Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Zoom Stripes, Distanced Book Club, and Cat Pictures

Hello, my friends! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! These days, any kind of meet-up or event feels like a Big Deal, so although I only did a Zoom call on Saturday, I also had Book Club (the first one since the Old Days, pre-pandemic). So busy!

First, we have Saturday's outfit. Our Saturdays used to be brunch, followed by shopping (for me), then either some sort of gathering or L and I would stay home and play boardgames all night. Instead, I make us a Big Breakfast, we have our group Zoom call to see all our friends, and then L and I hang out with Vizzini and play boardgames. Not too much has changed, really. 

I like to have a fun Zoom outfit that I can wear around the house all day.

• Silk blouse - Eileen Fisher, thrifted; first worn here in November 2019 with matching mauve
• Trousers - INC, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in August 2019 for brunch and a shop
• Sandals - Sorel; last worn here in May for hanging out at the Castle

I had put this blouse in the giveaway pile - although it's washable, the stains on it didn't come out in the wash, and seemed to have spread. They aren't noticeable in pictures, but very much in real life.

However, it's a beautiful silk blouse (really long, check out the first time I wore it at the link above), and will work just fine in my "around the house" wardrobe, so I decided to keep it after all. I knotted the front of it for wearing with these fabulous stripey trousers.

 And aren't they awesome? I love that the stripes line up all the way around.

They are comfy as heck too, since they are pull-on and a nice thick jersey knit. I also love the flared hems.

The stuff:

The legs on the trousers are quite long, so I do need a heel/platform in order not to tread on them. I knew there was a reason I needed to keep these sandals!

Bold bling:

 Some usual suspects in the Bold category.

• Black and white cuff - vintage fair
• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Silver/onyx ring - vintage fair

You might have noticed that my hair is a slightly different colour. I had a bunch of odds and ends of stains (non-permanent colours), and used up two lilac/purples. They give my hair a boost without frying the ends, which are starting to get a little crispy after 4 months of not being cut or trimmed.

I'd forgotten that one of the lilacs actually comes out pale blue, so my hair has a blue-y tinge. It'll fade out, I'm not worried.

I spent a couple of hours working on a Zentangle in my Art Corner...however, when I went outside, I saw my area was already occupied.

"What do you mean, "YOUR area"?"

I had to shove Vizzini out of the way (he was not pleased).

I finished this little 3.5" square for Yvonne, who has been "hosting" all kinds of physically-distancing get-togethers in the park and opening her bathroom to us.

Just a little thank you to her. It says, "She held the world like a bubble in her heart. A lone pearl that grew with each soul she touched. When it became too large, she let it go with a laugh, knowing she would grow with them." Do you see her name spelled out in black?

I am also showing off a new addition to our deck:

Lights! We don't have any outlets there, but I found this set of lanterns at the drugstore that are solar-powered. The little solar panel is tucked up against the glass, and I stuck push-pins into the wooden edge of the overhead windows and loosely hung the lights from them.

When it gets darker, the lights come on!

I see L's reflection.

They don't give off a ton of light, but are better than nothing. They last for about 8 hours, long after we've gone to bed.

Vizzini was dubious - he sniffed them, but left them alone.

"They show off my post well."

He was lurking around, waiting for his treats.

"Give me my treats nnn...YAWN..."

I laughed when I saw that I'd captured him mid-yawn.

Look at that beautiful sunset!

It was very stormy and blustery, with lashings of rain all evening on Saturday.

The noise of the rain and the blowing branches were audible above our music.

"I'm not worried, who's worried?"

Vizzini sat on the bar, hoping for a second round of treats (nope, never happens).

Finally, he cuddled up with L.

"Really? All this couch and you need to sit right there."

After a fun evening of games, I was up early to get ready for our afternoon Book Club.

Uh-oh, it's still windy out. I hope it's nice for our gathering in Beacon Hill Park! Fortunately, it was mostly sunny out, but it was a bit chilly from the very stiff breeze.

