Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Painty Flowers, Orange and Tropical, Lace and Vintage, Cat Pictures, Fiona's Fan and a Shop

Well, that was a bit of an unintended break! I forgot that I had Book Club on Thursday night, and I got home late anyways. 

I loved this outfit - it's one of my favourites, completely due to this fabulous skirt.

• Cardigan - Gap, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in June, worn to the Ulti field
• Cami (underneath) - not tracked
• Skirt - Premise, thrifted; purchased here for $14.95
• Shoes - Liz Claiborne, antique shop; last worn here in September 2015 with black, grey and red mod

I also had my WW meeting right after work, so it was a packed night. I spent most of it reeking of soy sauce, since I spilled a full packet right down the side of my cardigan, and a long dark line of it all the way down my skirt. Thank goodness I keep a bottle of Folex at work - nearly all of it came right out (even though this cardi is cotton and the skirt is linen!). Both items are in the wash now to get the last of it out.

I can't stop looking at the skirt!

It was delightful to wear.

I twirled several times. I've been avoiding linen clothes for many years due to the ironing factor, but my steamer made short work of this skirt.

The stuff:

Fab shoes! So red and shiny!

Gold bling:

Ear balls!

• Ear balls - Dior
• Ring - consignment

On Friday, I took one of my coworkers thrift shopping, so I dressed comfy.

A little tropical, a little green, and a spotch of orange.

• Top - Max Studio, thrifted; last seen here earlier this month with a silver skirt
• Skirt - Mario Serrano, thrifted; last worn here (4th outfit) in March with stripes
• Shoes - Half Truth Tanya, Fluevog; last seen here in June with red and white polka dots

This is one of my cheaper outfits, not including the shoes. The blouse was $10.50, the skirt was $6.00; the necklace was free and the bangle was a dollar. The earrings were the most expensive item at ~$14.00.

Simona and I went to WIN and Value Village (she needed jackets), then she treated me to a cider - so nice!

The stuff:

All the greens that I own!

Green bling:

The bangle is glass, and the necklace is one I've had since I stole liberated it from Mom's jewelry box in the early 80s.

• Necklace - Mom's, vintage 60s
• Bangle - thrifted
• Earrings - Stella and Dot, consignment

We didn't have enough people for an Ulti game on Saturday, so L and I just went for brunch then chilled all afternoon and evening. Sunshine, naps and boardgames...ah, that is the life.

An easy outfit for a warm day.

• Top - La Vie 89, thrifted; last seen here twice on the same day in May
• Skirt - Alex Coleman, vintage 70s, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in August 2015 for brunching post-Ulti
• Shoes - Van Eli, thrifted; first worn here (3rd outfit) in June for another post-Ulti look

After brunch, we each do our own thing.

I drew out on the deck, L worked on one of his painted figures.

The stuff:

I quite like these shoes - they have the same kind of look as the red sandals above. Must wear them more!

Turquoise bling:

'Cause I'm subtle that way.

• Ring/earrings - local

 And now...cat pictures! Vizzini has been a character all weekend.

"Who are you calling a character?"

He's been taking full advantage of the (finally!) nice weather and lolling about in the sun.

"I'm on break. I'll be back on patrols shortly."

I worked on one of my Zentangle projects, Fiona's fan, that has been languishing for some months. Vizzini kept me company.

"This neighbourhood has gotten soft." 

He is always interested in my pens, brushes and other things he deems bite-worthy.

"What is that? Is it edible?"

 I caught him doing his "corner reverse" trick.

"...and this foot goes there..."

He was very interested in the patterns that my glass of water were throwing onto the wall.

"I'm going to have to do an inspection."

He squished himself in beside me and generally started making a nuisance of himself.

"Yes, that's it!"

I had to drink the water to get him to go away.

"I can just reach it!"

After all that excitement, he was quite tuckered out.

"I'm exhausted...I'll do the paperwork later...zzzz..."

And here's Fiona's fan! I finished it.

I might decide to go back and add some more background colour.

Fiona asked for specific things:

• Origami
• Cats
• Knitting
• Dragonflies 
• Games (she's into boardgames too) 

I did dragonflies around the edge, mice and two big cats, a wool border.

And there's a Carcassonne "meeple" in each corner.

I lined everything up as symmetrical as I could - it's hard to do when you're doing it all free-hand.

I started back in March, planning out the design on paper.

I tried out my watercolour pens to pre-colour the border sections.

Next time I will do them darker, as they don't have much of an impact on the final result.

They also faded a bit over time.

My first few lines.

Roughing in more of the pattern.

Then around June I did some more.

 Details on the dragonflies and the pink border.

So much detail! I hope she likes it.

Hey, Vizzini, what do you think?

"Did you say something? I was napping."

Today, I made very little effort, and strolled to town to get groceries.

Much purple was required.

• Cardigan - Jacob, thrifted; last seen here in November 2015 with all the colours
• Top - Costa Blanca, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in July 2015 with this same skirt
• Skirt - Le Chateau, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in that exact outfit as the top
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) for shopping in Sidney in June

I am 100% done with this sequined top - I've had it for about 7 years and it's gotten a lot of wear (almost always with this skirt!).

I am debating over the skirt still, though. It's in the closet for now.

The stuff:

Easy shoes for a walk over to My Sister's Closet in Fairfield.

• Earrings - local

I had some luck - I usually do there, which is why I try not to go there more than once per season. I'm also saving up for my next round of tattoos (she said, optimistically), so am sort of trying not to spend all my spending money.

I found some wicked cool leather shoes.

A classic chunky black sandal.

With a nice heel.

The last is wooden, and all the upper is leather. The soles are brand new - I think these may have been worn only a couple of times.

I didn't even know Dr. Scholl's makes shoes that aren't those clunky wooden sandals.

These were $26.98.

I spotted this shiny metallic blue-toned leopard skirt on the sale rack out front.

Yeah, blurry, sorry.

Here's a better look.

It's Banana Republic Heritage and was marked down to $12.50.

I usually pass by Joe Fresh items because they're often very cheaply made and the fabrics aren't great.

However, I really loved how cute this little blue skirt was, and it's got pockets!

The flowers are all embroidered onto tulle. This was $18.98.

I tried on a lot of dresses, but only one made the cut:

It's a very simple cut, but I like the little "chest window" in the front, the slit opening at the back and the slight bias-cut ruffle of the hem.

This is by Lav & Kush, which was a sustainable, eco-friendly clothing line made in Vancouver, BC, Canada. This dress is made of hemp, recycled plastic and a touch of spandex, and it was made in Canada.

I think they may have gone out of business, as their blog (linking here 'cause I love) hasn't been updated in about 6 years, and they haven't updated their FB page in a couple of months. Bummer! This is a really nice dress.

I hemmed and hawed over this black and white striped sweater for a while. It was new with tags on, with the original price of $129.00...

The consignment price was $42.98...which is high for me! However, it looks awesome on - and not a lot of sweaters look great on me! - so I gave in.

It's by Jones New York, and it's a cotton/poly blend. I better not get soy sauce on this!

I also picked up a mixed grab bag of jewelry for $10.98, for this set.

It's all metal, and I like the mixed colours. However, it doesn't look as good on as I'd hoped, but we'll see. There was also a junky charm bracelet in the grab bag, but it's in really rough condition so off to the giveaway pile it goes.

Vizzini is so not impressed.

"This is how you save money?"

I know, I know. But it was fun!

Speaking of fun, linking up to:

• "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style
• "Lovely Links" at Already Pretty - thank you for the shout-out for this outfit, Sal!