Antique Emporium, Vancouver Island [Canadian pull out]

A hop, skip and a jump (well a couple of hundred miles and a short flight) from Calgary is Vancouver Island - off the Pacific coast, it is about the size of Ireland and a happily old-fashioned place. So it seemed only appropriate to hunt for an antiques shop. But I bettered that, I found an Antique Emporium.
Behold! It was a proper barn and was packed to the rafters full of pretty well priced vintage, antiques and very likable old kitchen garb too.
I particularly fell for the old packaging that filled up shelves throughout the store (sorry Emporium!). Love that bottle! We also found an old wooden Coca Cola crate that would have been a perfect storage space, somewhere to hold our sprawling mass of magazines, luggage restriction thwarted us though and we had to leave it behind. Boo.
Even the old oil cans were cool...
7os style was pretty prominent here too...
But there was also a surprising amount of English ceramics on sale. Which I just couldn't bring myself to buy and cart back home - it seemed a bit ridiculous however good the deal!
It was amusing to find a reminder of another royal wedding all the way on the other side of the world.
After seeing this...I'm plotting where to have my very own Book Nook (maybe not to read the above book though!)
I got myself one of these maple syrup pourers, but obviously forgot to buy the actual yummy stuff to go inside it...those breakfast pancakes might have to wait a little longer...
This was a great one store to have stumbled upon. It was really well located as based on the Island's main highway so the perfect stop off point to relive some Canadian history...oh and shop of course.
The extended antiques browsing meant that we had no time to stop for food whizzing through the luscious countryside on Vancouver Island, but I did spy this set of wheels that *could* be my perfect vehicle.

Steeling Home, Calgary, Alberta [more Canada]

When traipsing through Calgary, a city in Canada famous for oil and cowboys, I came across Steeling Home with no visible oil wells or stetsons I got the impression that I was going to like this place...
And like it I did. While 'fun' is probably not the way I'd like to describe my taste in decoration...with this shop it was the 'fun' elements that made me really like it...Steeling did it very well indeed.
There was a selection of all things homeware on offer with a good mixture of new and vintage, colourful products, classic wood pieces, garb for the kitchen and even a Gaga-eaque telephone.
I love the boldness of this cushion - the nautical trend with colours turned up to 11.
My fella fell for this deer doormat...
And you'll never believe just quite how close we were to going home with this guy...
There were some really great independent brands on sale at Steeling Home making it really differ from some of the other the cookie-cutter-cute design stores in Canada. These sweet cross stitch slogans were a nice example of this
I know it quite clearly isn't for sale, but I am pretty keen on the display cabinet showing this cool selection - looks like a perfect place for my lotions and potions...
A vintage fridge filled full of brightly decorated water bottles - I think this pretty much sums up the Canadian culture I saw in Calgary - cool, bright, outdoorsy.
Steeling's section for kids was design conscious (no pink here thanks) while still...fun. Kids stuff is supposed to be fun anyway, but throw in some Tintin and I am sold. Oh Canada, they don't mind a bit of taxidermy here...
Steeling Home was a little colourful jewel in the cowboy country of Calgary. Take a look, it's fun and I like it.

[Bonus food section]

Ok you might not call it gourmet...but this hot dog take-out (stay with me...) was one of my fave Canadian eateries. What other restaurant has Pac Man and Street Fighter contests?!
Tubby Dog (what a name!) is a local institution and *the* place to get your post bar snack in this cool part of Calgary.
Hot dogs are available in every way you could imagine (this is the veggie Not Dog).
But the Yam fries won the prize for most amazing/guilt inducing at Tubby Dog. But when in Rome...

Stonewaters Home Elements, Canmore [Canada pull out section]

How's that for the view from an interiors shop? Not bad, not bad at all.

My first stop of homeware shopping in Canada taught me what I should have known is one of the first rules of travelling. Do NOT shop on streets with this kind of view. The pricetags are sure to not be as pretty.

But we're just browsing right? So may as well indulge a little anyway. Here goes...Welcome to Canmore, Alberta a mountain town ready made for relaxing, hill walking, lazy coffees, dog walking and when you've had enough of that - how about a bit of shopping? On a typically lowkey day in Canmore I stumbled into the sumptuous Stonewaters Home Elements store that strives to reflect 'an authentic Canadian mountain lifestyle'.

The store was great fun and made me like this idea of this mountain living...
The space was huge, with room even for a canoe on the ceiling! Wood was definitely the preferred material which fits in perfectly with the wooden frame houses and beautiful evergreen landscape surrounding the town.
On of my fave products in the store was this fit-for-a-woodchopper doormat. Chunky.
The natural themed and toned accessories could bring you a bit of outdoorsy charm wherever you live.
Stonewaters have also snuck some very cool vintage into the collection like this ace clock. I'm loving that font...

