Word of the Year

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Good Morning Everyone!

It’s Monday, oh goodness. I want another day to stay home. It’s dark around 5:30 and I find myself not wanting to leave my home once I get in from work. It’s hard to drag myself out again. My husband loves to eat out all the time and it drives me nuts! I keep telling him once I am home the answer is no! I want to eat at home geez! 

It was a quiet weekend and very warm for December. It was in the 50s! A little scary if you ask me. But let’s move on…

I have been reading Paula Sutton’s new book Hill House Vintage during my lunch breaks and I must say she is an excellent writer! It is so well-versed and informative! There is one section in the book that stood out to me and that was her page called, “Word of the Year”. 

 

photo via Pinterest

 

She said, ” A few years ago, I stumbled across a blog post where writer Cat Bude mentioned choosing a “word” for the year every January. She would write down the word and try to live by it throughout the next 12 months. Inspired by that post, I started to implement my own word of the year. 

One year, I wrote down the word “YES” on my vision board. My intention was to remember to say yes to opportunities that came my way- even the ones that seemed scary at first. That year, I was offered several opportunities to style at events and to host panels where I interviewed people who shared my love of interiors and gardening. Prior to that my gut reaction would normally have been to shy away from anything outside of my comfort zone, in preference for the easy life that appealed to the more reclusive side of my nature.” 

That made me think…. what would my word for 2022 be? 

 

photo via Pinterest

 

I think that I am going to have to take my time with this. I do have a few phrases in my head like, “run your own race” or ” rise above it” but I do just want one word. You know it may just be the word “RISE” or “TRUST”.  After reading this what will your word of inspiration be for 2022? Please share below if you are willing to. I would love to know. Enjoy your Monday!

 

Also, the boutique is having a free gift with purchase event! If you purchase the Stella Bow Satchel you will receive the Rose Shell Purse Scarf/Scrunchie for free! It’s a great Christmas gift. 

 

(paragraph taken from page 45 of Hill House Vintage) 

 

November Favorites ~ 2021

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Good Morning Everyone!

I for one am planning on a very quiet weekend! I seriously just want to stay home and look at design books and watch My Fair Lady! I am going to make every effort I can to make this happen.  Alright now time for my November favorites…..

First is my beautifully scented Tory Burch candles. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I love both of these scents! The lettuce ware candle is inspired by the iconic potter Dodie Thayer. The scent is jasmine and gardenia. It is so lovely. The second candle is called the Normandy Rose Candle and it smells just like a bouquet of roses. The candle does come out of the gold case so you can use it for anything you like. 

 

Second, on my list is… 

 

 

This stunning travel case from Aerin Lauder. I actually ordered this two months ago and forgot to share it! This is a limited edition Aerin, Colefax and Fowler collaboration. I love the delicate hydrangea motif and romantic hues. I just purchased the travel case and I don’t think it’s available anymore by itself.  I believe the round cosmetic bag is still available. 

 

The third is my new carpet in my home. Goodness, I could not love it more!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Fourth are my holiday shoes for this season. I can’t believe all of the beautiful purchases that I made. I have certainly enjoyed wearing all of them. 

 

 

Fifth are my new boutique arrivals! I adore the rose pearl shawl. I did not know this but it is 20% cashmere! I was so happy when I read the tag! And the Charlotte Velvet Midi is such a classy holiday dress. You will be able to wear it for years to come! There is a lot of stretch in this dress. I actually had the sizes listed wrong! Oops sorry, but I have extended the Black Friday sale. Use code blackfriday21 for 20% off!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

And the last favorite are my ginger jar tea sticks from Simply Jessica Marie.  

 

 

 

 

I love them both! I purchased this set here and I love them! My favorite is the Wedgewood vase with peonies. Isn’t it beautiful? These are so cute and different. I love finding different items for the home or to assist me in any kind of elegant living. That means a lot to me…. elegant living.

I hope you all enjoyed my favorites this month. Have a wonderful weekend! 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

New Fabric Purchase

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Good Morning Everyone,

I don’t want to complain but I am ready for some much-needed time off. I feel like I need another week of staycation! But as I look at the coming weeks things will start to slow down here soon. Honestly, I just want to sit in my bed, look at design books all day and watch my My Fair Lady with a cup of tea! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay, so today’s post is going to be a quick one. I was on eBay recently just looking around. Well, I was inspired by some of my favorite antique Instagram accounts to look for certain items. The first item has been this china pattern called pink Minton Cockatrice. I actually found some sets on eBay. The next has been chintz patterns. I started watching the pattern above about 2 weeks ago and it had quite a few bids on it. I only bid on the last day and at the last minute. I mean I literally wait until there are 30 seconds left and then I give my highest bid. It has worked for me on numerous occasions.

