Mom-Day Adventure: Westsong Walkway Return, and a Wee Shop

Welcome back, my friends! I chose not to post on Thursday, as L had been traveling for work all week and got home shortly after I did - plus my team was playing in the NFL game that night (we won! go, Panthers!). And with Friday being Remembrance Day, and generally a quiet, contemplative kind of day, it was more optimal for me to take my time and remember my day with Mom. 

Oh, and I also had a wee shop on the way home, which comes as a shock to absolutely no one. Heh.

It was a chilly and overcast day, but fortunately without rain or wind. 

Mom-Daughter selfie! Mom and I walked a stretch of the Westsong Walkway again, last visited here in March.

But let's back this up a titch for the outfit. 

I do plan on digging out my winter coats - really! - but...not today. Instead, I layered up and wore one of my favourite "it's not really outerwear, but let's wear it anyway" coats. 

• Coat - Desigual, 2011; last worn here in March, over PANK
• Sweater - Dusia for Gibson's, vintage 70s, thrifted; first seen here in March with roses
• Trousers - Jacques Vert, thrifted; purchased here for $19.95
• Boots - BCBG Max Azria; last worn here in September with a jammy dress

The casual look, unbuttoned.

It was too cold to actually ever wear it like this, but you can get a good idea of the outfit. 

The back of the coat is gorgeous.

I had a few comments from other walkers on it. 

Masked up. 

Worn at the pub after our walk, and on the bus home. 

Without the coat.

Skinny trousers feel weird to me, now that we are in the era of Boss Pants.

They look...odd to my eyes now, kind of like when skinny jeans came back around in the late 00s after an absence of several years. 

How to get your pants to stay tucked into boots? 

You pull your trouser socks (these ones are tight-weight and fleece-lined) up over the pants! 

Ta-dah! 

All done up.

I actually did up the top two buttons on the collar for our walk, which makes it stand up right under my chin. 

Gloves, check. 

Scarf, check. Purse, check. 

What am I missing? 

Oh, yeah, my ear-muffs! They pinched my ears as I had clip-ons on - I ended up looping them over my purse most of the time. 

Accoutrements:

Both the gloves and the silk scarf are new-to-me items. 

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted
• Suede gloves - thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Silk scarf - thrifted; purchased here for $3.95
• Mask - by Mom
• Fur ear-muffs - Michael Kors, consignment

The stuff: 

Comfy boots - good for walking and for keeping my legs extra warm. 

Copper bling: 

This is the first wearing of the squash blossom copper/turquoise brooch. 

• Cuff - Bell Trading Post, vintage 60s, consignment, Powell River
• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Brooch - Bell Trading Post, vintage 60s, vintage mall; purchased here for $10.00
• Big ring - consignment
• Small ring - vintage, Grandma J's
• Earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
• Necklace - Bell Trading Post, vintage 60s, consignment. 

I ended up removing the big copper ring before I left the house (didn't fit in the gloves, arg), and while I was shopping, I stashed both bracelets and the brooch in my purse. Did you notice the four knots in the necklace chain? I wanted it to be shorter for this outfit.  

Onto our adventure! 

Here's Mom, resplendent in her hot pink leather blazer (thrifted by me) and tonally-perfect light pink sweater. Love the wide-wale cords! 

We parked on the Esquimalt (ask-WHY-malt) end and walked along the boardwalk and path.

The ocean/harbour was on our right for most of the walk - I took the majority of our pics on the "out" trip, as we our stomachs were rumbling on the way back and we were ready for lunch. 

Loads of house-boats and pleasure craft at this small harbour. 

In the near distance is our Coast Guard, hotels and some tall apartment buildings in the James Bay neighbourhood. 

A gorgeous arbutus tree, towering over us. 

The bark is peeling. 

We're right on the water.

The tide was high. 

Such a pretty boardwalk. 

There were a lot of people out, walking dogs or taking a lunch-break. 

Garry Oaks hanging over the water. 

Despite our recent snow, most of the trees haven't lost their leaves yet. 

Zooming in on the horizon. 

A rocky point on the right, the Olympic Mountain range in the US in the far distance, and the breakwater on the left. 

More arbutus trees.

I love twisty trees. 

A glimpse of more houseboats and boats on the far side of this bay.

So pretty. 

With the recent storms, there was quite a bit of kelp and driftwood washed up.

You can walk right down there (but we didn't). 

A deep zoom of the far horizon. What a clear day! 

The glimmers of reflected light is the town of Port Angeles in Washington State, USA.

Coming up to another point, we could see more of the condos and apartment on the other side of the harbour. 

We followed this path....

...to the bridge over the next inlet.

Good form, Mom! 

This is a sheltered bay.

Do you see the gazebo on the far side?

This chunk of wood had tons of barnacles on it. 

The water was really clear - we could see the sandy bottom. 

Another peek at the gazebo. 

The leaves on these trees are barely turning yellow. 

Another zoom of the distant mountains.

I can see they got some snow too! 

A group of three young crows followed us for a while. 

Hello, handsome. 

As we came into the bay, more of the inner harbour was revealed. 

More hotels. 

Squirrel! 

