To the Breakers We Go!

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Good Morning,

I’ve got a busy day today! It’s my last day in office before I head out on vacation. My family and I are headed to Newport, Rhode Island this year! We are going to see The Breakers! I am so excited! So the Breakers are the “vacation homes” of the Vanderbilt family. Every time I say that I just shake my head! Vacation homes! It’s incredible! 

My family and I have visited the Biltmore a few times so when I recently learned about the Breakers I knew that I had to visit. One of my co-workers shared her trip with me a couple of years ago and it has been on my radar ever since. 

 

photo credit: The Preservation Society 

 

There are about five houses to tour in addition to the gardens. I am hoping to do a self-guided tour with audio headphones. I want to listen to the history while I walk around. I also read that there is a cafe located at one of the properties. I thought that would be a nice place to grab lunch in between tours. 

 

 

photo credit: Trip Advisor

The second item on our list is the Cliff Walk. When I saw this I thought, “we have to do this!” Oh this walk looks wonderful. It’s near the ocean, you are walking pass the Breaker mansions, it’s 3.5 miles, and it’s free. What more could you want!

Third on the list is a beach day. I have been wanting a beach day for a while and I am hoping to visit Easton’s Beach. Now this beach looks like it would be more of my speed and you can see beautiful homes off in the distance. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

St. Mary’s Catholic Church is there as well. The interesting fun fact about this church is that this is where the Kennedy’s were married! I would love to take a look inside!

I also managed to find a car museum. I love vintage cars and thought about adding this to the list as well. It made my husband happy when I mentioned it. 

And of course, I found an outlet mall and lots of antique stores around. I am hoping to at least visit one antique store. I am really excited about this trip and hope that everyone enjoys it. I will be sure to share everything once I return. Have a great weekend!

 

 

My First Outdoor Antique Fair

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Good Morning All,

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. We just kept things simple as I previously discussed and hung out at home. I did go antiquing and picked up some great finds! I will be sure to share those later. Speaking of shopping for antiques I had to share the most recent and wonderful purchase I just made. Katherine from Pender & Peony just published her first e-book all about shopping and learning about antiques. You can download it to your phone and take it with you on the go! It’s called The Grandmillennial’s Pocket Guide to Chic Antiques. 

I ordered it, downloaded it, printed it, and used it this weekend while I was out! I love this and would highly recommend it! I pulled it up on my phone and just went down the list when I would find something. It was wonderful! 

Another thing that was wonderful was my recent trip to an outdoor antique fair! I found out about this from the new antique store that I visited called Vintage Whimsy. Apparently, they host this event every year on a large private property in Franklin, Indiana. I really enjoyed it and found a few things and met a new friend. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

There were tons of antique vendors at this event. I did not take a lot of photos because I really wanted to enjoy it. Having a phone out to take photos and film can be a little annoying sometimes. But I always try to have balance with my social media and life!

Each antique vendor had their own style and brought different antiques. 

 

 

This was a huge property. They had food trucks as well as antiques. They also had a sitting area for you to sit, eat, and listen to live music! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

You can see the antique vendor booths in the distance. The property also had a large flower garden to tour. My husband and I were able to ask the property owners where they purchased certain plants and what they were.

 

 

Lastly there was this beautiful magnolia tree. My husband and I just loved it. It’s called the Jane Magnolia tree. We went to our local garden center to see if we could purchase one and then my husband realized that this tree takes years to grow. They were so small at the store. I told him that it would take a lot of patience! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did find some beautiful things. I purchased this delicate porcelain magnolia flower and this English Ironstoneware pitcher. I spotted the pitcher early on in my visit and just kept circling around it until I finally caved! I told the vendor store owner that I could not leave without it. It’s a wonderful addition to my home decor.

I really enjoyed this new little adventure and plan on attending next year! I can’t wait to see their new items then. Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

This post was not sponsored. 

 

Ginger Jar Haven- Victoria Magazine

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Good Morning All and Happy 4th of July!

Today we are taking it easy and just grilling at home and enjoying the firework shows in our neighborhood. We have quite a few neighbors who set off fireworks during this time of year. We stop going to firework shows at parks. For one it’s always crowded, two there are never any bathrooms around, and three it’s just so hot out! We also realized that the shows don’t start until around 9:30 and we normally have to work in the morning. So now we just hang out at home and try to get into bed at a good time. 

Tomorrow I am meeting someone for lunch. She is on the board for the Indiana Paralegal Association. I have been trying to do more networking this year. I am considering joining this group so we will see how the meeting goes. 

In today’s post I just wanted to share something fun. You guys know that I love Victoria Magazine and in the recent magazine a beautiful home tour was shared. I hope you all enjoy the photos below!

