Sunday, October 24, 2021

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! 

37 comments:

  1. Cool.Love the leather bad ass look..You look nice..And like the colourful dress too..Keep up the good work..And you have a nice figure too.(Compliment)

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  2. Sheila! You both look dashing! I love his coral, yellow and blue combo. Two dresses, one party is brilliant- and while both dresses are fire, that burgundy floaty business makes you look every bit of a goddess we know you to be.

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    1. Thanks, Rosie! L is always very dashing. I loved changing outfits midway through the party from a less comfy dress to a nice stretchy one. Thanks!

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  3. What a brilliant idea to wear two dresses. Both gorgeous and you looked fabulous in them both. I thought the leather trouser outfit with the hand decorated jacket was perfection itself - absolutley stunning!

    How nice to have such a lovely, big space to enteratin in.

    Hope you have a great week,
    xxx

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    1. I once did three outfit changes, Vronni! Two felt so restrained, hee hee. Thank you so much! I loved wearing my tattoo jacket again.

      It is - I love our big party area.

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  4. You are looking badass indeed in your brunch outfit, and of course you had to wear that jacket again. It totally needs to be shown off!
    And I just KNEW you'd wear more than one outfit for your party! Both dresses are absolutely stunning! It must have been thrilling to have your friends around after all this time, and you certainly have the perfect space for entertaining. I can't see that happening in tiny Dove Cottage! I'm loving you and L.'s "state portrait".
    It's great that you've got 89% double vaccination rate. We have about 90% in Flanders but other parts of Belgium, especially around Brussels, have a much lower one. And now we're heading into a fourth wave, which is so disheartening :-(
    Have a great week, Sheila xxx

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    1. Thanks so much, Ann! I loved wearing it again.

      Ha, you know me well, especially after a two-year party drought. It was amazing to have everyone together again, although our guests were nicely staggered so that it never felt too crowded. Isn't L a snappy dresser?

      I am so proud of our population. Cases are finally starting to go down on the fourth wave! Good luck, hon.

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  5. WOW your red dress is divine. I love your tattoo jacket and the frilly blouse.

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  6. Oh yes, the belle of the ball x 2! You look fabulous in both party frocks and L looks splendid, too!
    What a fantastic big space for a party. Ours always used to spill out into the kitchen and garden in the olden days when we used to have them, Stonecroft is deceptively small!
    Your jacket looks wonderful with the red accents! xxx

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    1. Thanks so much, Vix! I loved L's springy outfit.

      It is nice and big, which is one of the things we've always loved about our condo. The deck was full of people at times too.

      Thank you!

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  7. Both dresses are beautiful on you - such perfect party dresses! I love the red dress the most, it's just so swooshy! It's nice you got to have your big party as well.

    Impressed with the vax rate too! We aren't even at 60% double vaxxed here which is sad - but thankfully we are still at Covid 0. they open up the borders to the other states with 1,000+ cases a day very soon so they are pushing to get everyone vaxxed. All my side of the family is fully vaccinated at least.

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    1. I love the red dress too, Mica - thanks so much! I may break it out for a Christmas party anyway!

      It's incredible, but Australia hasn't had the vaccines available for as long as we have, and we still have a lot of cases here. I'm glad you family is all fully vaccinated.

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  8. I love how you changed up your party dress mid-way. Did that mean you took on a different persona too? How fabulous you look in both of them and of course you had to show off your handiwork on that beautiful jacket - hurrah!

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    1. I did tend to be more hostessy in the red dress, and more partyish in the sequined one, anna! Thank you so much!

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  9. What a fabulous couple! And what a gorgeous outfits! That red dress is stunning. I never wait for something to wear, I did that before, but then I find something else and end up not wearing the item I saved for a special occasion. Besides that, it's all about the feeling. So I never can plan a outfit, because its the feeling in the morning that decides what I will be wearing. Isn't it good to be with friends again! I can imagine you had a fantastic time!

