Saturday, June 30, 2012

Happy Canada Day Long Weekend - Almost Home!

Happy Long Weekend! It has been quite the week, so it is a breath of fresh air (literally) to get out of the city to visit my parents and see how their house is progressing.

I hadn't been to visit in a few weeks and I am BLOWN AWAY by how far it has come along...it is practically finished!!

I will save most pictures until it is completely finished, but here's a sneak peek...


We had a wonderful tour guide to show us around the house and show us his favorite spaces (so far, it looks like the bathroom and basement are his top picks...may have something to do with the nice, cool concrete/tile floors).....

Photo: Charlie took us on a tour of the new house... http://instagr.am/p/Mem990Rdu8/


After all his hard work, it was time for our tour guide to have a swim in the pond....After successfully soaking me as he came out and decided to shake off right beside me, we headed back to the house....here's the view towards the house from the pond.


It was great to be back at the 'homestead'....that piece of property is where I grew up and what I have known as, 'home' for my entire life. For many, many reasons I am sooo happy they decided to re-build here.....

I love this time of year and all the wild flowers...Daisies, Queen Anne's Lace, Black Eyed Susans etc...these are all found on the walk to/from the pond.



These are some more pictures of the landscape around the house......





After the full tour, we headed back to the farm house my parents are renting while the house is being built. It was such a gorgeous evening and this is the view out the front door....I can't think of a better way to spend the long weekend but with the fam, in the country...



HAPPY CANADA DAY!!



RR

Monday, June 25, 2012

Never Turn Down An Antique.....

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I found this quote in the newest Domino Magazine. 

Having lost our family and my childhood home to fire and all of our family antiques, mementos, photos etc...I strongly, STRONGLY recommend you live by this.....

If you have the chance to keep a piece of your family's past (even if it does clash, even if its not pretty)...DO IT! Cherish it, enjoy it, re-visit old memories and make new memories with it....

I would give anything to change the events of that night...we will never have those pieces of our family's history back..but, I/we will always, always have the memories.

So, when your Gram or Grampa offers you a piece of their past...graciously, thankfully accept and bring it into your life...you never know how much time you have left with them, how many more memories may be made....and what might be gone tomorrow....

RR

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Rustic 'Eye-Candy'

After an afternoon of wandering around the Aberfoyle Antique Market today, I felt a renewal of rustic inspiration....and I also wish I had a much bigger house as there were sooo many pieces I would have loved to have brought home!

I would have LOVED to have brought this piece home! It needs some TLC but it has great character and detail and the colour is fantastic!



I did bring home these skis...yes, I'm already thinking of outdoor winter decor...but what really caught my attention was their brand name...SOOOO close to mine! They were also a great deal (and I'm always searching for a great deal) at only $8 (he even knocked $2 off the original $10 price tag)!!


While still on the wave of inspiration, I came home and searched the web and put together this blog based "inspiration board" of some stunning examples of rustic home decor and design.  Just 'click-on' every picture and it will take you to the webpage so you can enjoy even further inspiration!

Enjoy!!








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Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

RR

Monday, June 18, 2012

Etsy is a Reality!!

Our shop is open and ready for business!

CLICK ON OUR LOGO TO TAKE A PEEK AT OUR SHOP!

We've even had our first sale and 4 Vintage Draft Horse Pictures have been sent in the mail today to Alabama!


The thing that I love most about Etsy is that it brings talent from across the globe and your own backyard together on one site. It is the epitomy of supporting small business both near and far!

Our store will include not only rustic items, but vintage items as well!

 I "heart" Rustic Style, but I'm also "ga-ga" for Vintage!

And.... if it's Vintage Equine....I can hardly keep myself from salivating!

Percheron

Belgian

Clydesdale....my favorite Draft/Heavy Horse!

I have always had a soft spot for Heavy Horses...growing up our neighbours raised Clydes and they are the first horses I ever rode.

What makes these pictures even more special are the fact that they are from a local primary school and were sent to the teacher by the Ontario Department of Agriculture - Livestock Branch. They truly are a piece of Ontario history.

I am keeping a set for myself and plan to do a gallery wall in simple, black frames....they not only remind me of my childhood, but also my future. One day...I will live back out in the country and have horses again.




This shop is just my next adventure in the world of home decor...I'm really, really looking forward to what the future holds!
So.... if you have a few minutes, please feel free to drop by our shop and take a look...I'm going to try and add new items regularly!

