Vintage Finds & A Kitty Story

Yesterday, we made a little road trip to Nanton, a small town south of Calgary, with David's mother, brother and sister-in-law.  The town has a few antique stores, a candy and ice cream store, and a quaint little cafe for lunch.  It was such a fun day, although good antiques are quite scarce here in western Canada (unless you are in the market for a wagon wheel or 100 ft of old barbed wire).  

I managed to find a couple of pretty vintage finds for fair prices (also rare).

Generally I don't buy pressed glass, but I loved the shape of this urn vase.  I loosely arranged some Masterwort, which is blooming in our garden right now, along with some ferns:

Cicada original etching from Etsy here

I love its neo-classical lines (my favorite historical look):

I also found a darling little Dresden porcelain pot, ca.1910, which mirrors the lines of the antique Eva Ziesel Haviland pot I bought (and blogged about) a short time ago. I am totally into this shape right now and can see the beginnings of a collection:

The detailing on the pot is different all the way around.  This is the back, which is also very pretty, with more white showing:

We had a fantastic day, but heard a rather sad story on our trip.  While visiting the local historic hotel, we stopped to say hello to the resident kitty who lives at the hotel bar:

 He looks like an old boxer, with his big paws, fierce stare and cauliflower ears.  

I asked the owner what happened to his ears and he said that during a drunken winter visit to the bar, a nearby hockey team STOLE THE CAT and took him with them on their bus.  That is bad enough, but then they dumped him out far away in the middle of winter (it can easily be -35C or -31F here in winter and there are miles of open prairie between towns).   

I am not sure how long he was missing but luckily a passerby recognized him as the Nanton hotel cat!  His ears were frostbitten! 

 Poor little guy!  

Luckily, he didn't seem too fazed by his misfortune.  He looked pretty relaxed and I suspect he gets a LOT of attention every day.  But still...I felt pretty bad for the little guy.  I am a serious cat lover and think people who do this kind of thing to defenseless animals should be taken out and shot (after being treated the same way themselves).  Ugh!

*

Hope you are having a nice holiday weekend.  It is Canada Day today!  

Happy Canada Day to you!

And Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!

xo Terri

Windlost Goes to Vancouver

Ken McAllister Photo:  Tourism Vancouver Photo of the Week

As you know, Windlost loves to travel!  Next week David and I will be visiting Vancouver.  This will be my third visit to Canada's loveliest city, but the first visit of any duration.  We will stay for four days and I can hardly wait to experience Vancouver's glorious oceanside beauty.  It is no exaggeration that Vancouver is Canada's most beautiful city and one of the most expensive in which to live.  But no wonder...Vancouver is nestled between ocean and mountain and has the mildest weather in all of Canada.  It is a utopia for Canadians after a dark snowy winter, especially if you don't mind rain (and to-die-for gardening conditions)!

One delightful treat will be staying at a fine downtown hotel while David attends a conference. I plan to take Wednesday all to myself for some much-needed Alone Time (do you hear me busy people...a whole day to myself?!!!!).  I love to wander in new cities and don't mind spending the day alone - I know that Vancouver's downtown peninsula is chock full of goodness and will not disappoint.  If I have time I will check out some shops (I have a short list) and visit the art gallery.  I still have more research to do, but hope mostly to go where the wind blows me.  I love days like this!

Canada Place

On my second day, my dear friend M. from Victoria arrives to spend the day with me. Later that night, her husband will arrive and the four of us will have a fancy dinner out.  During the day, M. and I plan to explore Stanley Park, walk along the sea wall, and do some antiquing along Main Street.  On the third day, David will take me to some of his favorite places. Since he is a UBC alumnus, he knows this city well.  We will visit his old neighborhood, Kitsilano, and also visit Chinatown.  My favorite stop will be Granville Island, which is full of artist's shops and food markets.  Last time I was here, we spotted David Suzuki buying fresh fish (a typical sight for Vancouverites visiting this area), which was a thrill for me!

I am at your mercy as I do not know Vancouver well, so...do you have any suggestions for me? Is there a favorite decorating shop or antique store you can recommend?  Some great architecture not to miss?  A must-visit restaurant or sight?

Do tell! 

American Shopping!

In just 3 short weeks, David and I will be travelling to the USA, land of the free and home of the best shopping ever.  In fact, I think Americans were born to shop.

While I generally prefer shopping at unique, one-of-a-kind boutiques, the fact is, I still love American chains stores.  We only have a few of them in Canada, and only in the big centres.  

We have Pottery Barn, but only a tiny store in Calgary, and they don't carry half the stock.  

We have Williams Sonoma for great kitchen things, but 

not Williams Sonoma Home:  

We are getting a Crate & Barrel in Calgary sometime late this year, and there's one Anthropologie in all of Western Canada, if you don't mind driving 4 hours to Edmonton.

And don't even talk to me about fashion.  Thankfully, we have my beloved Banana Republic here, but not J.Crew, where this season seems to be all about orange and pale green and grey!

And we don't have any of your department stores, like Neimann Marcus or Macy's or Bloomingdales or whatever the names are.  We have Walmart.  Thanks.  And Home Depot.  But no Lowe's anywhere else but in Toronto.

Oh, and we don't have Target!  There is no L.L. Bean, nor Ralph Lauren (there was one in Toronto, but I think it closed. You have to go to Holt Renfew for Ralph Lauren).   And I think Toronto has a Barnes & Noble, or maybe that's Borders.

But hey, Toronto is VERY far from here!  For a brief geography lesson, I am in Calgary, which is in the PINK province on the left and Toronto is in the ORANGE one, north of New York State. Not very convenient for shopping.  A four-hour flight, to be precise.

So....all this to say that I can't wait to hit the malls in the good old USA, or even better...the outlet stores!  American outlet stores are the best.  Ever since I was a kid and we travelled to the wonderful outlets in Maine, I've loved a good old American outlet shopping spree.  I still have Ralph Lauren towels I bought 20 years ago for $3 apiece and I still wear my LL Bean rubber boots.

What's your favorite American decor or fashion chain?  Any hot tips for me (we will be in the DC area)?

Photos:  All decor photos by Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma Home.  Clothing by J.Crew

Canada map from Google Images.