Happy 2021! Brunch in Bronze and a Flashback; New Year's Reading Resolution Recap; Cat Vs. Boots

Happy 2021, my friends! We made it! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve, and I wish each and every one of you all the best for the coming year. Let's just take it one day at a time, shall we? 

Much love to my partner-in-crime, L, who looked so dapper on New Year's Eve with me. He put his outfit together himself - such a stylin' guy! 

We spent the evening playing boardgames, then joining our Family We Choose of friends in a 4-hour Zoom call/dance party/photo share/marathon, coordinated by our awesome friends Vero and Justin. I wish I could have seen them in person, but that will happen in time. 

L and I lounged about on the first day of the year, enjoying some telly and Netflix (having enjoyed The Witcher, we've moved onto The Good Place), followed by Arkham Horror until the wee hours. 

Back to our routine, we headed out to Pluto's for brunch on Saturday morning. Despite the torrential downpour, we opted to walk, even though we now have a car. It's good to get whatever exercise we can (and that car gobbles gas!). 

And although I may be sweet, I'm not made of sugar! I won't melt in the rain. 

• Leather jacket - Burberry, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here (2nd outfit) in July 2020 with a palm tree skirt
• Sweater - Zara, pass-along from Rae-Ann; first worn here in September 2020 with fall-ified summer clothes
• Flamenco skirt - no label, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in February 2020 for brunch
• Boots - Aldo, consignment; first worn here in November 2020 for our last in-person Winesday

Rainy days have to be planned for, sartorially! I often default to leather if it's not cold out - as well as being stylish, I find it is the best for not getting wet. 

Many people would be shocked that I wear this shiny Burberry jacket in the rain, but it's not the first time. We're going to have a Flashback on it shortly. 

It has a Saran-Wrap-like stickiness to the shiny patent surface of the leather - it clings to itself, and sounds like I'm wearing cling-film. 

I only took the jacket off while I was in Pluto's, but this is what I was wearing. 

Aside from planning my outerwear for rain, I also have to pick shoes that can take a wet walk. I picked this floofy flamenco skirt to show off these studded boots. 

The gold lining (ruffled, like the skirt), led to this thin gold sweater. I have a full-length vintage slip on under this for extra warmth and socks on in addition to my tights. 

I like how the skirt is sewn in twisting panels to really make it swoosh. It is a black skirt, but skews brown due to the tan thread/tan lining. 

Masked up - this is one from Mom. 

Outerwear - I adore this jacket so much. 

I hate carrying an umbrella, so rain-proofed my hair in ponytails and wore a hat. 

• Hat - Delux
• Scarf - Danier, thrifted
• Gloves - Roeckl, consignment

Fully ready to go out into the rain. The water just beads on the jacket, but my skirt, hat and ponytails got quite soggy.

L and I picked up some groceries after, then walked home. 

• Purse - Roots, thrifted

The stuff: 

I love these boots - they were fabulous in the torrential downpour. Not even a drop of water on my toes! 

Bronze bling: 

I had to wear Mom's astrological pendant right away, of course. Groovy, baby.

• Belt - Pringle of Scotland, vintage fair
• Brass/copper cuff - Karen's
• Brass/leather cuff - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Brass necklace - Mexican, vintage 70s, Mom's
• Earrings - LA Express, c. 1994
• Feather ring - Fossil, thrifted
• Silver/smoked topaz ring - Anneli Neuman, Sweden, vintage mall

Flashback: Bronze Leather Burberry Jacket

Whenever L and I go to Vancouver on our anniversary jaunts, we always check out the consignment stores there to see what we can find. Some of my best treasures have been sourced while on vacation. 

This incredible jacket is a great example. I bought it here on our March 2018 anniversary trip.

As you can see, it's a metallic dye, with almost a sparkle to it - it's patent leather, but still really soft and supple.

And it's by Burberry. I have never found anything like it online, so goodness knows how old it is. Pre-Internet, maybe? Early 00s?

All the proper tags, etc.

I found this at a Front & Co. pop-up store on Main Street that had 40% off on everything. 

