Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Spacy Dress Friday; Double Arola Wednesday Brunch; Cat Pictures; and Sunday Stroll at the Gorge Waterway

Another weekend over already? This is outrageous! 

However, I have outfits to share and oh, so many pictures, so fret not, dear friends. Grab a cup, and settle in! 

Kicking it off, here's what I wore to work on Friday. 

I haven't worn this dress in well over a year - it's been a procrastination dress, as I wasn't sure it would still fit. 

• Top - Jean-Paul Gaultier, vintage 90s, consignment; last seen here in March 2022 for a Mental Health Shop
• Leather dress - Truly for Part Two; last worn here in October 2021! with rainy reds
• Floofy underskirt - Noa Noa; last seen here in August 2020
• Shoes - Gadea, consignment; last worn here (2nd outfit) in May 2022 with a giant pleated skirt
• Coat (below) - Halston, vintage 70s, consignment, Sidney; last seen here in January

It's a leather dress (really!) so it has zero stretch. I was relieved - phew. 

It was cold and rainy AND windy today (most annoying) so I layered up. 

My Gaultier vintage mesh top's circle patterns always read as very "spacey" to me. 

I have a camisole on under it as well (the top is completely sheer). 

I also have a sheer navy blue mesh "floofy underskirt" on the bottom half. 

It helps that front slit to feel less precarious. 

Masked up. 

It was a busy day - I barely left my desk. 

Outerwear. 

I got caught in a downpour on the way home, and quickly tied my scarf around my head. 

Accoutrements: 

Silk scarves are fantastic in the rain! 

• Scarf - Pierre Cardin Jeunesse, vintage 80s, consignment
• Gloves - Parkhurst
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff:

I love the sparkly blue of these shoes, although I don't wear them all that often. 

Spacey bling: 

My Star Trek communicator is magnetic - it works well on the leather dress. 

• Belt - Suzi Roher, thrifted
• Crystal heart cuff - Juicy Couture, consignment
• Hinged crystal cuff - Swarovski, consignment, gift from L
• Star Trek badge - MoPop gift shop, Seattle
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neumann, Sweden, vintage mall
• Silver/Kyanite ring - consignment
• Earrings - vintage fair

The earrings always remind me of moons and stars. 

L and I had a quiet Friday night, playing board games and listening to music - my favourite thing to do, ever! I slept in a bit on Saturday morning, but roused/coffee'd myself to meet up with Nick for brunch at the Ruby.

We missed Nick last weekend, as he went to Vancouver to visit pals Spence and Kim. Nick retired a year ago, so every day is Wednesday to him (says he). 

• Leather shirt - Danier, thrifted; last worn here in December 2022 for a Beacon Hill Park Mom-Day
• Silk blouse - Bird by Juicy Couture, thrifted; last seen here in September 2022 with my pink Boss Lady pants
• Skirt - Arola, vintage, thrifted; first worn here (3rd outfit) last weekend in January with grey and steel blue
• Shoes - Classy Nora, Fluevog; first seen here last week in January with Boss Lady pants
• Cape (below) Arola by Pirkko Maki, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here in January

I am also halfway through watching the Netflix show "Wednesday" based on the Addams Family character (thanks to Senora Allnut for the recommendation!). It's a fun series - great outfits/costuming.

I've always been a fan of "soft Goth" as a style so this felt like a Wednesday Addams-adjacent outfit. 

Sneaking in another wearing of this wonderful Arola Finnish skirt in less than a week! 

I layered my leather-fronted Danier tee over the silk ruffled blouse, and added a spider brooch at the neck.

I enjoyed this outfit. 

It suited the day, which was grey with bits of blue sky. 

Masked up.

After brunch, L and I did our weekly grocery shop and ran a few errands downtown. 

This is how most people saw me. 

Double Arola! This cape is older than the skirt - and is designed by Pirkko Maki (the skirt is just generic Arola).

Incognito. It wasn't bright enough to wear my sunnies for long, sadly. 

This is a gorgeous boucle (boo-CLAY, darlings!) wool cape. No pockets in this entire outfit, though, grrr. 

Accoutrements: 

My purse was layered under the cape - it's the only way to wear a cross-body bag with a cape. 

• Purse - Rebecca Minkoff, thrifted
• Leather/wool gloves - vintage, thrifted
• Silk scarf - Bill Blass, vintage, thrifted
• Mask - by Mom

The stuff: 

I wanted to get another wearing in of these shoes with a skirt - no time like the present! They are very Goth-y - I am sure Wednesday would approve. 

