Cream Leather and Brocade, and a Wee Shop

No Mom-Day Adventure today, unfortunately - Mom took advantage of the lovely sun yesterday and did some gardening...and...the time flew by, and before she knew it, she'd been out there longer than planned - she woke up stiff and sore today. Dr. Sheila prescribes a hot bath and some chill reading time under your heated throw, Mom! Take care of yourself.

L had the day off today, so I joined him and Nick at the Blue Fox for brunch. The "Blue Dog" (as we refer to it amongst ourselves) is tiny and always has a huge line-up on the weekends so we tend to only go there on those random weekdays when we're off.

Since the Blue Dog is near the Velvet Crease, I decided to just wear my new-to-me cream leather jacket, security tag and all, and have them remove it on the way there. 

• Leather jacket - Danier Leather, consignment; purchased here for $37.50
• Bodysuit - Madewell, thrifted; last seen here in January under a plaid dress
• Skirt -Topshop, consignment; first worn here in October 2021 with a vintage Karl Lagerfeld blazer
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last seen here in December 2021 for an Oak Bay shop with Mom
• Welsh cape (below) - Dafydd Snowden, vintage 60s, thrifted; last worn here in August 2021

The leather jacket is big on me - it's a size Medium, which in Danier sizing is more like a size 10 or 12. 

I usually wear a Small or XS in their jackets. The largeness of it means it'll be outerwear, not blazer-wear, as I'll be able to layer a thick sweater or top underneath it. 

That's cool - I'd love an embellished outerwear jacket.

Sneaking in another wearing of this tapestry-weave mini skirt.

My shortest minis are in my fall/winter wardrobe, as I feel more secure when wearing tights with them. 

You can see how the jacket has a lot of room in it. 

I layered my slate-grey bodysuit underneath, just to keep it simple. 

Olive green fleece-lined tights for a bit of warmth, and I'm ready for almost any weather. 

I took the jacket off briefly during brunch, as I was having a hot flash. The lovely ladies at the Velvet Crease removed the tag without me even having to disrobe.  

Note L's fabulous vintage leather (with wolf-fur-trimmed collar!) coat. His cowboy hat is from Nashville, TN. We got a few looks while we walked to town.

Masked up. As of tomorrow/Friday, masks are no longer required in indoor environments and as of April 8th, most of the vaccine card flashing will end.

That will be strange. I plan to keep wearing a mask when it feels warranted to me: big crowds indoors or any other situation that makes me feel ooky, like the bus. 

Outerwear - it's cape weather!

And now that I've figured out (duh) that if I layer a light coat under my capes they are much more wearable, I plan to wear them a lot more. I have 4-5 capes/ponchos that I can deploy! 

The difficulty with them, of course, is that bags are tricky.

I have to step into my purse, and pull it up to my shoulders. My regular backpack makes me look hunchbacked. 

Accoutrements: 

My silk horse scarf is to keep my neck warm, but also in case of rain (which started later in the evening).

• Purse - Roots, thrifted
• French silk scarf - vintage fair
• Gloves - Ralph Lauren, consignment
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

I often keep these boots out for spring/summer, for the "shoulder" months, when it's still not that warm. 

Blue bling:

I played with the shades of blue in the tapestry skirt. 

• Necklace - Stella & Dot, thrifted
• Lace cuff - locally made, Nashville, TN
• Eelskin bracelet - vintage 80s, mine, donated, then thrifted
• Earrings - thrifted
• Chain ring - Taxco, Mexico, Charmaine's
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes

After brunch, I left L and Nick to hang out together for the afternoon, and wandered up to the WIN Boutique on Quadra Street for a browse. I hadn't been there in a few months, so it's been lots of time for the stock to turn over. 

I had a quick poke in their adjacent housewares store and I'm so glad I did! I found a table for the deck! 

Cat-toy left in for the Vizzini fans. The table is a reddish-brown, with brushings of gold on it. 

I turned it upside down to inspect the under-carriage, looking for any weakness. It's all strongly welded and screwed. 

Three of the felt foot-pads were missing, but I don't care, since the corner of the deck slants towards the corner. 

When our condominium was originally built in 1976, the decks were all open, and the slant is so that rain can drain out (we still have drain-holes that we have to block against bugs). 

My lovely cozy corner that I've gradually built. The benches, a snuggly throw, a bunch of pillows, and my new table in the corner. 

My collection of solar lights - it's so pretty out here at night. 

The glass inset had one tiny chip in one corner, but it's a thick piece of beveled glass, and there are four rubber suckers to ensure it stays in place. 

And how much did I pay for this? 

A whopping $19.95. I would have paid the original $24.95. I carried the table home under one arm; I removed the glass and carried it in a tote bag, along with my other little finds. 

I found two pairs of new-in-the-pack tights: one pair of brown, one of black. These would be $14.95 each new - they were $6.95 each instead. 

I've been looking for a frame with a mat and a 5 x 7" insert, and why not thrift it? This is also new in the original packaging. 

It's the Ribba frame from Ikea, and it was $3.95. I found this in the housewares store as well. 

Apparently, it's $2.99 directly from Ikea - I have never been in an Ikea store, but that seems like a "fast home fashion" price. I'm glad that Women In Need got my money instead. 

I have been wanting to frame my original screenprint since Justin gave it to me for my birthday. I used my shoe tape dispenser and thought they looked nice together, heh. 

"Gruss vom Krampus" means "Greetings from the Krampus" and he is a creepy fellow:

‘Gruß vom Krampus’ meaning ‘Greetings from the Krampus’ was a frequently seen catchphrase on Christmas cards during the Christmas season in Northern Europe. The antithesis to the well known kindly Santa Claus figure, the Krampus is a mythical creature from the European yuletide traditions, most likely pre-Christian in origin. Krampus is a half man, half beast, often portrayed with a foot of a man, and the other a cloven hoof. While well behaved children would receive presents from Santa, the unruly ones would be at the receiving end of Krampus’s birch-wood switch! Ouch…

Source here - as I worked in a year-round Christmas store from 1986 to 1997, I knew of Krampus, so I appreciated Justin thinking of me with this. It was done by a friend of his, although unfortunately it's not signed.

I thought it looked nice next to L's side of the hall coat rack.

It's in our entryway. 

Aside from the tights, which were from the main WIN boutique, they didn't have anything that really caught my eye - lots of fast fashion, which was disappointing. 

I bought this white top because it will be useful in my wardrobe (I burn through white tops). 

I also liked the back - there's a connecting piece across the back of the neck. 

My tattoos will peek out. 

The sleeves are a good length, and the bias ruffle is a nice detail. 

This is a t-shirt fine knit, but the previous owner cut the content tag out. I would guess that it's a viscose or silk blend - it has a nice weight and feel to it. 

It's by Mossimmo Dutti, a Canadian boutique brand. 

This top probably would have been around $59.99 new. 

And now, I am going to leave you with a few pictures of Vizzini. I carried him around ("Cat Tour") in the morning, and set him down on his post, where he immediately dove into his leopard house. 

"Okay, go away now."

He was very cranky that both L and were home in the morning, as he's used to sleeping all day on the bed while we're at work, or I'm out with Mom. 

"Are you leaving soon?"

I am! I'll be back on Monday with tales of adventure, as I'm taking a bit of a well-deserved break from the world. Take care, be kind and give your loved ones (including the furry fam) big hugs.