Chinoiserie Gift Bags

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Good Morning and Welcome to November!


I can’t believe we are saying that… November. Well, we had an interesting weekend. My step-son called and said that he wanted to come home for the weekend…. with his new girlfriend. 


Oh Lord…. so they came down and we all had dinner and she slept in his room and he was downstairs (she is from Ohio and has no family here in the city). It was a little awkward to me but I wanted to make her feel welcomed. 


It turned out okay. She is a very nice girl and is studying to become a pediatric surgeon. Lots of school ahead of her so we all hope she does well. 


In today’s post, I wanted to share a recent beautiful find. You all know how much I love blue and white so when I saw these on The Enchanted Home’s website I knew that I had to purchase a few. 

Gorgeous aren’t they? Now the blue and white chinoiserie gift bag is pretty sturdy and wonderfully beautiful. 

The inside is spacious and is the average size of a gift bag.




The ginger jar and pink blossoms gift bag is lovely also. She has it in large and small so make sure that you pay attention to the description box if you order one. 



Such classic and beautiful bags. They come in sets of two so you will get two bags with each order. I am interested in ordering the classic topiary gift bag. That looks pretty chic too. Now I am keeping my gift bags to myself. I will use them to carry things to the office and other office-like tasks. I would not recommend gifting one to someone unless you know that they are a die-hard blue and white fan. 

Most people would just throw these away. These are something to be enjoyed over and over. I hope all of the blue and white fans enjoy these. Can’t you just see these with beautiful tissue showing at the top of these? So beautiful. Have a great Wednesday!


(photos via Mrs. Shockley)


Ann Taylor Factory ~ Cheap Finds

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Good Morning Everyone,

I had another blog post planned for today but I did not want anyone to miss out on these wonderful deals! 


You know I just keep telling myself, “I will not do any bogus shopping” and without fail a beautiful advertisement will appear somewhere in my social media news feed and pull me away.


I must get stronger but until then take a look at all of these beautiful finds from Ann Taylor Factory.

Image result for bow mules ann taylor factory

I just ordered these extremely chic bow mules. They are suppose to arrive this week. I hope they fit well!




This tweed clutch is another gorgeous find and for $35 why not!

This beautiful and classic funnel neck coat comes in three different colors and goes all the way up to size 18. It’s $113 with an extra 25% off! Take advantage!






This festive beaded sweater comes in two different colors and is perfect for the holidays!

Image result for beaded yoke sweater ann taylor factory

Faux leather is in and I am trying to find a skirt for myself. But I did not want anyone to miss out on this faux leather wrap skirt for only $53 with 25% off! It goes up to a size 18! 

Image result for faux leather wrap skirt ann taylor factory

I am seriously contemplating buying this beautiful scarlet lily shell. It would be perfect with a beautiful cardigan!

Now we can’t forget about jewelry. A chic look is not complete without it. I love these starburst earrings. They always add just enough sparkle to one’s face. 

A lace sleeve blouse is always lovely. I love this in the putty but it comes in five different colors!

Image result for lace sleeve scoop neck ann taylor factory

Block heel pumps are becoming more and more popular! And why not, they are so comfy. I found these for $47 with 25% off and they come in tweed! Yay!

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I am also thinking about ordering one of these manicure kits as well. They come in three different covers and are seriously cheap! It would be a great gift!

Image result for manicure kit ann taylor factory
Here’s another great gift. A quilted cosmetic case for under $20. Has a very Chanelish look to it.
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I don’t care what time of year it is I cannot overlook a great floral wrap blouse. This is stunning and may be added to my list! 


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And my last item are these stone huggie earrings. Now I don’t know if they are clip or pierced but they are elegant. I may have to call Customer Service to find out. 

Image result for stone huggie earrings ann taylor factory
I do hope that you enjoyed these beautiful, elegant, and affordable finds from Ann Taylor. I hope you all have a great Monday and let me know in the comments section below if you will be making a purchase! I am curious about what my readers love!


