Past Inspiring Posts

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Good Morning Everyone,

Well, the new large antique mall that I went and visited on Saturday was just okay. Don’t get me wrong it was huge, but the quality of the antiques was just not there for me. There were no substantial furniture pieces, no large cabinets, antique chairs, fabrics, drapery, and I mean the list goes on and on. I went to the vintage jewelry selection, and they had nothing but rings. I did see one piece of artwork but that I was it. I did purchase a Waterford vase and a Lenox vase but that was it. The quest continues. 

I do plan on visiting a new antique store this weekend. The seller that I purchased my vintage cabinet from will be returning from her vacation and she has a store front. I will be messaging her later this week to see if she will be open. 

In boutique news, I will say that things have been really slow, and I have been taking a small break from it. I am taking a step back to re-evaluate where I am with it and what will be the next step. I am looking into a few things. My goal is to find my own manufacturer to work with. I do want to create my very own pieces for my store so we will see what the Lord leads me to. I am also having issues with my PayPal plugin. I have reached out to my web support team to try to get that fixed. Sorry if you have tried to purchase something and could not. Please know that most of the items are on my Poshmark page. I will be moving more of the dresses on there until we can get this problem fixed and you are more than welcome to make an offer! 

The Equestrian scarves are only $10 on my website but if you got to my Poshmark page and make an offer for $10 I will accept it! I only have 3 left! 

In today’s post I wanted to share past inspiring posts. There are a few posts that I myself keep going back to and sometimes I am a bit surprised that I share certain things. 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

It’s funny how you can look back on something that you may have written and you can pinpoint exactly where you were in that moment. In my blog post A Time to Focus, I was at a point in my life where I was working from home and taking a step back to think about my career. Now reading it I am so glad that I was able to put things in perspective. 

 

 

Another great post and reminder is Be Someone of Quality. I shared this post in 2105. I can’t believe this was 8 years ago but still relevant to today. 

Becoming a First Lady in your Life was another popular and well received blog post. I loved sharing this and will enjoy reading it in the future. 

Beauty from Mom is another great post full of inspiration and hope. A few people reached out to me to let me know that they were in the same position as me and did not grow up with mom’s who cared about beautiful things. Whenever this post shows up I have to read it. 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

Needs some inspiration for making lists? Then elegant evaluating is a great post to remind you that getting things in order can be done slowly. I find myself doing this often. 

Enjoy certain things in your life then Things I Savor in Life is a great post to read. This is the updated version that I wrote in 2021. If I am still blogging in a few years then I may have to do another update! It will be interesting to see where I am in another 10 years. 

This post just popped into my mind. A Paris All Your Own, was such a fun short story to read. I hope you enjoy it! I hope you all enjoyed this post. 

Simple Elegant Foods I Am Enjoying

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Good Morning All,

I am a little excited about this weekend. I found a new Antique Mall! I hope to visit it tomorrow while our daughter is away on her little trip with her brother! My husband and I also plan on having dinner at a new restaurant. It’s called Cooper’s Hawk and it’s also a winery. I, of course, already have my dinner entree picked out. It should be a good weekend!

Speaking of food, I wanted to share some food items that I have been enjoying for the past few weeks.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

For the last few weeks, I have been going to Trader Joes to buy different items. I feel like we have gotten into a bit of a food rut, and I wanted to get some different items for meals. I also love having some sort of pastry on the weekends to enjoy at home. I found these delicious apple blossoms deserts. They are so good! The apples are just sweet enough and the sprinkle of crunchy granola on top is just perfect. I add a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and it is absolute bliss to me!

 

 

My second delicious find are these bags of mushroom risotto and asparagus risotto. These were perfect side dishes to my weekly roasted chicken meals. All you do is pour it into your skillet, add some water, let it simmer and voilà! It is creamy, tasty and very flavorful. 

