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| Lions in the Courtyard |
I have about twenty posts rolling around my brain that are all about our move to the stone house. We did some visually unsatisfying renovations (electrical and plumbing) but we also painted the entire interior which really felt like completely decorating: the bones of the house are so simple and yet speak loudly for themselves, they don't need much encouragement.
I'll get those posts out in the coming weeks and you can be sure I'm looking forward to getting back to my blog! It's such a good creative outlet to have a blog, and as my friend Laura says it's a really nice journal too.
In the meantime no sooner had we moved in than I realized that I had to get cracking for Christmas! I know that it is a faux pas to decorate before Thanksgiving but the only benefit of having a ridiculously early Thanksgiving here in Canada is that it frees us up to decorate for Christmas... my own personal rule is that as soon as Remembrance Day is over it's time to start gathering garlands, ribbons and wreaths.
It's too early to put the greenery inside as it will dry up and fall everywhere before Christmas, but it is not too early to decorate the garden. This has been a nice way to start to get to know our new courtyard, porches and gardens themselves. I always love decorating outside for Christmas and trying to create vistas that can be enjoyed from inside during our long winter.
The stone house has a lovely courtyard that can be viewed from both the kitchen and the great room. I went to the local grocery store and bought some inexpensive wreaths and urn planters. Sometimes these arrangements have a lot of junk in them, I just edit out what I don't like and leave what I do.
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| Peeking into the courtyard through the cedar entrance. |
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| A wreath for the garage window. |
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| Herb garden, with St. Francis presiding. |
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| Kitchen window, side porch area. |
I bought a holly wreath at my local florist shop, Sweet Violets always has the best Christmas wreaths and arrangements.
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| Twiggy bench at the side porch. |
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| Side porch. |
Walking around to the front of the house we can glimpse the front porch:
I love this porch with the wicker furniture and blue trim against the stone.
We painted the door a very raspberry red colour which ties in well with the pink bits in the stained glass of the transom window.
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| Raspberry red front door. |
I bought some dried lavender and made a little arrangement using greenery I snipped on the property. This is a good way to trim the evergreens and also get some greenery for free.
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| Lavender and greenery arrangement. |
I have some wool plaid pillows and a blanket from Scotland, all in greys, pinks and purples, that I've decorated the porch with. There's something so cozy about wool blankets on a porch in winter.
Now we just wait for the snow to return!
xoxDani
