"Grab one!" L and I with our rambunctious boys on Christmas Day, ready to head over to my ex-sister-in-law's place to see Mom, my three nieces and Cynthia.
A little blurry, but you get the idea. L and I always dress up for the day.
Mustard and copper and black velvet!
He's in blue velvet blazer, a blue/grey floral shirt, grey dress pants, and shiny blue Fluevogs.
As for me...
- Silk blazer - Alfred Sung, vintage 80s, thrifted; last worn here in November with dragon scales
- Cashmere sweater - Prada, consignment; last seen here layered with olive tweed in November
- Eames chairs T-shirt - SPRZNY, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in October for my pop-up sale at Botched
- Skirt - no label, vintage 70s, thrifted; first seen here (2nd outfit) in January 2021 for a pandemic Zoom call!
- Boots - Mamzelle, thrifted; last worn here in November with swooshy olives
- Coat (below) - Marciano for Guess, consignment, Powell River; last seen here in February
I like dressing up for my nieces, plus DUH, it's Christmas!
I'd preplanned this outfit during my try-on session last week and had it all ready to go after L and I did our stocking gifts and had a lovely breakfast.
I'd intended doing a Fashion Thing and tying the sweater around my neck to show off the tee, but it was not warm enough.
We had a rainy and cold Christmas Day. *shrug* This is typical. It rarely snows here.
My full outfit, and how I looked for our visit.
But then I threw on the Unsafe Tiger!
I knew my nieces would love it!
The stuff:
Although we drove over, it really started raining just as we left, so I grabbed the hat and glove at the last minute - we were rushing with our Cat Selfies, etc.
- Leather purse - Arcadia, consignment
- Hat - Babaton, consignment
- Leather gloves - Danier Leather
Copper bling:
Stacks of bracelets, and just a few rings, hee hee.
- Eternity copper bracelet - Renoir, vintage 50s, Seattle, gift from L
- Beans copper bracelet - Renoir, vintage 50s, vintage fair
- Copper/brass necklace - vintage 50s, Grandma J's
- Copper earrings - vintage expo
- Stone ring - thrifted
- Wooden ring - Dots
- Copper ring - vintage 60s, consignment
- Bronze ring - P. Sarpaneva, vintage 70s, vintage expo
- Copper cuff - Renoir, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
- Copper bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
Happy First Christmas, Barnabas and Whateley! That's your very own stocking, boys!
"What's this?" "A dead foot, most likely."
But it was NOT a dead foot! It was cat toys and tissue paper. There was much bouncing around, and most of the balls of tissue were carried off to their secret lair (under the bed).
"I love Christmas!"
Barnabas amid the carnage.
And here are my presents (sorry, again a bit blurry - I was in a hurry to protect them from being stolen).
I am spoiled! Thank you, L, for all of the amazing goodies ((I'll show the fashiony things properly when I wear them),
- An Alexander McQueen silk scarf (consignment)
- Much chocolate and candy and a can of fizzy pop
- A word-a-day desk calendar
- A pair of twisty earrings by Justine Clenquet (consignment)
- A leather studded bracelet (thrifted)
- A Star Wars belt made from a seat-belt (consigment)
- Books
- A magnet
- Captain Kirk Star Trek socks
- Bleu Foret sparkly socks
- Fluevog socks (and a gift card for $200)
- A $150 Turnabout gift card
- Silk Bonspiel knight scarf (consignment)
Whateley was exhausted from the excitement.
"You can leave now."
My awesome nieces.
Sydney, Hannah and Zoe, over from Vancouver!
Lola the kitty came to visit.
I love her punk vibe! She's still in high school, a fun time to play with clothes.
"Don't judge me..."
Okay, but that is a CHONKY cat!
Syd went full RAR with my Unsafe Tiger coat.
Me and Mom.
The verdict? He loves it!
It's tipped in this picture, but she's wearing a crystal crown pin I gave her. Merry Christmas, Mom! I love you all, fam!
Presents from Mom.
Soup starters, a ginormous Crazy Cat Lady mug, some cute socks and a bag of chocolate. Mom also gave me a Fluevog gift card, at the store for me to pick up. Not shown: A delicious bunch of homemade treats and some kitty toys from Cynthia. Thank you!
L showing off his snuggly sweater from Mom.
As always, Cynthia outdoes herself on the tree.
I see the usual headless Barbie and Ken dolls, heh heh.
We left after a few hours - we had to get home to prepare dinner.
I'm using it to store my large buttons.
We left after a few hours - we had to get home to prepare dinner.
"Where did these come from?"
My gift to the kittens: I fished all of their toys out from under the bookcase.
My dear friend/neighbour Emma gave us this dish full of Lindt chocolate balls (all eaten).
She made this!
It's a black clay with layers of glazes. Amazing.
And useful.
Whateley has been whacking my buttons on to the floor and carrying them off.
We had a lovely Christmas dinner and watched football with pal Nick, then watched "A Christmas Story
in the evening.
We realized on Boxing Day/Friday that we'd run out of kitty kibble! Oh no! We're going to have to venture out!
The blue skirt felt nice and comfy, and we decided to walk down to the store and have lunch nearby at Bin 4 afterwards.
in the evening.
We realized on Boxing Day/Friday that we'd run out of kitty kibble! Oh no! We're going to have to venture out!
No rain in the morning...