• Jacket - Ruby Cho, consignment; purchased here for $49.00
• Top - Topsy Turvy USA, thrifted; last seen here in March under a wooly slip dress
• Skirt - Sonia Rykiel, thrifted; last worn here (3rd outfit) for a casual weekend in August 2019
• Boots - 1883 Lucchesse, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in December 2019 with plaid

Of course, I had to wear my new-to-me suede fringed jacket!

I had to factor in sitting on the ground (although Yvonne ended up bringing a chair for me), as well as walking to the park, so comfy boots, and stretchy top and skirt. The top is a sheer mesh with an abstract tie-dye floral pattern.

The jacket is a fairly boxy cut - I tried belting it, but it felt a bit too fussy, at least for this occasion.

The skirt is navy blue velour (klassy!), and is old (early 00s?) Sonia Rykiel - a designer piece! Cool!

No pockets in anything. Sigh. There are never enough pockets for my liking.

For walking to the usual meet-up spot at Beacon Hill Park, I unrolled the sleeves of the jacket, and added my dad's old scarf (which I've had since I was a teenager).

I held the front of the jacket together with a bulldog clip, a good use of office supplies.

• Scarf - vintage 60s, Dad's
• Leather gloves - consignment
• Leather US-made purse - consignment

The stuff:

I wore my cowgirl boots - they are fantastic for walking. I walked home with Cat.

Simple bling:

Easy stuff.

• Leather/steel cuff - Rimanchik
• Blue cuff - thrifted
• Earrings - consignment
• Lapis lazuli ring/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes

Caro was waiting on the field for me when I arrived.

 Yvonne parked beside me with her cooler.

We enjoyed the sun. Just being outside is so wonderful.

We have a new member in Book Club: Janaki! Welcome!

Cat was on the right side of me. We each brought our own drinks and picnic.

Caro moved over for Mindy, who brought our next book, "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.

We discussed "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain, which was Caro's pick and was a wonderful book. I've started digging into the Hemingway in our library to get a better background on his writing.

Oh, for some fun, Cat forwarded the movie of the classic car "parade" that we had last weekend for Winesday:

I'm in it, right at the end. Check out that car with the shocks! We are hootin' and hollerin' at them - I'm sure the neighbours loved it, ha ha!

Vizzini, how are you after all this weekend excitement?

"Ready for a nap."

Me too, buddy! Thanks for stopping by, everyone! 

Two-Fer: Jelly-Deer Flashback and Shop, and Lilac and Linen

The weekend is here, my friends! I hope it's nice and warm and sunny where you are - if not, I'll send you some, as it's been plenty hot here in the past few days. 

A couple of quick house-keeping things to note: 

• I've updated some of my tabs at the top of the main page, including updating my favourite blogs - please check out my friends' sites and say hello!
• My updates were prompted by hearing that the best consignment store in town - My Sister's Closet - closed during the recent pandemic lock-down. It had been in operation for 36 years, and I am just crushed to see it go. They did not have any online presence, and that plus no customers...I can't imagine that profits in second-hand clothing stores are that big. So sad...
• Some of my favourite local stores have re-opened: Ditch Records, Oscar & Libby's gifts, Dots, and Upcycle consignment. Please put on a mask, use hand-sanitizer, and patronize your local stores, to help them stick around! 

On Thursday, I did my usual morning Mental Health Walk, but instead of heading straight down to get groceries in my workout gear (not klassy or classy), I showered, put my face on, and got dressed. 

A simple outfit for walking, with some favourite clothes. Full confession, this jacket was "rescued" from the giveaway pile when I did my closet swapover in March, and I've been meaning to wear it again to see if it's really closet-worthy.

• Jacket - Le Tigre, thrifted; first seen here in June 2019 with matching fuchsia heels
• Sweater - Kersh, with screenprint by Pena, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) in September 2019 for brunch
• Skirt - Angeleye, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in July 2019 with pink and more white
• Shoes - Born, consignment; last seen here and worn many times during our trip to Portland, Oregon in September 2019

I ended up loving the bomber jacket (and yes, I cut that white tag out of the inside lining), and it's a keeper now.

