The Inspiring Design Panel

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Hello Friends,

What a busy few days I have ahead of me. I am now trying to get caught up with “life” since they have re-opened the government. I am now working on my Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas list. For the past few days, I have really been into home design, comfort and beauty. My home is completely decorated for the holidays, and I will be sure to share that later but for now I did want to share a recent video that posted to YouTube.

The video is called Conversations on Design. 

 

Photo via Charlotte Moss.com 

 

 

This video was an absolute joy to watch, and I so enjoyed the conversations. I wish I could have attended this in person! This was a special event spearheaded by Charlotte Moss celebrating creativity, community, and the future of interior design. This inspiring program benefits the Interior Design Scholarship at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUarts), supporting the next generation of designers, creators, and innovators. The program features leading voices in the world of design:

If you love design, then you will LOVE this video! I will be taking next week off from the blog to spend Thanksgiving with my family but will return the following week with my November favorites. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

  • Some text via YouTube. This post is not sponsored.  
  • Shop my favorites page for any gift or ornament ideas! Or go to my ShopMy page for more higher end purchases. 

Flower Magazine Show House~ 2025

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Hello Everyone,

I have started my Christmas decorating in my home. I took some days this week to get my trees up and get everything decorated. It feels good to have that long list behind me. I am also in this small task/details/ tedious work in my home mood. What I mean by that is I am going into various rooms in my home and re-organizing, and cleaning small areas. Recently, I went into my kitchen cabinet under my sink and re-organized it. I am picking apart my closet again. I will be going thru my home office and moving it around. I need to clean out my phone gallery and get my digital photos organized. There are just a lot of small projects around the house that I want to do. 

I also need to go through everything in my downtown office before we move. I can’t wait to take everything out, throw stuff out, and move my new furniture and items into my new space. Like I said I want to be a better curator. 

I just want beautiful spaces wherever I live. Speaking of new spaces, we now have our new show house for the upcoming year. I also just found out about the Flower Magazine Show House! Oh, my goodness, if I would have known about it earlier, I may have planned a trip to go and see it. There are so many show houses going on in the country. I really need to get a list going and get dates on my calendar but for now here is the Flower Magazine Show House. It is gorgeous! 

 

watercolor illustration of the Flower magazine 2025 showhouse front facade in Nashville Tennessee

Illustration by Adrienne Retief

 

 

Look at this spectacular home! This is a 6-bedroom, 11 bath home was built in 1999. It is a total of 20,000 square feet and was built by architectural firm Pfeffer Torode. This show house was open from October 9 to October 26. There were 23 designers and 9 floral designers. Some of the big names that I recognized was Mark D. Sikes, Corey Damen Jenkins, and Meg Braff. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

First up for me was this beautiful bedroom decorated by Alexandra Norwood Interiors. This is absolute heaven. I love the fabrics, and simple elegance of the room. I would have loved to have seen the green light fixture. You should visit her website. She has lovely taste. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

Next up is the fantastic Corey Damon Jenkins. I recently fell in love with Corey’s work while watching the Kips Bay Show House in New York. He decorated the dining room and oh my goodness! It was spectacular and wonderfully layered. Corey decorated the study in this show house. I am loving the blues, greens and creams. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by A. Moreno 

 

When I saw the wallpaper in this room, I immediately took a screenshot. I am toying around with ideas for my walk-in closet and adding wallpaper is one of them. This room was designed by Duval Design. Again, another design firm that has the gift of layering. I loved this little corner of the bedroom with the vanity/desk, chair and dreamy wallpaper. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Shanna Masters 

 

This room felt like a secret garden. This was the guest suite in the show house designed by Kim Scodro.  Again, the wallpaper! I am in love with it along with the substantial furniture pieces. This room also has wonderful light and French doors. What a guest room! 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

The last room is the mud room designed by Parkes & Lamb Interiors. Now this would be a dream room to have. I love the flowers and fabrics. It would be a great space to house all of my coats, scarves, and other outerwear accessories. I love the idea of having fresh flowers in a mud room. Now what a great welcome would that be to come home to? I hope you all enjoyed this house tour. I am loving home tours lately and looking for inspiration in my home that I can incorporate. Let me know in the comments below if you have visited a show house in your city! 

 

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The Dream Secretary

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Good Morning Friends,

Oh I am so happy to have the hour back. It means a lot in the mornings and really does help with getting things done throughout the day. This past weekend was nice. I did my usual errand runs and did a few things around the home. 

