Bigass Long Weekend Wrap-Up: Saturday Brunch and Shopping; Romantic Pink; Sunday Family Gathering

Hello, my friends! It's been a wonderful three full days of weekend, and I still have the rest of today to chill out with my little family, so let's get to the fun stuff! 

After a quiet night in on Friday, playing boardgames and listening to music, L and I were up early on Saturday for our usual walk to town for brunch. 

 I planned to go shopping at Flavour Upstairs afterwards, so I dressed accordingly, incorporating a couple of not-yet-worn-this-season items into my outfit: this skirt and these new tights that Mom bought me for Christmas.

• Sweater - Tatyana, thrifted; last worn here in December 2018 with purple plaid and the same shoes
• Skirt - Dolce & Gabbana, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in March 2018 for a weekend shop
• Shoes - Half Truth Tanya, Fluevog; last worn here with this same sweater in December 2018
• Coat (below) - Apparence, vintage, thrifted; last seen here a few days ago

I am a fan of thin-gauge solid-coloured sweaters - they are very handy for setting off a funky bottom.

 I love this wool/silk woven plaid skirt - the dark brown trim is Persian lamb.

It is a nice length, although the wrap front means I have to wear a short half-slip under it.

 The tights are "sweater knit" but they look striped in most of these pictures. They were pretty good - not too much waistline/crotch slippage (that's evil in my book - tights that sink down as I wear them do not last long with me!).

Outerwear - it was sunny with scattered clouds all day. The snow is lingering in clumps here and there, but all the sidewalks and roads are clear again. Phew! Okay, bring on spring, winter is over.

 No luck with a new winter coat while I was out shopping, although I tried on a bunch that were not quite right. Just watch, I'll find the perfect one in July - that's how it goes when you shop second-hand!

• Fur boa - thrifted
• Gloves - Cejon, thrifted

The stuff:

 My shoes made quite a splash with people while I walked all around town - everyone else was in hiking boots and snow shoes. My green babies really stood out!

Green bling:

 I had tucked this ring into my "new accessories" box in my closet, and promptly forgotten all about it.

• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment; purchased here for $40 - first wearing
• Earrings - Stella & Dot, consignment, Vancouver

As L and I were getting ready to walk to town, I took a look around the house for Mr. Kitty (I make sure I haven't accidentally locked him in my closet), and found him snug as a bug in his house on his scratching post.

"Do you mind, Woman? I'm sleeping here!"

No, I don't mind at all, Vizzini! Enjoy the sun - we'll be home soon.

"Leaving me? Whatever will I do---*snore*"

I hadn't planned on stopping in at the Velvet Crease (link here 'cause I love), but there was a fabulous coat in the window, so I popped in for a quick look. Well, one quick look led to just over an hour and I did very well!

I fell for this lovely classic dress - it will be great for layering and worn just on its own in the summer.

 It has pockets! I love the way the fabric has been turned 90 degrees on the hem.

It's by Trina Turk, and it's fully-lined.

 And you can see that the fabric's pattern is woven, not printed. I am a big fan of interesting textures.

I also appreciate that the hem of the lining is trimmed like a vintage slip.

 That's a great detail.

Made in California, USA! This was $52.00, which seems pretty good for an item made in the US.

 Searching around on the Interwebz, I found the same dress in blue/pink/white but with a bow on the front (here, linking 'cause I love). After seeing that, I discovered that mine has some knotted/cut  loops of threads on the top - it also had a bow at one time! Short dresses on her site run to about $300, so I did well.

I hemmed and hawed about this dress, but in the end, I could not leave it. It reminds me of Cinderella's dress before the big ball!

 It's a bit raggedy-looking, with patchwork blotches of colour (white and rust) on the slightly plaid background.

It has interesting folds held together buy cufflink-style buttons on the front.

 The whole thing is lined in a white slip to bring out the pattern better.

The skirt is nearly square, with pieces sewn to make it drape nicely.

