Much Floatiness

Finally, it feels like summer is here! I really shouldn't be complaining about it being late - yesterday was the solstice/first day of summer, after all.

Most of my outfits this week are planned to be nice and cool to wear - my office area has floor to ceiling windows, and that ceiling is over 20'. When the sun hits it...whooo! Feels like early menopause...uh, not that I know...(not yet).
I like seeing how other fashion bloggers do the drapey cardigan, so I was inspired to wear this thin mesh one with a belt. I usually tie it in front. What do you think?

Oh, before I forget, Lorena, a "beeline" or to "make a beeline" is to head straight for something without getting sidetracked. It's from how bees fly straight back to the hive. There, the origin of an English phrase for you!

The stuff:
Last weekend, I hauled all of my summer sandals out from the depths of my closet. I forgot I had these!

A close-up:

I've worn all of these lots.

Cardigan (Guess, consignment), cami (Nygard), skirt (Nine West), shoes (Chinese Laundry, consignment), belt (Nygard), necklace (Melanie Lyne), ring (Nine West), earrings (don't remember).

And I'm Back in Black!

Well, Sal, I enjoyed the 2010 Summer Black-Out, but it was time to have a little black come back (and it's the only black this week, so that's not so bad, right?).

I also haven't done my personal laundry for a while, so I've been digging in the closet for stuff that is clean (I save up my good pieces and do a big load of delicates every few weeks):
I actually really wanted to wear these cropped pants that I've had for ages. I got the lime green suede Mary Janes on the weekend (Circa Joan & David for $6! Score!) and they just cried out for a little Audrey pant.

I felt very 50s/60s in this outfit.

I'm doing the twist. Sort of.

The stuff:

I just so happened to have these lime green wood earrings - and they went so well!

A close-up:

Two of my "souvenir" jewelry pieces: the ring from Scotland and the bracelet from St. Paul's in London.

Cardigan (Vero Moda), paisley top (Ann Taylor, consignment), cami (Vero Moda), pants (Focus 2000), shoes (Circa Joan & David, thrifted), earrings (Le Chateau), bracelet (St. Paul's Cathedral gift shop), ring (Scotland).

A Couple of Weekend Casual Outfits

On Saturday, the "Core Four" Winesday Women met up for lunch. Winesday is a group of women who get together every 6-8 weeks. Everyone brings a bottle of wine and something yummy to eat, and we gab, drink and eat until the wee hours. It's a wonderful way to connect with the amazing women in my life. I treasure it.

Cat, Caro and Vero and I are the original four (or the Core Four). We get together a little more frequently, because when you have a bigger group, it's sometimes tougher to get a little one on one time.

The weather was lovely, so I went with my halter sundress and denim shirt (to keep my arms and chestular region from getting sunburnt):
My orange sandals are good for walking.

We sat out on the grass at a restaurant down by the water, from 1 pm until our husbands joined us at 4 pm.

Me and my gals. Aren't they beautiful? We're all enjoying a nice refreshing wheat beer.

Today (Sunday), L and I were supposed to meet friends for an early breakfast - they didn't show up (my guess is that they forgot it was Father's Day today) so L and I had breakfast on our own, which was fine. We don't have anything to do for Father's Day, since both of our dads are long dead.

I'd done a little thrift shopping on Saturday before meeting up with the gals, so I wore a couple of new items:

I've been looking for a new denim pencil skirt for ages; like Audi, I'm always trying to find one that isn't slit too high (why are they slit so high??). I fell in love with this acid-wash one! It even has gold embroidery and sparklies on the pockets.

Other than that, this is my usual weekend uniform of layered graphic tee. Check out the back of the skirt:

Sparkly pockets! The skirt was $7.99 at Value Village.

The shoes are also new to me: $14.99 at Value Village. They're by Stonefly, a brand I've never heard of, but they are super, super soft and comfy, and they were barely worn. I needed a good flat walking shoe, and this concrete grey is a great neutral.

Hope you had a great weekend!

Denim shirt (Mexx, consignment), yellow dress (no label, consignment), orange shoes (Rinaldi).

Striped tee (Majestic, gift from Caro), t-shirt (Leonard Cohen tour shirt), skirt (Cache, thrifted), shoe (Stonefly, thrifted), belt (gift from Ruth).

Casual Friday and Special Occasion: Art Gallery Outing!

It's been a very busy weekend! Lots of social stuff going on, and not enough time to get caught up here until today.

First up: Friday's outfit for work: My sailor pants, my sequined top and my old brown wedge sandals (sorry, no "stuff" shot). Pretty simple.

A shot without the jacket (I didn't take it off all day):

I guess I should make some sort of effort to use this appliance called the "iron", but I'm lazy. Ha!

Elaine and I went to an evening exhibit at the local art gallery - we had a few drinks, walked down, wandered around and looked at the art, had a few more drinks, then came back to our house and hung out with L and Nick for a couple of hours. Fun times!

I love people-watching at the art gallery. Lots of folks admired my dress: Including Inigo. He always knows how to get right in the shot.

Let's try that again, without cat:

It was actually semi-warm Friday evening, so I didn't have to wear a coat. After being one of billion women in black the last time we went to one of these events, I had to wearing anything but black this time!

Back shot:

"I've got my eye on you!"

Elaine admired my madd Paint skillz in making L look like George Clooney and asked to be Isabella Rossellini. I obliged:Looking fab, girlfriend!

Denim jacket (Anne Taylor Loft), sequined top (Express), pants (Noa Noa), sandals (Nine West), earrings (Plum), belt (gift from Mom).

Dress (Desigual), shoes (Portia), bag (Expressions), cuff (thrifted).

Gold Digger

I was in a huge hurry last night after work - I had to dash to Book Club, so I only had time to take my pictures. I felt very retro:
Do you not love that green skirt? It's a Banana Republic, from Spring 2007, and was $18. This just reminds me of why I love shopping second-hand: why would I bother to go try and find something new when I can find something old? I snicker when the magazines tell me that full skirts are in style...yeah, they've been "in" a few times.

I didn't wear a sweater with this during the day at work, but it was a bit windy last night, so I chucked on this sweater:

I dug out my summer shoes last weekend, so these lovely ones are reappearing.

The stuff:

They're woven straw with leather accents. Shamefully, I still had my turquoise toenails from our party a few weeks ago. Fortunately, I always stash a bottle of quick-dry nail polish (I love Rimmel's 60 Second) in my desk at work...so *swoop slap* I did my toenails when I arrived at work.

A close-up of the jewelry:

I've had that pin forever. Mom gave it to me (as opposed to my usual "borrowing" from her jewelry box) to hold the neckline of a stripey tunic closed - I was 11 or 12 years old and starting to get my boobs...and feeling very self-conscious about the low slash neckline. I'm wearing it the same way - the "boob button" on the blouse refused to stay shut, so this little shovel kept it secure all day and evening.

Blouse (no label, vintage, thrifted), skirt (Banana Republic, consignment), shoes (Franco Sarto), belt (Le Chateau), cardigan (Express, thrifted), earrings (vintage), ring (70s vintage, Sarah Coventry), pin (Mom's, at least 70s).

Feeling Nautical

Ahoy-hoy! All I needed was a little white sailor hat and I'd be ready to go hang out with the kazillions of sailors in town right now. It's the Canadian Navy's centennial (we are a pretty young country, remember) and in celebration, about a zillion ships are in town.
I got this cardigan on the weekend for $18. I love the bright blue and I thought it toned nicely with the navy blue in the skirt (still not doing any black, but just in a casual non-challenge-y way).

The stuff:

Oh, the shoes! These were my first of three pairs of Poetic License shoes (2 from here, 1 from London). How I love their floofy bow and crazy platform.

Cardigan (Jessica, consignment), cami (RW & Co.), skirt (Odd Molly, consignment), shoes (Poetic License), cuff (Oscar & Libby's), earrings (Plum).

Funka-Floral...and Three Years Maintaining!

I'm so happy that I'm able to combine a chore with a pleasure. I'm speaking, of course, of exercise and shopping! Up till four years ago, when I started Weight Watchers, I loathed any kind of exercise. Walk all that way to town to shop? Forget it - I'm taking the bus.

But now...walking is my main mode of transportation. I realized this week that it's been three years that I've maintained my 50 pounds lost since I started looking after my health and weight in the summer of 2006. I hit my goal in the late spring of '07...and here I am. It's still really tough - I still struggle every day not to stuff my face (or take the bus). I have to remind myself when I'm preparing my lunch at 11 pm, "It's worth it, it's worth it."

Anyway, how I love that shopping counts as a low-impact exercise. You're on your feet, you're carrying mounds of clothes or hangers (well, I do), and the lovely distraction of trying and (maybe, not always) buying takes my mind off food.

This weekend, I found this cute little dress in the 75% off area in a local boutique:
It was just under $15. It's a titch short for bare legs (I'd do it with tights for sure, though), so I layered my cream ruffly skirt underneath it.

Twirly goodness! I realized after I saw all the colours in daylight that the pattern's "turquoise" is actually more of a green, but whatever. It all goes!

The stuff:

I found the red flower wood earrings in the same shop for $6. They're the same make as my orange wood roses that I wear all the time.

Heh, I forgot I had a meeting with the president of the company that I work for this morning. I'm sure he will remember me!

Dress (Papillon), skirt (no label, consignment), shoes (Le Chateau), earrings (no label), cuff (Shi Studios), belt (Plum).

Summery and Shiny

For Julia who asked, the temperatures are in the low 70s here (highs of 17 or so for those of you who use Celcius). So yeah, I'm still hauling out my sweaters and tweeds:
I got the shoes in a thrift shop this weekend for only $8! They still had the Winners price tag on them: $50.00. And to top it off, the next day I saw the same pair (different size) in my favourite consignment shop for $32! Score!

The purple tank peeking out is also new. It still had the tags on it - it was $15.

The stuff:
Oh! Shiny! Caw caw! Look at all those glorious sequins!

I do love the cool colours in the shoes: yellow, green and purple.

A close-up of the jewelry:

The necklace and earrings are cheapy-cheapy, but the bracelet is vintage (Mom's).

This is the last day of the Summer Black-Out, so I'll be back...in black (or not).

Cardigan (no label, consignment), tank (Costa Blanca, consignment), skirt (Precis Petite), shoes (Enzo Angiolini, thrifted), necklace (Le Chateau), earrings (Aldo Accessories), bracelet (Trifari, vintage, Mom's).

Summer Black-Out Weekend Edition and a Book Blurb

Although the 2010 Summer Capsule Wardrobe Challenge is over, the Monday to Monday Summer Black-Out 2010 is still underway.

On Friday night after work, we went to see the documentary "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" with a bunch of our friends. I changed into my jeans and a t-shirt:

Of course, since it's still not summer here, I had to wear a jacket:

Mmmm...yellow...

I forgot to show the amazing lining last time I wore this:

Yesterday, I played Ultimate for 2 hours - by the end I was sweaty and icky. But no fear! I put on this easy sundress over my sports bra, and slipped off my shorts. Ta-da!

Ready to go for lunch and a quick stop in at the tattoo parlour (for L) and the thrift shop (for me) before we headed home to shower.

Today I wandered down and around some areas of town. I took the camera so you could see some of the neat stuff I saw. Some groovy graffiti that someone arty cut out and nailed to a telephone pole:

Don't be fooled by the blue sky: it was windy and cold.

A rocky hill that I walked by.

I couldn't resist these glorious poppies with the purple lavender:

This old Victoria-era house caught my eye:

I cut through the graveyard:

That's the ocean in the background.

I used my timer (as usual) to catch a picture of myself sitting on the edge of this grave:

This is the prettiest (and oldest) graveyard in the city. My great-uncle died as a child - he's buried here somewhere in an unmarked grave where poor people were permitted to bury their kin.

I like this angel:

A lady on her bike caught me taking pictures of myself (hee!) and asked if I wanted her to take one. I was so embarassed...

I finished another book! Kim Harrison's "For a Few Demons More":

Stats: Hardcover, 456 pages. Started May 30th, finished June 9th.

Blurb: I read the first book in this series (they're called the Hollows books) back in May of 2008 and quite liked it. I then read about 8 of the "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" books by Laurel K. Hamilton. I stopped reading those because, frankly, they became just about sex, sex, sex. I'm okay with some sex in my light reading, but I prefer interesting characters, story and humour. I quite like the Hollows books and can't wait to read the next one. I also like these better than Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books (the ones that "True Blood" is based on - woo! new season tonight!).

This book continues right where the last one left off (I'm not going to get into the plot), and jumps right into action, suspense and mishaps with our heroine, Rachel Morgan. Rachel's a great sympathetic lead woman; she's sexy and smart (but dresses inappropriately, which is meant to be funny), but is also flawed. The supporting characters are also complex - I care about what happens to Ivy the vampire and Jenks the pixie. If you enjoy a little light fantasy, you'd probably like these books.

Next up: "The Raw Shark Texts" by Stephen Hall.

2010 Summer Capsule Wardrobe Challenge Round-Up

Woo! Another challenge over! Jane, as always, thank you so much for doing these - they always challenge my creativity and push my boundaries further than I think I can go.

So, let's put it to a vote - because who doesn't love to click them some buttons?

Is your favourite mix...

Monday?
What? This is inappropriate for a soccer game? Isn't this what everyone wears?

Or is it...

Tuesday?
Just pose me artfully in a tent in the desert with some camels.

Or could it be...

Wednesday?
I'm kicking butt and taking names.

Or perhaps it's...

Thursday?

Who knew this dress could do this? Not me!

Or finally, will it be...

Friday?

Ruth said I looked like I should be pushing a hoover with one hand and holding a martini with the other.

Vote as many times as you want!

Clicky-clicky goodness awaits!
	Monday!
	Tuesday!
	Wednesday!
	Thursday!
	Friday!
	Hooray for Challenges!
	Inigo is the cutest kitty ever!
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Double Challenge: Summer Black-Out and Summer Capsule Wardrobe - Day 5

Today's the last day of the Summer Capsule Wardrobe Challenge! It's been fun but I'm tired of wearing the same clothes. I broke out the green blouse for the 3rd time, and put it with the pencil pants.
Inigo helped this morning.

I had planned to do my red belt, but it only fit right at my waist, so I used the blue one instead.

It was cloudy and cool this morning - the average temperature here right now has been around 13-15 C (58-63 F), so I need a jacket in the morning - sorry, Jane! I'm not counting this piece of outerwear either. I only wore it outside, I promise!
The stuff:
Man, I love those sandals. I love all the mixes of oranges and reds together too.

I wore the "S" Scrabble tile pin on my jean jacket. The Lady in Flames necklace is actually a domino so I thought they went well together. Hmmm...I just noticed the black beads! Ack!

Blouse (Esprit), pants (Noa Noa), belt (Denver Hayes, gift from Ruth), shoes (Rinaldi), necklace (gift from L), earrings (vacation), tile (someone local), bracelet (Plum), jean jacket (Ann Taylor Loft).