But friends I will be honest, this past month has been really frustrating especially these last two weeks. As a federal worker, I will say that it is hard. Lots of people think that we are sitting at home still collecting a paycheck but what people don’t understand is that we really are not. This week could be the second paycheck that we miss, and I tell you it is hard on families. I shared this back in 2019 (Living During a Shutdown), and I am still living this way but with a lot of frustration. 

I am still praying for clarity, peace, and understanding. Now onto my glorious FBMP find!

 

 

I still cannot believe that I actually purchased my dream secretary. I mentioned that I wanted this desk back in 2020. It is so funny how sometimes you can mention something, share it, post it, or put it on your vision board and watch it come into fruition. I must admit sometimes it is a bit scary. I shared this office in a blog post in 2019, so this desk has been on my mind for a long time. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

Now how did I found this beautiful piece you may ask? Well my one of our interior designers from the show house, Blake Richardson, sent me the FBMP post. I told him that I was on the hunt for one and he mentioned that he saw this piece on marketplace. I looked at it and immediately fell in love the only problem was it looked humongous on marketplace! I went home and pulled out my measuring tape and measured it out. Then I reached out to the seller to get more info. I spoke with my husband, and he said that it would just be too big. I then convinced myself that it would be too be for my space and tried to let it go. But I could not. I mean do you see the details of this beautiful thing! 

 

 

So a week goes by and it does not sell on FBMP. I cannot shake it. I kept thinking about it and you know what the price was? Only $330! Unbelievable! The cheapest I could find one was on Charish for $1,400 so I was completely aware that this was cheap, and I needed to see it in person. So I reached out to the seller to make arrangements to see it. Once I walked up to her door I knew. She was a beautiful older lady with fantastic taste. As soon as I stepped inside the house, I looked to my left and saw more Asian inspired furniture and the biggest smile on her face. It was as if she knew. One thing she did mentioned when I messaged her was that “only certain people can appreciate a piece like this”. I knew that that person was me. 

We sat and talked for over an hour! We talked about work, and beautiful homes. It was like she was my long-lost friend. The connection was truly incredible! 

 

 

She told me that this piece was over 40 years old and was purchased from an estate sale. She believed that it was originally from Spain but could not recall. I told her that it was beautiful and could not believe that she was selling it! She said that her and her husband were downsizing and that it would not fit in her new home. I then asked about the price of $330. She said that it was her favorite number. Look at all of the beautiful storage. I told her and her sweet husband that it was going to be placed in my new office in February downtown and that I promise to take care of it for the next 40 years. 

I am so happy to have this piece in my life. This was truly a surprise, and I am very grateful to God for having Blake send me the listing and for letting me have a wonderful encounter with Mrs. Ragland! Have a great weekend! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October Favorites ~ 2025

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Good Morning Friends,

Ohhh, my girlfriends and I were going to have tea at the Inn at Irwin Gardens, and it got cancelled! It was not our fault, but they did not have enough ticket sales. I am so sad but we are now going to their Christmas tea event in early December so that is something to look forward to.

I can’t believe it is the end of October already. I just got mums last week and they are looking so good. I have stopped buying mums so early because it is still warm here in October, so I now wait until end of the month to get mums and pumpkins. So far it is working out! 

The Indiana Conference for Women was so much fun this year. I was not expecting to meet Tina Knowles and get my book signed! Oh my gosh. I shared photos of it on my Instagram page. There are so many things that I love about being on staff for the conference. The perks far out weight the work that is for sure! 

Now onto to my favorites for October!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First on my list is my new Ralph Lauren coffee cup and saucer. I have been wanting one of these for a while now and my husband and I went to the outlet mall in Cincinnati, and their Ralph Lauren store had a few sets in stock! So I was able to see it in person. As of right now they are in stock online so if you want a set get it now! 

Second is my Mahjong practice area. I set this up a few weeks ago so that I could practice Mahjong. I will be attending my second class (Mahjong 102) this week and I am looking forward to it. So far I have two women who are wanting to play with me. I only need ONE more person to start my very own Mahj squad! I want to have game nights at least once a month of everyone other month. We will see! 

 

 

 

My vintage Louis Vuitton, of course, is on my list! I have had it a few weeks and I do adore it. I share the details about it on my YouTube channel. It is from the 1986 collection and does not have a lot of damage. The condition of the bag is extraordinarily good! I still can’t believe that I found a version in good shape. I am so grateful and happy! 

 

 

Next up are these hanging closet sachets. I decided to try the jasmine scent and oh my goodness! I do love them! They smell so good and are such a treat when I walk into my closet. I think they are such an elegant luxury and don’t cost much. I also have one in my car. You should try them. They are quite lovely. 