 I love that kind of deconstructed-then-put-back-together look.

It does up with a small side zipper and a couple of buttons.

 The buttons are marked "Kenzo" - I very much enjoy the playful vibe of my other Kenzo pieces:

• My tiger dress (picture here, last worn here).
• The garbage bag skirt (picture here, last worn here). Its twin in solid black is at slide 8 of the Fall 2014 ready-to-wear runway collection here (linking to Vogue's site, 'cause I love) - I suspect my skirt is pre-Internet, likely from the late 90s/early 00s.
• This "garden party" jacket is wonderful in spring (picture here, last worn here).
• My oversized black cardi is a lovely piece (picture here, last worn here).
• I gave this jacket away, though, as it looked odd on me (picture here, last worn here).
• I also used to have this pink dress, but it wasn't quite me (picture here, last worn here); it's been gone for a long time.

I like the folded details, as well as the attention to patterns - I'll always take a second look at a Kenzo piece.

I am a size 40! Go, me!

 Most of my Kenzo pieces are older seasons (pre-internet).

However, noting that a simple, plain dress is sold for 350 Euros, which is equivalent to ~$525.00 Canadian dollars, I feel pretty good about my $68.00 purchase.

 This will be lovely to wear in summer, but I might be breaking this out for a special event soon!

Ah, consignment stores - I always spend more than I think! However, I can't be expected to leave a green and gold sequined skirt behind, can I?

 And even better when it's a mini-skirt. We 50+ ladies love our mins!

Trying to show the colours better.

 Things to look for when buying sequins: loose ones, scratchiness factor, snagging at the hem.

This skirt passed my tests when trying it on. And it was new with tags still!

 Banana Republic...

From Summer 2014.

 I'm sure this would have been over $100 new - it was $40.00.

Finally, I had seen these red booties last time I was in the store, and they were an extra 20% off, so home with me they went!

 So cute. They are a vivid bright red.

I don't think they are leather.

 But they're in good condition.

Zara Trafaluc - 40 is my size.

 Looks like they are pretty recent, as I see them on the Zara (Australia!) site still for $69.95 (almost the same in Canadian). I paid $38.40 for these.

Barely any wear on the soles/heels.

 I'm excited to wear these!

From the Velvet Crease, I continued to my actual destination: Flavour Upstairs.

 First thing I found was this awesome shirt for L, for $24.95.

I am always on the lookout for stuff for him.

 This shirt is by Desigual, and he loved it. He wore it out for dinner that night, in fact!

For me, I tried on oodles of things but nothing was quite grabbing me.

 This polka dot shirt fits really well, and is nice and soft. It will be great for layering this spring.

Not bad, $19.99 for J. Crew.

 It would have been about $110 or more new.

Although this was rather alarming.

"Parts of animal origin"?? I guess the cotton might contain bits of bugs or something!

This style is from Fall 2015.

 I guess its previous owner didn't get the memo that polka dots are trendy for spring (so I hear from the cool kids).

I always dig through every bin at Flavour - look what I found!

 Wonderfully soft orange leather gloves!

They fit great.

 I like a long wrist. These were only $17.99, a very good deal for leather.

I waffled on these red boots (yes, another pair of red booties!), but the comfort factor won me over.

 They also look great on. I love the two-tone reds, the rubber soles and the zipper detailing.

They have inner zippers so easy off and on.

 They'll be good walking shoes.

Arnold Churgin, handmade - they are made in Italy.

 I'd seen that name on vintage shoes, but not modern ones like this. I found this article here from the Calgary Herald newspaper, about the store closing in 2017.

These have very little wear, and for $45.00 they were mine!

 These are going to get a lot of wear in my closet!

After a quick nap when I got home (shopping is hard work!), I got dressed and L and I walked down to Fernwood Village for dinner. It was sort-of our Valentine's dinner.

Just a quick change to this soft, comfy dress, and a pair of nice walking boots.

