Benjamin's Birthday Bash 

Ben's birthday party was held at his mothers house last saturday. For the past two years she's done the party and we've done the real birthday dinner and it seems to be working out nicely. When she told me we'd be getting a bouncy castle, this is not what I was picturing. I just assumed it would fit 4 kids and be some rinky-dinky small thing, but it was MASSIVE! We arrived an hour earlier then the kids so Ben could have some alone time playing in the castle. "No shoes, no ice cream, no children over 12" I just couldn't help myself, plus, some rules are just made to be broken. 

Below is Ben's amazing dairy-free King Kong vs. Godzilla cake. His mom baked it with the specific instructions that he wanted it to be purple with green on the inside. I didn't have any but I was told it was delicious.  

I love this shot of Ben with his mom and dad and little friends creeping in the background. The look on Ben's face when his mom got the candle lit was priceless- he's just too cute for words! 

This is Krystal and her older baby Logan. Logan's going to be four soon and her party is on Saturday, I'm sure you'll see a blog post next week all about it. Apparently she's wearing a special Hello Kitty dress with a crinoline. This was the first time I met Krystal's kids (I didn't manage to get a close up of Thor because he was too busy digging) but they are two very loving little children. Krystal's husband Kevin works with Cyrus so I get to see this lovely lady occasionally. They all came over after Ben's party for a play date and might I just say that I have never seen a little girl so excited as when she opened up my armoire full of vintage dresses...  

I was attempting to show the size of Ben's custom Jake The Dog piñata. It was bigger then the size of my torso and head and bursting full of candy. I had no idea what the weather was going to do so I just wore my polka dot skinny jeans, a vintage Circle Jerks t-shirt and my go-to little denim jacket. A regular fitted denim probably would have worked better but I couldn't seem to find it in my closet. I wore dark blue suede VANS. 

Daddy steps in after all the kids have had one go and shows Ben how its done. This was one tough piñata and took a lot of hard smacks before finally bursting open and sending candy flying all over the ground. 

Jake's face managed to fly off with the candy and his nose/mouth stayed in perfect condition. This photo below is just one of the millions of reasons why I love Cyrus so much... so silly. 

Kali 

In your body is a good place to be 
On a weekly basis I browse through STYLELIKEU's website and always find the most amazing videos. Today I watched a 16 minute video on a round table full of women discussing body image, I found it to be up lifting. Over a year ago I stumbled across Goldie Rush's closet interview which in turn made me discover this whole wondrous website. Its pleasing to know that their are tons of women in the world who also like to hoard beautiful things and this gives me a glimpse into their collections. I mostly watch Closet Interviews, I've seen nearly all of them and there are a few that I found especially lovely. It was hard to choose but below I have listed 7 different women with links to their page that allows you to browse photos, read an interview and watch their video. I find myself drawn to many different types of beauty and I feel like I share common interests with all of the women I chose to share with you. Enjoy. 

1. Mattie Barringer. Click here to watch her closet interview. 

2. Hannah and Vita Kurland. Click here to watch their closet interview. 

3. Saga Sig. Click here to watch her closet interview. 

4. Goldie Rush. Click here to watch her closet interview. 

5. Adele Mildred. Click here to watch her closet interview.

6. Shae Detar. Click here to watch her closet interview. 

7. Elena Kanagy-Loux. Click here to watch her closet interview. 

Kali

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

I had the pleasure of spending yet another day with Jacquie. She's been coming to Victoria quite a bit to help her momma move and I've been lucky enough to hang out with her before I have to work. She was fashionably late as usual but that don't matta'. We went for coffee's downtown then headed to Lovely Things Vintage to check out her new stock. Jaq bought these green shades as well as a card for her friend and possibly something else. I'm not entirely sure, I was distracted. I found quite a few things I would like to add to my closet but because I am so low on money these days (or always) that I'm finding things in my closet to take in for trades. Everyone should allow trades, I would be totally into trading things for food... that would make my being a cashier far more interesting... 

I would tell you where Jacquie got her outfit but I'd be lying. I know she mentioned that her friend is doing a clothing line and made the leather shorts but besides that and the glasses that she had JUST purchased, I'm at a loss. All I know is that she looks great. She loved my crazy purple lipstick and stole it from my purse to apply it on herself as well. Matching isn't usually my thing but I'll let it slide, just this once. 

