Happy Friday! I had some good luck with finding some beautiful frames at the thrift store this week and I started to paint some gold. I’m always asked where I get my gold-framed art because it’s so hard to find. Sometimes you just need to take matters into your own hands and break out the gold paint. 🙂
I just realized that I meant to order new winter boots all season and I just kind of forgot. I’ve had my old ones forever and they’re just worn out, so I knew I would need some newer ones for if we got outside and did anything really wintery, but I guess we haven’t really until now, which is basically the end of winter. I’ve been getting along fine with Hunter boots (I get the kids’ size 5) for in the yard and my little ankle boots or riding boots for in town, but we have a winter camping trip booked for March Break in a few weeks, which generally involves lots of hiking through snowy forests to find the perfect place to feed the chickadees and exploring muddy and/or snowy beaches, so real winter boots are a must. Anyway, I got really lucky, because I popped over the the LL Bean site to have a look as soon as I realized it, and they happened to have the most beautiful pair of black Bean boots in stock, in my size, and on sale! On sale! Does that ever happen? Anyway, they’re a thing of beauty, super comfortable, and I just thought I’d let you know in case you could use some new winter boots for next season too. 🙂 I ordered by regular size (size 6) and they do fit a bit big, so they’re perfect with a thick sock, or you can add in fuzzy insoles if you like to weather thinner socks.
Boots | Fleece-lined tights | Sweater
We found a new groomer for Chuckers! I feel like this is big news for all of us in the Creek Line House family. I get so many comments from people who are concerned about Chuckers’ feet whenever I post a picture of him because he has really long nails and really short fur and it just looks like he’s been neglected, and it kind of looks a bit painful for him. He was a rescue dog, so his nails were kind of neglected when we first got him and he has longer veins in the them than he should, so he has to keep them a bit longer for that reason. We just try to trim them really frequently for that reason so they’re still the perfect comfortable length. Our vet stopped doing grooming during the pandemic and every groomer we’ve seen since then hasn’t been quite right or has made his nails bleed a lot, so we’re really excited to finally have found a great one. He came home happy, clean, and definitely didn’t seem traumatized after his appointment. After a couple of years of insufficient grooming, a clean dog is such a luxury for us and he seems much happier too.
Chuckers’ sweater | My boots | Doormat | All-weather planter
I’m not sure how many years it’s been, but we switched out our old closet doors for new ones a few years ago, but we never actually installed door pulls on them. We’ve just been reaching down and pulling the doors open from the bottom for years now and finally one day I realized “Wait, this is not how these are supposed to work. I could just get knew knobs and open them without bending down like the rest of the world does.” Sometimes you do things a certain way and it’s supposed to be just for a little while, but then you just kind of stop thinking about it. This was one of those things. Anyway, I ordered some really lovely little brass knobs and they just bring me joy. 🙂 I was out to just find something plain and simple, but actually I like this style so much that I’m planning on using it in black for our back hall cabinetry, as well as the matching oversized handles for a few of the cabinet doors. The perfect cabinet hardware can be so hard to find, so I’m excited about this discovery.
Sometimes we end up doing a lot of shoots in a row that are of more straightforward spaces, like classic white kitchens. It’s important that we capture those for our clients because obviously those are really popular and people need to see ideas for those spaces, but sometimes we get to do some really fun ones, and lately we’ve been doing some really fun shoots. Here are a few favorite shots. 🙂
The backsplash wasn’t in yet unfortunately at this one, but I love having a good shelf to style in a kitchen. 🙂 This project was by Oak Barrel Cabinetry.
Just a fun shot. 🙂 This local company, Rekindle, makes the most beautiful “modern heirlooms” and their products have been used by all kinds of designers and featured in many magazines.
I just loved the mix of modern and traditional in this dining room by Liberty Interior Design.
I’m coming to the end of another “layer” of decluttering. I feel like when we get rid of all the extra junk in our lives, we kind of do it in layers. If you have a space that’s really messy, the first layer is usually the really obvious stuff, like trash, irrelevant paper work, maybe clothes with holes in them. Then you move on to the next layer, which requires a bit more thought and care. That’s the layer where you ask yourself “Do I really like or use this item?” You might have a couple of layers like this, where you’re more and more honest with yourself about what you really want or need to keep each time. Anyway, as I’ve been talking about for a few months, I’ve been doing some deeper, more ongoing decluttering and I can tell I’m starting to come to the end of this current layer because it’s almost as though I’m starting to run out of things to declutter. At least the obvious things. I do believe that if your home doesn’t feel effortless to take care of, you can probably use a little more decluttering, so I do think I still have some layers to peel back yet, but I’m definitely coming across a few items here and there where I’m like “I know I don’t use this, but I’m just not ready to give up on it quite yet.” Which is very strange for me. I definitely don’t have a problem decluttering almost anything most of the time. My donation bin is filling up more slowly lately, but I’m still finding things to go in there and I’m still making progress so I’m going to keep at it. Anyway, just thought I’d share this thought because I know I’ve chatted with quite a few people on Instagram about their decluttering initiatives whenever I’ve discussed mine and it’s something we all try to stay on top of in one way or another.
NEWS AND FINDS
-There’s a new section in my Amazon shop! I feel like I should be fancier than this about my bedding, but honestly, Amazon Basics is my go-to. I’m always happy with the quality, the durability, and the actual in-person colors of Amazon Basics bedding and of course, it’s super affordable. With pets and kids all over everything all the time, it just makes sense to make price and durability a priority. So I created a little bedding shop with a few of my Amazon Basics bedding favorites as well as a few other bedding-related things that I love. A few things that I really wanted to highlight aren’t in stock right now, like Jack’s comforter, so hopefully I’ll be able to add that in later. Anyway, those are my picks if you’re looking for a little affordable bedding refresh!
-I stumbled on an Etsy shop the other day that just speaks to me so much. It’s located in the US, so the shipping to Canada is a bit high, but I think it might be worth it. It’s full of all of my favorite style of vintage print and they’re all pre-framed in the best frames. Lots of really traditional gold framing, which I just can’t get enough of at the moment. My picks from the shop: This fox art, this ship art with the most amazing frame, this equestrian art, also this equestrian print, and these dogs with their countess.
-I truthfully don’t usually have much luck with print-your-own art and I think it’s because it works out much better when you use higher quality paper, but I stumbled across this page with free vintage heron art printables and I think I’m going to give them a try. I’ve always wanted a piece or two of heron art because we always see them in the creek behind our house during the warmer months. It just seems like a good fit. I haven’t found the perfect piece yet, so maybe a DIY printable can stand in until I do.
–My fleece tights were back in stock in petite sizes and I was so excited to let you know, but now they’re mostly back out of stock again. I guess that’s proof that other people love them as much as I do? These ones look like a great substitute though and they also come in petite xxs. Even if winter is pretty much over for you right now where you are, it’s worth it to get them for next year. I’ve absolutely lived in them since November any time we aren’t out at a shoot.
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.