They noted $4,000.00 retail on the tag - this was originally $368.00 but came to $220.80 with the discount. I waffled over this - that's still a lot of money! - but L encouraged me to go for it, and he was totally right. I would have had Major Regrets if I'd passed this up. 

I wore it in April 2018 to Sarah's baby shower - holy smokes, that means Magnus is going to be 3 this year! 

I have yet to wear this vintage D&G sweater slip dress and the Gaultier top this season, but we did a Flashback on those boots here. 

You'll start to see a pattern now - since the jacket works best as outerwear, I tend to wear it shopping, especially on rainy days. 

This is also April 2018. Shoe Flashback here. 

The bronze colour goes well with black, gold and olive greens (it has a strong chartreuse-y/olive tone to it). I mixed it with the fall colours in this velvet Betsey Johnson dress here in June 2018.

Pretty fancy for a pub dinner! 

I really like this picture from September 2018. 

This will not be the first time we see this Kenzo skirt or these tan boots (Flashback here). 

I wore it to dinner with Tammy in November 2018. 

I still have everything in this outfit but the necklace. 

Another shopping outfit, in December 2018. 

Skirt Flashback here. 

This was my brunch outfit the morning after the 25th anniversary of the Victoria Film Festival Gala in February 2019. 

There's that Kenzo skirt again. Boots Flashbacked here. 

I wore this in March 2019 to work (I have a green sweater on underneath) and then to a Vintage Fair afterwards (and dinner with out pals after that). 

I love this skirt with it - so fancy, all that shiny gold! 

The jacket and the shoes are the best thing about this outfit from April 2019. 

I didn't keep that skirt, but we did see the Flashback on the shoes (here). 

Over the same dress as above, in October 2019.

I think this was the first outing of the purple wool shoes. 

Another shopping outfit, from November 2019. 

Hat + ponytails + jacket + funky skirt + tall boots = Always Works! 

Variation on a theme, from December 2019.

I need to wear that skirt again soon - it's lovely. 

And here's the last time I wore it, in July 2020, with my palm tree skirt. 

Giving you a back view, as it's fitted really nicely. 

Mathy stuff: Well, I'm nowhere near done with this jacket - it's a "lifetime" piece in my closet and one of the things that keeps me motivated to stay active and not eat All The Chocolate (only some of it!). Including the current outfit, I'm at 14 wearings of it, which brings us to...$15.77! I'm pleasantly surprised at that number, which feels much better than close to $300. I'm confident that I'll bring that cost-per-wear down even more - this is a favourite piece that I always reach for. 

2020 Reading Resolution Recap

As I've done for the last several years, I make the identical New Year's Resolution: Meet or Beat the number of books read the previous year. I've been tracking my reading for over 10 years; here's last year's New Year's Eve outfits and books, if you're interested.

Last year I read 31 books and this year, it's...39! Woot! I'm chuffed that I beat last year's total by a long shot! Well, considering I was home an extra two days a week, I "should" have read more (says the little voice inside my head, which I'm now punting to the curb). 

Here's my list - I didn't give any books 5/5 this year, so I've bolded my favourite 4/5 books (I'm a hard marker), and would recommend any of those. I am happy to see that I didn't give any 1/5's this year! Any books labeled "(BC)" are ones chosen by Book Club members.

