Mom-Day at Home in Denim Mermaid and Optic, Plus a Wee Shop

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Mom-Day! I went out to visit Mom at home, as she had overspent her energy for the week, plus needed my help with a couple of things around the house. I last visited Mom here in May, just before her big birthday party.

"I see you got the black and white memo," Mom said when she saw me.

Yup, I wore a lot of black and white! This is my old combo for a casual outfit. 

I layered a graphic mesh top under my Eames chair tee, and put that on top of my other denim maxi skirt.

• Eames tee - SPRZNY, thrifted; last seen here in April for a Mom-Day at Finnerty Gardens
• Mesh top - Mexx, thrifted; last worn here in December 2024 layered under olive
• Denim skirt - Levi's, thrifted; first seen here in May for the Annual Day of Indolence
• Sneakers - Converse; last worn here (3rd outfit) in May for my first wearing of the Halston Ultrasuede dress
• Optic cardigan - Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) in July 2023!! 

I ostensibly built the outfit around my optic Jean Paul Gaultier cardigan, but this is how I wore it all day. 

Not exactly the focus, but that's okay. I was shocked to see that I missed wearing it last summer - it's been two years! 

Ah, there we go, see what I mean? Spectacular! 

It matched the long-sleeved top really well. 

I took it off while I was inside - I was crawling around a toilet, replacing the seat for Mom.

I'd forgotten she needed that done - this mermaid skirt was not exactly conducive for sitting on the floor. 

Yes, I'm very thankful that Mom's cleaners came yesterday. 

I have no fear! Hand me that screwdriver! 

This is how most of the world saw me. I walked to town (just missed the bus), then caught another, walked from the end stop to Mom's, then did the reverse, getting off downtown and walking home from there. 

It was a lot of walking. 

Oh, here's the cardigan on for you. 

Isn't it cool? The cuffs are very open mesh, and it has useless pockets that can only hold a piece of paper. 

I love the hypnotic pattern. 

Rock on, my friends! 

Accoutrements: 

Due to lack of pockets, I went with my most pocketed purse.

• Leather purse - Lodis, thrifted
• Paper hat - thrifted

The stuff: 

These shoes held up well, although my feet were pools of sweat by the time I peeled my socks off in the early evening. 

Gold and turquoise bling: 

The little gold bird on the tee inspired me to wear gold, and then I felt I was missing colour and added a bunch of turquoise. I pinned the silver feather brooch onto the necklace. 

• Leather belt - Banana Republic, thrifted
• Turquoise stone bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
• Gold hinged bangle - thrifted
• Silver/turquoise ring - Glee
• Turquoise ring - Karen's
• Mixed metal/leather bracelet - Jenny Bird
• Gold/turquoise ring - consignment
• Gold earrings - Biko, consignment
• Gold necklace - Givenchy, vintage 80s, vintage fair
• Feather pin - Boucher, vintage 60s, thrifted
• Turquoise/silver pendant - Karen's

And now, sit back and relax and enjoy some pictures of my day. 

I walked from home to the bus stop which has a lovely view of the Porter Block, a heritage building. 

Also, Victoria is famous for these lamp posts (which are sky blue) and their hanging baskets of flowers. 

This is City Hall. 

Pretty spiffy, right? I remember when it was purple. 

A long bus ride later, and I'm in the rural hood, and here's our favourite sheep farm.

SHEEPS! 

The blackberries were nearly ripe. 

I totally ate a few. 

Mom was thrilled with her new white paint-pens I'd picked up last week for her. 

Looking lovely in your black and white outfit, Mom! 

She had to try them out right away. 

One of these is her tester picture and one is the "good" one. They both look pretty good to me! 

So nice with the mat on it! 

While Mom fussed around and played with her pens, she said, "Oh, go look in the closet."

OH MY GAWD. This painting! This hung in our basement, right outside the entirely robin-egg blue bathroom (even the ceiling! it was a creepy little loo), beside Mom's Art Bench. 

Mom painted this c. 1976-77 when she went back to school when my brother and I were kids (I was 9-10 then). It's her art teacher. This brings back that time very vividly - 

Doing my daughterly best to help out. 

I'm a pro! That toilet seat is installed! 

We had toasted bagels with egg salad for lunch, plus some veggies and dip and cups of herbal tea. 

I LOVE egg salad, and hoovered this down. 

I thought y'all might enjoy an old family picture. I took this as we were getting prepared to go outside and pick blueberries. 

