Welcome back, my friends! What a lovely weekend it's been, from hanging with my football fam, to TCK (Takin' Care of Kittens), to my office company party, and of course, brunch.
Let's kick things off with Thursday, which - as is tradition with our group of football-loving friends - is spent eating chili, chips and drinking beer and cheering on our preferred NFL teams (usually not playing on US Thanksgiving, but you gotta cheer for someone!).
"I played with the people!"
Our wee boys were well-behaved, and this one (Barnabas) entertained the group and himself for hours, playing fetch with his squishy ball.
This is a non-dressed up day for me, so in addition to my Carolina Panthers jersey (bought at a vintage fair), I also had on my thrifted Adidas track pants.
And a thrifted vintage 90s Panthers sweatshirt. Rock on! I had my Converse on for the walk to Shine Cafe for breakfast (shoes last worn
here on the previous weekend for Winesday).
I also wore this cocoon vest (by B. Young) on for warmth (last seen
here in February)
Pal Tony waiting for us to get our stuff on. Hi, Tony! Fortunately, it wasn't raining!
A half-arsed selfie of all of us at Shine!
From left: me, Casey, Nick, Tony, Chris and L.
We enjoyed chili (made by me), chips and other snacks and settled in for a long day of NFL football.
"I'm a Panther!"
Barnabas snuggled up to Nick for most of the day. Aw!
Later, when L fell asleep on the couch.
"I'm an otter." "I love the Man!"
A sweet hug later in the evening.
Big eyes!
L and I were up early to take the kittens for their final set of shots at the Cat's Cradle vet. Only one more visit (snip-snip! it's been scheduled!) and we can move them to our regular vet.
I dressed for panicked claws (just in case) with a thick vintage suede skirt.
It was a sunny day, so I wore this beautiful coat open.
- Coat - Desigual; last worn here (2nd outfit) in February 2024 with mostly black
- Silk/cotton mock-neck sweater - Nygard, thrifted; last seen here (2nd outfit) in October with a regret-me-not pouff skirt
- Skirt - Kelco Leather, vintage 70s, thrifted; last worn here (2nd outfit) in April for voting
- Boots - Original Sabado, Fluevog; last seen here in October with a fuzzy cocoon
The boys aced their visit - they happily crept into their shared carrier, looked around curiously while we drove, came out of the cat-taxi with no hesitation, purred at the vet as she jabbed them both, and trotted back into the carrier. She was amazed.
Such good kittens!
I didn't take my coat off at all, but I could have! L and I dropped the boys off at home, then walked back to town for a couple of errands and a quick lunch at Cactus Club.
We popped into a couple of secondhand shops to see if there was anything L could put in my stocking (we found one thing). I stayed on Fort Street and a had a little shop, watching for Christmas presents.
Incognito.
I grabbed a pair of gloves when we dropped the kittens off. My hands have been hurting in the cold - my arthritis is flaring up.
The stuff:
I enjoyed a bit of a shop, although I stayed away from new retail - ugh, Black Friday is just awful.
Bold bling:
The big gold necklace is so fancy - yes, I did cut the dangly ends off, but now you can see all the other stuff!
- Brass/crystals/turquoise/pearl cuff - Myka, consignment
- Gold hinged bangle - thrifted
- Fulvia ring - Wendy Brandes
- Silver/kyanite ring - consignment
- Silver/green stone ring - thrifted
- Necklace - D'Orlan, vintage 50s, thrifted
I found a couple of wee pins at Fort Street Vintage Mercury Shoes.
They were $5.00 each. They are small, so I'll probably use them on berets or for brooch clusters. No marks on either.
I had a short break in the afternoon at home, and then got dressed to head back to town for my company Holiday Party.
I put this outfit together a few weeks ago - I had toyed with wearing my red velvet gown again (the one I wore for the Goth party), but it felt too formal at the last minute.
- Dress - Luisa Cerano, thrifted; last seen here (3rd outfit) for Nick's Christmas party in December 2023
- Boots - 2.0 Tracker Prepare, Fluevog; last worn here for my birthday lunch with Mom in October
- Coat (below) - C&A Golden Gate Collection, vintage 80s, thrifted; last seen here in February
This lovely lace dress with black satin lining (and pockets!) lives in my gown/dress archive.
I go through my dress archives every time I do my closet swap-over and pull out a few things I feel like I might want to wear for the season, and put them in the closet in an area where I can see them and consider them for events.
I wore my "seamed" tights with the Calvin Klein signature.
