A Calgary shopping experience

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of shopping, which is probably a good thing… at least for my bank account. This is probably the result of growing up on a farm with the closest decent mall being two hours away. I have to be in the right mood for a day or weekend of shopping. I wasn’t in the mood for shopping this past weekend but I was in the mood for exploring my new temporary city of Calgary, Alberta. So I decided to explore what I’ve been told is the largest and best mall in Calgary (Note: I didn’t buy anything!).

But first, I met my cousin Lynn and her three kids at Ikea. After lunch we wandered around the gigantic crowded store. Now I should mention that going to Ikea is exciting for a Manitoban because we don’t have one… yet (it’s in the works). The closest Ikea to southern Manitoba is in Minneapolis. With that said, I must admit that going to Ikea is much more exciting when you have a home to decorate. Now that I’m homeless, walking through the stylishly designed rooms just makes me wish I had my own place. So I’ve decided that I should probably refrain from visiting Ikea for the time being.

I am however going to share one photo I snapped during my walk through Ikea. Take a look at this “cow art.” Now I wonder if this can be bought in any Ikea store or just in the Calgary aka Cowtown Ikea store!

OK, time for a short tour of Chinook Centre. This mall puts any Winnipeg malls to shame. It’s huge with an amazing selection of stores. It reminded me of Mall of America in Minneapolis minus the amusement park.

It even has a Steve Madden store where I found these babies. I love Steve Madden shoes! Can you see me – the plain farm girl that I am – wearing these?! They would certainly give me a boost in the height department! But I’d probably fall and break an ankle which wouldn’t be worth it. I also had to throw these in because me and my best Floridian friend Kristen like to joke about all things Leopard print!

Just down the hallway I found something a little more my style – Lammle’s Western Wear.

Here I found the Farm Boy and Farm Girl brands, along with other brands such as Cruel Girl and Wranglers, which some of my social media friends have been raving about. In case you can’t read them, some of the fun sayings on the t-shirts below are: You had me at Steak. Farm Boy Likes to Play in Hayloft. Keep an Eye on the Sky (the pig with wings t-shirt).

It’s funny how certain stores remind you of certain people. I came across this unique store focusing on all things tea that made me think of my Winnipeg friend Amy.

This store reminded my of my best Swedish friend Josefin. This was Jo’s favourite American store when we lived together in South Bend, Indiana. She has great taste in fashion. After visiting Sweden I realized that Scandinavian people make most of us North Americans look frumpy!

There was even a store dedicated to Lego, which of course made me think of my nephew Ethan who loves Lego. He would be in his glory in this store! Standing outside the store for a few minutes people watching, I noticed the majority of people who entered were young boys dragging their parents with them.

Chinook Centre is even home to a Tiffany & Co. Of course I didn’t set foot in the highfalutin store. I know my place and it’s most certainly not in there. Besides why tempt yourself with stuff you can’t afford anyway. I’d probably suffer from a heart attack after catching a glimpse of the price tag.

Of course there are many more stores but I’ve given you a tiny look into the Chinook Centre in Calgary. Happy shopping wherever you may be!