Holiday Shoes ~ 2021

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Good Morning Everyone,

I decided to take a short break from the blog. I wanted to finish decorating my home for Christmas. All three of my Christmas trees are up and I am very pleased with how I decorated this year. I did not want to overdo it. I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I will share some photos later. I have also been working harder on my intermittent fasting routine. I started it last year in August and I lost about 15 lbs. but I have not lost anymore. I need to lose another 14 lbs. honestly so I have been working harder on keeping my time better. On the weekends I can actually fast for 16 hours or more but during the weekdays it is much harder because I don’t get home until 6 and my fast needs to start at 7! So I have been trying to start my fast right after dinner at 7:30 then I can’t eat again until about 11:30 and that has been really hard for me. 

I downloaded a new app to my phone to help me keep track of things and I love it so far! It is free and keeps track of my water intake as well. 

Now on to some beautiful fancy shoes for the holidays!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have been so excited about the new tartan options this year. I purchased three pairs of holiday shoes this year. The first pair from the left is from Talbots and they are sold out already! The black polka-dot pair is mesh and is from JCrew Factory. They are on sale for $89 and are so comfy! The last pair of tartan heels are from JCrew as well and are selling out quickly. 

I have gotten tons and I mean tons of compliments on all of these shoes!

 

 

And Christmas would not be Christmas without a pair of glitter shoes!  If you have been following the blog for a while then you know that I love my glitter shoes! Now, none of these are available unfortunately but I did find a few pairs on Amazon. They are here, here, here, and here. I think I may have to order the last pair. I love those! 

Let me know in the comments section below if you have a favorite pair of heels that you only wear around the holidays. Have a great Wednesday 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.

 

Home Project: New Carpet Installed

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Good Morning,

I wanted to say a quick thank you to every veteran that has served this country. My husband served during Desert Storm so I understand it as well. Thank you for your courage!

 

Yesterday I got quite a bit done. I finished organizing my step-son’s/husband’s mancave. It looks so much better and smells better. My husband finally purged and dropped off some items at Goodwill! I can hear the Hallelujah chorus! We went to Costco and got a few things. I got my turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I am so happy! The Honeysuckle turkeys are my absolute favorite! And I put “Alfred” back on his cleaning schedule. The house still feels so empty without Deacon but we are getting better. 

I did want to share our recent home project. We have been in need of new carpet for the last 3 years! Our old carpet was in such bad shape! We had rips, tears, dog hair, and dog feet smells!

 

 

This was the original carpet. This is the same carpet that we picked out when we built our home. It looks so outdated but we were able to stretch it out for as long as we did. It seemed to have gotten worse over the last 2 years. And with Deacon’s last two weeks with us, it just reeked of pet urine. 

 

 

I was so excited about this project. My husband and I have been wanting to update the carpet for a few years now. When the workers pulled out the old carpet and placed it outside, I have to admit that I was a bit embarrassed about how it looked. It looks so bad and smelled bad. We were both so happy to see it go!

This is a beautiful gray color. We got extra padding underneath so that if we do have spills or pet accidents we will have that protection in the carpet. 

 

 

I got new carpet in the sitting room too! So exciting! 

 

 

It looks so much better and smells wonderful! I love the color and feel like we got a fresh start. After dealing with Deacon for two weeks and cleaning up all the messes it was nice to say goodbye to the smells and damage. It is so soft as you walk on it. 

 

photos via Mrs. Shockley 

 

I love the gray in the sitting room as well.  We still have to finish the steps. That will get done this weekend and next year we will replace the carpet in my office and bedrooms. I have a home project binder and it has all of my home inspiration in it. There are still more things that I want to do with our home but we will see. This weekend I will be putting up our Christmas trees. I want to keep things light this year. I am not going to be putting up a bunch of Christmas decor. I want it to be crisp for some reason. So I plan on buying some faux white poinsettias this year. And we will just see what I come up with.

Also please don’t forget about the boutique’s new arrival. It is available for purchase! Have a great weekend! 

 

 

 

Hill House Vintage- A New Book

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And it’s Wednesday. I have had such a busy week. This week I am filling in for my friend as she takes a trip to Tahiti to celebrate her one-year wedding anniversary. I am so jealous but she has no kids and can take journeys like this. I am sure that she is enjoying herself. 

This week has been swamped with meetings, new cases to learn, keeping track of my staff, preparing for a new U.S. Attorney, and trying to plan a Christmas luncheon with the ladies that I supervise. Not to mention I have to put my Christmas trees up this weekend. The carpet crew is coming back to finish my steps this weekend and I need to clean my step-son’s/ husband’s mancave. They have completed trashed the room!

Tomorrow is a holiday but I still have to take my new car in for repair. I had it shipped here from another state and when they pulled it off the truck someone backed into something and put a dent in the bumper!  After my car repair, I am hoping to tackle my step-son’s room but we will see. I am glad to be busy right now. We are still grieving the loss of our dog Deacon. Goodness, we miss him so much! 

Okay, let me share my new book purchase! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I ordered Paula’s new book Hill House Vintage! It is a wonderful book with beautiful photography from Paula’s home. I am still in the intro part of the book. I have only been able to read bits of it but I love how she talks about her childhood. And her childhood home is a dream! 

Another quality that I love about Paula is her honesty. If you follow her on Instagram you will read in some of her posts about how she struggled with depression and had a hard time trying to find her way. I love how she turned her passion into a business! That is my dream ultimately. I want to create beautiful home decor, clothing, etc. but we will see what the Lord has planned. 

 

 

I simply love this photo! It screams, I am me and I am free! I hope you all got to see her recent video on Youtube. They are always so tastefully done!

