Monday Velvet and Sandals

Another week, another Monday. I did some outfit planning on the weekend, which is so good for my brain. I'm enjoying rewearing some of my favourite pieces from my closet, and focusing on getting in another wearing of things that have only been styled once or twice.

These wonderfully swooshy velvet trousers have only been worn once since I got them last summer in Powell River. 

• Blazer - InWear; last seen here in February with the now-gone silver skirt
• Navy top - Helmut Lang, thrifted; last worn here in July 2025 with white jeans and a Desigual jacket
• Velvet pants - Anthropologie, consignment, Powell River; first seen here in October 2025 with a velvet blazer
• Sandals - Chie Mihara; last worn here in November 2025 
• Leather trenchcoat (below) - vintage 70s, thrifted; last seen here a week ago

In case you were wondering, following the (perhaps final?) time change this past weekend, it's too dark now for the Stair Pic - it'll be a couple of weeks at least until we have enough light. 

I pulled out my old trusty orange blazer to match the oranges in the floral velvet. 

I need elevation for the pants, so my caramel sandals came to play. 

The top is sleeveless and is a midnight blue - not navy, which I dislike. 

Not incognito! It was so dark this morning, I nearly skipped my sunglasses, but I was very glad I'd grabbed them. It got lighter! 

We're in one of those "everything" weather situations, with sun, wind, warm, freezing, rain, snow in the forecast. 

The stuff: 

I enjoyed having my sandals back, and wore short textured sock-tights with them. 

• Scarf - gift from Mom, Italy
• Wool beret - consignment
• Heart pin - consignment
• Leather gloves - Danier Leather

Bold bling: 

I just felt like wearing a big flower. 

• Belt - vintage 90s, consignment
• Flower brooch - Eaton's?
• Carved bangle - consignment
• Brass/crystal/turquoise/pearl cuff - Myka, consignment
• Amber ring - c. 1996
• Square ring - sidewalk find
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Ear-balls - thrifted, Sidney

As I was taking off my ear-balls, I spotted a name! 

Zsiska! I paid $5.00 for these on our shop in Sidney back in November (here), and it previously had a House of Lily Koi tag for $18.00 on it. What these sold for? Around $80! A name makes a difference on the price. 

Some kitty pictures. 

"I'm a box cat!"

They box is starting to get a bit battered. It's been a firm favourite!

"I know you're in there, Barnabas."           "No, I'm not!"

And here's someone who can't handle a bit of catnip (we do supervised play with it). 

"I just want to lieeeeee herrrrrreee..."

Happy Monday! 

Weekend Wrap-Up: Golden Velvet Jammy; Top Hat Neutrals for Brunch;

Welcome back, Gentle Reader! Did you have a good weekend? We had a quiet one - again, very much needed for charging up my social batteries. Busy times are ahead, as they often are. 

Let's kick this off with Friday's fancy outfit, one of my Jammy Dresses. 

This dress was nearly trapped in the Wear It For Good category, and then happily I realized, I should just wear it. 

• Velvet dress - French Connection, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September 2025 with taupe booties
• Boots - Jose Saenz, consignment; first seen here for a Mom-Day in February
• Capelet (below) - no label, consignment; last worn here in October 2025

I layered a camisole under it, and tights, of course. 

We had a Women's Day lunch and my colleagues all enjoyed the bright pattern, and stroked the soft velvet. 

I'm trying to show the pockets here, but the pattern overwhelms.

They're big enough for both my work phone and my personal phone. 

The sleeves are the best part, though. 

They're massive! 

Incognito. 

I was very pleased with how well the dark green capelet complemented the green in the pattern. 

The stuff: 

I pulled the burgundy tones in the dress pattern with my beret, gloves and purse. None of them are exactly a match, but hey, close enough. 

• Suede purse - Dooney & Burke, consignment
• Wool beret - Parkhurst, thrifted
• Gold/amber ant brooch - consignment
• Velvet/fur scarf - thrifted
• Leather gloves - Coach, consignment

Amber bling: 

I love wearing my amber. 

• Stone bangle - consignment
• Large silver/amber bracelet - consignment
• Small silver/amber bracelet - consignment, Powell River
• Silver/amber thumb ring - consignment
• Silver/amber rings x 3 - all consignment, one from Sidney
• Silver/amber necklace - vintage mall, gift from L
• Silver/amber earrings - vintage mall

I usually open the bedroom window so that the boys can get whiffs of fresh air and watch the birds from behind the screen. They were very excited - deer! 

So were the people on the sidewalk, getting in close to take pictures.

Good thing they were both does. 

It's not a great idea to get close to the bucks. 

The yard is often full of deer, and now we're starting to see squirrels too. 

"I see a big squirrel!"           "That's a car, Barnabas."

So exciting! 

After a rollicking evening of board games, music and laughs, L and I were up early to meet Casey for brunch at John's Place (Nick is on vacation). 

I built this outfit around the marble-printed mesh top, which I bought to go with my olive green neutrals. 

• Mesh top - Soya Concept; bought here for $19.99
• Nylon top - Sun Kim, thrifted; last seen here (4th outfit) in December 2025 to see Jake Vaadeland in concert
• Skirt - Zara, consignment; last worn here in October 2025 with my Gaultier mummy jacket
• Suede boots - Coach, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here in February with a red swooshy skirt for Sweethearts Week
• Long jacket (below) - Le Chateau, vintage 90s, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) in September 2023 for Rifflandia (worth a look!)

I knew I wanted to wear it under this mullet-y olive nylon top. 

The twisty skirt echoed the architectural vibe of the marble pattern. 

And then I added a little bit of crazy...

My big fuzzy top hat hasn't been seen in ages. So why not wear it? 

I added my long Le Chateau satin duster jacket. 

I didn't really need it...or the gloves, as it turned out. We had a lovely warm day, with temps up to 14!

The stuff:

I always leap at an opportunity to wear these long leather gloves and the sort-of-matching purse. 

• Hat - Boutique, vintage 70s, thrifted
• Leather purse - Allibelle, consignment
• Leather/suede gloves - Gestuz, consignment

Silver bling: 

It's been ages since I wore this belt - I love the weight of it. 

• Belt - vintage, consignment
• Grapes silver cuff - Karen's
• Silver earrings - consignment
• Green stone bracelet - vintage mall
• Silver/onyx necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River
• Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
• Silver chain ring - Mexican, consignment
• Anneke & Lars silver ring - vintage mall
• Silver loopy ring - consignment, Sidney

We had a lovely time hanging out. 

Casey had the strawberry-rhubarb pie for brunch! 

This gent is always there - we know him on sight. He always has Fluevogs on. 

I laughed at the person photobombing. 

My two guys.

Different styles, both spiffy as heck. 

Ready for some more cats in the box? 

The box has been an adventure. 

Much bouncing in and out of it. 

Who needs bought toys? 

Not these guys. 

So cute! 

There we are, my friends! Sending you all good times, and may all your hours be full of fun.

Mom-Day at Home in Mixed Plaids

 Hello, my friends, welcome back to Mom-Day! 

We're happy to see each other and enjoyed an afternoon full of flowers and laughs. Love you, Mom! 

Here's what I wore: 

Ahoy! Is that sun in the sky? 

• Jacket - Bianca Nygard, thrifted; first worn here in October 2025 with my bark skirt and brown bits
• Wool sweater - Bartolini, consignment; last seen here in October 2025 with my Gaultier mummy jacket
• Skirt - Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, FW2011, consignment; last worn here in November 2025 with many studs
• Boots - Aldo, thrifted; last seen here in November 2025 with that mustard blazer again

It was! And I had the best "bus luck" - I walked out to a bus pulling up, and connected within seconds downtown to the "good" bus. 

