Weekend Wrap-Up: Spaced Out; Winesday Clothing Giveaway and Regret-Me-Nots; Cat Pictures

Welcome back, my friends! I hope all is well in your world, and the sun is shining. I had a quiet weekend, but hosted my annual clothing giveaway for Winesday, so that took up a lot of my energy. We also had a very hot weekend - highs of 22 degrees! - which resulted in much cat-flopping. 

First up, my Friday work outfit. 

I had to finish up my physical tasks, so dressed accordingly - with a theme! 

• Jacket - Prosperity, consignment; last worn here in October 2022 with emojis and Boss Pants
• Sparkly tee - Ted Baker, consignment; last seen here in January with purple and grey
• Pants - Versace, vintage 80s, heavily altered, thrifted; purchased here for $19.95
• Shoes - Converse, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) in December 2022 with a big red ballgown for my company holiday party

I can't resist a theme - I had loads of sparkle going on. I'm spaced out! 

This jacket is not Adidas, although it has three white stripes on the back (the sleeves have only 2). 

I love all the constellations and planets! My coworkers appreciated exploring it. 

I wanted to test out these new-to-me trousers and realized a couple of things as I wore them. 

One: They've been altered to remove a high waistband! That's why nothing's in the right place, and there are no belt-loops or a proper closure in front. 

I can imagine the previous owner taking them to her tailor to remove that Oh-So-80s high waist and drop it down to a more comfy hip-waist for the 90s. 

"Don't forget to move that big Medusa patch to where I can see it!" said she. 

Two: The other thing I realized is that these aren't super-flattering on me. I might switch them to around-the-house pants. 

Ready for the public! 

I walked to and from work in this - I wore the jacket unzipped on the way home as it was so warm out. 

The stuff: 

I didn't wear tall enough socks with these sparkly leopard Converse, so they bit into the sides of my ankles at the top. Grrr...these are not terribly comfortable shoes for walking, either. I have my eye on you, Converse! 

Starman bling: 

My David Bowie pin was on the jacket in a field of stars. I had Bowie tunes running through my head all day. 

• Silicone bracelet - Materia Design, thrifted
• Orange bangle - consignment, Sidney
• Bowie pin - vintage pop-up
• Wooden earrings - consignment, Sidney
• Silver/malachite ring - consignment
• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Steel/Lucite ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted

People loved the lightning bolt earrings - they're made of balsa wood! So light! 

In the morning while I was getting ready, someone was getting some cuddle time. 

"Looks like you'll have to stay home, Man."

L had to travel for work on Friday, so we got a few minutes of extra time together.

Of course, I spent it grabbing at the cat. 

"You have your priorities straight, Woman."

After work on Friday I had a browse through Star Vintage, a collective of curated vintage. It's very hit-and-miss and full of ugly 90s clothes.  

I spotted this on a rack out front - it's a semi-sheer top with striped, ruched cuffs and neck. 

The brand is...

Ren...

...oma Sports. I've never heard of this brand, but they started in France and had some fame with iconic jackets (a good history here from their site, all links 'cause I love). 

There's no other tags aside from that. Does 95 refer to the year? No clue.

It does have a very 90s vibe, and I intend to wear it as a layering piece in my "Sporty" looks.

For $10, it was too good to pass up. 

After taking pics of my find, I looked around the house for my missing furry fam. I discovered Vizzini in one of his favourite warm-weather snoozing spots on the deck, enjoying the hot evening.

"Oh, you were gone?"

This chair gets sun for 2-4 hours. 

"I'm trying to sleep here."

Once I started making dinner, he came to investigate.

"Do I smell tuna?"

You sure don't, bud. I had a veggie stir-fry.

Vizzini and I chilled out together on Friday evening, binge-watching "1899" on Netflix (it's intriguing, but I'm not finished yet, so reserving judgment) and eating chocolate.

"Oh, good, you found me."

I slept in on Saturday morning, made coffee and wandered around the house, looking for Vizz and getting ready for my Winesday hosting that evening. 

"You mean there will be people here?"

Correct! I had 11 or 12 of the Winesday Women over, and the last left at 3am! 

"That means crumbs on the carpet for me!"

I set the mood and cleared off all the surfaces. 

I opened the bookcase (yes, I have a secret door!) to get at the Giveaway Pile in the library. 

This is the library, and it's also where my dress/gown collection lives, where I store my mink, and where I keep my clothing archives (things I don't want to give up). 

I spy a lot of big bags! 

I hauled them all out. 

Woo, that's a lot! 

I get asked frequently, "NOOOOO...X,Y and Z are so awesome! Why are you getting rid of those??"

• I can do what I want with my clothes, thanks. 
• I don't love it.
• It doesn't fit.
• The colour/style/vibe doesn't suit me.
• If I want to keep shopping (and I do!), I have to always be clearing clothes out of my closet. I don't have infinite space. 
• It feels good to match up these good quality clothes with owners who love them and feel amazing in them. 

I went through all of the bags, and started sorting - I removed the cat tunnel and scratching post once people arrived. 

I numbered all of the piles from left to right: 

1. Hats, scarves, gloves, socks, tights
2. Dresses
3. Tops/blouses
4. Sweaters/cardigans
5. Trousers/pants
6. Weird stuff (workout wear, shorts, onesies)
7. Blazers and jackets
8. More jackets
9. Coats
10. Odds and ends (make-up, headphones, L's old ties)
11. Jewelry
12. Skirts

I also had a shoe pile over near the deck/TV - only a few people wear my size (between 9 and 10 US/CAN or 40 Euro sizing), but that didn't stop my friends from snagging a snug pair here or an "I can wear thick socks/insoles with these!" impulse grab. Cat always does best, as she wears a half size smaller than me - she took 4 pairs home. 

As I sorted, I took a good look at everything - a few things that were moth-riddled were binned (sigh). I have to make sure that I'm okay with letting go of all this stuff. No regret-me-nots! 

I took these One by Simonsen trousers back (last worn here in May 2022). They fit great, perfect length. They don't go with a ton (they are pink and burgundy) but I have recently gotten a burgundy sweater/duster/cardi that would go well with them. 

I also took this Kersh lavender wrap cotton cardigan back. 

It goes with a mix of things in my closet and is a great cover-up from the sun. I last wore it here in July 2022.

And then, I got ready for Winesday. I decided to make a bit of an effort and put a dress on. I even put on a lick of make-up.

This cotton (lined in polyester satin) dress was perfect for the warm evening.  

• Dress - Jones New York, thrifted; purchased here for $14.95
• Socks - thrifted; purchased here for $1.95

I threw on a belt and some jewelry, and my new sparkly socks and I was good to go. 

I love the big full skirt. 

This dress hits my sweet spot of feminine but not too girly.

It really needs a belt to look right. Wouldn't a yellow one be fun with this? 

Much swooshiness! 

I flipped the socks' cuffs down to show my "Flower Power."

The stuff: 

No shoes! 

• Aluminum belt - vintage fair
• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Silver earrings - Israel, consignment
• Silver/amber ring - vintage mall
• Shield ring - Nine West
• Mesh cuff - Stella & Dot, consignment

My lovely Winesday Women also brought clothes for giveaway. Every so often when I let go of something, I attach strings to it - "If you ever decide you don't want this anymore, give it back to me."

And so the Kim Cattrall Suit has come back to me from Yvonne - I last wore it here in October 2015 for my birthday! It's tight on me, so is in the fall/winter stash, until it optimistically fits/is archived.

As people went through things, I also found myself grabbing and trying on a piece here and there. 

I took this picnic plaid navy/white skirt by Banana Republic back - it was last worn here (2nd outfit) in June 2020, a few days before Karen died, in the early days of the pandemic. I think this was returned by one of the Women (Jean?), as I'd definitely passed it along in a previous swap.

I also grabbed this blouse back from Vero, who returned it after picking it up at my previous Winesday Giveaway last year.

It's a cropped wrap-around top by Urban Outfitters and looks really good in my winter wardrobe, although I'll likely style it up for spring/summer to make sure I really want to keep it. I last wore it here in February 2022 and noted then that the fabric wasn't great quality. 

The only item that I took that was brought by someone else were these good quality "Cozies" tights.

You can't go wrong with black tights. 

We did so much trying on, in between eating 3 different salads, 2 batches of devilled eggs (my favourite!), turkey wonton packets with dip, pizza, and enjoying veggies/dip, homemade cake AND rhubarb flan, chocolate, nuts, chips...we were stuffed! L and I will be enjoying the leftovers.

And as always, laughter, tears, hilarity, support, hugs and smooches. I'm always restored after a Winesday. On Sunday morning, I faced the much-depleted Giveaway Pile. 

I'll be packing it up and taking it to the office to give away to my coworkers - whatever's left will be donated back to charity. 

And now, off to create outfits for the coming week. Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Mom-Day Adventure: Glendale Trail and StoryWork in Olive Swoosh, Plus a Wee Shop

Hello, my friends! Mom and I got together today and went for a walk in her neighbourhood along the Glendale Trails, had lunch, then worked on her StoryWorth book for a couple of hours. I bussed to town, had a whirlwind breeze through the big WIN store, and then bussed home. 

I'm exhausted! But I wasn't this morning, when Mom picked me up. 

It was 15 degrees already! Loving Mom's sailor striped top, and her necklace which is cloisonné plumeria flowers strung with sandalwood beads, bought in Hawaii in 1977, I think.

But first, my outfit!  

I knew I would be cold at some point, so I layered up and featured this new-to-me olive swooshy skirt for the first time. 

• Jacket - Smoking Lily; last worn here in September 2022 for our trip to Powell River
• Bodysuit - Escada by Margaretha Ley, vintage 90s, thrifted; last seen here in March for a concert
• Skirt - Eucalyptus, thrifted; purchased here for $7.95
• Shoes - Down to Earth Hadfield, Fluevog; last seen worn here in July 2022 with sailor pants

This is how I looked most of the day. 

I flipped the cuffs up on this jacket to let the red sleeves peek out and so that my gold bracelets would show. 

I love the generous pockets. 

I believe Smoking Lily only made one run of these (4 sizes, 1 of each) in this fabric, which is a stretchy denim-weight cotton that's been brushed with silver to make it shiny. 

The skirt has a half-lining, to the knee, but as I was wearing nylons (it's too cold for bare legs!), I also wore a vintage slip underneath to prevent cotton cling on my legs.

I repaired the small rip - so well I can't find it! - and gave it a good steaming in the morning. 

It makes me happy! 

So swooshy! 

I feel like dancing! 

Swoosh, swoosh! 

Rich pops of red and orange. 

It was a gloriously sunny and warmer day, but yes, I was cold! 

Accoutrements: 

Well, that bag just works perfectly! 

• Purse - thrifted, customized by me
• Silk scarf - Ralph Lauren, consignment
• Leather gloves - consignment

A reminder...

Always carry love in your heart. 

The stuff: 

I have had these shoes for nearly 10 years - they're super-comfy. They're men's Fluevogs, bought in a local menswear boutique where L buys his suits. 

Gold bling: 

Three of these pieces used to belong to Mom - I like to see if she notices them all (she does). 

• Belt - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Gold Brutalist cuff - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, vintage mall, gift from L
• Flat cuff - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Brutalist brass ring - vintage 70s, vintage mall
• Coral/olivine ring - Hawaii, vintage 70s, Mom's
• Earrings - vintage mall
• Fur rose - thrifted
• Necklace - Robert Larin, vintage 70s, gift from L

And now, pictures of our day. I had to check out Mom's studio and see what she's been working on. 

She's been tidying up and getting rid of things, giving herself a better workspace. I like seeing all of her paintings. 

This ink/water colour is a view from the Malahat, looking south towards Victoria.

It's from a photo that my Grandad (her dad) took. Aw! 

I spied Rodney watching us from outside through the patio door. 

He looked disapproving. Perhaps he was hoping Mom would give him a brush - he needs it! 

We had an inspection of the garden. 

Lovely tulips, the last of the daffodils and narcissus, some dandelions. 

Egad, your rhubarb is enormous, Mom! 

Better stew some up! 

Now that all had been reviewed in and around the house, we walked up to the end of the street, where a connector path takes you right into the wilderness. 

There are parks and trails all behind here. 

We followed this meandering path that lead us slowly uphill. 

The air was full of birds chirping and singing. 

I like that stark looking tree. 

I also see some sort of building behind the trees there. 

I must take another pic. 

So cool. 

Ah, there were two building hiding here. 

This is PiSE, the Pacific Institute for Sport Education (about them here, all links 'cause I love). 

We continued past that, following the path along the side of the hill. 

We didn't see anyone until noon. 

"Lunchtime walkers," Mom nodded. 

We could see a bit of Mount Tolmie in the distance. Mom's house is below to the left. 

As we got a bit further along, I realized you could see downtown! We have a view of that really tall apartment building from our condo - I like that Mom and I have a connecter building when we look out. 

Can you see the mountains? They're hovering in the far distance, and you can just glimpse the snow-caps on them. That's the USA, Washington State. 

The paths wended their way past and between the softball pitches and soccer fields of Layritz Park. 

I like the two benches on the left where you can overlook the field. Mom likes to walk up here and get a burger and a Twizzler (licorice) when the season starts. 

Looking up the hill on the other side. 

It's quite wild. Mom saw a garter snake sunning on the path, but I missed it. 

I loved this plane's contrails as it zoomed south from the Victoria airport. 

We also saw harbour planes go overhead - I knew this area was on the flight path, as I've looked for Mom's house when we've flown over. 

More twisty Gary Oaks. 

Things are bursting into green. 

We came to a junction where we could see the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (aka the Centre of the Universe). Just to the right of that is Elk and Beaver Lake Park. 

The buildings straight ahead is the Vancouver Island Technical Park, a division of the University of Victoria (about them here) - Victoria and Vancouver are huge hubs for the tech industry. 

Ooh, a sign, tell me more! 

This is one of many Centennial Trails in Saanich (link here). 

The red and yellow lines on the map are all the trails that connect across the lower island. 

The blue arrows are all places Mom and I have gone to! Clockwise from lower left: Colquitz Creek, Glendale Trail (today!), the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific, Elk/Beaver Lake, the Royal Oak Burial Park, the Lochside Trail (near Mattick's Farm), Rithet's Bog, and Blenkinsop Lake. Wow, we've been to a lot of places! 

We both admired this beautiful mural of a falcon, dragonfly and swallow. 

I like that their realistic representations are echoed by the spiritual First Nations interpretations. 

And no surprise, two different artists did them! 

Jesse Campbell did the airbrushed realistic parts, and Chazz Elliott of the Tsartlip First Nation did the spirit parts. Story about it here. I love seeing local artists contributing to public spaces. 

Time to meander back to Mom's house. 

My tummy's rumbling - I need food! 

What a pretty path. 

I like the sprinkling of daisies in the grass. 

Ah, we have come around and can see the two benches from this side. 

Such a lovely area - and I've never walked up here before. 

This red-winged blackbird was trilling for us.

Caught you! 

This section along the path is being restored back to its natural habitat. 

The camas plants (those tall grassy-looking bits on the left) are thick on the ground here (about them here) - they are native to this part of the world, and some areas still have vast fields of them. They are a sea of blue when in bloom. 

A robin! 

He was watching us carefully. We also saw swallows swooping around Mom's garage, where she mounted two nesting tubes - we saw wee babies waiting to be fed! 

Lunchtime! We had bagels and cream cheese, with veggies. Yum. 

I wanted Gram's needlepoint picture in this shot, plus a pic of Gram & Grandad, and Mom's Aunt Lil on the left. Check out the gorgeous Art Deco glass-fronted cabinet, a wedding gift from her mum's bosses at Spencer's department store (link here - I remember it only as Eaton's!) in the mid-late 1930s. 

Mom and I worked on her StoryWorth book - I bought her a subscription at the start of the pandemic, renewed it twice, and Mom has written nearly 70 stories about her life, her family and friends. It's a massive undertaking, and it's time for us to wrap it up, so we can print up copies. Link about StoryWorth here, and I can't recommend it enough. Save your stories! 

We spent close to 2 hours adding photos (you can see her parents' wedding photo onscreen behind us), but there's still lots of work ahead. 

We're doing it, Mom! This is going to be so awesome when it's done! 

Time for me to head home. 

I spotted this greedy little bird ransacking these pinecones for seeds. 

And I see a sheep under that tree! 

And...it sees me! Eek! 

I limited myself to 20 minutes in the big WIN store when I got to town - they were closing soon. 

I can still do a bit of damage, heh heh. I grabbed a pack of plus-side knee highs (I figure they won't be as constricting) for $2.95, a fraction of the price of new. 

And I loved these sparkly "Flower Power" socks. 

Only $1.95! 

I spied another Smoking Lily obi in with the scarves. 

Ooh, I like the blue on lilac - that side is silk. The other fabric is cotton and matches the cuffs on my jacket, how coincidental. It was a mere $2.95 - and I know these sold for $79.00 new. 

I did well in the scarf section overall. Purple print scarves are surprisingly rare. 

Groovy pattern. The colours are purple, lavender, taupe, black, rust, burgundy and red, with lines of white. 

It's by Vera Neumann. 

This design is probably from the 1970s. 

It doesn't have a content tag, but the good folks of WIN have figured it out. 

It's silk - therefore $12.95. 

I also grabbed this one - those colours are so rare in scarves! 

That yellow! That blue! The olive green and warm orange! 

It's another Vera, this one is from the 1960s. 

I'm swooning over the handrolled edges. 

I guess if it's not 100% silk, they price it cheaper. 

This one was only $3.95! I like this scarf better, so go figure. 

I love this small square rainbow-ish scarf. 

So pretty! Is that a faint signature I see? 

Wow, it's really faint. 

Kenz...something? 

It's got a tag! Hooray! 

XIIX Karat is the manufacturer of the scarf. 

But the design is Kenzo! That's vintage Kenzo Takada and this is probably from the 1980s.

For only $8.95, what a score! Silk scarves by Kenzo sell for $155 new, and vintage ones go up to $400+. 

I took a chance on this blouse because I loved the pattern and style. 

It's a polyester (classic 80s fabric!) with scrolly black bits all over it. 

Did you see the neck ties? They are attached at the back of the collar, which is a stand-up mandarin style. 

Meant to be a large pussy bow, of course (so 80s), but the current modern look is to wear the ties loose. Ooh, look at me, barging in on a trend! 

It's by Evan-Picone and these blouses are very common both in thrift stores and online. About Chris Evans, the founder of the company here - I don't think I ever realized before that Evan-Picone isn't an actual person! 

That's a vintage size 16, which is a modern size 12 - it's still oversized on me, but I like my blouses to be...blouse-y. $12.95 is a good price. 

I also spotted these black velvet cropped pants and slung them over my arm. 

I hoped they would fit. And they do - perfectly! 

I like the jean cut. The legs are cropped and slightly flared - exactly what's on trend right now. Want to be trendy? Shop vintage/thrift! 

I spy a wee tag...

Escada Sport! 

I have good luck with Escada. 

This was a special item at WIN and originally was priced a lot higher:

It was originally tagged at $124.95, then marked down to $78.95, then to $38.95. I don't know where WIN got $700+ for their comparable price - I didn't see any velvet pants by them for more than $70.00.

That punch in the tag means it was also 50% off. 

So...$19.50. I also got $10 off my purchase in points, so let's call these $9.50, shall we? 

And now, time to sign off for the weekend, my friends! 

I hope you all have a fabulous few days - and please pop in and visit on Sunday, where I will regale you with tales of adventure! Thanks for stopping by!