 

 

I hope you can pick up a copy for yourself. I can’t wait to get more into the book. I will promise to share any tips and tricks that she discusses. I will confess that I have another book on my radar as well. I saw that Aerin Lauder shared her new book about her grandmother Estee called Estee Lauder: A Beautiful Life. I am hoping to snag this in a few months. It looks exquisite!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

Elegant Living -Keith Robinson Inspiration

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Good Morning,

It has been a good weekend so far despite our loss last week. On Saturday my new carpet was installed in the family room and sitting room and I could not happier! It looks great! I am still waiting to get the stairs finished but we are off to a great start. We will finish the rest of the house next year. I will share some photos this week or next. 

In today’s post, I wanted to share this beautiful article about Keith Robinson. I talked about him on the blog in the past. In this article, they discuss his recent projects which include some new classes!

 

photo credit: Flower Magazine

 

One thing I love about Keith is that he did not let the history of his beloved plantation bother him. He mentioned that he has all of the tax documents and other papers discussing the property where he lived. He is fully aware of the 26 slaves that lived on the property and he did not let that stop him from turning the old plantation into a new home. I love that!

 

photo credit: Flower Magazine

 

I wish that I could take his homemaking classes. They sound wonderful! Keith is offering classes on cooking, gardening, and probably more tips on beautiful living. You should read the charming article about Keith and his work. See here if you are interested and be inspired. Have a great Monday!

 

 

Our Boy…

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Good Morning Everyone,

It has been a very sorrowful morning. Yesterday we had to put our beautiful boy Deacon down. The specialist told us that he had cancer which caused the paralysis. He had brain cancer. It has been an awful 24 hours but we know we will get through it. 

 

 

This is Deacon as a puppy. He was so stubborn and ornery. We loved him so much. He had so much spirit and love. 

 

 

This was Deacon in March of this year. I was taking a picture of Lauren and her bestie. They had both just turned 16 and I just wanted the girls. Deacon got right in the picture and sat down. I yelled at him to move but he didn’t. After I snapped this photo I felt it in my heart. “I got this photo of him for a reason” and here we are.  It seems as though he knew. He knew that this would be the last photo of him. Oh, I love my boy so much!

Sorry for the sad post but I just wanted to celebrate our boy today. We love you Deacon! Enjoy heaven! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

 

 

Blue and White Fabric Pumpkins

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Good Morning,

These last two weeks have been so hard on our family. As you all know our boxer Deacon has not walked in over two weeks and barely eats. Tomorrow we are taking him in for another appointment. I don’t think it will be good news. We are already heartbroken about this and don’t understand why this happened. He is only 7. It’s so confusing and really sad….

I am trying to make the best of things and love on him as much as possible. Honestly, it’s going to be so hard to say goodbye but we think that is what is going to happen. He is not happy and his quality of life is not good. We need a miracle honestly…

Okay, enough of that. I posted these gorgeous pumpkins on my Instagram account and wanted to share them here in the blog. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

These classic and vintage-inspired pumpkins are a part of the Grace Mitchell collection at the At Home store. 

 

 

 

 

I want to leave these out for our Thanksgiving meal. They are so beautiful and huge. The fabric reminds you of beautiful bed linens that were passed down from a grandmother. These are called fabric toile pumpkins. 

 

 

Order some while you can. They are available online only. They are incredibly beautiful and I do hope that you enjoy this beautiful autumn find. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

 

My Sarah Flint Purchases

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had a great Halloween if you celebrate it. We just passed out candy at home and put Deacon by the front door so he could watch. He has been trying to move lately. He is still not eating as much so we are just taking it day by day. 

Lauren did not dress up this year. She just wanted to walk around with her friends and pass out candy. Above all, it was a very quiet Halloween. 

Now on to some super elegant finds. I did want to share my recent purchases from Sarah Flint. 

 

 

This was my first purchase. I have been wearing these for the past two weeks and could not love them more. 

 

 

It was such a treat opening the box to this. Inside the box is a letter letting you know which person personally put your shoes together. The person who worked on my shoes was a woman named Sabrina. She signed her name on the card. All of Sarah’s shoes are made in Italy.  I also could not stop staring at the vintage cloth blue and white shoe case. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After opening the cloth shoe case I noticed that each shoe was enclosed in its own shoe bag! How grand is that?

 

 

I simply adore these! When I saw them on Instagram I just fell in love. The pattern and fabric are enduring. It will last forever and I will be able to wear this shoe for decades to come (well I hope). I love how thick the heel is. I love a shoe that has a solid heel. The shoe has wonderful arch support. I have a high arch and love the support that this shoe provides. 

The second purchase was this gorgeous blue and white scarf. Remember I saw this on Pinterest a few months ago. I can’t believe that I found it!

 

 

This is called the Hidden Garden scarf and it is splendid!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This is a beautiful pattern. I believe that this pattern was inspired by Sarah’s grandmother’s scarf collection. 

 

 

The pattern contains whimsical florals, butterflies, and three hidden bunnies. 

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This scarf looks gorgeous on a brown or tan bag. I think the blue, white, and brown are exquisite together. It really is a stunning scarf. It was also made in Italy and is 100% silk. There are lots of ways to wear this scarf but I think that the neck and purse are the best. 

Let me know in the comments section below if you have an item from Sarah Flint. I know when you look at the prices they are a bit steep but I am a firm believer in using the Affirm option. I use this option all the time. The interest is less and you pay off your items at your pace. I would consider it if there is something that you want. I hope you all have a great Monday!

 

 

This post is not sponsored. 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.