Lace Zigzag Dress Flashback; Betty-Day Adventure

Hello, and welcome to an extra bonus day off post - I booked a date with my former coworker and friend, Betty, so I thought I ought to get dressed. I also realized I do not have a single picture of Betty, much less one of the two of us, so I took my camera along. 

Betty picked me up, and I had no idea what we were going to do. A walk? Coffee? I dressed for any eventuality.

Jammy dress time! I also factored in a possible walk and wore my sneakers. 

• Dress - Talbots, thrifted; last worn here in June with a pop of red (and the same jacket)
• Shoes - Steve Madden, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) a couple of weeks ago with all the metals
• Coat - Club Monaco, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit), with these shoes

I had a lovely view of the Castle. 

It was windy, cloudy, sunny and cold. Welcome to west coast weather! 

As it was only in the mid-teens, I decided to wear this light coat. 

I started with the zigzag dress, though. After a quick search in my Flashbacks (here), I discovered I have not yet subjected treated you to a Flashback on it, so we'll have a little peek back at the ways I've worn it shortly. 

Jacket done up. 

It has a small hook-and-eye closure at the front. I paid $19.99 for this coat years and years ago at Flavour Upstairs and I've easily worn it a hundred times - don't worry, we won't be Flashbacking it! 

Jacket off. 

I hoped it would be sunny (hence the sunglasses in most of the pics!) and I wouldn't need it, but I was really glad to have it. I also wore micro-fishnet nylons for a little extra warmth.

Glasses on - I like the contrast of turquoise and copper. 

This dress is not a print - it's woven lace. 

Just a single zip down the back. No pockets, but otherwise it's perfect. 

Masked up - just in case we went indoors. Didn't end up needing it.

I'm feeling very zingy in my neutrals! 

And of course, I had to carry a copper bag. 

I was ready for any eventuality! 

The stuff: 

Okay, I am getting the allure of sneakers/trainers with "real" clothes. These are insanely comfy, especially since I bought new inserts (Dr. Scholl's) for them. I discovered that the original insoles had been removed (which is probably why they were only $16.95!). Once I had proper inserts in there, they fit perfectly. Further disappointment for covetous Mom! (hi, Mom!).

Copper bling: 

I like adding copper as my metal, and it's a nice chance to wear some of my collection.

• Brooch - vintage, thrifted
• Earrings - vintage expo
• Necklace/cuff - vintage 70s, vintage expo
• Copper bracelet - Renoir, thrifted
• Copper rings - Glee
• Silver/onyx feather ring - c. 1986, gift from Mom & Dad
• Silver/onyx ring - Toccara, vintage fair

Flashback: Talbots Lace Zigzag Dress

I purchased this dress at the Patch here in June 2016 on a shopping-filled weekend. Although the entire bottom floor of the Patch is vintage, I often find mall brands there from the last 10 years. 

I fell hard for the zigzag pattern of this one. I am a sucker for a black and white/cream patterned dress!

I know Talbots can size large, but this is marked a size 2! 

Still, it fit me perfectly, and $24.00 is a great price - especially when you can see that the fabric is actually lace, not a print! This would have retailed for around $200 new. 

I wore it right away as a work outfit in June 2016. 

I did all blue accessories, including the one and only time I've done a belt with it. I used to carry a whack of keys for my job, so a belt was always needed. 

I didn't wear it again until the following spring, in May 2017. 

I 

This time with orange accessories. 

I wore it again only a couple of months later, in July 2017. I'm growing my purple hair out long! 

This is the first wearing of my pink shiny Fluevogs. 

One year later in July 2018, my hair is LONG (it grows really fast), and I'm doing silver and black with the dress. 

Oh, I miss those sandals - they cracked in half. 

Wearing all yellow accessories here before an Ultimate Frisbee game in June 2019.

It took me another year to grow out my grey and see what that looked like. 

And then we have my last outfit with it, last year in June 2020.

I'm impressed that I managed to wear different colours with this dress every single time! 

Mathy stuff: I've worn this dress 7 times in five years, which is pretty good, since I basically only pull it out once a year - I have so many dresses, and so little time. That's a cost-per-wear of $3.43. Awesome! 

Betty-Day Adventure! 

Betty and I meet up regularly, every 2-3 months or so, since we stopped working together at Weight Watchers/WW in August 2019 (my last day here). We usually go for walks or lunch or dinner - and when this walk came up in the calendar I realized, I do not have a single picture of Betty, much less one of me and Betty! Rectified!