Spider bling: 

Three different spiders! 

• Spider brooch - vintage mall, gift from L
• Snake ring - BC Museum Gift Shop, c. 1986
• Snake ring - 1986, gift from Mom & Dad
• Silver/Kyanite ring - consignment
• Spider earrings - gift from Cindy

L and I enjoyed a chill afternoon of reading, music and snuggles with Vizzini, followed by an evening of Arkham Horror. 

"Horror, you say?"

Vizzini loves to watch us when he thinks we're not looking. 

"I am very stealthy."

I do believe it may be kitty treat time! 

"Finally! You read my mind."

He's very happy once he's had his treats. 

"I am satisfied...for now."

He is always on alert for any dropped food, naughty boy. 

"Are you sure you don't want to have some popcorn, Woman?"

I had sour gummies instead. 

As there is no NFL football this weekend, L and I had our Sunday free. Instead of whiling it away with television, we decided to have an Outing! L's been wanting to check out some of the places that Mom and I have gone on our Adventure Days, so we picked the Gorge Waterway Park, where L has never been. 

Wasn't too sure about the weather, so layered up. 

• Jacket - Anthracite, consignment; first worn here in November 2022 with orange corduroy
• Sweater - Bartolini, consignment; last seen here in November 2022 for a Mom-Day visit to Government House
• Skirt - Arola by Pirkko Maki, vintage 70s, consignment; last worn here in February 2022 for a Mom-Day Adventure at Willows Beach
• Boots - Matisse, consignment; last seen here in November 2022 with a favourite Jammy Dress
• Eclipse Coat (below) - Welsh, consignment; last worn here in January 

I didn't realize Vizzini had escaped into the hallway when I left to do my stair pic. 

"It's all so exciting!"

Get back inside, you bad boy! 

As well as styling this amazing Arola skirt for the first time this season, I also snuck in another wearing of this new-ish jacket. 

The blues in the pattern encouraged me to wear all my copper and turquoise jewelry, including a brooch on the jacket.

That's a pretty good match, isn't it?

Not that anyone saw this...I never took my coat off. 

Without the jacket. 

I love this skirt, but I can't take big strides in it. 

Outerwear - all bundled up. This is how I looked "in the wild."

I knew I could tie my scarf over my head if rain started up, but we were really lucky to have calm but cool weather.

Accoutrements: 

Didn't need a purse, but I carry one anyway. 

• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Scarf - Lanvin, vintage 70s, consignment
• Gloves - vintage 90s, thrifted

The stuff: 

I have boots that match the outfit better, but I have learned that any kind of buckle or zipper near the hem will rip the boucle loops right off the skirt. These tall boots are good for walking. 

Copper bling: 

Sadly, the squash blossom brooch that I had on my jacket, under the coat, fell off somewhere on our walk! I am sad about it, but we covered a lot of ground in our 2-hour outing, so I hope someone finds it and gives a good home. 

• Cuff w/enamel - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, vintage expo
• Squash blossom cuff - Bell Trading Post, vintage 50s, consignment, Powell River
• Brooch - Bell Trading Post, vintage 50s, thrifted
• Enameled earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
• Copper ring - consignment
• Spinner ring - Twang & Pearl
• Necklace - Bell Trading Post, vintage 50s, consignment

My necklace is a twin of Vix's (here). I love that it has a twin all the way over in the UK.

I last visited the Gorge Waterway Park here in August 2022 with Mom, when we walked the opposite side of the Japanese Gardens. We last did the Gardens here in September 2022 for the 25th anniversary of my dad's death. 

So...I won't bore you too much with repeat pics, but I did take a bunch of pictures (shocking, I know!). 

I liked how all these mallards were showing off for the lady in the middle. Must be mating season! 

We parked near the pavilion and walked back to the Nature House (closed), then along the walkway towards the bridge. 

Some sort of event was going on at the Boating House across the water - see the white canoe? There was a crowd of people there, and at one point the canoe tipped over! I think they were practicing righting themselves as none of the people on the dock seemed overly concerned. 

A tiny hummingbird alit on a tree directly above our heads. 

It sat there, chirping at us until we moved along. 

L, look at that cool tree! 

"You mean THIS TREE?"

Silly man! 

I took L the same route that Mom and I have gone on previous visits, but we walked much further. 

The tide was very high when we arrived (this is an arm of the Pacific Ocean), but was starting to reverse. 

We could see eddies of water under the Gorge Bridge, but we weren't timed right to see the reversing falls. 

