Monday, June 3, 2013

Long Weekend - Art Opening, Party and L's Birthday

Hello, my friends! It has been a long, lovely sunny weekend, full of fine company, good food and wine, and many naps (and even some shopping). It's been a while, since I've been off work since Thursday (back tomorrow), so let's get 'er done. 

Thursday! I wore this somewhat casual outfit to work, knowing that I would have to rush right home afterwards, feed Vizzini and then race to out to dinner with a big group of friends before we all went to the gala opening of an art show that Elaine had some photos in. Got all that? It was a busy day, followed by a busy evening.
This is my lovely silk kimono dress, last seen here on our trip to Vancouver back in March. If you look carefully, you'll see that I removed the tie at/under the boobs, so that I could put the obi at my natural waist, rather than always having the empire waist (never a great look on me).

I'm just wearing a pink camisole (and a half-slip for coverage) under it.
I added the bigass rose, and my crazy "Disco Dutch" Fluevogs.
I last wore them here with suede and flies (!). I had a lot of running around to do, so I was very glad of their comfort.

When I got home, I grabbed my hat.
I clipped a little bouncy paper butterfly to the hatband
Sorry, no picture of me in it this time around, but here's where I've worn it before:

  • For my series of "never seen" closet archives, I put it on back in May 2010 while showing off a bunch of my hats. I got rid of a lot of them after that. Sometimes just trying old stuff on makes one realize that you don't need to keep everything; 
  • For my niece Sydney's baby shower back in July 2009. I wore a vintage dress for that. Fun!


I haven't really gotten good wear out of this hat, but I did enjoy wearing it again. Time to let it shine - I must work at wearing it more.

The stuff:
My new floral earrings, and some sparkly things. It was a very floral, summery outfit.

Dress (Hale Bob), camisole (InWear), shoes (Prepare Hi Steady, Fluevogs), hat (Accessorize), spoon bracelet (About Tine), sparkly cuff and ring (consignment), spinner ring (Twang & Pearl), earrings (locally made).

Friday marked L's annual "Day of Indigence" during which we both take the day off, and invite as many of our friends to also take the day (or half-day) off work to join us for pub-hopping. After a week of rain and gloomy weather, Friday was sunny and perfect for wandering about town.

L and I had to get up before the City shut off our water main for a pipe replacement at 9am (no sleeping in!), so we went for breakfast and did a little shopping downtown before meeting up with 8 friends for lunch and shenanigans at a couple of pubs.
Comfy Smoking Lily dress (last seen here in April) worn over a navy blue vintage slip (hem deliberately let peek out).
Add to that my comfy Chie Mihara flats for walking to and from town and all that exhausting strolling about in the sun. I last wore them here with brocade peonies.

I had my jean jacket on for most of the day to keep from having to sunblock myself too heavily.
My shiny gold leather Smoking Lily heart pin was on my front pocket.

I took my jacket off whenever it was warm enough indoors for me. I'm always chilly.
It was nice to not have a belt on for once, too. 

The stuff:

My usual mix of slightly creepy and elaborately-patterned items.

Dress/heart pin (Smoking Lily), shoes (Chie Mihara), jacket (Ann Taylor Loft), snake ring (homegrown vintage, 80s), earrings (locally made), spoon ring (About Tine), turquoise ring (thrifted).

While out and about, we did a little bit of shopping, stopping in at Leather World (an awesome local store that's been around forever) where I found a new black leather belt that I can put my buckles onto (I currently only have a brown belt), and an "SW" (my initials) belt buckle, both made in Canada.
The SW belt buckle actually stands for "Smith & Wesson"!

I found these awesome Pamela Mann floral tights and some more nude fishnet tights at Heart's Content in Fan Tan Alley.

L and I headed home in the early evening to feed Vizzini, and to have a nap before continuing our fun day together by playing some board games. Unfortunately, our "nap" turned into a full night's sleep!

I woke up fully refreshed after 14 hours, and got ready to head out for our Saturday game of Ultimate.
Holy ship! It's the return of the Smoking Lily ship dress, last seen here at the end of February with some crazyass accessories. It was much easier to wear in warm weather, and was lovely and light to slip on after getting sweaty and hot after the game. My team won - yay!

I really am a bit of a disaster lately. First, I fall off a bus. Then, my tooth gets infected. Then, a rash of hives! And during the Ultimate game, I got clipped while sprinting and did a full face-first dive - knees, hands, and even slid on my chest for about a yard. Luckily, the school hasn't mowed its field in a long time, and the ground and grass were soft.
I wore my simple gold woven kitten heels, last worn here as Emergency Back-Up Shoes with black leather.
And just as those bruises on my legs start to fade...more to come! My poor knees.

The observant will have noticed that I also have a new belt.
It's non-leather, but handmade ethically in Bali (I checked). Another cool item found in Fan Tan Alley. I like that it's a dark blue. Yet another obi!

Dress (Smoking Lily), belt (local), shoes (Aldo, consignment), earrings (Plum).

