Mom-Day Adventure: Visit to Sidney, Plus a Wee Shop

I was thrilled to wake up to a warm, sunny day - perfect for a Mom-Day Adventure! Mom needed to pick up a special order at a boutique out in the little seaside town of Sidney on the Saanich Peninsula, so we drove north of Victoria and sent a few hours walking along the ocean, having a little stroll in town, and then enjoying lunch on the water. We last visited Sidney here in February.

I've been dying to wear some of my summer clothes, can you tell? 

• Blouse - Rock & Republic, thrifted; last worn here a couple of weeks ago with chevrons
• T-shirt - Gen-), thrifted; last seen here in May with floral and plaid (and these sandals)
• Skirt - Dries Van Noten, consignment; last worn here in April with pink and blue
• Sandals - Wonders; last seen here in May (same outfit as the tee)

I was a freakin' ray of sunshine! 

I layered my plain white tee under this blouse for extra sun coverage. 

I loved the pink and chartreuse

I went barelegged with my petit-pants underneath. 

I'm ready to swoosh! 

I was completely comfortable in this outfit - the skirt blew around in the breeze most dramatically. 

Masked up. 

That's the "I'm in a business" look. 

Incognito.

And this is my "I'm outside" look. 

Accoutrements:

I really didn't need the paramecium-printed scarf, but it matched so well! I tied it to the strap of my purse (it blended into the skirt). 

• Purse - Club Monaco, thrifted
• Silk scarf - Smoking Lily, vintage 90s, thrifted
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

These sandals are more comfy than they look. After I bussed to town, I strolled up Fort Street, and visited some of my favourite consignment shops, and then walked home. 

Pink bling: 

With a touch of green! 

• Leather belt - vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $4.95
• Green sparkly cocktail ring - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Olivine/coral ring - vintage 70s, Hawaii, Mom's
• Necklace/earrings - Sherman, vintage 60s, vintage fair

I'd totally forgotten about this belt, which has been living in the Things I Will Draw On pile. 

On with our adventure to Sidney! We stopped just south of town centre, at Tulista Park, where the ArtSea Community Arts Council is (link here, all links 'cause I love). This building houses an art gallery - Mom's exhibited there in the past. 

The lady in the orange t-shirt is the artist, Margo Styan (link here), who is currently exhibiting. 

Of course we had to go check it out! 

These stunning pieces are all fabric art - they are quilted! 

I loved this one. Her husband (who was working at the table) hand-dyes many of the fabrics for her.

She machine-sews over every square centimeter of fabric in a loopy sort of way. 

This was my favourite. She lived in the Yukon for twenty years, and many of her artworks are memories from that time. 

She used glittery thread in the snow and ice parts so that it glimmered in the light. 

You can see the texture here. This is her site (much better pictures!) here. 

I bought a bunch of her cards. 

And took a free bookmark. 

So nice to meet you, Margo! 

You're a very talented artist! 

From our impromptu art viewing, Mom and I walked along the waterfront at Tulista Park for a while, enjoying the gorgeous day.

The tide was very low, so much of the rocks, seaweed and sand was exposed. 

It was aromatic! 

We saw multiple herons, fishing for lunch.

Not a fun sandy beach. You don't want to walk on that barefoot. That seaweed/kelp is slimy when wet and hides barnacles.

Looking north. 

Vancouver is way far away, with the Gulf Islands in between. 

Looking east, we could see Mt. Baker in Washington state. 

It's the pointy lower "cloud" on the right - it's covered in snow. 

There were loads of speedboats, whale-watching Zodiacs and sailboats. This is also not far from the Victoria airport, so there were jets and smaller planes taking off over us.

The herons were pretty chill about it. 

Big puffy clouds. 

Mom likes that it's not a paved path (hard on her hip). 

And coming back to the car. 

Look at the roots on that giant driftwood tree! 

We stopped in at House of Lily Koi consignment.

I bought this metallic orange triangular bracelet for $18.00. I love that it's really small - most bangles are huge on me. 

After picking up Mom's order, we headed for The Rumrunner Pub, our Sidney "regular" lunch spot. 

The view from our parking spot! 

Mom had a shrimp and crab croissant sandwich. 

And I had a tuna tataki salad. Yum! 

Thanks for such a lovely day, Mom! 

I treasure every one of our adventures! Love you! 

Mom dropped me off at the bus exchange and I headed to town to pick up some pens at the local art supply store. On my way home, I stopped in at the Velvet Crease for a quick browse, where I found two dresses.

This dress was on the half-price rack. 

I love the dark blood red colour. 

The back has a deep V and bronze snaps all the way down to the bottom.

I suspect it didn't sell because mot people thought it was the front of the dress. 

I go through phases of loving dolman sleeves and hating them. 

I think I'm coming back to them. 

This is a nice detail, especially with that wide V.

Little loops to hold your bra strap! So smart! 

Oh, I see a hologram. 

And a dress name - Maja.

This is indeed the Maja dress by Diane Von Furstenberg, which retailed for $398.00. The green version of this was worn by Kate (the Duchess of Cambridge) in 2011, so it's likely from around then. 

It's 100% silk, but it is missing its matching sash belt. What did I pay? $24.00. Crazy! 

This dress also caught my eye. 

It's a big shmozzle of fabric, isn't it? 

It's actually a halter dress with a big pattern and a matching sash belt. 

The fabric is a polyester jersey knit and it's fully-lined in that creamy fabric. 

The skirt is rather slim, with no slit, but look at that pattern! 

Wow, that's a psychedelic trip! 

I spotted this in the pattern: Trina! 

That means this is a custom-made fabric made for...

Trina Turk! 

It's called the "Surfside" dress, and it would have retailed for between $398-548.00 new. 

I love that it was made in California! I paid only $32.00, in case you were wondering. What a score! 

I had to pop into MONA (Make Old New Again) Consignment for a quick look too. 

What the heck? Brand new Fluevog lace-up sneakers in my size? 

These are current Fluevogs, although they've been around a few years and are now on sale new for $179 from the original $299. 

They are called the Future Round Toe Orbit (link here). 

I love the brogue detailing in the toes. 

Although that part is all fabric. 

These are men's shoes - I wear a size 7 men/size 9 women. 

All the proper signage and signature business. Love that bright red sole! 

They had a pair of very good quality leather inserts in them, which I've taken out. 

That's an extra $15.00 value right there. 

They have a funky sole...for funky souls! "Know the Future, Decide Well Today."

As you can see, these were $99.00. I suspect someone either bought these online or at the recent sample sale, and they didn't fit...and Fluevogs don't take returns! Win for me! 

Finally, I popped into Charmaine's Past and Present - they carry furniture, paintings, household décor and often interesting jewelry. 

These gorgeous gold-tone clip-ons made my heart sing! Not bad for $8.00. 

The deal was sealed when I saw "Vendome" on the clip. 

I know that's the high-end line of Coro - it was produced between 1944 and 1979, so this is from somewhere in there. That plastic ball used to be part of a squishy pad but it's gone hard from age (I plan on removing it). I'd guess these are from the 70s. 

Vizzini, I'm home! Did you miss me?

"Nope."

Oh, come on, give me some love. I missed you! 

"Very well, you may pat me."

Heh heh, smell my finger.

"Do you min--- you had eggs for breakfast, didn't you?"

It's time for me to check out for the long weekend, my friends! Have a good one - I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure (and we actually have plans!).