Dress for Success ~ Volunteering as a Personal Shopper

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This past week was my orientation to volunteer to be a personal shopper for Dress for Success. Dress for Success is a non-profit organization that empowers women to get employment and keep it.

The program provides women with interview attire and other pieces of casual clothing for their work environment. There is also a career development services program that promotes employment retention and career advancement.

After our meeting we got a tour of the boutique and I was impressed….

This is inside the office. There is a piano that has hand craved artwork on it. The office manager said that sometimes women come and “ticker” on it. I know I will end up doing that.
This is artwork done by one of our local artist. It was presented during one of their fashion shows. 
This is inside the boutique. The clients will get everything. They get jewelry, hosiery, new bras, shoes and a bag!
I loved seeing this! This was done by California Closets. I look forward to serving women in my community as their personal shopper and I look forward to putting together some great looks!
I believe serving is elegant….


(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Friend’s Winter Wedding

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Earlier this month some good friends of ours shared their beautiful wedding with us. It was at the Community Life Center here in our city and it was gorgeous! I was so glad that we got to share this wonderful event with them and see this beautiful venue.

There were beautiful chandeliers everywhere….
During cocktail hour my husband and I had wine, a few snacks and just looked around.
There were about 3 or 4 of these gorgeous chandeliers. I could not stop staring and kept taking pictures of them!
There was a very pretty fountain in the center of the venue….
After drinks, dinner and dancing my husband and I were getting ready to head out when we were told about this gorgeous chandelier on the 3rd floor…
It was truly amazing. I could have stayed there all night looking at it. We really enjoyed ourselves and our friends. It was a great way to begin the holiday season.




(all photos via Mrs. Shockley)

The Nutcracker Ballet ~ Our Second Visit

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My daughter and I are trying to make going to the ballet to see The Nutcracker a yearly tradition. Last year was our first year and we really enjoyed it (read about it here).

This year the show was in a different location. It was at the Murat Theater which was much bigger than the Scottish Rite Cathedral last year.


This was a great location! They sold snacks which is wonderful when you have an 11-year-old. So we grabbed some drinks and our popcorn and went to our seats.


All the halls were long and huge!

This is how close we were to the stage. If the ballet is here next year then I am going to get us balcony seats! My daughter really wanted to see the orchestra.


While were in line my daughter and I started talking to some of the other guests and we ended up meeting a french woman! I was really excited! After the show was over we hunted her down because we both wanted to talk with her. 


We ended up finding her and I asked her questions about french living and where to visit in France. She told me everything. How it was wonderful to live in France and which parts to stay away from. She also told me about a program here in our city for high school students.


Apparently, there is a program that let’s high school students stay in France with a host family for 6 weeks! I will definitely be looking into that program for my daughter. 


I also checked the schedule and Swan Lake will be there in June. I will be getting tickets to that! I really enjoy the ballet and want to continue to go to shows with my daughter. 

Seek the arts……..

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Rituals ~ Do you have any?

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I was inspired to write this post after reading Shannon Ables blog post called Why Not…Establish Weekend Rituals?   


Are you a routine kind of person? Do you have rituals? I know I do and I get easily frustrated when someone tries to break it. I am learning that things happen and that sometimes you can’t control everything. It is during those moments that you learn to “go with the flow”.



























photo credit Alex Papachristidis Instagram account


I have some rituals that I do every day or every weekend and I make sure that I enjoy my weekly rituals.

1) During the week I stop by my favorite restaurant called Panera and pick up their pumpkin muffie for breakfast.


And oh my goodness is it soft and delicious!


2) I always make sure that the current books that I am reading are packed in my bags. 


Read my blog post here about this book.

I recently heard about this book from another author. 
So far it has been wonderful! I downloaded it to my Kindle. 




3) I have a cup of hot water, lemon, and honey along with my fruit fusion water every morning. See my blog post here about that.
My cup and china at home.

4) I cook our favorite meal which is roasted chicken about twice a week. We do love it!
Our meal at home.

5) I love to watch certain Youtube channels every morning while exercising. One channel I love to watch and follow is Sharon Santoni. I love this recent video she posted about the French cheeseboard. It was absolutely wonderful and if you watch it below pay attention to the beautiful decor of the home. The french live so beautifully to me….

6) Last and certainly not least is my daily devotionals. Yes, I am a Christian. Sorry I know that is not popular but I should be free to say that. I love to read my bible and other devotionals. My faith is very important and it keeps me in order. Trust me, I would not be searching so diligently for the “elegance” that I love so much without God. 
















photo credit Nicolas Fairford Instagram account

I hope you enjoyed this post and share some of your rituals. It is always interesting to see how other women live. 






Small Details Around the Home ~ Part 3

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Each year I try to share little details of my home life. These are just small photos of items around my home and how we live…..

My poinsettia in my sitting room

My Christmas plates

My table for Thanksgiving
Our kitchen. I love my chandelier!

My Ralph Lauren ginger jar that I found a T.J. Maxx.
Love….
My Christmas cactus in my office. It’s blooming!!!

Another view in my office. Yes, I have poinsettias every where. 



I hope you enjoyed the small details of my life. If you wish to see the other posts about this see here and here.
You can also read this post from last year, see here.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Gelato Cream

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Snow has finally hit Indiana and it is cold! So with that comes the dry skin problems. I am not sure where I saw this cream but the Clinique Gelato Cream is just heavenly.

This cream is so rich and soothing that I take it to work and bring it back home!

My jar at home
The fragrance that I picked was sugared petals. It has a light floral scent. Very subtle and luxurious. 
The other fragrances that they have are Clinique Happy and Berry Blush. All three are wonderful and lightly fragranced. I hope you are able to go to your local beauty store and give them a whiff. They are quite delightful. 


(photos via Mrs. Shockley )

Lovely Christmas Accessories

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Well it is after Black Friday and some of the good deals have vanished from the internet. Like this gorgeous necklace from Ann Taylor.


I was hoping to share it with everyone but it sold out the day mine shipped.  No fun…..

I did happen to pick up these pretty Christmas wreath inspired earrings from Ann Taylor. These are called the pearlized ribbon hoop earrings. Very chic! 




Here they are on the model and I got a lot of compliments on them. They are great for this holiday season. 


Other wonderful Christmas clothing items that I have found are….

This great skirt is from New York and Company. It is called the Mari Tie-Waist Skirt from the Eva Mendes collection. I also bought it in the maxi version, see here. I purchased it in black and pink. Love them both!!
Here it is in the pink maxi version. I wore it to a wedding this weekend. Just lovely…



The shoes are from Payless. I could not resist getting them. They are so comfortable. I know Payless is cheap but I have gotten great shoes from there. I purchased these in black and silver.

Fioni

I hope these pieces help and inspire you to look your best this holiday season. Remember #beeleganteveryday! 










(photos via Mrs. Shockley)