I had socks on under them (it saves the toes!).
I bundled up in my lovely velvet princess coat, and walked to the bus stop.
"Are we going somewhere?"
L met up with pal Greg for dinner, and they hung out in the evening until I got home.
The stuff:
My colleagues were entranced by my fascinator and my purse. The fascinator was bought way back in 2015, at the Vancouver Blogger Meet-Up.
- Purse - vintage 1999, Fairweather
- Leather gloves - Picabo, Powell River
- Fascinator - Funk Shui, Granville Island; last seen here (2nd outfit) in September 2020 for Vero's birthday party, with a Flashback there too (scroll way down)
The purse is a c. 1999 purchase from when I worked at Fairweather women's clothing back in 1999-2000. I'm sure I didn't pay more than $20 for it. I had to give it a spray with canned air to get all the dust out of the sequins!
Bold bling:
A mix of black and red.
- Leather belt - Madewell, consignment
- Cuff with jasper stone - thrifted
- Crystal/Lucite bangle - Alexis Bittar, consignment, Sidney
- Silver/jasper ring - thrifted
- Silver/red enamel ring - antique shop, Sidney
- Silver/obsidian ring - consignment
- Earrings - thrifted
I was a little early, so I took a picture of the moon between the Union Club and the Empress Hotel.
I had my wedding reception at the Union Club in 1997.
A view of the sunset - such a glowy red!
Lots of people still around on the harbour.
A couple of my coworkers wanted to have pictures with me.
My lovely friend Srividya! We matched in black and red.
Kristina and I being saucy (she's the Aged to Perfection burlesque queen).
Sylvain, you are never allowed to take pictures again. They were all blurry.
Some of my favourite colleagues.
From left: Me, Camille, Sophia, Jessica and Andi. I just noticed, we all have Things On Our Heads, ha ha!
I was on my way home (bus again) when L sent me pictures of the kittens chilling out at home.
Aw! I was very "people'd out" by the end of the day, so L and I chilled out.
Back to our regular weekend routine, with brunch on Saturday morning at John's Place.
I had fun playing around with my outfit, adding shine, texture and movement.
- Velvet leopard blazer - Nygard, thrifted; last seen here in October 2024 for my birthday lunch with Mom and Brian
- Mesh leopard top - Dolce & Gabbana, consignment, Powell River; last worn here in March with layers of velour and jellyfish
- Copper bustier - Zara, consignment; first seen here in December 2014 for New Year's Eve
- Skirt - Twinset, consignment; last worn here in January with the Thousand Dollar Sweater
- Boots - Rockport, thrifted; last seen here in October with plaid and bark
I didn't take the jacket off at all but I shoved the sleeves up to show off the mesh leopard.
It's very noticeable in person that the cotton velvet blazer is a black/brown leopard print.
I love wearing this skirt - it's so swooshy and fun.
I always have to inspect the hem when I wear it to see what sticks and things I've picked up.
Done up - I added a few fur accoutrements for warmth since I didn't wear a coat over the velvet blazer.
I few people exclaimed over my outfit, and I twirled for the staff at John's.
I felt very posh!
Brown and black, very festive!
The stuff:
All leather and fur, all secondhand.
- Leather purse - Aimee Kestenberg, thrifted, Powell River
- Fur scarf - Danier, thrifted
- Leather/fur gloves - Thinsulate, thrifted
- Fur hat - Import Salon, Eaton's, vintage 60s, thrifted
Animal bling:
I did a cluster of brooches on one lapel.
- Tiger brooch - vintage, consignment, gift from L
- Tree pin - Avon
- Heart pin - consignment; purchased above for $5.00
- Snake double ring - consignment
- Brass leopard ring - thrifted
- Eelskin bangle - fake Gucci, gift from Mom & Dad, Italy, c. 1988
- Hinged gold/Lucite bangle and earrings - Alexis Bittar, consignment, gift from L
I did a selfie so you can see.
Tiger!
Speaking of tigers...My view of the boys from bed on Saturday morning.
"There are no deer, Barnabas." "I want to climb a tree, Whateley!"
On Saturday night, L and I hung out and played board games - generally a very quiet night.
"Hey, Whateley!" "What?"
You know it's coming...
"Let's play!" "Be careful what you ask for, brother!"
And now, my friends, I'm off to enjoy the waning daylight before another week begins. Thank you so much for being here!
I liked how the bubble hem of the dress flared out under the slim coat. 
