Last weekend was one of the best and most restful weekends I've had in a long time.
I know that sounds weird considering I just came back to Vancouver from a vacation in one of the most exciting cities in the world, but last weekend was the first weekend in a long time where I didn't feel burned out, exhausted, or harrassed because I had to catch a flight and was being held up.
FridayMy fabulous weekend began with a fashion show, Living the Fabulous Life, put on jointly by The Bay downtown and
http://www.thestylespy.com/, a local blog/fashion website. Tempted by the promise of free swag for the first 200 RSVP invitees to show up, Nancy and I left work for The Bay an hour early dressed in our best. We meandered around the main floor looking at accessories and then made our way up to the third floor where the fashion show was happening--only to be greeted by the longest line of well-dressed girls impatiently waiting for goody bags and the show to begin. The next hour passed by in a blur of sore feet (we both regretted wearing heels even though they were only 2" heels), standing in a line that barely moved, and idle girl talk. (Kudos to Nancy for the pictures!)
Finally we were let in. Imagine dozens of fashionistas swarming toward cheese and appie platters and the drinks table, then being herded toward the limited number of chairs available. Nancy and I weren't one of the lucky sitting ones after we had our fill of cheese cubes, so out of desperation we kicked off our heels partway through the fashion show and stood in our stocking feet. The show itself was pretty cool and made me look forward to the cute new spring clothes: several sundresses and a black-and-white plaid trench reminiscent of the one Chuck wore on Pushing Daisies caught my eye. I especially liked it when they played Kanye's "Flashing Lights" and styled all the models with sunglasses.
Afterward, Nancy and I milled around and provided a sound byte for
http://www.thestylespy.com/. As we filled out the release form, the founder and editor-in-chief of the website, Erica Lam, walked by and introduced herself. I can't remember how we got onto the topic, but she mentioned that the website began as a blog and I mentioned that I also wrote a fashion blog. She disappeared for a couple minutes and came back with a business card, saying I should email her the link! So did I make a brilliant networking coup for Solo Lisa y Nada Mas?! Will my readership increase exponentially? Will this chance meeting lead to external opportunities? Only time will tell, I guess.
I went home after grabbing a quick dinner of souvlaki and salad and checked out The Style Spy. It was cool and inspirational to see how a blogger had turned her pet project into a successful website and in the process made a name for herself in the local fashion scene. The Style Spy also tipped me off about a couple of intriguing sales: a sample sale for local clothing company
Chulo Pony and a clearance sale at
Gravity Pope. I made a mental note to get up a bit earlier than usual (i.e. before 3 in the afternoon) before I hit the sheets.
SaturdayAfter a quick shower, I finally made it out the door around 1:30 and reached the Chulo Pony sample sale around 2pm. It was in the exact same location as the first sample sale I went to for Narcissist. None of the tank tops and breezy tunics in the boxes and boxes of $15/20/30 items on the floor seemed to fit right, and the only thing that I scooped up was a black corduroy dress I impulsively decided to try on. At $159 it wasn't exactly a bargain, but the corduroy was the softest and most luxurious-feeling corduroy I'd ever seen and it had this sheen to it, and the dress had ruffles and pleats and little cloisonne buttons down the front. I imagined it buttoned to the top as a prim and proper Blair Waldorf look or unbuttoned and worn over a lace-trimmed cami. It was worth it - or at least that's what I keep telling myself to justify the price tag.
I meandered up to Gravity Pope and popped into some of the little shoe and clothing shops along the way, telling myself that I was trying to save money and I shouldn't succumb to any more temptation except maybe a pair of shoes from Gravity Pope and a purse from Coach. I didn't find anything at Gravity Pope (although that may be because of all the people there).
Onto downtown! One short bus ride (and a run-in with a coworker) later, I was in Future Shop and on a quest for new anti-virus software - only to bump into another coworker, who recommended I save my money and download the free version of AVG anti-virus. (I took his advice and I'm soooo glad I did. I used to have Norton Internet Security, which slowed down my computer so much it felt like a dinosaur PC.) I instead spent my Future Shop gift cards on the entire
Sex and the City series on DVD. Yay!
As long as I was at Future Shop, I might as well pop into Winners really quickly and have a look, I decided. What I saw astonished me: Winners was having a major designer label promotion. I wasn't even browsing or digging, but in the half hour I was there I saw Guess and Baby Phat handbags, a Nougat London skirt, Alberta Ferretti dresses, Elie Tahari separates, Salvatore Ferragamo patent loafers, and
beautiful silver Italian flat sandals. It took a ton of willpower and the cool logic of a friend on the phone to tear myself away from the silver sandals.
I left Winners and made my way to Coach, where I caved and bought the tote I'd been contemplating in
an earlier post. Signature print canvas be damned - it's a great bag!
When I got home, I flew into a flurry of activity. I detagged my purchases and put them away. I cleaned the clutter off my desk. I went through the big stack of mail and old receipts as I watched the first season of SATC.
Sunday
Cleaning, Chinese takeout, SATC, and salsa. Low-key Sunday and so perfect. Mmm.
