Etiquette Lessons Every Child Should Know

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I thought that this was an interesting article. Etiquette expert Myka Meier shares her tips with Town and Country on 20 etiquette lesson that every child should know. I wanted to share those tips with you and my daughter.

1. The true meaning of etiquette is always to show respect and kindness to everyone around you. 

2. Use please, thank you and excuse me everyday.  (I wish more parents taught this, it’s incredible how rude teenagers are!) 

3. How to hold your silverware correctly. 



4. How to properly use a napkin to wipe your mouth. (No sleeves!)


5. How to chew with your mouth closed.
6. No elbows on the table……ever!

7. Never interrupt an adult when they are speaking to someone else. (some adults should know this!)

8. Never comment on someone’s appearance unless it’s to say something nice.

9. How to give a compliment to someone else.

10. How to write a thank you letter. 
I hope that you enjoyed these tips from Myka. If you wish to read the original article and see the rest of the list you may see it here. I love having these tips. It’s a great review even for yourself. 

(photos via Pinterest)

My Louis Vuitton Collection

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Today’s post is about my Louis Vuitton collection. I have purchased 4 since 2015. They are all pre-owed but I love them!

I wrote about my first purchased here and then my second purchase here. My third purchase came from my favorite store Von Maur and I wrote about it here. 
My Louis Vuitton Neverfull (2007) and my vintage 1980’s LV tote.
This is the oldest one that I own. I have been having some problems with the handles but nothing a little leather cleaner and conditioner can’t fix. 
My Sac Plat Tote (2008). Great bag!!!! 
The newest addition. It is called the Rivoli Briefcase (1999). It is another vintage purchase and I found it on Tradesy. People have been stopping me left and right about this one. It is so rare. No one has really seen one. I must admit my first time seeing it was on Tradesy. 
I have had it for about 3 weeks and I have been loving it! It is so chic! Most of my Louis Vuitton totes are vintage so you do have to manage them a little differently. Keeping an eye on them is a must! 
My husband keeps asking me if I am done buying these and I just smile and say, “Well I will try”. I would like a Louis Vuitton trunk but I know those are a fortunate. I will wait patiently. I believe in my heart that I will be able to get one in the future. 
I hope that you enjoyed this post and if you are interested go and visit Tradesy today. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Wash

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I thought I would do a quick post about how I take care of my laundry.

I use Purex detergent. You can find it in most stores. My family has very sensitive skin and have clawed themselves whenever I use Tide, Gain, etc. This brand is very reasonable and I can use all the scents without irritating my family’s skin. 
I also love to use the Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach. It is very gentle on my whites and cleanses very well. You can also find it in most stores as well. 
For stain removal I use the Oxiclean Spray and the powder. My husband and I LOVE this! It works well on everything! It even gets out blood which is wonderful. I just spray it on and let the fabric sit overnight, put it in the normal wash and the stains come right out. It’s great! I love Bounce dryer sheets. They help the clothes smell so good and sometimes I put them in my suitcase when we travel. 
Delicate Wash
I use this on my delicate items. It smells wonderful and works great! I wrote about it here if you wish to read it. 
Afterwards, I fold and put everything away. I have to fold my towels like this because my linen closets are so small. I am hoping that in the near future I can come up with this more inventive ways to have more space. I do hope that you enjoyed this post!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My First Jo Malone Purchase

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So excited about this blog post! My husband purchased my first Jo Malone fragrance two weekends ago! I was really surprised. We went in just to look around and ended up having a wonderful experience.

Our Jo Malone store here in our city. 

All the wonderful fragrances that they encourage you to mix and match. 
I kept navigating to the floral scents. She mixed their Red Roses scent with the English Pear & Freesia scent and it was quite lovely. Then she mixed the Red Roses scent with the Mimosa & Cardamom and that was quite lovely also. It was so much fun mixing scents and understanding the oils. I really enjoyed it! 
In the end we settled on the red roses scent. My husband just LOVED it!
The box was so wonderfully wrapped and chic!
We purchased the 30ml bottle for $65! I wanted to see how it went with my body chemistry. 
Loving it so far. 
She gave me lots of samples. I have been wearing them. I must say that I really like the red rose bath oil. She gave me a sample of it and I have been putting it on my feet, hands, knees, elbows. It is so nice. Oh gosh and with our below freezing temperatures it has been a God send!

Hand cream samples
I so enjoyed my visit to Jo Malone and will be going again for some of that Red Rose Bath oil. It was a wonderful experience and I thank my husband for the lovely gift. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley) 

Winner of the Ann Taylor Giveaway!!!

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Well the time has come to announce the winner of my Ann Taylor silk scarf giveaway. My daughter and I did an old school bowl drawing. I wrote out all the names and put them in a bowl and I had my daughter pull the name. 
And the WINNER IS:   M. GOSS!!!!!!
Congratulations!!! Please email me or contact me via facebook book A Home for Elegance. You can send me a message there or you may send me a message on Instagram under mrsshockley. Please send me your address that I may ship it to. Thank you so much to all my readers who entered. I am sorry that I couldn’t send one to all of you. Goodness, I sure did think about it! But I will be doing another giveaway later this year. I am not sure what it will be but I have some ideas. Thank you so much for reading and chatting with me!
(photos via Pinterest and Mrs. Shockley)

My Vintage Spider Brooch

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I think I mentioned here on the blog how I have been trying to find a bug brooch. Well, I recently stumbled onto one when I was shopping on Ebay. I found this lovely beauty and just had to bid on it.

It is a vintage spider brooch from the 1940’s (I believe). The previous owner purchased it from an estate sale. I was so excited to see it and just had to have it for my collection. 

It is a head turner for sure!
I have had people stop me left and right for it. I think some people are a little taken back by it but I don’t care. I do enjoy it and know that there is no other quite like it. I would encourage anyone to check out Ebay and look for vintage brooches. It is a wonderful thing to be bold and elegant on your own. 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Cheese Plate ~ 2018

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The New Year has came and went and I decided to get another cheese tray for our New Year celebration. I stopped at Murray’s Cheese again in my local grocery store and had them prepare a tray.

So this year they added forteto pecorino toscano, creme brie, port salut, sartori extra aged asiago, turkish dried apricots (so good) and glazed, pecans, almonds and cashews! It was all so good. I also picked up this sweet french bread. It went so well with the cheeses. 
We also had a bottle of Risata and this year I got cherry sparkling wine for the kids. They loved it! I do enjoy buying cheese and learning about the different kinds. I think smoked gouda is my favorite! If you wish to see my post last year about my cheese plate you may view it here. I hope you all have a wonderful 2018!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)