Bigass Weekend Wrap-Up: Friday Black Linen; Brunch Caftan and a Wee Shop; Annual Winesday Women Pool Party in Rainbow Caftan; Snoozing Squirrel

Welcome back, my friends! I have so much fun stuff to share, so kick back and chill out as we have a look at what I've been up to.

On Friday, we returned to scorching temperatures. Time to break out another dress!

I've only worn this lovely linen piece once, just after I thrifted it last spring. Tsk! 

• Mesh top - Soya Concept, consignment; first see here (2nd outfit) in May with olive layers
• Linen dress - J. Crew, thrifted; first worn here (2nd outfit) in June 2024 for brunch after the Day of Indolence
• Shoes - Miista; last seen here (2nd outfit) in May for a Shop With Sheila

I've been saving it for hot weather, but hey, I should take my own advice and layer something under it! 

So I did! This purple/gold mesh top worked perfectly in my office, covered me while I was outside, and I didn't have to worry about pesky bra straps. 

I love that the dress is 100% linen and is lined in 100% cotton. 

It has no zipper - you just pull it on over your head - and no pockets, but the cut and quality are so good. 

Incognito. I walked to work and bussed home, as I had a haircut to get to.

I used my little teddy bum-bag to carry all my essentials. 

Accoutrements and stuff: 

I was gleeful when I realized this silk leopard and purple plaid scarf would go with the outfit. 

• Silk scarf - Ralph Lauren, thrifted; purchased here for $6.95
• Teddy purse - thrifted

Purple and gold bling:

A happy mix.

• Necklace - me-made, strung with vintage glass beads belonging to one of my great-grandmothers
• Carved stone bangle - consignment
• Gold bangle - thrifted
• Silver/amethyst ring - gift from Mom & Dad, c. 1986
• Crystal/silver ring - Uffizi Gallery gift shop, Florence, Italy
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
• Suede earrings - vintage 80s, consignment, Powell River

I restrung that necklace many years ago - the four round glass beads and the large Venetian glass beads are all vintage. I bought the gold beads and spacers, and clasp and put it together. 

After a lovely evening to myself while outgoing L extroverted with friends, we were up early on Saturday to meet Nick for brunch. 

Ohhhhh, it's hot. Hot hot hot. Better wear this caftan that I've been saving just for this! 

• Caftan - Ayrtight, thrifted; first seen here (6th outfit) in August 2024 at last year's Annual Winesday Pool Party!
• Shoes - Prepare Guide, Fluevog; last worn here with my coral cocoon dress a couple of weeks ago

And yes, I dyed my hair. Now I'm blue, since my favourite haircolour for the last 6-ish years seems to have been discontinued. 

I've done blue a few times, and like how it fades out to a nice icy shade. 

I've only worn this caftan once, after finding it in a wrinkled mess at the Beacon Ave Thrift Shop on one of my pre-brunch 5 Minute Shops. 

I'm still boggled that I only paid $10 for it! 

My hair is nice and short in the back again. 

Rock on! I was the most swooshy in the grocery store. 

Incognito.

I do have a layer under this, my wee shorts and a camisole. I don't like sweating on my "good" clothes. 

I felt very smart for grabbing my fan before we left. 

John's Place doesn't have AC! I fanned poor Deb whenever she came to our booth.

Accoutrements: 

I've never found a better copper purse. 

• Leather purse - Arcadia, consignment
• Fan - Chinatown

The stuff: 

These are also the best turquoise shoes I've ever had. Oops, forgot to take a pic of just the jewelry.

• Turquoise/copper squash blossom cuff - Bell Trading Co., vintage 60s, consignment
• Copper/glass ring, copper ball ring, copper ball necklace - vintage 60s, consignment
• Copper/enamel cuff - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, vintage expo
• Copper/enamel earrings - Matisse by Renoir, vintage 50s, Grandma J's
• Copper/turquoise necklace - Bell Trading Co., vintage 60s, consignment (Vix's twin!)

I had a Five-Minute Shop at the Beacon Ave Thrift next to John's Place, and I found a "goal" piece!

