Mom-Day Adventure at the Westsong Walkway in Blondie, Sequins and Florals, and a Wee Shop

Welcome back to Mom-Day Adventures! Mom and I were so happy to see each other and spend some time catching up in person. Love that turquoise leather jacket, Mom (I bought it for her ages ago). 

We visited the Westsong Walkway, along Victoria's picturesque Inner Harbour (last visited here in July 2023), then had lunch at a new spot, Boom & Batten. I may have had a wee shop afterwards...hee hee, so unlike me.

We're so close to having actual spring weather - I pushed it for warmth, but it did my heart good to be covered in flowers. 

My wrap skirt did not respond well to the Stair Pose, so I modified it to this ungraceful sprawl. Stay Klassy, Sheila! 

• Jacket - Paparazzi, thrifted, Vancouver; last worn here (2nd outfit) in September 2023 with white jeans
• T-shirt - Blondie, consignment; purchased here for $18.00
• Skirt - JW Anderson x Uniqlo, consignment; first seen here in December 2023 with shoulder pads
• Sneakers - Converse, consignment; last worn here in January with my Thousand Dollar Sweater

I worked two new-to-me items into my outfit - the Blondie tee and a pair of gloves. I usually pre-style recently bought items (pair them with a bottom/top and shoes), but with a tee or accessories I tend to let inspiration strike in the moment. 

This glorious stretch denim coat is encrusted with embroidery. I love it soooo much, but it doesn't have pockets, which is an EGREGIOUS oversight in a jacket. 

All that embroidery is perfectly lined up too - the main "bouquet" is centered in the back.

And the lapels and front are mirrored. And yet...can't be bothered with pockets? 

Without the jacket, although I never took it off. I loved wearing this wrap corduroy skirt again - I like the ginormous pockets (essential with a pocketless coat), the asymmetrical hem and that it has a wee tab that holds the wrap closed. So smart! I also wore my wee sporty shorts under this (and I have nylons on). 

I nearly squealed with glee when I realized that my classic Blondie tee is a perfect match for my sneakers. Debby Harry is a badass icon! 

The shopping version. My fellow shoppers loved this outfit. 

Jacket open, gloves in purse, hand in pocket, scarf tied out of the way. 

"Table for two, please!" We had a late lunch at Boom & Batten midway through our walk, then I walked home through town, stopping at the big WIN store on Pandora for a quick browse. 

I was grateful for the intermittent sunshine - I like being incognito in my sunglasses (which are prescription). 

These pink gloves were such a good match with the coat. 

All my pinks are in the right tonal family - and they match my hair really well too. 

All done up. 

People really responded to my florals. I love when my clothes make others happy. 

Accoutrements: 

This scarf has been underutilized - I was happy at how well the gloves and coat went with it. 

• Scarf - Fluevog
• Purse - Lodis
• Gloves - Nevada, consignment; purchased here for $25.00

I'm sure I'll wear this combo again - it's a winner! 

The stuff: 

Comfy shoes, although by the time I got home several hours later, my feet were tired. 

Bold bling: 

All armoured up. 

• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Silver/malachite ring - consignment
• Silver/malachite bangle - Mexican, thrifted, Sidney
• Silver earrings - Israeli, consignment
• Cuff - consignment
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver/kyanite ring - consignment

It had rained in the morning, but by the time we arrived the skies were cracking with bits of blue shining through.

The walkway was busy, with lots of folks on their lunch hours, and walking dogs. 

Looking across the Inner Harbour - this is the entrance to it, and that's the ocean out there beyond, actually the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 

I spy a pair of kayaks. I like that you can still just walk down to the water. 

We usually follow the walkway to the right. 

But that way lay dark grey clouds. 

We headed left. 

Seaplanes took off and landed (this one's landing). 

A totem pole near the Marina. 

Bright sunlight through the bare branches. 

The water's clear. 

See the barnacle-covered rocks? 

Cloud drama! 

That's James Bay over there, a neighbourhood between the harbour and the Dallas Road waterfront. 

A plane taxiing out for take-off. 

I see the green copper domes of the Parliament Buildings on the left. 

I love the harbour ferries. 

I always recommend them to visitors - it's so cool to see the city from the water. 

Another plane landing! 

Helicopters were taking off and landing too - it's a busy harbour. 

We had lunch at the Boom & Batten restaurant. 

I like the curvy design. It was surrounded by giant yachts. 

Mom, looking lovely in her teal. 

We were impressed by the lovely interior of the restaurant, and enjoyed our food. Mom had a chicken burger and salad, and I had tuna poke. 

We shared the Chocolate Bergamot Brownie. 

Mom's ready to stab through the tempered chocolate. This was delicious! I also bought some macarons to share with L in the evening. 

The International Marina's shape echoes Boom & Batten's. 

Duck! We also saw a harbour seal, and several cormorants, plus the usual plethora of seagulls, crows and ravens, and a few barn swallows flitting around. 

Two ducks! 

Hey, this is a private marina, you'd better move along, ducks. 

A row of mega-yachts. 

We watched a few boats putter around. 

More cloud drama. 

We basked in the sun. 

Looking south, towards the US (hello, Washington State!). 

A wee harbour ferry against the shimmering sunlight on the water. 

Sorry, Spinnakers, next time! 

I did miss their flatbread pizza and chocolates! 

