Why Should I Add Elegance to my Home?

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Good Morning,

It has been such a busy week. Today is our last day watching our neighbors greyhound and bearded dragon! It has been rough adding it to our daily schedules, but we have gotten through it. This weekend I am hoping to SLEEP in a little. 

Our summer vacation plans just took a different turn. Lauren will be going with her brother and some friends to an amusement park and has basically asked us not to come. I was a little sad by this but then I realized that Rick and I have NEVER taken a vacation together without our kids! So we are planning to visit the Swan House, have lunch at the Swan Coach House and do some shopping in Atlanta in September! I must admit I am a little excited by this. I will keep you all updated as we plan this trip!

In today’s post I wanted to talk about a recent podcast that I listened to called “How to Cultivate an Elegant Home in the 21st Century”. Author Shannon Ables shares tips from interior designer Timothy Corrigan and how he things elegance is much easier to add to your home than what you think. 

 

photo credit: L. Shockley 

Timothy says, “Elegance is not something that adds stress or difficulty to our lives — quite the contrary. True elegance . . . means confidence in who you are and what you love, grace in how you handle yourself, and openness to the best in others.”

Great quote, isn’t it?

 

 

This is my favorite quote of Timothy’s “Elegance adds immense pleasure to life. To seek elegance — in your behavior, in what you wear and surround yourself with —is a treat you give to yourself and, almost inadvertently, share with those around you.”

I can attest to this myself. Whenever people come to my office at work or my home there is always of sigh of pleasure when they come. They always enjoy something and ask where I got it. People yearn for elegance. They just don’t know that’s what the sigh is all about. 

I am linking Shannon’s blog post. She goes into more details about the book and tips from Timothy that I know you will enjoy. If you are on your way to work, then listen to the podcast. I have linked it above. Let me know what elegance you have added into your life. Have a wonderful weekend! 

 

A Beautiful Life Contains Small Things…

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Good Morning Everyone!

I hope everyone had a good holiday. Ours was a bit rocky. We have been having thunderstorm after thunderstorm. Some have been okay, but others have been difficult. We lost power on Sunday and then had hail!! It was awful. Luckily the power came back on after about 40 minutes, and it does not appear that we have hail damage on my husband’s truck. It’s been really awful!

We kept our holiday simple. I really did not want to do much. I just wanted to hang out at home and look at some things online. I think that I shared that recently how I am wanting an English aesthetic in my life. When I saw the recent Sarah Flint Gracie collection with the beautiful and breathtaking shoe bags this quote came into my mind, “Having a beautiful life is also in the accessories that you possess”. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

I have always loved the “small” beautiful things in my life but now that I am getting older, I want my small life items to be beautiful as well. I mean why not? The world has been such a crazy place recently and it does not seem like it is going to get any better! 

I reached out to my contact with Sarah Flint and asked if we could purchase more shoes bags. They of course said that it was not an option. I will mention that in our next Zoom call. I believe that her shoe bags would do so well! 

 

 

I think that the small details in our lives can put smiles on our faces. These garden floral napkins from Pottery Barn just arrived. I smiled as soon as I saw them. Beautiful small details… 

 

 

This lovely English garden inspired pillow cover just arrived as well. I added it to my loft and it is sitting on my pale green settee. The combination of colors and patterns just adds to the beauty and simplicity in my office space. This stunning pillow case is also a favorite of mine and should be arriving next month. 

Wherever you are in life, and it doesn’t matter your budget, add beautiful things in the small items that you possess. Life is so short. Make your journey every day beautiful.  Have a great day!

 

 

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New Sarah Flint Gracie Collection

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Good Morning and Happy Friday!

I am looking forward to my four-day weekend! I need to get some things done in the home. I hope to do a “phone cleanup” and clean out my handbags. I also need to get some things on my calendar that need to be scheduled. We plan on keeping it quiet at our home. I enjoy the 4th of July, but some people just overdo it. Lighting fireworks until 2 or 3 in the morning is a bit much but it is what it is. 

My recent hair salon visit went very well. I am happy to say that I have a new hair stylist and will be going to her for my upkeep. She was wonderful and very nice. I also did my floral prep training at Random Acts of Flowers. I can now start volunteering at this organization. Yay me!

I hope you all got my recent newsletter. In that newsletter, I share the new Gracie Collection from Sarah Flint. You guys I am so happy that they did a second collaboration! It is gorgeous!

 

photos via Sarah Flint.com

 

I have honestly been smitten with the new kitten heel pump since it launched last year. Seeing it in the new Gracie print is like a grandmillennial dream! 

