Thursday, May 9, 2024

Mom-Day Birthday Adventure - A Stroll on the Harbour and Lunch With the Mega-Yachts

Welcome, my friends to a very special Birthday Edition of Mom-Day! Mom's birthday is this weekend, so I took her out for lunch at the Tres Classy Boom + Batten restaurant on the Inner Harbour.
The last time we had a stroll along the harbour was here in February. 

It was a glorious sunny day, with temps up to 20 degrees. I dressed appropriately - but I also knew I'd be next to the water, where it's always colder and windier. 
I decided to wear this lovely, swingy dress that I'd picked up at the Beacon Avenue Thrift Shop last weekend. 

  • Dress - Papillon, thrifted; purchased here for $14.00
  • Boots - Bond Girl, Fluevog X Anna Sui; last worn here (2nd outfit) for a shopping trip with Monica
  • Jacket (below) - Only, consignment; last seen here (2nd outfit) for a shopping trip with Jessica

I layered a pale yellow cotton camisole under it, and I did wear nylons for warmth and boots. 
I didn't realize this skirt was higher on the sides, and slightly longer in the back. I like it!

It had a few "let's show your knickers!" moments in the wind as we strolled along. I shall wear wee shorts next time! 
I love the print - it's a floral, but somewhat alien looking. The flowers remind me of jellyfish. 

Pockets! 
Nice big ones - I kept my camera in one. 

I only took my coat off later in the afternoon. 
I also wore the scarf around my neck, and of course, I was Incognito. Ha, I do believe I missed a picture!

Accoutrements: 
Happy pinks. 

  • Purse - Michael Kors, consignment
  • Scarf - Alexander McQueen, consignment
  • Shades - prescription

The stuff: 
I walked to town, shopped for an hour, then walked home. Such great boots! They had many admirers. 

Sparkly bling: 
Two of Mom's bracelets, liberated from her jewelry box when I was a teenager in 1984-5.

  • Silver bracelet - Coro, vintage 70s, Mom's
  • Coral/olivine ring - Hawaii, 1976, Mom's
  • Fulvia Ring - Wendy Brandes
  • Green bracelet - vintage 60s, Mom's
  • Earrings - consignment

She gave me the ring a few years ago. 

We parked near the walkway, and enjoyed a fabulous view. The tide was out! 
I've never seen this little bay so empty! Lots of kelp, rocks and barnacles. 

And a heron, hunting for lunch. 
The seagulls were enjoying the sun. 

The empty beach! So weird. 
Christie's Pub - I miss this place, need to go there again soon. 

The heron again. 
It's good to see the wildlife. 

Our path. 
The mountains in the distance are in the United States - those are the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. 

The snow-pack is shockingly small - they're usually still covered in snow down to lower elevations. We may be in for a very dry summer.
The harbour was oddly quiet when we arrived, but it didn't last. 

A better look at Mom's 'fit - this was an expert ensemble, with subtle pattern-mixing and textures. 
I learned from the best, after all. 

We noticed that the Marine HQ has a public walkway, so we decided to check it out. 
This marina was built to house mega-yachts - they are quite amazing to see. 

This one's pretty small. 
I liked how the posts lined up. 

We're nearly at the Boom + Batten. We had a lovely lunch here last time. 
They have their outside seating set up, I see.  

Helicopters landed. 
Seaplanes took off (like this one) and landed. 

We enjoyed a yummy lunch - Mom had the fried chicken bowl and I had the gnocchi. 
We shared the dessert, which was not as good as the one we had last time. However, chocolate = good, so not complaining! 

We lingered over our coffees (decaf) and watched the traffic.
Yay, it must be nice to have your dog at work with you. 

Checking out the houseboats on the other side of the harbour. 
Mom noted she was nearly sight distance to her grandmother's former home, in James Bay. 

We noticed this monstrosity entering the harbour. 
What? It doesn't look so big! 

Let me give you a sense of scale. 
Airplane on the left, Zodiac in the middle, mega-yacht on the right. 

