Returning home today

A few days ago, in my last post before we zipped off on holiday, I mentioned that we'd be returning home on September 11th, however, having so enjoyed overnighting part of the way through our journey to Edmonton, we decided while there to do the same on the way home.

Though not technically the halfway mark - or even really that close to it - between Edmonton and Penticton, we settled on a city that I love with every fiber of my being, Calgary, for a quick pit stop last night before heading back out on the road this morning.

Getting to see my favourite Canadian city (okay, technically it shares that spot with Victoria, BC, which I adore equally so, though often for different reasons) , even just for a few hours, is always A-okay with me and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do so on this final leg of our trip.

A little later in the morning today, we'll be packing up our car once and for all on this holiday and settling in for the eight (plus a bit more with the occasion rest stop) hour drive from Calgary to Penticton.



{The start of fall's changing landscape and many a long stretch of open road await Tony and I as we head home from Alberta today. I really enjoy lengthy drives, so am quite looking forward to this one - especially with the first jewel toned autumn leaves starting to appear around us. Vintage image source.}


We'll get into Penticton this evening after twelve wonderful days of travelling. Though the weather wasn't always ideal (the first few days in Alberta were unseasonably cold and rainy), we managed to get in numerous outfit shots and I'll be sharing each of those with you in the coming weeks and months.

I know that many of the details of my first ever trip to Edmonton will unfold organically in those posts, so I don't want to recap too much right now, but I will say that we had a really lovely time on our trip.

Edmonton is a fascinating and beautiful city of over a million people. Within hours of being inside of its farmland flanked borders, I was struck by how much it made me think of what a place might be like, were it possible for Vancouver (minus the Pacific Ocean) and Calgary had a child, with elements of Toronto swirled into the mix, too.

Like most locations that one has long wanted to visit, it was both very similar and somewhat different from how I'd imagined it to be - and that's a good thing, if you ask me. I love it when a town or city surprises and delights me - and perhaps most of all, when it leaves me wanting to return again, which Edmonton most certainly did.

Over all we had a great, fun filled time in Edmonton that included multiple meetups with fellow vintage folks (some of whom will appear in the aforementioned future outfit posts), lots of sightseeing, some shopping (vintage and otherwise), exciting rural countryside exploring, peaceful walks, and plenty of fun photo opps along the way.

I wholeheartedly want to thank all of you who have left blog comments on recent posts during my absence, very much including those on the three fantastic guest posts from Nicole, Elizabeth, and Tanith, respectively, that appeared here last week. I know that each of those talented ladies appreciates your kind comments a great deal and I can't thank them enough as well for helping to keep things buzzing here while we were on holiday.

Aside from starting to unpack, it will be back to life and work from tomorrow onwards, very much including on the blogging front. There will be new posts coming down the pipeline this week (and of course, beyond then, too) and I fully expect to be back to my regular online ways in full force this week.

To give you a taste of what's to come here on Chronically Vintage in the near future, I'll be blogging about topics as diverse as my time spent with The Travelling Dress, shining the spotlight on dozens (seriously!) of recipes for one of fall's most classic and beloved ingredients, telling you about my all-time favourite fictional couple, and starting to write up a storm on all things Halloween related, while also sharing plenty of outfit posts and the latest entries in the fun ongoing Meet a Fellow Vintage Blogger series, amongst lots of other exciting topics.

No time of the year speaks to my soul as much as autumn, nor does any season light my blogging fires quite as much, so you can bank on an action packed, engaging, informative, and just plain cheerful slew of posts here on Chronically Vintage this autumn (coupled with, I hope/plan, a bevy of recently acquired new vintage and antique items appearing on the shelves of my Etsy shop).

A point that will be bolstered along all the more by the recharging of my batteries and clarity of mind that came with our lovely trip to Edmonton this month.

Travel, as I've talked about before (in posts such as this), always houses many wonderful blessings and surprises, and having a chance to unwind and, at the same time, plan for the future while away is most definitely one of the very best of these.

Suspension bridge fun and my very favourite 1950s sundress in Castlegar, BC

Outfit details

C. 1930s/40s burgundy felt hat with netting: Garb-Oh Vintage
Gold tone metal round shaped stud earrings: Claire's
1950s forest foliage and berry print sundress: Garb-Oh Vintage
Green faux leather skinny belt: eBay
Coral hued cardigan: Joe Fresh
Vintage style gold tone metal and clear rhinestone flower brooch: eBay
Oxblood hued vintage style faux leather cross body bag: eBay
"Love" gold tone metal and clear rhinestone charm bracelet: Payless
C. 1950s burgundy gloves with buttons at the wrists: An Etsy shop that is no longer in business
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Brown 1940s style round toe faux leather heels: Walmart
Lip colour: MAC Partyline

Photography by Tony Cangiano  

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If some of these photos look as though they were shot from a bit of a distance, that's because they were. :)
 
As discussed in this recent Heyday Twizzle Dress outfit post, Tony and I have found ourselves taking snaps on bridges a fair bit lately - the most exciting of which was this lovely suspension bridge located in the beautiful little town of Castlegar, BC.

