A Gracious Kitchen ~ A dream kitchen

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House Beautiful magazine always has inspiring homes. Some of the interiors are so amazing and are just non-stop elegance. I have been waiting patiently for this kitchen to post on their website for about two weeks now.

I had to share it. It was in the April, 2017 issue of House Beautiful. This kitchen is so full of richly details and is just full of grace…..

photo credit Jennifer Hughes

This island was built from walnut, imbuia and anigre and is nearly 11 feet long.
It was inspired by English antiques. 



photo credit Jennifer Hughes
The industrial-style faucet which is modeled on fixtures found in the turn-of-the 20th-century boiler rooms. The sink is called a fluted-front sink from Rohl Shaw’s. 




photo credit Jennifer Hughes 
The clients asked from ladylike cabinets with soft lines and Anuzkiewicz (the designer) sketched out a design for beveled, leaded -glass inserts with lots of fluidity. 




photo credit Jennifer Hughes
Hidden appliances in the island. 





photo credit Jennifer Hughes
Love the antique mirror panels. Oh and the blue and white ginger jars!
So wonderful!!!





photo credit Jennifer Hughes
The butler’s pantry is exquisite. It has an antiqued mirror back-splash and a wall-mount brass faucet.






photo credit Jennifer Hughes 
This kitchen is a dream. I loved that the designer balanced the island with the twin pair of Chantilly chandeliers. They are truly show stoppers! 




I do hope that you enjoyed this kitchen tour and find wonderful inspiration from it. To read the original article see here. 

(photos via House Beautiful, description from Kathleen Renda)














My Charging Station

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Okay, we all have “tech junk”. I mean lots and lots of “tech junk”. We don’t need half of it really but we do own some much of it and it needs to be managed.

So once my husband painted our bookshelf (that he purchased from Borders bookstore before they closed, really neat!) I was able to use my sofa table that we had in our room as a charging station for all of my tech items.

Okay, here is my table. I have photos of my two grandmothers who are no longer with us. I miss them both terribly! I have a vintage glass holder. I found it at a thrift store last year and could not pass it up and I have this faux flower arrangement that I picked up at T.J. Maxx a few months ago. 
Here is my tech tray. It’s a gold tray that I picked up at Marshal’s two years ago. I have my Coach tablet case, 2 Amazon Kindles (first generation), 2 Samsung Tablets, Mp3 player, earplugs, and chargers. 
I also have my pens and my favorite candle right now. It is called Sunlit Garden from Bath and Body Works. 
Here is a view of the entire table. It love it because everything is there and I don’t have to wonder where my chargers are or have them plugged up all over the house. I still love my candlestick holders that I picked up in North Carolina last year while visiting the Biltmore! Such a great trip!
I hope you enjoyed this post and perhaps it inspires you to create your very own charging station!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Inspiring Calendars

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Has anyone ever read Martha Stewart’s magazine and seen in the beginning the “Martha’s Month”? I mean it is incredible! I know that she has people assisting her with all of these duties but still it is quite inspiring to me that she keeps up with all of her duties and home this way.

I just love it….


This is a photo that I took from April’s issue of Martha Stewart. I was in awe of her daily reminders and chores. I mean “wash and store heavy sweaters on April 8. On April 21 she will be cleaning and organizing her pantry. On the 25th she will be washing her baseboards. 


As I said, I know that she has someone helping her but still this is so inspiring to me. For me I don’t think, “Oh my gosh, I could not do all of this”. “I am not Martha Stewart”. But here is the reality, I am not Martha Stewart. I am Mrs. Shockley and will live my life according to what works for me and my family.


But seeing this does inspire me to add more to my calendar and to be more organized. Each year there are things that I put on my schedule. For me it’s washing my windows, cleaning my carpets, planting more flowers around our home. 

photo credit Mrs. Shockley 

My “honey-do” list for my husband is pretty long to. He has to stain the fence, paint our master bedroom, bathroom and our daughter’s room and help me plant my roses bushes in the back. I am hoping we can get it all done this year. 


But I just wanted to share Martha’s calendar. I just believe that it is a great inspiration for all of us and we should take some of her tips and ideas and use them for ourselves.


Oh, she also had horseback riding scheduled for the 29th of this month…..


Oh, I wish I could add this to my list. I may have to look into that…..


Floral Sunglass Case

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I shared recently about what I carry in my handbag. I wanted to share the floral sunglass case that I picked up from H & M.

H & M Sunglass Case
This case is so pretty in person. I showed it to a co-worker and she was just mesmerized by it! It is quite lovely and reasonable. They are only $10! It has a hard case on the inside to protect your glasses. And the shiny gold clasp just adds a bit of glamour to it. 
They also have it in black, leopard, and pineapple. Click on the link above to purchase one. 
Enjoy!
(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

My Cupboard Update

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Oh, I am so excited to share this post with you all. My mother-in-law gave me this cupboard 8 years ago. She had it for 20 years and her friend (whom she purchased it from) had it much longer than that.

