Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Tattoo Redux Brunch; Double-Blast October Party!

Welcome back, my friends! I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was full of good times with good friends - and our first party in TWO YEARS! 

Starting things off, L and I met up with Nick for brunch at the Ruby. I wanted to give my custom Tattoo Jacket another airing (you know I had to show it off some more!). 

My go-tos for styling this jacket will likely be neutrals, plus red and dark green, matching the colours in the jacket designs. 

• Jacket - Q Collection, thrifted, customized by me; last worn here a few days ago
• Blouse - Tatum & Olivia, consignment; last seen here in July for a Mental Health Shop
• Leather pants - Classique Entier, thrifted; last worn here in December 2020 with floral (and same boots)
• Boots - Prepare 2.0 Tracker, Fluevog; last seen here a few weeks ago, bounding as Wonder Woman

We chatted in line for 30 minutes, then enjoyed our usual brunch. 

Wendy and Grace (awesome hostess and fabulous server) both oohed and ahhed over the jacket. 

I felt supremely badass in this. 

Remember, my leather fans, don't be creepy! 

After brunch, we picked up some party supplies (fancy fizzy water, chocolate and potato chips). 

I've learned that I can't buy chocolate early or I will eat it all. 

Masked up and incognito. 

I'm in movie star mode, darlings. 

As usual, fall in Victoria is sunny, then rainy, then windy, then cold, then sunny again. 

Scarf and gloves, plus a leather coat and pants, and I'm all set. Leather weather! 

Accoutrements: 

I knew I'd be wearing this scarf a lot. 

• Scarf - fake Louis (Lewis) Vuitton, thrifted
• Gloves - Parkhurst
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

I babied my feet in these - they are practically flats! - in preparation for being in heels for the October Party that night. 

Bold bling: 

Nothing too excessive. 

• Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Chain bracelet - thrifted
• Earrings - Aldo

When we got home, I spent time prepping my fruit plate (cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, grapes and raspberries) and my veggie platter (cucumber, carrots, celery, red pepper, yellow pepper and cherry tomatoes) and popped them into the fridge. 

We also gave the house a quick once-over and did some furniture rearranging. This is our new dining room/sitting area. 

It completely disguises the Secret Door (link here, from when we had it built), as our library is a bit of a mess and being used for storage until I can unload some books and give away a bunch of the Giveaway Pile.  

Looking at the living room/bar from the gold chair. 

It's a massive space, great for entertaining. I have all the unopened chips and candy out, along with their bowls. I can't open anything until people arrive as "someone" is a food thief. And we are not talking about L or I (okay, maybe me a bit, lol)! 

Looking at one side of the room. 

I like big comfy couches - this is "my" couch. I removed a ton of pillows to make it look classy. 

And the view from my couch. This is L's couch. 

Making sure our guests have a good view of our walls and artwork. Our long coffee table will be covered with snacks and goodies. I always have all of the party food groups: salty/crunchy, chocolate, cheese and fruit/veggies. 

I readied the deck for chill time. Vizzini's post has been moved inside for the season, as it's too cold for him out there now. 

However, since I insulated it in the spring, it's much more inviting to sit out there on a sunny day. I still like to read and work on my crafty things out here. 

I moved the benches (formerly of the dining room area) out into the corner. The table and chairs are in the library until I can find a new home for them. 

Ideally, I want a small square table to go in the corner, but for a small party, this is just right. I always need quiet space, where I can get away from the hubbub. I used this multiple times during our party to have chill moments. 

I know you're dying to know what I wore, and I will not disappoint: I wore TWO outfits! I wore this dress from 7pm till 10pm. 

I love how frothy this is. 

• Dress - Miss Elliette, vintage 60s, thrifted; purchased here for $36.95
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog, consignment; last worn here (4th outfit) with purple velvet for lunch with Mom and L for my birthday

I briefly thought of saving this for Christmas, but life is short, wear the dress. 

It keeps moving after I've stopped. Swoosh Factor 10!

Look at the size of the skirt! 

I put both outfits on and did pictures in the early afternoon, so that I'd have light. 

Vizzini lurked around - he knew something was up. 

"You're wearing my favourite snack."

He has been unbearable with this dress while it's been in my closet since I bought it - the person who owned it before must have had a cat.

How do I feel about having a houseful of people? Ecstatic! About 20 people came over the course of the evening - some arrived on time and left early, and our usual cohort of fashionably-late people arrived closer to 10pm and left at 2:30am. 

"Horrified?"

Victoria's double vaccination rate is 89%, which is astonishing (here, link 'cause I love). All of our party guests are fully-immunized. It felt so good to be around all of our friends again! 

The stuff: 

I didn't feel like painting my toes - a nap called instead - so I wore these simple pumps for a little bit of height. 

• Silver/Lucite cuff - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Vancouver
• Silver earrings - Brenda Schoenfeld, 1992, vintage mall
• Silver snake ring - 1985, BC Museum Gift Shop
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Belt - vintage, thrifted

Both of the dresses I wore are really focus-pulling, so minimal bling worked best - I didn't change much up

I wore this dress from 10pm onwards, till the wee hours. 

So sparkly - also very stretchy, and excellent for dancing. 

• Dress - Adrienne Vittadini, vintage 90s, thrifted; purchased and worn here (2nd outfit) in December 2020
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last worn here in September with matching McQueen

Check out the massive shoulder pads - SO early 90s! 

This entire dress is covered in handsewn sequins - can you imagine how much time that would have taken to do?

I love the design - it's also built to be worn with a regular bra, which is a treat. 

"Drunk people mean dropped food..."

I love the geometric pattern. I wore this for one of our Saturday night Zoom calls last year, but my friends only saw it from the mid-chest up (with a brief few-second model of it on a fuzzy camera). 

"They won't see me sneaking in..."

Yvonne thought the green circle on my boob looked like an olive. I loved wearing this sparkly dress and it was fabulous for partying - I felt like a star. 

The stuff: 

The same shoes, just in a different material. I love this deep cobalt. 

I didn't bother changing my bling radically. Why make it difficult?

L wore a blast of colour. I accidentally took a picture while getting ready for our pose, and kind of liked it. The cardboard Star Wars Stormtrooper (which I've had for over 20 years) is saying, "Stop! This isn't the room you're looking for!" and is used to keep folks out of this room during parties so that we don't disturb our neighbour. It doesn't work - I always make forays into my closet, and I showed off my Tattoo Jacket to everyone as well. 

L is wearing a lovely blue blazer, a new-to-him white and yellow/orange shirt (picked up a Rich Rags a few weeks back), and his vintage Versace trousers. The shoes are Fluevog. 

And there I am! 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, my friends! Thanks so much for dropping by!