• Dress - Ichi; last seen here in December 2018 for dinner out with my WW colleagues
• Boots - Truths Teah, Fluevog; first worn here in January with Monster Vest
• Coat (below) - Forever 21, thrifted; last seen here in January

I have a burgundy cami on under the dress as well.

"Going out again?"

A lot of other people had the same idea to have a late Valentine's dinner - the restaurant we'd planned on going to was full.

"Is the Man leaving too?"

Instead, we had a very quick meal at the pub and then strolled home. I really only wore this for an hour.

We hung out at home on Saturday night and stayed warm - brrr! It's been dry, but it's cold.

 Even the Grape Ape coat wasn't enough to keep the chill off!

• Gloves - Parkhurst

The stuff:

 I need to wear these lovely boots again soon - they are incredibly comfy.

Black bling:

 Loaded on the shiny stuff!

• Belt - Nygard
• Cuff - vintage 80s
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Earrings - thrifted
• Necklace - Myka, thrifted

Since I'd just bought L a new shirt, he culled a shirt that he didn't love.

"This is the perfect shirt, what are you talking about, Woman?"

Vizzini was set on napping on it.

"It's just right for me. Can I keep it?"

Silly kitty, that will go off to one of our friends.

"But I love this shirt!"

I thrift many shirts for L and he has limited closet space too.

I slept in on Sunday after a late night. Oh, the sun is out!

 Ah, feel that on my face! So warm!

This is my outfit for "Visible Monday" over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style. Go, go, go!

This wall needed some love.

 Oh, sun, I have missed you!

• Sweater - Judith & Charles, consignment; last worn just a week ago here under my Jennifer Aniston dress
• Skirt - no label, vintage 70s, thrifted; first worn here in January with L'Wren Scott red
• Boots - Mini Babycakes, Fluevog; last seen here (2nd outfit) in October 2018 for a Fluevog shop
• Coat (below) - Danier Leather; last worn here a couple of weeks ago when it was warmer

Can you tell it was bright?

 Being a long weekend, we did our usual gathering of friends. I always like to wear something fun for our meet-ups.

This glorious skirt is so fun to walk in - the mermaid bottom swooshes and twirls.

 I was twirling it in the pub for a friend when a man came up to tell me that he loved my skirt. Ha!

Sneak peek at my vintage slip underneath - I needed extra warmth, even though it was sunny!

 L is wearing a vintage shirt with red jeans. We always seem to end up matching each other!

Coat open.

 All casual.

Done up - will I need my scarf and gloves?

 Not on the walk to town - but I did need them later.

• Fur scarf - thrifted
• Gloves - Parkhurst

Our stat holiday is Family Day, which is a pretty new holiday. I just like having a day off between New Year's and Easter!

"There should be a Vizzini Day."

Don't worry, buddy, you're part of our family.

The stuff:

Lovely and comfy boots for walking to and from town.

• I forgot to take a bling picture! Oops. 
• Belt - gift from Mom, from London
• Necklace - Nygard, consignment
• Bronze cuff - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Poe cuff - Jezebel Charms, gift from L
• Wood/Klimt ring - consignment
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Earrings - c. 1994, LA Express

L is looking sharp in his leather and cashmere coat - we bought it at a consignment store in Vancouver last March.

"I'm helping the Man get dressed."

He's a big help, all right.

"Just inspecting this area for you."

Thanks to our friend Ronnie for the pictures!

 Darcy's Pub, and there's Alison, Cat, Justin, Linda, and on the right, Chris and Randall.

L and Nick being silly.

 It was so bright, everyone was wearing their sunglasses.

Yes, L, you have a wooden spoon.

 Better stir that pitcher of strawberry margaritas!

Carolyn, Ross and L.

 Best people in the world.

Ronnie himself with the lovely Yvonne.

 Aw, love you guys!

L and I look like we're arguing. We are not.

 This is why I always want to pose!

Vizzini, have you enjoyed having us home most of the weekend?

"Oh, I suppose. Your lap is warm."

It's good to be loved.