Gingerbread display in shop window, Lunenburg, NS

Clearly you can tell by the date of my last post, I'm a Designer not a blogger! Its hard to believe its been 2 months since I've been back with any updates. "Alterations" is a fitting theme for this post. My attempts to write a post always fall to the bottom of my to do list, especially this past year as my personal time has been consumed by our house "alterations". At this point our alterations don't look nearly as beautiful as this gingerbread house - I love the symmetry and simplicity of this and I'm dying over that bric-brac detail! On the technical side, I'll be making "Alterations" to the blog and transferring all the content over to a new site in the new year so part of me has been postponing (or procrastinating) any updates until that's done. I'm desperately in need of a simpler platform for blogging, hopefully the technical changes will allow me to write posts faster and more frequently. In the meantime, Christmas will come and go before that happens.

I'm always get captivated by the holiday spirit and the natural beauty of the season. So although I have a back log of projects to post about I'm feeling more in a holiday mode than work mode right now and I can't resist sharing a little holiday spirit while I have the chance....

Storefront window boxes adorned with pine boughs and berries.

We're spending the holidays on the East Coast this year and last weekend we went into Lunenburg for a bit of shopping and lunch. There is no town more charming than the seaport town of Lunenburg (a UNESCO heritage site) known for its colourful heritage buildings that are tiered up high overlooking the picturesque harbour. Its not a place that sees many tourists in the winter so I thought I'd share some images of the town all dressed up for the holidays!

The sign taped to the door says, "Merry Christmas we are sold out of scallops". Not surprising since they are known to be the best scallops in the world. The back of this building overlooks their fleet docked along the waterfront. Their bright red and white shingled buildings are iconic landmarks of the harbour.

I'm not one for organza bows but I liked the placement of the sprig of berries which gives this wreath a modern vibe.

The Lunenburg Furniture Company. No holiday decor but the red door on its own is pretty festive.

Not only my favorite shop in Lunenburg but one of my favorite buildings too. This distillery is located in a former blacksmith shop, the late 19th century building is one of the towns most noted landmarks, and has been carefully restored to maintain its original character. Ironworks Distillery. (Unfortunately this daytime photo doesn't depict the festive lights in the windows.)

I'll admit this is a favorite place of mine, for the product and the interior. 130 year old timber and beams. Hand crafted spirits made from local ingredients and distilled on site in a copper still. The smell of a wood fire…

The still is quite a sight and occupies a prominent corner of the retail shop. Standing next right to it you can taste sample and purchase some holiday cheer. Also, their bottles, labels and packaging are so beautifully designed.

With this much colour, you don't need to anything more than greenery and white lights!

The beautiful, Pentper General Shop. The grey on grey gives this heritage building a contemporary vibe. (sorry for the reflection which obscured the gorgeous pinecone wreath.) Pentper.

The shop was closed when I stopped by the other day, this image is from a previous year... a peek at the heritage-meets-modern simplicity inside The Pentper.