Castlegar was one of the many places that we were able to spend some time in while on our brief, wonderfully fun weekend getaway to the Kootenays in mid-April and while there, we discovered Zuckerberg Island Park (no relation to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg; instead it's named after a famous Russian humanitarian and pacifist, Alexander Zuckerberg, who immigrated to Canada and went on to teach school to some of the local Doukhobor children there) which included this seriously cool bridge.

We'd never shot on a suspension one before, so when this location presented itself, the camera was promptly called into action!

Given the rather wobbly nature of even the sturdiest suspension bridges, as Tony was handholding his DSLR for this shoot, he had to stand a fair ways back (on solid ground) to get these shots, but I think that they still came out really nicely and I just love having a series of snaps taken on such a unique location overlooking the beautiful confluence of both the Kootenay and the Columbia Rivers.

It was a medium warm day that partially sunny Saturday afternoon, so I couldn't resist the urge to sport my absolute favourite 1950s sundress - and yes, that is saying a lot, as I usually have a very hard time singling out faves in any category of my clothing.

It's easy as pie with this beautiful dress though (that, coincidentally, just like the great burgundy hat that I'm sporting here, came from Garb-Oh Vintage on Etsy), which I purchased in early 2015.

I'd been hunting for a dress with raspberries - my absolute all-time favourite fruit - for longer than I can recall and continually came up empty-handed, at least in terms of ones that would fit both my measurements and wallet.

In general, raspberries are a rather under represented fruit in the fashion world (past or present) and hitting upon a novelty print garment that includes them is almost like striking gold (at least for me it is! :)).

Now, objectively, I can't say with complete certainty that the berries in this print are raspberries, but they very much look the part and I'm more than willing to call them such. They're woodland berries of some sort at the very least and are partnered with other forest foliage here, such as springs of evergreen branches and various green leaves, to up their straight-from-nature factor all the more.

This vintage dress is sleeveless and includes a very pretty ruched neckline with a fun little tie detail in the center of it. It's a light, but sturdy, cotton that suits the warmer months sublimely and when you factor in the colour palette - that stars so many of my most beloved hues - it's easy to see why this dress gets top billing in my books.

There are hints of salmony orange-pink in its palette, so for an added burst of colour, I teamed this fifties frock with a coral cardigan. I pulled from the colours in the print for my hat, glove, bag and shoe choices as well, and then opted for relatively understated gold tone metal jewelry, to keep the emphasis on the garments themselves.

This hat is another truly beloved favourite of mine, which is now making it's fourth, I believe, appearance here in under a year - and I'm sure you'll continue to see it many more times as the months and years roll on. I adore, and wear a lot of, burgundy, so this wonderful c. 1930s/1940s felt hat couldn't be a more ideal fit for my wardrobe.

It's hard to believe that a month and half have already whizzed past since the lovely spring day on which these photos were captured (on what definitely stands as one of the most exciting spots we've ever shoot in before). Summer weather is barreling down on us now and as such this dress will no doubt continue to see much outfit action as the hottest days of the season envelope us.

This is the second and last of the two shoots that we took in the Kootenays, though we did grab some snaps later in the day once we'd returned to Penticton of what I wore on the drive home and those will be appearing here in the near future.

We adored our brief getaway to this rugged, mountain and river bedecked corner of the province, and as touched on in my first post about visiting the Kootenays, definitely hope to get back there together many more times throughout our life.

At the moment though, we're home in the Okanagan and continuing to contemplate where our proposed summertime road trip may lead us to.

No plans are set in stone quite yet, but we're getting closer and I can hardly wait to see where we, and our trusty camera, will land next in this gorgeous province of ours!

Highlights from our first getaway of the year + my unending passion for muted coloured vintage fashions

Outfit details

C. 1930s/1940s black felt and cream faux pearl hat: Unknown, had for many years
C. 1930s plastic plastic tipped short hatpin: Unknown, had for many years
Black plastic hair barrette: Goody
1950s style gold leaf and black plastic dangle earrings: Claire's
Red thin knit cropped shrug: Fairweather
Vintage black plastic and gold tone metal flower brooch: Probably eBay (had for years)
1950s/1960s floral print shirtwaist dress: Linda Down Black faux leather skinny belt: eBay
C. 1940s mustard yellow ruched gloves: eBay
Black plastic flower stretch bracelet: Thrifted (Value Village)
Caramel brown hued faux leather vintage style cross body bag: eBay
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
Black faux leather pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red  

Photos of me by Tony Cangiano, all others taken by me and shared here from my Instagram  


































{Photo bombing by random adorable dogs is always welcome! :)}

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Last month, smack, dab in the middle of April, Tony and I decided that the time had come for our first road trip of 2016. The decision to zip out of town was made very much on the fly, as some flare-ups that I'd been battling for six weeks solid prior to then started to finally calm down and I was in a position to be able to leave the house again. We knew that we'd have four days to work with and thus weren't exactly going to be aiming for the furthest corners of our vast nation.

