Inspired Spaces...Bring on Spring!!

I really do cherish my weekends at home as they're few and far between. Some gal pals were coming to visit last weekend, but due to some crazy weather, we had to cancel our plans (insert sad face here). With the change in plans, I thought I'd take advantage of my time at home to freshen up the space a bit and start bringing in some Spring.

February is such a 'funky' month....we're well into winter, have snow up to our knees, the fun and festivities of the holidays are long over and we see Spring starting to pop up in fashion and decor. All of the bright and airy Spring looks and pieces have us yearning for warm sunshine filled days,  green grass, patios and flowers. Seeing as I don't see green grass or drinks on a patio happening any time soon, the way I like to start bringing Spring into my home is through flowers. Tulips happen to be one of my favs and they're in abundance right now...and...they're oh so reasonably priced!  When you can find them for $10 a dozen, I can't think of a more chic, fun and cheap way to insert some Spring and colour into your home!

I also like to turn to magazines for inspiration, especially this time of year, because part of the February Funk also can bring with it a bit of a lack of inspiration. It's a transitional time when it comes to fashion and decor...we want to bring out all the light and airy Spring pieces, but they seem out of place with snow still on the ground. I find turning to magazines helps with finding that balance right now and I owe a huge THANK YOU to House and Home Magazine for the article, A Study In Contrasts, in their March 2015 issue. The kitchen designed by Barbara Purdy and Olivia Botrie on pages 84-87 is the epitome of my dream kitchen! Every...single...detail and element from the exposed beams, to the colour palette, to the cabinetry, that island (swoon), the windows, the pantry (those doors)....EVERYTHING is absolute perfection. 

When it came time to freshen up my sideboard, I pulled my colour scheme from the pantry in this article...the muted, earthy tones...the creams, beiges, mochas, straw, winter white, light wood tones. These colour and tones are a great transitional colour scheme for this time of year. They're still warm and cozy, but have a lighter and more airy feel to them too.

The final product is very simple and has a natural, earthy feel to it. The grapevine wreath I made from vines in my backyard adds a bit of whimsy, the antique postal scale a dear friend gave me adds a sentimental and historical touch, the feathered wreath from Hive of Bayfield adds softness, the golden metallic tea light holders from The Garage add some *bling* and the oil cans from The Aberfoyle Antique Market add something unexpected and industrial.  They all come together in a muted, rustic chic way to slowly start to welcome in Spring.

I hope you can take some time today (it's a holiday here in Ontario) and read through some magazines and get inspired. Go down to your basement, open up some dusty boxes of home decor items and see what you can bring into your home to welcome Spring. Oh....and don't forget to treat yourself to some flowers!

I arrived home yesterday to a beautiful bunch of tulips from a great friend! Talk about a wonderful Galentine's Day! I can now spend the day relaxing, enjoying my space and continuing to get inspired!

Cheers to inspiration, great design, friendship, Spring and fresh flowers!

RR

Let's Get Physical!

Let's get physical...and no, I don't mean '50 Shades of Grey' physical...I mean let's get up off the couch and get moving!

This time of year has to be the most difficult time to get motivated to exercise. The snow is flying outside, it's freezing cold and it's so easy to just cocoon indoors, curled up under blankets on the couch.

I'm the first to admit, I'm not nearly as active as I should be...or once was. I look back and I literally grew up in arenas and on the ice as I figure skated from the age of 3 all through university. I skated at least 3 days a week, some days 6 hours a day. I also coached, starting with volunteer coaching when I was 11 or 12 and moved into professional coaching around the age of 16, which carried me all through university. I've coached 2-3 year old to people in their 70's. That's what I love about skating...it's an activity that can span the ages.

I got back on the ice for the first time in a few years over the holidays....it felt so AMAZING to lace up my skates and hear the 'crunch' of the blade against the ice as it carves out the edges. My centre of gravity sure has changed over the years, but it doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things. I used to LOVE spinning...sit spin, cork screw spin, camel spin, layback etc...and after trying a few, I wonder how the heck I ever did them as I was sooooooo dizzy afterwards!

Skating is such great exercise! It's a full body activity that allows you to work on your aerobic capacity, flexibility and muscular strength. It's so dynamic and creative and I because of this, I think that's why I've never really taken to running on a treadmill or really any type of machine based cardio. If I'm going to get active, I tend to like to be doing something more dynamic, like going for a hike versus running indoors. Skiing, skating, hiking, roller blading, snow shoeing....now that's my kind of exercise! The great thing about these exercises is that they're not only dynamic, but they can also be done outdoors (and I just love being outdoors).

I believe that's the key about physical activity. You have to find what type of activity or exercise you enjoy and in doing so, you will be so much more successful in achieving your health and fitness goals. Also, if you can get active with a friend, even better! You can hold each other accountable and offer support and motivation on those days that the couch is looking better then lacing up your running shoes.

I'll be posting more about exercise and physical activity on the blog as I continue to grow and expand RR to incorporate a Body Life and Style into my brand and scope of services offered......

I also challenge you to get active this month! Take pictures of you and your friends/family getting active  by hiking, walking the dog, skating, hitting the gym etc etc and post them to Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #RRBodyLifeStyle. Keep posting them until March 15th and the winner will win a personalized home exercise program, designed by me, based on your top 3 health and fitness goals ( a value of $75.00).

If you have health and  fitness questions or would like to get started in living a more active lifestyle, as a Registered Kinesiologist (and former Personal Trainer), I'd be happy to help! Just send me an email to rusticretrievals@gmail.com and we can get started!

Make a pledge to yourself to get off the couch and get active this weekend...and seeing as it's Family Day Weekend here in Ontario, why not get your entire family involved! And remember...share those pictures for your chance to win!

#RRBodyLifeStyle

RR

Anchored to Friends...

I came home to this invite and bracelet in my mail box late last Fall... little did I know the Gals Weekend at The Rock would be as much fun as it was! You get 12 girls under one roof for a weekend and there's bound to be tonnes of laughter, great food and drink, amazing company and new friendships made.

I really only knew our hostess and had met a few of the other girls once or twice at a house party or birthday, but I knew any friend of our hostess would be a pretty cool gal and sure enough, what a fantastic group of gals it was! We even had our own hashtag and motto for the weekend... #livelifeanchoredtofriends ... 

This was the view out of the front window of The Rock (aka my friend's family's Lake House in Port Elgin). I always love getting to the lake in the winter as you never know what wonders Mother Nature may have in store for you. Their home is absolutely gorgeous and if I should ever build my own home, I'm going to instill the assistance of my friend's Mom in the design of it as every detail of this home is perfection! 

We even had a mascot for the weekend....

Meet Randy!! I think I need a Randy for my house!

This was a 'no jeans allowed' weekend, therefore, we lounged in our Lulu's, ate, drank, played card games, ate and drank some more, got to know each other, laughed, watched movies and ate and drank some more. Absolute girly perfection!

This is just an example of the scrumptiously yummy food we had in abundance all weekend! Needless to say, at one point I felt I needed to burn a few calories and went for a walk down to the harbour and main beach.

Winter along Lake Huron is always stormy and snowy, but beautiful! This is the lake town I frequented most often growing up, so it felt almost surreal to be on that beach all by myself. I'm used to being there in the summer with it being super busy (see this post from this past summer) but it was really cool to look around and be the one and only person there.

On the Sunday before we left we decided to explore Lake Huron...Literally on top of Lake Huron. The gals scaled 'The Twin Peaks' and had shot putt competitions with the gorgeous ice orbs that had formed.

Here is our hostess with the mostest (below), Captain Carlie.... Talk about a wonderful, thoughtful woman with a heart of gold who I am very lucky to call my friend!  Not only is she uber thoughtful, but her attention to detail is second to none! She got each of us a memento to remember the weekend by and according to the temp tattoos she also got for us, it was "Party Time" allllll weekend long!!

Here we all are....... This was right before we jumped into a game of Cards Against Humanity.... Talk about a great way to get to know the people you're with!

I can't thank Carlie (and her family) enough for allowing us to spend the weekend in their home-away-from-home. It was a weekend full of so many memory making moments and I hope to see these gals again soon!

LIVE LIFE ANCHORED TO FRIENDS!!!

RR