Books I Return To…

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Hello Everyone,

Our daughter’s golf meets have been kicking our butts! It has been soo hot lately. Oh my gosh! I hope it cools down next week, geez. I quickly wanted to ask everyone what their favorite books were. I was inspired by Victoria Magazine’s recent article called, “Our Top 10 Favorite Books”. I already shared three new books that I found on Monday. I hope you got to read that post. I have a few books that I just keep going back to and I wanted to share my list.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

The first on my list is my bible. I use the Life Principles Bible by Dr. Charles Stanley. I have been listening to him for over 15 years. I love his teachings and his sermons. My second book or favorite health book is my Woman’s Herbal Apothecary book. I wrote about this some time ago and I still love this book. It’s so informative and I have learned so much about my body from it. 

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

 

For decor inspiration, I always go back to my books by Aerin Lauder. I love her Beauty at Home book. Estee Lauder’s home is such a dream to me, and to read about it and see the photos is a real treat. 

 

 

For cleaning and organizing, I love these two books. I love the Butler Speaks and Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook. Both books provide education as well as tips for cleaning. I talked about the Butler Speaks on my blog before. 

 

 

 

The next set of favorites are the Madame Chic series by Jennifer L. Scott. Most of us know and love Jennifer’s books. I have gone back to these books time and time again. They are great to read if you want to take a refresher course in being a lady and living beautifully. 

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

This last book is a new addition to my library. I have not had a chance to read it yet. It is called Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. It is a great introductory book to wine if you are a beginner which I am. The entire book is filled with pictures so it is a pleasure to look at. I will be diving into this soon. 

What are your favorite go-to books? Do you have a few that you just keep returning to? Share what they are in the comments section below. We would all love to know what they are. I hope everyone has a good weekend and remember there are a few sales going on on the boutique’s page. Enjoy!

 

 

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.

 

In the Garden with Jane Austen ~ New Book Find

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And Good Morning Everyone,

It was SOO hot this weekend. Good Lord! The humidity was insane. I am dreaming of brisk mornings and cool evenings already. The air conditioning in our daughter’s school went out over the week so they are e-learning until they get it fixed. I am a little relieved. My mornings won’t be as hurried for a few days. 

I had a pretty good weekend. I came home from work on Friday and made my favorite salmon, dill, and lemon pepper dish. I love it so much. I always have brown rice with it and sauteed spinach. It is so good! I also opened up a bottle of Oliver Lemon Moscato wine. It was so cold, crisp, and delicious. I especially enjoyed it in my Wedgewood wine glasses that I picked up last month. I sat on the porch and watched my butterflies. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Isn’t he beautiful? I loved watching him this weekend. Okay on to my new book find. So I was on Pinterest this weekend looking for inspiration and trying to fill my boards when I stumbled on a book called “In the Garden with Jane Austen”. 

Now I have never heard of this book before. Have any of you?

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I had to look up this book to see what it was about and it discusses the gardens that Jane would have known. It also talks about her gardens and gives you a sample plan of flowers grown there now. 

As I am reading the book’s description, I then see a second book with a similar title called, “At Home with Jane Austen”. This book tours the homes and settings of Jane Austen. With gorgeous photography and illustrations, this book explores the world of Jane and her physical surroundings. 

So then a third book is suggested to me. This book is by the same author and is called, “Tea with Jane Austen“. 

 

photo credit: Amazon

 

 

And this book shares the secret tea rituals of Jane. This book also discusses how Jane took her tea, what times, and it also gives recipes. All three of these books sound like they would be a real treat! Please let me know in the comments section below if any of you own any of these books or have read them. 

I do hope that you all enjoyed these new book finds. I love finding books like this. They provide so much substance and joy in a chaotic world. 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Julia Child’s Sole Menuiere

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Good Friday Morning,

I am ready for the weekend. I have not slept well this week. I have been getting to bed two hours past my bedtime! It is catching up with me because I am tired! I am also “itching” to take a day off. I really want to take a day and go look at some beautiful expensive luxury items. I don’t want to buy anything just look. I am trying to plan that day now. 

I also wanted to tell everyone that the accessories sale for the boutique has begun. Everything is 20% off and you don’t need a coupon code. Even the Stella Bow Satchel is 20% off. I only have one ivory and pearl cardigan left and only one Claire midi dress if anyone is interested. I am starting to look at a few items for fall. There are some cardigans that I want to order for the boutique as well as some holiday dresses so we will see. 

Well on to today’s post. I have been craving my dill, lemon, and butter salmon all week and that got me thing about the sole meuniere recipe from Julia Child. Have any of you ever cooked that? I would love to try it. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I especially love this video from the movie Julie & Julia. 

 

 

I feel like I am eating this with her every time I watch it. My goodness, food should always make you feel this way. We recently went to Culvers for dinner. Now there is nothing wrong with Culvers but after I finished my meal I had this feeling of not being satisfied. And that’s when I knew that I wanted to eat to satiate my palate not eat for the sake of eating. 

Has this ever happen to you before? You ate something and it did not hit the spot? I have been having those feelings more and more lately. I am trying to learn to say no to a meal that I know will not satiate my palate and it is so hard because I have a 16-year-old and my husband eats like a 12-year-old. Wish me luck everyone. I am going to need it!

Have a great weekend!

 

 

Favorite Home Items at H&M

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Happy August Everyone!

We are off to an okay start with the golf season. There are so many changes this year because of Covid. Sometimes I just wish this nightmare would be over but anyway moving on. So in today’s post, I wanted to share a few of my favorite online finds from H&M.

We all know H&M. They have some of the best feminine clothing pieces at really reasonable prices. I recently discovered their new arrivals for their home decor section. 