We wanted someplace that was fresh and exciting, could be reached in just a few hours time, and that offered elements we'd both really enjoy. Brain storming began and after weeding out some other possible candidates, we hit upon the Kootenay region of British Columbia.

Located a in the Southeast corner of the province, the Kootenays are especially well known for their long standing mining industry, abundance of evergreen trees, beautiful snow capped mountains (and, fittingly, ski hills), relaxing hot springs, intricate Doukhobor history, laid back lifestyle, and stunning natural landscapes (peppered with rivers and lakes aplenty) in every direction.

Of course, these are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what this good sized portion of the province has to offer and many people will find that one short trip alone doesn't even begin to afford them enough time to see and do and all that they may wish to (which is, naturally, a perfect excuse to return).

Despite having strong paternal family ties (albeit much more so historically speaking then nowadays), I hadn't been back to the Kootenays in about twenty years and Tony and had never visited before, so while I did have memories of past trips there, in many ways it was like we were both seeing this verdant part of BC for the very first time.

We left home on Thursday the 14th, after Tony's workday had wrapped up and proceeded to drive through about 4.5 hours of rain, snow and/or fog to reach our first destination (and home base for the duration of this lovely little getaway): the beautiful town of Nelson, BC.




Though we navigated through rough weather to get there, thankfully the sun appeared the very next morning and stayed out for much of our time in the Kootenays. For our home away from home, we selected this immensely cute Alpine Inn and Suites, pictured above, which we were thoroughly pleased with and would definitely return to again.

Nelson is located on the west arm of Kootenay Lake and is the the biggest town in the heart of the Central Kootenay area (the largest town in the Kootenays as a whole is Cranbrook, which we didn't visit, as it's nearly another two hours further from Penticton than Nelson is).

Anyone with a passion for the past is bound to fall in love with Nelson instantly, as it chock-a-block full of beautiful heritage buildings and homes alike. In fact, I don't believe I've been anywhere else in BC to date with a richer concentration of such (I'd say that Victoria would have the second most, IMO).




We had two full days (Friday and Saturday) to spend in the Kootenays and, boy, did we make every moment count!

During the course of that time, we explored not only Nelson itself (including the beautiful historic train station turned tourism center pictured here), but many of the surrounding areas, including Castlegar (where we found a great health food store called Mother Natures that had a really impressive selection of gluten-free offerings, especially for a town with a population of just under 8,000 residents), Salmo, Ainsworth, and Trail, amongst others.

Two photo shoots were able to transpire while we were in this gorgeous part of the province, one of which you're seeing the snaps of here today (these photos were taken on the grounds of our motel) – the other shall follow in the very near future.

This outfit typifies the sort I often wear while traveling (and, really, in my usual day-to-day life as well) and stars a beautiful floral print c. 1950s shirtwaist dress that was partnered with plenty of fun accessories, a cute cropped shrug, sensible shoes, and a lightweight purse (a must for long hours of walking and sightseeing).

I've always been drawn to printed vintage garments in muted hues. Be they florals, stripes, plaids, polka dots, novelty prints, stripes, abstracts or anything else, I genuinely love them to bits and have been working to grow my collection of such over the past couple of years in particular.

This fun mid-century dress joined the team in early 2015 and is making its blog debut here today. It's immensely comfortable and a joy to style, thanks to the numerous colours that one can pull from in the subdued hued (say that five times fast! :)) pattern.

Not only do muted coloured vintage garments often work really well for fall and spring (though then can, naturally, be sported the whole year round), I find that they're often quite flattering to my skin, hair and eye tones – which is all the more reason for me to try and stockpile them! :)




During our brief, thoroughly wonderful, time in the Kootenays, Tony and I visited all of the places listed above, spent a good chunk of time leisurely strolling up and down Nelson's main street, called Baker street, savoured the incredibly crisp, clean mountain air, and watched the sun set over the lake from a cozy bench at Rotary Lakeside Park.

Though we were both floored by how much we were able to see, experience and enjoy while in the Kootenays, there was plenty we didn't get to and as we're both head-over-heels in love with this majestic area of BC, we agreed that many a future trip there will definitely be aimed for!

This was our first road trip with our new car (a Buick Enclave), which we purchased last December, and we were beyond thrilled with how it performed - as well as that we finally had ample space for everything that we needed to bring with us (something that our previous vehicle, a sedan with a matchbox sized truck, sorely lacked!).