I'm around 14 in this picture, so this is 1981. Mom's 36 here, my Dad is 38 and my brother Dave is 11. He's wearing a Vancouver Whitecaps soccer (football!) jersey. Note my pierced ears, aviator glasses, and jewelry, and my hair is even feathered! 

And then we were outside, amid the buzzing honeybees.

You might be able to spot two bees here in the lavender. 

A gorgeous blue/purple hydrangea. 

Mom had me cut one to put in a crystal bowl on her dining room table. 

I pulled down a deck chair for Mom to sit in while we picked blueberries.

The bushes were loaded! 

I was amazed that birds hadn't gotten to them. 

There were small wild blueberries, and then big fat ones Mom called Big Boys. 

We each filled a container.

And then we sat in the sun eating them and watching butterflies and birds.

A red-tailed hawk was calling (a new one on my Merlin app!). 

The birds were having a good time soaring on the thermals.

Time for me to head home.

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

A peek at the Olympic Mountains in Washington State (USA) to the south.

Blackberry brambles in the foreground.

Back at the sheep farm.

The sheep had all come outside. 

They were grazing near the barn. 

Such a lovely area! 

I had a bit of luck at the WIN Boutique, spotting this copper bracelet in the case right away.

Ooh, I love this design. 

I've never seen this one before. 

Considering it's nearly 70 years old, it's in really good shape. 

Love seeing that Renoir stamp! 

This is from the 1950s, and it was $7.95 - I saw one online for almost $50! 

Isn't it pretty on? 

I'm excited to add this to the collection. 

I couldn't leave this gorgeous black leather belt behind. 

What a cool buckle! 

It's stamped Silpada Designs, Made in Canada, and of course, it's real leather. Silpada now seems exclusively focused on jewelry. They were bought in 2016 by a jewelry manufacturer (link here 'cause I love), and started in 1997, so this is likely from the early 00s. 

I paid $12.95, which feels like a bargain for a leather belt. I spotted this same one sold for $35 online.

I grabbed this red crinkled polyester lined skirt (no pockets, unfortunately).

It's a midi length and had a lovely wide elastic waist. 

It's the Pleated Midi Skirt in Rocket Red! And it's from the Fall 2018 season (shipped in May).

It's by Gap! 

I know their sizes run large. $19.95 felt right. 

On my way home, our old friend the buck was near the sidewalk, chomping down on some bushes. 

I'm watching you, we both said. 

Okay, you just continue eating and I'll just walk by you.

Urban life! 

Thanks so much for dropping by, my friends. I'm signing off now for the weekend, but I'll be back with tales of adventure on Sunday, so do stop by! 

Cobalt Blue and Flocked Tulle

Today was rough - my mouth was sore, I was still groggy from the happy pill, but I still got dressed and got to the office.

This outfit got rave reviews from my coworkers - they loved the skirt and the cobalt blue bookends.

• Top - Alexander McQueen, consignment; last worn here in September 2024 with a Sui skirt and boots
• Flocked floral tulle skirt - no label, consignment; purchased here for $30.00
• Shoes - Big Presence Desmond, Fluevog; last seen here in June with patchwork roses

The top is finished with me - I'll pass it along to someone who will give it a good home. It's too snug and has no stretch. Begone! 

I'll keep my eyes peeled for a good cobalt blue top when I'm on my shopping adventures. They are not rare. 

The new-to-me skirt was lovely - I folded the tan waistband inside to hide it, as I didn't like the high contrast (a black waistband would have been a better choice).

As she admired it, I explained to my colleague Nour what "flocking" is - it's a velvet finish on another surface, like wallpaper or on a Christmas ornament, usually a flat surface applied (flocked) with tiny fibres to mimic velvet.

Scarf for sun protection and to keep my hair from looking like a bird's nest by the time I get to work. 

You can see here that I tied a scarf around my waist (yarr, I'm a pirate!) for a bit of extra interest. 

Accoutrements: 

The black scarf has been living in one of my archive boxes under the bed for a couple of decades. I'm not sure why I kept it - it's not great quality or anything, I think it might have been around $10 new?

• Silk scarf - Forele, vintage, consignment
• Fringed scarf - Fairweather, c. 1999

I have memories of wearing around my neck with the fringed ends trailing down my back.

Silvery bling: 

My lapis bracelet is getting lots of wear already! 

• Silver/lapis lazuli bracelet - Nepali, consignment
• Lace/beaded cuff - locally-made, Nashville
• Anneke & Lars silver ring - vintage mall
• Lapis lazuli ring - Wendy Brandes
• Silver/kyanite ring - consignment
• Silver/obsidian necklace - Mexican, consignment, Powell River
• Silver earrings - gift from Petra