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

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

Ladies Who Lunch...

Or Brunch....or Dinner......or Breakfast...

As my last post eluded to, I am a HUGE believer in both making new relationships but also building and nurturing current and longstanding ones!

I truly do think that everyone you cross paths with, you do so for a reason. Those people that you then choose to welcome into your life open a wealth of new possibilities through whatever type of relationship may suit...professional, personal, romantic etc...

I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful group of women this past weekend at BlogPodium and I wholeheartedly look forward to growing, nurturing and building those relationships/friendships.

Through social media (see my last post for our new FB page), our blogs, get-togethers (some of us already have a brunch planned here in Guelph in October and I definitely think a treehouse get together is in order) I am sure new friendships will develop and to say I am looking forward to it is such an understatement!

I have written previously about how important my gal pals are to me and over the past few years, they have grown dearer and dearer to my heart for so many reasons. 

I truly am blessed by the wonderful women that surround me and that I am lucky enough to call friends. Whether we were on the ice together at 3 years old learning to figure skate, sitting beside each other in grade 9 homeroom, university roommates/classmates, co-workers at the same company, neighbours...the list goes on....But.. every one of those gals I cherish, adore and I truly miss their smiles/laughs/hugs when I haven't seen then as much as I would like to.

I have found that as we get older, lives get busier, families get larger, careers get more hectic....we turn to lunching, brunching, drinks, dinner etc to get together, get caught up and sit back and breath!

Whether it's around my dining room table with a stack of magazines (thank you so much again BlogPodium), chocolate cake (that my friend's husband made that was truly FABTASTIC!), some fruit and a latte..(and yes, this was breakfast)....it sets a mood of ease, comfort and relaxation. The minutes tick by, turning in to hours and you don't even notice it.

mmmm....chocolate cake, magazines and a latte...the perfect Sunday breakfast with a gal pal!

I am also a HUGE fan of going out for breakfast and brunch. It is the time of day that it allows for great discussion, a relaxed environment, many cups of tea or coffee and time to just focus on the gals (note: always turn off the phones, UNLESS, there could be baby problems at home)...

this is the breakfast pizza at Ox in Guelph...talk about the PERFECT brunch food...oh, and their lattes....TO DIE FOR!!

Then...there's dinner and drinks.... Really, is there anything much better than a fantastic bottle of wine, amazing food and stunning conversation! I think my friends and I have solved many of the world's problems when all of these things fall into line!



note: bottle of wine, amazing bar top, gorgeous stone walls, and a menu that was so yummy fantastic we couldn't decide what to order. 
we spent HOURS there that night my friend and I ...the setting was just perfect for great conversation and lots of laughs.



ambiance is key too (kinda obvious, I know)....this was actually just last night and the lighting fixture and the fireplace just added the little extra "muah" to the room!

To me, my girlfriends are like great design.....timeless, warm, welcoming, steadfast and comforting. Keeping those relationships well nurtured and strong is no different then oiling and maintaining that antique piece of furniture you love so dearly. 

Life has thrown a lot of curve balls my way the past few years and without my friends, I don't know where I would be today! Gals...you all know who you are and I am so utterly thankful to have each and every one of you in my life!

The reason I wrote this post is because I got the sweetest and timeliest message from one of my dearest and oldest friends the other day....I literally opened it up and the tears just started flowing. She and I have spent many, many a day, night, 3am either cooking, lunching, snacking, drinking, chatting, laughing, crying....those simple times have been the best times...and her message to me reminded me of that! Thank you so much Kris...Love ya!

So....get your gals together....throw a dinner party for just the girls (or have an ice cream party where everyone comes in their comfies with a tub of ice cream, cookies, sprinkles and you make sundaes like no other), make reservations and get all dressed up and go for dinner and drinks, or all plan to meet at the local bistro for brunch and coffee (maybe a mimosa too). Keep growing those friendships....building those relationships....these women are in your life for a reason. You have welcomed them into your life...take the time to keep them there!

RR