We're hoping to take at least one similar road trip this coming summer, though will most likely be headed to a different (as of yet to be determined) destination. Naturally, you can bank on at least a blog post or two (and plenty of Instagram snaps!) from such when we do hit the open road again.

Even though we don't know when or where that will be, I'm already giddy with excitement and can't wait to share more of our stunning, history filled province with all of you.

10 highlights from our awesome trip to Vancouver Island

Like so very many of the best holidays do, our recent fortnight on Vancouver Island sped past at the speed of light. What had been diligently saved and planned for over the course of many months, came and was done before we could blink - or so it felt. In reality, we filled our days wonderfully and crossed many entries off of our to-do list (though quite a few remain for future visits, which will no doubt include revisiting some of our new favourites again as well) and it's hard to cap today's post at just ten entries.

The weather during our trip was a bit of a surprise, as it rained profusely for some, or all, of just about every day that we were there. I might have expected as much in the spring, especially being smack dab on the Pacific Ocean with its relatively damp Canadian West Coast climate, but I didn't see it coming for the start of fall and will certainly keep as much in mind now when it comes to booking future trips to Victoria or elsewhere on Vancouver Island. As a result of the the fact that it was pouring kitties and puppies right, left and center, we didn't get to do as many outdoor activities - including outfit photo shoots - as we'd hoped for, but ultimately it was okay, because the damp weather just meant that we did more things inside (and still managed to get a few shoots, which I'll be sharing snaps from in outfit posts here throughout the fall).

Though vintage related going ons were a part of this trip, and we intentionally planned for the travel dates that we did so as to correspond on the Victoria Vintage Expo (see entry #10 below), this trip was not solely focused on buying for the Etsy shop or myself, in part because I wanted it (the trip) to be something of a breather from me from work and I'm very happy to say that it was (just as it was for Tony, who needed some respite from the long, exhausting workdays he puts in all year long as well).

Save for two days when I simply wasn't doing well enough on the health front to leave the house (one of which Tony had fun going fishing on), we were out and about everyday of the trip and saw, did and enjoyed various places and experiences on each of them. I'm sincerely impressed with how much we accomplished, while still feeling like we were relaxing and taking things at a manageable pace in the process. Though this trip wasn't as life altering for me as last year's journey to Calgary, I didn't go into it expecting it to be and was thankful for the fact that it felt like a proper, relaxing holiday.

That said, I certainly experienced some important thoughts and gained a clearer picture on how to move forward with juggling the demands of both my blog and Etsy shop, without (hopefully) doing (new) serious damage to my health. There had been some very worrisome warning signs and major flare-ups indicating that I was at risk of doing so towards the end of the summer, due to the insanely long hours and amount of physical work I was putting in on that front, plus the stress that was arising from that situation, so taking a break where we did couldn’t have come at a better time.

Even the rain couldn't dampen (pun intended :D) my spirits while we were on Vancouver Island and I'm so glad that Tony and I selected it as our holiday destination for 2014. I have fallen madly, head-over-heels with Victoria and the Island as a whole (to the point where, no joke, I'd happily pack up and move there today if such is possible, which it isn't for a multitude of reasons - but perhaps one distant day it will be) and can scarcely wait to get back there again on the double!

Until then though, I'll have fun reflecting on the many stellar memories we made during our 2014 vacation, very much including each and every one of the following ten activities, sights and experiences (which are in completely random order, not a top ten kind of list - it would be darn near impossible for me to do so, as I adored each one in so many ways!).

1. Whale Watching on the Pacific Ocean

This was one of the top activities that I'd been daydreaming of doing on the Island and I'm so grateful that it was able to happen, as I have a profound love of whales (and animals in general) and had never done so before. We booked our three hour long excursion with the well known Price of Whales company (in part because their boats offered smooth sailing and washrooms, both a must for me) and lucked out with the fact that we were on the water during one of the few sunny afternoons of our trip.

Though the sightings were a bit slow to come at first, around the half way mark we spotted a few minke whales, then as we got out even further into the gorgeous blue Pacific ocean, several majestic orca whales, a few seals, and for all of about two seconds, one endlessly adorable brown sea otter. The captain of the boat did a stellar job of keeping the required (it's the law) 100 yards from all of the ocean critters, but at one point an orca surfaced close to the boat of its own accord and when it did, Tony was able to capture the photo above. It was inspiring and immensely fun to see these intelligent, amazing animals up close and I will treasure the memory of my first whale watching trip for as long as I live.

