Hotel Elegance

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Good Morning Everyone,

Hope everyone is well. I must confess I have not watched the news in 3 days. I needed a break! I’ve been watching vintage Martha Stewart shows and staring at my Christmas trees. All four of them are up and we are enjoying them. 

Did anyone watch the new Hallmark movie called A Timeless Christmas? I really enjoyed that this weekend. Even our 15-year daughter watched it with me! Extraordinary right? Okay, let’s get into today’s inspiring post. 



















Photo by Dilyara Garifullina on Unsplash



So I am still reading Living a Beautiful Life and gleaning so much from it. One section of the book I wanted to share in a separate post. Well, it’s more like one paragraph. 

Alexandra talked about a famous actress that she knows and how she is on the road for long periods of time, living out of her suitcase in ordinary hotel rooms. She said that this actress craved a place to retreat to when she wasn’t on set. She said that she was starved for beauty and her ugly rooms made her nervous. 

So her solution was to bring a suitcase of things that will give her a sense of connection while she was away. So she packed framed family pictures, some pretty pillows, a blanket cover and top sheet, some pillowcases, scented candles, and an elegant scarf to drape around. 












photo credit Clay Banks 

photo credit casadevalentina

How glorious!!!!! Have any of you ever done this before? I have!!!! We use to go to these office retreats and we did not stay in the best hotels. I would always pack some of my own linens and candles. I remember some of my co-workers stating that they could smell flowers down the hall. I would never tell that it was me. 

Now if we are staying with some friends I usually don’t pack any candles. I try to be mindful of their home and that having my candles burning in my room and throughout their home would not be a good idea unless they said it was.  

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about packing a suitcase full of beauty and pleasure for yourself? I know I have gone to stores and purchased bouquets to put in my room. Now I would only do this if I were staying somewhere for more than a week. 

What do you think? Have you packed your favorite items before? Please share below and have a great Wednesday!





Weekly Beauty Inspiration LABL ~7

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photo credit Mariah Hewines 
Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend. With all of the Covid news constantly it can really get depressing. I did have a wonderful weekend. My very good friend (whom I met from my blog) came to Indy this weekend to visit and to dine at the Cake Bake Shop!

We had a wonderful weekend full of laughs and antiquing! It’s been a long time since I have been able to hang out with a friend and discuss girly things! I hope we can get together again soon!

photo credit Mr. Shockley 

Let’s move right into our weekly inspiration from Living a Beautiful Life. I finished Chapter 4 which is called “The Bedroom: Maintaining Balance Between Busyness and Solitude.” I am going to start off with this quote that Alexandra mentioned, “To be in hell is to drift: to be in heaven is to steer.” Wow…

That quote from George Bernard Shaw spoke volumes to me. Even the Bible says, “write down the vision make it plain”. Everything we do should have a purpose even solitude.  

Virginia Woolfe said, ” In solitude, we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us” and indeed we do. 




















Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Alexandra said to do things that will refresh your mind and relieve tension. To say “no” without going into fictitious details. Create an atmosphere in your private place, an atmosphere with the illusive ingredients of mystery, feminity, dreams, hopes, fantasies, and love. 

“Once you’re settled in bed, a bottle or pitcher of cool, fresh water with a drinking glass at your bedside is a simple luxury. Sipping water is a satisfying health aid. Squirt in some fresh lemon or lime juice when in the mood, or add a paper-thin sliver of orange peel.” 

Sounds wonderful!



Photo by Mariah Hewines on Unsplash


Alexandra continues with more wonderful ideas She said, “Most important is that you do things for your own enjoyment. William Solane Coffin, said there is great joy in self-fulfillment. An evening alone in bed in a lovely nightgown could make your solitude an extra-special blessing.” 

I couldn’t agree with him more….

photo credit: Tumblr

I hope everyone enjoyed today’s tips from Alexandra. I still can’t believe this book was published in the 80’s. I would have love to have this as a teen! I hope everyone has a great Monday!


Enjoy! 

A Target Run ~ Part 2

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Flocked white wreath
And it is Friday…. already. This week went by really fast. As I stated in Wednesday’s post I am in the office this week and next. I have forgotten how to be in the office all week. Boy, it’s a lot but it’s going well. 

