A Birthday Treat~ Ginger Jar Cookies

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Good Morning,

My birthday was yesterday. I still can’t believe that I am 39. Wow…. 40 next year. I am actually looking forward to turning 40. I don’t know why but I am. My birthday was actually very nice. I had lunch with some of my co-workers, my husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses, and order these gorgeous earrings for me. I can’t wait until they arrive!

I did want to share these gorgeous grandmilliennial inspired cookies that my husband ordered for me from Geneva Baking Company. I saw her ginger jar cookies on Instagram and had to order some!

 

 

I was so excited when the box arrived earlier this week! I loved the blue ribbons. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Aren’t they gorgeous? I shrieked like a little kid when I opened the box. They are huge cookies I will tell you that! But they are so gorgeous! I wanted a bit of every design.

 

 

I got pink and white and blue and white. I also wanted the toile, floral and leaf design. The owner sent me many emails just to make sure that my order was exactly what I wanted. She was so kind and sent me an extra cookie as a gift!

 

 

The cookies did not disappoint. I took some to the office to share with a few people and everyone loved them! Everyone kept saying how beautiful they were and they truly are! I hope to get some ordered next year. I would really love some Chanel-inspired cookies but we will see. 

 

 

 

The ingredients were very simple. No surprises, just unbleached flour, butter, eggs, baking powder, salt, almond, and vanilla extract. I love the taste of the almond extract. That was my favorite. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I appreciate all of your support through the years. Enjoy your Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

September Favorites

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Good Morning,

I had a really good weekend. The weather was lovely and I sent off some international packages from the boutique! How exciting! I hope everyone enjoys their items. I got my week planned and did a little antique shopping. It was really nice. Alright, although I can’t believe that I am saying this, let’s get into my September favorites….

First are my gorgeous grandmillennial earrings that I purchased from Hemingway & Hardy. I wrote about them here. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Second, are these lovely pair of black pumps that I found on DSW. They are absolutely lovely and so comfy. 

 

 

Third has been my autumn decor. I don’t have much but I did add these super chic pumpkin pillows to my collection. HomeGoods is always to the rescue!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

The fourth have been these absolutely delicious maple cream cookies that I found at Cracker Barrel. They are so good you guys! Oh my goodness they are such a treat! I highly recommend them! I found a second brand that might be pretty close. 

 

 

Fifth are these outstanding dresses that I found online at Target. I love the mauve color and wine. I had to have them both. I have already worn the mauve and loved it. It looked wonderful with my crystal button cardigan. 

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The sixth item is my peony vintage-inspired nightgown from Von Maur. I wrote about it on the blog here. 

 

 

Seventh, are my beautiful and so life-like peonies that I found at HomeGoods. They bring me absolute bliss whenever I walk into our bedroom. They are so extravagant yet simple. I adore them!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

And last but certainly not least are my new Emma mules from New York & Company. It has been a while since I have ordered from here and I must say that I am very pleased with these! They are very elegant and easy to walk in. 

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed this month’s favorites. My 39th birthday will be tomorrow and I must say that I am very blessed to be here. With everything going on in the world being alive is certainly a wonderful thing to enjoy. I also wanted to let everyone know that the boutique’s new plus-size cardigan is available for purchase. Enjoy your 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.

 

 

 

My Morning Walk Essentials

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And what a beautiful Friday it is here in Indy…

It is a beautiful 70 degrees here and there is hardly any humidity. It is absolutely perfect! I got lots of packages this week. I will share my custom birthday ginger jar cookies soon, my new Victoria book, some beautiful mules that I ordered from New York and Company, a new boutique arrival, and hopefully my new porcelain tissue holder will be shipped out soon. 

But in today’s post, I quickly wanted to share my favorite items that I wear to do my morning walks…

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

These items just arrived from Amazon. I was wearing a basic cotton shirt, my jogger pants, running shoes, and sun hat. As I was walking and it got cold I thought, “I need to buy some nicer items” so here we are.  And yes you read that correctly, I was wearing my sun hat. So I ordered the funnel neck sweatshirt, the sun visor hat, armband cell holder, and my Nikes from Amazon. My versions are sold out but I found some similar ones here. 

 

 

I love all of my new walking essentials! I love the sweatshirt. I tried it on last night and it looks really chic. I am thinking about ordering a second one in a different color. My cell phone armband is great! I will be able to slide my phone in there while my app is keeping track of my miles and calories. I was holding my cell in my hand which I did not like. And I will not be wearing my sun hat anymore. My husband hated me wearing that but I wanted to wear a hat so it was my only option. I found the one above and it is the perfect hat for me. 

I am not a baseball cap kind of person and this is a great cross between the two. What do you guys think? I love to walk but I just don’t like all of the clothes that they have so I found items that suit me. I hope my finds have given you all some inspiration. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. The new boutique arrival should be on the website soon. 

 

 

fyi: This post is not sponsored. I use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links.

 

 

 

A Special Note….

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Hello Wednesday,

I am still doing my morning walks. I believe this is week four and I am still loving it. I did order some new exercise clothes and a cellphone armband case. I will share those items with you all when they arrive. I am really excited about them. 

