Washing my Jewelry

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Along with house purging, flower refreshing and cleaning I have also been organizing my clothing and jewelry. I always try to keep my jewelry nice and clean. I love it when they sparkle but then again what woman doesn’t. 

I pulled a few pieces out to wash last week. 
Honestly, the only thing I do is fill my bathroom sink up with soapy water and let my jewelry sit for a few minutes. You can use dish liquid soap if you want. All of the oils, dirt and hair come right out. 
Love it when everything is sparkly!
I place everything in the soapy water. My earrings….

Pins and brooches….

I rinse everything and just let it dry. 

I then just place everything back in my jewelry box and it’s all ready to wear for the up coming weeks. Keeping your jewelry clean and up to date is just another way of making sure that you are organized and “pulled together” as a woman. 
Take care of your beautiful things. Enjoy your weekend! 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Flower Refresh…

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Let the purging season continue. I have been getting rid of so many things in my home. It’s amazing how much crap your house can hold. Honestly…. I have been going through all of the nooks and crannies of our home. Getting rid of things that we have not used since we moved into this home almost 6 years ago!

Next on my list is home decor. It’s funny it seems like every couple of years my taste in home decor changes slightly. One item that has been changing has been my taste in faux flowers. I love them don’t get me wrong but I have been desiring more simple arrangements. So I walked through our home and picked out certain arrangements that needed a “flower refresh”.


This “flower refresh” was inspired by this bouquet that I found at T.J.Maxx. I thought it was so life-like and beautiful. 


I put the bouquet in one of my blue and white vases. Looked beautiful….

So I went back and got another one….

And began looking around more….


Faux flowers have come a long way.


I especially loved this arrangement. I was thinking about purchasing this one to replace the one I have next to my tub in the bathroom. 


But then I spotted this one and loved the vase that it was in. Plus it was only $14.99 and the one above was $39.99!

I decided to start with the arrangement in my office. I took a look at it recently and I thought, “oh my goodness, this is starting to look like a creature.” 


It needed to be “refreshed”. The flowers were starting to look dark and I have had them for over 6 years. Time for a change. 

So I put the “creature” in the bag for donations and decided to keep the arrangement simple. 


Better much better….

But then I thought of the other arrangement that I just made and put it there instead. Now I don’t know which one I want. They both look nice. 

This was the arrangement in my bathroom sitting on my tub. See how the faux water looks yellow? Eewww, time to change that!


Better….


Much better….


I also change and threw away all of the old faux flowers in my office and purchased new ones. 


Looks wonderful….


I have enjoyed this “flower refresh” for my home. The next project is finding better ways to organize and utilize my laundry room. I have some ideas so we will see. 


I had to share this photo. This was from last week in my home. I could not believe that these were carnations. I picked them up at the grocery store. Stunning! I will now be looking into this flower more. 




Thanks for reading!
(all photos Mrs. Shockley)

Gray Blue

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Hello Monday….. Monday... a sign to start your week again. Any-who, I wanted to share a recent find from H&M.

It’s this lovely tote that they are calling the Weekend Bag but I am using it as a regular purse. 

I’ve been carrying it for about a week and I have received  a lot of compliments on it. Most people love the color. It’s different and very roomy. I purchased the faux fur key-chain from H&M also. It was only $2 and looked good on the bag. 

I just wanted to share this beautiful tote. I hope that you can find it at your local H&M. It’s better to see bags in person if you can. Enjoy your Monday!



(photos via H&M and Mrs. Shockley)

Top Posts of 2018

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My goodness….. the end of another year. Well honestly I don’t want to spend too much time talking about how fast the year went. I think we all felt it. Let’s jump right into the most popular posts for A Home for Elegance for the year of 2018 and I also want to share my personal favorites as well.

Lunch at the Ayres Tea Room

Organization and Cleaning
This is from my The Butler Speaks series….
My Wash
A lot of people were curious about my laundry routine. 
My Louis Vuitton Collection

Faux Pas to Avoid at Work
Interesting tips if you need them. 
A Closet Update
I was so excited about my new shelving system for my closet. It was a blessing. 
Dinnerware at Pottery Barn
I was so happy to get some of these plates from this collection. They are beautiful in person. 
Selling on Poshmark
This was my first year selling on Poshmark and I really enjoyed it!
Kate Spade Bow Tote
One of my favorite purchases this year. 
My Peacock Wallpaper
So pretty….
A Little Shopping at DSW
When I found my Chanel look alikes….

Ideas for a New Couch
One of my favorite posts…
The New Couch
And I am still loving it!
Healthy Sausage & Veggie Pan

Loved this recipe this year!
Order is Elegant
The Dream of Consistency and Discipline
First reader question about life and order. 
And the last post of the year….
Trying to Live Well
Well there you have it. The most read posts here on the blog for 2018. I hope that you all continue to enjoy the content that I publish. I know I love writing and having this blog. It has been such a wonderful outlet for me. Enjoy your new year! 


(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

Elegant Evaluating

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It’s the beginning of a new year and I don’t make new year resolutions but I do begin to evaluate for the upcoming year. I make mental goals and ask myself questions….

photo credit Ilyas Bolato 

1) How is my health? Am I exercising enough? Have I been consistent? 


2)  How are my eating habits? Am I getting enough sleep? Do I drink enough water?


3) Am I happy with my wardrobe? 


4) Where am I with my faith? 


5) Do I need to change my career goals? 






photo credit Alyssa Hurley 
6) How is my daughter doing? Does she have what she needs? Do I pay attention to her enough? Is she afraid to tell me things?




photo credit Pinterest 

And honestly, I can go on and on. Here is the thing. I am constantly evaluating. Not just at the beginning of the year but on a monthly basis. I am constantly asking myself questions. 


But honestly doing this keeps me honest with myself. I recently went on a “purging spree”. I got rid of a lot of clothes in my closet that just wasn’t fitting well. I start saying to myself, ” Are you really going to wear that. Let’s just be honest here”. With me having that conversation with myself I was able to let go of some of the pieces that needed to go. I will donate most of it to Goodwill, some will go to Poshmark and I did take a few pieces to my seamstress Mrs. Sunny. There were 3 dresses that I just LOVED but the top part was too loose. So I asked her to turn those pieces into skirts. I pick them up later this week. Fingers crossed!
photo credit Mrs. Shockley 



I also began to talk with myself about “bogus shopping“! It’s a quote that I came up with when I began to purge some of the clothes, shoes and purses that I kept. Some of the items that I purchased were apart of bogus shopping. I purchased it because it was on sale, or I felt like I “needed” to buy something because I hadn’t made a purchase in a while (maybe like a week), just stupid spending. That could have been a lot of money that I could have saved. Even today I was at HomeGoods looking at all of the Christmas ornaments on sale. I began to say to myself, don’t start “bogus shopping“! Buy only what you love, and I did. I am very happy with my purchases. 

photo credit Mrs. Shockley 


Then last week I did a “home purge”. There were a lot of things taking up space in closets, pantries, and cabinets. It was a lot of home decor that I didn’t need. So I bagged all of it up and will donate it this week. I now have a lot more room in my cabinets. I only want the items that I use. I will also begin an “office purge” this week. I need to get rid of the items in my office too.



I have also been thinking about making appointments and seeing specialists this year. I have made an appointment with my doctor to review my cholesterol and other levels. I am also having issues with my legs. I had my daughter take a photo of the back of my leg and I have a few varicose veins. Oh no! So I made an appointment about that. I heard that natural witch hazel could help with those. So I purchased a bottle and I have been seeing results! Fingers crossed!

I have also made this a year to have my first professional facial. I have never had one, shocking I know. So that is on my list too! I look forward to making some changes and to see where some of my new decisions will take me. I hope that this inspires you too!


December Favorites

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I hope you all had a great Christmas! I did…. I was so worn out from all the cooking. I try to explain to my husband that there is a lot of work that goes into putting up Christmas trees, decorating, meal planning, cooking, and wrapping presents. I enjoy it all but it is a lot of work.

