Nostalgia in my life is not relegated only to my passion for old houses but what I eat too. Last month our community held its annual Highlandia festival with plenty of music, and tents selling all kinds of interesting crafts, jewelry and more. What drew my attention was the tent that featured candies from times past. (It figures)

I couldn’t help myself. I absolutely had to have Gold Nugget Gum. I remember, as a kid, pretending that the nuggets were real gold and I savoured every chew. What I don’t remember is the banana flavour but they were delicious anyway.

Another candy I have fond memories of is the Taffy you see in the picture. My brother and I would compete with each other to see how long we could stretch the Taffy. Being a good girl and finally learning that I shouldn’t play with my food, I didn’t bother with the stretching this time. Look out tummy – here it comes!

For some reason I don’t remember PEZ as much but I know that many of you do so I added it here. Now the best thing about all this is that the fabulous shop that sells all these wonderful, delicious candies is located right in my neighbourhood.

It’s called Be a Bella and is loaded with creative, interesting home decor, hand painted glass (created by artist-owner Kathy Prosser) and of course delicious candies that are sold in row upon row of glass jars. It makes you feel like a kid again just to be in that shop. It’s well worth the visit to their store. For more information on Be A Bella check out their web site.

SO WHAT ABOUT YOU? Which candies do you remember from your childhood?