 

 

My fourth food find is not from Trader Joes but a recent new tea bag find. I am such a fan of Harney & Sons tea and this vanilla comoro was quite exceptional. This is a delicious vanilla black tea. It has the perfect balance of vanilla. It also had a very creamy texture to it. It’s delicious and I need to order another tin! 

 

 

The last new food favorite are these vegetable spring rolls from Trader Joes. These are so good! I simply place them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes and they come out so crispy and tender. I normally pair them with some steam rice and viola another easy and delicious meal.

It’s amazing how having these simple dishes can change up a weekly dinner night rut. I loved trying these new items and Trader Joes has some of the best prices that I have ever seen! I don’t have one near my home so I can only go every other weekend, but I love going and really like the staff. Oh, and one more new favorite of mine is their dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Oh my word! The staff let me try these for free and oh my word! So good!

I hope you enjoyed my new food finds. Let me know in the comments section below if you have tried any of these items. I would love to know.

July Favorites ~ 2023

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Good Morning Everyone!

I am on a mission this week to eat less sugar (food in general) and get into the bed on time. I felt awful this past weekend. I was so tired. I know it was because of my bad bedtime habits this past week and my bad eating habits for the last two weeks. I really need to get it together! 

I also have some fun news! I found my vintage cabinet that I will be using for my books. I have a photo of it down below but I have not moved it to its new spot in my office. I am waiting on my step-son to clear out his room next month. He will be taking most of his furniture to college so that will be exciting. 

Now let’s get into my favorites for July!

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First on my list is my English inspired floral pillow cover. I love it and have gotten so many compliments. It is the perfect and quintessential English inspired pillow cover. 

 

 

Second on my list is my matching English floral inspired napkins from Pottery Barn. I have enjoyed using these at meals. They are large and look lovely sitting on my lap. These are small things in life that make it lovely. 

 

 

My third favorite is my new Chanel-inspired travel luggage bag from Amazon. I could not resist ordering this! I saw it and watched a few videos on it and just had to give it a try. I knew that if it was really bad, I could send it back. Amazon had an awesome return policy. I have not used it yet. I may use it in September for our Atlanta trip. 

 

 

Fourth on my list is my garden. Now it’s very small but I love what little flowers I do have. This year’s hydrangeas turned out so well! I have cut a few and put them inside the house and taken them to work. They are so beautiful!

 

 

The fifth favorite are my beautiful, elegant blouses from Express. I love a blouse with sheer sleeves. It is the epitome of elegance to me and whenever I can find one under $50 then I must have it. They are so versatile and offer simply the best coverage and sophistication. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The sixth favorite is my new MME. Bentley tote with rose ribbon. I have been stalking this on the website since it launched and really wanted a beautiful straw bag. The bigger one that I have is not something that I could carry every day and the Bentley is. So glad that I ordered it! They come in smaller sizes. 

 

 

And last on my list is my (new to me) vintage china cabinet. A few of you know that I have been on the hunt for a vintage china cabinet with wood shelves so that I can use it as my new book library. I am so excited! I found it on FBMP of course and it is in incredible condition! There is hardly any damage. This was the fourth cabinet that I went to go see and this was the BEST looking one. It is from the 70’s and I can’t wait to clean it up and style it. I am waiting until August to move it to its new spot in my office. My step-son will be moving out of his room next month to attend college with Lauren! I will style it and show photos then. I may even record a YouTube video! I will let you all know soon! Also should I paint it? Let me know in the comments section below!

 

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A Beautiful Table Setting with Disposable Plates?

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Hello Everyone!

I just realized that some of the students here in my city will be heading back to school next week! I am so happy that it is not us this year! Lauren still has another month before we drop her off at the college campus! So happy! I will miss her but that school schedule that she had was for the birds! Way too early to go back to school!

Which also reminds me that my cousin and I are suppose to head down to the outlet mall here in my city tomorrow. It’s probably going to be crowded because of all of the back-to-school shopping! Oh boy….

In recent news, did any of you hear about Phyllis Hoffman Depiano’s recent passing? I can’t believe it! I was so sad. I love Victoria Magazine and was so happy to hear that she was the one that revived it!

