Bigass Canada Day Long Weekend Wrap-Up: Shoe-pidity X 2: Ginormous Sneakers and Citrus; Red Leopard Brunch and Betty Walk, Plus a Wee Shop; L-Day at Swan Lake in Red

Welcome back, my friends! A Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks! 

I've had a fantastic weekend, with loads of fun things to share, so buckle in and let's go! 

Kicking us off - literally? - are my ginormous red Fluevog sneakers. Of course, I saved them for Friday! 

I'm definitely kicking myself for not wearing socks and going barefoot the first time I wore them. Stupid decision, Sheila! 

• Jacket - Adidas, consignment; last worn here in May with a nautical ensemble for a Mom-Day at Elk Lake
• Silk top - Kate Spade, thrifted; last seen here in July 2023 with stripes and florals
• Skirt - Compania Fantastica, consignment, Vancouver; last worn here in September 2023 for a Mom-Day at Bowker Creek
• Sneakers - Soul Speed Duesy, Fluevog; purchased here for $199.99

I couldn't get past my mental block of "I have no socks to wear with these" and paid the price - blisters on my insteps. I immediately ran out to Winners in the mall downtown and bought a ton of cute little sneaker socks - so imagine this 'fit with bright orange sock-tops barely peeking out around the shoes. 

Other than my boneheaded barefoot decision, they were awesome to wear. I walked home in them and had no issues...once I had socks on! 

On the plus side, now I have a ton of little sockies to wear with my sneakers. Not everything can be found in the thrift store...

More red and orange - I've really been grooving on it lately! - with my Creamsicle skirt and cropped Adidas jacket. 

"I love your outfit...from the ankles up," said L this morning. Har har!

I had a woman on the street stop me to ask about my sneakers, and a man in the elevator who told me his wife wore hers to the gym. Rock on!

Without the jacket, although I didn't take it off. 

I am a fan of citrus-y colours. 

Incognito. I hate it when none of my garments have pockets! Grrr!

This Tardis purse (it's very roomy inside!) carried everything I needed. 

The stuff: 

I am looking forward to my next styling of these shoes, but I'm going to give the blisters time to heal first. And yes, I'll be wearing socks! 

• Purse - Roots 73, thrifted

Colourful bling: 

I happily pounced on this new-to-me belt when I realized it would tie all the colours together. 

• Belt - Desigual, thrifted; purchased here for $8.00
• Necklace - vintage 70s, Mom's
• Silicon square bracelet - Materia Design, thrifted
• Bead necklace (worn as a bracelet) - thrifted, Sidney; purchased here for $4.00
• Silver/malachite ring - consignment
• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Earrings - Stella & Dot, consignment, Vancouver

I'd forgotten that it was a larger size and had to start adding holes so that it would sit at my waist. 

I ended up making three separate new holes by poking it with an X-acto blade in an X. Doing it up smaller meant I had an excess of belt flapping about, so I used my trusty celery elastic technique to hold it snug. KLASSY. 

By the way, I never recommend you fark with your clothes like I do - my clothes, my risk. 

L and I spent an evening listening to music and playing boardgames before we fell asleep in front of the telly. I was up early on Saturday morning as I had a date to meet up with former WW colleague and friend Betty. 

Betty and I last got together here, way back last August 2023 (scroll down), which is way too long ago! She travels a lot and has grandkitlets, and I live a busy life too - but I'm so glad we carved out this time for a walk and a good long chat. 

• Denim suit - Smashed Lemon; jacket last seen here (2nd outfit) in May for brunch, trousers last seen here with the full suit in December 2023
• T-shirt - Rifflandia, thrifted; first worn here (3rd outfit) in May for Book club with houndstooth trousers
• Shoes - Trippen, consignment; purchased here for $68.95

I dressed for a long day - following brunch and our walk, I strolled over to Oak Bay Avenue and had a browse around in Turnabout and House of Savoy, and then met up with our pals at Christie's Pub for an afternoon hangout, a long weekend tradition going back nearly 15 years. 

I always like to wear red for our Canada Day meet-ups, and this denim (really!) suit is one of my favourite purchases ever. 

It's a Dots find from the first few months of the pandemic, in 2020 - I paid a total of $90 for both pieces, and have worn the full suit approximately 8 times, with the jacket and trousers also being worn separately a handful of times each. 

It's stretchy, comfy and fabulous. 

The pants have big pockets and so does the jacket. 

"Sure, I'd sleep on it."

It's a "Forever" suit. 

Incognito. 

I got lost in the wilds of Oak Bay after meeting up with Betty, and meandered for a while until I remembered "Duh, I have a cell phone," and pulled up a map. I'm sure a few people wondered who this red leopard person was, wandering through their neighbourhood. 

Without the jacket - I took it off at Christie's. It was a hot, muggy day with clouds and spitty rain. 

Demonstrating my massive pockets.

