For the most part, I’m a solo thrifter; thrifting alone is almost a meditative state for me. But I also enjoy thrifting a deux; a thrifting buddy can make a thrift outing into a whole adventure – in other words, a totally different (but equally enjoyable) experience. My friend J and I have been having a few of those this summer, but recently we decided to take it to the next level … and leave town. Yep, we decided to explore thrifting in a small town. Several small towns in fact, all along Highway 2A. And what an adventure it was!

We started in Ponoka, a place I had never visited before. It turns out, Ponoka is a cute little town! There are TONS of vintage and secondhand shops in the “downtown” area, which itself is pretty quaint. Some are curated boutiques, some are regular (small) thrift shops. All of the ones we visited – Re.Cess Vintage, Molly’s Curiosities, Hamm’s Mercantile, Mission Thrift, Ponoka New & Used – were clean and nicely organized. We spent a few fun hours and still didn’t manage to hit all of the secondhand stores in town; we probably could have made a whole day of it, and it’s something I’m planning to do next summer.

Our next stop was Wetaskiwin; a bigger town but less attractive that Ponoka in my opinion (sorry, Wetaskiwin peeps!). We checked out the Salvation Army store which was a bit of a bust in terms of inventory quantity and quality, but at least offered real bargain prices (lots of $1 items to be found). We also stopped in at the antique mall in the historic downtown, which was very nice – worth a stop if you’re ever driving through town. However, unlike Ponoka, I wouldn’t say Wetaskiwin is a standalone destination for secondhand shopping.

Our last stop on this adventure was Millet. It’s the smallest place we visited, but there are 2 cute shops within walking distance of each other than sell vintage/antiques – Kilborn Antiques and Switchback Mercantile. The former sells mostly antique furniture, home wares and tools; the latter is a mix of gift shop, clothing store, and vintage/antique boutique. Well worth a quick side visit if you’re in the area, especially as they are both located just off Highway 2A.

There are differences – some subtle, some not – between my usual thrift experience at chain thrift shops in Edmonton and small-town thrifts and vintage boutiques. First of all, and most obviously, boutiques offer a curated experience. Their inventory has been vetted and selected by people who know their stuff, so there is less “sifting through random junk” on the buyer’s side. Prices reflect this; they include the seller’s time and knowledge involved in sourcing the items. As a dedicated thrifter, I tend not to shop at boutiques a lot because I enjoy putting in my own time (and honing my knowledge) into finding gems so paying extra for someone else to do that is not always worth it. But there are exceptions – I will happily pay a premium for pieces I know are super hard to find.

Small-town thrift stores are different too. Compared to Goodwill or Value Village, the selection tends to be more limited but the prices far better. At Mission Thrift, for example, most clothing was well under $10/piece. Books were $2 and less. Other wares were equally attractively priced. This was the case for all the small-town thrifts we visited. On one hand, there was a fairly limited selection of clothing available, and fewer brand names (although I did find an Armani Collezione blazer in brand-new condition for $2.50!). On the other hand, there is a good chance of quality pieces in other categories, like furniture and textiles. I got this amazing quilted wall hanging for $3!

I am hoping to have it upcycled into something fun so stay tuned for that.

My friend and I joked that after our small town thrifting adventures (especially in places like the Wetaskiwin Salvation Army), going to Value Village is like walking into Neiman Marcus. A bougie experience, for sure. But it’s nice to have a chance from time to time, and small town thrifts offer their own attractions. We had such a great time that we’re planning to do something like this again, hopefully before the summer’s over.

For the 3^rd year in a row, our family headed out to Clearwater, BC for some R&R. And we take our Rs pretty seriously over there … mostly by choice, but also by necessity. Clearwater is located in a beautiful part of interior BC, but it’s a small and sleepy kind of town. There are plenty of outdoor activities to be enjoyed, but not much else in the way of entertainment. So, we adjust our schedules accordingly: lots of swimming, some fishing, a little hiking. The kids watch cable TV at the motel – a luxury we don’t have at home – and I read. A lot. It’s heavenly, really.

Clearwater is on the edge of Wells Grey Provincial Park, and there are tons of great trails and scenic sights to be explored. My kids are very urban-conditioned, but they allowed themselves to be persuaded to leave the lake for a few hours and hike a teeny tiny bit. We saw the waterfalls again and I did some lichen-spotting, something I’ve been looking forward to since I read Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Gathering Moss.

