Stupid Monday

I am really annoyed at myself. With the time change to Daylight Savings, it is light enough again in the morning to do stair pictures, which I did. I also did all my pictures when I got home...and then I promptly deleted everything off the camera (because I don't store pictures on my camera).

Arg! I had to change back into my outfit. I really didn't want to. I want to go have dinner.

Anyway, this is why Mondays are stupid. I'm going to crop my head off deliberated from Patti's Visible Monday today! It is also why my hair looks so bad.

The top was last seen here (last outfit); the skirt is new. It is a really soft faux suede finish and believe it or not, it's a bright vivid royal blue. It was around $6.00.

I'm wearing bright purple tights as well. It was disconcerting to find out that there's some sort of arbitrary expiry date on being too old to wear coloured tights. Says who?!

Mr. Vizzini was being very annoying tonight: "And you will not chew paper. And you will not attack my WW flip charts. And you will stop attacking Inigo. And you will stop trying to get on the desk." He is currently locked out of the den so that I can get done and go have dinner. Sheila is cranky!

I decided to rock up the accessories today.

My awesome towering shoes, my teeth necklace and some rings.

I also got some new-to-me boots this weekend:

They are green and remind me of elf boots.

They're by G-Series and they are waterproof. Apparently they are by Cole Haan. I paid $24.00 for them.

I think they are way more fun-looking than gumboots. The toe of one is a bit damp, but I walked home in the rain and my feet did not get wet.

Blouse (Tabi, thrifted), skirt (Linea Domina, thrifted), shoes/big red ring (Aldo), necklace (The Bay), silver/red ring (gift from Cindy), boots (G-Series by Cole Haan, consignment).

A Reveal - and Casual Friday Turned Steampunk, and a Saturday Brunch

It all started with a hat. L and I were invited to an art opening last night for our friend, Carollyne, who is an up-and-coming Soon To Be Famous Artist (true, please visit her blog and website!). We knew there were people there who were going to be dressed up like the characters in the artwork and paintings, so L and I decided to dress up as well. Any excuse!

And now the reveal! Here is my handsome husband, my partner in crime and my best friend: We went for a combination of Mad Hatter and steampunk and Victorian. We're posed in the boardroom at my work. I had warned everyone at work that I'd be putting on some odd clothes, and that L would be stopping by.

We walked from my office, and over the bridge to the studio, which is located in a rather industrial part of town. As I wasn't able to do an outside staircase shot, I had L take a picture in the waning light. The clouds were getting all pinky by the time we got there.
The studio was packed after about an hour.
There were bronze sculptures, paintings, digitally-altered photo art, and knit sculpture. Art opening are always a great place to do a little schmoozing and connecting with other artistic-minded people. I got a couple of new recommendations for second-hand and consignment stores!

Carollyne was in fine form. She's the one in the green wig, to match one of her paintings. I managed to restrict myself to one mini-cupcake, if you were wondering!

All of these ladies were dressed like one of Carollyne's squirrel series of paintings (in the background). My favourite was the lady in the pink with the red hat.

I ended up talking with Tierre Joline, and I'm hoping to have her design and make a custom hat for me! She made the red hat she's wearing. Two hatted artsy chicks.

But let's back this up a bit, now. It all started with the hat.
I carried that hat (and what it contained) with me to work to do a quick change into my party outfit.

This is what I started out with: My Noa Noa striped frock coat, a plain cream sweater with my plaid bustier over it, my skinny cropped dark jeans, and my knee-high black boots. Added a jangle with my double necklace and some plain gold hoops.

Wendy, how's this for a peplum?

I love how this bells out when I walk.

I changed this up for the art opening by swapping out the jeans for a long skirt. Here's a shot of just the sweater and skirt:

I got that skirt for free! It was in a $5 clearance bin at my trade-in consignment store, and Annie said I could just have it. I've been holding onto it for over a year, waiting for the right occasion. Last year just didn't have very many parties. The funny thing is, I used to have this exact same skirt, that I bought new at Le Chateau in about 2004...but in a size 13/14 (and it was tight). This one is a 3/4.

