss (thrifted), and this was its first outing. It doesn't stay shut very well, so not sure if I'll keep it.

• Cuff - thrifted
• Bakelite earrings - vintage fair
• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Today, I went to town to get groceries. It's been a very social four days, so I needed some "me" downtime. That means, Sheila goes shopping!

 This cotton coat was just the right weight for another grey, chilly day. I would be good with some summer weather any time!

• Coat - CABi, consignment; last worn here in February with all neutrals
• Sleeveless sweater - Gap, consignment; last seen here in April with matchy magenta
• Pants - Banana Republic, thrifted; last worn here in May with a cropped top
• Shoes - Michael Kors, thrifted; last seen here (4th outfit) in May, very casual

 In retrospect, I should have worn a better bra for shopping in, than my comfy weekender one. Lesson learned/remembered! I was hoicking up my bra straps whenever I tried things on, to get a better idea how everything looked when my boobs were in the right place.

 I had several compliments on my jacket while I was in the WIN Boutique - not surprising, as it's an amazing piece.

The stuff:

 Lovely comfy shoes. Earrings I don't wear much.

• Earrings - thrifted

The WIN (Women in Need) Boutique tends to have the "cream of the crop" of the donated thrift items in town. I found lots of good stuff  today...and that's why I don't go there very often!

These pale blue pieces were too pretty to leave behind.

 A new wine glass for me, and two ice cream dishes for L and I. These were $4.95 each. I suspect they are from the 70s.

This pretty gold bracelet caught my eye.

 It was $5.95, and I spotted a mark on it.

 Lia Sophia! I have heard of that company (it's one of those home-based things, where you go to parties and (not) buy). This bracelet is from 2011 - I found a blog post from then (here) noting that the bracelet was $76.00. I guess I got a good deal!

I found two of the same sweater, and while normally I never buy the same thing in different colours, I made an exception and bought them both.

 This one's a plain black sweater: high round neck, 3/4 sleeves, and fitted shape.

I know this name - Tatyana (I have this dress by them) - and I know they are not cheap.

 Their sweaters are $49.00 each, regular price - so $6.95 each is okay by me!

I bought it in green too. These are both classic "pin-up" shapes, and will be really useful in my closet all year round.

 No label on this one, but the side fabric content label is the exact same, and the fabric feels the same. I'm confident they're both Tatyana.

I laughed at this t-shirt.

 It's a lumberjack kitty! I also see "Pina" on the toque, so I know it's the same image designer as my jelly-deer sweater.

This tee also has a bonus tree image on the back.

 It was $5.95, and I'll probably just wear it at home/sleep in it. You never know, though!

I waffled a bit on this coat. I don't really need more coats.

 But I love the longer length, the big buttons and the lining.

The buttons have blue scrolly designs on them.

 One of the buttons had obviously popped off at some point - the re-sew job on it is AWFUL, like it was sewn on by a blind spider. Are people today not taught how to sew a button on? I will have to redo it.

Did mention the lining?

 I probably won't wear this coat done up - I'll style it like a long blazer (mark my words, those will come back!) so that the lining peeks out.

In the end, I bought it.

 For $9.95, it will be worth it!

My old white shirt (this one) is getting worn out, stained, not looking as fresh - my white shirts usually don't last very long - so I had my eye out for a new one. I don't mind buying a new one every 6 months or so - I never pay much for 'em.

 This shirt has no label, but it's a lovely stretchy blend fabric that I expect will wash well.

And for $6.95...

 I'm totally good with wearing it to death.

I loved this raspberry colour.

 I love simple tops like this for pairing with slim bottoms.

I'ts a Banana Republic piece.

 $15.95 seems pretty good.

It's not very old. I can tell by the tag down the side seam (all BR, J. Crew and Gap items have these).

 Oh, my bad, the colour is "Lignonberry" - that's a spelling mistake, by the way. They're lingonberries. But this is from "HO'15", aka Holiday 2015. It's not even old.

I was super excited that this top fit.

It doesn't look like much on the hanger, but it is a really soft, crinkly-feeling polyester. The structure is also very cool.

 There's a loose square metal link thing on the folded-down neckline. That strap you see in the neckline is actually attached across the inside back of the blouse - it helps it to pouf out in the back. I felt like a paratrooper in this!

I know this brand! I have another Dries Van Noten piece, this jacket which was also found in a thrift store.

 This was $29.95, and was the second-most expensive thing I bought.

The quality of the top is lovely.

 All of Dries' pieces are made in Belgium.

I knew as soon as I saw this dress who it was by.

 Lovely appliqued silk circles within circles. Hand-stitched coloured lines.

The back:

 It's like eyes looking at a big keyhole.

A close-up:

 More - such lovely detail!

 The zipper goes right through the middle of the pink "eye".

The hem.

 Familiar? Take a look at my other Tangerine Jill dress, here.

 A gorgeous dress, and worth the $34.95.

And 100% silk too!

 I recall that Tangerine Jill (which was a local Victoria company) had a dedicated group of workers in Vietnam who made all their clothes. The work on this dress is amazing - incredible detail.

Oh, and I found a pair of shoes. More flats!

 I love the metallic, snakeskin floral!

Portia is the brand.

 A nice little heel. These are leather.

They were $22.95, and the model is called the "Betty".

Barely any wear on them! How lovely. 

Vizzini, what do you think of all this? 

"I think you should feed me."

Silly kitty!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! No more vacation for me for a few months, so back to regular programming this week.