 

photo credit: Stephanie W. Steele

 

I loved how Kelli Kot from KD Hamptons decorated her home. Also can we talk about the dress that she is wearing? Gorgeous! Kelli’s home is a Victorian style abode that has bay windows and is truly picturesque. 

 

photo credit: Stephane W. Steele

 

Kelli has a vast collection of blue and white porcelains. They are weaved throughout the home. Kelli describes her interior design as, “updated traditional with a touch of Scandinavian influence. 

 

photo credit: Stephanie W. Steele

What a dream! I only hope that my hydrangeas become that gorgeous and hearty! Kelli mentioned that she had lived in New York for years and after she married her husband Mark, she became enthralled in gardening.  She and her husband have different views and taste on gardening but both of them give each other the space they need to create their own special gardens. I believe that it is so important to be able to make your home into the vision that you have in your dreams. Having a spouse that does not see eye to eye can make that hard. I am very fortunate that my husband doesn’t mind my taste in decor. He makes a remark sometimes, but he usually gives me my freedom. 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and pick up a copy. This blog post is not sponsored but I think you would really enjoy the other photos if you just took a look inside. Have a wonderful 4th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner at the Vineyard

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Good Morning,

I am still finding peony bouquets! I can’t believe it! It is almost July, and we are still finding them. I found some at Whole Foods and then my husband found some yesterday at Costco! I am loving this! Speaking of Whole Foods, I am still taking my once-a-week trips there. I love their Sonoma Chicken salad! It is so good! I eat it with crackers for a wonderful cool lunch. 

I have been on this “new adventures” journey for a few weeks now. For Father’s Day I wanted to try something else new. I had heard of this vineyard called Daniel’s Vineyard and knew that I wanted to give it a try so we went there to celebrate Father’s Day!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

It was a beautiful Father’s Day. The weather was perfect! 

 

 

This was our first time at a vineyard. It’s amazing what you find in your city if you are open to beauty. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

I wanted to keep things simple, so we ordered pizza, a charcuterie board and drinks. The pizzas we ordered were margherita and pepperoni.  They were brick oven pizza and were really good. The charcuterie board had smoked meats, fruits and nuts. My kind of board. I did not take pictures of the food. I wanted to enjoy the moment. 

 

 

We ate inside because we did not want to worry about bugs but afterwards, we came out to look at the vineyard. 

 

 

They were quite beautiful, and some sections were really lush. I did try a glass of wine. I had my favorite which is a white wine Moscato. 

 

 

Overall, we had a great dinner, and my husband really enjoyed his time. We just wanted to take it easy and to try something different. If you live in the area, I recommend giving it a try. It’s a great environment and family friendly! Have a great long weekend!

 

 

 

I quickly wanted to give Elaine from Urban Style Chic a big thank you for sharing the Daphne Flutter Dress! Doesn’t she look wonderful? You can use her discount code urbanstylechic10 for 10% off of anything in the boutique! Enjoy! 

 

 

 

 

 

Bedmaking with Bunny Williams

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Good Morning,

This past Monday my supervisor took me and the other ladies in management out to lunch to a new restaurant. I love going to new places around my city. This restaurant was called The Hulman. It was a very sophisticated restaurant. I ordered the veggie omelette. Oh my goodness, it was so good. I am still thinking about it.   

Now let’s stop thinking about food and move on… 

Okay I might be the only person on the planet who is not making their bed this way. I recently saw a video from the Schumacher Youtube channel from Bunny Williams on how to make the perfect “Bunny” bed. 

 

 

I watched this video over and over trying to learn some of the techniques. Now I have to say I have seen pillows stacked like this on beds in almost every interior design book that I have but I never really paid much attention to them until this video. 

I am one of those people that Bunny mentioned that lined their pillows down the bed. I never saw anything wrong with it and honestly there is still nothing wrong with it but what I did notice is that this trick from Bunny does save more space on the bed. 

 

 

I decided to give it a try. So, I stacked our pillows to see how it would work. This is my husband’s side of the bed. He has these funny pillows that he lodges in all sorts of places for his body. 

 

 

This is my side of the bed of course. You see the flowers and decor books. I only have a few pillows compared to him. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Now here is the front. I will say that I love this look more. It does give the bed a more uniform look in the front and looks a little “crisper”. Let me know in the comments section below how you make your bed. Do you make it the “Bunny” way, my old way or a different way. I am curious. Have a great Wednesday! 

