Home Tour with Alex Papachristidis

/in , /by

I didn’t know much about Alex Papchristidis but after I saw his home tour I wanted to know more! Oh my goodness his home is gorgeous! I now follow him on Instagram and I am learning more about his book The Age of Elegance. Amazon will let you “look inside” for a sneak peek. It is gorgeous! Enjoy the home tour and check out his page. Enjoy!!


(photo via Alex’s Instagram page)

( photographer Tria Giovan)
Alex’s book. I will be getting a copy!
To watch this on your mobile click here.
(video via Quintessence)

Elevator Etiquette

/in , /by

Okay, elevator etiquette is something that I consider to be very important. I work in a skyscraper so I ride an elevator a lot! I always make sure I hold the door open if I see someone coming and I always so hello to the person getting on. I noticed that now with these smartphones no one wants to talk to anyone.

It’s rather annoying. Everyone grabs their phone to distract themselves until they get off. What’s wrong with talking to people? I like getting on the elevator after dealing with the rude individuals on the road and talking to someone about fashion or decor or just life. It’s like a breath of fresh air when someone talks to me on the elevator. I understand that as a safety measure you can’t always talk to some people but most of the time we know who we can and who we can’t.

Below is a list of rules for elevator etiquette. I saw this on Town and Country and really enjoyed it. Also, watch the video below from author Jennifer L. Scott about etiquette and if you missed my blog entry about other places to be elegant see here  and here . Enjoy!!!

1. Ladies First


2. Zip the Lip (Elevator rides are not meant for cell phone conversations)


3. Move to the back (Move to the back so that everyone can file in an orderly fashion) 


4. Le snack (Don’t eat your lunch on the elevator) 


5. Remember there is a camera


6. “Can you hold the door please?”


7. The Exit Strategy (In the back of an elevator and your stop is next? No problem, simply say, “Pardon me, this is my floor”.)


8. Plain old pleasant (Use the following pleasantries, “Good Morning”and  “Have a great day”. Kindness always makes the world a better place.) 


Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash
To watch this on your mobile click here.
(video via Daily Connoisseur) 

Always Use Your Best

/4 Comments/in , /by

I am a firm believer in always using the best you have. I always use my best dishes, glasses and other dinnerware. I always use my linen napkins every time we eat dinner.

I use my best vases for flower arrangements. I wear my best shoes on the weekends. I wear my scarves and jewelry on the weekends also! I don’t see any point in “saving” things for special occasions. Honestly, you never know if those occasions will come. So use your best and wear your best always.

People, places and things are here to enjoy so enjoy them. Attached are two of my favorite YouTube videos from the The Daily Connoisseur.  I love how Jennifer is a connoisseur of daily living.  Lastly, if you missed my blog entry on wearing your best in the evening see here. Watch the videos and enjoy!

My top from J Crew and real pearl necklace. 
Now most people would save this for the holidays.
Well, I didn’t. I like to wear nice things now. 

My blue and white dinnerware. I use it almost everyday for dinner or breakfast.


My glasses I use everyday. My step-sons use them also. 



I like to use nice platters when having dinner also. I found this at the Goodwill.
See my blog entry here about Goodwill shopping. 


To watch “Always Use Your Best” on your mobile click here.
To watch “Portion Control Tip Use China” click here.

(all photos via Mrs. Shockley, videos via the Daily Connoisseur)

Printable Place Cards

/in , /by

I love decorating a table for dinner. I always try to keep it simple so when I read the blog entry for printable place cards from the  Ballard Designs Blog I knew this would be a big hit!



They provide these easy place cards that you can just print out and write on them! The designs are so perfect and it so easy. I definitely will be using these for the holidays. See some great examples below. Enjoy!!


Photo by Thomas AE on Unsplash


This is a great simple example!
(my photo)
This is one of the printable place cards from the Ballard Designs blog. 

Photo by BRUNO EMMANUELLE on Unsplash
And I just had to add this gorgeous table! 
Just stunning….

My Store Tours

/in , /by

I love shopping but then again what woman doesn’t! It’s that time of year where everyone is going to be out and about getting those Christmas lists complete. I have written about a few of my favorite stores on my blog. Below are some of my stores visits. Take a peek at what some of the stores have to offer.

My Store Tours:

(photo via Inslee by Design)

Flowers by Carolyne Roehm

/in , /by

I love flowers which is not a shocker to anyone who has been reading my blog! But when I stumbled on former fashion designer Carolyne Roehm my love for flowers was taken to a different level.

Carolyne is a wonderful interior designer also! I love her home and the sense of carefree elegance that she has.  I can’t wait to get a copy of her newest book “Flowers”. Below are some photos and two videos. The first one is a video of Carolyne doing some flower arranging in her home and the second video is of her flower shopping with Susanna Salk.

I love both videos and watch them over and over. Enjoy!!


Photo credit: Carolyne Roehm

Photo credit: Carolyne Roehm 

Click here to watch it on your mobile.




And to watch “Stylish Shopping with Susanna Salk and Carolyne Roehm” click here.
(all photos via Google and videos via Youtube)

Vintage Rose ~ A Teacup Boutique

/in , /by

Now this is my kinda of store. For those of you who read my blog you can see that I am a big fan of china! I especially love teacups! I don’t know why but I do and Vintage Rose has a lot of them!

This little store is also located in Brown County, Indiana. It’s a sweet little boutique that sells hand-painted vintage pieces, vintage jewelry, hats and furniture. I saw about 20 teacups that I wanted! This year I noticed something new. They now sell bottles of room sprays. They smell so good! I purchased 2 of them and a pair of vintage earrings.

The prices are really reasonable. I only paid $10 for my vintage earrings and about $9 for the room sprays. The lady who runs it was so pleasant. Oh my gosh, she was a sweetheart! If you visit Brown County please make sure you stop by and see Vintage Rose. See my photos below. Enjoy!!!

The outside of the shop

Some of the china

Vintage dollies 

They sell artwork

Some of the vintage jewelry
Here are the room sprays. This is the scent called Roses.
It smells just like fresh cut roses. 

This is called Magnolia. It was lovely. 

Blushing Tulips, oh this was one of my favorites. 
But my husband didn’t care for it too much. 
This is what I purchased from the store. 
A bottle of pomegranate and roses room spray & a pair of green vintage earrings.
Once we left Vintage Rose we went to my favorite sweet’s store.
I believe it is called “Caramel Corn”. 

They sell the best flavored popcorn and caramel covered anything here!
Here they have caramel covered marshmallows and caramel coated bacon!

Here is my favorite treat to get here every year! The granny smith caramel apple!
Oh so good!
Thanks for reading!
(all photos via Mrs. Shockley)