 

 

Just look at the block heel sandal. The pink is the perfect pink. It doesn’t look like a Barbie pink or a neon pink. I call it an “elegant lady pink”. Aren’t they just lovely?

 

photos via Sarah Flint 

 

I cannot get enough of this pink! This is the Natalie Ballerina in the pink Holts garden print. I believe that once these are sold out this particular shoe and print will be extremely sought after! Just my opinion. 

 

 

Sarah shared in a recent Zoom meeting that this is the very first Oxford that she has created. I believe most of the sizes in this shoe are sold out already!

 

 

I actually love these as well. I was torn between these and the Perfect Pump Kitten heel 50. I believe that Sarah did a phenomenal job using a men’s silhouette to accomplish this design. It was executed well. 

 

 

The last thing that I wanted to share were the custom Gracie shoe bags! I saw these on the Sarah Flint Instagram stories and fell in love! I believe each pair will come with a custom shoe bag like this. What a beautiful surprise! I have already reached out to ask if I could also purchase an additional set of the shoe bags? I would love to have these for traveling. If you see a pair that you love don’t hesitate to use my code SARAHFLINT-BASMSSHOCKLEY for 60$ off your order. We still have people asking about last year’s Gracie collection. We hope that Sarah will re-launch but there are no guarantees. Order while you can! 

Have a great 4th of July!

 

 

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June Favorites ~ 2023

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Good Morning Everyone,

I had a pretty good weekend. Although I did go and look at a new cabinet for my bookcase and I walked away from it. It just had too much damage and the seller did not want to drop the price so the quest continues. I had some glorious purchases from Poshmark recently. I will be sharing them below as some of my favorites. 

 

First on my list is our daughter’s Open House party. I still can’t believe that she has graduated from school and will be headed to college in the fall. It is so incredible!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

We decided to keep things simple. We ordered most of her food. I really didn’t want to cook anything, and it turned out very well. She was happy and so were we! I was thrilled when she said that she wanted blue and white as her colors. I thought, “well that is just perfect”. 

 

 

Second on my list is my new sage green or pale green nail color. I found this at the grocery store and it is called “Thyme is money”. I was actually inspired by an influencer to try this color. I will share her down below. 

 

 

My third favorite for the month is florals. I don’t know why but I am extremely inspired by florals this season. I always have flowers around, but I am craving an English garden aesthetic. I want it in my clothes, shoes, accessories, and home decor. I just want it in everything! I wore this outfit to work last week and my chief says, “you look absolutely wonderful today”! I said, “thank you. I was trying to channel an English garden today”. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Speaking of florals, my fifth favorite is my new but old vintage Gucci Scarf. I have been searching on Poshmark for years for a vintage floral Gucci scarf. Every time that I found one it would be priced too high. I found this one a few weeks ago and went ahead and made an offer. I love it and I think it fits perfectly into my wardrobe and provides the English garden aesthetic that I want. 

 

 

My sixth favorite are my new vintage insect brooches. I found these on Poshmark as well. I did a search for “bug brooch” and these popped up. I originally made an offer on the green spider but then I received a message from the seller offering me the other two bee brooches as well. I paid only $50 for all three! What a steal! They are a great size as well! Not too small at all, very elegant! 

And my last guilty pleasure for the month has been Lydia Millen’s Youtube channel.

I have found so much inspiration for this channel. I think I may have fallen more in love with pale or sage green. I simply adore Lydia’s dressing closet which you will see in her videos. Her sage green nail polish, bright smile, English accent and exquisite taste. I hope that you enjoy her channel just as much as I do. 

I hope you all enjoyed my June favorites. I wanted to let everyone know that my spring sale is still going on for the boutique. Just use code spring15 and get 15% off of your order. The Vintage Vanity Collection still has pieces left! 

 

 

Plans for my new Greenhouse

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Hello!

I can’t believe June is almost over! Goodness gracious, that went by really fast! I have had some busy days and I have some more busy workdays ahead. Next week, I am so nervous, but I found a new hair stylist. I have not been to the salon for a full-service appointment since 2019! Ever since my hair stylist passed away almost 2 years ago now, I could not bear going to someone else. This new stylist that I found I discovered her on Instagram. So wish me luck. 

 I also did something wonderful recently. I got a greenhouse!!! I can’t believe it. I have always wanted one and Costco lowered the price on theirs, so my husband and I had to go and get it. I would provide the link but it is not available online. 

