Mom-Day Adventure at Colquitz Creek in Shiny Black and Bronze, Plus a Wee Shop

Welcome back to Mom-Day, my friends! Mom and I headed to a different section of Colquitz Creek park, an area where we both had some history from when our family lived in this neighbourhood for 20+ years. 

We last visited Colquitz Creek here, back in August, but this time we parked at Hyacinth Park and walked along the Interurban Road section of Colquitz River (the locals call it the creek!). 

I wanted to wear my new-to-me tabard, so I built the outfit around that. 

I knew I'd be doing a Weird Adidas look with it - and heck, tis the season to be shiny! 

• Patent leather jacket - Burberry, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here (2nd outfit) in October for a spooky brunch
• Chains and medallions top - no label, thrifted; last worn here in March with black velvet
• Faux leather pants - Frnch, thrifted; first seen here in October with snakes and orange
• Shoes - James Harden X Adidas, consignment; last worn here (3rd outfit) for brunch and a thrift shop
• Tabard (below) - COS, consignment; purchased here for $71.99

These faux croc pants were comfy, and I really appreciated the big pockets. 

My bronze patent leather jacket is a longtime treasure.

So shiny! 

I buttoned it up snug while we were out walking. 

I took it all off while we had lunch at Montana's after our walk. 

I have an extra camisole on for warmth, but it was a chilly day. 

Tabard! 

See? I need pockets in the pants! 

I loved this tabard - it gave me a nice extra layer of warmth without hiding my outfit completely. 

I bussed to town after lunch, and had a wee shop at the big Pandora Ave WIN (Women In Need) store. 

Pursed and gloved. 

I wished I'd worn a hat and scarf. 

Accoutrements: 

This little purse is much bigger inside than it looks. 

• Leather purse - Aimee Kestenberg, thrifted, Powell River
• Velour gloves - Thinsulate, thrifted

The stuff: 

Love these shoes and the extra shiny brassy-yellow. 

Studded bling: 

I took my rings off while shopping - my rings are all loose from the cold. 

• Leather belt - Roxy, vintage 90s, thrifted
• Leather/chain strap - local
• Studded leather wrap - Kipling Leather, thrifted
• Necklace - Stella & Dot, thrifted
• Silver/smoky topaz ring - Anneli Neuman, Sweden, vintage mall
• Silver/crystal ring - Soul Flower
• Earrings - thrifted, Seattle

We parked at Hyacinth Park's lot. 

This is the home field for local girls' softball, plus there are tennis courts. 

I used to play tennis here with my Dad and brother in the late 70s, early 80s.

I also used to play with my bestie Janet in the mid-80s. I texted her this picture for a laugh. 

Familiar signage.

The trees seem enthusiastic to see us. "Welcome, come on in!"

Such an inviting path. 

The creek trickled along on the left here, with the sound of cars zooming up and down Interurban Road. 

These trees are ready to party. 

Cue raucous tree music! 

More dancing. 

Mossy trunks and field full of dead plants. 

There seems to have been a massive thistle die-off. 

It was very odd. 

Stepping stone platforms. 

Mom was shocked at how low the creek was. 

"It used to over flow the road!"

These platforms are meant to be sitting just above the water. 

The path lead us up to the fields. 

My brother played soccer here when I was younger. I had completely forgotten, but recognized it right away.

I was on the watch in the tallest trees for birds. 

I thought this might have been a raptor. Or it's a REALLY big robin...

These trees seem more sedate. 

Panama Flats is a familiar place to me from my childhood. It's a huge flat section of wetlands that's currently in discussions - I hope they keep it as a nature sanctuary/walking park. 

It's part of the floodplain of the creek. We skated on the frozen creek at least once when I was very young.

This tree dances alone. 

Looking across the flats - that all floods several times a year.

As we walked slowly, several joggers and a few cyclists (going way too fast) passed us. 

That long low grey building used to be the storage area for a former farm on part of the flats (I remember this from when I was a teen). We skated on that section of the flats too! 

See the bird in the tree?

Don't know what it is. 

Fat robin?

This section to the north was once owned by my grandmother's family (Mom's mother). 

That's the spot where all the trees are, Mom - I checked the map. 

Time to head back - it had gotten gloomy. 

Little droplets of rain. 

Tall poplar trees.

I love the stark branches. 

"Hey, you're back!" 

"Let's boogie!"

I barely caught this hummingbird, way up high on a branch. 

Fly away! 

Oh, there's my fat robin. 

Look at all the red berries! 

This tree is definitely my favourite. 

That's a Garry Oak, the grand dam of the local flora. 

Two squirrels were chasing each other around the trunks. 

The other squirrel is on the opposite side of the tree. 

They ran overhead, leaping from branch to branch. 

Barely stopping for a photo! 

As we passed the softball diamond, I noticed a maple leaf stuck into the top of the fencing. 