- Popcorn top - Zara, consignment; last seen here in December 2024 with a bell skirt
- Skirt - Lord & Taylor, consignment; last worn here in February under my CdG dress
- Boots - Original Samedi, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) a couple of weeks ago for my holiday shopping
- Cocoon (below) - B. Young; last worn here earlier this month
I love this purple popcorn top, but it's very bulky and takes up a lot of space. It's also very warm - and I have a t-shirt layered under here.
The cocoon coat was snuggly warm.
I love all these colours!
I decided to use my Bug Bag.
It held the kitty kibble plus a few bottles of fizzy water for the evening, as I was getting low.
The stuff:
That's the bag full of purchases.
- Latex "Bug Bag" - Craig Morrison, c. 1993, consignment
- Angora beret - Parkhurst, thrifted
- Star pin - consignment
- Gloves - thrifted
Brutalist bling:
You're not goin out there, boys.
I like wearing a full set of jewelry, even if it's just me, L and the server who saw it.
- Bracelets - both Robert Larin, vintage 70s, vintage mall, gifts from L
- Necklace - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, thrifted, Sidney
- Volcano ring - vintage 70s, Mom's
- Hematite ring - thrifted (I used this to keep Mom's ring on)
- Square ring - thrifted
- Earrings - marked but not legible, vintage 70s, vintage mall
We made it home just as the skies opened up.
We hung out in the evening, stuffing ourselves with leftovers and chocolate, playing boardgames and listening to music.
"You should totally come up here, Barnabas." "I love new hiding spots!"
We try hard not to overreact when they get up to mischief so that they don't learn how to get a rise out of us!
So cute when they're sleeping...
On Saturday, we were up to our usual shenanigans - brunch with our pals at John's Place!
The pink plaid has stripes of olive green and grey.
"Dreaming of hidey-holes..."
And I, for one, am getting dressed up!
- Viscose vest - Phool, vintage 90s, consignment; last worn here in November 2024 for a Mom-Day at Ross Bay Cemetery
- Velvet duster - April Cornell, vintage 90s, thrifted; first seen here (2nd outfit) in February with ORANGE LEATHER SHORTS
- Shirt - Denver Hayes, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) earlier this month with pink tulle to go see "White Christmas"
- Plaid trousers - FRNCH, consignment; last seen here in May with a maxi-bomber
- Shoes - Wonders Ayers, Fluevog, c. 2011; last worn here in October with grape
Again, the weather was cooperating, so I wore two items that both have to be worn on dry-ish days.
This amazing quilted Phool vest (made in India) is an incredible piece.
It's snuggly warm, a glorious colour and has two giant pockets.
It functioned as my coat.
I took it off while we ate, to show off my black velvet duster jacket/dress.
It buttons nearly to the hem - I could wear it as a dress, but it's more dramatic like this!
I loved the pink layers underneath.
There's the grey!
I wore the purse cross-body under the Phool vest.
Server Shayne was agog as I added all these bits back on after our yummy lunch.
Accoutrements:
- Hat - M&S, consignment, Powell River
- Fur scarf - thrifted
- Leather purse - Zara, consignment
- Leather gloves - Dots
The stuff:
I wore my new gift of sparkly Bleu Foret sheer socks with these shoes. Sparkly!
Green and grey bling:
Socks for $14.99 a pair! I got a lot of socks for Christmas - time to weed out some of my shabbier pairs!
Pal Casey loved seeing all the different pieces. "They all go together!"
- Belt - B-Lo the Belt, thrifted
- Cuff - consignment, Sidney
- Green stone bracelet - vintage mall
- Earrings - thrifted
- Necklace - Stella & Dot, thrifted
- Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
- Silver/smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neumann, Sweden, vintage mall
- Sparkly pin - Eaton's, c. 1999
- Star pin - consignment
Merry Christmas, my guys!
From left: Me, Nick, Zeb, L and Casey.
I had over $500 in Fluevog gift cards practically burning a hole in my pocket! And I had to pick up the card from Mom at the store, AND they just started a sale...so I pretty much HAD to go there.
The store had a lot of great deals, and I tried a few pairs on, but I'm very fussy.
These neon strappy low heels came home with me.
They are called the Classy Bach, and they have the Swordfish to that I love. They are here (link 'cause I love!), on sale for $179.99 (regular over $400!), if you want to be twins.
I have a few pairs of shoes with that heel - it's very easy to walk in.
These fit small - I'm usually a 9 or 9.5 and I have narrow feet. The 10 fit perfectly, and the straps across the vamp make them adjustable.
"Classy: Elevate your world"
I will! I still have $400 in gift cards, but I'm going to save them for a bit and wait and see the new styles for spring.
We spent Saturday night playing games and hanging out. I pulled out the old Doodle Art "Aquarium" poster that I bought over 10 years ago.
"But I can't eat it!"
I used to take it up to Powell River with us so that we could spread it out on the kitchen table. Louise, Lawrence, L and Virgil and I would sit and colour on it.
Although I coloured a lot of these fish...
Some were done by others. Lawrence died in June 2013 (here).
I find colouring very soothing.
I worked on it a bit here and there.
And now, back to my favourite vacation pastime: hanging out with my fam, made larger this year.
"We love you!" "Merry Christmas!"
These two creatures were the best gifts ever!
I'll be back in a few days with more tales of adventure - I'm not replying to comments for a while (it takes a long time) but thank you so much for all of your kind words. I truly am grateful for all of you.
I can't reply most times to your posts from my phone and rarely read blogs from my computer, but had to pop on to say how beautiful your style was for Christmas and the afters. Your nieces are beautiful too and bet they love to see how you'll style and accessories. The kittens are lovely and both L and your mom are terrific gift givers.
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