Well I wanted to start of this week with my December favorites. I have enjoyed sharing my monthly favorites with everyone. It does force you to take account of items or events that you have enjoyed for the month.

First on my list is….

my bedroom in high school. This was my room when I was 18. I pulled out this picture recently and posted it to my Instagram account. I could not believe it. It’s been so long since I have seen this picture. I graduated from high school in 2001 so it’s not that long ago but it is. When I look at it I see….. a young girl who has not changed at all. 

At the time of this photo I had actually just graduated from high school and was finally able to work full time at my current office now. I was a student assistant at the U.S. Attorney’s Office during my junior year and senior year in high school. I also worked there during my first year of college. I left around my second year of college and began working as a legal assistant at a private law firm. The lead attorney actually offered me the job in my 20th birthday. This photo holds so many memories. This was actually the first time I was able to have my own bedroom. My sister and I always shared a room but our mother had moved into a bigger home with more rooms. I was so excited to decorate. This makes me smile…. 
Second on my list is my surprise bouquet of peonies! I found these earlier this week. It is so rare to find peonies during this season. I had a huge smile on my face when I walked into the grocery store and saw these. So happy!!!
Third on my list are these elegant Kate Spade earrings. I found these at Von Maur a few weeks ago. They are called the full flourish flower stud and the studded pearl earrings.  Both are comfortable and lovely. 
Fourth on my list is my blue and white wrapping paper from the Enchanted Home. I purchased this last year and was so excited to use it. It looks stunning in person! 
Fifth on my list is this pin that I saw on Pinterest. Now I LOVE these lace stockings but I am so torn. I can see myself wearing these with my leopard print pumps, black flowing skirt, white collar shirt, pearls and cardigan. But my question is are these too sexy for the office? I don’t know. I tried to imagine one of my co-workers wearing these or maybe one of our attorneys and ask myself would I be offended or think that these stockings are too sexy. What are your thoughts? Be honest. 
And last but certainly not least is this scene from a movie called Princess that was released in 2008. It’s a cute little movie. I watched it one day with my daughter while folding laundry. This movie is about a princess that protects mythological creatures. While I was watching it this scene appeared and for some reason it dazzled me. I love the decor in the background, the silver teapot that “Nana” is holding, the blue and white tea set and the elegant pink blush scarf that Princess Ithaca is wearing. This scene was just so elegant to me. It has so much grace and poise. I had to take a picture of it. Loved it!   
Well I hope that you enjoyed my list of favorites for the month of December. I can’t believe that I will now be starting my 5th year of blogging!!! I can’t believe it! I was just telling my husband that I will be blogging 5 years this coming March. Even he was shocked! I hope that I can continue to bring beautiful content for 2019. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)
November Favorites


October Favorites


September Favorites


August Favorites


July Favorites

Have a Lovely Christmas

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photo credit Dilayara Garifullina 
It’s Friday!!! Yeah! I have a 5-day weekend ahead of me and I am soooo looking forward to it. Christmas is in a few days and I am looking forward to spending time with my family. I have such a busy schedule for the next few days so I am going to take some time off from the blog. My day designer is packed with ideas and tasks that I want to complete for the next few days.

I am hosting Christmas Eve dinner with my husband’s family. His grandfather passed away earlier this year and his 88-year-old grandmother always cooks Christmas Eve dinner for us so this year I decided to take the reigns since it has been such a rough year for her. I am hoping that this will help her a little. This has been her first holiday season without Grandpa Leroy. It’s going to be different for us all.



One of my co-workers shared this recipe with me. It is called slow cooker pumpkin white hot chocolate. I am really looking forward to making this for Christmas Eve dinner so fingers crossed! I know that it sounds like it should be more of a fall kind of drink but why not. 


I hope that you all enjoy your holidays with your families and thank you all for reading my blog. Honestly, I have my moments when I don’t feel inspired and don’t want to write anymore but I keep going because I want to stay committed to what I am doing and I love meeting new like-minded friends on here. 


Please enjoy your holidays and Merry Christmas! See you in January!
(photos via Pinterest)