I know, I know. It is autumn and here I am sharing some white shoes. I saw these in Nordstrom recently and I do want to get more flats into my wardrobe. They are on sale for only $46 and I could not resist. They will be perfect for the upcoming spring/summer season. 

 

 

I could not pass up sharing my new secretary desk! I will go into more detail in another blog post because I think this deserves its own post. But I am so happy with her. 

 

 

And my last items are my blue light blocking nerd glasses from Amazon. These are so good! I saw Lydia Millen wearing them and decided to give them a try. I am thinking about ordering another pair to have my prescription lenses put into. The frame is great! Now how cute are these brooches from Chico’s! I had to get the Winter Lady Brooch. Isn’t she fancy? Then I could not get the bumble bee ornament. Now I don’t intend on using this as an ornament but a purse charm. 

I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for the month of October. This was a great month for finds. Especially my new secretary which I will be sharing on the blog here soon. Keep in mind there are only 2 Lux Cardigan Brooches left. These sold like crazy earlier this month. I think everyone is getting their accessories ready for fall. 

I wanted to give a big thank you to Katie from The Modern Classic Life Blog! She recently shared my September favorites on her recent blog post. I loved her The Tenets of Luxury Lifestyle Blog post! You all should read it. It is exactly what we believe here on my blog. 

Have a great week and Happy Halloween!

 

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My First Hydro-Facial

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Whew, another short week for me. I am loving these! Actually, this week has been hectic so far. The Indiana Conference for Women is happening this week, and I am on staff! We have some great speakers like Hoda Kotb and Tina Knowles! It should be really exciting, and I am looking forward to it. 

I am still on my self-care exploring journey and in today’s post I want to share my first hydro-facial that I got a few weeks ago. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

When I walked into Restore Skin Therapy I was greeted by the lovely receptionist and the staff. They had soft music playing and made sure that I was comfortable. They had lots of their own products. I loved their lip balm and their Renew Immune Serum. I have been using both while at home. After I spoke with Erin, I got all comfortable for my hydro-facial. She warmed the bed for me and explained the process of how it worked. 

 

 

It was so relaxing. The first thing that she did was massage my face and shoulders which was so needed. She then prepared my face for the machine. I will say I loved seeing it at work sucking all of the dirt out of my face and pores. The mask felt like heaven so did the aromatherapy oils that I smelled. We talked about my skin, skin tags, moisturizing routines, and hormones. 

Here is the four-step process that I went through:

HYDRO-FACIAL: A FOUR STEP PROCESS

  1. Cleanse – A deep cleanse with product formulated to each client’s skin.

  2. Exfoliation – The Hydro-Facial uncovers a new layer of skin with gentle exfoliation and relaxing resurfacing. The enzyme removes dead skin cells to reveal healthy skin.

  3. Extraction – The wand cleans out pores with painless vacuum suction. Blackheads, whiteheads, and impurities are removed instantly.

  4. Hydrate/infuse/protect – The Hydro-Facial saturates the skin with antioxidants and peptides to maximize your glow. Targeted skin solutions are delivered to address specific skin concerns. The skin is washed with a solution rich in antioxidants and highly moisturizing hyaluronic acid.

 

You can surely see my hydro-facial glow in my photo above. That was right after my session. 

 

 

This was the day after. I was still glowing! I did not have on any makeup, just lipstick. It felt as if my face had a reset. It certainly needed. I would highly recommend getting one if you can. If not I did find some great at home tools that you could use. The BeautyBio GLOfacial tool was highly recommended. This serum came recommended for the BeautyBio. There is also the blackhead remover, and the facial pore blackhead remover. I also found this face steamer. Oh, my I think I may have to order it. 

Let me know in the comments below if you have every had a professional hydro-facial. I would love to know!

 

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Becoming A Better Life Curator

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Good Morning Friends,

It is the middle of October already! I have printed off my Christmas shopping list and started thinking about my Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and decor. It just seems to be creeping up on us! Last week I had a fantastic hydro-facial at Restore Skin Therapy. I will be sure to share that next week. Now let’s discuss my topic… becoming a better life curator.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have been thinking about this phrase for a while, and it popped in my head while driving to work one day. I was thinking about how I wanted to live. How I wanted my home to be, how I wanted to travel, where I wanted to travel, what I want to wear, and how I want to spend my time. I said the words “curate” and then it just came to me. How do I better curate my life? 