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    1. Aw, thanks, Nancy! I don't like saving dresses either - they are meant to be worn! I agree about dressing for the feeling - I was much happier in the second dress. We had a lovely time, thank you!

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  10. I love the jacket!! It looks incredible!

    And you look amazing in the frothy red dress. Fab as always!

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    1. Thank you, Katrina! I'm really proud of it.

      It's a great dress, isn't it? Thanks!

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  11. You look positively stunning in the red dress! My god it was just made for you! You and L look wonderfully posh together. Love your home - it is so elegant and comfy.

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    1. It's so very elegant, isn't it, Nana? Thank you so much!

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  12. Yvo thought the green circle looked like an olive…. Lol! Great insight into the night!
    Always appreciate the retrospective dear She. The costumes do not disappoint!!!!!

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  13. Frothy Red on stairs is def one of the tops for the pose too - forget to mention but WOW!

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  14. The lightness and brightness of your party outfits (including L's!) and your side porch make my spirits soar as I am sure they did yours, as well! Truly a fabulous ode to you and your birthday celebration (plus your insulating efforts for the porch :-))! Happy continuing Birthday Celebration!

    Your opening outfit is totally bad ass, to borrow a term from a Victoria blogger ;-)

    LOL for the Star Wars Stormtrooper. Ha, some were only marginally effective in the movies so maybe that's one of the ones you have keeping guard over the hall. ;-)

    A huge Happy Contented SIGH on your behalf for being able to host a party and gather with friends in your own home, which looks comfortable and ready to host bodies eating, drinking, dancing, chatting, sitting, standing…

    DELIGHTED for you to have had this wonderful time with friends!!!

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    1. Yes, I was on a high of good feeling and happiness all night, Laurie. I felt like a princess, then a party queen! The deck was a huge success, and I was so happy to be with our friends again.

      Thanks, hee hee, who could that be??

      We've had him for decades - he keeps people out of the messy areas, but he never really works. Marginally effective is a great description.

      I felt exactly like that - so good to have our friends in our home and together again after so long. Thank you, my dear friend!

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  15. Brilliant that you had two party outfits. Both quite different, both stunning.

    Great that you had my much fun and enjoyed the celebration.

    I’m in awe of your art work. Your jacket is beautiful. x

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    1. I liked the contrast of them, Phyl - I had to change! It was such a great time.

      Aw, thank you so much!

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  16. So fab doubled leather outfit, perfecly bad ass attitude and lovely accessories (the scarf rocks!)
    And love that you wore two outfits!, this is glamour, Sheila, and totally appropriate for the first party in years!. The swooshy dress is really amazing, but my favourite is the sequined one (ohhhh, the colours, the shine, my magpie heart sings!)
    besos

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    1. I had to wear it again, Monica! And I'll wear it another time soon, I hope.

      It just seemed appropriate to wear them both. I love the sequined one best too. :)

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  17. You ARE supremely badass in that outfit!

    Those party dresses are both great - with such fab frocks to choose from, why settle for picking just one?

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  18. Three giant cheers for your first party in two years. It's been very nearly that long for me as well (the pre-pandemic annual family Halloween party that we threw at our place each year would be the last one) and I don't foresee any happening in 2021 - but you just never know.

    You and L both look sensational! I adore how the combined hues of your elegant ensembles resembles a gorgeous fall sunset overtaking a blissfully blue afternoon.

    Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. I'm with you on that! Hooray for a party! I hope you'll get to have your big family party soon, whether that's next Hallowe'en or sooner, Autumn.

      Thank you - yes, love that!

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  19. The leather jacket is spectacular - no wonder it got so much attention. Both of the dresses you wore are parties in themselves. The red frothy one is a dream on you, but I am also a fan of sequins. Congratulations on your first post-pandemic party! I have a small one bedroom apartment which is not conducive to gatherings of more than one other person, but it will be nice to go out for dinner with other people again, and I have a big birthday coming up later this month, so I will have to figure out what to do to celebrate since I'm not going to New York again this fall.

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