This fat little one kept a close eye on us. 

Gazebo! 

The long strip in the middle is the breakwater and cruise-ship docks. I was glad there weren't any there - they dominate the horizon. 

Stairs leading down to the water. 

The seagull on the island was keeping an eye on us. 

Mom wanted me to take a picture of this view. 

The lighthouse on the left is at the end of the breakwater; the other structures are guides for boats and planes landing. 

Here are our crow friends, digging in the kelp and seaweed for food.

There were several long "whips" of bull-kelp. 

A helicopter is landing. 

It's a busy harbour. 

Not the first seaplane that landed while we walked. 

Several took off as well. 

Good ol' Harbour Air. 

My favourite way to get to Vancouver. 

The tiny harbour ferry (see it?) is dwarfed by the Coast Guard vessels. 

Remember when Mom and I did a tour back here in April? 

Time to turn around. 

We can't quite see the inner harbour from here. 

Coming back towards the gazebo.

One of the lower apartments/condos along the waterfront. It's boomed in recent years with ginormous condos. 

We were both awed by the magnificent display of colour on these trees.

You can see that there are barely any leaves on the ground. 

We rested for a while and chatted on one of these benches. 

Not the one with the arbutus tree hanging overhead. "I don't want to bonk my head," quipped Mom. 

Coming back over the bridge. 

I was enamoured by the pretty black and white ducks. 

DUCKS! 

More boardwalk.

We're nearly back to the car.

This gorgeously restored vintage truck was in the parking lot. 

I love it! 

We had lunch at Spinnakers Brewpub.

Mom drove home from there and I walked to town. 

I may have stopped in at Flavour Upstairs...

This lovely silk blend tee caught my eye. 

A great periwinkle blue. 

Love the ragged/raw edges. 

Ooh, I know this brand! The address is for their store in the Meatpacking District in New York City.

Pointing out here that this is made in the USA - look at the beautiful seams. *swoon*

Rag & Bone, Store Exclusive. So we know it was actually sold in NYC. 

For me, $24.99 - this retailed for $180.00 (link here, 'cause I love, as always!). I've stashed this away until summer.

I knew this skirt was a gem as soon as I saw it. 

High waist, long pencil, great colour - POCKETS!

The waistband has really nice belt-loop detail. 

Echoed in the button tab at the top of the walking slit. 

And it's wide-wale corduroy! 

I can't wait to wear this! 

Oh, I do not know this language.

But I'm guessing that "pamuk" means cotton. Nice to see it's washable - those symbols are an international language! 

It's fully lined, and has two loops on the sides for supporting the weight of the garment. Those are always marks of quality.

The tag says "Suvremena Zena" which is a Croatian lifestyle site/blog. The site doesn't seem to sell clothing, so I suspect this is not actually that brand, but an older brand that's gone out of business. "Suvremena Zena" means "modern woman" in Croatian. However, I am happy with $22.99. Felt like a good deal! 

From there, I wandered up to the big WIN (Women In Need) store for a quick poke around. 

This skirt finally got marked down to 50% off - I've seen it a few times and been tempted, but have learned my lesson on "regular" (non-vintage) clothes there. They tend to stick around, and get reduced. 

Great organza fabric.

The colours are dominantly brown, with a touch of pink and lavender. 

It's by Talbots, and that's pure silk organza on the outside. The lining is polyester.

For $11.50, it was mine! I'll make a fall outfit with it, but it's going into the spring/summer collection after that. 

I did well in the accessories department.

I found a set! I'm sure they weren't originally meant to go together, but the brown stretchy velvet gloves went so perfectly with the ruffled velvet scarf, I'll likely always wear them together. 

The gloves are by Principles, which was a popular accessories line in the 90s/early 00s carried by the Hudson's Bay Company.

At $3.95, such a bargain! I'm sure they would have been around $20 back in the day. 

The scarf is totally of the same era - that iridescent blue/beige ruffled fabric is a dead giveaway, being a classic colour of the era.  

One side of it is a spotty leopard-ish pattern and the other side is brown velvet. No tags on it, but $3.95 felt like a deal. Less than $8.00 for this set! 

I also found a pair of plain black leather gloves. Not that I need more black leather gloves, but I couldn't resist. 

They are in gorgeous, nearly unworn condition. My leather gloves get stretched out and worn very quickly.

They're by Lord & Taylor (also carried at the Bay), and are lined in faux fur (very cosy). 

These retailed for $175.00. Like I was going to leave them behind at $12.95! 

This plummy purple fedora caught my eye. 

Great colour! And it fit snugly on my head, unlike my black fedora (which Mom didn't want after all).

Love the suede hatband and bronze buckle. 

This replaces my black fedora (it's in the giveaway pile), since I already have another black hat I love (this Delux one seen here). 

Club Monaco - so we know it was expensive! It's 100% wool, and made in Italy! 

Cheaper versions on their current site are $119.00. I bet this was at least $150.00 new - not bad for $12.95!

I bused home, happy and content. Spending time with Mom is such a balm for my soul. 

Love you, Mom! 

And now, my fine friends, fellow bloggers and readers, I'm off to chill out on my long weekend. Thank you all so much for visiting!