I can give you my outfit details although it might be horribly unexciting because I wasn't aware that we would be taking photos. I assumed we'd just be drinking coffee and schmoozing. If I had known, I'd have worn something a bit more exiting. Well, here we go:
Black Vintage Hat: Thrifted @ The Win
Leather Coach Purse: Vintage purchased @ Retro Rock Vintage
Vintage 92' Tom Petty T': Traded at Lovely Things Vintage
Black Jeans: Cheap Monday purchased @ WINNERS
Purple Lipstick: CoverGirl DIVINE


THAT IS ALL FOLKS. 

Kali 

Everything we care about lies somewhere in the middle, 

where pattern and randomness interlace. 

1. I had the luxury of sharing a whole day with Cyrus on Sunday (not the one that just passed but the one before) I ate cherry ice cream...for breakfast...in bed...with a beautiful man. I don't think I could ask for much more, it was dreamy

2. This girl that I went to high-school with years ago surprised me with a drawing a few days ago. She was inspired by my mirror image photo and took it upon herself to draw a cartoon pink version of it. I am completely in shock and think that is a very sweet and flattering thing for someone to do, especially someone as talented as she is. Rachel Twizell, you're amazing. 

3. Discovery Coffee now has Homer Simpson Donuts. Get one, they're delicious.

4. I was trying to decide what to wear to Ben's birthday dinner, this wasn't it. When he got home from school he asked me if I would "please wear a dress" so I had no choice but to go in a different, much softer direction. I thrifted the skirt at a local shop on Johnson called Above Flavour for $5 last week and the leather biker jacket was a gift from Jacquie when she was visiting last week. It need's some love and care but I'm willing to get it worked on. My vintage Harley 92' shirt is from Retro Rock Vintage in Vancouver. It's the first thing I bought from them when I started working there back in 2008. I still love it.

5. This is the outfit I actually wore to Ben's dinner. I ended up being horribly over dressed but thats never really a bad thing. Plus, if you don't feel overdressed, and its only other people that see you that way, thats their bad. I didn't use a filter so that you could see the true blue of the velvet jacket.

6. I love this vintage embroidered clutch with jade clasp! It's beautiful and I don't find the time to wear it that often but when I do I fall a little bit more in love with it. The inside is salmon pink satin with one small pocket containing a little mirror. Hand made in Japan and absolutely perfect.

7. I almost wore this vintage black fur cape-let instead of my blue velvet jacket but I decided against it at the last minute. I'll save it for another occasion. It's made of persian lamb and I got it at a vintage shop a few years ago. The inside is striped satin in different jewel tones and it closes with one velvet covered button. My earrings are vintage 60's and they are SO heavy. If my ears weren't already damaged from the stretching I did (three different times over the past ten years) I probably wouldn't have been able to handle them for as long as I did. Cream ruffle dress was thrifted but is from H&M (I also have the black polka dot one) 

Kali

Fridays Child Is Loving and Giving. 

Ben is now five years old! On his birthday he dressed as Finn from Adventure Time and even had a sidekick plushie Jake The Dog. He was distracted in this picture watching, you guessed it, Adventure Time. He went to school for a half day so that he could have his special school birthday and be part of Thursdays "show and share". Later on, after Daddy got home from work Ben opened the rest of his gifts from the two of us. We headed out to Red Robbins for dinner to meet Ben's mom and her boyfriend Devlan. Ben asked me to please wear a dress to his dinner. I had no choice in the matter, he was the birthday boy. I'll post an outfit + detail shot in a separate post because this one needs to be all about Benjamin. The photo below is Ben in an elevator we found together while waiting for the Taxi's to come home from dinner. I think we rode it about 5 times up and down and he made me run up the stairs and equal number of times... I'm certainly not five anymore.

Close up shot of Ben's vegan double dark chocolate ganache gluten free (that was a mouthful) birthday cake! It was made locally by the Wildfire Bakery and was extremely delicious. Close to a month ago we found out that Ben can't have dairy so finding a cake that wasn't vegan proved to be quite the challenge. I pulled the flowers off this one once I got it home and replaced them with a Tarantula and BMO from Adventure Time. Ben was stoked on the "chocolate leafs" ... haha. 