"Shall we take our sunglasses off?" Betty asked. "Nah, we are too cool," said I. 

Betty picked me up and we drove to Willows Beach at Oak Bay, where we parked. This along the same coastline as the Oak Bay Marina, where I Mom and I had lunch on a previous Adventure Day (here), and the marina is in the distance in some of these pics. 

This is a hugely popular beach and park area. I haven't been here in well over a decade, but have been here many times for the Oak Bay Tea Party (kind of a fair type of thing with rides and a parade) as a teen. I'm pretty sure Janet and I wandered up and down the beach in our bikinis back in the 80s too. 

The Kiwanis kiosk sells burgers, chips and drinks. 

It has that deep-fat smell that takes me back! There are picnic benches all throughout this area (it's a big field). I have memories of a windy lunch here with Mom, Dad, my brother Dave, my Grandma J (she of the copper jewelry, and Dad's mom) and L, very early in our dating - I think that might have been the last time I saw Grandma as she died around 1995-6.

Looking south - that distant point is where the marina is. 

This is probably Victoria's best sand/ocean beach. Lots of driftwood and sea grass.

Looking north. 

We're headed that way, towards Cattle Point. 

There's a sidewalk all along the upper edge of the beach. 

Cars are all parked along this area. In "normal" summer, this would be packed with people. 

There are art installations all over Oak Bay. 

This is "Bodhi Frog" - it's a windmill/weathervane type of thing.

The houses on the other side of the road are mostly massive. 

Any of those would sell for around $1.8 million at least. Oak Bay is a very high-end neighbourhood.

A dreamcatcher made from rope. 

It was so weathered from the salt air that the sign was faded white. 

We stopped and watched this dog bring in a stick. 

He looks so pleased with himself. 

There were a lot of people relaxing on the beach. 

The weather moves fast - it was hot and sunny, then cold and windy. 

A dreaded staircase, but at least the stairs were shallow. 

This way to Cattle Point. 

This area is full of native plants and trees, including many Gary Oak meadows. 

I love these scraggly trees. 

People with boats can launch from Cattle Point. I like that the point itself is mostly left natural. 

What a view! 

Looking back...

And looking to the next bay, which is Cadboro Bay.

Mindy from Book Club lives on the other side of this bay. 

This is a war memorial (link here about it, 'cause I love).

This is a distinctive sight if driving the coastline Beach Drive. 

Coming back to Oak Bay, which is the name of this specific bay, as well as the municipality that surrounds it.

Such a lovely place.

Hard to believe these pictures were taken only minutes apart, right? Crazy weather. 

When we passed this piano the first time, it was under its cover. Oak Bay has several of these (about them here). 

We heard this woman playing slowly but well, and almost recognized the song. 

Her husband was filming her. "Circle of Life!" I remembered. 

She told us she and her husband had been here two years ago, seen the piano, but she didn't know how to play. She vowed she'd learn and come back the next year and play on it. The pandemic got in the way last year, but she made it this year. They were all the way from Arizona! Ack, US tourists! Betty gave 'em the business about masking up (once a teacher, always a teacher, hee hee). 

Edited to add: I'm not anti-American! It was just startling to run into US citizens, as the border has been closed for so long, and we've been hearing horror stories about the pandemic situation there. Victoria is a tourist town, and we rely on and are grateful for our visiting American neighbours. 

Robert Amos (a famous local artist, painting website here) painted that scene on the back.

Isn't the front awesome? It says "Sub Quercu Felicitas" which means "happiness under the oaks" (it's the motto of Oak Bay), and you can see the oak leaves on the sides and under the keyboards, plus there are two acorns on the seat! The blue mountain is Mount Baker, often visible from here. 

We spotted a group of ladies at the far end of the field (near the food kiosk/parking area). 

At first I thought they were doing Tai Chi, but they were doing some sort of synchronized dance. 

A pretty poppy. 

There are gorgeous gardens everywhere! 

We kept going a bit south, past where we'd parked. 

Betty said the volleyball net is up for much of the season. 

Looking back. 

The ginormous tree in the two pics above is one of the actual few willows at Willows Beach. 

As we walked back to the car, we spotted some succulents planted in driftwood, plus some painted rocks, just behind a wrought-iron fence. 

A little fox? Dog? on a rock. The other rock says, "Do small things with great love." Aw!

Betty and I both smirked at this message on a garbage can at Cattle Point. 

"What made you smile today" (I'd be happier if that had a proper question mark!). 

Betty made me smile! 

Thank you so much for the fun afternoon!