Oh, that's so nice. 

Then I noticed there were leaves all along the fence, leading back to the clubhouse.

My mom worked at the concession selling chips and pop to raise money for soccer. 

Disco trees.

I love the big weeping willow near the end. 

Colour persists. 

Flashes of yellow.

Yes, I have seen the blur on the camera lens - it's been cleaned, but I didn't notice until I'd taken all the pictures. 

Another selfie! 

That was so fun, Mom! I loved visiting a new section of the park - we'll definitely have to come back in the spring/summer. 

We had a yummy lunch. 

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

I popped into the Beacon Avenue Thrift Shop on the way to the WIN store. 

This lovely knit wool skirt had to come home with me. 

It's mostly wool. 

I didn't find any moth-holes!

It's Club Monaco, so I  know it would have sold for between $150-100. 

$11.00 for me. It's too small, so I'll sell it at my next Limbo sale. 

I also found this long split vest, with buttons/loops up the front. "It's very Ren Faire," I said to the lady at the till. 

I'm just tempting the Velvet Rage gods, aren't I? It's a burnout velvet (Devoré!) in a pinky-brown.

Lovely ice-blue lining. 

It's very wrinkled, needs a good steaming. 

Woo! It's 100% silk! 

And there are two spare buttons. 

It's by Tatum & Olivia, which is one of the Tangerine Jill ladies. It's always the same good quality, the same Vietnamese family factory, and always silk. 

For only $18.00? That seems like a good deal. This fits perfectly, and I'm excited to wear it. 

I was very strict with myself at WIN, and did a quick scan of the racks, instead of spending hours going through every item. 

I've seen this silk scarf there before, and decided to bite this time. 

It's a wild colourway - purple, aqua, pink, yellow, lime, and brown. I spy a couple of ink spots above the signature.

It's by Remoy D'Urville and was $12.95. His designs tend to look tie-dyed - I've had at least 3 previous scarves by him in the past 10 years. 

I was completely smitten with these wedge booties. 

They are made of pony-hair and printed with a dalmatian-sort of pattern.

Huh, the person who wore them missed taking the plastic loop off the inside zipper. 

I guess that's why the inside of the other boot is so chewed up.

I can probably wet that down and it'll flatten out again. I'm definitely removing that bit of plastic. 

These are called the Nugent, and they are leather with real fur. 

Made in Brazil! 

Oh, they're Matisse! I love their shoes. 

My tan boots are Matisse, and I used to have these spotted flats. 

Barely any wear on the heel and sole. 

These weren't worn very much. 

Looks like someone marked them down from $99.98 to $49.98.

For me, only $24.95! I found a blog post (not linking) dating them to 2017. 

I've been looking for a good quality, thick cream short-sleeved sweater for a while. 

This one seems good! 

The Bay! Good old Hudson's Bay Company. 

Machine wash, tumble dry is good. 

Fair Set was their house brand throughout the 80s and 90s. 

This is made in Hong Kong, which means this is before 1997. It's likely early 90s. $14.95 is great - there doesn't seem to be any wear on this! 

This took my breath away. The weight of it. 

The thick but soft fabric , the slick lining, the is-that-leather? belt. 

It is leather! And it's green (I thought it was grey in the store!). 

Pockets! Yes! 

Ha, the back splits (which open up to the waist) haven't been undone! 

"Everyone knows those stitches have to be removed, duh."

Not everyone, Vizzini! I removed a couple in a coworkers' blazer at our holiday party - he'd worn it to multiple meetings! 

Folks, if you see this X stitch at the bottom of an obvious split or pleat - it's meant to be removed! 

They are put there to keep the pieces laying flat in shipment. 

The textile is 70% linen, 15% cotton, 10% wool, and a touch of nylon to keep it from sagging. 

Holy smokes, the lining is SILK! No wonder it feels so nice.

I know that name! Oliver Theyskens - he's a Belgian fashion designer, who designed for Theory between 2010 and 2014 (link here 'cause I love) - Theyskens' Theory was a line from 2011-2014 when Theyskens left Theory to form his own label. 

I took a big breath and prepared to pay $58.95...but I'd missed the punch in the card - it was only $29.47! 

And check this out - it's from Ready-to-Wear Fall 2011, the first season!

It's the 5th slide here, from WWD. I spotted a few other jackets by him on reputable designer sites for between $500-750, and as high as $1500 for leather. Wow.

Vizzini, what do you think of my finds?

"I have nothing to say to you. You left me alone all day!"

But I'm home now! Would you like me to put on the electric throw for you to snuggle under?

"What are you waiting for?"

Okay, buddy, let's get right on that! 

Lovely Gentle Readers, thank you so much for dropping by! I'm signing off now for the weekend, but please do come visit on Sunday so I can regale you with tales of adventure! Happy weekend!