My Chinoiserie Bathroom

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Good Morning and Happy Friday,

I hope everyone watched the Inauguration. I did and was very happy to see everyone being gracious to one another. That meant more to me than anything. I was happy to see former VP Mike Pence there and how he and our new VP Kamala Harris treated each other. It was respectable. I am a very traditional person and enjoy historical ceremonies such as these. I am always curious to see how the women will dress. Everyone looked great. Although I must admit, I was coveting Jennifer Lopez’s Chanel earrings! How chic were those! Well on to a favorite project. 

I mentioned in my last Youtube video that my husband would be painting our downstairs guest bathroom. I mentioned a stencil by a company called Cutting Edge Stencils that would help accomplish the beautiful chinoiserie print that I wanted and I must say it turned out beautiful!

 

 

This is our bathroom before. The color on the wall is called Flagstone and I believe my husband painted it about 3 years ago. I love this color and knew that white would look great with it. 

 

 

We ordered the Avian Chinoiserie Chic stencil in small. It turned out to be a perfect size. I think if we had ordered the large then the birds and vines would have been too big. 

 

 

This was the bathroom after one day. It took a lot of work. My husband had to use a spray adhesive to get the stencil to stick to the wall. This was a slow process because you also had to wait for the sections to dry before you could continue. 

 

 

This is my husband and this was Day 2. He started off using a roller brush but we soon realized that it could not get all of the details of the stencil. The roller would miss spots so I went and grabbed my foundation sponge and it worked like a charm!!!

 

 

Day 3….

 

 

This was Day 4 and I could not love it more. The paint has dried and it looks like a completely different room. The family is use to closing the door but I have been demanding that they leave it open. I want to be able to see my beautiful bathroom. Plus my husband did a lot of work so I think he should be able to see it too. 

 

 

This was a great compromise for us. I have been wanting chinoiserie wallpaper for a while (some of you may know that) and this was a great substitution. We have had a lot of people already tell us that it looks like wallpaper. I know there are a few spots that we need to fix but for the most part it is a dream for me. My husband has packed away the stencil for another day. I am sure that we will use it again soon. I am very tempted to order a second stencil just in case! 

 

Let me know in the comments section below what you think. Are you a chinoiserie lover? 

 

Have a great weekend!

 

fyi: This post is not sponsored. 

Follow Your Dreams ~Inspiration from Victoria Magazine

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Hello Everyone,

I don’t think I have made it a secret about how much I love Victoria magazine especially January’s issue. If you have not picked up a copy I would suggest you do! It was SO inspiring. For me having my very own side business has always been a dream. I never knew how I would accomplish it and to this very day I still don’t know how, but creating beautiful things has always been a dream for me. 

Even having this blog has been one of the best adventures that I have ever taken. This blog has caused me to create an environment that I love and can’t wait to return to. I love my blog seriously I do. It’s nice to have something that belongs to you. Especially if it is something that you are creating. I always pray that the Lord will continue to lead me in the right direction. 

I picked up my magazine in December and dived right into the articles. This issue is the Entrepreneur issue and has lots of women who are starting businesses while also following their dreams. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

 

This issue talked about seven women entrepreneurs. I follow about three of them and love the work that they do. It is so rewarding to do what you love. I think that most of us follow Jennifer L. Scott and love her channel. I thought they did such a wonderful job telling her story. 

 

photo credit: John O’Hagan ~ Victoria Magazine 

 

The other entrepreneurs that I follow are Cheryl Luckett and Erisha Rubingh. Both of them have wonderful companies that will inspire you to live well. Another person that was mentioned in the magazine was Ajiri Aki who has a business that I dream of.  Ajiri Aki has a wonderful business called Madame de la Maison.  Ajiri has a fondness for beautiful things and turned that into a career. She started her business after she explored Paris’s flea markets and began to buy items to sell online. What a dream!!! 

 

 

photo credits: Madame de la Maison 

 

 

I hope you found this post to be inspiring. Whatever your dream may be, whether it’s joining Youtube, starting a blog, or an online business, do what you LOVE. With everything going on around us we are in a time where the “pursuit of happiness” is a must!

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

 

A New Decor Idea ~ Throw Pillow Covers

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. We finally had snow here in Indy! I have been looking forward to it. It has been quite warm here so the snow is not sticking but it sure was nice to see this weekend. 

Has anyone else realized that next week is the last week of January…. already. I was talking to my husband and I saw that on the calendar. It’s just crazy. I really haven’t made any New Year resolutions. Well the main thing for me is to keep to my weight loss goals. I am really hoping to be down another 10 lbs. before June! I will keep you posted. 

In today’s post, I wanted to talk about throw pillow covers. Now I have never really been a fan of these. I have always been frustrated when I saw a pillow online and wanted to order it but did not because it was a pillow cover. 

Well since I have been purging items I realized that over the last few years I have gotten rid of so many pillows! If I would have thought that through I would have kept those pillows just changed the pillow covers. My recent pillow cover purchase from H&M really turned my perspective around.  When I received those pillow covers I thought wow I could really change the look of my pillows, save space, and money. It was like a whole new world open up to me and so now I have been more open to buying pillow covers. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I recently ordered these toile inspired pillow covers from Amazon. I was not sure how they were going to look in person but I must say that I am pleasantly surprised! The size is perfect and the print is incredibly chic! 

 

 

 

The size is 20×20 and they were only $18 per cover! Great right? 

 

 

The pillow inserts that I used were from other pillows that I had in the house. I removed those covers and put the toile ones on. It was perfect. I have now pulled one of my baskets and will use that to put all of my pillow covers in. I am so glad that I have considered doing this. It makes so much sense. 