The pattern is repeated keys. Isn't it cool? I love a good pattern.

As the background colour is navy blue, I chose another navy blue piece to go with it, this sparkly short-sleeved turtleneck sweater.

Trust me, it's blue sparkles.

The white high-low skirt was perfect for a hot day, and I enjoyed it billowing around my bare legs. The "stripes" you see in the fabric are woven sections of squared mesh.

I zipped up when it got too windy. Pockets!

I kept the jacket on the entire time I was out, but this is the jelly-deer sweater on its own. It's part deer, part jelly-fish, so...jelly-deer!

I'm doing a quick flashback below of all the ways I've worn the jelly-deer sweater, but I also sported an important accessory: a mask!

As I'd planned to do some shopping for L's birthday next week, I knew that some downtown stores would have policies that require a mask when inside, so I am making it easier on those places by gearing up.

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted

The stuff:

Walking shoes - very comfy for a 4.5 hour shopping expedition.

• Earrings - furniture store
• Turquoise ring - local
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's

As well as shopping for L's gifts, I may have bought a few things for myself...hee hee. We'll get to that shortly, but first....

Jelly-Deer Flashback! 

I bought this sparkly sweater for $16.95 in April 2017, here, and have worn it 10 times in 3 years, bringing it to $1.70 per wear.

I could do this entire outfit again - I still have everything, including that marvelous skirt. Maybe I should! This was from April 2017.

I tend to pick out the turquoise of the jelly-deer screen-print in my accessories.

With a lilac skirt in May 2017.

One of the few times I went matchy with the bottom.

The stain on the front of that suede skirt never came out (darned salad dressing!). This was in August 2017.

My infamous "Princess Jelly-Deer" outfit was hugely popular with my coworkers - yes, I wore this to work, back in May 2018.

It was a Fancy Friday! I'm showing off my rabbit fur jacket and my lovely vintage purse there.

In August 2018, I paired it with mustard.

Floral shoes and copper jewelry. No navy or turquoise anywhere.

I pack the jelly-deer away in the winter months - it's a very thin sweater, and not warm. This was April 2019.

"Hey, it's me!"

The outfit is all pulled together with my fabulous Christian Lacroix (for Desigual, are you shocked?) jacket.

A simple swooshy skirt for a weekend look - this was in May 2019.

I probably went shopping in it (my cowboy boots are a giveaway).

My first time wearing green with it, in August 2018 - this metallic lace skirt has been with me a long time, maybe 10 years? I'll have to do a flashback when I wear it again.

 Matchy shoes. I've paired these aqua shoes with the jelly-deer 3 times now - they are buds.

In fact, here they are again, with a casual weekend outfit, in September 2019, the last time I wore the jelly-deer.

My jelly-deer sweater is a classed-up version of a graphic tee (only a sweater), and I love how it gives my outfits a bit of pizzazz, yet is just as appropriate for the office as for brunch. Which is your favourite outfit?

End of Flashback!

So, yes, I bought myself a few things while I was out! Dots has 30% off on all their stock right now, and I remembered that I needed purples to go with my boots that I wore here on Monday, so I was scanning for it in their racks.

I found this gorgeous lilac ballerina-wrap sweater.

It's by Kersh and was $13.99 with the discount.

It's a cotton sweater with a touch of Lycra.

While I saw and tried on lots of purple-y things, only that cardigan and this blouse made the cut.

It's abstract flowers. I do love a funky floral.

I'm helpfully showing the dropped shoulder ruffle that goes down to the waist, and the sheer sleeves. The fabric is polyester, and it has a very vintage-y 1970s or 80s feel.

I'm also pointing out that "someone" was lurking around while I took these pictures.

This is by InWear and was also $13.99, originally retailing for $88.00. It's called the Hilma shirt.

I like the bits of orange in the pattern - guess what I'll be wearing with this! Could it be...orange shoes??