After lunch, I did a huge grocery shop for food for L's birthday party on Saturday night, and then we spent the afternoon giving the house a power-clean. We had a great crowd of about 20-25 people, and shut things down around 3am. Whew!
This is my outfit for "Visible Monday" at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. I missed it last week, but I guess Patti is allowed a break every so often, ha ha. This week, Patti is "dotty, but not tipsy" - I definitely made up the tipsy part of the equation this weekend!

This is my gorgeous silk shantung dress, purchased back here at Women in Need for $13.50. I loved the vivid pink colour and the fun cut of it (dig that huge kick-pleat in front).
I bought this black feather fascinator at Heart's Content on Friday - it just clips into my hair. I decided to go with more simple mod accessories to play up the simple lines of the dress. The belt is a metal one that I bought for $5.00 at a past vintage fair, and I also have on a brushed metal cuff (thrifted), and drop "O" earrings that my coworker gave me.
And yes, the party boots make another appearance! I last wore them here (twice in one weekend) for Caro's (*heart/balls*) party and for Karen's birthday. This is the fourth wear, bringing my cost per wear down to $100. Hey, I'm working on it.

Dress (Original Junior Vogue, vintage 50s, thrifted), boots (LA Malibu, Fluevogs), fascinator (Heart's Content), belt/cuff (thrifted), earrings (gift from Lise).

We found L a pair of teal skinny jeans for $20 while out on Friday, so I built him a party outfit around them.
"Where in the world do you want to go?"
He's wearing a pair of Tokyo Fluevogs (they are blue, cream and grey), a blue patterned shirt, a navy striped vest and a cream vintage jacket that I thrifted for him last Christmas (only $9.99).

Happy Birthday, my wonderful guy!
My best friend and partner in everything!

Yesterday, we slept in, then got up and watched a movie, then napped, then lounged about for a while. We played board games and at midnight, L got to open his presents from me. I always have so much fun shopping for him!
Here's what that pile of stuff is:

  • A vintage "tie-dye" patterned shirt ($10 at the vintage fair), 
  • A Smoking Lily t-shirt with bars and skulls,
  • A set of wristbands and a sweatband (a joke),
  • Three pairs of fun socks (crows, ninjas, and octopus), 
  • A book that looked good,
  • Four CDs (two Allman Brothers and two Laura Marlings),
  • A vintage image on a magnet,
  • A hapenny coin from the UK from 1967 (my birth year), 
  • A massive silver koi fish belt buckle ($10 at the vintage fair),
  • A steel chain bracelet (not shown, $1.00 at the vintage fair),
  • Some chocolates (already eaten), and a box of jelly candies (not shown). 
Today, L's actual birthday, we headed to town for brunch and a bit of a wander. I am picking the next book for Book Club, and I needed to find 7 copies of it, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure. We went to close to a dozen bookstores and second-hand stores looking for copies - we only found 5! I had to order the other two through AbeBooks, so two of the book clubbers will be getting their books a few days late.

Anyway, it was a gorgeous hot sunny day out today, so I wore light, loose clothing.

My Smoking Lily gingham skirt, worn for the first time since the all-neutral capsule in June 2012 (recap here), where I wore it three times.

I do like purple and yellow together. I have a yellow camisole on under this purple cardigan.
I last wore the cardigan here in February with yet more Smoking Lily. I decorated it with my Smoking Lily heart pin, two of Megan's buttonflowers and a bee pin that she sent me.
These purple flat sandals are heavenly, especially while my feet recover from soccer cleats and The Boots (worn for over 6 hours) on Saturday. I wore them last weekend while all puffy from hives.

Cardigan (Kenar, consignment), skirt (Smoking Lily, thrifted), shoes (La Canadienne, consignment), belt (Aldo), pins (Smoking Lily, Megan Mae).

L and I saw this fantastic 1952 restored truck while walking to town, so I took a picture of L in front of it.
A dapper man and a cool car!

And here I am enjoying a strawberry mimosa at one of our favourite brunch places, the Blue Fox.
I'm wearing the pansy that came in my drink
Cheers to you - I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

28 comments:

  1. I love those glasses, so fun! And that pink silk dresses is gorgeousness incarnate.

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  2. All of your outfits are great, but I especially love that last one! The gingham, the great purple/yellow combo...love it.

    The Name of the Wind is a good book -- though I like it's sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, even better. Something happens maybe a third of the way through NotW that made me all grouchy-sad, and then the main character is a little shit for a really, really long time. In the second book, some consequences start to catch up with him, and he's at least interesting enough to put up with being a little shit for. =) Enjoy!

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  3. Wow, what a busy few days, full of treats and fun, and the odd bruise or two...!
    All your outfits are gorgeous, Sheila, as they always are, but if you had a Smith and Wesson to my head and made me pick, I'd choose the green/blue Smoking Lily frock and the pink silk vintage dress as my favourites. Just cos... But you never look anything but fab! Happy birthday to L. xxx

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  4. Happy birthday to L! So many nice outfits I hardly know where to begin! Sounds like you have had a lovely time celebrating.