I don’t love swimming, but I do love sitting by the lake with a good book and a cold drink, reading and watching the clouds go by. Dutch Lake is still beautifully clear and warm as last year, though its water levels have dropped a fair bit since our last visit. We spotted quite a lot of wildlife in and around the area: loons, ducks, Canada geese, bald eagles, hawks, turtles, and even a black bear. Yep, just a black bear, sauntering down a side road next to the lake one fine morning. Luckily, we were in the car at the time, but it certainly got out attention. As it turns out, a few days later, other guests at our motel had a much closer encounter with the (same?) bear down at the motel’s private lake beach area. (They were shaken but fine.) Our trip was much less eventful, though my daughter did get stung by a wasp. (She was also shaken but fine.)

This year, I put zero effort into my vacation clothes packing. I have a small capsule set aside specifically for our BC trip, and I only need to add a few warmer pieces and underclothing, and I’m basically packed. Since I know our trips mostly involve outdoor activities and zero likelihood of any need to dress up, what I pack isn’t very exciting; it’s comfortable and suitable for layering – some days can be chilly, others hot as Hades, so I need things that are weather-versatile. Most of the pieces in my vacation capsule are things I wore on the same trip last year, so I know they work. I must say that having a pre-planned capsule makes my life a lot easier when trying to get the family ready for the trip. None of my vacation outfits were the least bit interesting, from a fashion perspective, but they did the job. And I was very very very happy to be reunited with my closet when I got back home.

I was far more excited about my vacation reading and spent a lot more time curating my reading list for the trip than I did my outfits. For a vacation like this, where chilling is the main priority, I always pack books from my favourite genres: mystery, history, and biography. Picking the right number of books is also important; running out of reading material before the end of the vacation is the wooooorst. As I knew I’d have a lot of downtime – and I’m a fast reader – I decided to take one book for each non-travel day, plus one extra. I ended up reading 5 and starting the 6^th (which I finished once I got home), so that worked out well.

I also think I had the right mix of books and lucked out with the selection; they were all quite good! I had been saving the latest Richard Osman book for a while, specifically for this trip – I read the previous one in the series on our BC trip last year, so it seemed fitting.

All told, another great family vacation in the books! This trip solidified the fact that our kids are now seasoned car travelers, and that we love road trip adventures far more than air travel (something that wasn’t the case when the kids were younger). We’ve started making some plans for shorter road trips next summer – in addition to one more Clearwater visit, I think – to explore small-town Alberta. As we prepare to close the chapter on summer 2023, we have something to look forward to.

Details: Chepe dress (retail), Free People belt (thrifted), Old Navy shoes (Poshmark), vintage bag (gift)

Thoughts: I broke my “no retail” rule twice in a month, but I think this Chepe dress was worth that second infraction. It’s pretty much everything I want in a dress … except for the colour. The colour was a calculated risk. I would have loved this dress in white, but no dice. I did see it in black but I decided that would be too close to the black maxi dress I already have (and love). I was going to walk away and then I saw it in navy. Navy has never been a colour I’ve gravitated towards, but it does pair well with colours I do love, like red and brown. And the cut was so good! Well, you can see what happened. I bought it. And I regret nothing! It’s one of those dresses that’s easy to throw on, accessorize, and feel like a million bucks. We all need a few of those in our closets, right?

Details: Liz Claiborne dress, For Cynthia shirt, Rebecca Minkoff belt, Barbara Barbieri shoes (all thrifted)

Thoughts: I’ve come to terms with the fact that the bodice of my favourite rainbow dress simply doesn’t fit well. Plus, I hate spaghetti straps as a general rule. I could take this to a tailor to come up with a fix, but I don’t currently know a good tailor. So my fallback has been to work around the issues by layering, aka camouflaging the problems. I usually layer things over the dress, but this time I decided to layer something under it. This worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself. It’s a good reminder that white shirts are very versatile.

Details: Emmy Deveaux bodysuit, Gap shirt, Twik jeans, Isabel Marant belt, Tommy Hilfiger bag (all thrifted), J. Crew shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I know a lot of people avoid wearing black and brown together but I love it. It helps to choose shades of brown that aren’t too muddy, so there is clear contrast with the black. Whiskey brown is my usual choice, but this warm chocolate-y colour also works, albeit as a lower-contrast pairing. I love the simplicity of this outfit; it’s a pretty classic formula updated with a more contemporary pair of denim.

Details: UO top, vintage cardigan, Ralph Lauren skirt (all thrifted), Zara shoes (retail)

Thoughts: I’m calling this Highlands cottagecore. I know it’s still only August, but I love taking advantage of cooler days to give myself a preview, as it were, of my fall outfit options. More on my fall 2023 inspo to come, but this vibe is a contender for sure. I love blue-green colour palettes and, of course, anything plaid. I see a lot more of it in my near future 😉