2. Hanging out with history at the Royal BC Museum

And speaking of animals, back on dry land, during an especially rainy morning, we hightailed it to the wonderful Royal BC Museum, which I don't believe I'd been to in more than twenty years. One of the province's largest and best museums, it is a "must see" for any history, archaeology, or nature buff who happens to be in the area, as it houses a stellar mixture of historical exhibits, animal displays (including its famous woolly mammoth, which has been there for at least as long as I have memories of visiting the museum), and plenty of interesting sociological related exhibits, too. Naturally, I was especially smitten with the small historical costume and memorabilia wing, where I took (low light) snaps of several exhibits pertaining to the early and mid-twentieth century, including this beautiful pink 1940s maternity dress with matching accessories.

3. Attending my first live Russell Peters show

Tony was really on the ball, checking online for exciting local events every morning and in doing so one day, he discovered that there was going to be a Russell Peters comedy show that very evening. Tickets were still available, so he booked two for us on the double and we eagerly passed the hours until we we headed over to the Save On Foods Memorial Center to watch this world famous comedian work his humorous magic on the crowd. We've both been huge Russell Peters fans for many years now and always said we'd make it to one of his shows, if possible, so getting to do just that while on holiday was like an extra big cherry on top of the fabulous ice cream sundae that was our whole vacation. He was dynamite in person and I would definitely pay to see him crack up the audience again anytime!

4. Getting to travel on the ferry again

 

I love boats, always, always will, but despite living in a town with two large lakes, I hadn't had the pleasure of riding around on for many years now due to my health and it had been nearly sixteen years actually since I was last on a ferry, so the trip to and from Vancouver Island itself was definitely one of the highlights of this vacation for me. We had completely smooth sailing in both directions and even spotted a couple of whales wayyyyy off in the distance on voyage to the Island.

5. Visiting the Robert Bateman Centre Gallery

When I was a little girl my parents had a large, hardcover coffee table book of world renewed Canadian wildlife painter Robert Bateman's work which was indeed on our living coffee table for several years. It was through this tomb of phenomenally beautiful artwork that my lifelong love of Bateman's work was born and to this day, he remains my favourite Canadian - and wildlife in general - artist ever.

Visiting the Robert Bateman Centre Gallery, which is devoted to his work, was one of the top things I hoped to do in Victoria and it didn't disappoint in the slightest. Spacious rooms teeming with his paintings, sketches, and other creative works invite viewers to linger and even interact with them (through a specially designed app, as well as sound buttons you can press alongside many paintings to hear various bird sounds that correspond with a given piece of art), and cause one to happily reflect on just how incredibly blessed we are by nature and how we must do all that we can to preserve what remains of it for future generations.

6. Seeing the ocean in Parksville

Tony and I took some day trips to nearby towns and communities around Victoria, the furthest point of which was the incredibly pretty ocean town of Parksville, where we went thrift store shopping and explored two breathtaking beaches, which were made all the more lovely by the fact that fall's colour palette was beginning to return to the area. Parksville was my favourite location outside of Victoria itself that we saw and I really look forward to visiting again in the future (as well as exploring even further up and down the Island).

7. Antique shopping around the island

Skipping a photo here on purpose...I want to surprise you with lots of great new listings of what I bought on our travels in the shop as the year progresses! (I'm such a tease, I know! :D)

 Having last been on the Island when I was 14.5 years old, I'd not had a chance to go vintage or antique shopping there as an adult yet and was seriously eager to do so. While Victoria (and various other Island towns and cities) has some vintage stores, and they're all great, it was the abundance of antique stores nearly everywhere we travelled the knocked my socks off most of all. There are dozens of them on Vancouver Island and I only got to a small handful during our two weeks there.

As with antique stores everywhere, some have very reasonable prices, others are laughably expensive and a plenty fall in between the two. Luckily we hit a few that were quite well priced and I was delighted to score several items for the Etsy shop, as well as a couple of great treasures (such as a c. 1950s copper charm bracelet with mining themed/gold rush themed charms that I madly adore) for my own wardrobe/collection, too. Of all the places I've visited so far in Canada, I can confidently say that Vancouver Island has the largest concentration of antique stores I've ever seen in this country (and as such, I will definitely be returning their primarily for the purpose of sourcing and shopping likely many times in the future).

8. Feeding the harbour seals at Fisherman's Wharf

Without a doubt, seals are one of my all-time favourite animals, so when I learned that there was a group of that that lived in the waters of Fisherman's Wharf in Victoria, which the public was encouraged to feed, I couldn't hightail it down there fast enough to do so. In the rain (surprise, surprise! ;)) we did just that, buying $5.00 trays of small, whole fish to feed them from an onsite fish monger's shop. They were mind blowingly adorable, cute as can be, and very friendly. If I lived in Victoria, I know I'd be there every week feeding and visiting with them (and plan to do so on all future trips to Victoria). You can see another photo of the seals that I took here.