    I really like your party outfit, casual pub hopping outfit, and that yellow smoking lilly dress is beautiful on you with the obi belt!

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  5. There is too much good stuff in this post to be able to comment cohesively about any of it. So I will summarize: green dress. yellow shoes. wowza in pink. and what a charming and beautiful couple.

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  6. Dresses! Love them all, esp the Smoking Lilys. And a great-looking, stylish husband too. I love what you wrote, that he's your partner in everything. That's me and Sandy too, and ain't it grand? Thanks for linking up to Vis Monday xoxoxoo

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  7. SO many fabulous outfits! I really like the kimono dress - it's very feminine and lovely. And I love the pink dress too - pink is a fantastic color on you Sheila, you should wear more of it! And you and L look too awesome together - happiest of birthdays to him!

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  8. What a bonanza of a post -- lots of great clothes, smiles on your face, pix of the cutest man in Canada, and reports of fun activities.

    This post makes me wonder: as fun as it is to follow your life online, it must be amazing to be your friend in person. Your real-life friends are so lucky!

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    Replies
    1. Aw, that's really sweet of you, thank you. My friends are my family - I love them dearly and always look forward to seeing them. I like to organize events for us all to go to!

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  9. All perfect, ( espcially the mate!) but I'm killed by the pink shantung and party boots. Really just amazing, and so perfect for you. Blue lace peeping out under green dress is especially fetching ... sooo much to see and appreciate.
    Good week!
    J

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  10. Looks like you've been busy!
    So many great outfits in one post, i like what you did with the kimono dress, as they do tend to be high waisted, in fact i have one i never wear and i think that is the reason, i wonder if i can remove that part from the dress too - and i keep admiring your Smoking Lily garments, that ship dress keeps tickling my fancy.

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  11. You both look gorgeous!! I am a huge fan of nude fishnets!! Loving the pink dress :)

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  12. I was hoping to run into you at this year's Steam Expo, but plainly you had other celebrations to enjoy this year! Maybe next year?? I LOVE the green dress.

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    Replies
    1. I wanted to go! But not over L's birthday weekend - just not good timing this year.

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  13. My favorite outfit here by far is the one with the green & blue smoking lily dress... I love that dark blue, lacy slip peeking out. It looks like part of the dress! And the denim jacket with it is perfection. That outfit is definitely something I'd wear.

    The Patrick Rothfuss book is a very fun read, and I agree completely with katie's review above. The first book you spend half the time being peeved at the protagonist for being so clueless, but it's still a really engaging story. The second book is excellent, as well.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jen! I might have to nab this one off L when he's done with it.

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  14. Aw...happy birthday to him! Love that pic of you two together!

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  15. Wow--have you and L had a fantastic weekend!! The photo's of him are quite fetching--he is a dapper gentleman!!

    All of your outfits are amazing but I adore the kimono one the best!!

    No party Vizzini pix???

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    Replies
    1. Vizzini was a chicken and hid for the entire party - he isn't good with big, loud crowds. And we really weren't home all that much to take his picture. I will make it up to him this week.

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  16. Aww happy birthday L!! You got such a cool fella there, Miss Sheila.

    So many awesome outfits, I am totally digging that pink dress and those major cool fluevog boots. I also love your buttonflower collection.

    I'm sorry about your fall. I'm having a bout of bad luck myself. I had to rush back to the dentist to get my socket repacked, and have to go again tomorrow and have it redone. Rotten luck that! I'm also having the major itchies from all the meds and terrible diet I've had to stay on.

    Here's to both of us healing and having better luck!

    What did you choose for your book club?

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    1. I am so klutzy, but this weekend's fall was at least sports-related! I hope you get better soon - ugh!

      I chose Stephen King's "Insomnia" - very hard to find! My book club women have likely never read much SK (I've been a fan from the beginning), and I think he's unfairly maligned simply due to his popularity. This is a pretty obscure book (1994, I think), and I haven't read it since it came out.

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  17. Wow, spectacular dresses! I absolutely love what you've done with the floral kimono here, and admire how you manage to continue to put together amazing outfits when things are so hectic. Happy Birthday to L! What a fine bunch of treats and celebration!

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  18. So many wonderful outfits. I would have to say my favorite is the green and blue Smoking Lily and I love the way the tattoo looks in the back on that dress. Second fav is the pink! Happy Birthday to L before I forget to mention it. what kind of books does your book club like to read?

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    Replies
    1. We read what we're given! I know that sounds odd - I will explain in tomorrow's post.

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  19. A tasty post full of goodness for me to catch up on, Sheila!

    Happy birthday to L, I thoroughly approve of Birthday Fuss, it is necessary.

    The Smoking Lily dresses are just right, I'd love to have a browse in their shop. Do you still have the black furry hat (as showcased in the older, hat post)? If so, you should def wear that more in the Winter. I love it.

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  20. Such an up-beat post - I'm feeling that positive energy. Happy Birthday to L, looking dashing as always and very properly manly with the old pickup. And Sheila, your pink taffeta dress is awesome party wear, especially with your party boots. Shutting it down at 3am, we're not getting older!

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