It's a straw hat. It's cowboy-hat-adjacent, and fits me just right (not too stiff, not too big or too small). Also, it was only $5.00. I loathe that ugly VERY 90s fabric hat-band, so I'll be removing it and adding something else. 

I also spied these Fly London shoes right away.

I have had a few pairs of Fly London over the years (long-time readers might remember these green ones that I bought retail, regular price $220/on sale for $132 in 2011). 

The sole has very little wear. 

A nice bouncy rubber.

I like the open heel and toe and the ankle lace-up. 

They really were only $18.00! That's a steal! 

After lunch, we got groceries, and I prepared for the Annual Winesday Women Pool Party that night.

I changed into my OTHER caftan! 

• Caftan - Conrad Collections, thrifted; first seen here in July 2024 for a brunch and a park mini-Winesday
• Sandals - Geox, thrifted; last worn here at Finnerty Gardens in July with Mom

It's not as voluminous as the Ayrtight one.

But I love the swooping ribbons of colour! 

I still have my wee shorts and a camisole under this. 

It was easy to pop back on after I went for a dip in Marian's pool! 

I took pics with my parasol, but I didn't need it or use it at all.

By the time we made it to Marian's the sun was no longer beaming overhead. Mental note to remember that for next year! 

Accoutrements: 

My Ed Hardy bag is my unofficial Winesday carry-all. 

• Giant bag - Ed Hardy (NWT, have never removed them), consignment, Powell River
• Leather purse - Michael Kors, consignment
• Paper/bamboo parasol - Chinatown

The stuff: 

Comfy sandals. 

Gold bling:

I liked the long necklaces with the caftan. 

• Gold-by-the-inch chain - vintage 80s, Grandma J's
• Gold chain - Monet, vintage 80s, thrifted
• Hinged eelskin bangles - vintage 80s, thrifted
• Turquoise ring - consignment
• Gold/amethyst ring - Frances Jewelers, c. 1965, Dad's
• Earrings - vintage fair

Yvonne pinged me that she was on the way, so I waited outside, where this squirrel checked me out. 

Look at that cute white belly! This isn't Maple.

We arrived at Marian's after a long twisty drive to Saanich. 

The pool is the fenced area in the far distance. 

I see some of our gals! 

We set the food up - so many wonderful salads - then hung out, laughing and talking.

My lovelies! 

From left: Linda, Ali, Vero, Jo, Nancy, Yvonne, Marian, Tracy and Petra. I missed Jen, and Caro arrived much later from a volunteer event. 

Jo is a professional baker. Look at the amazing cake she brought! 

All gluten-free too! It had the most amazing lemon curd in the layers. I ate one of the yummy macarons. 

We went for a dip in the pool once the sun went down. 

That's Yvonne, Jen and Nancy chatting. Jen mounted the red dragon and splashed around on it! 

Marian, Tracy and Caro, at the end of the night, around 12:30am.

Yvonne's calling us a cab.

Much love to our wonderful family of women - love you all so much, and missed a bunch of our amazing women (missed due to other obligations, and some Covid going around) - next time! 

And now, I'll leave you with some pictures of possibly that same squirrel, snoozing in the maple tree outside our windows. 

When I spotted her, I hollered to L. "Squirrel in the tree!" 

Little tail curled over her back.

She's spotted me! 

I went out onto the deck to see if I could get a better angle.

But I woke her up. 

Sorry! 

Hope to see you again soon!

Thanks so much for being here, my friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. 

Mom-Day at Rithet's Bog in Silk Swoosh, Plus a Wee Shop

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Mom-Day Adventures at last! It's been ages, it feels like. 

Mom and I went to Rithet's Bog (last visited here in September 2024), and took the eastern path, which we haven't done since we visited way back here in May 2021 (ha, Mom wore the same top today). That was one of our very first Mom-Days!

I decided to wear this new-to-me silk skirt for Mom - I knew she would like it. 

The boots and linen blazer came next, then the red top. 

• Linen blazer - H&M, thrifted; first seen here with skants in July 
• Top - Anne Klein, thrifted; first worn here in June over a neon blouse
• Silk skirt - Essentiel Antwerp, consignment, Powell River; purchased here for $99.00
• Boots - Austen Biblio, Fluevog; last seen here for brunch and a Winesday in May

I really liked this outfit - it all just worked. 

