The Last Daze: Shopping With Emma; Vet Visit for the Snip

Hello, my friends! I'm back with a few more outfits and fun adventures to share! 

After a quiet Sunday, Monday brought a fun adventure - shopping with Emma (we first shopped together here in June). 

We did a walk down Oak Bay Avenue, stopping in at Good Things and Turnabout. House of Savoy was closed for their annual break, so I'll have to pop back down there soon - I have had a gift card since my birthday, and need to spend it! 

• Cotton sweater - J. Crew, thrifted; last worn here with Mom earlier this month
• Tulle skirt - Adidas, consignment; last seen here in November with sparkly paillettes
• Sneakers - L'intervalle, consignment; last worn here in September, when we first met our kittens
• Coat - L'Atiste, consignment, Vancouver; last seen here in December

It was a cold, brisk day but dry, so I layered up. I have a t-shirt under this cotton sweater. 

I had a different skirt planned, but it didn't appeal to me in the moment, so I swapped for my Adidas tulle (you can barely see the white stripes on the side, above). 

The coat is thin but has big pockets...and we walked fast! 

This is how I looked while we shopped: coat open, scarf tied to my purse.

Remembering to put a pin on my woven puffy purse. 

I originally had my black bucket hat picked out, but changed it to this vintage 90s rabbit-fur headband. 

Accoutrements: 

Puffy things! 

• Purse - no label, consignment
• Scarf - Marimekko X Uniqlo, consignment
• Leather gloves - Roeckl, consignment
• Fur scarf/headband - Danier Leather, vintage, thrifted

The stuff: 

I went for comfort - Emma has the same stamina as me and we shopped for over 4 hours! 

Silver/amber bling:

I debuted the thin studded bracelet (consignment) and the twisty crystal earrings - they were both Xmas gifts from L. 

• Leather studded cuff - vintage 90s
• Thin studded band - consignment, gift from L
• Silver Anneke & Lars ring - vintage mall
• Silver/amber ring - consignment
• Silver/amber thumb ring - consignment
• Amber drop - thrifted
• Crystal earrings - Justine Clenquet, consignment, gift from L

Here's a close-up of the earrings: 

I checked their website (these are not the Shanon earrings, just the box for those) and their jewelry is brass dipped in palladium. The crystals are real (I should hope so). 

And here's what I found at Good Things. 

A bracelet and a ring! 

The ring is "very Scandi" said Emma (i.e. Scandinavian design). I agree! 

It's marked silver and looks like wings in flight! 

The closure of the bracelet caught my eye - very unusual! It's a slide that is held in place by a bent piece of metal in the inner tube. 

It's marked 925 for silver (probably gold-plated for the colour), so it's likely that the fixings like the small beads are also silver/gold-plated. You can see that even a simple jump-ring has been squished/melted to keep it from opening. This has some age on it! 

On me: 

The ring was $65.00 and the bracelet was on sale for $24.00. 

From there, we headed to Turnabout, which was much less busy than when I last visited.

They had a huge sale on, and I finally bit on this gorgeous red skirt. It has a raw-edged hem and is bias-cut and draped around the body. One edge of the hem is longer. I had fun playing with this in front of the mirror, changing where the "train" would go. 

It's by Marni - the tag is sewn so that the front would have the train. 

And that's reason #456 why you should turn skirts around and see how they look backwards! 

Made in Italy. 

The original Turnabout price was $249.99 - it was $112.50 after the big discounts! 

I also spotted this giant amber ring in their case. 

Marked 925, so silver. I like the pebbled back of the amber, which gives it a wavy look on the front. 

Now that's a big ring! 

It was originally $129.99, marked all the way down to $58.50. Thanks so much for the wonderful gifts, L! I paid only a small bit of my own money on top of my gift card. 

Emma tried on this AMAZING Diane Von Furstenberg wrap gown. 

Wowsers! It was under $100, which is a STEAL. It's 100% silk jersey. 

We grabbed mushroom paninis and drinks at Ottavio Bakery after our shop, and sat outside enjoying the bit of sun still left. 

Turnabout is the building right next to it (you can see the tilted T at the entrance on the left). 

Thanks so much, Emma! 

What a gift to spend the day with you! 

The kittens were very excited to have me home, especially Whateley. 

"I love this skirt."

I had to take it away from him, and blot the damp spots. Naughty boy! 

I spotted a new bird, right from our window, pecking at the maple tree outside. 

I tried looking through the Merlin app, but couldn't find it - it's not a woodpecker, although she was furiously ripping piece of moss off the tree and flicking them onto the ground far below. 

Finally, I uploaded a picture to identify it. 

"Well? Have you figured me out?"

It's a Red-breasted Sapsucker! So cool! 

Our little guys were off to be neutered on Tuesday! Very exciting! 

"I love food!"        "I don't think that's what she said..."

L and I had booked their neutering appointment for early morning on the 30th (Tuesday), with an early afternoon pick-up. 

"I love balls!"     "Wait...OUR balls?"

I wore this new-to-me thrifted chambray dress, figuring it would be easy for clambering in and out of the car, and sitting with a heavy carrying case on my lap (both kittens get crammed into one case). 

• Dress - Nevada Jeanswear, vintage 90s, thrifted; purchased here for $7.00
• Turtleneck sweater - Bellissima, thrifted; last seen here in November with Westwood and leather
• Leather boots - Clarks; last worn here (3rd outfit) in February for an orange and fringed brunch
• Ultrasuede coat (below) - Halston, vintage 70s, consignment, Sidney; last seen here in November

That's coffee I dripped down the front of my dress, right on the first wearing, fresh out of the wash too! 

"I'm hiding under here."

A few squirts of Folex and it was fine, no fear! 

The boys traveled well (they strolled right into the case), with no yowling, and were perfect gentlemen for the vet. 

L and I had a nice breakfast at the shopping centre and picked up our beverages for New Year's Eve while we were in a quiet lull. There were not many folks around at the mall at 9am in that "Betwixtmas" period. 

It felt rather early for me too, as you can tell by my very tired face in these pictures. 

I liked the dress layered with the turtleneck; it's a good Jammy Dress for playing with accessories. 

I armoured up in my snuggly Halston Ultrasuede shearling coat.

I had a bit of "Shearling Rage" so ended up wearing it open while we were out. 

Accoutrements: 

Horses! 

• Purse - Ted Lapidus, vintage 90s, vintage fair
• Leather gloves - Ralph Lauren, thrifted
• Silk scarf - France, vintage fair

The stuff: 

I'm watching for a lower-heeled version of these boots - these are still lovely and getting a very good patina on them, but that's a high-ish heel for me these days. 

Amber and turquoise bling: 

First wearing of my ginormous amber ring - I loved it! 

• Belt - Brave Belts, thrifted
• Nu-wite bracelet - R&G Co., vintage 1920s, vintage mall
• Silver/turquoise bangle - Mexican, consignment
• Big amber/silver ring - purchased above for $58.50
• Silver/amber thumb ring - consignment
• Silver/amber ring - consignment
• Silver/amber necklace - c. 1930s, vintage mall, gift from L 
• Ear-balls - thrifted

We picked up our groggy boys in the afternoon, and took them home. We attempted cones, but they took them off each other, and we feared for damage to the house if we pushed the issue. Instead, we hung out and played games and constantly stopped them from licking their wee injuries. 

"I didn't love this! I don't want to talk about it!"

Poor buddies! It will be okay soon! 

"I'm going to chew up your lights."

And he did - I found two destroyed light bulbs (he crunched one!) in the morning, and now one of my strings of lights has to be replaced. Sigh. 

"I'm still deciding how to punish you."

Uh-oh...

But for now, they are being SUPER cute and very sweet.

"Happy New Year."

My friends, I'll be off again for a few days, enjoying our celebrations tonight (of course we have a party to go to!) and relaxing this weekend. I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure and my list of Books Read in 2025 (not as many as previous years, I fear). 

Thank you all for being here, and wishing you the best for 2026!