It was a long time coming this year, but because July was such a hectic month for me, work-wise, our annual family vacation was very much an impromptu affair. For the first part of it, we went to Calgary to visit family for an extra long weekend, and used the opportunity to see a few sights along the way, including Canmore and Drumheller.

I’m not kidding about the lack of planning involved, and that includes my packing. I didn’t get around to it until the night before we left (at 8 am in the morning), and I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. For probably undoubtedly the first time in my life, I under-packed — underestimating how long (and dirty) days on the road with the kids can be. A few extra outfit changes would have come in handy, and not for any style-related reasons. Luckily, inspired by my minimalist experiment (which finds its fullest expression in my casual wear), I ended up packing mostly dark, easily interchangeably pieces.

For the record, here’s what I packed: 3 tops, 2 pairs of pants, 1 sweater, 3 jackets — because the weather was forecast to be erratic — and 2 pairs of shoes. I also packed a maxi dress, but then forgot to pack sandals, which ruled it out as a wearable option. Oops.

I don’t have a photo of my outfit from day 3, but it involved a striped top, the same black pants as Day 2, the olive jacket from Day 4, and my trusty Chucks. That day happened to be my birthday, and we spent it in the mountains, enjoying the sunshine, beautiful scenery, and some seriously amazing fudge (see below).

Here’s a picture of my birthday fudge — simply delicious. I’m already planning my return to Canmore, to stock up.

Of course, I did a little thrifting:

The Calgary thrift stores I was able to check out had decent selection, but the prices were slightly-to-significantly higher. Unexpectedly, Goodwill (rather than VV) was the biggest culprit in that respect. I also dropped into Vespucci (consignment) but was disappointed once again by the prices. I was somewhat surprised by that experience; a while ago, the newspapers were full of reports of Calgary c-stores brimming with hugely discounted designer goods as a result of the recession. Clearly, bargains are relative.

On our way back to Edmonton, we made a detour to Drumheller to visit the dinosaur fossils and exhibits at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. The drive there was unexciting, to put it as diplomatically as I can — most of it crossed the flatest of flat lands I have ever seen. We did enjoy taking in the sights in Drumheller, and especially the museum. We’re planning to go back once the kids are a bit older and have more stamina (and appetite) for a good hike around the “badlands”.

Part two of my summer vacation was more of a staycation, but I did use the opportunity to continue my experiment with minimalist dressing so stay tuned for that recap coming up on Wednesday.