9. The amazing abundance of heritage and vintage housing & buildings

Just as Vancouver Island has the largest number of antique stores I've encountered in Canada, so too does it have - by a very long shot - the greatest volume of heritage and vintage houses and buildings (many of them dating to before 1900) I've had the great pleasure of seeing anywhere in the country. Victoria and the Island as a whole have done a tremendous job of preserving these architectural treasures and ensured that I had some gorgeous old school eye candy wherever I went throughout the trip. In fact, at once point Tony even said (and tweeted) that if I was a city, I would be Victoria (because of all the vintage and history to be had there), and I couldn't agree with him more. (The photo above is of the back side of the stunning Legislature Building in Victoria.)

10. Attending the annual Victoria Vintage Expo

Last, but unequivocally not last, one of the biggest standouts of our time on the Island was attending the annual Victoria Vintage Expo, which was held on both floors of the beautiful, historic Crystal Garden Conference center. The two day event brought in vendors and thousands of attendees from across Canada and the the United States, and was absolutely jam packed.

We were there when the doors opened at 4pm on Friday afternoon and didn't leave until shortly before they closed at 10pm that night. During that time, I worked at break neck speed to see ever vendor (I hope I didn't miss any!) and also took part in the fun little fashion show that they had, in which I won for the best accessories category, which was quite an honour.

As it was (yet again) raining that afternoon and we were soooo busy once inside the show, which was too crowded in most spots to take photos anyhow, we didn't get in an outfit shoot that day, but thankfully there were at least two photographers who had been hired to document the day and both of took my picture. Some of their snaps are up on the Victoria Vintage Expo Facebook page and that's where this image of me hails from. I truly adored this event, which was far larger and even better than I'd dreamed it would be and will definitely be returning as a customer, seller, or - most likely - both in future years.


{Orca whale photograph via Tony's Instagram, picture of me at the Victoria Vintage Fair via their official Facebook page. All other photos taken by me and shared on my Instagram.}

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As you can see, we did a lot in the span of just two weeks - and this isn't even a complete list by any means (two other fabulous highlights included attending opening night of a live performance of Pride & Prejudice at the Langham Court Theater and getting to go shopping in person at Forever 21 again for the first time since we lived in Toronto).


Some of the loveliest moments were also those when we were just walking or driving around the city, getting to know its history rich personality and many perks better, and I wouldn't have traded them for anything, as they really helped familiarize us with BC's capital and endear this sweepingly beautiful place to my heart all the more.

I don't have the slightest idea where we may venture off on holiday next year (assuming such is possible), but wherever it may be, you can bet that I'll have my iPhone at the ready, Instagram as we go, and post about it once we're home. Who knows, given how very much I've fallen madly in love Victoria, maybe we'll be making a repeat performance there (that would be A-okay with me!). :)

We're going to Vancouver Island for two awesome weeks!

At long last, after at least four months since the first major steps towards our next genuine vacation (aka, not a work related trip of Tony's that I tag along for, but an outright, good, old-fashioned holiday) materialized, I can finally reveal to you today that later this month, we're going to be spending two weeks on Vancouver Island.

{Image source}

 

We've rented a small, beautifully furnished and equipped private house (via the very handy online service and hotel alternative Airbnb) in Victoria, which will be our base while on Island. A lot of the time there will no doubt be spent in Victoria itself, but we also hope to take some daytrips elsewhere, such as Nanaimo, Duncan, and Sooke - perhaps even as far north as Campbell River, where I've heard very good things about a vintage clothing shop called, rather charmingly, Britches and Hose (though at some three hours away from Victoria, there's no guarantee we'll make it there - hopefully!).

Just as when we headed to Vancouver last spring, I've lined up a few really terrific guest posts from fellow vintage bloggers to keep things active here in my absence. My Etsy shop will also remain open while I'm away from home and new orders are certainly welcome, though it should be noted that they won't ship out until I'm home again in early October.

While I have been to Vancouver Island and B.C.'s capital city of Victoria before, I haven't set even so much as one foot on this large, majestically beautiful Pacific Ocean hugged chunk of land since I was 14 years old - more than half my lifetime ago and I don't profess for the tiniest of moments to know the layout of the city very well. In fact, save for a few major attractions and standout memories from my early youth, there's little I know firsthand about this vibrant city, which makes me all the more excited to hop in the car later this month and hightail down there to quickly learn a whole lot more.

We'll be leaving Penticton on September 22nd and returning on the evening of October 4th. As usual when we go away, Annie will be staying at the lovely dog boarding kennel in Oliver that she just adores and my sweet mother will be house sitting our place and looking after our cat, Stella in our absence.

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As Victoria is situated on an island floating out in the ocean off the shores of our province of British Columbia, it can only be reached by air travel or ferry and it is the latter that we'll be floating on to reach our lovely holiday destination. I've always madly adored taking the ferry to the Island and am as giddy about the prospect of doing so as I am about any other element of this trip, which is a much needed breather from the daily grind for both Tony and I.