We walked under the bridge. 

An area is all fenced off - this is an ancient shell midden. 

There's a slap of concrete on top of it, from previous iterations of the bridge over the past century. 

This note isn't "official" (not done by a government or other authoritative body). 

It says: 

Ancient Site

During the time of the building of the Great Pyramids of Egypt  native people were living at this location. this is what archaeologists call a shell midden. 

The ground is composed of ancient garbage. Fire altered rocks and charcoal left over from preparing food are mixed with shell remains from oyster, mussel, clams and crabs, the bones of fish, deer and seals; waste material from making stone tools; and a decorative artifact made of a type of stone traded from the Fraser River Canyon [on the BC mainland, south of Vancouver] were found here. 

A test excavation undertaken by archaeologists resulted in the dating of the deposits to over 4120 years ago. This is the oldest known archaeological site on southern Vancouver Island. Much of this site has been destroyed making it necessary to protest this remaining portion. 

Please do not dig here. These deposits are like rare books containing knowledge of a past era. If you tear out their pages they are lost forever. 

Looking across the water to the other side of the bridge. 

The water is really that blue-green! 

We followed the path up under the bridge and walked the sidewalk (alongside the car traffic) to the opposite side. 

Oh my gosh, see that dock? 

That's where I am here, in 1976-1977 (I'm 9 years old). 

And I have caught a bullhead! Don't I look thrilled? 

Downtown is way far down this way, to the right.

It was very peaceful aside from the traffic noise. 

On the other side. 

You can barely see some of the downtown buildings in the distance. 

This sign was near the dock. 

I have swum in the Gorge! It's lovely! 

Squirrel! 

We crossed back over and walked along the opposite side of the Gorge, away from town. 

What a view, looking north. 

You can just spy the red lampposts and walkway on the lower left. 

I was so happy to see these clumps of snowdrops! 

A sign of spring! 

Looking across the water to the Japanese Gardens. 

There were lots of ducks on the water, as well as a few canoeists. 

L trotted down some old moss-covered stairs. 

"More snowdrops!"

I had to come down and check out this area. 

Aw, so pretty. 

Some old remains of a wharf or dock. 

You can see the bridge in the background. 

I didn't know about this statue. 

It's fully in the round, with animals (fish and salmon) encircling her below, and a family of ducks under her hand on one side, and mussels/oysters on the other. 

It says: 

"Camossung"

Sculpted by Fred Dobbs, 2010

An ancient Songhees [local First Nation] story tells of a young girl named Camossung, turned to stone by Hayls the Transformer. Camossung is believed to have spirit powers and is associated with protecting the local food resources (Coho Salmon, Herring, Oysters and Ducks) of the Songhees people. The scuplture symbolizes the significance of the location. A unique place, where fresh and salt-water merge with each ebb and flow of the Gorge Waterway. A place where animals thrive, and historically, people sought food and a spiritual connection. The original sacred stone is located below the southern side of the Tillicum Bridge, viewable beneath the water at low tide. The Songhees people have participated  in this project in good faith and co-operation.

District of Saanich Public Art

We reached the dock where the crowd had been, but there was no one left. 

A lone seagull screeched at us. 

Across from the path are residential houses, some old (100+ years), some mid-century, some newer. 

One of them had a massive stone gargoyle! Hello! 

We walked for a while, then it was time to turn around. 

I can barely see the bridge in the distance. 

Crossing the bridge again, coming back to the park. 

We were just about done, but L had still not seen the Japanese Gardens. 

Such pretty views. 

There were a surprising number of people around. 

Pink blooms visible on a tree. 

The pavilion in the background. 

Looking down at the lily pond and the viewing dock/pergola.

I can almost see Vlad (our car) in the parking lot! 

And here we are at the bottom, looking back up at the small bridge. 

It's different here every season. 

The water trickled and splashed. 

So soothing. L really enjoyed our walk, although since he grew up in a rural area on the coast, his tastes run more to full wilderness. 

When we got home, I wandered around looking for Vizzini. 

"Home already?"

Whoa, buddy, what big teeth and whiskers you have! 

He slowly stretched and worked his way out of his house. 

"I'm an old kitty, stretching is required."

Oh, I get that, bud - me too! 

"Almost out..."

And now, must survey the neighbourhood. 

"No squirrels."

And here's our selfie! 

This was so fun! We'll have to do it again! 

I hope you enjoyed our weekend adventures, my friends! And now, off to chill with the few remaining hours.