Sadly the only downfall at this store for me was its pricings. These sweet cards, however, were pretty much the only finds in my budget.

Perhaps I'm not meant for Canadian mountain living, but by gum I'm going to start saving up for it!

Oh Canada [pull-out section]

I'm back! I've returned from the recent blogging radio silence that I'm afraid was mainly down to my technology failings *shakes fist at broken iphone*.

So now I'm returning to my old blogging ways - my have I missed the joys of Blogger - to share interiors tales of my recent jaunt to Canada. Family ties pulled me over the pond, but I managed to sneak into a few interiors shops on the way (you know me...) Incidentally I really fell for Canada and enjoyed a holiday of weddings, chin-wagging with the family, attempting to walk up mountains, desperately looking for bears (and succeeding!) and even getting to see a riot in full swing - oh Canada you really did surprise me with that one.

But I digress...so my next few posts will be a mini Canada pull-out section looking at some modern and some vintage stores with an occasional eatery thrown in along on the way (as leaving them out would be a poor representation of what we spent our time doing...man did we eat a lot this holiday...)

Keep your eyes peeled for Fergie's wedding annual and upside down canoes, eh? Disclaimer - apologies in advance for bad jokes and puns - I reckon I can get away with blaming the jetlag for a few days yet...

Southbank Centre Shop, SE1

The Southbank Centre Shop is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain at the moment. And, my, aren't they doing it well?

The shop is packed full of creative products using the iconic imagery and 50s style while bringing this event held to help Britain to recover after the second world war right up to the modern day.

The Southbank Centre had even created a English seaside feel on the Thames this weekend - even with a proper sandy beach to play in!

The beach-huts have been taken on by artists and independent shops, they had even brought the Southbank's shop out here for Tokens of Affection to be brought by 'holiday makers'.

Drink, Shop & Do, N1

Drink, Shop & Do is one of my favourite places to escape in central London. If you haven't visited yet...here are the many reasons why you should...

It's a tea shop, it's a bar, it's a vintage shop, it's a place to find new design products, it's a cool place for crafty activities. It is all of these and that's why I love it.

Based just a hop, skip and a jump from King's Cross station this joint starts with a super vintage interiors and designer/maker products shop. With cool gifts from creative badges, retro products (like those above from Tala!) to hand-made one offs (like the hearts below from the v talented Heart Zeena) and of course more vintage crockery than you can shake a stick at.

The shops leads up the the delightful cafe/bar area packed full of sweet seating arrangements made up of perfectly paired tables and chairs...that like *everything* in Drink, Shop & Do are for sale.

Lounging and games are encouraged. They even have a Scrabble night (that's it I'm moving in!)

Of course the tea is sold by the pot in cute mismatched vintage teacups and saucers - would you have expected anything else?! Plus you can't leave without cake...particularly the happily indulgent Victoria sponge...mmm

The building was originally a Victorian bath-house (fact fans) and the circular shaped back room still has the beautifully ornate originally ceiling. Muggins here declined to take a lovely looking-up shot, but I did take this slightly spooky shot of the plates hung on the wall instead - again all for sale...

And what else can Drink, Shop & Do give us? They've only gone and put in a retro ice-cream bar!

Go if you haven't been before. My formula for a visit: go with a gift to buy, find something for yourself - decide to buy both, then head to the back for a tea and cake with a book, cocktails optional. Enjoy!

Craft & Crown, The Hospital Club

I've tried hiding under a rock, joining the circus and just plain shutting my eyes...but I simply cannot avoid the hullabaloo of the royal wedding at the moment.

So I've decided I may as well embrace it, when in Rome as they say. This was handily made a whole lot easier by today's Craft & Crown event. Billed as 'an indoor street party with a difference' it certainly made my inevitable indoctrination into the biggest faff (I mean wedding) of the decade a lot more fun and a lot less tacky.
Craft & Crown was the first event of its kind held in Covent Garden's cool Hospital Club. There was a mixture of stalls including kitsch-cool art work, vintage jewellery, rather nice cakes and chic accessories. They didn't all centre on the whole Kate and Wills thing but most had a cheeky nod to the revered couple.
Crafty classes took place throughout the day (a subversive cross-stitch was going down while I was there) which helped create a relaxed fun atmosphere in the midst of the stalls.
I held back on my purchases (despite being tempted by the Queen Mum cushion, corgi cufflinks and some very cool bunting) until I found my ideal fit - Lydia Leith's Royal Wedding Sick Bag.
So hopefully I can now hold back from the royal wedding thing after doing my bit by enjoying Craft & Crown.

Except I might have to get this bunting necklace from Tatty Devine too...oh and this tea towel from Thornback & Peel and...and...yeah who am I kidding.