 

My new Asian Chinoiserie secretary desk from FBMP

 

To curate means to select, organize, and look after the items in a collection or exhibition. I know recently (maybe in the last year), I have been trying to get better at selecting. When I am out shopping, no matter the price, if it is not a heck yes when I see it then I don’t buy it. My husband and I just went to the Cincinnati outlet mall, and we were in the Ralph Lauren store. He kept picking up things and I just looked at him and said, “is that a heck yes”? He got a little frustrated with me at one point, but I really wanted him to think. I did the same thing looking at a sweater that they had and necklace. I ended up buying only ONE thing in the whole outlet because I was asking myself that question. I want to do better at selecting when I shop. The first step to being a better curator.

Next up is organize. I have set my sights back on my closet. In July, I shared that I had a consultant come from California Closets to give me a closet design. I still love this design and want to do it but for now I have other home projects on my list. That does not mean that my current closet needs to stay the way it is, so I have another option in mind that I want to try. I will update you all of course. 

Third is to look after items in a collection. The photo above is a recently FBMP purchase. One of our interior designers, Blake Richardson, sent the link to me after I told him that I was on the hunt for an Asian Chinoiserie secretary. This desk is literally a dream desk for me. I spoke with my husband about it and looked at the measures. I thought it might be too big for my new office but four days later I could not stop thinking about it. That’s when I knew that this piece was for me and I only had a limited amount of time to get it. So I reached out to the seller. Turns out it’s over 40 years old; she and her husband traveled a lot and believe that it is from Spain. I told her that I would take care of it the next 40 years. I intend to look after this item. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I believe that being a curator of your life includes everything. It includes what you read and watch to what you eat. All things need to be carefully curated. It goes along with “building your life team”, to seeking life seasons, to etiquette, and past choices. I am currently trying to curate my vacation for next year. I want to go back to New York and have Lily of the Valley Afternoon Tea at the Lowell Hotel! I would like to see the Belizaire painting which is currently housed at the MET in New York and dine at La Mercerie. Of course, the Ralph Lauren store and an antique store are on the radar. But I am carefully curating it. We will see what we do. 

I know this living with beautiful things is a risk that I take daily. I risk it being stolen, broken, or lost. But I would have rather had it then not at all. And I truly believe that. Let me know your thoughts below. 

Have a great week!

 

 

 

Brow Lamination

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Good Morning Friends,

Still warm where you are? It is here, goodness! I am so ready for cooler temps. This past weekend Lauren came home for fall break. She only gets two extra days. She wanted to go to Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati, so we took her. There were a lot of people and a lot of things to look at! Oh my goodness! I really wanted to get some seasonings, and we picked up a few. Overall, it was a great experience. Lauren loved it and it was a great way for me to hit the outlet mall. I must say, I am not sure if outlet malls are for me anymore. I can’t find much there anymore. I look for specific things now and my taste must be too old fashion. Oh well…. 

I am still having my self-care appointments despite the shutdown. I shared on my blog a while back how I try to live during these times. It is always hard, but I try to wait and trust in the Lord. The good thing about my upcoming appointments is that most were birthday presents so they are already paid for! A few weeks ago, I did go and have my very first brow lamination appointment. 

 

 

These are photos of my eyebrows before. They have been thinning out for years now because I used to shape them with a brow razor. I have been trying to slow down to allow growth, but I think I may need a little assistance. Plus, I am tired of filling in my eyebrows every morning. As you can see in the photos, they are very light, and I don’t have very long eyelashes either. 

I started my hunt a few months ago and found Meraki Artistry.  She has so many brow services. I was thinking about getting the nano brows but was not ready to make a commitment so soon. I reached out to her, and she was so nice and so knowledgeable. She is also a nurse! She explained the process and payment options. 

 

 

But then I spotted the brow lamination service, and she explained how this will give you the nano brow look without it being permanent and a little more affordable. It gives you the opportunity to see how they would look if you wanted to go permanent. Above are my eyebrows after the treatment! WOW!

 

 

Honestly, they don’t even look the same. I have had them for about 3 weeks, and I still love them. Now Char puts a perm-like coating on your eyebrows. This trains them to lay down and brush in the direction that you want. I could not wash my eyebrows for 2 days but that is okay. For upkeep, I have a few small eyebrow brushes, and I lightly brush them with organic castor oil. Castor oil has been known for helping with eyebrow and eyelash growth. 

I will be going back in November for a second treatment and will continue until I see the results that I am seeking. I am enjoying being in this pocket of life. I love trying new things (that are in my arena) and having time to explore. I will update you all in the future regarding my eyebrow and eyelash journey. 

Take care! 

 

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