I (we) intentionally timed our trip to Victoria to correspond with the upcoming annual Victoria Vintage Expo, which is taking place there on September 26th and 27th. I'll be going as a shopper, not a seller this time around, but who knows, perhaps I'll be back in future years with a table of my own. There are so few events like this in our province, let alone ones I'm able to make it to (the few that do exist are are usually located hours away from Penticton), so I'm truly jumping for joy at the prospect of attending one of B.C.'s only vintage expos.

In fact, I'm hopping with happiness about this whole trip. We worked very hard, saved and sacrificed incredibly diligently, and put in a lot of effort to make this trip happen. I'm so glad that we did, because there are few things - even knowing that hitting the road will do a number on my health, as it always does - that I adore, or gain more from, in this world than travel.

Yippee! Hurrah! And three very big - and very excited - cheers! Here we come (okay, in three weeks time), Victoria - prepare to be two residents richer for a couple of weeks and a little lighter on the vintage clothing and jewelry front when we leave! :)

Five awesome highlights from our trip to Vancouver

Though I'm still very much in the throes of recovering from our awesome jaunt to Vancouver (traveling always does a total number on my health - but it's well worth it!), while the memories are still fresh as the first daisies of summer in my mind, I wanted to share a selection of happenings that really jump out at me from our week spent in British Columbia's largest city (which, interestingly enough, despite its size, is not the province's capital, that honour goes to the elegant city of Victoria on Vancouver Island).

We left town bright and early on the morning of the 4th and were guided from the very first to the very last minute of our drive with picturesque sunshine and ideal road conditions. Upon arriving in Vancouver, we made a beeline for our hotel, the immensely posh Fairmount Hotel, aka the Hotel Vancouver, on West Georgia Street (which stayed at thanks to Tony's company). This majestic building nestled smack dab in the heart of downtown Vancouver was built in 1939 and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Elements of late art deco and other types of mid-century design can be seen all throughout the hotel, from the grand lobby to the suites to the halls - and even the onsite mailbox itself (which, being the most gloriously pretty Canada Post mailbox I'd ever seen in person, I couldn't help but take a photograph of the moment I first laid eyes on it). Naturally, I was in my vintage loving element in our swanky digs.

In the days that would follow, I didn't get much in the way of the "rest" in R&R that I'd hoped for before we left, but even at its most hectic of moments, there was a certain sense of relaxation to my own time in Vancouver because my days were spent doing things that I truly loved and which were frequently well outside of my usual routine when I'm home in Penticton.

The following is a selection of five that will linger in my mind for a very long time to come, each different but united by longtime loves and the same magnificent city.


1. The Vancouver Aquarium: As one might imagine, aquatic life abounds at the famous Vancouver Aquarium, which is renowned not only for its diverse, beautiful creatures of all sizes, but for the important scientific research, as well as its rescue and release program, that take place within its gates. A true favourite destination of mine for as far back as I have memories of Vancouver, a trip to the city just isn't the same for me without a visit to the Aquarium, very much including saying a hello to the ultra adorable otters (otters being one of my all-time favourite animals). Though it was raining on the day we were there (Murphy's Law, I say, as it was raining the last time we were there all the way back in early 2007), we still had a blast and took in three great outdoor shows on top of seeing all of the exhibits indoors.




2. Vancouver Flea Market: An absolute institution in the city that is known province wide (and no doubt beyond!), the Vancouver Flea Market, in operation since 1983, is an indoor event that takes place nearly every Saturday and Sunday of the year. Housed in a large red barn, this large flea market plays host to more than 250 vendors selling an array of antique, vintage, and modern items, including absolutely no shortage of beautiful vintage jewelry in a wide range price points (vintage clothing was almost nonexistent there though, save primarily for a few fur coats). Admission is just $1.00 and you can get your hand stamped, which will allow you to come back for free again later the same day, if so desired.

I got up early on Saturday morning specifically to make the flea market my first stop. I was there for over four hours and highly suspect I still missed at least a few stalls, simply because there was so much to see and so many delightful sellers to chat with. Though I did find some of the vendor's prices to be on the steep side (something that is, objectively, true of most things with price tags on them all throughout the city), a bit of sleuthing and bartering landed me a few good deals on some really lovely antique and vintage pieces, nearly all of which will be headed straight to my Etsy shop in the coming summer weeks.


3. Mintage: While I had the great pleasure of visiting a number of vintage and thrift stores in Vancouver during my lovely week there, none stand out in my mind quite like Mintage on Commercial Drive. Though it has been in business for nine years now, this was my first visit to Mintage and to say that it was love at first sight would be understatement. Unlike many of the vintage (and thrift) stores that I visited, Mintage's prices were fair and well within the means of my personal shopping budget and as a result, I came home with two good sized brown paper bags loaded with vintage skirts, dresses, scarves, handbags and my second ever Mexican Tourist jacket. Whereas most of the other vintage items I bought in Vancouver are destined for the shop, these particular beauties now reside in my own closet and are some of the first vintage pieces I've bought for myself this year, as I've been devoting as much of my funds as I can to sourcing for the shop, not myself.

