Mom-Day Adventure: Finnerty Gardens in the Rain, and a Wee Shop

Welcome back to Mom-Day, my friends! It's been far too long - I missed you, Mom! 

We headed back to Finnerty Gardens - it's relatively sheltered and flat for an easy walk and a long-overdue catch-up. We last visited the gardens here on a hot day in August.

We We(s)t Coasters are used to dreary wet weather - one must dress appropriately! Lots of layers!

I started with the boots and built up some colourful armour from there. 

• Wool sweater - Bartolini, consignment; last seen here (3rd outfit) in February for a walk at the Gorge
• Skirt - Soaked in Luxury; last worn here in July for the entire Winesday Women Vancouver Adventure
• Boots - Ecco, thrifted; first seen here in November with a now-gone duster sweater
• Leather coat (below) - Terry Lewis, thrifted; last worn here in November on a Mental Health Shop

I love the slightly burnt orange colour of this snuggly wool sweater. 

I layered a cami underneath - I wish I'd worn a slip in addition to the faux wrap skirt's lining. It was chilly! 

It ended up clearing up entirely from the morning's deluge, and we had only a spit or two of rain.  

This skirt's splotchy colour mix appeals to me - it goes with a lot in my closet. 

I only looked like this while we were having lunch at Christie's after our stroll through the gardens. 

I tried a few things on at House of Savoy on the way home - the lovely ladies there were happy to see me. I also got a few presents bought so...win! 

This fedora matches the booties really well. 

One of my leather trenchcoats - these are my go-to for rain. 

I was really ready for all the heavy downpours, all for naught. Not complaining, though - I'd much rather be out when it's dry. 

I love how securely this coat buttons up - two inner buttons, plus the lapel buttons to the epaulet. No weather getting in here! 

Accoutrements: 

I'll always pick a hat over an umbrella in the rain. 

• Hat - Club Monaco, thrifted
• Purse - Lodis, thrifted
• Scarf - Italy, gift from Mom
• Gloves - Parkhurst

Silk, wool, cashmere, leather - real textiles. 

The stuff: 

These deep plum boots were great for our outing, followed by a couple hours shopping and then a walk home. 

Brutal bling:

All favourites.

• Belt - Suzi Roher, thrifted
• Brass ring - vintage mall
• Brass/glass necklace/ring - Rafael Canada, vintage 70s, consignment
• Leather/chain bracelet - local
• Fang bangle and earrings - Alexis Bittar, consignment, gift from L

Before I get to pictures from our visit, I had to show y'all Mom's new sneakers. Give us a pose! 

The shoes have elastic laces, are slip-on and are by Sketchers - and have been a real game-changer for Mom with her limited mobility. Love the pastel pink, fading into a dusty rose at the heel. Super-cute, Mom! 

Mom and I got a parking spot right near the entrance of Finnerty Gardens, where we were greeted by pine and fir boughs on the gate. 

Despite being nearly in winter, we still had so much colour and vibrancy to take in. 

Flowers are still blooming. 

Dripping water from the recent showers. 

Get ready for a load of twisty branches - they're all covered with leaves in summer! 

Lush ferns. 

The pond with the salmon run sculpture. 

We both gasped at the view. 

Big Leaf Rhodo. 

They were very large leaves. 

A tiny square cut into the top of this truncated tree. 

A birdhouse? 

Icy purple and pink fuchsias. 

They always remind me of ballerinas. 

More twisty branches! 

And a stick keeping a skinny tree from falling over. 

Shall we go that way? 

No, not today. 

These trees are so twisty, they look rather alarming.
Ah! Scary trees! Don't get too close! 

Mushroom pics for Kezzie. 

The top was about 6 inches across! 

This one was even bigger, close to 8 inches.

Cool. I bet he's a fungi. 

This was a treacherous spot for puddles. 

Most of them were shallow. 

A vivid pink fuchsia. 

Love the carpet of red leaves in the background. 

Alien-looking plants. 

More puddles. 

A ginormous sequoia behind the white beech. 

It was peaceful and quiet, with only a few birds twittering. 

A lovely spot for a visit. 

These benches are so inviting when it's a bit warmer. 

I liked how the rain had streaked the trunks of these flanking trees. 

More bright foliage. 

Another twisty tree! 

This one's in a tizzy! 

A bamboo stand. 

On the edge of a pond. 

So peaceful. 

The air was cold and clean. 

Mom navigated puddles like a boss, using her poles. 

She took no guff from that bush either! 

A bright red maple leaf. 

Oh, Canada. 

This flower looked out of place. 

Almost tropical. 

Which path shall we take? 

Time for lunch - to the right! 

But first, let's stop and smell the flowers. 

One more time before we go. 

Mom gave me a lovely and heartfelt Christmas card and a bunch of original old photos of me. 

I'm one year old there, aren't I a cutie? 

Below, I am three years old in the middle and left pics. What happened to two? No idea. 

And on the far right, I'm four. I knocked out my front tooth and had a gap until the adult tooth grew in.

Five years old (still have the gap). 

A very groovy yellow dress! 

And here's six and seven. 

Note how my hairstyle never stays the same! 

Chronologically. 

I loved seeing these again, thank you, Mom! 

We had a lovely lunch of salmon burgers and salad, and then Mom headed home. I walked over to Oak Bay Ave and visited Good Things Consignment Vintage, where I found this mirror. 