I know some of you may have started decorating for Christmas and so of you may have not. I have started and finished. That’s another reason why I am so exhausted but I am very pleased with how it turned out. I do want to share a few items that I saw at Target recently.

I loved all of the picks and organic looking faux flowers. Everything looked so rich this year and real. I have been changing a lot of my decor. I want simple and elegant. I threw away a lot of hodgepodge items. 

I purchased a hand full of these flocked pine stems from Target. They look so wonderful with my velvet poinsettias at home. 

Also found all of these wonderful candles. The peppermint dream candle and apple cinnamon joy candle looked wonderful. 


There were pillows galore! This one is my favorite. 

These gold standing reindeer are the epitome of Christmas elegance. I had to grab some for my dining room table. They are outstanding centerpieces. 

I have been seeing these clear bottle vases everywhere. Not really my cup of tea but they are lovely. 

Beautiful wreaths all down the aisle. They look so life-like and chic. 

Once I got home I could not wait to put my flocked pine stems with my velvet poinsettias. This is one of my favorite Christmas arrangements I have ever made. 

I just adore my reindeer….. 

 

And I finally got a flocked Christmas tree! I love my tree you guys! It turned out so well. I actually put all of my Barbie ornaments on this tree. I would love to buy a second one but we will see. 

I am really enjoying decorating this season. I took my time this year. I didn’t want to rush through everything. I am trying to find my “holiday style”. It is changing. I want more order in my decorating and ornaments. I will share more with you guys later. Enjoy your weekend!


(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

November Dresses

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have been so busy this week. For one I am back in the office for this week and next week only. I am filling in for a friend. I am also trying to get my Christmas trees up and decorated. I feel so hurried this week but I keep telling myself to take my time and enjoy the moment. 

I quickly wanted to share some recent purchases. I shared these on my Liketoknowit account a few days ago. I hope you enjoy them. 

My first dress is a floral wrap dress from Target. When I saw this last weekend I had to have it. I love the colors and the way it fits. It’s a beautiful dress. It’s very professional, very elegant and is only $22! It comes in a lot of sizes including plus sizes. Now, this dress does run big. I had to go down one size. That made me happy. I am wearing a large. 

My second dress purchase was this smocked plaid dress from Target. It fits great as well and I never thought that I would like a plaid dress. This is great for fall or winter. This dress goes all the way up to a 4X! They also carry it in pink and I am seriously thinking about ordering that for summer or spring. This dress runs big as well. 

Now, this dress I ordered from Ann Taylor. This is the tiered mock shift dress and I love it! I didn’t think I would but it fits great! I have worn it already and can’t wait to wear it again. This dress also runs big so I think you can size down if you want. 



I also found this wonderful rhinestone-button cardigan at H&M. It was only $29 and I have worn it a few times already. It runs big but the color is beautiful. 
I hope everyone has found something that they like. Those dresses from Target are awesome. I hope someone will be able to purchase one. Have a great Wednesday everyone!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Grace Note~ Diet Thoughts

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Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It is an Indian summer here in Indiana! It was 70 degrees all weekend long! Very nice but I miss the cold. Okay so I just realized that I got the wrong spray for flocking my trees. Great…. we sprayed them but they did not turn out the way I wanted them. So later this week I will be taking a trip to Walmart to check out their flocked trees. I will keep you guys posted. 


On Friday I gave the last grace notes from Chapter 3 of Living a Beautiful Life and the last grace note from that list had me thinking. 

The note said…. “Begin a “New Attitude” diet today. Make a list of ten reasons why you want to lose weight; repeat them each morning when you wake and whenever resolve weakens. Indulge yourself once a week with a special low-calorie treat, like a big bowl of raspberries. 

Photo by Mariah Hewines on Unsplash

I mentioned in one of my Youtube videos that I was not trying to be apart of the “quarantine 15”. I believe that there were lots of articles written about it during the beginning part of the stay at home orders. There were some comments being made about people gaining from 10 to 15 lbs during the quarantine. Once I heard that I thought oh no!

I already had weight that I trying to lose. Now I had to be diligent and make sure that I wasn’t going to gain more. So I cut back on food and just watched my calories. I have always worked out so exercise was not a problem for me. My issues were dinner. I always ate too much during dinner. 

I have several reasons why I wanted to lose weight. The first is health reasons. I don’t want to be on blood pressure pills or other medications because of my weight. Also, there is a certain way that I want to look in my clothes. I am happy to report that during the quarantine I have lost 7 lbs!

















 Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash

I still have another 10 more to lose but I have not put a time limit on myself. At first, I did but then I reminded myself that it took about 10 years to put this extra weight on I should give myself more time to lose it. What are your weight loss goals? Do you have any? Please share in the comments section if you wish. As always thanks for reading! 


Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL (6)

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Photo by Rikonavt on Unsplash



Good Friday Afternoon,

What a week it has been. This election…. geez. I will say this I always, always pray for whoever the new President is. I believe that since they are the leader of our country we should be praying for them. Also here is the thing, if they do well then we all do well. I always pray for our presidents. Always. 

Okay, let’s dive into the last portion of Chapter 3 in Living a Beautiful Life. I have already started Chapter 4 but as I was reading the “Grace Notes” portion of the book I felt like some of Alexandra’s tips needed to be shared. I hope you agree.

* Use hand towels as generous lap napkins. (great idea!)

* Place fresh flowers in water in an extra sink or in a bucket and just leave them there until they need to be placed around the house. (what a fun idea!)



















Photo by Guillaume LORAIN on Unsplash


* Store candles in the refrigerator; they’ll burn longer. ( I have never heard of this before)

* Serve green grapes with Roquefort cheese on hard pumpernickel rolls. (Sounds like a wonderful treat!)

* Decant olive oil and wine vinegar. (I am sure many of us do this already)

* Use an old Welsh dresser, English baker’s cabinet, or French armoire in the kitchen to store dishes and silverware. (Ahh I really want to do this!)

* Grate fresh parmesan cheese on a spinach salad. 

* Marinate chicken cut in quarters in freshly squeezed orange juice and fresh sliced ginger root, then bake slowly for two hours at 250 degrees. (This sounds sooo good!)



















Photo by Alexandra K on Unsplash


* Call a busy friend and make a date to meet for an early breakfast visit, to catch up. (Last month we took my brother in law out to brunch for his birthday. We had a great time!)

* Sprinkle parmesan cheese on popcorn. A healthy, low-calorie snack – I picked up the idea from Jane Brody.  (This sounds delicious!)

And the last grace note from Alexandra….

* Retrieve a set of those pretty plates you have hidden away in a kitchen cabinet, and hang them on the wall for all to see. A good hardware store will have plate holders in several sizes, designed for hanging. (I have been wanting to try this for some time now)













Photo by Chance Anderson on Unsplash

I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter of the book. I do adore these “Grace Notes” at the end. It’s like a beauty checklist for living. This weekend I will be working on my Christmas decorations. I purchased some flock spray earlier this year from Amazon. We will be spraying some of my trees with it. I sure hope it turns out okay. I will let you guys know. I have been wanting a flocked Christmas tree for some time now. I just didn’t want to spend a fortune on one and I have about 6 Christmas trees in my garage that I could use. 

I will be sure to let you guys know how it turns out! Have a wonderful weekend!





Victorian Carpet Bag ~ Mary Poppins Tote

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My office at home

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful weekend. We kept things quiet on Halloween. We passed out candy and had two friends over for a bit of socializing. That was it. It has been cold here in Indy. We turned on the heat this week but I do open the windows in the mornings for some fresh air. It helps!

I was recently on Etsy and found these enchanting Victorian Carpet Bags! Now I love large bags and I love the shape of these! I know that they may not be for everyone but I love this bag!

photo credit Max Carpet Bags
It does remind you of a Mary Poppins bag but I love it. The body is made of chenille carpet and the handles are made of real leather. I believe these bags are built to last. 
photo credit Max Carpet Bags 
I also love this print as well and I am leaning toward ordering this one. I am not sure yet. I have been thinking about this one all weekend. I believe this would match better with my wardrobe. 

They do come in smaller sizes as well. Let me know your thoughts below. Are they too old fashion or timeless and classic? Don’t be shy and want to know. 

Thanks for reading!!!