Sunrise to Sunset; Amber and Pattern; Cherished Crystals

Hello, my friends! Another Monday, and here is the sunset this morning from somewhere near Courtenay, courtesy of my brother, Dave. 

He's got an artistic eye, that one! 

And here's my outfit, which is nowhere near that vibrant.

It still impressed my new coworker, as I gave him a tour of the office this morning. 

• Sweater - Prada, consignment; last worn here in December 2023, hidden under a tweed jacket
• Dress - Hallhuber, consignment; last seen here in January 2023 with golden sleeves
• Sneakers - Steve Madden, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in October 2023 for brunch in gold leather pants
• Mink coat (below) - vintage 60s, thrifted; last seen here last Friday

I knew that it would be fairly dead at work, with temps in the low negatives (around -3).

I layered up with a camisole and this thin but warm cashmere sweater under my dress. 

Isn't the dress magnificent? 

This is its fourth wearing since I bought it for $38.00 at House of Savoy back in 2021, and I've layered different tops with it every time. 

And it's got pockets! 

I prefer it in my fall/winter wardrobe as it's very short - my thick fleece tights make me feel more secure (not to mention more warm). 

Outerwear - ta-dah! 

It's supposed to warm up to a tropical 2 degrees tomorrow, so I might be able to wear a different coat. Excitement! 

Accoutrements: 

I matched the scarf to my dress' pattern, which has a peachy-brown in it that reads as gold or amber.

• Purse - Rebecca Minkoff, consignment
• Silk scarf - Pierre Cardin, vintage 80s, thrifted
• Gloves - thrifted
• Toque - thrifted

The stuff: 

I'd originally planned to wear tall caramel boots, but because I wore the mink coat I would have had to carry them in a tote (backpack + mink coat = much agitation), and I was already carrying a tote with my lunch fruit and veg for the week. Two totes was too much! 

Anyway, I love those sneakers and walked to and from work in them.

Amber bling: 

I'm growing my collection slowly. I started it in 1995!

• Large amber/silver bracelet - consignment
• Small amber/silver bracelet - consignment, Powell River
• Silver/amber ring - Past Times, 1995, gift from L
• Silver/smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neumann, Sweden, vintage mall
• Amber/silver thumb ring - consignment
• Silver/amber earrings - thrifted

That small ring on the right is the first gift L ever gave me, for Christmas the year we met. 

Speaking of cherished things, a friend of mine lost her mom just before Christmas, and while she's been clearing out some of her possessions, she wasn't sure what to do with the costume jewelry that she didn't want. I said I'd look at it and identify the good stuff - I also recommended a couple of places to take it for consignment. For my efforts, she insisted that I choose something for myself. 

Her mom had more delicate taste than me, but this lovely long crystal necklace and bracelet set really appealed. I gratefully accepted her generous gift. 

I noted the Swarovski swan on the clasp, and that the clasp was missing on the necklace (I clipped the extra crystal to the bracelet). Her mom probably just slipped the necklace on over her head. 

The blue crystals are a lovely deep aqua. The metal is "gold tone" so not super-expensive originally (it's likely from the early 00s' 1920s revival - remember when we all wore long necklaces?). I'll cherish this as a connection to my friend's mom - it's gone to a good home. Thank you, CAB. 

And now...Since we started with a sunrise, here's the bookend picture that I took at just after 5pm, from our deck. 

Glorious colours!