 

Oh I almost forgot the boutique’s new arrival is available. It is called the Vera Blush Maxi. It’s a beautiful pink color of course. I love my pink dresses. They simply look good on everyone! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June Favorites ~ 2022

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Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I still can’t believe this is the last weekend in June! I had a wonderful time at the antique fair this weekend. I will be sure to share a few photos later!

Let’s get into my favs for the month of June. I had some fun favorites for this month…

 

 

My first favorite was the boutique’s Ballet Lace Cardigan. I actually kept a light pink for myself and loved wearing it with my blue dress to the office. It was so beautiful and super elegant. I really enjoyed wearing it and will be wearing it again soon. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Second was an antique trip that I took to a new store. It is called Vintage Whimsy and it’s a local store in Franklin, Indiana. My boss shared it with me this month and I had to take a look and I love this store! They have the prettiest things! I ended up purchasing two table cloths, a pair of vintage earrings, and my blue and white platter that I just hung. 

 

 

The earrings look great…

 

 

The third item is my new passport!!! Happy Dance! It finally arrived last week and it only took 3 weeks. I was not expecting that! I am so happy to finally have this. For years I have talked about traveling to Italy, or France and this year I thought, “you know if an opportunity presented itself I would not be able to go because I don’t have my passport”. Right after I had that thought I suddenly felt “lead” to get it started and I am so glad that I did. I’m ready Lord!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Fourth is my new leather quilted bag! I saw this in the store and loved the crystal bird as the button and the soft leather. This is called the Kensington soft bag by Kurt Geiger London. He has other bags like this and this. It’s quite lovely!

 

 

The fifth is my new swan cake topper from the Cake Bake shop. Now I have no purpose for this but at only $15 why not order one? I may place it on a dessert in the new future. Maybe my cake for my 40th but I am not sure yet. If you love it I would encourage you to order it now. In a few months they will go back up in price! Move quickly….

 

 

 

The sixth are my new grandmillennial inspired cameo bookmarks. Aren’t these great? They are so different and wonderful. The price is surprising as well. You may order it here or here. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

Seventh has been my most recent fashion idea. I love tying scarves around my bags but I find that I don’t like the “tie” look. I love for a scarf to drape over the bag and around the straps but if I did that then I have to worry about losing it. I have lost scarves before… not fun. It then dawned on me that I had this vintage Anne Klein Lion scarf clip that I found on Poshmark a few years ago.  I am now using that to help with my drape look and provide security for my scarf.  I found some similar ones here and here. I love it!

 

 

Eight are my new chinoiserie journals that I found at the At Home store. I have tried multiple times to find these online but I can’t seem to locate them. If you have a store nearby I would go and check. These were by the cashiers and were under $10 each! Beautiful!

 

 

And the last item has been this book called Marella Agnelli The Last Swan. I have been reading this during my lunch hour and oh it is so good! I never knew who this woman was but I saw this book on Instagram years ago. It is such an interesting read. Marella was married to one of the Fiat leaders and she lived such a glamours life. I loved reading about her relationship with the Kennedys and Truman Capote. She also had a love affair with interior design and reading how she decorated the family homes was so educational. My daughter even loved the pictures in this book which is rare. 

Well those are my favorites for the month of June. I am starting to get really excited. Our family vacation will be coming up here soon. I will share those details when the time gets closer. Have a wonderful Monday!

 

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

 

 

 

Hanging Plates ~

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Good Morning,

The weather has been soo good! I just wish the humidity would stay away. I am looking forward to the weekend. I will be attending an outdoor antique fair on Saturday. This will be my first time going and I am hoping to find a blue and white chair or a floral arm chair for my downtown office. Wish me luck! 

Speaking of new things, I remember some years ago I watched a video from Martha Stewart about hanging plates and ever since I saw that video I knew that I wanted to try it some day. I could never find any plate wall hangers and I couldn’t really afford to buy a bunch of plates and honestly had no inspiration. But now with Pinterest, bloggers, and Instagram the inspiration is just over flowing. I went antiquing a few weeks ago and found this platter below…..

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I paid about $35 for it. It’s quite large and the colors were perfect for my home decor. I loved the blue, white, and gold. It has beautiful details and the size… I could not pass it up. 

 

 

I searched Amazon and found this super plate hanger for large platters. There are so many options but I wanted something that I knew would fit my platter and this was a perfect fit! It comes in a pack of two and the price was outstanding as well. 

 

 

I decided to hang it in our bedroom next to our mirror. Now I don’t have a platter on the other side and it might look unbalanced but I love the platter here. For some reason it just looks so good to me here. I may move it down the road but for now I am loving it in this spot. 

Please let me know in the comments section below if you have plates hanging on your wall in your home. Oh and I wanted to let everyone know that the boutique will have a new arrival soon! Have a great weekend!