I also put the bustier on over the jacket (instead of under it), then belted it. I added my vintage 80s top hat, with a Smoking Lily obi tied around it, another necklace (the watch) which was pinned to my lapel, and well, that's about it. It was an easy but dramatic transformation.

The work stuff: And the dressy accoutrements: All the jewelry: The Scrabble tile "S" was pinned to the obi on the hat, and I hung a key charm on each of the hoop earrings.

On the way home, we saw this graffiti:"Are you alive?" You bet I am.

Work outfit: coat (Noa Noa), bustier (Le Chateau, consignment), sweater (Trina Turk, consignment), jeans (Jackpot, swap from Caro), boots (Gabor), necklace (Plum), scarf (Smoking Lily).

Dress outfit: coat (Noa Noa), bustier (Le Chateau, consignment), sweater (Trina Turk, consignment), skirt (Le Chateau, consignment), boots (Gabor), belt (Jacob), necklaces (both Plum), obi (on hat, Smoking Lily, consignment), hat (vintage 80s, Le Chateau), purse (Spencer & Rutherford, gift from L), gloves (Parkhurst).

Today, I got up early and went to my Weight Watcher meeting. It's been a while since I went as a member (I've been avoiding it because I knew I had put on a few pounds with all my birthday celebrating). Happily, I am back to my goal weight!

However, I always plan my WW outfits so that they are light in weight. I never, ever weigh myself in jeans! I wanted to wear my new zebra-striped shoes, so I built the outfit around them. That's my faux suede midi-length skirt (2nd outfit), and my lovely Chinese brocade top.

Vizzini was very lovey this morning: He's looking at Inigo down the hall (see him?).

It was not too chilly out this morning, so I just wore my thick silk and wool tweed jacket and long leather gloves:Vizzini really liked attacking the faux fur collar.

I don't usually buy flats, but I loved these. They are leather (the texture is hairy), with flexible rubber soles. They're Aerosoles - I got them free for trade-in last weekend. They're barely worn, so I was pretty happy with them. I can tell exactly why they were consigned and even why they got marked down in the consignment store: the sizing is wrong! I'm a size 9 to 9.5 (a Euro 40) and these are marked size 8. They would be huge on a real size 8, but are a perfect snug fit on me (I walked all over town after brunch, and they were awesome).

Always try on shoes within a size or two of your own size in second-hand stores - you never know what might fit!

Jacket (Precis Petite), top (Le Chateau, consignment), skirt (Precis Petite, thrifted), shoes (Aerosoles, consignment), gloves (Club Monaco, consignment), earrings (Plum), wrist-wrap (Club Monaco).

Hope you're having a great weekend!

A Big Jacket and a Lot of Cat Pictures

Happy almost weekend!

Today's outfit is built around this new jacket: I did the easy route and pulled out the colours from the jacket trim: purple-y bottom, teal shoes and gold legs.

The jacket is not a style that I normally do.

I generally prefer to have more figure-hugging clothes, but once in a while it's nice to shake it up with a different shape. I was drawn to the embellishments on this, of course!

And yes, I'm wearing it over my dress again (3rd outfit down):

I get a little loopy in the mornings before I've had my coffee...

The stuff:

My lovely teal shoes, and a nice look at all the rich textures.

Here's a better look at the jacket:

It reminds me of Mongolian dress. I like the belled sleeves. The fabric of the jacket is tweed, with these bits of ribbon and embroidery sewn on.

Pretty! The jacket was tagged at $39.00, but I got it free with my trade-in credit. Thanks, Annie!

I had a compliment in the elevator at work today on my tights:

I've had these for about 3 years - got them out of a clearance bin at the Bay for a few bucks. They've lasted really well; no runs at all!

