Deceptively Destructive Beauty

Holidays continued.....

I made it to my parent's after the worst of the ice storm. The sun actually came out and every surface shone and shimmered like I have never seen before.

I then headed into town and this was the view just down the road.....I could have taken picture after picture. It was so incredibly beautiful!

After a day of running errands, it was home to put the finishing touches on the decor...We continued with the red and white theme again this year. The piece of art is from The Garage in Belmore as is quite a few of the other decor pieces. The plaid throw is from Acheson's in Harriston (they also have a location in Orangeville and it is one of my favorite Home Decor stores) and the snowflake runner is from Finishing Touches in Wingham.

Then...it was time to sit, relax and enjoy the tree.....

The next few photos show our Christmas Eve morning walk...it was absolutely gorgeous!

And this was sunset.....I could have sat out on the deck (if it hadn't been so chilly) and just soaked it all in!

Some other shots of nature's beauty....So beautiful, yet so very destructive!

The weather then began to warm a bit and the snow started falling....Charlie loved it and could have sat outdoors all day long!

We also had a visit from a Doe and her twin fawns.....they're getting so big!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday surrounded by those that mean the most to you!

I would also like to say a huge, "THANK YOU" to all the men and women who worked over the holidays, away from their family's, to get the power back on. This icy beauty caused destruction like we haven't seen in quite some time....My 9-5 job is with a Utility and I have never been more proud of the people I work with then over this past week and a half. Thank you for all you do....

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Holidays in a New Home - Part Two

The outside of my Mom and Dad's new home was decorated with care....

Time to move onto the inside...

Our first Christmas after the fire was in the farmhouse my parent's were renting while they finalized plans to build this new house. I will admit...that Christmas was full of mixed emotions. We are a family of sentimentality....we had and lost over 50 years of ornaments and decorations from family and loved ones. Every year, decorating the tree turned into a walk down memory lane as we put ornaments on the tree that held such significant meaning...especially the ornaments from those loved ones we have lost. Those will never....ever.. be replaced. But..I still have the memories of decorating those trees, those ornaments and the significance they had. And...this first Christmas in the new house was a chance to start new traditions and make new memories while remembering and reminiscing about old ones.

As long as I can remember, we always had multi-coloured lights on the tree and that tradition continued in the new home. There's something so cheerful about the reds, greens and blues glistening through the branches.

As upsetting as it was to lose our family's ornaments, we did our best to turn that into a positive by constantly being on the search for new ones...ones that reminded us of Christmases past but also brought something new to our Holidays as well.

Remember C.A.L.M from previous posts..... We saw these ornaments and just had to get them (oh...and my Mom LOVES decorating with red at the Holidays too)...These were perfect for more than one reason!

We just loved these vintage-look ornaments for the tree (they were actually gift tags that we decided to put on the tree instead). Those shimmery snowflakes were also a must have as my Mom collects snowflakes.

So after picking the perfect tree, hanging the lights, arranging the decorations (a few times)......VOILA!!

This is the front entry... We used a combination of red, white and grey with a piece of artwork that symbolizes our summers on Lake of the Woods.

Pinecones, painted feathers, Holiday ornaments, Christmas crackers.....they all worked together sooo well!

Another close up of the tree...I see a bit of a theme...red...white...and snowflakes.

Then there's this guy...the official Gift Guard.....with his new squeaker (he got to open a gift a wee bit early).

We then realized that we'd mayyybbbeee purchased a few too many decorations. We also decided that we wanted to keep a bit of a theme on the big tree...soooo.....I brought my smaller tree from my house and a second tree was decorated! A new tradition in the new house...2 trees!

This one had a more rustic and cottagey theme....it was covered in antlers, deer, moose, bears, plaid, fisher-snowmen, tackleboxes, burlap....This truly was for my Dad...

This guy is my favorite....Something about him reminds me of my Dad...I think it's the boots...(my Dad also collects moose)..

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

This was in a card my parent's had received from one of their friends...it just seemed so very appropriate and suited the mood perfectly!

"Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are unseen and unseeable in the world".

Looking back through these photos from last Christmas brought a huge smile to my face....and also a few tears. So many memories came flooding back...not just from last Christmas...but from all of them. One thing that I will always keep very close to my heart is my family....without family, for me, there would be no Holidays...no Christmas. They are what truly 'make it' for me.....

**All photos are property of Rustic Retrievals/Ardis McDonald.

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Burst of Winter...

After a long weekend out West in Calgary & Banff and almost a week of travelling in the East end of the province, I think it's safe to say that winter is still holding on. Just when I was starting to look forward to packing away the scarves, mitts and boots....winter is back with a vengeance!

Winter is one of my favorite seasons...I love waking up to a fresh snowfall covering the tree branches in it's white blanket...so I will admit, I am happy to see the snowflakes gently falling outside.