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

 

I am on cloud 9. I love it so much! We are hoping to get it up in the fall or by the fall of this year so we will see. My husband wants to do some more research on how to handle the foundation. We also have to get it cleared by our HOA. As soon as I walked inside of it I saw my very own flower cutting garden. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I know that I want to grow this tulip pictured above. These are white parrot tulips, and I will definitely be ordering these! I have never seen them in person but have always loved them.

 

 

I, of course, want to grow peonies and I would love to have some David Austin Roses. Casablanca lilies are also on the list as well as some climbing roses. I would not mind some wisteria as well, but we will see. 

Overall, I am delighted that I get to start this new project. I adore flowers and have them everywhere in my life. To be able to grow what I want right outside my back yard will truly be a blessing. I can’t wait to smell the beautiful scents inside my greenhouse. Have a wonderful weekend! 

 

 

An Elegant Book Cabinet~ My Next FBMP Hunt!

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Good Morning Friends!

I hope you all had wonderful weekend! It was great having three days off. I got a lot accomplished, but my list is still long. We celebrated Father’s Day for my husband. I got him a few dress items to wear, and we had dinner at his favorite Japanese restaurant. On Monday we went to Trader Joes. I have not been there in years, and they had the most beautiful peonies! I got 4 bunches and at $10 a bunch you could not beat it! I also got some wonderful new foods to try with dinner. Yesterday evening I made a roasted chicken and some mushroom risotto from Trader Joes. Oh my goodness, it was so good! I will be going back for more. 

Today I wanted to share my next FBMP item that I am on the hunt for. 

 

photos via Facebook Marketplace

 

So, the photo above is a photo of a white cabinet that I was going to purchase about a month ago for my home office. I was going to use this beautiful piece as a bookshelf for all of my books. The gentleman told me that it was available and then texted me and told me that “another family member” had sold it. Now I don’t know what really happened, but I was in LOVE with this piece! 

 

 

Also do you all see the price?!! It was probably too good to be true. I have been on the hunt ever since! I can’t seem to find anything close. I will continue to look but if you are local and know of an item like this for sale, please let me know! My heart is still breaking. 

Has this ever happened to any of you before? Let me know in the comments below. Enjoy your week!

 

 

 

 

My Spring & Summer Scents for 2023

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Hello!
I have a three-day weekend ahead of me and I am a little excited about it. We have Monday off because it is now a federal holiday. We have a women’s professional group in my office, and we had an event this past week where we had a professor speak and teach about Juneteenth. It was quite interesting and informative. I really enjoyed it! 

Lauren has been working at the antique mall for about a week now and I think she likes it so far. I plan on going antiquing this weekend but not at her job. I don’t want to embarrass her yet. I thought about going to Trader Joes and Whole Foods. It’s been a long time since I have visited those. Lots of ideas but we will see. 

Today I wanted to share my favorite spring and summer scents so far. I really want to keep it to just these scents. I always feel overwhelmed when I have too many scents for the season. It can be a bit much. I did find a new scent and cannot get enough of it!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

Of course, I cannot get enough of my scents from Aerin. I love almost every scent from her collection. Aerin Lauder, granddaughter of Estee Lauder, is a brilliant creator in this industry. She certainly has “nose” for scents. For the spring and summer I am wearing her Lilac Path (which I first purchased in 2015), Rose De Grasse, and Mediterranean Honeysuckle Clementina. All three scents are full of florals and citrus. You can layer these scents together. I have people stop me all the time asking me what I am wearing. 

 

My second set of favorites are my Philosophy scents. My favorites from this collection are Amazing Grace Jasmine and Amazing Grace Lavender.  I love the scent of jasmine and bergamot. You can also smell the lavender, grapefruit, and bergamot in the second scent. 

 

 

My last scent is my newest find. I found this in Sephora about a week ago. I walked in to buy another item and decided to spray this on my wrist and let it sit. I finished purchasing my item, walked out to my car, smelled my wrist, got out of my car and went back inside to buy it! It was that enchanting! I could not leave it there. I have been wearing it all week and every time I spray this on it captures me. Wisteria Blue is amazing especially if you love florals! It has notes of wisteria, Bulgarian rose and jasmine. You must go and try it yourself!

I know that all of these scents are so expensive so I would recommend getting a sampler. Here is an Aerin Lauder Discovery set for under $30. Here is a Discovery set for Nest Fragrances and here is a bonus set for Jo Malone. I hope some of you will try these new scents and let me know your thoughts. 

In boutique news I do have a new plus size arrival. The Rose Blush Midi is a great addition to the boutique. I just love the rose details and the flutter sleeves. It comes in 1x, 2x, and 3x. I maybe keeping one for myself! 

 

 

 

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