Junk and More Junk



Good Morning Everyone,


Sighing…


For the last few days, I have been trying to figure out where all these horrible websites have been coming from on my blog. 


Well, it turns out that there are a lot of us that get hit with these unwanted visitors. They are called “spam referrals”. Great… something else I have to guard myself against. 


Since Blogger is such a huge platform, it is a perfect place to send spam to people like me. I am still talking with individuals at work about what I can do. 


For right now, I will encourage you all to NOT visit these sites. They may take information from your phone and who knows what else. 

So for right now, I am going to enjoy these beautiful photos that I found on Pinterest, get ready to start wrapping presents this weekend and enjoy Christmas with my family. 


Oh and I forgot to mention this. My daughter and I could not get tickets to our normal Nutcracker show this year! They only had it for 3 days! Hamilton is here and booked the theatre for the entire month of December. Luckily, I received an email from the Indianapolis Ballet letting me know that they were having one more show this past weekend. 


It was only going to be part 2 of the Nutcracker but I could not resist! This show was at Newfields and was so much cheaper! Lauren and I loved the show and there was hardly anyone there!


What a dream!


I hope you all enjoy your weekend and remember to stay away from the spam! I wish these people would use their talents to solve world problems! Geez!








(photos via Pinterest)





Christmas Supplies I Am Using

Good Morning Everyone,


Only a few weeks left before Christmas! I went and finished my Christmas Eve dinner shopping this weekend. I got everything except for the items you have to buy last minute. 


My Christmas present shopping is complete and now it is time to check my Christmas supplies. Above is a photo of all of the gift wrapping that I possess. I save the blue and white wrapping paper for individuals who I know will appreciate it!


My daughter loves the weiner dog wrapping paper. I found that last year at T.J. Maxx as well as the others. The blue and white wrapping paper was purchased at The Enchanted Home last year. I just recently got into wrapping paper a few years ago. 


I believe that present presentation is so important. So I am trying to build my Christmas supplies inventory. 

These are the two ribbon rolls that I am using right now. I may visit T.J. Maxx this week to see if they have any new designs!
This is Christmas tissue paper that I purchased after Christmas last year and got it for 50% off!



The same with these gift bags. I found these at Target after Christmas for 50% off.


These are my favorites. Love the elk one!





I couldn’t resist these either. Don’t you just love the Nutcracker one?


And I always have little bags for gift cards and tags. I think I need some new tags. These are a little difficult to use. Another reason to pay T.J. Maxx a visit this week. 

Maybe this post provided some inspiration for you if you are not into present presentation. It says a lot when you put extra effort to make someone’s gift special (on the outside). Have a great Monday!


(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Black Friday Purchases

Good Morning Everyone!


Sighing….. I have one more big dinner to cook for in a few weeks then I can relax. 


I hope you all had a great week. There was a lot going on in the office this week so I am glad that it is ending. 


I found some wonderful items during Black Friday. I never go out and honestly, I don’t see the need to since you can order online and get the same deals. 


I told my friend, “if people are fighting over chicken sandwiches I sure don’t want to go out on Black Friday”! 


So let’s get into my favorite items so far….




Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor! I love Ann Taylor. Honestly, it is the best website to find great, elegant, and timeless pieces for your wardrobe. 


I simply adore these velvet slingbacks from Ann Taylor Loft. I have been wearing them all week and they are so comfy! You will NOT regret getting a pair. 
Even the bows add tons of elegance. 



I had to get them in both colors!

The next purchase that I made were these beautiful suede polka dot pumps from Ann Taylor.

The polka dots are gold!


I could not pass up this crystal flower sweater from Ann Taylor Loft. I believe it is sold out in regular sizes. The only size that is available is in the plus sizes.

I also could not pass up this chic emerald stole from Ann Taylor. The color is perfect and so is the feel. I love wearing this!


It looks great with my vintage clip earrings that I just ordered from eBay.

And lastly, I found this really affordable pink blush velvet sunglass case from H&M. I tried to locate it online but could not find it. Sorry!
I purchased more items and I have more pieces that I am stalking like this velvet kimono from Ann Taylor. 


Gorgeous, isn’t it? I am trying to wait a bit longer. I am curious about some of your finds. Did you guys buy anything that you adore over Black Friday weekend?

My husband purchased an iRobot Roomba from QVC. We named him Alfred (Batman’s butler). I do like it but it’s a little weird seeing him clean the floor. I not quite sure how I feel about robots in the house but I guess that is where we are headed. 

Have a great weekend and I will be posting a video of all of these finds if you wish to see them. 

Thanks for reading!


(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Christmas in my Office

Good Wednesday Morning Everyone,


My day designer is becoming more and more filled with tasks that I have to accomplish. As Christmas day is fast approaching, I began to check my Christmas lists to make sure that all is finished or close to it. 


I decorate any and everywhere I can. I always add a little Christmas cheer to my office. I have my Pandora radio playing my Frank Sinatra Christmas station very quietly. But most of my co-workers around me don’t mind hearing a little Nat King Cole. 


Today I wanted to share the little holiday decor items that I have around my office. 

So we will start with my office door. We have nameplates and I always tape a faux poinsettia above my nameplate. I love it and enjoy walking up to it every morning. 

This is my magnet board under my nameplate. We use these to announce when we are out of the office, meetings, etc. I have a little photo of a poinsettia on mine. 
When you walk into my office you will see this. I have blue and white planters and ginger jars on the floor. I filled one with some faux poinsettias. Very festive!
I have this faux arrangement on one of my window sills in my office. I always exchange or change out the arrangements according to the season. This year I put faux pine, eucalyptus, and oranges in this arrangement. 
My Christmas cactus has started to bloom. This always adds a little more life to my office. 

