Crazy Long Weekend: Travel, Reunion, Cat, Shopping

Woo! I'm back! Did ya miss me? I took a 5-day weekend this week. L and I traveled to Powell River again - 3rd time this year! - for his 25th high school reunion, and then he and I had yesterday off together. Today is my day: nice and quiet and doing a little shopping and some chores, before I go do my WW meeting tonight. Thank goodness for another long weekend coming up!

Here we go! This is my travel outfit - I wore the same thing driving up-Island and down-Island, so I only took one set of pictures. I wore two different black camisoles underneath it.

My long purple fluttery silk skirt was perfect for sitting in the car for a long stretch. I last wore it here (scroll down a bit, it's another long weekend post!) with these same shoes, in early August.

I actually last wore the shoes here a couple of weeks ago, along with the sequined tank seen below.

Don't move, there's a peacock beside you!

These must be my long weekend clothes; I also last wore this denim shirt here on the July long weekend! I wore it tied at the waist, with the sparkly tank going so nicely with the purple of the skirt. I wore this out for lunch with L and our friend Kelly.

My accessories were my black and stud leather cuffs, and my bird skull earrings.

Shirt (Mexx, consignment), camis (InWear and Esprit), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), shoes (La Canadienne, consignment), cuff (Guess, thrifted), studded cuff (homegrown vintage), earrings (local).

For L's reunion, I wanted to dress up and look sexy and nice for L, but also not trying too hard.

This is my cobalt blue cowl-necked top that I shockingly haven't worn since the May 2012 capsule (recap here). It's a lovely colour and I wanted something with sleeves to cover up a massive bruise I've had on my arm for two weeks (I slipped on the tile at work).

I tried a couple of spots in our hotel room for pictures. We stayed at the resort that the reunion was hosted at, and left from there on Sunday morning to catch the ferry home.

My vintage 80s leather skirt felt just right. I last wore it here with mostly reds.

Here's my "Visible Monday" look over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. I'm a little late to the party - I blame the cider!

My blue Fluevogs were awesome for a night of dancing - all 80s music, so all the classics - I last wore them here as blue bookends in July. I had a blast dancing all night. I worked up a good sweat!

My accessories are my black leather obi, the amazing chain-link purse from Megan Mae, a steel cuff, my black leather cuff, gifted circle earrings, and my Wendy Brandes ring.

Top (Oxmo), skirt (Ocean West, vintage 80s, consignment), obi (consignment), shoes (Garden of Enjoyment, Rita, Fluevog), bag (thrifted, gift from Megan), earrings (gift from Lise), cuffs (both thrifted), lapis lazuli ring (Wendy Brandes).

L and I got home early Sunday afternoon and chilled, napping and then playing games that night. On Monday, which L also took off, we went out for lunch, then watched some shows and a movie.

Traveling is exhausting, so comfort was a huge necessity. My emerald green Smoking Lily dress fit the bill perfectly - I last wore it here (with the same shoes!) for L's birthday weekend in early June.

The cardigan is such a versatile colour - deep teal is very useful. It was last seen here with my pink linen dress in mid-July.

The shoes were needed - after about 4 hours of dancing in my Fluevog heels, even my feet are howlin'! I just wore them last weekend here, for walking to the grocery store.

Cardigan (Kersh, consignment), dress (Smoking Lily), shoes (Chie Mihara), belt (Plum), beetle pin (Le Chateau), skull earrings (local).

Today I got up early, got caught up on blogs, then headed to town for some other chores and a wee bit of shopping. A "me" day!

 I last wore this fabulous Bodybag by Jude dress back in April here as part of "My Forbidden Dress Week!"

There's not much to do with this dress other than throw a belt on it, and put on some funky shoes!

These taupe booties are my Coffee Kope Tiams by Fluevog, last seen with lace and pink here in February.

Lovey cat sold separately.

 I wore my Pringle of Scotland pony-hair belt to go with my new springbok and leather bag (picture in a sec).

Dress (Love Dress O, Bodybag by Jude, consignment), shoes (Coffee, Kope Tiam, Fluevog), belt (Pringle of Scotland, thrifted), bracelet (About Tine), spinner ring (Twang & Pearl), bag (Letizia, consignment).

In case you hadn't noticed, this post is not linear in nature. I did all the outfits first, and now cat pictures with vacation pictures (feel free to skip, I won't mind, but you might miss the Big Hand Gnome). Shopping pictures after that.

I took some pictures of Vizzini before we left on Friday morning. He was watching the squirrels that are now populating our oak and maple trees.

"On the job! Keeping the neighbourhood safe!"

 But wait, is that the sound of a zipping backpack? Is L packing?

"You better not be going away!"

 He thumped his tail on the windows to assert his dominance over the squirrels (and us).

"I do hear sounds of packing!"

He doesn't stay still for long and most of my pictures of him are blurry.

"What's this I hear about my English twin?"

Such a cutie. Our friends Ross and Cat looked after him while we were gone. Apparently he was very vocal and affectionate. Didn't miss us too much, eh, you little monster?

We had gorgeous weather going up the Malahat, and had the top down on the convertible the whole way. My hair was a bird's nest!

Zoom!

 We're up really high - those are high hills on the other side of an inlet of the ocean.

All that construction they were doing last time we went up in June (here) is done! Hurray!

Look at that lovely paved and painted road! Not another car in sight going our way. We made good time.

Looking in the side windows, you can see the slant of the incline as we climb higher.

I see my hand.

There's the summit (nice for tourists).

I see a contrail from a plane taking off at the airport.

Just managed to get a picture of across the inlet - that's the Saanich Peninsula.

It was bright and windy.

Near Nanaimo, we started to see more traffic. There were a lot of logging trucks on the highway.

There's one behind us - speed up, L!

