Ephemera

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Mom-Day Adventure at Finnerty Gardens in More Blues, Plus a Wee Shop

Welcome to another Mom-Day, Gentle Readers! We went back to Finnerty Gardens to see the rhododendrons - we always seem to miss them - and to hide from the rain. Oh, spring.

We last visited the gardens here in December 2023, another rainy day.

I seem to have a blue theme going on this week, so why not lean into it and give this new-to-me vintage skirt a trial run?

Spoiler alert: it's not staying in my closet - it's too overwhelming for my frame and the length is dowdy on me. Off to Limbo you go!

Sweater - LL Bean, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) in February for brunch
Skirt - Arola, Finland, vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $22.99
Boots - 1883 Luchesse, thrifted; last seen here in January with a different Arola skirt
Leather coat (below) - Jeno de Paris, vintage 70s, consignment, Powell River; first worn here in March for a cancelled Mom-Day shop

It felt good to wear, though - it has two ginormous pockets, and it's very flowy.

I like the pattern, which is all woven.

I spent a bit of time tidying up all the snags on it (you can snip them off with weaves, never with knits).

Yeah, that's too much fabric on my bottom half.

This is the second wearing of this lovely cotton sweater, which will be a year-round piece in my closet.

It bags out slightly when I look at it sideways, but I love the colour.

This is how most people saw me, though. All done up for our walk.

I have a full vintage slip on, plus tights underneath for extra warmth. It's still chilly out!

Accoutrements:

Now that I've rediscovered this leopard scarf, get used to seeing it!

Purse - Danier, thrifted
Scarf - thrifted
Gloves - Parkhurst
Beret - consignment

The stuff:

I love these steel blue boots - they are good in the rain.

Necklace - thrifted
Silver/turquoise ring - Karen's
Turquoise oval ring - Glee
Silver/turquoise earrings - thrifted

We arrived at the gardens, and immediately spotted colourful rhodos through the burgeoning greenery.

Such a lovely serene place. We only saw a few other people the entire time we were here, which was about an hour.

I hope y'all like pictures of trees and flowers!

A luscious pink rhodo.

Our favourite pond, with the rusting fish sculptures.

You can see ripples from the rain on the water.

Ferns unfurling.

Ginormous lily leaves.

This fir is wearing a rhodo like a ballet skirt.

I hope it swooshes in the wind!

An astonishing carpet of green.

Twisty arbutus branches.

We took it all in with deep breaths.

Mom thinks of her dad (my Grandad) when she sees red rhodos.

"Thanks, Dad."

The rhododendrons were massive, towering over us.

A fork in the road.

Of course, we took the less traveled.

This flower looks like it's made of tissue.

So delicate.

Azaleas, rhodos and grrr...that other plant that I like.

Can't be bothered to look it up. Mom will tell me next time I talk to her.

Shall we go through the tunnel?

Duh, of course.

I've never seen blossoms like these.

What are they? Mom didn't know.

Hello, twisty tree! How are you today?

"Oh, good, thanks for asking."

A wall of flowers.

Tiny birds hopped around and twittered at each other.

These blooms are so fluffy!

Our eyes darted here and there, seeing colours through the trees.

A crossroads.

I don't remember which way we went.

But this twisty tree was there.

I like the arching plants on the left - they were not quite in bloom.

Mom said this is a chocolate lily.

I was enchanted that they are checkerboard-patterned. Nature has such good taste.

I think I've taken this picture every time we come here.

It's just so picturesque.

These rhodos appeal to me.

Such good colours.

A purple rhodo towering over me.

While even taller trees tower over it.

This way beckoned.

What a gorgeous place.

Mom, take my picture!

This one matches my hair!

Another twisted tree, but more cerebral.

My brain feels like that sometimes.

The bamboo pond came into view.

It will be thick and dense in a few months.

But now we can see through it to the other side.

The rain had faded to just a few drops falling from branches overhead.

Birds hopped around in the branches.

They were too blurry for me.

These blooms are as big as my hand!

I have large hands/long fingers.

Mom complained that the "obvious" plants had nameplates.

"What about the ones I don't know?"

I laughed.

I am standing inside a rhodo tree!

And here we are, back where we started.

Such a rich purple.

We had yummy salmon burgers and salad at Christie's Carriage House Pub afterwards.

I see you got the Blue Memo, Mom.

I popped into House of Savoy on the way home to see how my things were selling, and had a wee browse around, finding an early birthday present for someone I know (and it was free with my credit!).

I also had a peek at the jewelry case at Good Things Consignment, and found this vintage 90s copper set.

It definitely has that late 90s vibe. Better dig out my butterfly clips! I kid, I never wore those.

There are "gems" and clusters soldered to a flat copper S chain.

The "stones" are all moulded plastic and set in copper, but the "leaves" are enameled on copper.

I thought the name on the tag was ZniZa.

Kind of sounds like a 90s name, ha ha.

When I rotated my picture I realized it's "DZinz" (designs, get it?), which is even MORE 90s.

It's not high-end, but I like it and it will fit in with some of green, blue and copper jewelry. It was $25.00.

And now, my friends, I'm signing off for the weekend.

Thank you so much for such a lovely day, Mom! I really needed that. I love you!

Have a fab weekend!

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Three-Fer Catch-Up: Work Fit in Blue, Black and White Bomber; Ice Cube in Adidas; and More Mixed Blues

Hello, my friends, and apologies for the absence - I did warn you that last night's concert would be a doozy!

So, let's get caught up. This is my Tuesday work outfit.

One new-to-me item here, and one re-wear from when I first purchased.