You know I had to take a long look at this craziness.

It's a pre-mixed pattern-matched wrap shirt, with yellow and white flowers plus a black and white striped section.

It says, "Life is a journey."

I have plenty of yellow and black and white in my wardrobe I can wear with this. Or maybe I should try adding another pattern? What would you wear with it?

It's by Ness and was $20.99 with the discount.

It's also polyester, but I tend to sweat a lot, so my shirts need to be easily washable.

I cannot resist a simple dress - they are so versatile.

This is in my favourite Barbie pink.

It's got pockets!

They are lined with hot pink satin!

It's also by InWear, and as you can see, it's washable.

It was a sample from their 2019 collection, and is called the Maddie dress. From what I can tell, it doesn't look like they ever manufactured this in pink, just in black. I did find a Maddie pant/skirt/culotte in this colour, though. That makes my sample a one-of-a-kind. Cool!

It was $20.99.

A far bit from the original ~$150.00 it would have retailed for.

I could not resist these striped pants. I also tried on a skirt in this pattern, but didn't like the cut (too long on me).

Look at all those colours! I appreciate the tie for "fashion" but I would have liked pockets more.

That's the back. These will go with nearly everything in my closet!

The legs are really wide...

...and they have splits for extra swooshiness!

They're by Eleonora Amadei, and they were made in Italy.

These ended up at $27.99.

This skirt will probably get one wearing soon, and then I'll store it away for fall. It's a little too dark for my spring/summer wardrobe.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I adore anything equestrian. I love the chains, tassels and the overall fun vibe of this. Plus a hem of sheer leopard?

Please, you had me at "sparkly elastic waistband"!

Isn't it a cool pattern? It's fully-lined too (no pockets, though).

It's by Cream and was $9.99.

As noted on the tag, the "production will be jersey lining" - but right now, this sample piece is lined in woven viscose. It's very soft.

I quickly popped in to Upcycle when I saw they were open, and this is the first thing I saw.

Oh, sweet lime green suede FRINGED jacket-y goodness!

It's by Ruby Cho, a brand which appears to have existed around the very early 00s, 2001-ish.

Um, my jacket doesn't have any knit (acrylic, wool or otherwise), nor does it have any rabbit fur trim! I wonder if it came with a matching hoody or something, originally? This was $49.00 and I happily paid. I love fringe!

You know who else loves fringe?

"Is it me?"

Yes, it is! He's eaten so much fringe in my closet in his 9 years! I can think of at least three fringed pieces he chomped on. I'll be keeping this jacket far away from our little monster.

"Well, you're no fun, Woman!"

Sure, I am, bud. Just not about you and fringe.

Friday! I had to wear my new lilac cardigan right away.

Add some linen pants, a "zhoozh" of floral, and matchy shoes, and I'm good.

• Cardigan - Kersh; purchased above for $13.99
• Blouse - Le Chateau, consignment; first worn here in February with early pastels
• Trousers - Lina Kraun, thrifted; first worn here earlier this month with a navy cape
• Shoes - Leith, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in a column of tulle ruffles for Mom's birthday a few weeks ago

I love the vibrant pastel - is that an oxymoron? - lilac of this cardi. Regular pastels are tricky on me.

I needed a top under it, and this floral sleeveless blouse worked perfectly - it even has a bit of lilac in it.

 Linen pants because it's Friday and was hot out.

Also, they have big pockets and a lovely slouch to them. I'm definitely coming around to linen.

The stuff:

I was thrilled to discover I had matching shoes! Sweet!

Lilac bling:

 My bracelets match too! Ooh, I love having a "set" of things that match.

• Bracelets - thrifted
• Amethyst/gold/silver ring - gift from Dad, c. 1985
• Amethyst/silver ring - vintage mall
• Pearl/gold ring - Erth, consignment
• Crystal/silver ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy

And now, my friends, I'm off to enjoy my weekend.

"Stop blathering and feed me, Woman!"

Happy weekend to you - I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure!