Mom-Day Adventure at the Lochside Trail, in Blue and Gold (and a Wee Shop)

Welcome back, my friends! Mom and I returned to the Lochside Trail near Mattick's Farm, where we enjoyed a stroll in the just-barely-autumn weather, followed by lunch at Adrienne's Tea Room.

We first visited Mattick's Farm back here in September 2021 and last went there here in April 2022. 

I did my outfits pics in a hurry. 

We'd had to cancel our previous cleaning service visit two weeks ago (I'd had a summons for jury duty that ended up being canceled) so our house hadn't been cleaned in four weeks...and we only had one person today, so he took two hours (I tipped him double), which put me way behind on getting ready. 

• Top - April Cornell, vintage 90s, thrifted; purchased here for $12.95
• Skirt - Massimo Dutti, thrifted; last seen here in June with peak mustard
• Boots - Original Sabado, Fluevog; last worn here with my puzzle dress earlier this month
• Leather coat - Terry Lewis, thrifted; last seen here in April

This is the actual outfit, but as the weather was very mixed in the morning (rainy, cloudy, windy), I built my outfit around the coat. 

I looked like this while we had lunch. I trimmed all of the ragged edges from the hem of the top (tucked in here) and neck ruffles, and it looks so much better. 

I don't care about the missing button on the back - in a larger sense, aren't we all missing a button or two? 

The skirt is a lovely quality fabric, all woven. Fabric is easily the first thing that I look for in a garment. 

Open, and all casual. Big pockets in the skirt! 

The gold tights are a thrifted purchase, but I don't track them. Retail prices for hosiery are astronomical these days! 

Incognito. 

Shades of gold and pops of blue. Both coat and boots were admired while I was out and about. 

The stuff: 

Big blue boots! These were such a good purchase. 

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted
• Silk scarf - Echo, thrifted

Oops, missed my gloves - they were in the coat pockets. 

They're deer leather with poked-out designs - vintage. 

• Leather gloves - vintage 50s, thrifted

Blue and gold bling: 

I'd forgotten about this scarf - it kept me snuggly warm. 

• Belt - Danier Leather
• Eelskin bangle - vintage 80s, thrifted
• Gold bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
• Lapis lazuli/Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
• Earrings - Biko, consignment

We drove out the sports fields at Lochside trail. 

My niece Hannah used to play soccer here - Mom often came to watch her. 

Are you ready for a gentle stroll through west coast rainforest? 

Do you like tree canopy, dappled shadows and tunnels of inviting greenery? 

Well, do I have some pics for you! 

Trees! Pools of sun filtering through! 

Perhaps an alluring gate? 

That's someone's house, we're not going there. 

Ooh, so pretty! 

We welcomed the stretches where we had bright sunlight on our faces. 

Cloud Drama! 

This was a lovely warm bit. 

Time to turn back. 

We mostly had the trail to ourselves - there were very few people around. 

That's a very attractive tree, isn't it, Mom? 

Breathing in the musty smell of decomposing leaves. 

Listening to the branches rustle overhead in the breezes. 

It was very peaceful. 

More Cloud Drama.

Not many of the trees have started turning. 

We enjoyed tea (lemon ginger for Mom, mango coconut Oolong for me) and sandwiches and salads for lunch. I had smoked salmon, with capers, onion and cream cheese on a multigrain bagel, and Mom had a seafood salad croissant. 

Here's to another wonderful day together. Looking lovely in that teal print top, Mom! 

Our walks are always full of love, talking about family near and long-gone, catching up on each other's lives. 

I love you, Mom! 

I bussed back to town, and had a browse in the WIN Boutique. 

This lovely short necklace called to me, and I'm always on the lookout for tights. 

The tights are by H&M, made in Italy, and retailed for $14.99. 

I paid $6.95. They're sparkly gold on black. 

The necklace is glass, brass(?) and crystal and is by J. Crew. They had a few other J. Crew necklaces there, all at the same price of $7.95 each. I was tempted to buy them all! 

Their necklaces range from $79-119.00 new. 

I found a pair of thermal/layering leggings for L. He often has to travel to cold places.

They're merino wool blend. Also good for his noon runs! 

Ugh, Costco - I have never been in one, and I don't plan on it. 

Regular retail $15.99, but I supported my local charity at $7.95. 

I've been looking for ages for a top in this shade of pink. 

This is a 100% cotton V-neck tee, not that exciting aside from the colour. 

It's by Northern Reflections, a "mature woman" store in the malls here. 

This would have been around $35.00 new. It was $9.95.

I'm always on the lookout for good sleeveless layering tops.

These are good things to thrift, although it often takes a while to find ones in colours I like. 

This is a dark teal shade, fits me perfectly and is by Le Chateau. It's a woven polyester, but it's fully washable.

It was $14.95, but likely would have been around $59.99 originally. 

This long tiered skirt caught my eye. 

It's a black and white floral, and how many tiers does it have?

Six! 

It's a sheer netting-like material, and the lining is a slim black tube with slits on the side to the knee for walkability. 

I always dig around and look for labels. Ooh, this is made in Canada! 

By looking up the CA number I was able to figure out the signature on the label - this company was created in or before/pre-Internet 1997.  

Cydney Mar...who I have never heard of before. She's a Chinese-Canadian from Vancouver, a former figure skater who sewed her own fashions but was injured in a catastrophic accident, which then led her to design her own fashion line, which was then sold on QVC (the shopping channel). It's quite a story (here, link 'cause I love)! 

Based on the fabric and style - this is amazingly swooshy! - I think this is from the late 90s, when all those sheer net tops were A Thing. Anyway, for $9.95 I was not saying no! 

And now, it's time to go find my little monster. Vizzini! Where are you? Oh, there you are, hiding under the duvet on the bed. 

"I am OUTRAGED at this interruption!"

Eyes of Fury! I'd better leave him alone to nap! 

And I am now off for the weekend, Gentle Readers - I hope you have weekends full of peace and quiet moments of joy. I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure, so please drop by!