Jacket - George Georgiou, vintage80, consignment, Powell River; first worn here (2nd outfit) in February with sneaky Adidas
Top - Vince Camuto, thrifted; purchased here for $7.50
Pants - Akris Punto, consignment; last seen here in September 2023 with flamingos
Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here with a coat-dress in March

The re-wear is this black and white bomber jacket - it's light cotton, so a spring/summer item.

I tested it out in February then stashed it away.

I loved getting in a wearing of these trousers again.

They are by Akris, the same company as that 80s dress you all liked (this one).

I like this pattern mix.

I felt very profesh in the office.

Without the bomber jacket, which I took off after hoofing it up the stairs in the morning (many flights).

The blue top is new-to-me, and I really liked it. It's very long, so there was a lot to tuck in.

Incognito.

Pockets!

The stuff:

I love these shoes - such a gorgeous colour. I didn't walk much in them!

Bold bling:

I knew this cuff would also fit my spring/summer accessory collection.

Blue/white cuff - consignment
Black/white cuff - vintage fair
Silver/kyanite ring - consignment
Silver/sodalite ring - Scotland, 1996
Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
Earrings - local

I raced home after work (took the bus), fed Vizzini and got changed - L and I went to see Ice Cube (rapper, about him here, link 'cause I love) at the Arena!

L was dubious about this look, but I fit right in with all the other Adidas-loving folks in the crowd, and got a few looks and a gush from one attendee.

Jacket - Stella McCartney X Adidas, thrifted; purchased here for $13.47
T-shirt - Iggy Pop tour shirt, 2023, not tracked
Track pants - Adidas, consignment; purchased here in Vancouver for $38.99
Sneakers - L'intervalle, consignment; last worn here a couple of weeks ago to a movie

Rear view of the trousers. I had to actually change my underwear from black to nude - these pants are completely see-through!

Good thing I took a picture...and looked at it! I loved wearing these - they were comfy and excellent during the concert and walking to and from the venue.

I used all the pockets (four!) in my new-to-me Stella McCartney X Adidas windbreaker to stash my ID, phone and keys instead of carrying a purse.

This doesn't look great as is - I only wore it zipped up on the walk home due to the cold. Be assured, I tied it around my hips the rest of the time! I'm cool, really!

The stuff:

Comfy sneakers - my poor feet were exhausted after a day at work in heels, followed by walking, standing (we stood for much of the concert) and more walking.

Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
Studded cuff - vintage 90s
Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
Silver/onyx ring - Tocara, vintage fair
Silver earrings - Frances Jewelers, 10th anniversary gift from L

I didn't use my phone for the tickets as it refused to download them, and my email is spotty, so we had printed tickets. This made me snicker.

I think the Kelowna Rockets are going to win this hockey game.

I admired this Victorian house on our stroll through the Fernwood/North Park neighbourhood.

That's a very lush lilac bush.

We stood in line to get in...and went through a metal detector and bag search...then found the merch line.

We stood in it for at least 30 minutes. I admired the outfit of the woman with the patchwork pants and zebra toque.

I got this shirt - I like the classic Cube.

I remember him and NWA from the 80s - I used to hate rap back then. Oh, I was so foolish!

L got this one.

"Straight Into Canada" is a riff off "Straight Outta Compton."

It has the tour dates on the back, which L likes. There we are, Victoria!

Most of these are smaller towns - no Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary or Toronto! And Enoch, Alberta gets him twice? I have never even heard of Enoch.

A view inside the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena - I remember the original Memorial Arena from my childhood and youth. This is much nicer.

It's mostly a hockey arena, hence the concrete and plastic seats. We had a good view of the show from here.

Our in-between-acts DJ/crowd warm-up guy was Young Legend.

He spun a lot of classic rap, which was well received by the crowd.

The opening act was Merkules (link here), a Canadian rapper who's made it big-ish.

He was well-spoken and full of gratitude - he even brought his mom and dad up on stage, and called his wife while we all shouted "Hi, Kristina!" at her.

During a song dedicated to...someone (it was very loud, hard to hear words at times)...and we all put our phones on.

I did too! I have a phone! I can do that!

Folks in the crowd flashing the W "West Coast" (as in the west coast rapper communities of the US, especially California).

Sure! I did that too!

There were big inflated hands on either side of the stage doing the W.

That's Mr. Cube in the middle.

The video screens were entertaining.

Sometimes we had old pictures of Ice Cube or what were obviously videos. I enjoyed cuts of him looking imposing or tough from all of his movies.

He did a few NWA songs.

People were so scared of NWA back then.

The crowd went wild.

It was a sold-out show of 8,000 people - the biggest show I've been to in a long time.

My partner in crime, L.

Rock on, my love!

Overall it was a good show, but not GREAT, you know? L and I left before the encore to avoid the crowds, and got home after 11pm.

Today/Wednesday required a lot of coffee!

It was pouring rain in the morning - I'd planned to wear heels again (NOPE) and re-wear the Stella McCartney X Adidas jacket from the night before, but I'd had a drink spilled on me by a tipsy person in the row behind us, and it was sticky.

Cardigan - Kenzo, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in March for Winesday
Top - Rag and Bone, thrifted; last worn here in June 2023 with PANK bookends
Skirt - Monari, thrifted; first seen here in August 2023 with a mix of blue and grey
Shoes - "I Know" Star Wars for Irregular Choice, gift from Louise; last worn here in November 2023 with a spacey blue dress
Sleeveless coat (below) - Only, thrifted; last seen here on the weekend

So I quickly swapped in this warm cardigan.

And grabbed a pair of flat shoes.