Holidays...

December 1st rolled around and I realized that I still had over half of my vacation days to take...so....Holidays started December 19th this year! I usually try to have most of my Christmas shopping done by the beginning of December, but, that wasn't the case this year, so I was SO GLAD to have some extra days to get caught up. 

Holidays meant local shopping in downtown Guelph, out for lunches & brunches, bevies (found a new fav!), cozy nights in and time with friends...all my favourite things to do this time of year! (...any time of year really)

The holidays started like this...on the couch, with a glass of wine, candles and doing absolutely nothing but relaxing!

Then...

After an evening of relaxation, time to start wrapping! I also had a wee helper to keep my mug of coffee filled and my supplies ready at hand....

Let me introduce you to....Bling Crosby!! The best Holiday Helper (aka Stuffed Dude) ever!!

Then...it was time for some shopping!!

At trip downtown Guelph wouldn't be complete without a stop at Blush!

I'll take one of each, please!

Then, it was off to another one of my favourite shops....

Coriander!  I absolutely LOVED these home decor pieces!

This ornament...too cute!!

After all that shopping, time for some lunch!

Off we went to Atmosphere for an amazing salad and BLT pizza!

Then to Sapphire for dessert (their homemade icecream and a brownie) and an 'adult' cappucino! Emily, thank you sooooo much for introducing me to this! Adult = Amarula! Yum Yum Yum!

It was so good, I had to go back for lunch again the next day....with magazines in tow! By the way...their sandwiches are fabtastic! (my fav is the summer sausage!)

Then back home to continue wrapping and Holiday preparations!

With plenty of coffee, espresso, Amarula on hand, I had all the necessities for a wrapping marathon! I also had Rick Grimes (of the Walking Dead) to keep me and Bling Crosby, company too! Another thanks to Emily for introducing me to that series!

Ready to press....

A HUGE "Thank You" to my wonderful gals pals for your generous gifts of all the holiday essentials, whether I'm snuggled up with a good book or getting ready to host some friends!

Emily made this mug…how wickedly awesome is that?!? 

Then....Mother Nature decided to throw us a curve ball....a very, very icy one!

 These photos are of my lilac bush in front of my home...

This absolutely insane weather was frightening yet beautiful....picturesque yet destructive! When the weather system blew through, it brought us all out of our homes in a true sense of community....de-icing, salting, sanding...driveways, sidewalks, vehicles...all the while, laughing, telling stories and making the best of a difficult situation.

Then...after packing up my vehicle....it was time to head to my other home...Mom and Dad's in the country.

To be continued...

RR

Cozy, Snuggly, Warm Weekends...

Happy December!! 

Snow is falling here today and after a very busy week, I'm curled up on the couch under a cozy wool blanket with a coffee and my laptop,watching the snowflakes slowly float to the ground.

I hope you are having a relaxing Sunday, all snuggled up at home.

Who can I talk to about this extra day between Saturday and Sunday??

RR

**Please click on photos for credit/sources.

Bloggers Who Brunch..

Brunch has been a bit of a theme for me as of late....I LOVE spending lazy Sunday mornings with friends over tres yummy food, great coffee and even better conversation. So...needless to say, when I got an email from Heather, a fellow Guelphite who I met at BlogPodium, suggesting that some of us local Bloggers get together for Brunch, I was 100% in!

We met at 39 Carden Street, a newer bistro in downtown Guelph, across from City Hall. I had been there for dinner about a month ago with a friend and loved it, so I was realllly looking forward to having the chance to go back, but even more so, to meet the lovely ladies I had been emailing back and forth with!

As you enter 39 Carden, it literally draws you in! Their decor and atmosphere are the epitome of my ultimate decor aesthetic! It is the perfect amount of rustic... the leaded glass cupboard windows, the iron details in the table legs, the industrial bar stools, the chalkboard menu, the black harvest chairs...combined with just the right amount of polish and glam...the beautiful chandeliers, the vintage-look light fixtures,the tufted benches, mercury glass mirrors and white bistro chairs.

Once we all arrived, introductions had been made and we and had had a chance to `take it all in`...it was time to get down to the nitty gritty...what to order for brunch! I ended up going with the tried, tested and true....bacon and eggs (over easy)! The food...and the bottomless cup of coffee in those cobalt blue mugs, was absolutely scrumptious!

We`d settled in, food was ordered and conversation just naturally turned to learning more about eachother, chatting about some blogger `hot topics` such as Blogger vs Wordpress, Stats & Numbers but most importantly, and what I found the most interesting, was as the discussion evolved...so many similarities emerged! This is a group of women who are driven, entrepreneurial, creative, passionate, with strong opinions and we all enjoy putting our thoughts, brands and ourselves into our work and our blogs!

Here is the group of lovely #guelphblogbrunch ladies - lovely both inside and out! 

From left to right**:

Heather- Heart Heather,   Moma Lola - Bear and Lion,   Michele - Blushshop,   Diana - It`s Dilovely,  Heather- Heather In Heels  and  Myself - Rustic Retrievals

The diversity of topics, writing styles and design of our blogs say a lot about each of us as individuals but I think you will also find that as a collective...our shared love of writing and our passions shine through!

I think we could have sat there all afternoon and kept talking, but then reality set in and it was time to pack up and get going. We all wandered around the bistro, snapping photos and admiring the decor. A HUGE Thank you to the staff at 39 Carden Street for being so welcoming, the amazing service, the delicious food and for allowing us to come in and make ourselves at home!

Ironically enough, the contractor responsible for crafting, designing and pulling together 39 Carden was also there having brunch. We had a chance to meet Matt Robertson of Iron Edge Design and he even shared with us some of his sourcing secrets!

Here`s Matt, the creative genius behind the reno of the bistro - I think there is quite a Chris Daughtry resemblence..**

Thank you again to Heather for organizing this..such a wonderful idea! Thank you to 39 Carden Street for having us! And thank you to all the ladies for attending and for the chance to get to know more about each of you...I am really looking forward to next month!

Cheers to brunch, cheers to blogging and cheers to a group of inspiring women!**

RR

*Photo credit to Heart Heather on ** photos