Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: All-Day Floral, Birthday Limo, First Concert

Welcome back, my friends. Thank you so much for your kind words and understanding of my mental state of late (foggy, discombobulated). I'm happy to report I've tested negative 4 days in a row, so looks like I've dodged the Covid bullet (for now, knock on wood). 

As you'll see, this was a weekend that was comparable to the Before Times! It was our dear friend Caro's 50th birthday and oh, did we have a surprise for her! 

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! So much love to you! 

But first, let's back 'er up to Saturday morning. L and I joined Nick for brunch at the Ruby, since (again) we didn't have enough people for a game of Ulti. 

I knew I'd need an outfit that would work from 10am until past 11pm. I've had this dress earmarked for this day since I bought it! 

• Dress - Guess by Marciano, consignment; purchased here for $24.00
• Boots - Sabado, Fluevog; purchased and first seen here last weekend for a shopping trip with Lindsay
• Coat (below) - Baez Leather, consignment; last worn here in February

I finally found the content tag in this dress - it's 100% viscose, with a knit 100% silk lining. 

It was flowy, pretty and also surprisingly warm. I also had little shorts on over my tights, as I knew I'd be clambering around in the limo...but I'm getting ahead of myself there! 

I wore this for brunch, then to run a couple of errands with L. 

After brunch, I had a short time before I had to get over to Cat's place. 

We had birthday celebrations during the day...and then L and I went to a concert on Saturday night, our first since we saw David Francey in the Before Times, way back here in January 2020! 

Masked up. 

My Covid scare this week has reinforced to me: masks work! I wore it whenever I was around people in close proximity indoors. 

Outerwear - every day this week has been sunny with clouds...except for Saturday, which was predicted to have rain rain rain. 

Ah, Victoria in spring. 

I'd better be prepared. 

Beret, gloves and a scarf. Should be good. 

But what are ya gonna do? 

Just go with the flow, baby. I can't control the weather. 

Accoutrements. 

Keeping myself in brights to elevate my mood. 

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted
• Beret - Parkhurst, consignment
• Gloves - consignment
• Scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

I'm so glad I bought these boots - they were perfect for rain, standing around on wet grass, climbing in and out of the limo (we're getting there...), and for standing in line for merch at the concert, and for walking home late at night afterwards. 

Colourful bling: 

The purple suede belt sparked the bevy of colours in my bling and accoutrements. I don't have to do black just because I wore black boots. 

• Belt/buckle - Shi Studios, thrifted
• Leather cuff - Guess, thrifted
• Stone/silver bracelet - gift from L
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewellers, C 1965, Dad's
• Steel/Lucite ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted
• Silver earrings - gift from Petra

And now...

Party Time! 

Grab yourself a cup of something warm - lots of pictures coming! 

"What the heck is that?

Dash away, squirrel, and make way for the limo! 

The Winesday Women (minus Yvonne, who had to go back east to deal with some family stuff) rented a stretch limo to surprise Caro. 

I moseyed over to Cat's place - we were the first pick-up stop. 

LA Limousines loaded us up with napkins, cups, champagne flutes and ice. 

Next stop was Vero's to pick up her and Jean. 

Cat, Vero and Jean - we all brought food, as the guise for luring Caro out was brunch with Jean, and we were worried she wouldn't have any lunch. 

Cat decorated her own crown from her 50th with additional flowers. 

The surprise party was themed "floral" for Caro's Bloomin' 50th! 

We pulled up at Caro and Ron's place, and texted her to come out. 

Her birthday was earlier in the week, hence the balloons, which are in Dutch "King" colours as Caro's birthday is on their King's Day.

There she is! 

She was totally shocked. 

Come on in! 

Thanks to all the photographers on the day; in addition to my pics, I have pics here from Ron, Cat and Ali (who took that fabulous one at the top of this post). 

Ron got a shot of her walking up to the limo. 

That's our driver Scott on the left, who was lovely and took care of us for two hours. 

Caro and Vero. 

Aw.

So much love. 

A selfie with me. 

A terrible pic of me (mental note, do not make this face again, ever). 

Let's get Jean in there! 

More hugs! 

Where's Cat? Come on, people, huddle up. 

And me! Thanks, Ronnie! 

Come on in, there's plenty of room! 

I scooched down to the far end. 

Let's get some drinks going, shall we? 

We had crust-less cucumber sandwiches (classy!), cheese, strawberries and macarons. 

Look at that lovely spread. 

Even a beautiful planted flower (some kind of azalea? I don't know). 

We drove out to Sidney to see the house that Caro and Ron are building for themselves. Which one is it, honey? 

"That one!"

We pulled the fencing apart and went in for a look around. 

Much giggling ensued. 

It's always hard to tell what a space will look like. 

Main floor. 

The shaft where the stairs and elevator will be. 

And a skylight! 

Caro, giving us the run-down. 

With her champagne, of course. 

They're right on the road, but the ocean is on the other side of it. 

What a view! 

Cat, gazing out. 

I'm sure we'll have many Winesdays and fun shenanigans out here in the future! 

Scott took some pics of us. 

Love you guys! 

We struggled to get the fence back together, but we did it! 

That's why we're all making the "RAR!" poses. Poor Vero cut her finger on the frickin' fence! 