Accoutrements: 

First wearing of this purse. The straps were the right length to loop over one shoulder, I liked the squish of it, and it held more than expected. Downside: a pain in the arse to unzip, requiring two hands. 

• Purse - LeSportSac, vintage 90s, consignment, Sidney; purchased here for $45.00
• Silk scarf - Smoking Lily, vintage 90s, thrifted

The stuff: 

In a bogglingly second stupid act of shoe decision-making ("shoe-pidity"), I went barefoot AGAIN when wearing a new-to-me pair of shoes. "I won't be walking far," I thought, not anticipating getting lost in Oak Bay. I developed a rubbing blister on one foot, requiring a stop at Pharmasave for a box of bandaids (NexCare - the best ever). I also kept the little nylon footies I got from House of Savoy after trying on a pair of sneakers [spoiler! I bought sneakers!] and wore them until I got to Christie's.

However, I did like wearing these shoes quite a lot - but next time, I'll proactively bandaid.

Bold bling: 

The snake brooch was worn on the lapel of my blazer. I matched the blue lapis ring to the purse. 

• Belt - gift from Ruth
• Snake brooch - thrifted; purchased here for $7.00
• Silver cuff - Mexican, consignment, Sidney
• Enameled cuff - consignment
• Silver earrings - Israeli, consignment
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver/enamel ring - consignment, Sidney
• Silver S - vintage 90s, gift from Mom and Dad

Betty and I outside the Windsor Café. 

So great to see you, Betty! I love that we've remained friends for all these years (going on 13 years, I believe). 

We ordered our food (I had a yummy breakfast wrap) and went upstairs to wait for it. You can tell it used to be a house. 

Would totally live here! 

After brunch, we wandered through the scent garden, site of this awesome sculpture.

It's called "Gardener's Gown" and was donated by the artist, Bev Petow (F on the map of all the sculptures around Oak Bay here, all links 'cause I love). 

From there, we walked to Beach Drive and enjoyed some views and ocean air. 

The tide is pretty low - we walked along this bay and well over to the next one before turning back. 

Mount Baker in Washington State, hiding amongst the clouds. 

A nice day to be on a boat. 

A Garry Oak framing the next point. 

An inviting path.

I spotted a heron on the end of that spit. 

I kept an eye on it as we rounded the bay. 

Mount Baker on the left again, sailboats in the distance. 

The heron is likely watching for crabs or small fish to take back to the nest. 

Looking back.

A thicket of masts at the marina. 

The heron had moved to this rock. 

And then...

...it took off! 

There is something humbling about being the presence of a wild creature. 

So beautiful. 

As it ended up, that was not the only heron I saw over the weekend.

I had a look through the spring/summer clearance at Turnabout, and came away with a few treasures. 

I had eyed this silver sequined skirt on previous visits, but at the original $79.99 it was a bit much.

I love the sporty elastic waist. 

It's by Nicole Miller "Artelier" and was marked down to $40.00 - it probably started out around $200 new. 

I found a Pinterest link that identified it as Resort 2019, and thank you, here it is (slide 5).

Screengrab. I don't think I'll style it like this, but I don't object to the look at all. 

I like that the sequins are small and "in-line" so that they aren't as snaggy, and give a liquid-silver look. So fun! 

I'd also eyed this asymmetrical denim/brocade top before. 

It's hip-length and the fabric is thick and stiff - it has substance!

Nice quality textiles, zig-zag stitching, silk edging. 

It's a cotton blend. 

It has bra-strap holders! 

That is a very thoughtful detail! 

Thank you, Phillip Lim - I have become a fan, after this skirt (here) that I used to have, and my bustier with boob pockets (another thoughtful detail) here. Three times a winner, although I gave away the skirt (it was too short/tight). 

3.1 Phillip Lim for $52.00, marked way down from the original $129.99. I couldn't find this top anywhere online, so I suspect it's from the mid-00s, close to when the brand was founded. A denim shirt on their site now is on sale for $440, marked down from $735.00. 

I have Velvet Rage issues, but I also have a soft spot for viscose, rayon and silk velvets, especially when they are in a fabulous colour. 

This is a gloriously bright tangerine orange top...tunic...very short dress.

It has pockets! 

Be still my heart! 

CP Shades? Never heard of it - but it is a Sausalito, California factory apparently, and this top/tunic/very short dress is made in the USA.

It's washable too! 

It's made for Free People. 

This was marked down to $16.00 from $42.99. It would have been around $100 new. 

From Turnabout, I walked down to House of Savoy for a poke around. I was thrilled to see some of the goodies Emilie and Zenija had bought from my Limbo sale with nice fat price tags on them! I love supporting them making more money from my old stuff. 

I found a couple of treasures for myself while I browsed. 

It's a skirt...nope, it's pants!? It's SKANTS!

The fabric feels like a cotton blend, similar to chambray denim. 

The zipper is angled across the front with two hook-and-eyes at the top. The covered placket-style detail continues down to the hem. 

Which is indeed...a pantleg opening! 

And here's the other one! 

