An absolutely awesome blogger meet-up with Laurie from Retro Reporter

Have you ever had one of those days, that even while it's happening, you know already that it's going to stand out for you as one the best of the year? This past month, while in Calgary, I had precisely one of those stellar days when my lovely friend Laurie, whom many may know from her terrific blog Retro Reporter, traveled all the way down from Edmonton (which is a three hour drive each way) to spend a Saturday with Tony and I.

Laurie and I have known each other online for quite a while now, and share much in common, but this was our first ever meet-up in person. In fact, this was also the first blogger and first meet-up with a fellow vintage lover I've ever had. Hard as it may be to believe, aside from staff sporting vintage at a few shops I've visited over the years, I had never once, in all my twenty-nine years of life had the profound pleasure of getting to spend time in person with another mid-century fashion loving lady.

Part of this is because we tend to be rather few and far between here in the great expanses of Canada, especially if, like me, you live in a small town hours away from the nearest big metropolis. For this reason, it means all the more to me that my first date with a fellow vintage lover was with a fellow Canadian.

Laurie met up with us in the lobby of our hotel, sporting a truly beautiful cream hued NOS 1940s dress with September perfect green leaves on the pockets, as well as a killer rose pattern tooled purse, classic brown peep toe pumps, a gorgeous vintage bracelet. To say that she was a vision of old school loveliness would be an understatement.

From the hotel, we headed down to Gruman's Deli on 11th Ave SE, where Tony and Laurie enjoyed some thoroughly scrumptious food (for the sake of my health, I didn't eat out at all during our trip, preferring to play it very safe and cook all my meals in our suite's kitchen instead). In fact, Tony enjoyed their fare so much, he returned again for lunch a few days later.

After that, we hopped a few streets over and visited A Vintage Affair on 11th Ave SW, which you may remember from Wednesday post about Seven of my favourite places we visited in Alberta. To say that I was in vintage shopping heaven wouldn't even begin to describe what an excellent time I had there. From the wonderfully friendly staff to the racks of gorgeous vintage items (spanning a number of decades) to the elegant decor, I was on cloud nine (and left with several vintage treasures, some of which appear in my upcoming post about my favourite purchases from our trip). The fact that I got to experience such a great shop with Laurie just made the experience all the more incredible!

Next we visited Cat's Eye Vintage on 17th Ave SW, an eclectic jumble of yesteryear and newer consignment and vintage pieces located on the second floor of a bustling building that houses numerous other businesses and (I think) residences, too. Though there wasn't much that caught either mine or Laurie's eye, I did find one chic 1950s purple suit jacket (alas, the matching skirt was no where in sight), which though it needs one heck of a thorough cleaning, was a good bargain and much needed boon to my spring wardrobe.

The rest of our afternoon was filled with an enjoyable mix of visiting antique stores (with over-the-moon high prices, for the most part), stopping briefly at a cool indoor farmer's market, and getting to know one another better through many an engaging, lovely conversation.

As the warm, prairie wheat hued sun headed down towards the horizon, we wrapped up our time together by having Tony shoot some photos of us in the little bit of yard beside our hotel. There was wind, smiles, and shutter clicks aplenty, and the photos below are some of my favourites from that day.








































My outfit details

Royal blue wide headband: Arden
White rose stud earrings
Red cotton cami: Old Navy
Royal blue wrap top: Thrifted
Red cardigan: Gap
Vintage (c. 1950s) butterfly brooch: eBay
Clear plastic butterfly bracelet: Unknown (had for years)
Blue plastic beaded bracelet: Unknown (had for years)
Red skinny belt: eBay
1950s butterfly novelty print skirt: eBay
Black vintage handbag: etsy seller A Vintage Revival
Nude seemed stockings: eBay
Black pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

♥ ♥ ♥

It means the world to me that Laurie came down and visited us in Calgary (you can read her post all about our day together here). We so much fun that, as stellar days are so very prone to, the hours seemed to fly by at the speed of light. We chatted about vintage, blogging, where we've each traveled in Canada, our lives, and so much more. It was a joy and honour to get to spend time with Laurie in person, and I sincerely hope that we get a chance to meet-up again the next time I'm in Alberta or she happens to be out our way in the Okanagan.

Thank you again, dear Laurie for brightening my trip, and whole year, with our fabulous blogger meet-up. You are one seriously lovely vintage lady and terrific friend.