76 Main

Nantucket has become an annual destination and we find ourselves returning to this darling boutique hotel. It is our home for a little while each summer. Wonderful!

76 Main

Blue skies on the patio

Guest house

 Our view of the garden.

 The patio is where we eat breakfast, read, enjoy afternoon snacks and happy hour and there's a fire pit in the evening~lovely!

 A recent breakfast included cranberry coated macadamia nuts, swiss cheese, grapes and a strawberry scone with chocolate glaze. Delish!

Decorator Show House season

Decorator Show House season is in full swing.  This year the Indianapolis Decorator's Show House and Gardens have two houses--one old and one new construction. The grey house with that amazing porch is my favorite exterior. 

They hosted so many great events from opening night, a fashion show, a tea, a luncheon with Jennifer Boles as well as an evening book signing, Indy on tap and more. They are open through May 10th. It would have been great to be there in person but these photos from the Indianapolis Star are the next best thing. :)

Especially love the wallpaper and the lighting.

One of my favorite rooms, the french doors, wall color and blue + white porcelain.

Wonderful windows and light fixtures and lovely neutral palette.

Great mix of pattern and texture makes this room interesting and pleasing to the eye.

One of the best nurseries I've seen, the murals were all hand painted.

 A closer view of the wallpaper and lighting from the earlier dining space.

The Cake Bake Shop

Over spring break, while visiting family, we stopped in at The Cake Bake Shop. What a treat! 

It's such a lovely, inviting space you really don't want to leave~everywhere you look is pleasing to the eye. There is also a room towards the back with a fireplace and an outdoor deck. They serve a few options for lunch~soups, salads, quiches and baguette sandwiches and the menu for cakes and confections is amazing. It really is the best cake I've ever had, made with the finest ingredients.

It had just been decorated with cherry blossoms for spring. The ferris wheel in the window is stunning.

Love all the marble and the banquettes.

Earl's Court Chocolate cake won the owner an award in England--yum!

Ladies lunching :)

If we lived closer, I would be a regular for sure. It has been added to my list of 'must-dos' when I visit Indianapolis!

My sweet daughter liked it as much as I did, if you're in the area you must go--it's such a treat!

Great Estates Scotland

Great Estates Scotland is a four part PBS series. Recently, I watched the episode on Dumfries House. 

It was excellent, I am so impressed with Prince Charles and his desire to preserve this house and its amazing Chippendale furnishings. In addition to the preservation, he wanted to give opportunity for training and employment to those living in the area. Listening to the head curator, Prince Charles and the locals whose lives have been dramatically changed by having a job and/or training is inspiring.

The following is information from the Prince of Wales' website.

Dumfries House is an 18th Century Robert Adam designed stately home, which houses an unrivalled, fully documented collection of rococo furniture by Thomas Chippendale and three 18th Century Scottish cabinetmakers.

The house is situated in East Ayrshire, 30 miles from Glasgow, and is nestled in a 2000 acre estate which balances historic landscape features with active farming and forestry.

Threatened with sale and dispersal in 2007 Dumfries House was saved for the nation by HRH, The Prince Charles, The Duke of Rothesay (as The Prince is known in Scotland) who led a consortium of organisations and individuals in a passionate campaign for its rescue.

From the outset the Trust had two main objectives; first, to launch Dumfries House as a public visitor attraction and, second, to create an infrastructure which would act as a catalyst for the socio-economic, cultural, and educational regeneration of this part of Scotland.

The entire episode may be viewed here.

Trader's Point Hunt

Love this snowy hunt.

Post by Traders Point Hunt.

My dream.

Capitalism with a Cause

Public Greens Urban Kitchen is a new restaurant located in my former home of Indianapolis, right on the Monon Trail. People run, bike and walk this trail every day.

photo from Public Greens instagram
The most unique thing about Public Greens is all the profits will go to the Patachou Foundation to feed food-insecure children in the city. Across from the new restaurant is a micro farm which grows some of the produce used in the restaurant and for the foundation. It may be the very first of its kind and it's such a wonderful venture, I hope it catches on in other cities!

13 WTHR Indianapolis

Pantone's Color of the Year: Marsala

Kravet celebrated Pantone's 2015 color of the year with these clever cookies by Jennifer Scarpella.

Pantone named Marsala, an "earthy red wine" inspired hue, the 2015 Color of the Year.

The color "embodies the satisfying richness of a fulfilling meal, while its grounding red-brown roots emanate a sophisticated, natural earthiness," Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a press release.

The selection is the company's prediction for what will be a popular hue for designs and products in the coming year.

Pantone is a global color company known for its standardized color matching system. It uses numeric codes to help designers find the exact color they need. Marsala's code is Pantone 18-1438.