a girl's morning out

Yesterday I spent the morning out with my mom and sister. My sister's been on bed rest and then recovering from her c-section, and is finally feeling like herself and itching to get out. Of course it's the perfect excuse to get out with her! So out we went - for coffee, thrifting, the greenhouse (again!), and then to lunch.

Years ago, when I only had one or two children to tote along, I went to every estate sale and weekly auction, and regularly circulated through all the local thrift shops. I would collect for the entire year and then have a huge tag sale on the Thanksgiving long weekend. It was something I loved to do. But over the years, it's just gotten harder to get out with four kids. Gone are they days when they sleep quietly in the stroller while the auctioneer rambles on. Plus four children take up all extra room in my vehicle which would previously have been used to pile in furniture and finds.

And while I do try to get out antiquing every so often, I don't usually make it to any thrift stores. But yesterday I was reminded how much I enjoyed hunting through one. We all found some great things, and decided we needed to do it more often!

Of course all good days out begin with coffee and croissants - yes Mom, even if we'll be eating lunch in two hours... These were from De La Terre, and are a favourite.

Our next stop was The Watering Can, a greenhouse with a flower market and cafe.

It was so nice walking though the greenhouse, where it's so warm and sunny.

After this, some thrifting, and then onto to lunch at The Grand Oak for soup and a sandwich. They also have fresh breads, cheese and lots of different preserves and gourmet food items to browse.

I've brought home a couple different plants over the last few days. Usually I have cut flowers, aside from some Myrtles and Ivy, but I couldn't resist these. A Helleborus (left), Begonia (middle) and an Oak Leaf Ivy (right).

I'm always drawn to greens and soft whites, and I love the hints of blush and burgundy in them all. 

I also couldn't pass up a bunch of White Parrot Tulips.

So, my thrift shop finds...

First, I have to preface this one find, those little bamboo forks, by saying this: Never ever, have I ever, not even in an antique store, let alone a thrift shop, have I ever found bamboo flatware. I've looked. So when I looked into the random junk bin of kitchen cutlery and saw bamboo, I audibly gasped.

They were a dollar.

(For all you American readers - 77 cents!)

I scored a collection of these great square canning jars.

I found some books, a waste basket, and a nice sized basket with a handle that will be perfect for an Easter arrangement.

And yes, this is my third copy of this Martha Stewart book, but it's in way better condition than my others. One of them will now be used to tear out of, like I would a magazine.

So I think it's safe to say I'm hooked.

spring in the dining room

 

It's deceptively sunny out this morning. We're well into March, but the temperatures don't seem to want to budge above freezing. That being said, the sun is decidedly warmer, so it at least feels spring-like inside. The Cherry Blossoms we've been forcing have started blooming and all the sunshine has brightened the dining room up. It doesn't get direct sunlight aside from first thing in the morning, so it can always seem darker than some other rooms in the house.

As it's been so long since I've shown much of the house (or anything for that matter!), I figured I'd start here.

Few things feel more like spring than blooming branches. The perfect way to add some spring to any room is by forcing some. My dad dropped off these branches on his way home from the flower market a couple weeks ago. They've made for lots of interesting lessons with the boys. We've painted the stages of the blossoms opening. We've studied the life cycle of the tree. We'll get around to studying pollination and the anatomy of the bee. And we unexpectedly discovered Hanami, the Japanese Cherry Blossom (Sakura) festival.

And then there are these beautiful Hellebores - another favourite spring flower. I picked this one up from the garden center. I've always wanted to plant some in our gardens as they're perennials. I love the variety of blooms varying from creamy white, to fresh green with hints of pink. If you find one with lots of new buds it will last a while. They look delicate, but they're actually very rugged. The leaves are almost hard and prickly. But when you need to push your way up through snow and slightly frozen ground, and survive those last unexpected cold snaps, you'd need to be pretty resilient.

Our dining room is in the original part of our home, which consists of the stone house and then a series of additions behind, so it has all the character.

And now that it feels more spring-like inside, I think I should probably take down our wreathes on the windows outside. Which is a tad sad because they're still pretty green!

This week we are taking some time off from school as it's spring break. I'm planning on going through the house and doing the Ruthless Declutter Challenge from Simplified with Emily Ley. It's a one week challenge to declutter your whole house, room by room, in a week. I did it last year and have been surprised at how decluttered things have stayed over the last year. I'm looking forward to it because I think it will be good to go through everything inside drawers and cupboards before trying to spring clean the house. You can follow along in my stories on instagram @growersdaughter.

christmas in the living room

I spent most of last week hurrying about, trying to get the house in order for this year's Holiday Home Tour, a charity event here in town. It was a lot of work - my favourite kind of work - but a lot, nevertheless. We cut down and decorated four trees, I made garland for the stairs, set the table, wrapped gifts, arranged flowers and tried my best to keep everything tidy. Saturday saw 250 people come through the homes, and the event was a huge success. I loved meeting some of you who came out, and George stole the show. He entertained all the ladies walking past from his bassinet, all smiles and wide eyes. We even made the local papers!

On one hand, it was nice to know that come December, everything would be finished so I could enjoy the month. But on the other hand, I kind of missed taking my time transforming the house. Though nothing is stopping me from adding bit of Christmas here and there still.

Anyway, here are quite a few photos of the room. It looks similar to previous years, mostly because this is what I'm drawn to. I did, however, add a few hints of blue and green to mix!

Our trees are all cut in the wild on a neighboring farm near my grandparents' farm. We can go in and select trees to help space out others, which helps prevent overcrowding. They are never perfect, but I love the look of them.