 

Let me know in the comments section below if you use pillow covers. I would love to hear who often you change them and what are your favorites!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Elegant & Custom Stationary Cards

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Good Morning Everyone,

Gosh, it’s Friday again. I am looking forward to a 3-day weekend. I am trying to plan accordingly. I am finally finding my way around my apps and website. I finally figured out how to get access to all of my internet favorites. It has been hard but now I can add great items to my Favorites page.  Keep an eye on that page. I will be updating it every week!

With all of the commotion going on with my website and the holidays I completely forgot to share these custom stationary cards that I ordered on Etsy. 

 

My custom cards & photo 

 

These custom cards are from an Etsy shop called “A Thing Created“.  Aren’t they fabulous? She has so many options it’s crazy. I will be going back to order more. The owner of this Etsy shop was actually featured in Victoria Magazine this month.  I love her work and made sure that I gave her a 5-star rating! 

 

 

photo credit: AThingCreated 

 

This is the second set of custom cards that I am thinking about ordering. I think that they would be wonderful to have for the spring and summer.  I am also considering ordering the set below too. 

 

 

photo credit: Ivana Illustrations 

 

 

 

Now these are not from the same Etsy shop but they sure are chic! Let me know in the comments section below what your favorite custom stationary cards are. It sure does feel great writing a note on one of these and sending it to a very dear friend. Have a great weekend!

 

 

fyi: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

 

 

Simplify Your Life

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

It’s back to the daily grind for me and my family. Our daughter has returned to school part-time so we will see how it goes. My step-son is suppose to return to college this week. Fingers crossed he does. This has been a long, long Thanksgiving vacation and I want my couch and fridge back! Speaking of all of the things that go on in our lives I wanted to share this book that I purchased back in 2008. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

It is called 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Joyce Meyer.  I was looking at my bookshelf and my eyes just landed on it and I thought, wow this might help someone. We are all facing challenges this year already. I know for us we are losing lots of restaurants in our downtown location. It has been really sad to watch it all fall apart. But I am trying to trust that God has a plan. 

 

 

This book is full of short chapters that provide great impact. I do have my favorite chapters and wanted to share them. The third chapter is called, “Keeping God First”. It starts off with a wonderful quote, “Man’s life is of God, not of his goods, however abundant they may be”. ~ Henry Alford.

Joyce says, ” I believe it is God’s will for his people to be prosperous in every area of their lives, including finances, and material goods. Psalm 35:27 says that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people. I find no scripture saying He is pleased when his people do not have their needs met.”

I try to keep this in mind when things are tight or when I believe something ought to be my way and it isn’t. Another favorite chapter of mine is “Don’t Make Mountains out of Molehills”. Boy, can I make things worse in my mind. I am trying to learn to keep things in perspective. 

 

 

There is also a chapter on “Minding Your Own Business, Refuse to Live in Fear, and Don’t Fret over Evildoers”. I need a refreshing course on this! I feel like evil is running wild! But the quote in this chapter helped me to but this back in order, it said, “I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?” ~ Henry Ford 

I hope you have found some peace and inspiration in this post. I am just as confused and lost about what’s happening in our world today. But I just keep praying that God will lead us in the right direction. I hope you have a great Wednesday!

 

photo credit: Nina from Pinterest 

 

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

 

My New Bar Cart

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend. My weekend was pretty quiet. I did stop by HomeGoods on Saturday. I was on the hunt for a tall mirror. I desperately needed one for looking at my wardrobe in the mornings and for wardrobe selfies. I want to be able to take more photos of my daily outfits. I did find one. I am not in love with it but it will get the job done for now. 

I did find some wonderful faux flower arrangements, a beautiful white peony wreath, and some beautiful new gold picture frames. Also, I ordered some dresses from Amazon. I will share those if they fit well. 

Today I wanted to share my most recent purchase. I have been wanting a bar cart for a while now but I was waiting until Christmas ended to see what space I do have. I ordered this one from Home Depot. I love the rose gold color and tempered black glass shelves. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Unfortunately, it is sold out but I did find this one, this one, and this one. 

 

 

I love having my Victoria tea set on it. It gives it such an elegant look. Styling a bar cart can be rather difficult. I jumped on Pinterest to get some ideas. Most of them had liquor on them and I don’t plan on using my cart for that. I think you can place anything your heart desires. Books are good, candles, your favorite antique crystals, and don’t forget fresh flowers. 

 

 

I loved having my fresh tulips on it. It was a reminder of the beautiful spring weather that will be arriving. Although, I am not trying to rush anything. I want to enjoy the winter as well. 

 

 

My cart did arrive before Christmas so I was able to use it for our Christmas Eve dinner. I placed extra dishes on it and away from the table and counters so people could grab what they needed and not be in the way. It worked out well! My husband was pleased with how I used it too. Let me know in the comments section below if you own a bar cart and if so how do you use it. 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

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

Grace Rose Farms ~ Rose Water Spray

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Good Morning Everyone,

What a week it has been. So much going on in the news and in my city. I am looking forward to a calm weekend.

 

I recently shared on my Youtube channel that I ordered a bottle of the Garden of Grace Rosewater spray. Let me say that the packaging alone was worth the purchase!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

As I mentioned on my channel I believe this company wants the opening of the package to be an experience as well.

 

 

 

For those of us who love pink and flowers, this scent, and packaging are the epitome of femininity. It is everything you want in elegance.

 

 

I admire the time and dedication that they put into the scent and the packaging. You can tell that everything was thought through and well-executed!

 

 

I hope you all can experience this wonderful product. The scent is very light and smells just like their roses when it drys. Keep an eye out for future discounts and opportunities to order! I know I now want the perfume and candle. We will see! Thanks for reading!

 

This post is not sponsored.