Posts filed under ‘Style’
West coast living
It’s official: we’ve arrived at our new home base in beautiful Vancouver!
We spent a restful weekend on Vancouver Island chilling out and visiting familiar haunts like Rathtrevor Beach (pictured here at low tide) and “Goats on the Roof” Old Country Market in Coombs (a delightful bakery-cafe-dry goods-giftware-toy store bazaar with actual goats on the roof), and since then we’ve been unpacking. The house is still a disaster, but today’s work creating a few spaces of uncluttered functionality brought much-needed calm to the new nest. (more…)
Welcome to fall
Calgary’s fall has been less than idyllic so far. We spent 10 days vacationing on Vancouver Island in mid-September, and when we came back the weather was hot and balmy, as if it was still summer. A few days after that it turned cold with the first frosts of the season. Since then, we’ve experienced chilly rains and more than a few days of snow, most recently paired with blustering winds and temperatures dipping to -10C.
Aside from braving the cold for a few brief moments today to hang this beautiful sunflower head from Eagle Creek Flowers for our backyard birds to snack on, I’ve felt mostly deprived of the usual joys of experiencing the fall season outdoors. At its best, fall is one of my favourite seasons. It is soothing and peaceful to watch the plant life in our garden reach its full life cycle and prepare to rest for the winter months. And while I miss the warmth of the summer months, enjoying more time nesting in our cozy house is a welcome shift as the seasons change.
We’re spending this weekend, Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, visiting Lake Louise for a couple of days and after that we’ll enjoy a family dinner to celebrate the holiday. With luck we might also squeeze in the Harvest Country Drive, which is happening between Calgary and Red Deer – a seasonal, farm-friendly activity in our region that I’ve never experienced. My hope is that the whole weekend will provide a thorough dose of fall and some much-needed time outdoors, walking, taking photographs and experiencing nature before the long winter settles in.
Garden bouquet
Isn’t it lovely? All picked from my very own garden! I know I will spend the rest of the fall and winter dreaming of this moment of having a vase of fresh cut flowers resting on the patio table on a perfect late summer day.
The colour of energy
This is a photo of our bedroom. Up until about a month ago it was a deep chocolate brown, a colour choice from the previous owners of house. I can understand why they liked it: there was something sophisticated and cozy about it. But there was also something very dark and cave-like about it as well!
Now it’s a pale buttery yellow and the room is filled with energy and light. The new paint has made a world of difference in our lives. We’ve hung one of our favorite paintings above the dresser and just across from the bed – a still life of oranges by Newfoundland artist Grant Boland. Much has been written about the energy attributes and meaning of certain colours and for us this peaceful, sunny yellow is perfect – it’s like waking up to the light of a perfect early morning.
I’ve been reading an excellent book all about the embracing a strategy of managing energy instead of time – it’s called The Power of Full Engagement. The authors say that full engagement in life and work combined with periods of restoration and renewal are key to living a balanced, fufilling life and still achieving high levels of performance in your work and personal life. Common sense, but not at all easy! Call me crazy, but our new bedroom paint colour – Soleil (Benjamin Moore Aura) - is a big part of being able to live out this ideal.
Orange delight
The Calgary Farmer’s Market has been bringing in a steady supply of blood oranges for awhile now. I love everything about them. You can see from the image above just how pretty they are. Perfect for bringing some vibrancy into the kitchen or dining room when they’re laid out in a bowl. I’ve been eating them as a snack at home and doing my best to grate the red-tinged rinds to add to baking. My favorite is adding them to cranberry scones instead of lemon, and I’ve also used the grated orange rind in sugar cookies. I’ve also got a stash of citrus peel stored in the freezer – the blood orange season is a short one.
