Mom-Day Adventure at Gorge Waterway in Chartreuse and Purple, Plus a Wee Shop

Welcome back, my friends! Mom and I re-visited the Gorge Waterway, enjoying a stroll in the sun in the Japanese gardens. 

We last visited the Gorge here back in May 2023. 

With Mom in her red pleather jacket, and me in chartreuse and purple, you couldn't miss us! 

I always like dressing up for Mom, and I've been excited to wear this handmade dress for the first time. 

• Dress - handmade, consignment; purchased here with Jessica for $60.00
• Sneakers - Adidas All Stars, thrifted; last worn here in February for a shop
• Leather jacket (below) - Maison Rabih Kayrouz, thrifted, Vancouver; purchased here for $180.00

I wore a lot of new-to-me things in this outfit, and enjoyed all of them. 

The dress was enchanting to wear, full of billowy action, a Swoosh Factor of about 9, and such a great colour, especially in the sun. 

We had loads of comments on all of our colour. 

I am particularly fond of chartreuse. 

I may have achieved Peak Chartreuse Dress, in fact. 

Although...if it had pockets...

I suddenly realized that this amazing purple leather jacket matched my Adidas sneakers perfectly. 

I had to wear them together - purple and chartreuse is an awesome combination. 

Giving y'all the full jacket experience. 

It was a joy to wear - so soft. 

This silk men's opera scarf added a little extra "zhuzh". 

It was a bit chilly in the wind at times, and I was glad of it. 

I looked like this after I'd bussed to town and had a little shop. 

With my bag in cross-body position, of course. I would never drag my scarf on the ground.

Accoutrements. 

This little purse is a favourite, but not phone-sized. 

• Purse - Club Monaco, thrifted
• Silk scarf - vintage, thrifted; purchased here for $6.95

The scarf will go into the shared accessories, so that L can add it to his outfits if he wishes. 

The stuff: 

I loved the look of the outfit with the sneakers - this felt fresh and fun. 

Blingy bling: 

The belt worked perfectly with the dress - would wear them together again. 

• Belt - Zara, consignment
• Necklace - consignment; purchased here for $16.00
• Coral/olivine ring - Hawaii, Mom's
• Silver/amethyst ring - vintage mall
• Earrings - thrifted
• Steel bracelet - Malta, vintage mall
• Green stone bracelet - vintage mall

And now for some pictures! We parked near the event centre and did a loop along the water, then up the hill to the gardens, and back down. 

I loved how the red tulips around the bare trees match the red lamp posts throughout the park.

Look at that sky! 

To the water! We crossed the grass - always a pleasure. 

Mom enjoying the wind. 

And being under a willow tree. We had one in our backyard when I was a kid, and my brother Dave and I would play Tarzan and swing from the branches. 

Trees in various stages of greening. 

There were a lot of squawking crows around. 

More red lamp posts. 

We never quite found the right bench in the sun. 

Mom was full of vim and vigour today. 

Love that snazzy red jacket. 

Looking towards the Tillicum bridge. 

What's that on the right?

I don't remember this statue. 

It's called "Paired Geese" and it's by Whidbey Island sculptor Georgia Gerber (link about her here - link 'cause I love). 

A glimpse back at the Gorge before we climb the steep hill. 

The rhododendrons are just starting to come into bloom. 

These cherry trees are so gorgeous. 

Blossoms everywhere! 

A delicate rhodo. 

We were lucky to see so many flowers. 

The shelter at the top of the hill. 

We made it! 

We followed the winding path along the top of the hill. 

The red Japanese maple and firs towering over our heads. 

Looking down at the pond and the pergola, with the parking lot beyond that. 

It was fairly quiet, not too many people around. 

Check out the topmost branches of this tree. 

Cones and new growth. 

The water was stagnant, as they seemed to be working on one section. 

No fish, no dragonflies. 

The pergola is practically empty. 

Mom takes the smooth path down - I cross over the water and hop down steps. 

I like the red of the leaves, Mom's coat and the azaleas.

It was rejuvenating, being out in the clean air, in the sun. 

Looking back at where we came from. 

Always a good practice. 

The bright red azaleas. 

Murky, mucky water. 

We had lunch at Montana's. 

I love this cool black and white top, Mom! Thank you for such a great day - I love you! 

Apparently, I bought Mom this fossil necklace. 

I have zero recollection of this, but I do have good taste. 

I bought some necessities downtown a bus ride later, then treated myself to a week browse in some of my favourite actual retail shops.

I've been shopping at Footloose Shoes for decades. Most of my good non-Fluevog, non-secondhand shoes are from there. 

These chartreuse (I'm in a lime/chartreuse phase) sandals are butter soft and that's a comfortable heel 

I like that the hardware is copper (you never see that!), and the adjustable options for my toes. The ankle strap is comfy. 

They're by Neosens, and they came with a fancy carrying bag (I eschewed the box), and a cleaning/conditioning kit. 

Made in Spain too. So fancy! 

They were on the "last pairs" rack, and in my size. 

Half price is good for such well-made shoes. I paid $127.50. 

I usually only have 10 minutes in Dots at a time when I'm with L, so gave myself time to go through the whole store to have a really good look. Dots sells sales samples, so many of these are never actually manufactured or sold, and most of what they carry are European or boutique brands.

These funky leggings will go with some of my Weird Adidad. 

They're by Masai, a company that makes good quality clothes. 

There was a huge section of their stuff. This was $29.99 - $75.00 is what they would have sold for in a boutique. 

I have always been fond of bias-cut skirts, maxi skirts and leopard. 

So how could I say no? This will probably go into my fall/winter wardrobe, as I have a slightly shorter orange-er version already - but I'll wear it once before I put it away. 

It's by Esqualo and was $29.99. 

I also found a work-shirt for L - a lovely rust-brown cotton shirt. He has a lot of vintage ties and rotates them with coloured shirts to go with his daily suit for the office. 

I popped into Rich Rags on the way home for a quick browse, and found this mesh pink leopard tee. 

Yes! Love it! 

It's by Culture.

I've seen this brand at Dots, so you never know. I paid $25.00 for it. 

Mom wore her 25th anniversary ruby and gold ring today (she finally bought a sizer for it), so we did a shot of both of our rings. 

We're 99% sure they're by the same designer - hers was bought by Dad from the local jeweler (now long-gone) in 1990, and mine is from 2017, bought at the now-gone vintage mall. How funny that they found themselves together again. 

And now, Gentle Readers, I'm off for the weekend. I hope you'll pop in on Sunday for tales of adventure, but until then, be safe, be happy and enjoy the sunshine.