The intrepid urban explorer

Outfit details

Prescription eyeglasses: (frames) Venus Eye Design V-12Faux pearl earrings: Claire's 1950s floral print scarf: eBay Vintage turquoise blue shirtwaist dress: eBay Skinny white belt: eBay Vintage yellow gloves: Jardin Antiques in OK Falls (first blogged about in this post) Dark purple vintage box purse: yard sale (for only a $1.00!) Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore Black seamed nude stockings: eBay White pumps: Payless Lip colour: Clinique Raspberry Glace

Photography by Antonio Cangiano 
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Hark, what is this? A sunny day, can it really be? If you too have been feeling as of late like you’re about one Home Depot lumberyard trip away from buying all the requisite materials for an arc, you’re not alone. We’ve seen such an unseasonably large amount of rain over the past two and a half months that I’m starting to wonder if summer proper is going to show up at all this year.

Though those sublimely sky high temperatures that the Okanagan is famous for have, by an large, continued to elude us so far, we have had a few days that were either warm and/or sunny weather, one of which was the afternoon when Tony snapped these shots of me in our yard just before we headed out to run some errands and enjoy one of our lovely little drives around town (for the sake of sightseeing and because we both find driving to be relaxing).

As I got dressed that morning I felt like I was an in an adventurous mood. I could see a breeze rustling strongly through the trees outside, and as the sun finally beat down on the soggy grass, I felt like I could have packed a truck and embarked on a trip to some distant (and presumably much drier) land – say perhaps, the Sahara desert or the Andes Mountains of South America.

I knew I wanted to wear a scarf, but (for a bit of a change as of late) not on my head, rather draped across my shoulders. To match the spirit of the sun, I opted for numerous pops of colour in this outfit, from the turquoisey-blue shirtwaist dress (which, I just love, makes me look a tad taller than I really am for some reason – hurrah!) to the snow white pumps and belt.

At first I put an orange belt with this outfit, but the longer I stared at it in the mirror, the less I liked it with the scarf, so off it went, replaced by this skinny white number (I do definitely foresee wearing the orange belt/blue shirtwaist dress combo one day though, as I really liked how fun they looked together).

Once the look had come together as a whole, I suddenly felt like I was channelling Katharine Hepburn a little. Not any one role specifically, but just elements of her looks over the years, such as the high collar on the dress, the subtly practical appearance of the whole outfit, and the scarf knotted over one shoulder.

And the more I thought of the marvelous Ms. Hepburn, the more that feeling of wanderlust burned in my soul. While no jaunts half way across the globe materialized, we had a splendid day bopping around town, running errands, venturing down uncharted (ok, technically just un-visited by us yet) streets, and lapping up the beautiful weather with the same enthusiasm as a kitty going at a bowl of milk.

We might not have a thousand and one stamps in our passport, but by golly, we’re getting to know Penticton and the surrounding Okanagan towns and communities pretty darn well, which I’m pleased as punch about. After all, there’s much to be said for being urban explorers in one’s own backyard – especially when you happen to be blessed with the first sunny summer day in ages!