The skirt was astoundingly billowy in the wild, and the sun shone through the eyelets. I carried my phone in one pocket and my sunglasses/glasses in the other. 

The jacket gave me two more pockets (one for the camera, one for my keys and buss pass).

Plus this amazing Battenburg lace back that shows the red of my top. 

Here's the outfit without the blazer, which I took off at lunch. 

It was a hot and sunny day, just lovely. 

I ended up wearing my scarf over my hair all day. 

Just swap the sunnies for glasses and this is what most people saw. 

Accoutrements: 

I loved wearing this scarf. It's tricky to match with an outfit, but when it works, it works! 

• Belt - vintage 90s, consignment
• Leather purse - Rebecca Minkoff, consignment
• Silk scarf - Lanvin, vintage 60s, thrifted

The stuff: 

It's been chillier in the mornings, and even though temps were predicted to go to 24, I figured we'd be walking in the shade. Boots in August! My feet were rather warm by the time I walked home. 

Turquoise bling:

The multi-stone bracelet caught my eye and led me to more turquoise. 

• Semi-precious stones/silver bracelet - gift from L
• Turquoise/stone bracelet - thrifted, Sidney
• Stone Klimt ring - consignment
• Silver/turquoise stones ring - consignment
• Silver/turquoise ring - Glee
• Silver/turquoise earrings - consignment
• Silver/turquoise pendant - Karen's

I walked to town to catch the bus to Mom's 'hood. This squirrel startled me as I walked by her.

Peeking at me from behind the leaves! I see you! 

I ended up on the wrong bus, and hopped off about a kilometer from my usual stop, but I'd been texting Mom and she followed my route and picked me up. The miracles of modern technology! 

And here we are, at Rithet's Bog. It's behind those bushes, in front of the distant trees. That's about as much bog as you're going to see. 

I hope you like inviting tunnels of greenery lit by the sun dappled through the leaves of towering trees overhead. 

Because that's what this place is! 

There were a few people along here.

Everyone smiled or said hello. 

We could hear lots of birds. 

There were a bunch high up in this tree - I zoomed in for this picture. I think they are young Cooper's hawks. 

Hey, there's some bog! 

Yup. Very exciting.

Mom in a sunny stretch. 

Looking good, Mom! I like those polka-dot swooshy pants! 

A giant tree. 

You know I love twisty branches. 

After a while, we paused and rested on this bench. 

We spotted hummingbirds, and watched a very athletic squirrel jump around the trees. 

She was on the Garry Oak behind us, and I managed to snap a picture of her.

That's an acorn between her paws. 

This little wren landed on a branch only a few inches from us. 

There were wrens, finches, chickadees and the ol' spotted towhee, but no new birds on my Merlin app.

Time to head back to the car. I'm hungry!

Those are blackberry brambles on the left side. We both nibbled and picked as we walked. 

The brambles snagged my skirt a few times, but nothing major. 

A peek at the central bog through the greenery. 

You can walk the full circumference of the bog. 

There are several different trails. I'll have to bring L here. 

Mom and I tried a new restaurant, the Little Thai Place, for lunch.

We both had vermicelli bowls with chicken and prawns and a spring roll. They were delicious.

That was such a wonderful day - I really missed you, Mom. I love you! 

I hopped a bus back to town, and popped into the WIN Boutique for a browse. They were in the middle of swapping to fall stock, so the store was pretty empty. 

I'll never say no to $1.95 nylons. 

This shirt was in with the women's wear, but it's by Topman.

I grabbed it, knowing immediately that L would LOVE this. 

The colours are so him. He has yellow, purple and red pants, and I'm sure we'll be seeing this on him soon. 

It's not super awesome quality (100% viscose), and I know some of you (I see you, Ann) are twitching that the pattern isn't lined up down the front, but L will probably wear it open. 

It was only $19.95.

Too cool! 

And now, I'm signing off for the weekend, my friends. I have a busy one ahead, so please do stop by soon for tales of adventure! Thanks so much for being here.