Day Three: Shopping (Again!)

Black leather, Unity, Strawberry Stripes, Christmas in Australia, 
Tormulated Quartz, Sparkling Star

Today was a fairly quiet day, so I decided to try and match my beads with my clothes! I made use of the black leather with Unity and Sparkling Star as I love their shape, and they are fairly even size wise (Sparkling star is heavier as Unity is hollow) along with Christmas in Australia, the debut outing for my Strawberry Stripes and finally Tormulated Quartz to make sure I had an odd number of beads(it also went with the grey of my chinos!). I think that an odd number looks better when it comes to design of a bracelet.

And with the sun hitting the glass beads

Stripy beads are a favourite of mine and the Strawberry Stripes was bought in a retailer closing sale. It has stripes of red, coral beige, grey and white and a clear overlay. I would love to have the Beach ball too, but then again my wishlist is never ending!

Today consisted of a trip to Target that I was far, far too excited for. Spending a lot of my life on lifestyle blogs like (Click for links to respective blogs) 17 Apart, OhHappy Day, Almost makes perfect and Shanty to Chic you see a lot of use for things bought in Target. Unfortunately Target is relatively new to Canada and not doing so well as they aren’t cheap like in the US. I didn’t let this put me off though as I was on the hunt for Mason Jars for storage (and Craft) and as a gift for the lovely Fi (have a look at her Etsy Shop!) who was being me (at work) while I was away. It turned out to be a bit like M&S mixed with TK Maxx and I thought it was quite cheap. They sell literally anything you can think of, so I spent quite a lot of time in here!

Grace was taken with this Punny stationery collection, and I found lots of Jars!

After this we went to a few Indian shops to look for jewellery for my mum and sister to wear to my cousins wedding. I loved the vibrant colours and variety of products. I haven’t been to an Indian shop in so long so it was nice to have a wonder around. It made me wonder what a really eclectic bracelet might look like?

 

So many different styles and colours of earrings

Boxes and boxes of ribbon!

Raksha Bandhan Bracelets 

And finally we ended the day with a bit of family time!

Day Two: Shopping, Stanley Park and the Aquarium

Day two was much greyer and I feared I had brought the British weather with me! We started the morning with a spot of shopping. I love visiting all the shops we don’t have in England, today was the Lego Store, where I let out my inner child / geek again and marvelled at the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Lego sets. I remember watching the cartoon of these fellas, and am looking forward to the film which comes out here in November. It came out in Canada the day after I left L

In the afternoon we drove through east Vancouver, West Hastings and Downtown to reach Stanley Park. I know most people would find driving in the rain through the city a bit of a bore but I loved looking at the architecture and people watching. Here are a couple of my favourite bits (that I managed to capture)

From Stanley Park you get an amazing view Vancouver city centre:

I love the juxtapositon of the old and new that
can been seen all over Vancouver

I'm probably the only person who like the look of these
 old signs for hotels which have been long closed

...And the structure of bridges!

And then the exciting part, Vancouver Aquarium. What I really like about the aquarium is that it is a non-profit organisation that rescues and rehabilitates sea life, those who can’t be rehabilitated are housed here and they are going through a multimillion dollar refurbishment to make the animal houses bigger. They try to make people more aware of their surroundings and the effect we can have on the environment. It was really interesting to watch the beluga and dolphin shows and learn about their behaviours. I also find the way jellyfish move mesmerising!

The dolphins having fun

and flying through the air

There were so many Jellyfish I could
 have stayed staring all day

ARGH! Even just sitting there he looks menacing!

There was also a butterfly house, so many vibrant
colours, reminded me of Trollbead Uniques!

And this cute guy melted Josephs
heart, clear to see why!

Another First Nation sculpture,
right outside the Aquarium

There is a lot of inspiration for a maritime bracelet here, and with the multitude of silver animal beads I think you could make a really beautiful design here. Maybe that is one to try after I have collected the Gemstones (my current mission!)

Here is what I wore for day two in Canada, the green leather was to tie into my green polo shirt (with flying ducks on) and the blue to pick up on the sea theme (and my chinos). I was feeling overwhelmed at being so far from home and being so busy straight away so picked beads that reminded me of being back in Bristol!

Green Leather, Chess Lock, The Eye,
Limited Edition Christmas 2013 and Tower (Retired)

Canada Day One: Forest and Sea

Today we went across Vancouver and visited Lynn Canyon Park explored it’s forest, walked across the suspension bridge, its smaller than Capilano, but much less busy and touristy, was great to get out into the forest and just listen and watch the water. I think it is a hot spot for the locals as lots were having big family BBQs which they love here apparently.

Just look how green the water is, really wanted a swim!

This is how I imagine Canada

After Lynn Canyon we went across to Whytecliff bay (where I scrabbled around on the rocks like a child, and tried to reach the highest point) and then Horseshoe Bay where we had Fish and Chips and a stroll through the small village.

My Mum clambering around too!

One of the many islands off Vancouver

Felt like a seaside resort

The ferry to Vancouver Island

I love that you can find these everywhere!

I knew that there would be a lot of outdoor walking (it was so hot!) and water and didn’t want to lose anything so stuck on my X by Trollbeads bracelet with my double copper link and also one I had borrowed from Tristan. He is much more of an X by Trollbeads fan than me, so I buy them for him as gifts and then borrow them! :D

I also used this as a chance to wear my new Links of London Feed Bracelet. These bracelets were released a couple of years ago and I ordered one at the time for my 21^st birthday, unfortunately they were so popular that I was placed on a 6 month waiting list, not one to want to wait I cancelled my order and have instead waited over two and a half years to own one! (go figure!)

The bracelet is part of a collection in partnership with the FEED Charity who aims to feed the world through fashion products. There are a number of different bracelets, each with a different charity donation attached. Blue is obviously my colour of choice, but I also love the green and the dove grey.

Which would you choose?