It's a fairly sparse tree, so I keep it simple with white lights and my favourite ornaments. The mercury glass feels so traditional, and sparkles beautifully from the twinkle lights.

I keep the rest of the room quite simple, with just some fresh greens here and there.

I love that you can see the wreaths from the windows outside. We have them on all the windows around the original stone house. (I'll post a photo.) I also love that you can see the tree from outside, as it's in front of the window.

I always love the hints of blue in the Cedar Berry and Juniper. The ribbon picks up the blues and green from these boughs perfectly.

And an assortment of blue pots planted with bulbs on the coffee table, another inspiration for the hints of blue.

I loved this pretty dusty blue ribbon.

And I love the classic navy and moss green velvet ribbon. The pretty tags and wrapping paper are from Everyday Occasions. I will post in more detail on those later, as it's one of my favourite parts of the season, as well as the other rooms.

the stone cottage

This is the lovely stone cottage we rented through Airbnb. It's located in Navarre, Ohio and was built in 1846.

The night we arrived, it was quite cold and dark. We had been up since 4 in the morning and then spent the day touring around. But on the way into town, we passed the local high school. The field was lit up, the stands were packed and the field was covered in football players, cheerleaders on the sidelines and two marching bands. It was a Friday night football game! Welcome to the U S of A. The boys were so excited (even Ryan admitted he would love to stop and watch) so off we went. "It's kind of like hockey but with no sticks and ice!" announced Hudson as we made our way to the field. Unfortunately, the minute we got to the entrance it started pouring.We had umbrellas and raincoats, but we could only make it through about 20 minutes. It was just too much for the littlest ones.

Driving up to this old house was such a warm welcome. We were so excited when we opened the front door because honestly, the photos online didn't do it justice. And really, neither will mine. But here they are anyway.

The entire house must have been redone - a total gut job.

Thankfully, all of the beautiful character was left, and in some cases, made more beautiful. The exposed stone looks like it has been re-pointed. The beams have been exposed, but all the electrical and plumbing has been moved and hidden. This makes everything look clean.

Patio doors to the back yard allow for extra light. The hidden plumbing and vents are to the right, in the bump out.

There is a brand new kitchen.

And small dining area.

And then upstairs, there are two bedrooms, and a bathroom. This is the master bedroom. It's a good size, though it had a double bed. I think this may be because it would be hard to get a queen sized box spring up the stairs.

I'm very picky when it comes to quilts, but she had a couple lovely ones! The blue one was actually the reverse side of a very classic, busy quilt, but I so preferred this fabric.

The bathroom is also lovely with a large shower (though no tub), and an antique wash stand that has been made into a sink.

The second smaller bedroom is also so charming with it's exposed beams. It has a tiny door which lead to a tiny ladder-like staircase to the the attic space. It hadn't been touched, but it would make a cozy loft space.

It was so nice to have a whole house to ourselves - especially for the kids. It gave them room to play and stretch out (or separate) after being in the car for so long. And we had everything we would need, including access to laundry, which was very handy.

For a rental house, it was furnished nicely, but it was so fun to sit with my coffee, dreaming up how I would furnish it if it was ours. With a house this full of character, it doesn't take much!

weekend in ohio

 I'm a proud Canadian - I love my country. But if I'm honest, every time we take a trip to the US and discover these amazing small towns, full of historic homes and a rich history, we get a little day-dreamy and start looking up real estate.

Of course we wouldn't actually move there. After all, we have our dream historic home right here! But I am always thankful that so many great places are only a days drive from us: Nantucket, New York, Boston, New England, and even Ohio. Aside from the cottage, most of our favourite places to road trip to are in the States - usually out East. We are very much drawn to the East Coast. (Though we can't wait to head South one year and cross Charleston off our list!)

We stayed in this charming stone house I found on Airbnb. It was more reasonable than staying at an inn or hotel as a family of 6, and was so much more comfortable. It has recently been completely refinished, and done very well! It had all the gorgeous character of a stone house - exposed beams, exposed stones and deep window ledges - but all the comforts of a modern home. It was also spotless.

My parents "cottage" in Amish Country a couple times a year. We decided to find somewhere to stay near them, in the Holmes County area, so we could meet up with them, but also tour around the surrounding countryside. 

I think my favourite small town was Winesburg, with it's population of 352 people. Wooster was a pretty city, with a gorgeous college district full of big old homes, and some great little shops. And the countryside, it's just beautiful. Farms are tucked in the valleys, horses, cows and sheep dot the rolling hills, and every now and then you have to slow down for a horse-drawn buggy.

This stone cottage was a tiny inn in the town of Winesburg. It was beyond charming!

Another reason we picked this area was because we were travelling with the kids. It's a lot harder travelling with four kids - one a toddler and one a newborn. We made lots of stops, and did a lot of "dividing and conquering". If Ryan found a brewery he wanted to check out, he would pop in for a tasting and I would sit in the car and feed George while Jude slept, and the boys ran around outside. Or I would drop Ryan and the boys off at a great park in town and take George to quickly pop into the shops I wanted to browse. And then of course one evening my parents took the boys so we could go out for a couple hours which was lovely. We also selected buffet style restaurants which meant the boys could pick what they wanted and didn't have to wait around. (It's also their favourite kind of place to eat, so it was something special for them.) While driving we listened to Harry Potter on audio book, which kept them fairly quiet and entertained. And having a house to ourselves was nicer than a hotel room, especially for them to have space to play.

I will hopefully get around to posting some photos of the rental soon. Honestly, the one morning I just sat in the arm chair, sipping my coffee, furnishing every square inch of the home in my mind.

Not to mention all the homes we found along the way that would be gorgeous. Like this old home with an attached storefront - I mean seriously...