After being spoiled with seemingly endless days of sunshine this Fall, the past blustery weekend of rain brought us all back to reality here on the West Coast. Although I would never complain about the sunshine, I have never seen our lawn so burnt and must admit that it felt pretty cozy cuddling up on the couch with the fireplace on once again. And now that I’m settling into a bit of a work routine, I’m really looking forward to getting back to cooking healthy and hearty meals for my family. With the recent meat recalls, I’ve been thinking a lot more about where our food actually comes from and will be trying to sneak a few more meatless meals into the rotation…extra vegetables are always a good thing! Here are a few delicious looking recipes that got my mouth watering…

Kale, White Bean + Potato Soup by Fit Sugar

Beet, Goat Cheese + Arugula Sandwich by BS in the Kitchen

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies by Kumquat

Lemony Pesto Pasta with Edamame + Almonds by The Kitchn

Pumpkin Rolls + Borscht by Gobo Root

Butternut Squash + Sage Lasagna by Martha Stewart

Spinach + Cheddar Muffins by Foodbeam

The fellas in my family are a bit more picky than us gals when it comes to vegetables so I may have to get sly with some extra blending to hide them away but I think it’s important to keep bringing new tastes and flavour combinations into the mix, don’t you? How do you manage picky eaters in your house? Have any favourite recipes for Fall? Please share!

It’s Friday and hooray for another weekend! What does yours have in store? Mine will involve lots of family time, a little bit of work, and some overall catching up around the house. I still can’t seem to conquer some corners of clutter (despite 5 large blue bags waiting to be donated to the Sally Ann!) and it’s time to get ruthless. Although this week was short, I felt like I squeezed a lot in…managed to get my nails done with my sister (was hoping for navy but ended up with deep charcoal), caught up with a couple of friends over coffee, had dinner with visiting family and more. Yet there are never enough hours in each day, are there? Hence this somewhat random post of some Fall favourites I came upon this week…

A Cup of Jo

Dan Cassaro for Help Ink.

Hey Look

The Farmer’s Nest

Photo by Line Klein for Elle Decoration via House & Hold

Fall is the perfect time to layer colours and textures, isn’t it? Whether its leggings and sweaters added to summer dresses or area rugs and artwork to cozy up an interior space, I love this time of year and the natural lean towards warm colours and patterns. Have a wonderful weekend!

Despite this record-breaking string of sun-filled days and warm temps, the crisp chill of Fall is definitely in the air each morning and evening. It felt great to have a few much-needed days off over the long weekend and I feel like I got somewhat caught up on chores and I must say that it feels fantastic to have a clean desktop again! I even got some “downtime” clocking in on Pinterest and found myself Pinning many a DIY. A lot of them are ideas for potential classes at the shop but I think most of them would make really great gifts too. Christmas isn’t all that far away (gulp!) and I would love to finally have a chance to make the majority of my gifts this year. I don’t know if it’s all that realistic now that I’m working but I’m willing to give it a shot! Here are some that I would love to be on the receiving end of too…hint hint…

Say Yes to Hoboken

Harper’s Happenings

Etsy How To: Sailor’s Knot Bracelets

Style Me Pretty

Esprit Champêtre

Say Yes to Hoboken

Kelli Murray

Style Me Pretty

Home by Linn

I find that I generally have lofty ambitions when it comes to handmade gifts but leave them until far too late in the season. By starting soon, I’m hoping to get at least a few completed before the hustle and bustle of the holidays moves into full swing. If you live nearby, be sure to check out our lineup at the Spruce Workshop….we’ve got screen printing and jewellery making coming up later this week…and get a head start on your gift giving list too! Do you have a strategy for Christmas gifts this year? Online shopping or handmade all the way? It’s easy to get overwhelmed but I’m aiming to keep it as simple (yet thoughtful) as possible this year. Have a wonderful Wednesday :)

Hello, strangers! Sorry for the absence last week but I finally had enough of glitches with our past server and jumped ship over to BlueHost. There were a few unexpected hiccups along the way but I was very helpful to have a friendly techie to guide me through…thanks Brennan! So here I am again and it’s a gorgeous Thanksgiving Monday (here in Canada, anyway) and I have so very much to be thankful for! Don’t you? It’s been a busy couple of months but I’m feeling extremely grateful for all of the highs and even the lows…they always help keep everything in perspective, if nothing else.

Rifle Paper Co.

Since I couldn’t blog for most of last week, I did get a chance to catch up on my much neglected Pinterest account as well as a few of my favourite blogs. Here are some of my top picks of the week:

• Pumpkin Cakes with Roasted Apples and Caramel, over at Pinecone Camp
• Looking forward to a fabulous new read, Blog, Inc. by Joy Deangdeelert Cho and Meg Mateo Ilasco
• A whimsical backyard belonging to Denise Bovee, featured on A Beautiful Mess
• Dreaming of a new “work” wardrobe
• In love with this black, white and yellow colour scheme, over at Bright.Bazaar via Heart Home Magazine
• Finally changing my August desktop wallpaper to this lovely October one by Oh, Hello Friend

And a little taste of what we’ve been up to at Spruce this week and some great press for the shop, too!:

• Spotted At Spruce Collective
• Cheddar Booth
• Creating At Home
• Flutter Flutter
• Mikaela Ruth Photography
• Lotus Events
• Poppytalk
• Pure Green Magazine

Thanks so much for checking back in and I’ll be back on Wednesday with more to share. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello October! I cannot believe that we’re already settling into Fall. In fact, I just noticed that my screen saver is still stuck on August! We had our grand opening weekend at Spruce Collective and it was everything we hoped it would be…and more! This entire wild ride has been such a dream come true but I’m really looking forward to settling into a new “normal” after all of the hustle and bustle of the last couple of months. I haven’t had much time to think about Thanksgiving or about Brad’s birthday, both of which take place this coming weekend, but took a few moments to get some table inspiration from a few of my favourite wedding blogs…

Photo by Patrick Moyer for 100 Layer Cake

Photo by Lauren O’Neill of a Sunday Suppers table

Photo by Jeff Loves Jessica for Ruffled

Photo by Studio Eleven for 100 Layer Cake

Photo by Kiss the Groom for Style Me Pretty

Photo by Birds of a Feather for Bash, Please

Photo by Renee Brock for Style Me Pretty

The Idea Room

I have yet to host my first turkey dinner (gasp!) but already know that I’d far prefer to decorate a table than cook for a crowd. How about you? Will you be preparing a feast this year? I can’t get enough of the gold place settings mixed with rustic touches that I’ve been seeing so much of lately. Gold spray paint can work wonders when recreating the look for your own gatherings…vases, jars and even glasses are all fair game! Have a wonderful Monday :)