Colour Block in Pastel

I love grey and pink, and I pulled this outfit together as inspired by the resort collections and their use of colour blocking. Only in soft pastels instead of brights.

This little black crop top, which I had completely forgotten about, acts as a nice division between the sorbet-like shades and cuts an interesting shape at the top.

I found so many treasures on my Salt Spring Island weekend, including the adorable little owl I found in a little hippie shop by the ferry - look at his amber eyes! I also picked up a few silver hammered stacked rings from the market.

Some of you asked for a better picture of my new rose-petal bead bracelet - so here it is! I'm pairing it with another of my Salt Spring Island treasure finds - a custom made hammered cuff.

Wearing:
Pink braided strap tank, Fine Finds
Black crop top and grey bandage high waisted skirt, Aritzia
White mules and stretchy white and gold bucklet belt, from Hong Kong
Black pearl and diamond heart necklace, prezzie from hubby

Treasure Trove at Salt Spring Island Market

I'm back!! Spent a wonderful long weekend at Salt Spring Island which is a couple of hours by ferry away from Vancouver. It was very relaxing and felt like a world away, yet we were always busy in the sense that there was always something to see or do. I'll do another post with some of my fave pics on the trip, which was full of hiking, checking out arts and craft studios, visiting organic farms, swimming, and of course culinary delights!

I'm going to focus this post on one of my favourite things to do on Salt Spring - the weekly Saturday market. The market brings together all of the artists, craftspeople, farmers and other entrepreneurs on Salt Spring to hawk their goods. Here you'll find delicious home made tarts, organic produce, local smoked salmon, jewelry, hand-thrown pottery, soap, and just about anything else that might be artsy, hippy, whimsical and even wacky. It's a chaotic few hours when the market is on, and it's the place to be on a sunny Saturday. Shoppers jockey for space amongst the booths, and visitors and locals alike are eager to fill their reusable shopping bags with organic goodies like heirloom tomatoes, cheese, and spring greens.

Delectable tarts...

Giant heads of purple garlic...

Colourful Provence-inspired fabric...

Pendants featuring wild daisies...

Natural, hand-made soaps...

I came away with some fantastic treasures: a custom hammered silver cuff by Salt Spring Silversmith, stackable silver rings by Mint Jewellery Design, olive-oil lavender soaps from Bare With Me, and something I had never heard of before: Rose Petal Bead jewelry.

Creator Marcus Knox takes rose petals and cooks them down into a moldable mash, from which he hand rolls each bead. The colour of the bead is black no matter what colour the rose was in its former incarnation. The beads retain a faint rose scent for the duration of their life.. The sweet fragrance is enhanced when warmed by the wearer's body.

The history of the beads is fascinating. The origins trace back to 15th century India where monks made them as prayer beads for counting during meditation. It was adopted by the Catholics and rose petal beads were commonly used in the Rosary.

I couldn't resist picking up a bracelet with an uneven pearl, and a rosary with a mother-of-pearl cross. Not only do I love the romantic symbolism of the rose, but I feel connected to the spiritual origins. Stylistically, I'm digging the dark, edgy feel of the black beads, yet the pearly accents sweeten it up. I put the bracelet on at the market and have worn it ever since.

I'm sorry I don't have better pictures of my sundress dress, which is new from Fine Finds. I'll post my outfit properly soon but these are the pictures I had on hand for now. Here are a couple of pics of my cousins though enjoying the market.

Cecile smiling in her embroidered number

Tracy sparkling in a glittery dress with the shades of the ocean