That is what I did for this fabric. I gave my highest bid and won! I was really surprised that I won. I am always apprehensive when I see that someone has set up automatic bids because you don’t know what their threshold is. But I won…. 

So now the question is what do I do with it? When I saw this pattern I thought, oh pillow covers. Now I am thinking pillow covers and maybe an apron. What do you guys think? What should I have made with this gorgeous fabric? Let me know in the comments section below. Enjoy your Wednesday! 

 

 

 

 

My Christmas Decor So Far…

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Good Morning Everyone!

It has been a wonderful five-day weekend! I loved every minute of it. I did a present review this weekend to make sure that we have gifts for everyone and I am happy to say that I am officially done Christmas shopping. Yay for me! I am now working on my Christmas dinner menu. It will be about the same as Thanksgiving but I am trying a new dessert recipe. I will attempt to make a caramel cake. We will see how it goes. In today’s post, I wanted to share my Christmas decor so far…..

 

I was asked to share some of my Christmas decor this year. I really did not put out a whole lot but I do have 3 full-size Christmas trees up! 

 

 

This is the family room. I always have at least 2 trees in this room. The kids love it! I must admit so do I. There is something about having these in this room and watching a Hallmark movie. It provides peace and gives you a feel of coziness. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I believe I shared my Santa last year. This year he is camped out on my table next to the blue and white tree. I think he fits well in this spot. I still can’t believe that I have these gorgeous blue and white ornaments. They are so elegant and are of good quality. 

 

 

The family tree is always hard to decorate. I really didn’t have a theme this year. I just placed my favorite ornaments on it. I did want some really big ribbon to wrap around it but I could not find the color I wanted. I love the white poinsettias on it! I may add more next year! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This is the Barbie tree. I have shared it before. It is in a different location this year but in the same room. I normally have it placed by the window but I decided to move it to the other side of the room. I do love having the little pink Victorian home under it and the feather tree skirt. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Isn’t it adorable? 

 

 

My nutcrackers are also making an appearance next to the Barbie tree. I think all the pink and glitter look great together. I have a dash of leopard around as well. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I also have some garland around our kitchen cabinets with lights. I added some garland around our mirror in our master bedroom. I did it last year and loved the way it looked. We have some stars in our windows that light up and our giant elk that I named Max is outside in our front yard. He lights up as well and looks so real! We’ve had people stop us about him because they thought he was real.  

Well, this is what my home looks like so far. I don’t intend on adding any more Christmas decor. I do want to go and get more poinsettias to add to my tree and stay on the hunt for ribbon. Let me know in the comments section below if your tree is up! Have a great Monday! 

 

 

 

 

A Quiet Thanksgiving…

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Good Friday Morning!

No Black Friday shopping for me! I plan on NOT leaving my house today. We had a pretty good Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. It was just me, my husband, and the kids. We sat, ate, and talked. It was really nice! I cooked the family favorites and we were finished eating before 5 which was great! I was done cleaning the kitchen by 7 and was in my nightgown by 9 and in my bed! I just sat in the bed and relaxed the whole time. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This was my table setting for this year. I normally use my Christmas plates but I wanted something different this year. I used my china that I found on Facebook Marketplace and I loved the way it looked! I did find a set here and here on eBay. 

 

 

Most of my china is second hand and I love that! All of the pieces were purchased from an antique store, eBay or Facebook. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

My reindeer are from Target and are sold out but I did find these. I also found my casserole dish on eBay if anyone is interested. 

 

 

I used my creamer as a small vase for the table and it turned out so well! I love the light pink roses with the babys breath. 

 

 

 

I also used my beautiful Wedgewood wine glasses. Oh my goodness I love these so much! They are so high-quality. I am so glad that I purchased them. I did find some similar on eBay here and here. The wine that we drank was Oliver’s Lemon Moscato.  It is so good and light. It’s low-calorie and low alcohol. 

 

 

 

I made my cornbread dressing. I just use Jiffy and I add raisins, cranberries, pecans, walnuts, and all of my seasonings. It is so good. Martha’s dried-fruit and nut cornbread dressing inspired me to do this years ago. It is always a big hit!

 

 

My herb-roasted turkey was outstanding if I do say so myself. I put parsley flakes, minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sage in a bowl and stir. After I butter the turkey, I rub this mixture all over my turkey. It is so good!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I also made the normal sides, homemade mashed potatoes, baked beans, green beans, and I made my cinnamon apple tea cake. There are tons of recipes for this online. My recipe is from 2014 and I have no idea where I got it from. I also made a banana pudding. The kids love that! Overall Thanksgiving was a success and we really enjoyed ourselves. I think for Christmas I may try a caramel cake recipe. We will see. 

 

I wanted everyone to know that the boutique’s Black Friday sale is still going on. Use code blackfriday21 for 20% off of your entire order and that does include new arrivals! Thank you to the lovely Rosenda for wearing the blue swiss dot dress in her latest video! I only have a few left and it is only $20. Use the code and it is only $16 plus shipping! It’s a great gift as well!

 

To watch Rosenda’s video click here. 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

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.

 

 

 

Wear the Red Velvet Shoes

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Good Morning,

Thanksgiving is this week! I can’t believe it. This year really zoomed right by us. I am looking forward to taking a few days this week. I am only going into the office today and tomorrow and then I am taking the rest of the week off. I can’t wait! I do plan on taking my morning walks this week and getting the house ready for the holidays. We just finished cleaning the carpets upstairs and we used a lavender-scented carpet cleaner from Febreze. It was so nice! My trees are up and I purchased a lovely poinsettia from Costco a few days ago.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Today I wanted to chat very quickly about wearing things that you love. Yesterday I got to participate in a lovely Zoom call with Jennifer from the Daily Connoisseur and the Chic Society! I love it when we can do the Zoom calls. They are so much fun and such a thrill to chat with everyone! If you are a part of the Chic Society, I hope you can watch it below! 

 

 

In yesterday’s Zoom call we talked about dealing with difficult people during the holidays and just wearing things that you love. I talked about how this past weekend I wore red velvet shoes to the grocery and loved every minute of it! Did I get stares? Of course, I did but who cares. I believe the stares did not come from a bad place but a place of “wow, I wish I could do that”. Here is the thing, you can! Life is so short and I think the last two years have shown us that. Life is so short… 

So wear the red velvet shoes or glitter ones if you have them! I wore glitter shoes last week and the stares continued but again… who cares. I enjoy being a woman and everything that comes along with it. Speaking of velvet the boutique’s new arrival is available!

 

 

I decided to name this dress Charlotte. The Charlotte Velvet Midi is ready to accompany you to your parties or family get-together! Also, my Black Friday Sale has begun! Use code blackfriday21 and get 20% off of your entire purchase and that includes new arrivals! I hope you all can find something that you would love or purchase as a gift! Have a great Monday and wear the shoes!

 

Note:

To my international buyers if you make a purchase please use the cheapest shipping offer! The Post Office informed me that no matter what you select it will take at least 15-30 days to get to you. I am so sorry but we have no control over it. Thank you! 

 

 

My Current Glamour Wishlist…

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Oh goodness, Thanksgiving is next week! I hope you all are prepared for cooking or maybe you are one of the lucky ones that does not have to do a thing! If so lucky you!  I on the other hand will be preparing Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I believe it will just be me, my husband, and the kids this year. For Christmas Eve we usually have guests but we will see how things go. I do plan on using my china that I purchased from FBMP. I did not decorate with a lot of reds this year and honestly, I am loving the change. 

Today I wanted to share some items that I have saved to my phone. I want to purchase all of these things but most of them are too expensive so I am hoping that maybe I could get a few as gifts. So we will see. 

 

photo via Aerin Lauder.com

 

I think I have already shared this book but I am a huge fan of Estee Lauder. She created a beautiful company and I admired that greatly. I have purchased most of Aerin’s books and love them. I have gone back to them repeatedly to get inspiration for my home. I hope to get this new book sometime next year. 

 

Tory Burch.com

 

So I have been swooning over these Tory Burch heels for the last 2 weeks! I REALLY WANT THESE! Oh my goodness, the fabric and pattern are sensational! The brocade fabric is so rich. I actually went to the Tory Burch store a few weekends ago to smell her new candles. I wish I would have known about these. I would have tried them on. 

 

Lillou.com 

 

I literally spotted this gorgeous silk chinoiserie scarf on Instagram. I think Jenny from Tallwood Country House had it on her account and I just had to find out about it. Once I went to the site it felt as though I had traveled to another land. The website is constructed together so beautifully! It is exactly what I love. The homes, the flowers, clothes, it is an exquisite website if you are a grandmilliennial at heart. And the scarf… oh be still my heart. When I tagged them in my story a few days ago they reached out and told me that they had a limited supply and I was able to order one! I can’t wait to see it and will share it once it arrives. 

 

Amazon.com

 

The next item is this extremely chic pair of heels from Amazon! That’s right Amazon. I found these while looking for glitter heels and thought wow! These are under $40 and come in several other colors. I will definitely be ordering these soon!

 

ChicasaMother (LTK app)

And last but not least is this very tasteful leopard print area rug. I saw this on Emily from Chic as a Mother’s Instagram account. The other bonus part is that it is from Amazon! As soon as I saw this rug I saw it in my office. I will be ordering this soon as well. 

I hope you all enjoyed my current glamour wishlist. I always hope to mix the expensive with the affordable. Having both in life is necessary and can be if done right very beautiful. Enjoy your weekend!

 

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.