Cake Batter

Today I chose the colour for the paint of my interior walls, Benjamin Moore's Cake Batter. I decided I would just use one colour throughout the entire main floor, including
bedrooms, bath, main entrance hall and kitchen/living area. I am still feeling a little unsure about the whole thing!!

But the show must go on!!!
 

I thought I would do a post on the feeling I hope the colour will bring to my new interiors, through a series of photos taken of my home last Christmas...it will never be like this again..
Hopefully this will be a good thing!
 

The colour Cake Batter, besides having a yummy name, is a very soft, milky colour with a lot of depth....
 

Because we live in the woods, the shadows and ombre effects played by the light filtering through the trees and coming in the windows, the paint changed colours almost by the hour after we applied a sample colour on the wall...
 

The vintage crochet lace on ecru linen I used as a cuff for this stocking last year, is a most perfect colour!
I used this as some what of a colour board for making my decision....
 

 

These German Belsnickles are also a good source of inspiration for colour matching...
 

Snowy branches and creamy hydrangeas.....
 

This sweet, tiny miniature doll held by an old world Santa, is the perfect creamy mix of froth and lace...
like frothed milk on a cappucino...
 

 

The stone tiles in the bathrooms, garden room and front entrance have a touch of grey in them...
I am hoping my tarnished brass fixtures and gilt mirror and sconces will work well with the Cake Batter....
 

We are so behind schedule, but the walls are being painted, as is the trim and new banister and spindles...I will be so happy to share this transformation with you as soon
as the kitchen is installed...this is the third postponement....originally end of October, then mid November and now mid December, if the floors are installed next week....

All of the interior trim is Cloud White and walls Cake Batter by Benjamin Moore.

Have any of you, my readers, used Cake Batter in your new or renovation projects??
I would love to hear your opinions...

The above photo more luscious colour.....

crochet cotton, old pearls and unspun wool, you get the picture...

The miniatures are the exquisite work of Rose Dolhanyk, doll creator extrordinaire!

N.xo

The road to Bountiful.....

I am certain that many of you have experienced what I am about to tell you....the unexplained, immediate connection to another fellow blogger...a hidden friendship just waiting to be kindled, through heartfelt comments left time and again, late at night or early in the morning when we can steal a few moments for ourselves to read the precious blogs we follow... across the miles and sometimes oceans, the connections are made, by total strangers, brought together by common interests and sensibilities, through this amazing medium...

 Last week I visited one such friend, Jermaine, from the beautiful blog French Kissed, in California..

My husband and I were attending the Breeder's Cup (ahem!!) in Santa Anita, just outside Los Angeles, travelling from Ontario, Canada...and of course, sweet Jermaine, made the trek from Santa Barbara to meet me...this was our second visit in two years..
but for both of us, it was as if we had been friends forever...

Easy, effortless and fun!
 

The Santa Anita racetrack, the site of the Breeder's Cup and popular Breeder's Cup Classic which was running the next day, with a winner's purse of $5 million dollars!
 

I couldn't resist this little box planting of jockey and pony !
 

I left the itinerary up to Jermaine, who could navigate the LA freeways like a pro,
we decided to visit the beautiful shop, Bountiful in Venice, a treasure trove of vintage design inspiration. The brain child of Sue Balmforth, who did " shabby " before it became chic!
Decorator to the stars and event designer of one of the most beautiful Academy Awards, in my opinion, ever..

We could not take in the abundance of jewel like displays in every colour way...
From fabrics to chandeliers to French chairs to religious art...it was dizzying...
all stacked to ceiling height!!

The vintage fabrics beautifully sorted and displayed were my favorite things...

No detail was spared....

Petit point pillows and beautifully carved French armoires...

romantic oil paintings....

...carefully chosen and edited vignettes...

This cast iron embellished cross, was exquisite... 

Little treasures to remember our day together....
 

We both lost track of time, and I think we may have spent at least two hours or more in this lovely place !!!

If that was not beautiful enough, Jermaine treated me to a lovely lunch at the famous Ivy...
The roses took my breath away....

...and lunch was a delicious salad of lobster, avocado and papaya....

This gorgeous arrangement was gracing the ladies room!

To me,
the joys of blogging are infinite, the inspiration, the knowledge acquired from the talented and generous authors of the blogs we read, but never would I have imagined the friendships which this has afforded me, especially that of sweet Jermaine, who gives generously of her time and heart with every visit to California...I am hoping to repay that generosity this Spring when she comes to visit me...
 

As an aside...
.... a little peek at the etched peacock door installed as the entrance to my walk in closet/dressing room...I have had it for several years, hoping to use it at some point in the renovation.  The light from the window shows off its beauty during daylight...

I hope to post more pictures...it is progressing soooo slowly...
and we were told today, we will definitely not be back in for Christmas.

Patience!

N.xo