 

photo credit: H&M.com

 

This captured my eye first. A blue and white pitcher, oh yes please! This was only $17.99! I have ordered it already and I am waiting for it to arrive. I will share it once it gets here. I plan on using it as a vase for my flower arrangements. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The second was this extremely chic leopard teacup! I only wish there was a saucer to go with it. I thought this one was but I had to send it back. It was a trinket tray instead. I do love my new teacup and will be using it for my morning teas. 

 

 

 

Third is this gorgeous colored tasseled rug. It is only $24.99. It does come in a bigger size. I have a few more favorites, but these were my absolute favorites out of all of them. I hope you all enjoyed this post. I can’t wait to see what this blue and white pitcher looks like. 

 

Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Elegant List…

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Good Monday Morning Everyone,

I had a pretty good weekend. I got most of my house chores done and we went and picked out carpet for our home. We are going to be replacing our carpet soon and I CAN NOT WAIT! It is long overdue and I will be so happy to get rid of this brown carpet. 

On Friday I shared the 100 Ways to be Elegant list. As I said before, I love this list. How could you not but that got me thinking. We all have our own way of living well and beautifully. What’s on your list?

 

photo credit: Victoria Magazine 

 

Do you have an elegant dish that you like or a favorite scarf or shoe? What about activities? Is there anything that you do that gives you a sense of beauty?

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley (home life)

 

You all know that I can’t go without my fresh flowers. I love how they look and I adore the light scent that they give. I also love wearing perfume. There is something about smelling your favorite scent and living it behind when you walk out of a room. 

What about you? What is your elegant list? Please share your elegant list I would love to learn what they are!

 

 

100 Ways to be Elegant ~ An Update

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Good Morning,

Well, we have had our first half week of school and it is going well so far. Golf season begins next week and it is going to be a busy time for us. We will have at least 2 golf meets a week and that is always hard but Lauren needs the activity so here we go!

In today’s post, I wanted to talk about a post that I share the first month that I started my blog in 2014. It was called “100 Ways to be Elegant”. Now I of course did not write this list but still love reading it.

While reading it I noticed that this list was created 11 years ago! I can’t believe it’s been that long already. I started reading the list and I still do so many of these things but one of them stuck out to me the most this time and that was number 53 “be quietly self-confident”. As I approach 40 I find myself rethinking things a lot and re-evaluating my life. 

 

 

photo via Instagram 

 

Now that I have a new position at the office and I am in management I find that my expectations of myself are higher. I don’t want to get caught up in the petty office shenanigans. I always want to rise above things and it is not easy. But having quiet self-confidence is something that I am striving for now. 

Another tip from the list that is sticking out to me is number 74, “think before you speak and act. Ask yourself, can anything good come from this”? I have asked myself that questions a few times in the last few months. “Is it really necessary for me to address this?” 

Using wisdom these days is becoming an elegant thing to do. Using wisdom brings peace to the mind and emotions. As I continue to read this list, I am reminded that I do many of these items every day, and makes me smile. It lets me know that I am a woman of substance and I care deeply about beautiful living. How about you? Have you read this list more than once? Has it helped you in any way since you have seen it on the blog? Let me know in the comments section below. 

Also, I wanted to let everyone know that the boutique’s new arrival is ready for purchase. The Stella Bow Satchel is a new addition and comes in two colors, rose pink and grey. I hope you all enjoy the new arrival and don’t forget to share photos of you in your purchases! I would love to see everyone in their boutique item.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

 

July Favorites ~ 2021

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Good Morning Everyone,

It’s Wednesday and the boutique’s new arrivals are here! I can’t wait to share them. It is also Lauren’s first day back to school. Oh my goodness, we are starting junior year. I pray for a beautiful year for her and us. It’s the end of July already so let’s get into my favorites for the month, shall we?

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

First on my list is this beautiful fragrance by Bath and Body Works. I wrote about this earlier this month. I am still loving this scent and spray our bed with it often. You should get a bottle for yourself. 

 

The second was the beautiful and inspiring vlog from Hill House Vintage. I hope you guys are following Pauline. She is truly an inspiration! I hope you all enjoy the video. 

 

 

Third, on my list was our trip to the zoo. It has been a long time since we have taken Lauren but it was quite enjoyable. I wore the boutique’s green garden maxi, flats, and a sun hat. We also went with Lauren’s bestie and her parents. It was a great day!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The fourth was a huge surprise to me. Rosenda a wonderful blogger and Youtuber recorded a beautiful video of the boutique’s Claire dress! I have watched this over and over. I love it! I only have one dress left! Grab it soon!

 

 

Sixth was this gorgeous and I do mean gorgeous floral scarf from Tory Burch!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Isn’t it stunning? I can’t wait to wear it this fall and winter. I am sorry to report that this has sold out but she does have a second one. 

 

Next are my beautiful roses from Costco. These were especially beautiful and really fragrant this month. I enjoyed them tremendously. 

 

 

Seventh is my shockingly beautiful Amazon throw! It is super comfy and the pink is beautiful! It comes in several other colors and sizes. This is the shag texture. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Eighth is my super delicious dinner from the Cheesecake Factory. I normally get the parmesan-crusted chicken with mashed potatoes. This time I really wanted something different. So I got the parmesan-crusted salmon with lemon sauce. Oh, my word. It was wonderful! I said yum the entire time I was eating it. So darn good!

 

 

 

And the last item is this beautiful photo from Tuft and Trim. 

 

 

I am in love with the vintage couch! The chinoiserie pattern is stunning! You should read the blog post to get more of the details. I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for July. I can’t believe we are almost halfway through the year. Goodness, 2021 is going to be gone before you know it. Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

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