It's convex, curved outward. I bought it because I have another mirror just like it, an older version of it but in rougher condition. 

See? My original one is larger, but came without a third of the balls - it has better detail and carving (they are both solid wood), which is why I suspect it's a bit older. 

They were popular in the 1940s as a revival - the right one may be from then, but I think the one I found today is from the 50s or even later. 

This mirror had a tag nailed to the back of it, which reads "The Sign of a Sound Article" and Mirrorbelle Products with a red bell. I found absolutely zero on that online. 

It's either a Georgian or Victorian reproduction, and is called a Butler's Porthole - an interesting blog article here (all links 'cause I love). It was $50.00, and I was very happy with that - I paid $40 for the other several years ago at an antique fair. 

I also spotted this amazing enameled copper necklace. 

The discs are copper, with amber enamel, with a dollop of orange enamel in the middle. They remind me of fried eggs. 

The backs of the discs are also enameled, and some have a bit of pitting from age. This is not as high of a quality as my 1950s and 60s Matisse by Renoir enameled copper - I think this is later, from the 1970s and likely "artisan" (a one-off).

The links are very basic copper, and it does up with a hook that goes through a hole in one of the discs. It was marked down to $32.00 from $40.00. There are no marks on it anywhere. 

I popped into House of Savoy for a visit, a shop and to apologize for missing their evening open house a couple of weeks ago (due to Covid). 

They gave me this lovely card (actually made out to me, aw). 

And put my purchases in this awesome shopping tote. 

"Est. 1978" - they are the oldest existing consignment store in Victoria. 

Yay! 

I've been shopping there since the late 90s. 

And here's what I found! 

A lovely puffy nylon/polyester scarf in a wondrous print, and a wool beret in a deep turquoise. 

I found a FairSet label inside the beret. 

That was sold at the Hudson's Bay Company department store in the 80s and 90s. It was one of their house brands.

It's wool. 

A nice old label. It was marked down to $20.00 and the lovely owners very generously gave me the open house discount of 20% off my purchases. Thank you!! 

Back to the scarf! 

It's from the Uniqlo X Marimekko collaboration of 2019 (there have been more than one). 

I have a dress from this collection - the "S" dress (here). 

I love Marimekko's bold designs and patterns. 

And look how nicely it does up! 

I love it. It was worth the $28.00 ($35 less 20%). 

I also fell for this woven grey pleated skirt. 

It's pleated chaotically - very Issy Miyake-inspired. 

It's full and rustles when it moves. 

It'll be an excellent swooshing skirt, I suspect. 

The waistband is a knit elastic.

Apparently, I am size "Pi" now - that sure looks like a Pi symbol to me! 

And it's made of 100% Pes, which is polyester (link here). 

At least it's washable! 

Oh, here we go, what's this? 

100% merino? must be the waistband. 

What is "Rock Ira Plisse'e"? It doesn't give me anything when I search. 

But the email address on the tag ends with "oska.de" which is the company Oska of Germany. This is very similar to their "Henora" skirt (here) and would have retailed for $200-350.00. This was $62.40 ($78, less 20%) for me. 

This dress took my breath away - it's golden yellow. 

The pattern is so amazing - it is very Art Nouveau-inspired. 

It's fully lined, and there's a mark of quality. 

The lining has a crocheted string attached to the dress that keeps the lining in place. 

It's Devoré (so classy!), or burn-out velvet if you want to be Klassy. 
I can see my hand through some parts - there's the gleam of my wedding ring. 

The sleeves are voluminous. 

I just love that colour! 

OMG, the dress has two pockets! 

It's a Jammy Dress! 

It's by French Connection, and probably from the late 90s. You might remember this French Connection dress that I wore a couple of years ago (here) - they made the most beautiful dresses. 

It was on the sale rack for $75.00 (so $60 in the end) - I would have paid more. It's just stunning on and I'm excited to wear it! I modeled it for all the folks in the shop. 

Flush with my purchases (I also found a couple of things to cross off my holiday shopping list), I popped into Pocket Clothing on the way home and found a couple of treasures. 

This is a black corduroy asymmetrical hem wrap skirt with two side pockets.

It has a clip to hold it shut. 

Dig that wide-wale cord! 

It also has one of those strings connecting the lining to the skirt's seam. 

This is no cheap garment. 

The edge of the inside wrap also has this long strap to button to the opposite side. 

This will keep the wrap from opening up on me. Such a lovely detail! 

Another Uniqlo? How bizarre! 

It's cotton corduroy with a poly lining. 

It's JW Anderson, not Jill Anderson like it says on the tag! JW Anderson is Jonathan Anderson, a designer from Northern Ireland, established in 2008. 

$38.00 seemed like a good price. It probably retailed around $60.00 new. 

These beauties sparkled and called to me. 

Pink sequined Chuck Taylor All Stars Converse with platforms? 

Um, yes!

They are soft and squishy inside. 

Barely any wear on them! 

Amazing. 

They were $68.00 - likely retail would have been around $100 and up. 

Can't wait to wear them! 

Vizzini, what was your favourite? 

"Do you have to ask?" 

And yours, Gentle Reader? Any favourites of my lovely purchases? 

I'm off now for the weekend - stay chill, take care and be kind. I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure!