Blog - A Home for Elegance

Overcoming Hesitations- Living with Quality

February 20, 2025/0 Comments/in Elegant Living, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning Everyone,

I have recently been having some “feelings about things”. I have been having this “feeling of quality” or a desire for quality which explains my title for this week’s blog post.

It could be the books that I am reading, the old movies that I am watching, but I am having this desire for beauty and quality. Have you ever had that? You are in a store, and you are looking at something. The price is great, but the quality of the item does not satiate that desire that you have. I have had this feeling multiple times when buying bags, jewelry, furniture, flowers, I mean you name it. It has been happening in some of my current shopping experiences.

I can’t explain it but while I am out and about I have this feeling of things needing to be better and it could be society that is bringing on these thoughts, but I just want better. I used to be afraid of wanting better but not anymore. That fear is slowly leaving my emotions.

photo credit: Instagram

I purchased this book sometime last year. It is an eBook that unfortunately it is not available right now. There was a section in the book that inspired the title of this blog post. The author Miranda stated, “I understand that the thought of using tableware can be a bit dauting. There is often a fear of mishandling or misplacing something so steeped in history and value. But here’s the thing- these pieces were crafted to be admired and used, not just displayed. And you deserve to use them to create extraordinary moments in your life”.

I don’t care how much something costs or how “fancy” it is use it!

That is why I continue to live the way I do. This is my newest FBMP purchase! It is a vintage or antique wardrobe. I believe it is from the 1950s. It is sold and the maker is Hickory Manfacturing Company since 1911. The company is known for their high quality craftmanship and timeless designs. This wardrobe is a solid piece, and I cannot wait to put it to use. I gasped when I saw it on FBMP.

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

The photo above is my kitchen counter. I recently purchased this bust from HomeGoods and the plate is from an antique store. It is Limoges china. I now know that I have a deep passion for elegant things and elegant living. I can’t seem to separate it from any part of my life. When I styled this counter and stood back and looked at it, I just smiled. I am overcoming hesitations. Why not have antiques in your kitchen!

My sitting room currently.

Another tidbit that Miranda mentioned in her book in regard to her tableware was, ” Antique tableware is not merely a collection of objects, it is a tapestry with history, art and legacy. These pieces carry an elegance and sophistication that modern items seldom capture. They hold the power to transform a simple meal into a grand affair, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. In a world where everything feels so transient, these antiques offer a tangible connection to the past- a bridge to bygone eras of charm and elegance”.

I could not agree more. I think that this quote from Miranda can be used in every item in our lives. Our furniture, china, clothes, shoes, accessories. I want my life as a whole to be a tapestry. Everything should be connected to elegance and sophistication. It should be made of quality. I really want to live a life with quality and for my life to be quality. What are your thoughts on quality? Do you seek it as well?

To read more about Miranda here is a blog post about her on Maison Carlyle. Also let me know in the comments below if you purchased her eBook!

Want to hear someone express how important quality is? Just listen to the current owner of Hermes express his thoughts on quality. It’s truly inspiring!

Inspiration for Simple Luxuries at Work

February 12, 2025/0 Comments/in Elegant Living, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Hello,

Can it really be the middle of February? I still can’t believe that Valentine’s Day is this Friday. I told my husband that I only wanted a book and that was it. I don’t have a lot on my list this year.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am still reading my goals and listening to some great podcasts in the mornings while I am driving to my office. I had to share something that I listen to recently and it made me think that maybe I needed to update my list.

Now I have shared new things that I have purchased for my office in the last few years, and they are scattered in the many blog posts that I have so I thought I needed to combine everything into a current post of what my offices look like today.

Now I have two. I have an office downtown for my regular job, and I have an office at home for the blog, home life, the boutique, and my telework days. I love learning from other women what things they have added to their lives in order to bring about elegance to it. Especially with everything going on in our worlds now. I listen to Kaylee Hackney’s podcast called “Simple Ways to Add Luxury to your Workday” and I thought that I would share her list so that maybe we all can get some inspiration for our spaces.

First on her list is gourmet coffee. Now I am not a coffee drinker, but I do love my teas and I have shared my favorite tea which is Harney’s and my vanilla chai tea that I buy from Kroger. I did get a Nespresso machine and talk about lux! I love that thing, and it does start off my morning in luxury!

This is my morning luxury. My vanilla chai tea and foam oatmilk that I am pouring into Royal Albert Old Country Roses teacup and saucer. Use your best at work if you can.

Her second item was fresh flowers. Of course! These are always a part of my luxury items for work and if you have not tried having these around you by now then take a leap! They are so affordable at the grocery store and sometimes on clearance! Give this lux a chance seriously!

Now her third idea was a flameless candle. Now I have not considered this, but this sounds like a great idea! I love a little light in my office. I have lamps around but if space is an issue, then this could be a great lux idea! I saw these on Amazon as well as these and these.

Next up is a standing desk. Now I have not thought of these either but what a great idea. I have had one of these before but the one I had a work was much heavier. This one here looks like a great option!

Of course, I could not forget a wonderful and comfortable office chair! You all know that I purchased this last year and have no regrets. As you know there are several on Amazon. I did find these for only $65! This is my current office now. I enjoy it so much!

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

A simple luxury for work that you may have not thought about are pens and pads. I cannot tell you how important these items are if you work in an office setting. Having great working pens and notepads at your figure tips is a great luxury. I purchased these notepads and pens from Amazon and love them both. These pens are blue ink! My favorite! I love blue ink. Don’t forget about these sophisticated clipboards from Notiq as well as the pen cases. I have both!

Another item that I just got for my office is the space heater. She mentions it in her list and she is right! Having this for this season of winter has been a game changer. My office is so cold in the mornings. I just hit my remote control for my heater and warmth comes my way. It’s a luxury for sure.

We cannot forget about cord organizers. I just got these from Amazon and they work magnificently. I got a pack of ten so that I can use them in my office, car and home. She mentions noise cancelling headphones in her blog post. I have never tried these before but may consider them for traveling. I do love my ear buds for listening to my favorite podcasts. She also mentions artwork and I could not agree more. I would just recommend buying what you love and buy quality. A lamp for your desk is a must. I have two lamps in my office and love having them both. I love Jonathan Y lamps and purchased this one about 3 years ago. There are so many more things that I could add to this list. A few more items of work luxury would be a wonderful work tote, stapler (I love this one), or get a set for your desk. You will be amazed at what this will do for you work life.

I hope everyone enjoyed these tips and I certainly enjoyed Kaylee’s podcast. If you have a moment, you should listen to her podcast. You can also read her blog post and find more inspiring ideas for your lux office. Life is short, make it beautiful!

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My Sitting Room Refresh

February 6, 2025/0 Comments/in Home Décor /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning Friends!

How is everyone doing? I am repeating my goals in my mind and I recently read this quote from James Clear…..

“People can sometimes be held hostage by their expectations. They have a dream of something they would like to achieve or a path they intend to follow, but their mindset falls apart when things don’t work out how they had hoped.

The key is to reach for an extremely high bar, but to be adaptable enough to reframe the failures, disappointments, and defeats into fuel for the next thing. Give your best effort, but no matter how it works out, trust that life will be good for you. Focus on how the world is working with you, not against you.

Everything you are given is material for the next move. Everything.”

I just keep asking the Lord to guide me. I get sent this nuggets every time.

Well my FBMP shopping has not slowed down. I am just on this journey where I want to add better furniture pieces to my home and why not. I have been wanting to change things up for so long and I am now unafraid to try things. You all know that I love a good room refresh and this time I decided to change up my sitting room.

The photo on the left is one version of my sitting room. I believe this was taken in 2019 or maybe 2018. I was starting to feel like it looked “too yellow”. I had the cream, fuzzy rug which was suppose to be cream but it looked yellow. I also had “cream” curtains which looked yellow as well. I wanted to add some fresh whites to my sitting room. The photo on the right is what it currently looks like right now since I have refreshed it.

I purchased the new rug from Amazon. I love the design and color and believe it fits the room perfectly. The rug is from influencer My Texas Home. I have been wanting one of these for some time now. I also got new pillows from HomeGoods. White ones of course to brighten up and freshen up the couch.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

The space look so different and I am here for it! It really updated the “shades” in my sitting room and gave it a clean look. I also got new curtains from HomeGoods. They are white as well and no longer have that yellow look to them.

Can you see something else? Well for one thing I got two new lamps instead of one. I had one lamp in this room for 13 years and decided that two lamps would balance the room.

I got KING CORBRA lamps! I could not believe it myself. I could not understand why I was attracted to these lamps. My husband and I were walking around HomeGoods when I saw these and I said, “Those are sharp”! My husband then turned and looked at me with astonishment and said, “are you serious”? I then grabbed my mouth because I could not believe that came out of it!

I looked at him with such confusion because I could not make sense of it but I LOVED them! I then spent the next 45 minutes in anguish trying to figure out why I wanted them. We “googled” the meaning of King Cobra because I was so worried if this meant something about my faith. I had all kinds of crazy thoughts, but do you know what the meaning of King Cobra is? It means transformation, wisdom, royalty, strength, rebirth, and knowing oneself better. WOW! The two meanings that stuck out to me were transformation and rebirth as I am going through a transition in my life and change. Plus, the girl who does my nails just told me that it is the year of the snake! Can you believe that! Wow! Any way I do love my king cobra lamps and no longer have regrets. They did come with a black snakeskin lamp shade but I thought white would look better with my decor and room.

I also redid my floral arrangement. This arrangement was on my table next to my couch in a gold old vase and needed to be refresh so I got rid of the gold vase and decided to use my giant blue and white ginger vase, and it looks so much better.

A new candle was also added to the space. I normally don’t buy candles at Target, but I think this is becoming one of my favorites. If you love a beautiful floral candle, then this candle by Theshold called sunflower and ivy will certainly please you. I am already going to order more! It’s lovely and comes in this beautiful canister.

This was not a part of the sitting room refresh but I purchased this from T.J. Maxx. I needed a new lamp for my dresser in our bedroom and saw this lovely swan lamp there. I could not leave it. It looks stunning on my vanity.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

Well, I will be honest. I am feeling much better being in my sitting room and spending time in it. I was not using the room for months because I was just so unhappy with it. Now I look forward to my “rest mornings”. It’s when I go down to that room grab my At Home in the Garden book and just enjoy the space. It is such a treat in the early mornings.

FBMP has been such a wonderful tool for me to purchase pieces and curate my home. I now have my search fine tuned and don’t have a problem looking for items. If you want to see my other blog posts regarding my past searches you may read them here.

Let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are. Have a great week!

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January Favorites ~ 2025

January 23, 2025/in Monthly Favorites /by mrs.sshockley

Hello Friends,

It was so nice having a nice long weekend. I so needed it. I spent the weekend going thru old paperwork and getting it ready for shredding. I just learned last week that I was suggested to our learning facility to be an instructor for the upcoming year. So that means that I will be on a panel teaching other paralegals later this year. I will also be doing a virtual training in April! I am so excited for these new opportunities and extremely nervous. I also have another office to evaluate this year in Boston and a potential training in Washington. We will see how things go.

You will also notice some items have begun to vanish from the boutique. I did an inventory check this weekend and remove some things. I have some different ideas this year for inventory so we will see what I come up with. I may be taking a break from dresses and just focus on accessories. Let me know in the comments below what items you would like to see in the boutique this year.

Now let’s move on to some favorites.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

First is my new devotional that I ordered from Amazon. This was a suggestion from the late Dr. Charles Stanely. I have been listening to him for years and read his recent book Living the Extraordinary Life -Nine Principles to Discover it. In this book Dr. Stanley mentioned My Utmost for His Highest devotion written by Oswald Chambers. It is so good and really challenges one’s faith. I read this passage in it this week… My best for his glory. At first, the call comes gently. Then it grows louder, until finally God produces a crisis in our lives that demands we make a choice. For or against, yes or no; stay or go.

There was another devotional that has stuck with me for months now. It is called the Law of Antagonism. The law if antagonism means that in order to stay healthy, I have to fight. Health is a kind of balance between things that would harm me and my ability to resist them. Physical health occurs when there is a balance between my body and those things in the external world that are designed to put me to death. If I have enough vitality, enough fighting power, I will produce a healthy balance.

If you are a person that enjoys devotionals then I would HIGHLY recommend this book!

My second is the Fresh Balsam candle from Bath & Body Works. This candle gives such a clean and fresh pine scent. It has been perfect to start off my year and I love smelling it in my home. I also saw this lovely blue and white teapot plugin. I had to grab one!

Speaking of blue and white I did not stop my hunt for the Love Shack Fancy Stanley cup. I did find this in August of last year but could not share it because I was getting one for our daughter in law for Christmas and I did not want to give up my gift idea! I found mine and purchased it from Poshmark. They are sold in various places. Just make sure that you have the Stanley stamp on the bottom, and it comes with a box and the straw with a bow. I heard that there are some fake ones out there.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

Fourth on my list is this glorious brand. Now of course I learned about Holland Cooper from the British influencer Lydia Millen and loved them immediately. I mean can we talk about the super elegant branding? The rich colors? It’s stunning. I decided to take a leap and order my first candle from them. Then I could not resist the Chelesa Emerald Green makeup bag! When Lydia shared this on a video I was foaming at the mouth. It is so elegant and every time I pull it out to use it I stare at it. It is now on sale. It’s still a little expensive but it’s a wonderful piece for the elegant wardrobe that you want to build.

Don’t you just love a good antique find? I know I do! I found this while at a friend’s house. She mentioned this antique store to me, and I thought, well okay, I’ll take a look! I ended up finding this beautiful French blue armchair. Score! I love it and have moved it to my office downtown. It looks wonderful!

In addition to adding my new chair to my office and purchased this gorgeous cashmere scarf from Amazon and it is double sided. It is a stunning emerald green color and I have gotten lots of compliments on it. I am thinking about going back and ordering it in the khaki.

And lastly on my list is this classy video from Parisian Vibe where photographer and artist Jamie Beck demonstrates how to tie a scarf or “foulard”. I love that word. This video is the epitome of elegance, and you will enjoy the scarf techniques from Jamie, the Hermes scarves that she wears, and the home! It’s a beautiful video.

I hope you all enjoy my monthly favorites as usual! Please let me know in the comments below if there are things that you would like to see in the boutique and have a great week!

This post is not sponsored. Affiliate links attached.

Word of the Year ~ 2025

January 16, 2025/7 Comments/in Elegant Living, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning!

It’s still cold but manageable. I do miss my morning walks. I need them now since I am seeing so many things in the news. My goodness… California. I didn’t realize that the fires were that bad until this weekend when I actually got a chance to sit and watch the news. My goodness… North Carolina is still struggling from the hurricane. So many things Lord, so many. My mornings walks would always help be sort things out in my mind. I am back on my elliptical for the next few months because the mornings are so cold here.

Now as you can see from my title of this blog post I will be sharing my word of the year. For me it is never just one word. My words are always phrases. It always takes me a few days before the end of the year to get my phrase, but it usually comes because of some life event. This year it came because of a recent activity that I did with a therapist. I may share that later, but my word of the year or phrase of the year is “be present”.

Now I catch myself and I have been doing this most of my life, thinking about the future or the past. Those thoughts in most cases provided a distraction from something that I was dealing with at the moment. Now my goal is to be present. In happiness, and sadness. Be present!