It's coming right at us! 
It dwarfs the tiny harbour ferry, and the whale-watching tour boat. 

It completely blocked our view, how rude! 
It's called the After Eight, and it's owned by a local guy who owns a bunch of car dealerships (you can read about it, including its specs, here, link 'cause I love). We watched the dude in the upper right as well as a couple of crew members go up and down the stairs and chat with the Harbour HQ guy. 

It's bigger than Boom + Batten! 
What an adventure! 

This seagull was above me.
Keeping an eye on things. 

More fun with perspective. 
Look at the tiny kayaker in the bottom right!

And a person in a rowboat! 
A reminder that we're all just bobbing along with the tides. 

And speaking of, the tide is now coming in.
Look how far! That was fast! 

Our heron friend is still there. 
They're probably taking food home to the nests in Beacon Hill Park. 

Mom and I liked this.
I dunno, I think my mind and heart are already pretty free. 

I'm so grateful for this time with my mom.
Happy Birthday, Helen! And Happy Mother's Day, Mom! 

Mom headed home and I walked to town and had a browse at the WIN store on Pandora Avenue. I found a couple of treasures. 
This is an immensely gorgeous piece and very small, unfortunately - it fits me...with a wide gap at the front, so I might try to style it with a band tee before I sell it. 

All these ruffles? 
I am dying over here. 

The most sumptuous fabric, and that is a WOVEN stripe. 
The light stripe is the back of it - what is this wondrous magic? Also, look at those seams - so fancy! 

Of course, it's Etro - ETRO! For $24.95.
A striped cotton shirt on their site right now is $700+. 

I could not say no to this absolutely wonderful pink suede and leather skirt. 
It has big slouchy pockets on the front! 

Such awesome detail. 
And that's my number one shade of pink. 

In case there was any doubt. 
The CA number look-up confirms the company, which was based in Vancouver.

Marquis! I have a black suede and leather jacket by them (this one here). 
I think this is also from the early 90s - and that $22.95 is a bargain! 

And now, my friends, I'm going to sign out for the weekend - please drop by on Sunday for tales of adventure. 
Enjoy a picture of my solar decorations on our deck. Isn't it pretty, all winking on as the sun goes down. 

Happy weekend! 

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Orange Leopard and Space Jacket

Today saw an office full of people, and the bustle of a major meeting (plus catering!), followed by an after-hours party at the local pool hall. 
I dressed to play, as I love smacking the pool balls around. I'm terrible at it, though. 

  • Jacket - Smoking Lily; last worn here in July 2023 over a confusing coral dress
  • Sweater - Pierre Cardin, vintage 80s, consignment; first seen here in March with leopard and a lot of safety pins
  • Skirt - Scotch & Soda, consignment; last worn here in September 2023 with another Scotch sweater
  • Shoes - Swordfish Marquis, Fluevog; last seen here in March with ruched velvet

I played one game against colleague Andi - and she beat me, to her utter surprise. I warned her I was awful. 
Today's outfit features my long-time favourite Space Jacket. It's a stretch cotton brushed with silver by local makers Smoking Lily. 

The orange leopard skirt was popular with my colleagues. 
I explained what a bias cut is to a few of my coworkers. 

It's so swooshy. 
We had much warmer temps today, not that I was outside much. 

I only took my jacket off after hoofing it up the stairs in the morning. 
Sneaking in another wearing of this sleeveless vintage sweater. 

All done up and incognito. 
I walked to work in these shoes, and hopped a bus home after the event. 

The stuff: 
My shoes elicited gasps of astonishment, as usual. They are rather spectacular. 

Orange bling:
I had more comments on my David Bowie brooch than anything else. 

  • Bowie brooch - vintage fair
  • Orange bracelet - consignment, Sidney
  • Steel/acrylic ring - Calvin Klein, thrifted
  • Orange cuff and ring - Italian, vintage 60s, vintage mall
  • Wooden earrings - vintage fair

Off to nap - I'm still feeling groggy and a bit sore from my perio appointment yesterday.