This is another one of my faux arrangements. I added more faux pine, acorns, red flowers and greenery. It is very beautiful. Especially in the blue and white vase. 

Now my local grocery store had real pine this past weekend. I could not pass it up. I am really enjoying it on my desk this week. 
My supervisor gave us all these charming glass poinsettia trays a couple of years ago. I love using mine every year. I also brought in a Tis the Season candle this year. I don’t light it (office policy) but I can still smell it in my office. It’s delightful! 

And I cannot forget about my scarves. I love placing my scarves on my chair. Especially this beautiful faux fur stole in emerald. It’s stunning and soft! 

I hope that you all have found some inspiration in this post. If you can’t decorate your workspace then make the best of what you can do and what you have. You have a job and sometimes that is the best way to keep things in perspective! Have a great day!




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)



Satin Skirts

Good Morning Everyone,


And we made it! We made it through another Thanksgiving holiday. I hope everyone had a wonderful time with their families. 



We did. It was nice having my step-sons home and my brother and his wife were over also. It was very nice. 



In today’s post, I wanted to share my recent scary purchase. I purchased a satin skirt. 

Now I have been seeing these everywhere. J.CrewAnn Taylor and H&M. In fact, that is where I made my purchase. 
I was so paranoid about making this purchase. I did try it on in the store and I am glad that I did. I would have never purchased it online. I have hips and these skirts look so slender. I didn’t think it would fit me right but it did and it looks great!

Since this skirt is so dressy I wanted to keep my tops a little more casual. I wore this to the office about a week ago and I was very pleased with how it fit and how comfy it was. 

If you are thinking about making a satin skirt purchase I would recommend it. It would be a wonderful addition to any wardrobe. 

Enjoy your Monday!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

An Elegant Gold Purse Chain…

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Wednesday,


One day before turkey day! Yay! I am looking forward to spending time with my family this Thanksgiving. We are having just a few people over and my step-sons. It should be quiet and cozy.

Now on to our regularly scheduled program. A few months ago I shared the beautiful purse below on my Youtube channel.

This is called the Kedeiviel and is still available I might add. It comes with a strap but I really wanted a gold chain. 
So I went and searched on Amazon and found this gold purse chain for only $7.99 and thought I would give it a try. I love it but it was just a little too short for me. So I thought, “well at $7.99 and free shipping why not try this again”. 

This is what it looks like on your shoulder. 
So I went back on their website and ordered another size. This one is PERFECT for me! I love the length and the quality is pretty good for $7.99!

Here is what this size looks like on my shoulder. 
Honestly, I could not be happier and I am glad that I took a chance and ordered another size. I will be able to use both of these chains on other purses if I wanted. 

I hope that you enjoyed this chic and affordable find. And I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend! Take care.




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)


November Favorites



Good Morning Everyone,


I hope everyone had a great weekend. We did! My daughter’s friend invited her to go ice skating. It was a great night out. There were little shops around to buy hot apple cider and food. It was a great couple of hours watching her skate at the Carmel Christkindlmarkt and guess what was in walking distance? The Cakebake Shop!

So my husband wanted to walk over and have dinner there? Nice right? He loves the chicken velvet soup so that worked out for me. 


The restaurant now has all of the Christmas decor up and it is just as beautiful and elegant as ever!

So for our dinner choices this time I got the roasted salmon filet with Maille dijon sauce, roasted potatoes, and Haricot vets. For my cake selection, I got the incredibly moist red velvet cake with pink vanilla bean buttercream. It was all delicious!


It was a great evening.


Okay, let’s get into my November favorites. I will start with this wonderful new tea that I found at the supermarket. 


It is called TeaWell Organic Matcha Green and I love it! As you can see it helps with antioxidant support, immune support, mental vitality and what I need digestion support! It has a wonderful earthy taste to it and tastes wonderful with a teaspoon of honey. And not to give to much t.m.i. it has been getting my juices flowing properly. 


And my new tea selection could not be complete without a new teapot. 

I found this beauty at Homegoods and they don’t let you shop online yet. So if you have one nearby go and check it out. This teapot was only $14.99!


Fourth on my list, and it would not be complete without a favorite scent this month. I am loving the Tis the Season scent from Bath and Body Works. The combination of sweet apple, cinnamon, and cedarwood has been filling my hallways lately. I absolutely adore it!



As some of you may have heard my Christmas trees are up (I put up four in the house), and I can not get enough of them. I love my blue and white ornaments. I promise to post a video on my Youtube channel of the rest of my trees sometime soon. If you have not watched my video of our Barbie Ornament tree you may view it below. 




Sixth on my list has been these Thomas English muffins! I don’t know what possessed me to get English muffins but I did and I love them! I bought a few into the office and I placed them in the toaster, spread some butter on them, and enjoy them at my desk with my blueberries and hot matcha green tea. That is how I start my morning when I get into the office! 


Seventh on my list and this list is getting quite long, are these bow mules that I ordered from Ann Taylor Factory. I talked about these on my blog a few weeks ago. See here if you missed it. They are so comfy and most of my co-workers love them! Don’t miss out!




And last but certainly not least has been the Vince Guaraldi- Charlie Brown Christmas Songs! Now I know it may be a little soon for some but my daughter and I love listening to these on our way to school in the morning. 



They are so classic, timeless and simple. For some reason, these songs put my soul at ease and bring about some peace which is what this country needs so much. 




Well, I hope that you all enjoyed my favorites for the month. I will be prepping this week for Thanksgiving and will be really busy. I hope to film a little of it. We will see.


Enjoy your Monday!










(photos via Mrs. Shockley)