Thank goodness this one's going the other way.

Those are not fun to drive beside.

Hello, here is your photographer.

There are looming clouds behind me...

As we got to the big open stretch (110 kmph speed limit!), the clouds rolled in.

We had our tunes and sang along as we drove. I love road trips with L.

I started looking for interesting signs.

Not unusual - there are dozens of these signs along the highway, although I have never seen a deer or elk when we've been driving.

Approaching the Courtenay/Comox area.

So close to the ferries!

I got out and stretched my legs at the ferry terminal, and saw this hilarious sign.

The man with the shovel is just not enough to convey the intent; they had to put a little plop of dog poop. Just to really make it clear, you know.

As always, we rode on the majestic Queen of Burnaby. I'm not sure what the Coast Guard was up to with that crane.

I've heard that they're going to refit the Queen of Burnaby and replace her with a smaller open-deck ferry. The Queen used to run on the Victoria/Swartz Bay to Tsawassen/Vancouver route when I was a kid - she was built in 1965, though, so she's showing her age. They don't even open one of the decks to the public now - it's empty, but you can look in the windows. I remember that deck being open in the 70s, and you could go up there for a sandwich and coffee and a smoke. It seems so strange now.

I didn't have time for a walk on the beach. It was quite warm, although the water was choppy.

I always like to go for a walk around the decks once we're under way.

Looking back at Vancouver Island.

I had several "whoops!" moments where my skirt tried to go over my head.

I'm sure there are people behind that window laughing at me.

Peeks of blue sky as we pull out into the strait.

Not too many other people braved the wind. L and I read in the lounge for most of the trip, then went down to the car decks when we got close to the docks on the mainland.

See the lower ceiling above us? That's another car deck that they lower when traffic is high.

Getting ready for our turn to drive off. The line behind us is about 20 cars per lane.

On Saturday night, we did the traditional tour of my mother-in-law's garden. She was especially excited a about her anti-deer and bear (yes, BEAR) tricks for protecting her plum tree.

L is stunning in his football jersey and matching sneakers, and his brother V is wearing coordinating camo fleece pants and hat. Louise is pouring caps of bleach around the tree.

 Hopefully all this will keep the deer and bears from ravaging these gorgeous plums.

I wanted to try one, but that's a very good human deterrent as well.

I consoled myself with some wild blackberries.

I kept an eye out for bears.

This lovely bloom is off a cutting of a 100+ year old rose bush.

It smelled heavenly.

I love greenhouses.

These tomato plants were so lush.

One of the last of the dahlias.

Such a lovely colour.

And the sunset across the backyard, with the Canadian flag unfurling.

It was a relaxing night.

We met our friend Kelly on Saturday morning for brunch at the cafe in The Old Courthouse Inn, Edie Rae's Cafe.

The food was wonderful - all homemade - and we had a good time catching up with Kel.

After brunch, we walked over to the Townsite Brewery.

L and Kel. L is in front of the poster for Zunga Beer. A zunga is a long rope for swinging out over water and leaping in. It's a PR expression.

After picking up our gear from L's mom's place, we met up with our friends Tony and Laura (L and Tony went to high school together) for the best Latin food I've ever had, at the Costa del Sol Cafe. Highly recommended if you're in Powell River!

It was awesome to have a couple of friends that we knew at the reunion - Laura and I danced together all night, while the boys chatted with all their high school grads.

We had a great view from our room:

Looking over to Vancouver Island.

Looking north up the straight.

What a gorgeous place.

I didn't take too many pictures of the reunion.

But I love this one of Tony and L in the middle of the crowd.

Bright and early, we were off on the 8am ferry back to the Island.

Come on, Mr. Ferry Worker, ring that bell. I know you want to!

And there are the docks at Comox!

We're on home soil!

We had quite a bit more traffic coming down-Island, but the weather was bright and sunny.

We kept the top up so that we wouldn't get sunburnt.

Hello, Big Hand Gnome!

And nearly home...ah...

It's so good to be home.

We hung out on Sunday night (after much napping with a very needy Vizzini).

"Oh, were you gone? I didn't notice."

He settled in on the cushions beside me.

As mentioned, I did do a little bit of shopping over the weekend. We hit a couple of thrift stores with L's mom. She insisted on buying me a couple of things, including this stretch metal gold belt.

Isn't it sweet? I love the scrolly buckle. It was $15.00.

I found this incredible ensemble at a charity thrift store:

It's a handmade, classic 70s long shirt with gold dome buttons. It's a soft double-knit polyester.

But check this out:

YES. Those are hot pant! It is a two-piece outfit. And it cost all of $2.00 for both pieces. I think this would work marvelously with the Traveling Yellow Skirt when I eventually get it.

On Monday, L dropped me off at the plaza where My Sister's Closet is. I browsed while he had his hair cut. I didn't have time to go through the whole store, but I did find this amazing bag.

It is springbok and leather and the brand is Letizia - it's not a super high-end bag, even though the quality is good. It's made in China and the lining is just a cheap polyester. But the springbok - which has very long and plush hair - feels wonderfully luxurious. It was $24.98 - a great deal, I think. I works great as a cross-body bag.

I stopped in at one of the fair-trade/local stores in the mall and found these wonderful modern copper pieces.

They are by local copper- and silversmith Judith Hirczy (link). I got the cuff and earrings for $40 each.

I stopped in at Verve, a consignment store near the edge of town. It carries very high-end brands, mixed with a few lower-end. I have been perusing the September Vogue and InStyle and like the tough edge on sweatshirts mixed with girly skirts.

This pale grey sweatery-sweatshirt has silver studs on the shoulders. It's by Silence + Noise and was only $22.00, so I feel like I can test out this trendy look with clothes I already own without spending a ton.

Besides, who doesn't love studs??

I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week! It's good to be back.