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