1. Purity - Jonathan Franzen - 4/5 (BC)
2. The Way She Looks Tonight: 5 Women of Style - Marian Fowler - 3/5
3. The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu (translated by Ken Liu) - 3/5
4. Nautical Chic - Amber Jane Butchart - 4/5
5. White Tiger - Kylie Chan - 3/5
6. The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton - 4/5
7. The Blue Guitar - John Banville - 4/5 (BC)
8. Fashion Victim - Michelle Lee - 2/5
9. John Dies At the End - David Wong - 3/5
10. The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu - Paula Gunn, ed. - 4/5
11. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson - 4/5
12. To Have and Have Not - Ernest Hemingway - 4/5
13. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson - 3/5
14. The Paris Wife - Paula McCain - 4/5
15. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - N.K. Jemisin - 3/5
16. My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh - 4/5
17. Time Out of Joint - Philip K. Dick - 4/5
18. Flashback - Dan Simmons - 3/5
19. Dreadnought - Cherie Priest - 2/5
20. Full Throttle - Joe Hill - 4/5
21. Canal Dreams - Iain Banks - 2/5
22. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles - 4/5 (BC)
23. The Broken Kingdom - N.K. Jemisin - 4/5
24. Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano - Dana Thomas - 4/5
25. Standing in Another Man's Grave - Ian Rankin - 2/5
26. Inversions - Iain M. Banks - 2/5
27. The Overstory - Richard Powers - 3/5 (BC)
28. The Outsider - Stephen King - 3/5
29. When Fashion Really Works - Marnie Fogg - 4/5
30. The Bridge - Iain Banks - 2/5
31. Stella: Unrepentant Madam - Linda J. Eversole - 3/5
32. Tuck Everlasting - Natalie Babbitt - 3/5
33. The Shining Girls - Lauren Beukes - 4/5 (BC)
34. The Kingdom of Gods - N.K. Jemisin - 3/5
35. The Awakened Kingdom - N. K. Jemisin - 3/5
36. Jirel of Joiry - C.L. Moore - 2/5
37. How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa - 4/5 (BC)
38. Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer - 4/5
39. Death In Her Hands - Ottessa Moshfegh - 4/5

Some assorted musings on what I read: 

• I read a bunch of fashion books this year, having picked some up on clearance at Russell Books when they moved locations. Nearly all of them were excellent (numbers 2, 4, 8, 24, 29). Avoid #8 (it's really dated - they are very ooked out by second-hand shopping), but you might be able to find the others easily - most of them were under $10 in clearance sections - #4 and 29 are both coffee-table-style books with lots of pictures with excellent text. They've all gone into my fashion library. 
• The N.K. Jemisin novels were all part of a ginormous omnibus, as I work through everything she's written. One of my favourite writers. If you like fantasy, check her out.
• After finishing the TV series "Black Sails", I revisited a beloved book from my childhood - Treasure Island - which reminded me I'd never read Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. They were both so much fun. 
• Our Book Club pick of The Paris Wife (a fictionalized account about Hemingway's first wife) led me to read To Have and Have Not. I enjoy Hemingway in small doses. 
• I'm pleased we were able to have five Book Clubs during this crazy year, and all of the books that we picked received a 4/5. #22, 33 (my pick) and 37 were all fantastic books. How to Pronounce Knife received the Giller Prize the day after we received it at Book Club (great pick, Cat!).
• My love of sci-fi, fantasy and horror have not abated: 21 of the books here fall under those categories. 
• L and I have now almost finished reading everything written by Iain (M) Banks; thanks to L's coworker Ian for loaning us a few we were missing. 
• Hi, Mom, yes, I read the book I gave you for Christmas...(*sheepish grin*). This is an old habit of mine, going back to when I gave my dad Stephen King books for Christmas back in the 80s. He took forever to read them, in my defense, hee hee. 

I worked my way through many of the books in my stacks beside the bed this year, and have eliminated the stacks on the floor (go, me!). I have 15 books on my nightstand right now, and for 2021, I'd like to start doing some re-reads of the hundreds of books in our library, as L and I weed through the dross. 

And finally, the first of many cat pictures for 2021, I'm sure, Vizzini vs. Boots. 

"What fun! The Man wants to play with me!"

After we got home from town, L swapped his Fluevog cowboy boots for his more-waterproof lace-up Fluevog boots. Let the shoelace battle commence! 

"I will take this one - you may have the other one."

Vizzini has very good balance on his back feet - he will stand right up on them. 

"Heh, the Man hasn't even noticed!"

The ritual of the shoelaces always ends the same way: Cat does not get to chew on them. 

"It certainly feels like I'm chewing on them, Woman."

The Man always wins, Vizzini - he's bigger than you. 

"If you'd feed me more, I might get bigger too."

Not much chance of that, bud, sorry. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, enjoying this last hurrah before the Monday "back to work/school/life" is here. Thank you so much for stopping by!