Country Christmas Part 1

Well, I have been taking pictures for days!! and it is time to stop fussin and get this post finished before Christmas is over and done with!!

I will start off with showing you the fireplace area.  This is such a cozy part of our home. Since the dining room, kitchen and fireplace area is all an open floor plan nobody is ever left out of the action.

I have enjoyed Scandinavian Christmas touches this year....just simple and a few touches of red here and there.

I kept my eye on this sign at Michaels, and the other day it went on sale!

More of the simple glass bottles with a sprig of everygreen and a white candle

A new favorite!

I would say this buck is standing proud!

 I use a lot of wreaths in my decorating...

I just bought the plastic snowflakes at the Dollar Store.

They filled in some dead space on the wooden backdrop

Found these lanterns at JYSK and just added the twine and greenery

I like the little bit of detail on the black top.

 Sometimes standing on the table just gives you the perspective you needed!!

 Thanks for stopping by for part 1 of my Christmas, woodland, country tour!!

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Thinking about what the fireplace mantel should be like this Christmas

I have started to think about the Christmas fireplace mantel and will soon get out a few things to start decorating.   I really liked the simple "woodland" feel that I went with last year...so I don't know if I will change it up a whole lot.  There are so many wonderful ornaments and things in the stores now and it is hard to remind myself that I really don't need another thing!!!  Does that happen to you too?

I enjoy this cozy corner of our open concept kitchen/dining room area.  For anyone new to my blog, I thought I would show you some before n afters and some of the ways I have decorated for the seasons.

This is how the room looked when we first looked at the house

 Lots of work removing all those tiles!!

So glad that job is behind us!

 Removing the window and getting a visual for the fireplace

 Here are some pictures of ways I have decorated in the past

Christmas 2014

Fall 2014

Spring 2015

Fall 2015

Hmmm... what should I do for this Christmas?

So glad there is Pinterest and wonderful blogs to get inspiration from!

How I do like a before n after!

Have a wonderful week end!

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An Extraordinary Day

Lovin our Room without a Roof

We have a favorite spot in our yard, nestled in a back row of trees.   Over the past 4 summers our property has gone through  alot of clean up and changes as we make it our own.  We knew right from the start that cleaning out the over grown shelter belt would be a spot for our fireplace area.

It took a couple of summers, but this year we finished up the fireplace, pergola and pathway.  Darrell also got a harvest table built so that we can have meals outside under the tall trees.  A hammock in the shade has been another favorite spot!

Our second summer we made do with the fireplace sitting on cinder blocks

 Here is the man with the plan!

Its all right there on one piece of paper...

Yep...thats the blueprint!!

Taking shape

Getting the stone work in place.

Before n After 

 It was given a name this summer as we had friends over and the little girls asked to move the coffee table and dance to the song "Happy"by Pharrell Williams...there is a part of the song that says " clap along if you feel like a room without a roof"!  and that is how our fireplace area got its name!!  We had lots of fires and smores, and dancing , and playing "Go Fish" and just enjoying beautiful summer evenings with friends, neighbors and family!  Summers on the prairies definately have their perks!

Here is a sneak peek at how I decorated the room without a roof with some fall fun!

Click here to see more fall decor in the Room without a Roof

Linking to:

Before n After Wednesday
Mosaic Monday

Here's an update from the country!

Projects,,,spring outside projects!!  Sometimes I think we are makin  some progress.  This will be our 4th summer at this property!  That is hard to believe and alot has changed in the past number of years.  We are pretty much done the renovations in the house ( will eventually do the 2 bathrooms, and change the carpet in our bedroom....) and it is time to move outdoors now that spring is here!

Here's the to do list for this year:


Re seed grass where needed   -  CHECK!  Now I am just praying that it grows!
Re shingle the roof  -   the shingles have been delivered to the yard and hopefully this weekend ...
Build pergola for outside fireplace area - CHECK!
Finish the "out door fireplace"  -  check out the pictures below on our progress!
Make two small flower beds off of the back fence -  CHECK! This was a last minute bonus job thats done
Replace the siding and change front entrance
Restain the deck
Make pathways to fireplace area and patio area under pergola
Finish painting the 3 rail fences - almost there!
Move 2 small outbuildings - CHECK!
Do a little mini makeover on the barn - CHECK!
Landscape the back yard, along the house
Get rid of all the dead trees


We had a very productive day this past long week end Monday!  Darrell has done an awesome job on the fireplace!!  We had about 6 stones left over from doing the front and sides of the fireplace....we will just finish the back with boards.  The stones were left over from a reno job that we did in our previous house and saved us some money on this project.   He ran power under the grass so that we could put up lights in the pergola and accent the fireplace.  Can't wait to put all the finishing touches out there!

I was able to get my planting done.  Working in the yard was so enjoyable, the birds were singing and the temperature was just right.  I have a bit more shade in some areas of this yard, so it meant doing some reading on what will work best.

Here are few pictures of how things are looking!

Just a little before picture of how over grown this yard was!  We could envision the areas that we wanted to have in the yard but sometimes it was such an overwhelming feeling to get things "cleared out"!  I have lost track of the grain truck loads of leaves, dead branches and pruned branches we have hauled out of the yard!  So glad there is always an After picture!!

These pictures were taken in March 2012 when we first looked at the property.

This side of the yard has 4 spruce trees that needed some MAJOR trimming up!

Summer 2012 : Getting there,,,and the yard just got bigger! 

 Summer 2014 made the arbour into the fireplace area

  2015 Grass is now re seeded, but we may have to come up with another plan for under the spruce?

Summer of 2013...the fireplace area will come together!!  Gotta start with a cheap fireplace found on Kiijii.   My dad enjoying the fire,,,but not the mosquitoes!

The guy with the plan

A peek through the trees to something cozy and peaceful

Stay tuned for more spring/summer updates coming soon!!

Oh! almost forgot,,,,someone has already moved into the outside room....

They have a birds eye view from the top of the pergola!