I received something wonderful in the mail recently. I was debating with myself if I should even post this but it’s so wonderful that I wanted to share it with everyone. Most of you know that I love Jennifer L. Scott’s channel and her books. I became an “Elegant Connoisseur” last year and have been getting my blog and boutique advertised every month on her channel. I completely forgot about one of the perks of being an “elegant connoisseur” and that is receiving a handwritten letter from Jennifer for your birthday! Well, I received my letter this past weekend and wanted to share the lovely poem that she wrote for me!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

She wrote, “Mrs. Shockley, sweet and true, always with her white and blue. Ginger jars and time for tea. Cashmere shawls and chinoiserie.” Isn’t that lovely? That put such a big smile on my face when I read it. I just love it! I will cherish this letter and poem forever. Thank you Jennifer if you are reading this. This was truly a treasure!

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

 

 

 

 

HomeGoods Success

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Good Morning Everyone!

I had a really good weekend. On Friday I left the office early and stopped by Hobby Lobby, HomeGoods, and the grocery store. I found some wonderful things at HomeGoods so I was very pleased with that visit. On Saturday we attended Lauren’s last golf tournament. She did very well and they played 18 holes which took us about 5 hours to finish! It was a long and hot day. Afterward, we went and had an early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and came home to rest.

On Sunday I stayed home and got a lot of chores done, planned out my week, and started planning my vacation time. I will share that in a later post. In today’s post, I wanted to share my lovely finds from HomeGoods.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I spotted these lovely flowers as soon as I walked into the store. I rushed right over to take a look!

 

 

I could not leave these in the store. They were way too pretty for that! I purchased about four bunches and I could not be happier with this arrangement. It looks stunning in the green ginger jar that I picked up in Boca Raton about 3 years ago. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

Similar peonies here. 

 

 

 

I picked up this soft jeweled pumpkin from HomeGoods as well. I think it has a little bit of glamour and belongs on my dresser. 

 

 

When I was walking around the store I also spotted these. Now you guys know I am a true fan of blue and white but I found these to be quite hideous! I don’t know why but I think these are very ugly. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did find this lovely teacup and saucer. I loved the pink rose color and the rose gold trim that it had. I will be taking this to the office for my morning tea. It looks small in the photo but it is quite big!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

And I finally found my brown and white plates!! I am so excited. Now I mentioned in Friday’s post that I did not like the ones that had ducks on it. The pattern that I saw in the other HomeGoods was not this pattern. The other pattern that I saw I did not like. These are lovely! I managed to find six which I was happy with but I could not find any salad plates which made me sad. The quest continues. 

I hope everyone enjoyed this post and let me know in the comments section below what your favorite dish autumn pattern is. I would love to know some names of other patterns. Have a great Monday everyone!

 

 

 

Reminders of Routine…

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Good Morning!

It is Friday and I am a little excited. I am hoping to leave the office early today. I really want to head to Hobby Lobby and look at some of their autumn decor. I will share if I find anything. I also want to go to the antique store just for a quick second and have a peek. I am still on the hunt for some brown and white transferware plates for the autumn season. Our daughter’s last golf match is on Saturday. She will have 18 holes and I am praying for nice weather because it is going to be a long day. 

The boutique should be having a new arrival soon. A cream plus size cardigan is on the way. I am hoping that it will arrive next week. If you want updates on new arrivals and to see photos, follow the boutique here on Instagram. 

In today’s post, I wanted to share some past posts of my routines and daily living rituals. I have been blogging for so long it still shocks me how I am able to come up with blog posts every week. I sure hope that I can continue. I hope you enjoy the inspiration!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

An Elegant Routine– I wrote this in 2016.

Mornings at the Office– from 2017

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

The Dream of Consistency & Discipline – from 2018

 

Beautiful Morning Rituals– from 2019

 

One Chore at Time– from 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts on Eating….

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well. This is our last week of golf for our daughter and I could not be happier. I know that sounds bad but it has really cut into her study time and she really needs that. Golf sectionals are this Saturday and we are looking forward to it ending. 

Our temperatures have skyrocketed again. Oh boy…. I miss my crisp morning walks already. A co-worker shared a new app with me. It’s called Map my Run and it’s by Under Armour.  It is the coolest fitness app ever (well to me it is)! I started using it this week and it keeps track of everything and the best part… it’s FREE! You guys should check it out. 

Speaking of fitness I recently read a list that inspired me in many ways and wanted to share it….. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Of course, I am still reading Fiona’s book and it is full of “life tips”. On page 198 she gives a list of ideas on how to achieve being slimmer. And by slimmer, I mean whatever “slim” is for your body. Here are some of her tips….

  • Make it fun to be slimmer by finding inspiring role models- celebrities or people I know. 
  • Feel empowered instead of deprived when I skip foods that I know aren’t good for me.  (I tell myself this all the time)
  • Focus on nourishing my body with gorgeously real foods instead of thinking about the unhealthy foods I can’t have. 
  • Repeat affirmations to crowd out old, unhelpful ways of thinking.
  • Declutter my home, starting with my kitchen.
  • Declutter my wardrobe, keeping only what I feel amazing in. 
  • Line up great podcasts and audiobooks so I can’t wait to go for a walk each day. 
  • Visualize myself as slim and trim and know I am changing my size and shape to reflect that. 
  • Stock my pantry and fridge with healthy snacks such as raw almonds and other nuts, fresh fruit, and sparkling mineral water.
  • Commit to becoming healthier for good- my weight will follow. 

 

I hope you all found these tips helpful and inspiring. Staying healthy and losing weight is always a battle and it gets harder as you get older. I know for me I want to develop habits now so that when I am in my 40s and 50s I am not miserable with my health but happy, healthy, and beautiful. Enjoy your Wednesday!

 

Other blog posts on my website about eating:

The French Way of Eating

Healthy Eating is Elegant