"I'm in the picture!

Silly blurry boy. 

I had to pick him up for a cuddle. Both kittens have very loud purrs.

Back to the outfit! I layered this lovely woven (with sparkly threads!) jacket over my awesome Vivienne Westwood skirt. 

I remembered to put the twisty part in the back. 

I had a vintage camisole under the wool sweater. 

This is another piece that I repaired after moth ravages. 

All ready to hop on the bus. 

Pretty fancy! I thought the hat was inspired, and had some lovely reactions to very kind folks in the WIN store on the way home. Hello, Grapes! 

The stuff: 

I was also happy that the McQueen skull/bug/shell scarf worked so well with all the colours. 

• Hat - Andre, thrifted
• Wool gloves - Parkhurst
• Leather purse - Arcadia, consignment
• Silk scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment, gift from L

Copper bling: 

Any excuse to wear some of my copper. I clipped the leaf earrings to my blazer's lapels (the Stair Pic is the best look - sorry, had an incorrect setting on my camera today!). 

• Copper cuff - vintage 50s, consignment, Sidney
• Copper brooch - vintage, thrifted
• Copper leaf earrings - Renoir, vintage 50s, vintage fair
• 88 copper bracelet - Renoir, vintage 50s, consignment, Seattle, gift from L
• Loop copper earrings - vintage expo
• Copper ball necklace - vintage 60s, vintage expo
• Square plastic ring - sidewalk find
• Wood Klimt ring - consignment
• Copper ring - consignment
• Rabbit fur brooch - Catawumpus Fudge & Funk

Before I get to the adventurous part of the day, the boys were very cute this morning, while I was sipping coffee in bed while I read.

Barnabas is maximizing the warm spot. Move over! 

Then Whateley, who had been under the covers, popped out. 

There is often a battle over who will get to sleep under my knees while I read. 

The last laugh - or should I say...yawn!?

And although I could have hung out taking pictures of the kittens all day, I did have places to go! 

SHEEPS.

Not so interesting today. 

Beautiful blue sky.

The first round of blooming trees are coming out. 

Cloud Drama.

I spy a pink blossom tree in the distance. 

One of Mom's striped tulips is out.

She and her dad (my grandad) both had this one. 

Daffodil blooms really starting to appear. 

Keith the gardener came by while we were chatting. Mom told him haul out the fuchsia plant with the skimpy blooms. 

More daffs.

These are the exotic "surprise" ones that Mom had Keith plant randomly all over. 

Look at that peach centre! 

The bits of black are dirt from the overnight rain. 

Wow, so frilly! 

I like those ones. 

A hyacinth is out - what a gorgeous blue-purple. 

A white one is on the right too. 

The stairway daffodils are in full bloom. 

Time to cut some! 

Mom got a walker! My niece Hannah helped her pick it out and get it home. 

She's loving it, as you can tell by that huge smile! It's only 14 lbs, and collapses flat for going in a car or cab. 

I cut more daffodils from all the bunches.

I stuffed them in there good. 

Time to head home. 

The wind had come up and it was feeling a bit chilly. 

This time when I passed the sheep farm, I had a different reaction. 

Holy smokes, they're coming right at me! 

It only took seconds for them all to dash over to the fence. 

I suspect someone has been feeding them. 

The little lamb ran over to mum, who remained at a distance. 

The others look disgruntled, don't they? 

I spent over an hour looking around in the WIN store on my way home, but nothing grabbed me. 

I bit on this scarf - I love the colours and the pattern. It has a few tiny cigarette burn holes in it! 

It was $6.95. 

It's probably Japanese rayon from the early 60s. 

And there we go, my friends! I'm off now for the weekend, and I'm so grateful that you're here! I am reading comments, and again, I apologize for not responding (my brain is tired). I hope you have an excellent weekend - please do pop in on Sunday for tales of adventure!