More posing! 

How awesome was this? 

That view again. 

Pretty sweet! 

Where are we going now? 

It's a surprise! 

But you're going to love it! 

Ye Olde Pandemic Park is back, y'all! 

And there are plenty o' people waiting to celebrate with our girl. Due to the weather (heavy misty rain) early on, we set up under the canopy of the trees. Plus, there was a pick-up soccer game happening on the main field area. 

Hi, Casey! 

L is all bundled up, and Nick's there too.  

Ronnie had more balloons, and Caro was so surprised. 

Nick on the right. 

Justin just turned 50 as well. 

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! I love the blue flower boutonniere. 

Vero and Marian! 

So good see our whole Winesday crew representing. 

Jeannie and her hubby Michael on the left. 

My girl was a little overwhelmed at first. 

We love you so much, honey! 

Presents from Casey. 

A bunch of scratch & wins (she won $15 and a free ticket!). 

A mini bottle of Maker's Mark. 

Yum yum, slurp slurp.

Ronnie and I (and the rest of the Winesday/MANday crew) have been planning this for over a month. 

I see you there, Ross, you sly guy. It all went off perfectly. Thanks, Ron! 

As we'd hoped, the skies started to clear. Marian conscripted Ron to help her fetch her "lawn chair."

Trust Marian to bring a wicker throne! 

Nick, Casey, Ross and Cat. 

Everyone brought chairs and bevvies. 

Marian, glad you wore a toque.

The soccer team was pretty much done by then. 

Me and Jean. 

Ah, what glorious sunshine! 

We're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. 

Beacon Hill Park is a riot of green. 

We moved to a sunny spot on the corner of the soccer pitch. 

So good to see everyone. 

But wait, there's more! 

Sarah, Jim and Magnus have arrived! 

Magnus is nearly 4 years old.

He looks like a little hobbit! 

Ronnie bought a marzipan-wrapped cake from the Dutch Bakery. 

The candle was a unicorn, for our one-of-a-kind Caro. 

Aw, this was such a special day. 

The sun stayed out for a couple of hours, until things wound down a bit. 

I actually took my coat off at one point. 

That cake was so good. 

Ross, L and Chris. Oh, hey, Chris! 

Where's Ali?

Sarah, Caro, Ron, Magnus and Justin. 

Oh, wait, who's that in the background? 

I spy Ali! 

There she is! 

I laughed - Ali's wearing my cardigan, top and skirt. 

So glad her and Chris were able to make it! 

There might be a wee slice of cake left. 

It disappeared quickly! So yummy. 

Best Birthday Ever! 

Happy Birthday, dearest Caro! 

L and I had to duck out to get home and feed ourselves and our ravenous beast (Vizzini) before we walked to town to go our first concert since the Before Times. 

Our venue: the beautiful Royal Theatre. We got there early, both to assuage my anxiety and to get in line for merch. 

One of the reasons I was okay with going to a crowded theatre is that - for the first time in my entire life(!) - we had seats in the loge! Our seats are the ones closest to the stage, just like you see here opposite. 

It was a spectacular view, plus I loved having no one in my personal space. We actually had real chairs too, not theatre seats.

The Monowhales opened up for Mother Mother. I know Monowhales (a Toronto band) from years of hearing their songs on the radio. 

You can check out some of their songs here on Songcloud (link 'cause I love, of course). "CTRL" and "Really Wanna Let You Down" are my two faves. 

They were excellent, although I missed their first three songs while I was in line to buy Mother Mother tour shirts. 

Fortunately, the show was being broadcast in the lobby, so I watched it while I waited. 

Mother Mother is an awesome local band. Two of the members (brother and sister) are from Quadra Island, and the other is from the Comox Valley, so real west-coasters! 

We have seen them twice before in concert - and they are reliably awesome. They've enjoyed an unusual renaissance of their early 00s albums due to TikTok users (article here), and it was a much younger crowd than we've seen before. 

I took very few pics and chose to be in the moment and enjoy the show, although it was a strange evening. 

Directly below us, a young girl fell and hit her head while dancing (I had been talking to her in the merch line earlier!). Just as the security/safety crew was getting her out via wheelchair (she seemed to be okay), a fight broke out in the balconies! It was a real brawler - there were punches swinging and a snarl of people before security broke it up. The lead singer of Mother Mother called for peace and love, and they were able to get the evening back on track. 

After an affecting performance of "It's All Right" (YouTube here, recommended; their channel here - we have all of their albums), we resumed the concert. It was an emotional evening, following an emotional day. 

L and I selfie in the loge box. 

Loved the loge, would recommend it! 

I bought this tee, based on their song "Burning Pile". I like these lyrics:

All my troubles on a burning pile
All lit up and I start to smile
If I, catch fire then I'll change my aim
Throw my troubles at the world again
It goes, all my troubles on a burning pile
All lit up and I start to smile
If I, catch fire then I'll take my turn
To burn and burn and burn

I probably won't wear it in public, but it's a good one for around the house. 

And now, off to enjoy a very quiet Sunday with my guys, L and Vizzini. 

I've been working on the Eternally Autumn Jacket and will have some more pics for you soon. 

And how was YOUR weekend?