I am giddy with excitement over this - I tested it for big strides. The only thing it lacks is pockets...and a label. It was $60. 

These are the sneakers I spoiled earlier. I love the black with silver stripes and the lavender shoe-liner. 

And what amazing souls! The shoes themselves are light - I'm so used to the heft of Fluevogs, these felt weird. 

More lavender hiding under the honeycomb sole. 

I found these online - they come in all kinds of colours with contrasting soles. 

They're not very old - that's a July 2023 date I see inside. 

Of course, they are Adidas! 

The Adidas Switch - ooh, very Matrix-y font, so futuristic! 

They retail for $108.00 - I paid $80.00 (and a thank you to Emilie for the "stylist" discount!). 

From there, I headed over to Christie's Pub to meet up with our pals for our long weekend hangout. I was completely remiss in taking a single picture, so thank you to dear Yvonne for the picture of all of our feet! 

As you can see, I switched from my Trippens to my new Adidas sneakers for the walk home. Cheers to L, Vero, Justin, Vero, Randall, Nick and Zeb - so wonderful to see you all! 

L and I spent the evening playing boardgames and chilling out with our little clingy boy. 

"I sit here now!"

Sunday was a leisurely day of hanging out and playing more music and games, with a bit of reading and a bit of TV in there too. 

"Call me Puddle of Cat."

We played more boardgames in the evening as we both had Monday off for Canada Day. 

L complained, "I need to get out in nature - I need greenery and tunnels of trees! Where can we go?" I suggested we walk around Swan Lake, which I last visited here (in September 2023, on the Lochside Trail side) and here (in July 2023). 

More Canadian colours! Nothing too fancy, though. 

• Jacket - George Georgiou, vintage 80s, consignment, Powell River: last seen here in April
• T-shirt - Karl Lagerfeld, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) in June with velvet cropped pants
• Jeans - Santana, vintage 90s, thrifted; first seen here in September 2023
• Sandals - Doc Martens, consignment; last worn here last week for our Mom-Day

To hat or not to hat?

A light silk bomber jacket for sun coverage and warmth in the open-top convertible. 

Pre-rolled pedal-pusher jeans. 

I wore the hat. 

Blurry - need more coffee! 

It was hot out - over 25 degrees by mid-day! - and I took the jacket off when we were in some shady areas, and while we had lunch afterwards at the Monkey Tree Pub. 

Ready to go. 

Minimal make-up and air-dried hair. 

Incognito, and a surprise photo-bomber! 

Ha! I am married to a very silly person. 

Accoutrements: 

The paper hat was perfect - it breathes and is light. 

• Purse - Roots 73, thrifted
• Hat - thrifted

The stuff: 

My feet rapidly recovered from my earlier shoe-pidity, and I rewarded them with these comfy sandals. 

• Belt - gift from Ruth
• White gold earrings - Frances Jewelers, gift from L

Lots of pictures coming! 

L spotted this vintage car while we were at a light. 

And we're at Swan Lake - we did the full loop of the lake. 

There's your tunnel of trees and greenery, L. 

How about a charming bridge/walkway? 

A dapple of sunlight to make it more inviting. 

Big twisty trees. 

There were very few people on the path - we saw maybe a dozen in an hour. Bikes and dogs are not permitted within the nature sanctuary.

A glimpse of the lake in the distance. 

Cloud drama! 

Rustling aspens and another bridge. 

Dragonflies cruised around us. 

Does this beautiful weeping willow on the banks of a stream satisfy your nature urge, my love? 

"Hmmm...getting there."

Why don't you go for a wander up that path? 

I can see the tension of life and work melting away. 

Some more Cloud Drama. 

I haven't done the full loop of Swan Lake in decades - Mom and I do a small section of it. 

A Mourning Cloak butterfly (L knows his butterflies - we also saw yellow Swallowtails). 

Thank you for posing. 

More aspen. 

What a good idea this was. 

We've reached the floating walkway. 

I was hoping for turtles - we saw lots of signs about them. 

A heron hunting. 

My second of the weekend! 

We watched some fish feeding along the walkway.

And noticed this frog sitting in the algae. 

Three pairs of birds are on top of this tree. 

I've seen bald eagles here before.

I believe these are either osprey or peregrine falcons, both of which are seen in the area. 

Very cool to see them! 

On a nearby treetop, another heron - likely safeguarding the nest while its mate hunts for food. 

We walked right under this tree. 

Just amazing to see. 

We walked out on the dock and took it all in. 

Well, L, do you feel refreshed and rejuvenated?

"Yup, this was good."

The Nature House was closed.

We took one last look out on the lake. 

Glowing maple leaves.

Oh, Canada. 

A selfie with my love. 

What a lovely weekend it's been! 

Vizzini was snoozing out on the deck, enjoying the warmth on his old bones. 

He's a furry slug in the heat. 

Must pat him! 

"Oh, very well."

And there you go - that was my weekend! Thank you so much for dropping by!