So our guess is it’s about 30 years old. At first I thought about getting rid of it. But then I stared at it for a moment and began to use my imagination. I imagined it in a different color with new knobs.

Once I did that I was hooked and wanted to keep it. The only factor was getting my husband to paint it and replace the knobs.

He finally did it this past weekend and it looks great!

We painted it black and bought crystal knobs for it. It looks wonderful and we both love it!
My husband got a new light bulb for it and turned it on. It looks great!
I love the vintage glass. My brother in law asked if we were going to change the glass and I said no way! I want to keep as much of the authentic pieces to this cupboard as possible.  I just love my blue and white ginger jars. Looks like I may have to find some more!
I think the crystal knobs add a nice touch to the cupboard. I picked them out at Lowe’s. They were pretty reasonable. 
This is what it looked like before. This photo was taken in our first home in 2010. It was our daughter’s 5th birthday party. My mother in law had just given it to me. 
Here is another photo of the cupboard. It is a great piece with good bones and I am glad that I kept it. Plus it will be nice to share the story behind it. I can pass it down to my daughter and she will know that this came from her grandmother and hopefully pass it down to my grand-daughter who will know that it came from her great grandmother. I love the idea of passing down family heirlooms and I look forward to passing down this beauty.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

What’s in my Bag?

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I decided to post a “What’s in my Bag” entry. I thought this would be fun. I love watching these on Youtube. I thought about doing videos but I am not quite sure yet. Having a blog helps me to keep some of my mystery. So without further adu, let’s share what Mrs. Shockley carries with her on a regular basis….

Well, first things first, I carry a Louis Vuitton “Neverfull” tote. My tote is in the GM size and these are huge! I purchased it last year from Von Maur. They sell Louis Vuitton bags. All of their bags are half price because they are used. This tote is a 2007 edition so it is already considered vintage. 
It looked practically brand new when I got it. The purse consultant said that some of these bags were used in photo shoots and that since they were used for shoots they could not sell them full price. So win, win for people like me!
Here is the inside of my bag. I carry very little. I hate having junk in my bag. I clean them on a regular basis. If you would like to see how I clean my bags you can read about it here.
Here is my cosmetic bag. It is pink blush and it is from Anne Klein. I love it because everything fits inside. I have 3 lipsticks, 4 lip balms, my shimmer bronzer, rose blush eye shadow, my Anastasia eye brow filler and brush, and glue for my eyelashes. 
The second thing that I carry is my Kate Spade wallet. I discussed this wallet in a blog post a few months ago. You can read about it here.
The next items are my Philosophy case with my small hair brush, lemon hand cream, spray hand sanitizer and feminine spray. I love the hand sanitizer for those moments when you can to get rid of germs quickly and you don’t have a towel or sink around. I love the feminine spray for those horrid summer days and you need to feel fresh in “certain” areas. 
Next, our my Gucci sunglasses. I wear them on a regular basis, even in the winter. It has a Gucci case to go with it but I hate the darn thing! It’s awkward and doesn’t fit well in most places so I picked up this case at H & M. I think it is very chic. 
I always keep some sort of fragrance in my purse. Right now I have these two. One is Amazing Grace from Philosophy and the other is Philosophy also but it is called Violet Blossom. The only place you can find it is on Ebay. Both are wonderful! 
And last but certainly not least is my pashmina or scarf. I carry these every where I go. I keep two in the car and one at work, I just love them! They are great for covering yourself in cold restaurants, cars, theaters, wherever you are at that moment. 
Well, I hope you enjoyed this post! It’s a tiny little peek inside my world. I do hope that some of you will share your favorite purse items as well. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Cocktail Rings

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This weekend my daughter and I stopped in one of our consignment stores called Style Encore. I picked out a few things and then we headed to the counter. My daughter found this great cocktail ring by Susan Graver for only $9!

I love it! It is so chic. I managed to find it on QVC but it is only available in green and I actually like it. There is a video available to watch also.
Susan Graver Cabochon Cocktail Ring

I have other cocktail rings as well….

This is my Juicy Couture ring that I found at T.J. Maxx some years ago. They had it in purple too. I think I should have gotten the purple instead. What are your thoughts?
I think I purchased this ring at New York and Company some years back. It is really understated and very comfortable. 
And last and certainly least is this ring. I don’t remember where I got it or why. It is okay. I am just being honest. I will probably never wear the darn thing but oh well. Live and learn. I will be keeping my eye out for more vintage rings to replace some of these. If you have any cocktail rings, please share where you got them from and what they look like.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)