I have also started my new planner. Jennifer from the Daily Connoisseur recently shared her planners. I am normally a Day Designer kind of girl but this year I decided to try a new planner called Planned & Proper.

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

This planner is exceptional! I was not sure how it was going to work for me, but it is a perfect fit for my life! I had my name added to the first page, so personalization is an option. The third page is your word of the year page! You write it down along with your thoughts. There are pages for plans or projects, book goals, and brainstorming your big ideas. The daily format is a winner. It provides a section for your top 3 priorities, to-do list, current goals for the day, a timeline, self-care section and daily gratitude. I mean each day has those items for you to jot down!

This planner has so much! There is a body & wellness page for the year, a place for you to map out your goals for your social life and friendship goals, career and business, financial, home and family, spiritual and creativity! It truly forces you to think about your life for the year. Using this planner and brainstorming about your life will take a few days. It’s not some basic planner that you can just jot down a few things. It really does encourage you to think big about your year in detail. It took me about 2 days to fill out my lists for the year and now I just keep going back to them to keep myself on track.

Let me know in the comments section below what planner you are using and if you have already tried this planner. Also share you word of the year. I think this maybe a repurchase for me next year!

Enjoy your week!

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New Holiday Recipes

January 7, 2025/3 Comments/in Recipes /by mrs.sshockley

Hello Friends,

We had a dumping of snow this week! Finally! It usually arrives right after Christmas for us, and it is as cold as can be! Lauren is back on campus; my Christmas decor is neatly packed away and I am ready for a home refresh. As I begin my year, I begin to think about what goals I want to accomplish and things I would like to complete this year. I am already dreaming about how I am going to change rooms around when Lauren leaves the nest. Right now, my office is in the loft. If we stay in this house, I want to move my office into Lauren’s room and turn the loft into a study. I would love a study! A room with built in bookcases for my books and a giant table in the center for me to sit read, spread out, burn a candle, and have a cup of tea. I will be changing the boy’s old room into a guest room. I am on the hunt for a queen size bed. We will see.

Anyway, the holidays are over, and I did try a few new things for my menu. I wanted to share those recipes. What worked and what didn’t.

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

For Thanksgiving, I tried two new recipes. First was this appetizer called the French Quarter Cheese Spread. My friend Angela made this at one of our evening Guild meetings and it stopped us in our tracks! I had never heard of it before and never tried it. It was so good. It had a beautiful combination of sweet and savory and the salty crackers gave it the perfect crunch! It’s lovely with a glass of wine. Now did my family love it? No, not really but I didn’t care. My husband and daughter don’t really have sophisticated food palates.

The second new recipe that I tried for Thanksgiving was a pear salad. I had a craving for a salad for Thanksgiving so I “googled” fall salads and a list came up. This salad stuck out to me. I loved the idea of having pumpkin seeds, blue cheese, and roasted pears. I wanted something fresh and crisp. Something that was not so heavy on the stomach. Now my family (Lauren and my husband) don’t eat salads. Again, they don’t have great eating palates, but I wanted to add it any way. My stepsons’ wife and girlfriend took bites out of the pears and said, “those are good”, so hearing that made me happy. I loved them so much I ended up making a second batch of the pears. Soo good! Overall, I got a good response.

My last new recipe was sweet potato casserole. Now I decided to make this for our Christmas Eve dinner because I host additional people at this dinner. I wanted to have more people who would be willing to try my dish. It was very simple to make, and I love sweet potatoes. The creaminess from the mixture and the crunch from the pecans was wonderful. The one item that I will change will be using dark brown sugar instead of light. I love the taste of dark brown sugar! I believe that the molasses from the dark brown sugar would give it a more earthy taste. I loved the dish and so did my other guests. We usually have the same items but this year I wanted to add a few new dishes to my list and I am glad that I tried. This upcoming holiday season I might add a few new things so we will see.

Let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of these! Have a great week, stay warm!