I headed home along the walkway. A mix of old and new - the crane is another new building. 

Canada geese! Move along, you ginormous monsters! 

I have worked in five locations visible in this picture. 

My very first job was at a mall close to where I grew up (Saanich, north of town), but every job since has been downtown. I've also had two jobs on the other side of the harbour, still town. 

Crocuses! 

Come on, Spring, you can do it! 

I had a proper look through WIN to see what I'd missed on the weekend. I also had a $10 gift card, which I'm deducting from the price of this first item I found. 

Which was this gorgeous leather belt! 

The buckle is gold-tone, but the rest is leather - and it's made in Canada! 

It's by Simons, which I know from our Winesday Vancouver Adventure (here, and of course, all links 'cause I love in this post). 

It's a department store that sells a lot of Canadian designers and other high-end brands. 

It was $12.95, but with my $10.00 gift card, it was $2.95. Even if I found nothing else, I was happy. 

But I did find other things! 

A vintage nylon camisole - these are like gold, so hard to find now. 

It's by French Maid, and is a size 36. 

That CA number is only 87 - this company's been around a long time. 

I like the adjustable straps too, just like in a really old vintage nylon slip. This is probably from the 80s. 

I'm very happy with $8.95.

I had some luck in the sale section - all punched tags were 50% off. 

I waffled a bit over this boat-necked striped top, but the quality of it sold me. 

Woven stripes - in a nice purple!

I used to have a leather skirt by Marc O'Polo, this one here, which Caro got in a giveaway. 

It's also organic cotton. 

It felt like good quality. 

It's a Swedish brand, and this retails for around $89.00.

For me, only $9.97. 

This lovely long skirt caught my eye. 

I like all the colours in it - it'll be easy to style. 

It's wide but not too voluminous.

I love a pattern mix like this - geographic, florals. 

A little ornamental tassel at the waist. 

It's just an elastic pull-on waist, no actual drawstring action. 

I recognize this brand from boutiques I've been in. Their maxi skirts retail for $52-48.00. 

Only $14.95. Awesome! 

When I found this jacket, I tossed it in my basket right away. Even if it didn't end up fitting (it's a little snug), I would buy this and re-sell it. 

It's a long-line, slim-fitting knit jacked with a zip-up front. 

The front of the jacket has long "rails" of fabric, all stitched down. 

The sleeves have long hidden zippers, so you can open the cuffs and wave them about (as one does). You can see that the insides of the sleeves are lined in a slinky black fabric - the entire jacket is lined in it. 

The front angles away. 

It's amazing detail. 

I recognized this tag from other garments I've bought by this brand. 

I was pleased to see that my hand had recognized wool - 88% virgin wool. 

I was thrilled to find Jean Paul Gaultier in the thrift store! 

And yes, WIN staff, it's made in Italy. It was half that price tag too, so $18.47. I saw a similar one on the RealReal for over $200, and others up to $800.00. No problem getting my money back if this doesn't work out. 

Flush with my shopping victory, I had a long browse at Rich Rags, which is now being run by Julia's son and partner (Julia, a lovely Russian lady, has finally retired, good for her!). The quality of the clothes there has gone up substantially - I was very pleased to see it, and treated myself to a few things. 

This was on the $10.00 clearance rack - it's a heart full of Parisian icons,, and it says 'Love from Paris, Karl XX". 

Karl who? 

Karl Lagerfeld himself, of course, the late and great designer who led Chanel for so many years. 

It's called the Heart Science Logo Tee and it retailed for $50.00 at Bloomingdales. 

I see you there, Karl, all logo-y. 

Signed on the back as well. 

If we only had some way to figure out the brand, ha ha. 

It's very well made and will make a fun addition to my casual wardrobe. 

This khaki top caught my eye. 

It's a layering top that sits above my waist with a stand-up collar. 

The collar is in fact WIRED - you can see the tube the wire lives in on the right, where the fabric is crunched. 

It's polyester and is by Sun Kim - the fact that it's made in the USA stood out. I spotted versions of this around the Interwebz for $99.00 and up! I paid $39.00 for it. 

I know...beige! But the additional leopard print sold me. 

I'll find a way to hide the beige, ha ha! 

I did like that it's a wool blend for the body and that the leopard parts are silk. 

I think this will be a good layering piece. 

I recognized the brand, Rebecca Taylor, from the expensive designer section at Turnabout. 

I paid $25.00 for this top. 

I was absolutely smitten with these chunky sneakers, which I pulled out of the window (yes, I'm that person). 

I spy black suede, white and clear rubber, silver snake texture leather, orange metallic leather, zebra pony hair, and silver mesh. 

It is interesting? Yes. Are they attractive? Well...NO. 

They are ugly-beautiful to me. L hates them, as I knew he would! Ha! 

Oh my gosh. 

What is my brain doing? How are these shoes that I suddenly love? 

Life is change. 

And I really want to wear these! Look at that, barely any wear at all! 

They are made in Spain, and are by L'intervalle, I paid $75.00 for them. 

They retailed for $199.00 - I'm thrilled. 

But of course. the best thrill of all was hanging out with Mom. 

Thanks so much for such a lovely day, Mom! I love you! 

My friends, I'm signing off now for the weekend, and I'll be back with tales of adventure. Please do pop in again on Sunday for a visit. Thanks so much for stopping by!