at the lake

We had spent Canada Day this year at the same provincial park where we built our last home. Three years ago, it was just Geoffrey, myself, and our dogs having a picnic on our newly purchased lot. We sat on the untamed earth, that was wild with sand, cacti, grass, and ticks. Later we went for a bike ride. The weather was hot and looking back, we were so young and naive about what was to come.

Last year, we took Remy to the beach that was only a stone’s throw from our home. It was overcast and muggy that day. We were the only people there, and for that reason, I loved it. We didn’t stay long as she was only four months old and couldn’t really appreciate it. However, I will always remember it and will tell her about her first Canada Day when she’s older.

This year, the weather was incredibly warm. Almost too warm! The sun shone the entire day, and there was hardly a breeze. We packed up Remy and her new Radio Flyer Trike, and made the long drive back to the provincial park.

A big part of me hates going there. I have such a hard time letting go of things. I always have and it’s something that I need to work on. I miss our little home on that sandy street more than I can bare sometimes. I often let Geoffrey know as he is the one who ultimately made the decision for us to move. Perhaps one day we will be back for good.

We parked in the church parking lot, and decided to walk to the beach from there. It was so busy this year! There were families and dogs everywhere. There were also many people paddle boarding and kayaking. Remy loved it, though. She’s a big people-watcher, and over the last few months she has started engaging with strangers a lot more. She won everyone over with her squeals and giggles and chubby thighs.

We also couldn’t get her out of the water. She’s always been a water baby and that day was no different. We spent the entire time being in the lake. She would crawl in up to her neck, or if I held her hands then she walked in up to her armpits. The bottom was pure sand, which is one reason why I love that beach. It’s small and soft on your feet. The deeper we went, the colder it became. She didn’t mind one bit. My tough girl.

It was just an amazing day. Did you guys enjoy your Canada Day/Independence Day as well? Let me know!

<3

Emory

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yards and yards of gravel

The Little Barn Gravel - 3Hey guys! Well, we finally did it. After a year and a half we took the plunge and ordered gravel for The Little Barn’s driveway. Above is a photograph of how the house looked before the gravel.

Processed with VSCO with a6 presetGeoffrey ended up spreading all eight yards of gravel with merely a shovel and well into a few evenings. This was taken while he was distributing it.

The Little Barn Gravel - 1Now our home no longer looks like it’s been neglected. All we need now is an address sign and fence. Baby steps.

<3

Emory

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our trip in photos

Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 4Happy Labour Day, Canada and USA!

Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 1In keeping with the holiday theme, I wanted to share with everyone the pictures that were taken on our most recent vacation. I chose to do things a little differently this time around. Rather than relying solely on my digital camera and iPhone, I had purchased a disposable camera prior to our trip. I was worried that I was going to quickly burn through 27 photos, and would need to buy more than one. To my surprise, it was actually the other way around. I found myself being extremely selective about what I chose to document. Come the last day, I had not yet used the entire roll. Keep in mind that last year, I took over 300 pictures with my Canon. 

Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 7Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 6While the quality is much more grainy, and the cost of the camera and to develop the photographs came to around $40 (a little steep), I actually think that I prefer to use rolls of film rather than digital prints. It made me much more aware of my surroundings, in addition to cherishing the results that much more. Besides, there’s nothing more exciting than waiting a few days to see the results. At least for me, that is.

Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 5Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 8Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 12Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 10Jan Lake Lodge - Trip 13What are your thoughts on film vs. digital prints?

<3

Emory

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more tiny homes

26_6757493_26_1418951953(Image via estately.com)

A few weeks ago, I presented to you a post on Gute Shepherd Huts, which is a German and Canadian company that specializes in crafting furniture and Tiny Houses. I expressed how I longed to own one so that I could place it in my backyard and stick my visiting friends and family in it when they plan to stay the night. I mean generously offer for them to stay in such a cute and humble abode. ;-)))

26_6757493_3_1418951951(Image via estately.com)

February’s issue of Country Living is filled with Tiny Home goodness. In it, is an article entitled ‘The Country Living Small of Fame’. This article centres on 44 diverse Tiny Houses from all around the country, and how the owners are “living large in less.” Talk about eye candy!

26_6757493_2_1418951951(Image via estately.com)

If you don’t want to buy this issue, then simply click here. My favourite is The Texas Lakehouse, for obvious reasons. It’s also currently on the market. If only I had $434,900 laying around. Would anyone like to go halfsies?

<3

Emory

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the not-so-reclaimed siding

Processed with VSCOcam with lv01 preset Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetHi friends, and happy Saturday! Are you enjoying it? I hope so! I’m spending mine working at the store, which in my eyes, doesn’t really feel like work at all. So I’m pretty happy. :-)

Before we examine the siding and the title of this post, I’m going to backtrack a little. It was only 10 days ago when I revealed our metal roof to you. While I initially liked it, a tiny part of me did question if we made the right decision in going with brown. It didn’t pop the way that I had hoped that it would, yet at the same time, that’s exactly why I did choose it. Putting my emotions aside, I told myself to just wait until the siding comes. I knew that everything would change once that was up. Boy, did it ever.

Processed with VSCOcam with lv01 preset Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetNow to discuss the siding. The plan for the siding on The Little Barn was always to be reclaimed wood. So my husband and my brother-in-law began to spend their weekends tearing down old barns and outbuildings across the province. They were not hard pressed for these types of structures given that we live in Saskatchewan. Yet, it was backbreaking work and extremely time-consuming to do so. It didn’t take long before we began to rethink our decision. Upon assessing the quality of boards, mulling the idea over amongst ourselves, and finally discussing it with our contractor, we chose not to put that particular wood on our house. We were just too afraid of leaks and dry rot.

Processed with VSCOcam with lv01 preset Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetIt was our contractor that came up with the perfect solution. He was able to get wood siding that had been sitting on a distributor’s lot for a few years. No one had wanted it because it was beginning to look reclaimed. It had already turned grey, and best of all, they were selling it to us at an extremely low cost. In the case of miracles, this was a big one. I still cannot believe how lucky we were to get this amazing material.

Processed with VSCOcam with lv01 preset Processed with VSCOcam with a6 presetIn the end, our not-so-reclaimed siding is one of my favourite things about The Little Barn. Well, one of many.

<3

Emory

  • Hello! My name is Emory. I am a wife, mother of four (three on earth in heaven). This is our life on the Canadian prairies.
    email: helloscarlettblog@outlook.com

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