The Land of the Midnight Sun - Part 2

My lovelies, in the middle of the week I was able to go shopping... (surprise, surprise) and hit up local shops and sight-see! I have to admit, if you ever choose to visit this place SAVE UP, seriously! I stuck with buying reasonably priced accessories, from a variety of stores (can't show them all here since some of them are gifts):

Great local shop with many items from Northern clothing to beautiful souvenirs:






Colourful beaded earrings (Down to Earth Gallery) with a fantastic soapstone trinket box (Northern Transition)

Deliciously warm moccasins made with rabbit fur and lined with wool, I am really enjoying the bead work on the flowers...the beige ones are mine and the blues are for my older sister!

Cute shop, I would recommend it:

Photo-op in the dressing room...I love my new navy blue leather pencil skirt!

Honourable mention: this dress was lovely, but due to all the beading and the fact that it's vintage, the sticker price was well over my budget! and majority of Facebook friends told me to hang it back up *sobs*....

Below is one of the most popular galleries for tourists....the statue of a man just in front is an "Inukshuk", you may have seen it during the Vancouver Olympics. Here in the North, it's a very well-known image. In Inuit it means "in the shape of man", its historical meanings are as a guiding post for travelers, food storage and cultural events but in modern day, it is a symbol of friendship and good luck to humanity. On the left is a Totem Pole usually used for recording events and storytelling:

The art that I could afford came from this gallery and sure added weight to my checked baggage but worth the hassle for sure. The paintings are from three different Northern artists. I think I'll hang them up at the office!

Did you know that Yellowknife, NWT is also known as the "Diamond Capital" of Canada??? Clearly it's fate that brought me here lol

Bought some Icewine-flavoured Tea (which is non-alcoholic) and later some real (White wine) Icewine for my Mama. Icewine is made from grapes that are picked after November 15th and are actually frozen (temperatures must be colder than -8*C (46*F) and then freshly pressed. I makes them very acidic and strongly flavoured)...I think it smells like flowers with a little tart after-taste.
Also I got her a beautiful floral stitched tablecloth....now you all know where I get my fanciness from, right?! jks

The "Down to Earth Gallery"...many businesses in the tourist district "Old Town" are housed in renovated cabins like this one:

The owner let me take some quick shots of the gallery itself...look at all the beautiful Northern art (crazy expensive, BTW)

Love the name...



...it's very accurate!



What do you think of my rabbit fur ear muffs???...surprisingly I am actually looking forward to Winter now! (BTW my lippie is NARS in "Red Lizard")

The next day was all about sight-seeing...Outfit of the Day (OOTD), no tacky tourist look for me!!! Check out those sexy hiking boots hahahah...I did miss my regular array of flats and heels on this trip though!

I had a chance to go to this cool restaurant recommended to me by a local citizen. I thoroughly enjoyed the Salmon Burger with Poutine (my love)!

And there he is:

After that...I could barely breath, can you say food-baby! I took my time and walked just outside of downtown to the...

which had excellent exhibits highlighting the Dene and Inuit Aboriginal cultures!

"The Community Flags of the Northwest Territories" at the entrance of the museum, demonstrate the diversity of different tribal nations, cultures and languages across the province, there are over 30 flags.

Moose-hide canoe....

 "Children of Light" by Abraham Arghik Ruben circa 1979;  made with African wood stone, ivory, pipestone, mortar and walnut.

Can you see all those intricate images within the raven? Loved it, I stood and stared for quite some time!

I learned that traditionally the majority of the Dene's diet and resources comes from the caribou.  

Souvenir coins from my friend's husband! These once had $1-2 exchange value within Yellowknife and area but aren't recognized any more...but they have always used Canadian currency:

Coming Soon: Part 3...

Packing with C.A.T.E.

Hi there,

So it's late night...kind of that "it's so late,  it's early" type of thing....

I am in the process of packing to go to Yellowknife, North West Territories in Northern Canada...yes, that is right...why would I want to go there??? Because I am crazy of course!

Not really, one of my very good friends lives there with her young family and I have the "traveling itch", so I thought it would be a wonderful trip, especially since they are in Summer and I may not get this chance again for a very long time!

Usually travelling for me means going to a large city and shopping and sight-seeing around an urban area (monuments, museums, local parks etc.) but this trip may be a little more eco-friendly. I discovered there are boating tours and fish dinners which could be really interesting activities to spend my vacay.

Also it's a chance to buy some interesting Inuit-cultural art and jewelry, and all that fur!!! (Sorry pro-animal rights friends maybe I will go with vintage fur) but anyhow I am excited *big grin*

                                  Photo Credit: "Family" by Norval Morrisseau via Google Images

One other thing I wanted to mention was my clever acronym for all packing-related things...think of C.A.T.E which stands for:

Clothing - one friend recommends packing items that can be mixed and matched ie: black, white and neutral items or day to night things

Accessories - this could include handbags, jewelry, hats, sunglasses etc.

Toiletries - all bath and skin-care cosmetics/make-up as well as little items one always needs along the way (q-tips, cotton balls etc.)

Entertainment - for me these are my tech toys - phone, camera and all those crazy batteries and chargers....for others this may be low-tech things like books, magazines, puzzles to keep you busy while in transit.

I create a four quadrants on a piece of paper and write down all items according to category and then take the list with me on the trip to remember to repack all my items again (I am famous for leaving things in people's houses and in hotel rooms)

Also what are your packing and travel time-saving tips????

Take tuned for my adventures in the North West Territories!

xoxoxo

Lady J