I love wearing this jewelry:

It's by a Vancouver company, and all the jewels are semiprecious stones.

Jacket (Nylon by Dex, consignment), dress (Maggy London), shoes (Me Too), earrings/bracelet (Myka).

Did I mention cat pictures? L's been taking pictures during the day again.

Vizzini and Inigo enjoy a bit of sunshine today:

Vizzini is way up on top of the house on the scratching post, and Inigo is in his sprawled out loaf position on the little scratching post.

Officer Vizzini, on patrol!

Keeping the neighbourhood safe and reporting any incidents (i.e. spiders and falling maple leaves).

Look at his dear little fuzzy toes:

I love the little white toes on his front paws.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lovey Eyes decides to flop on the rug:

He also has a fresh paper bag from the last grocery delivery.

For those of you who have wondered or commented on it in the past, the rug was bought at Home Depot a couple of years ago.

Inigo got all stretchy:

Time for a tummy rub!

Sort of a Suit

I should have paid attention when the sun coming up made gorgeous pinky-red clouds this morning: it rained all the way home and I got soaked.
I took this picture after I redried my hair, and you can see that the hem of my skirt is dark from the rain. *sigh* Welcome to the "Wet" coast!

This jacket is new - I got it with my Dots gift card from my awesome Winesday Women for my birthday. Thank you, guys! You are the greatest!

Of course, I am a major sucker for any kind of brocade or costume-y looking clothing, and I already liked the Naughty brand that I've found at Dots before, so when this jacket fit, it was mine! Mine, I tell you!

I was thrilled to see how well it went with my skirt that I got at Plum's clear-out earlier this year: Vizzini, not so thrilled. He's giving his toes a good lick.

Check out the back of the jacket:

Ah! That sweet little dip at the back, and then it's higher on the sides and lower in the front? Love! I would like to wear this with a bigass full black ballroom skirt (you know I have one).

The price on this was $162.00 marked down to $54.99, plus I had a 40% off coupon, so it was $32.99.

The purple parts are a silk/linen blend and the grey parts are a silk and cotton velvet. Mmmmm...velvet...Isn't it cool how well the purples match? It's like they were made for each other.

The stuff:

I had about a dozen people squeal (men and women, although not so much squealing from the men, hee hee) when they saw these shoes - I love having a new audience to appreciate my collection. These are my absolute favourite pair that I own, and I've had them since December 2008.

Jacket (Naughty), skirt (Plum), shoes (Poetic Licence), earrings (The Cobbler).

Matchy-Matchy in Red and Olive

I think I may have gone a little overboard with the matching today:It's a whole lot of red and olive! That's my no-name red cardi, but the skirt is new. I layered a pair of red tights under a pair of olive fishnets. It subdued the red quite a bit.

Kind of hard to tell, but it's a tweedy red and brown plaid:

I love the long line of it - there's that midi length again! The cut is just lovely. I can't remember how much the price tag said in the consignment store, but I traded in a bunch of stuff so it was free to me!

Check out the nice little kick-pleats in the back:

One behind each calf.

I accessorized with my olive purse and chartreuse coat:

And a cat. Gotta have a cat. All the cool kids have one.

Vizzini was in love with this new scarf:

Despite the quote marks, that is real rabbit fur. It was most welcome on this very cold morning.

The skirt was pretty much new:

Still had its tag on!

The stuff:

The shoes are new-to-me as well. They're leather, made in Spain and again, were free with trade-in! Love!

Sweater (no tag, consignment), cami (Mexx, thrifted), skirt (Tulle, consignment), shoes (Marina Luna, consignment), belt/earrings (Plum), bracelet (Jacob), wrist wrap (Club Monaco).

Last night Inigo helped me put together my outfit:

He really liked being on that shelf - he pulled a bunch of sweaters off when I removed him.

L has been taking pictures of Vizzini while I'm at work:

Little kitty in loaf position!