Needless to say Ben's birthday was a hit. His friend party will be held at a later date at his mothers house because she's got a back yard big enough to house a BOUNCY CASTLE. We all love him so much and his parents can't believe he's already five years old. 

KALI

 They say geniuses choose green. 

I had the pleasure of spending part of my morning with Jacquie yesterday. It was a brief visit due to the fact that I had to work and she's always running 30 minutes behind but it was lovely none the less. We used to work together at Retro Rock in Vancouver and we've kept in touch after I moved to Victoria. (She's from here) No matter when I see her she always looks amazing, even when she doesn't think so. Cutest outfit down to the details. The girl knows whats up. She's a loving little Gemini babe. 

Kali

Happiness is only real when shared. 

My family is made up of Cyrus, his glorious son Benjamin and our kitty Olivia. It's a small family but I love them very much. 
I wouldn't have it any other way and I feel blessed everyday that Cyrus brought me into his world and allows me to be part 
of his sons life. I'm not Ben's biological mother nor do I ever intend to try and replace the one he has. She is doing a great 
job of raising him and he loves her with all of his heart. Being a mother is a very important thing and I would never try and
 take that away from someone. Perhaps one day in the future when it feels like the right time I can have my own baby and 
add to our family but for now I am content being "the weirdest girl" that waltzes Ben across the crosswalk. 
As for Olivia, she's incredibly strange and enjoys the oddest of things. 

Kali ♡ 

Guava Melon Mist 

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours with this beautiful momma, Amanda. She's been featured in my blog a couple of times already but instead of showing you her kitchen, this week I'd like to show how adorable she actually is. We ended up matching; this didn't happen on purpose and ended up being  worse due to our daily thrifting finds. I think we were channeling the whole "old lady from Florida" look. Either that or we are one week too late for Easter. I think it's easy to find the time to hang out together not only because she lives right down the street but because she has a child. Its sad when some of your best and closest friends will ask "Do you have _____ today?" ....Because hanging out when a child is around isn't fun for them and they would rather not spend the time with you unless you're alone. I find this horribly insulting and I'm not even Ben's biological mother. I can't imagine how this makes real mothers feel. Who cares if I have my child today, I'm still the same person. I just might only have one eye and ear on you instead of both. I need more friends with kids...or perhaps more friends that love to be around the company of a small incredibly intelligent child. 

Biking in heels wasn't as bad as walking in heels. Plus, walking your bike while your wearing heels proves to be a support, not a nuisance. We ran into Ben's mother, Mary Ellen, at the local coffee shop and she told me that I'm the only person who would wear 5 inch platforms on a bike. I believe this to be untrue...I mean, other women must do this, yes? 

I love this plastic (hand made?) Ice Cream brooch so much! Cyrus took me thrifting in Vancouver back in September for my birthday and I was ecstatic when I found it hidden amongst the clutter and chaos that is Value Village's jewelry section. I have a thing for pink accessories and almost all things kitsch. I have a little pink ice cream tattoo'd on my wrist so this just seemed fitting. I found a few other fabulous things that day but I'll leave those for another post. I will say that I don't wear pink often but I couldn't turn down this vintage blouse. I love the detail in the collar and it cost less then a cup of coffee. I also scored a black short sleeves 100% cashmere vintage sweater and put a bid down for a set of 3 vintage 1950s baby wall decor set. Fingers crossed for the set, not the baby. 

My Outfit Details: 
Black floppy hat: Thrifted @ The Win 
Black Blazer: H&M (Thrifted @ The Patch) 
Baby Pink Blouse: Thrifted yesterday for $2.99!! 
Ice Cream brooch from 91': Birthday present from Cyrus (Thrifted @ Value Village in Burnaby BC)
Floral Gingham Pants: Motel Rocks. Purchased online @ Modcloth 
Black Leather & Wood Wedges: Purchased 5 or 6 years ago @ ALDO OUTLET in Vancouver 

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Amanda's Outfit Details: 
Seafoam Sequin Sheer Blouse: Purchased @ Flavour & Decade 
Floral Sweater: Thrifted 
Pink Skinny Jeans: Purchased @ H&M 
Black Platform Creepers: Purchased online @ ASOS 
Vintage Black Leather Coach Purse: Birthday present from me a couple of years ago. 

Kali