In addition to having good prices, Mintage is chock-a-block with early, mid-century, and more recent vintage finds for gals and gents alike, all of which are well currated, intuitively laid out, and watched over by some of the absolutely friendliest staff you could ever hope to encounter. In fact, I was having such a ball selecting, trying items on and talking with the two employees (Alex and Mitchell, both pictured below in an photo I took of them that day) that I spent more than two fabulous hours at Mintage and will making it one of my very first stops from here on out whenever I'm in Vancouver.





4. Giving an impromptu presentation at New World Designs: A shopping trip to New World Designs, a wonderful Vancouver vintage reproduction and rockabilly clothing shop resulted in one of the coolest vintage related experiences I've ever had: giving a 100% unplanned, on the fly presentation on vintage hairstyles, makeup, clothing, and blogging to a group of about a dozen terrific ladies who had initially planned for an evening with a professional hairdresser who was going to show them some vintage hairstyles. It turned out that that lady ran into some issues (I don't know all the details) with her flight back to Vancouver and was delayed, so as a result the shop's owner was thinking she might have to cancel or alter the evening she had planned.

By sheer coincidence, I was in store as this was unfolding and after chatting with the owner for a little while, giving her my card and explaining who I was and what I do, she asked if I'd be interested in filling in for the MIA hairdresser. I explained that I was neither a pro at hair or makeup, and that fashion, history and blogging were my specialties, but that I'd be happy to do my best at demonstrating vintage looks (on a model from the audience) and discussing those topics in general. Mere minutes later I was in front of a crowd doing precisely that for the better part of the next two hours (which happily, I pretty much had free anyways, so the timing couldn't have been better).

It was an exhilarating, fantastic experience and I loved receiving and answering a slew of diverse, intelligent, downright cool questions from all of the lovely ladies who had shown up for the evening's previously planned presentation. I've never spoken to a live audience in person before about vintage (kind of hard to believe at this point in my life, I know), and despite my epic shyness, I've never had a problem with public speaking (in fact, I often prefer it to one-on-one or super small group discussions with strangers), so I was able to wing it and based on the feedback from the shop's owner and some of the audience members at the end of the night, things seemed to have gone great (phew! :)).

In fact, two of the gals (close friends) in the audience invited me out to a pub down the street afterwards and though I don't drink, I was happy to sip ice water while the three of us kept chatting about vintage, blogging, Vancouver, and many other great subjects well into the night. I had no idea when I first stepped foot in New World Designs late on Monday afternoon that not only would I soon be presenting on vintage to crowd, but also that before the evening was up, I would have two new friends from Vancouver. It was an almost surreal chain of events and one that has me seriously thinking that I should - with actual planning involved - give similar presentations on vintage here in the Okanagan, if I can determine that there would be enough interest from the public in them.


5. Just being in the city again: Some people are squarely a city or country person, I however fall into the camp of those who find they adore both and can only go so long in one without greatly missing the other. As awesome and genuinely important as small town living and outdoors serenity both are (a point I delved into earlier this year in this post), I still need a solid hit of city living every now and then few places in Canada can deliver that with the gusto, passion, and beauty as Vancouver. I felt especially alive, recharged and joyful while there and know that it will help set the mood and pace for me throughout the coming summer months, as I power straight ahead with my blogging, Etsy shop running, and day-to-day life.





{All photos in this post were taken by me with my iPhone and can be seen in my Instragram stream - where you can view lots more fun and exciting photos from Vancouver, including some of the vintage outfits I wore while there.}

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Though it had been nearly 7.5 years since my last journey to Vancouver, I can say with great conviction and hope that I don't believe it will anywhere near as long before the next - in fact, I hope to make it back there again at least one more time, if circumstances will permit, before the year is out.
 
I'm wild about Vancouver. I was born a stone's throw away from this vivacious city and truly felt like a powerful love for it was rekindled in a new and exciting way during our recent week there. Though I have a long way to go before I know it like the back of my hand (the ways I do, say, Calgary, where I lived in my late teen years), as we were driving out of town on our way home, passing streets such as Robson, Main, Terminal, and Cordova, I couldn't help but smile gleefully to myself over the fact that I now have a much better an idea of where they are and what they house. I know also that each subsequent trip to Vancouver will help me further piece together and get to know this lively, action filled city on the sea.

Though my bags are unpacked and my purchases tucked away, a bigger part of my heart than ever still remains in Vancouver and it will be all I can do not to start crossing off the days until we just happen to find ourselves saying hello to the otters, hitting up the flea market, and shopping at some of the city's coolest vintage stores again. Oh, how I can scarcely wait!!!