This magazine has provided so much inspiration for all of us. I still have my very first copy of Victoria Magazine. I purchased it when I got my first apartment at age 19 in 2002. I hope that the work and inspiration that Phyllis inspired continues. 

I was on the website recently and saw this table setting…. 

photo credit: Victoria Magazine.com

 

Now isn’t this beautiful? I got so excited because I thought it was a real china set that they were now selling only to realize that it is a disposable table setting?!!! Isn’t that crazy? It looks so real! 

 

photo credit: Victoria Magazine

It’s called the Victoria Timeless Table setting and you can buy all of it on the website. There is a list of all of the pieces that come with it. I would love to have these, but I would use them for every day. Let me know in the comment section below what your thoughts are. Would you use these for everyday dining? Have a great weekend everyone! 

 

 

Style Tips for Elegant Women

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Good Morning!

Oh goodness, I am finding myself to be so “froggy” lately and honestly, I know what it is! It’s because we are normally on vacation this month and all of our vacation memories are coming up in our Facebook memories and it is not helping me! I need a change of scenery!

I just keeping telling myself “calm down September will be here soon”. I am so ready for our trip and for getting away. It is really going to be so different for us. We will have no kids, no dogs to worry about, and will be able to stay where we want! Oh goodness! I am really looking forward to it. 

I have been on the hunt for lots of ideas and new podcasts to inspire my daily life. I recently found Tonya Leigh on Youtube and then on Spotify. I loved her “elegant woman series” and had to share some of her tips on style with you all. 

 

 

The first commandment is elegant women wear what they love. That’s right, they just wear what they love. They don’t depend on the outside world to tell them what’s in style, what they should wear, what the season is telling them is appropriate or what’s acceptable.

The second commandment of elegant women is that they dress for their dreams. And this is where self-image comes into the picture. Because we can get so used to seeing ourselves in a certain way that we continue to choose clothing to reconfirm a certain image that we have of ourselves. (I love this commandment!)

The third style commandment of elegant women is to choose quality over quantity. Now, I know that those sales are tempting. And you’re thinking, “Why don’t I just get a bunch of these things right now because they’re 50% off?” But this is not how elegant women think. Elegant women are not about quantity. They are about quality. They don’t want to invest in things that fall apart after the first few wears. And I believe it is better to have one quality piece than 10 crappy ones. (But I do keep in mind that everyone has their own budget)

Style commandment number four of elegant women is a big one, and it’s one that I have to remind women of often in my programs. And that is, elegant women dress the body they have now.

How many of you are waiting until you lose the weight to invest in clothes that make you feel beautiful? It’s like putting yourself in purgatory. And it doesn’t work. And the reason why it doesn’t work is that you are reconfirming a self-image that is out of alignment with the version of you who has lost the weight.

 

 

Now, I get not wanting to go and buy really expensive things if you know that you’re going to lose the weight, in a year from now, chances are you won’t be wearing those things. But that doesn’t mean that you neglect the body that you have now.

I have been guilty of a few of these and especially the last one. I have held off buying clothes because of my size. I have always had issues with my weight. But I have never wanted it to stop me from being elegant.

I hope you all have enjoyed these tips. I am linking the rest of the style commandments here for you to read and enjoy. Until then have a great day! 

 

 

(style tips from author Tonya Leigh)

 

 

A Beauty Secret ~ Skin Tag Removal

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Good Morning!

I was recently antiquing, and I heard some of the owners of the store talking about estate sales. I went over and asked them how they found out about estate sales nearby. They then told me how they signed up for notifications on Facebook Marketplace. So I signed up a few weeks ago and got my first notification! There is an estate sale tomorrow morning, and I am thinking about swinging by. Wish me luck! 

Yes you read the title of this post correctly! I am talking about skin tag removal today! I know it’s a nasty subject, but I had a few that just drove me nuts and I tried so many things to get rid of them. The problem was my tags were too small for a lot of the solutions but they “stuck out” enough from my skin that they were irritating and were causing me pain.

