After a truly - and I mean absolutely truly - fantastic trip to Calgary, Tony and I are home again and slowly starting to get back into the ebb and flow of daily life once more.
Our vacation to our neighbouring province went resplendently. It launched on a drive that was bursting with the most picturesquely clear blue skies and toasty temperatures anyone could ask for; saw us clock more than 2,100 kilometers of driving in total, included my first ever blogger meet-up, oodles of vintage, antique and thrift store shopping; lots of fun sightseeing, and also a fair bit of time to just relax and regroup, something that was wholeheartedly needed in our life at that precise moment in time.
As those of you who follow me on Instagram and/or my personal Facebook page may know, earlier this month my mother-in-law, passed away somewhat unexpected from a stroke. This tragic news left Tony and I understandable deeply shaken and grief stricken. We discussed it at length, and felt that proceeding with our Calgary trip (which was planned for a few days after her passing), as planned, was the best course of action. Thankfully, it was in indeed, as our spirits were lifted tremendously, our minds focused elsewhere, and smiles returned to our faces many a time over the course of our holiday.
Though the veil of sorrow and grief still hangs heavily in our home, we are each other’s strength and comfort, and, much as with returning from our trip, are easing back into our more usual routine.
For me, this includes blogging, reading and commenting on other blogs, replying to the hefty backlog of emails and Facebook private messages that arrived while I was away (I didn't bring my computer with me), and - once I've recouped more (on the health front) from our travels – shooting vintage outfit photos (I've got some in the wings from before our trip, as well as new outfit snaps from Calgary, to turn into posts in the meantime).
And speaking of posts about Calgary, somewhere in the range of two to four posts (I want to cover a lot, but at the same time, in my enthusiasm about this fabulous little holiday, not bombard you nonstop about Alberta) about various aspects of our travels will be appearing here in the coming weeks, and will include topics such as some of the wonderful places we visited, where I shopped (and some of the lovely things I bought), plus a post all about that super cool aforementioned vintage blogger meet-up.
I sincerely appreciate, and want to thank you very much, for the great blog comments that you left on the posts that I set to go live while we were on the road, as well as for those on Instagram (such as the one pictured above of Stephen Avenue, a foot traffic only street, in the heart of downtown Calgary), Facebook, and Twitter regarding our travels and my snaps from Alberta (some more of which I plan to continue uploading in the coming days).
It will be a while before I've recovered (health wise) from the trip, and longer still until the initial pain of losing Tony's beautiful mother lessens, but I feel a renewed sense of happiness, creativity, and inspiration from our travels (as well as a new perspective on certain areas of my/our life) which, coupled with autumn's return, will help guide me throughout the coming weeks on the blogging front, and all facets of my life.
Our travels were awesome, and I am grateful with all my might that were were able to take our first holiday in several years this month, but it's also terrific to return home to a town we adore and to start planning for the next chapter of our lives - which, with a bit of luck and a lot of foreplanning, will hopefully include another exciting road trip or two next year.
Outfit details
Caramel brown snood: eBay eBay seller tina.g-2008
Faux pearl stud earrings: Claire's
1940s floral print zip up house dress: etsy seller ZindyLou
Bangle bracelets (some vintage, some modern): Assorted sources
Vintage woven handbag with bamboo handles: Yard sale find
Nude on nude seamed stockings: eBay
Brown round toe pumps: Pipsqueaks and Damsel's Consignment Store
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
Photography by
♥ ♥ ♥
Okay, so my excitement levels as I sit here and try to steady my hands enough to write this post is pretty much off the charts. Not since we moved back to British Columbia early last year have I been an a fraction as excited about anything, and prior to that? Well, your guess is a good as mine, because it has been a very, very long time since I was looking forward to something as much as I am our fabulous road trip to Calgary tomorrow.
As with most final days before a vacation tend to be, today is going to be a whirlwind of activity! From dropping Annie off at the wonderful pet kennel we're boarding her at (my mom will be looking after Stella here at our house while we're gone) to doing the bulk of our packing, to getting the car cleaned and ready, so I figured I should take a moment now, before the sun rises, to pen a quick final post before we embark.
While we're away, I've scheduled some new posts to go live, however I'm not bringing my computer with me, so I won't be "live blogging" from the road while in Calgary. I do however plan to Instagram right, left and center on my phone, so be sure to follow me on Instagram to keep up with all my exciting adventures in Alberta as they transpire.
This is (overnight or longer) trip I've taken in Chronically Vintage's nearly 4.5 years of life, and I can't wait to finally share some of my travels will all of you (especially because I have adored venturing out into the world vicariously through so many of your own awesome vacation and road trip posts over the years). Once we're home and I've recouped a bit from our travels, there will be a series of posts all about our trip - including what we saw, did, ate, enjoyed, and bought.
Please forgive the massive amount of squinting going on in these shots (seriously, feel free to call me Squinty McSquinty, if you like). They were taken after a recent day of errand running right here on Main Stress in downtown Penticton and the sun was streaming directly into my eyes. I swear, I felt like I was smiling up a storm in them, but that's the thing about squinting, it often seems to squash, so to speak, one's smile and make you appear much more solemn faced than you actually are.
Believe me, I was smiling - or at least trying to! How could I not when wearing a super cute 1940s zipper front floral print house dress like this? As the seasons teeter on the brink of changing hands from summer into fall once more, this dress seams like one of the most fitting garments in my wardrobe that I could wear. It's cut is perfect for the balmy days we're still enjoying, whereas the classic colour palette sings with the loveliness of autumn's return, which ushers in a world teaming with earthy browns, muted greens, and vivid oranges.
While downtown, we spotted the lovely mural pictured here along with the seriously interesting tidbit of information provided on the wall beside it. Though I've passed this mural many times over the years, I don't believe I'd ever stopped to really study it before and was delighted to learn that it depicted the view (from the local community of Naramata) that once graced the Canadian hundred dollar bill.
I honestly didn't know that part of the Okanagan landscape had ever appeared on any of our Canadian currency and adoring getting wise to this cool fact. It's so neat when you live (and grew up in) in a relatively small town and are still able to discover more about it with each passing year.
And speaking of discovering new things, there should be plenty of that going on over the next few days while we're in beautiful Calgary, Alberta. It's a city I know well, having lived there for a little over two years during my late teens, but no doubt much has changed since then, and I cannot wait to reconnect with beloved old haunts and discover plenty of new favourites (vintage, antique and thrift stores very much included) all in the same go.
I sincerely appreciate all of the great tips, ideas, and comments you've shared with me in the last three weeks regarding Calgary (thank you very much to everyone who did so), and cannot wait to blog about our adventures in the White Hat City once we're back.
Those suitcases aren't going to pack themselves though, so I best get a shove. Until we chat again, my sweet friends, please know that I'll miss you dearly and be thinking of all of you while we're on the road.
Alberta, here we come! Yee-haw!!! :)
