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

 

Idle Hours....

The start of the winter solstice seems to smack you in the face when you wake up one morning....yesterday we experienced a gorgeous Indian summer day and today I was pelted with rain and sudden gusts of cool wind and wet fall leaves....I love it, though....the fall colours here at the lane are beautiful, and create pause for what the winter months ahead will bring...many projects and simple pursuits to idle away the hours...

Needle arts have always been something that nurtured my nesting instinct...stitching, quilting, creating and general puttering during the winter, just seem to fit...last fall I took a stitching class given by Susan, the lovely and talented blog author of Ling Ling and Lulu, at the beautiful shop Stitch, just around the corner from my home...
She has created several of these lovely pear shaped pin keeps...

She encouraged us to make them very personal, by adding embellishments which would speak of the creator or the recipient they were intended for...
I made a little heart out of vintage velvet, for additional pins and added the tiny crown charm....

Here I found this little French pin and added the tiny heart charm....a future gift for a lover of all things French!

 

....another charm, personal to the giver and recipient....

I plan on attaching this pin keep to the clamp so it may be easier to use and always at hand, during sewing or stitching projects. It can be clamped to a sewing table or any small table by an arm chair or favorite spot for needleworking...

These two projects have been waiting in the wings to be finished, for sometime now....and I have stolen time from more pressing matters to indulge myself some quiet moments with a needle... 

It is always very satisfying and nurturing to see a simple creation from one's own hands...
 

At the same time, fall vegetables are at the ready to make wholesome and satisfying meals, roasted garlic and cauliflower soup...I neglected to take photos of the finished soup....my apologies...pureed into chunky goodness with the addition of organic chicken broth and a touch of cream...It was very good...and of course I sent containers off to both my sons to enjoy...always a Mom!!!
 

I quick glimpse of the new garden room off the opened up kitchen area....

Not sure if the ceiling will be white pine or not??

The floor will be a creamy white slate/stone, with radiant heat below...
 

Transitioning into winter is always a busy time, but this year even more so, with the renovation and all it entails...I still manage to find a few hours for my own pursuits...We are told we will be back in for Christmas!
It seems to be just around the corner!!

N.xo

 

Peacock Blue

This past gorgeous Thanksgiving holiday weekend was the last of my wedding commissions for the year....it could not have been a more perfect fall day...crisp, sunny and perfect for a fall wedding...

I managed to snap a few quick photos with my iPhone before delivering the floral bouquets, requested in a jewel palette to co incide with midnight blue dresses of the attendants...

The above is the corsage for the grandmother of the bride and groom, a simple calla lily, Odessa, a touch of hydrangea, some beautiful blue veronica and gossamer French organdy ribbons....

...the perfect time of year for the use of hydrangea in bridal bouquets, plentiful and lush, this particular variety is called Pimpernel...

Silverstone roses, kale, trichelieum and millet echo  the fall tones requested by the bride.  She also requested peacock feathers as an addition to the bouquets. As a rule, I rarely use any adornments such as crystals, feathers and jewels, preferring to just show off the flowers in all their simple, natural beauty....

The bride's bouquet, Crystal blush calla lily, Akito roses, chrysanthemums and white feather collar to compliment the attendants flowers...

Just a quick little post to share this lovely event on this Thanksgiving week, here in Canada....so much to be thankful for!

I will be posting on the renovation soon....

N.xo

Last of summer....

You will have to excuse my long absence from the last post.  I dove into blogging a year ago with such enthusiasm, I surprised even myself, it seems! I do attempt to read all of my dear blogging friend's entries as I can, and often leave a comment.  But the summer has gone by so quickly, with all the tasks at hand and the renovation in full bloom, that my poor blog has taken back seat to everything else....

Our sketchy internet connection here, in our temporary home, and the sheer magnitude of what has to be dealt with everyday have left me somewhat overwhelmed!

However, I will endeavor to post a short one about a tiny bit of my world at the moment....

The above photo, taken yesterday of Cinderella fairy, inspired me to take on a little project for the new powder room bath....
I'm afraid I'm an incurable romantic!  I love gilt and baroque period furniture and painted pieces....so, I decided to paint a demi lune cabinet to serve as a vanity in this room.

Here is the finished piece, which I embellished with roses, with a transfer process I learned years ago in ceramics....remember when we all did ceramics?
Perhaps I'm really dating myself ???
It is a vintage print which I love....

I painted the piece with just white latex paint, after a good prime coat....
 I added the transfer, washed it with a lovely shade of green, added the lines for a little interest and a bit more sponging around the print and then distressed it lightly.
Varnish coat last....

I love the shape of this cabinet and the sweet little feet....

The colour is soft, with a garden feel.....

A piece of honed white marble will top it with a white undermount basin.....

I have decide to leave the hardware, although not original....usually I prefer to paint the hardware white and slightly distress it as well.  But I have a light fixture in mind that is antiqued brass, as an overhead light....

Here is a very poor photo...my apologies!  It was stored behind a large armoire with other furniture in the carriage house, and this is the best I could do....
I think this will work very well with it, as the hardware I chose  for the undermount sink for the vanity, is a tarnished brass faucet as well...
Love the little glass droplets....remind me of water droplets in the garden!

The last of summer in the garden....here white Cinderella fairy making a valiant effort
to preform one last time....

I shall try to post little bits as we get closer to the actual progression of the interior renovation...the part that is most fun!!!!

N.xo