Also, while you're on the site, if you're looking for gorgeous hand-made cards, take a look at  my friend Steph's store  ' A Paper Buffet ' . Or, if you want beautiful, felted clutches, infinity scarves, cellphone case, cup cozies etc, she has a second shop called ' Knitley Road '.

RR

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Curb Appeal..

While I'm finalizing my backyard plans, quotes and design, I thought I'd do some work on my front yard.

This was the front of my cute little cottage 'before'.It was a great starting point of established boxwood and lilac hedges (see below), giant hostas and bleeding hearts.



To begin to add to the curb appeal, I started off with planters with some annuals and went from there....

I wanted to stick with a consistent colour palate and consistent plants for the planters. I used Coleus (in 2 colours), Grasses, Potatoe Vines,  and Creeping Jenny.

I also stuck with the same style of planter. Squared, clean lines and metal.

Here is a picture of the planter, just after planting about a month ago...





















This is a picture of the planter today....





As you can see, it's really filling in and I love the look! The hostas are really coming along too (see to the right of the picture)....they are one of my favorite perennials....they come in so many wonderful shades of greens and different leaf shapes & sizes.

These are the smaller planters up my front steps...a cute addition to just add a bit more foliage and colour.




It was then onto the perennial bed that boarders the sidewalk.

This actually started last summer when I began  'phase one'. I dug and planted 3 smaller beds, with the plan to make it into one larger bed this summer. With my trusty four legged, furry gardening partner, we set to work!



 

These are tulips I planted in one of the 3 gardens in the front of the house last summer. When I transformed the 3 beds into one larger bed this spring, I dug up the bulbs (after letting the flowers brown) and have replanted them, ...so fingers crossed they come up again next year !

I had my plan, knew the species I wanted, the colour scheme I was working toward and I then made many trips to various garden centres around Guelph and Burlington. One of my favorites is Northland Nursery just north of Waterdown (they have great prices, an amazing selection and to top it all off...they have Labs and horses..I was in heaven!) The plants below on my side stairs are all from Northland.



Notice the walkway to the left in the picture above? The garden that runs along it was also a project last summer and I ended up planting it almost entirely with hostas...the picture below is one of my favorites!


So...after lots of digging, removing sod, adding soil, peat, 'fertilizer', planting, watering and mulching....here it is..my new front yard perennial garden!!








I used 3 different Hydrangeas, a Burning Bush, SandCherries, a Barberry, Grasses, Dogwoods and a variety of other perennials, with the goal of sticking with a green, white, pink and deep burgundy/red wine colour scheme.

I am really, really happy with the final result and can't wait for it to begin filling in!

Down the road (hopefully by the end of the summer) I will also put in a flagstone patio between this new bed and the existing hosta bed, from the driveway to the walkway into the house. It is the never ending fun of home ownership!

Once things have filled in just a bit more (and I've cut the grass), I'll post a full 'after picture' of the front of the house/cottage...so "stay tuned"!

RR


Saturday, June 9, 2012

And Our Winner Is......

They are one of my fantastic Instagram followers...who coincidentally, also have a Chocolate Lab...the stars work in mysterious ways sometimes! Check out their blog and follow them as they reno a row house in St. John's.

 

Here is the Rustic Backyard Decor prize pack......
  • multipurpose grey washed wooden planters....they would look great with herbs planted in them!
  • brushed metals planter, votive/tea light holders
  • vintage wooden wool spools from a local mill (that I actually used to have a loft in - it's now a condo conversion here in town) that can be used as taper candle holders or as vases to hold dried flowers.
  • a distress metal lantern
When I'm considering home/backyard decor, I not only consider form but functionality too! I have to love how it looks but if it is multi-functional, even better!



Thank you to everyone for their support! We didn't quite reach our goal on Facebook, BUT, we had an explosion of new followers on Instagram and Pinterest as well as views of this Blog...thank you again to all our 'old' and new followers!

Keep checking back for new updates....we'll soon be opening an Etsy store, be having an 'Online Yard Sale' and as always, if you would ever like assistance with decorating your house and making it a home, please just email rusticretrievals@gmail.com!

Also....I'll be sure to keep you all updated regarding the progress in my backyard and transforming it from the 'blank slate' below to the outdoor room I have always wanted!



Thanks again and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

RR



Sunday, June 3, 2012

Backyard Beautitude....

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Deck with pergola

Deck with fireplace

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The weather here today is grey and rainy, so rather then being out in my backyard, I thought I'd share some backyard bliss with you via these photos....

Our contest is going EXTREMELY well with lots of new followers on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest! Keep the "Likes", "Comments" and "Shares" going....

RR
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