Casual Friday, Sailing Adventure, Cat Pictures

Well, I'm about ready for another weekend! Boo, this weekend went so fast!

Let's get 'er started - lots of pictures! Here's my Casual Friday outfit.

Of course, I had to build an outfit around the necklace that Tamera gave me! The necklace has a lot of pink in it, so I went with this pink linen sundress, which was last seen in the August 2012 capsule (recap here), where I wore it 3 times.

I'm linking this outfit up to Patti's "Visible Monday" over at Not Dead Yet Style. Get over there!

I layered a turquoise cami underneath it (cleavage-o-rama!), and then layered this teal cardi over it. I last wore the cardigan here with my ampersand dress on the Victoria Day long weekend in May.

Vizzini approved of the colours, although whoa, major wrinkly butt! Linen...*grumble*...

Did you notice I wore three belts? I started with the yellow one for contrast, but then it would have been too loose to hang my access card/keys from, so I added the turquoise one. But two belts was too even, so I dug out this purple one. I liked how they all looked together. What do you think?

Purple shoes! And they are the most comfy purple shoes ever. I last wore these Campers back here in April, when I accidentally dyed my hair dishwater blonde. I'm actually dyeing my hair right now - a nice vivid red again!

The fabulous rainbow-hued accessories:

I remembered that I had these earrings made from the same kind of beads - they were perfect! I was kind of disappointed with how few people at work knew who Frida Kahlo was.

Cardigan (Kersh, consignment), dress (Ann Taylor, thrifted), shoes (Camper), yellow belt (Aldo), turquoise belt (Bianca Nygard), purple belt (Plum), necklace (handmade by Tamera), earrings (handmade by Elaine), lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia ring (Wendy Brandes).

 I dashed home after work and changed into sailing garb!

"Ahoy-hoy!"

I also wore a cardigan over this, and my orange raincoat over that. Even in July, it's cold out on the Pacific Ocean. Three of my co-workers and I all headed down to the Royal Victoria Yacht Club to go for a sail. Liz and her husband Nigel own a sailboat - what a generous offer to take us all sailing!

I love the look of masts and the ripple of the reflections on the water. There were a lot of massive yachts moored at the docks, but our boat was tied to a buoy offshore.

We waited with our food, drinks and gear at the dock for Nigel to kayak out to the sailboat and then bring it around to pick us up.

Here he comes!

It was a perfect day for a short trip - it was warm with a very light breeze.

Closer...

The sails were not up at this point. Note the huge houses in the background; that point has a lot of very expensive real estate. Such a view!

Looking south to Washington State as we sailed out of Cadboro Bay - hello, Port Angeles!

Liz climbing around to get help unfurl the two sails.

Nigel doing something with ropes.

I'm not a sailor - I don't know the proper terms for these things!

Looking into the small cabin as we get out to the open water.

I see my shadow!

About this time, I stopped taking pictures. The inflatable kayak was being towed along behind us, and as we got further out, and the waves got choppy, it flipped over! The pump for it fell out and was bobbing in the water. Those aren't cheap, so we turned and made a pass for it - missed it!

Back around we came, another reach...missed it again! By now the sails were flapping and the boom (I know that name) was swinging around. Emboldened by my wine (sucked through a straw in a travel mug), I noted that this was the point in a movie where someone gets hit in the head and falls in the ocean and DIES. There were a lot of ropes snapping, and seawater spraying at us.

While I cheerfully encouraged everyone with a chorus of, "We're all going to die!", Nigel tacked back around, we grabbed Aleks by her jeans beltloop, she hung off the side of the boat head-first, and snagged the pump from the water! Rescued!

The sun was starting to go down, so we headed back for the docks.

A pretty pinkness filled the horizon.

There's the red kayak behind us, and you can see the chop on the waves.

Coming back around to the docks...but there was no room for us to pull up!

It would have to be ferrying by kayak to shore with all our stuff.

I went first - I took this from the kayak.

Emily, Liz and Aleks on the deck of the "Windbag" (great name).

I arrived safely at shore without getting too wet (although I did miss the mat in the kayak and ended up with a wet butt).

That heron hissed and chased away the Canada geese, which you can just see heading away past that tree.

Nigel headed back out to get the others.

Some awesome paddling and sailing, Captain! Thank you!

There's the kayak pulled up to the boat.

The sea and sky were a lovely lavender shade.

 Nearly ashore...

And Aleks and Emily are safely on solid ground (almost).

One more trip for Liz and we all headed home. What a great adventure!

I woke up slightly hungover on Saturday morning, craving coffee. L and I headed out to our diner to meet up with our Vancouver friends, Spence and Kim and their 8-month-old daughter Rosie.

I planned to do a little consignment/thrift shopping after, so I wore comfy shoes and a dress.

As an homage to my sailing adventure, I wore my Smoking Lily canoe/ampersand dress, last seen here in May with the teal cardi above.

I wore a black vintage half-slip under it, just to keep everything nice and smooth. I like how a bit of the lace peeks out.

My fabulous Prepare Guides were last seen back here in early June, with my aqua strapless dress.

To cut down on my sunblock, I wore the cardi over it all. The cross-body bag was good for hands-free shopping.

Big bling:

Cheapy vintage fair necklace, and my chain bracelet.

Cardigan (Kersh, consignment), Tessroc dress (Smoking Lily), shoes (Prepare Guides, Fluevog), necklace (vintage fair), bracelet (Club Monaco).

I didn't have much luck thrifting, but I did find this insanely flattering top at The Velvet Crease:

It's by Mexx and is a lovely rich navy blue, a colour I don't have much of in my wardrobe. The neckline is micropleated ruffles, and the fabric is polyester (washable, yay!). It was $26.00.

As I was heading out of the store, I realized I'd missed the back of the rack - of course, I had to check it out, and good thing I did, because I found this gem:

Glorious colour! And the coolest thing? It's actually a man's shirt - it has the neck sizing - so woo! A new shirt for L.

And it's Dolce & Gabanna! It's a wonderful fine lawn cotton, and the construction of it is just perfect. Every seam is double-sewn and it's in perfect condition. And only $30! L loved it.

I also stopped in at one of my favourite local shops, Leka. They make their own line of clothing in the store, and also sell other Victoria artists' creations. You can find Trapper Jane, Morena and Floating Gold Iceberg here, as well as some stunning local jewelry. They are dedicated to ethically-produced fashion (they even have hand-made underwear!) - LOVE! I've linked because I love - if you are ever in Victoria, this is a wonderful shop to visit.

I like the rough, squared off edges

I bought this sterling silver pinky ring (they have sizes as small as 2 for mid-finger) for only $29.99 - it's by Bauxo. I think I have to go back for some of the mid-finger ones.

This link also has some great pictures of the store and some of the funky items they carry - I got my mom some of those colourful hand-knit socks for Christmas last year. I would like a gift certificate from there for my birthday (hint hint, L).

The rest of my weekend was spent pleasantly hanging with L and Vizzini. Vizzini has found himself a little snuggly area on the new couch:

He likes to be in slightly enclosed spaces. I think he feels safe there. Plus the cushions are nice and squishy for napping.

He hung out on the arm of the couch while we played board games on Saturday night.

He's on high alert for elastic bands, the little thief!

Then he lolled about on the carpet in the dining room.

"If you drop any food, it's fair game"

 This morning, I found him nestled back in the couch.

I hope your weekend was full of adventures, fun and comfy naps!