I researched tons of products, creams, lotions, rubber band devices that I thought would work, but the reviews were just not good. It must have been a “God” moment because this ended up in my Google search and the reviews I could not ignore.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I ordered the Forces of Nature Organic Skin Tag Remover. I wanted something organic or as natural as I could get! This has numerous raving reviews and for the price I thought, why not try it! I am so glad that I did. It WORKED!

Now the bottle is very small but your tags don’t need much liquid on them. This came with a rollerball applicator, so it was easy to apply. I just rolled it on my tags at night and then went to sleep. The smell is okay but trust me you can deal with it. I noticed as the days went by the tags got harder and harder. Then the one under my pit fell off! Then the second one on my neck fell off! Both tags took about 3 weeks, but I didn’t care about the time. It worked. 

I had one on my inner thigh that was huge! I kept applying the liquid to it and it took closer to 2 months but one morning I noticed that it wasn’t irritating me as much and it began to dry up. Then the next day I noticed that it was gone! I was so happy to see that little guy gone! I had been dealing with that thing for almost 10 years. Enough was enough! So, if you have a skin tag that is driving you nuts, I would seriously consider ordering this. I don’t think you will regret it. I am not being paid to say this. I paid my own money and went through the process myself. Order it!

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

 

A Snippet from Teatime Discipleship

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Good Morning All,

I feel a little better. I was able to sleep in on Sunday. I decided to stay home and rest a little, do a few house chores, and try to get some things done. While I was vacuuming my bedroom and thought came into my head. “I am in a different stage in life. I no longer want to take my weekends and just clean my house. From now on, since we are not going to have children around, I will do daily house scans and just add whatever needs to be cleaned to my list.” After that thought passed thru my mind, I had a sense of peace come over me. 

It’s interesting…. being in this different stage of life. A new chapter is beginning for me, and I am trying to navigate it as best as I can. In the mornings I love having my devotional. I have been reading Teatime Discipleship and it helps me start the day with my mind in the right place. 

I loved Sally Clarkson, the author, tips on discouragement. She provided a wonderful list to keep in your mind. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

  • God is with me, and He will help me succeed.  Each of us experiences “winter” seasons in our lives- times when growth is stagnant, when our dreams appear to be dead and buried. But while we can hardly perceive at the time, roots are growing deep in these seasons.

 

  • There are always do-overs in God’s economy. All of us mess up. Peter blew it royally when he denied Christ at His hour of need, but before he even sinned, Jesus told Peter He had prayed for him. Jesus had compassion on Peter before His disciple had even committed his sinful act. 

 

  • A wise woman learns her limitations. Sometimes women go so long without taking a break that they start breaking down. Wise women learn to say no so they don’t live in a constant state of exhaustion. 

 

  • I can seek outside perspective. You might need some inspiration and counsel in order to move forward. Find someone older, wiser and more experienced to help you come up with a plan. Sometimes this is easier said than done! But I have found that when I summon the courage to pour out my heart to more mature believers, I usually find compassion and often find help. (When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your comfort delights my soul. ~ Psalm 94:19) 

 

  • I can pace myself. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the tasks ahead, ask yourself what’s stealing your peace of mind. Commit to identifying the stressors and drainers over which you have control and, as much as possible, eliminate them. Be honest about what needs to go and vigilant about removing it from your life. 

 

  • I can give the day to God. First things first! Beginning the day with the Lord will orient you. Set yourself on the right path for the hours head, with God’s truth and wisdom casting light over your priorities and plans. 

I hope you all enjoyed this snippet from Teatime Discipleship. This book also has great teatime recipes and ideas for fellowship with friends. Things have been so crazy in the world. I try to ground myself in the mornings as much as possible. 

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn. That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” ~ Proverbs 4:18

 

(tips from Sally Clarkson, Teatime Discipleship, pgs. 99-105)