(photos via Ann Taylor Factory.com)

Reputation by Association

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Good Morning Everyone,


It has been an interesting week. I am still volunteering at Dress for Success and still enjoy it. Being around all these different women just had me thinking. Do you believe that we attract who we are?


I believe it and have seen it work in my life as well as others. Remember that classless co-worker that I talked about here on the blog? Well, one of our other co-workers was friends with her and as I watched their friendship I noticed that the other co-worker (who was very nice) begin to act like and sort of take on the nasty one’s demeanor. 


photo credit Mariah Hewines 



It was really hard to watch and some of us noticed it right away and felt sorry for her. Well, I am happy to report that they are no longer friends. The nasty one (who was nasty to me and others) destroyed that friendship as well and the nice one was left without an explanation. 


She just stopped talking with her which is really sad. She didn’t even tell her why she did not want to be friends anymore. I can’t say I am surprised. I talked with my mentor about it and she said (which is what I already knew) she no longer had a use for her and didn’t need her anymore. Really sad…


























Be careful who you let into your “gates”. Not everyone is for you. I am still reading the English Etiquette and I am in the chapter about reputation. Alena had some wonderful tidbits in this section. 


“When you spend time with people who are thin on morality, manners and common decency as if by osmosis, your reputation and self-worth will begin to fall in line with theirs”. 


“Choose wisely who you spend your time with because despite what you know in your heart, you will look guilty by association and the time spent with those people will only serve to drag you down and perhaps tempt you in the long run”. 


“Be the light to these people but don’t validate what they are doing by passively hanging around with them in order to make yourself or them feel better”. 


I take these wisdom points very seriously. I am very, very cautious about who I let into my gates. I know that not everyone is my friend. It’s so unfortunate that we have to be this way. But be careful that you don’t turn a blind eye to someone’s horrible behavior just to have a friend because is that really friendship? 



















photo credit Anatasia Lysiak 







I have been praying for years (since 2012) that the Lord will send me godly friends that will pray for me and I will pray for them. But another thing that I always pray is that the Lord will sever ties with people that I don’t need to be in relationships with. 


So I hope that these tidbits of wisdom help and remind you that friendships are wonderful but be careful about who you let into your life. Have a great weekend!

Elegant Wednesday

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Good Morning,


I saw this bit of wisdom on Pinterest also. Whatever you have in life make it beautiful. 




And she always had a way with her brokenness. She would take her pieces and make them beautiful. 


~ R.M. Drake




I use my broken pieces all the time to create something marvelous. We are not perfect but we are living. Enjoy your day!

photo credit Freddie Martyn 

Confident Monday

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photo credit Brigitte Tohm 

Let’s start our Monday off with a little confidence…




I saw this poem on Pinterest.


I know God has a plan. I pray for direction to follow it, patience to wait for it, and knowledge to know when it comes. 


I whole-heartedly believe this and need this. I hope this inspires you today. 






Enjoy your Monday!




Other posts on confidence:


Mental Chicness


A Lovely Mind


A Lovely Mind- Part 2









Blush for Autumn

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Good Morning Everyone,


Goodness, Halloween is next week and I have begun my holiday list review. It dawned on me this morning that I have to start preparing for Thanksgiving. 


I like to start my turkey shopping as soon as possible. The brand that I like to buy usually sales out pretty quickly here in Indy. 


Yesterday morning, I attended the Coffee Classic Series at the symphony. The performance was called Mozart’s Concerto for a King. The program started at 11:00 a.m. so I took an hour of leave and attended the performance. It was lovely. I really enjoyed having a morning symphony. It eased my mind and I was completely relaxed. I look forward to attending more morning symphonies. 


I wanted to end the week with these beautiful photos of autumn decor from Victoria Magazine. Autumn decor is usually brown’s, yellow’s and orange’s. But I really like how these pastel colors were tastefully done. 

Softly Shaded

I adore this look. The pumpkins are the perfect mauve color and I love the gourds and weathered lanterns. But I would be worried about my dogs picking up the pumpkins and chewing on them.


Softly Shaded
Don’t you just love the vintage linens? I am on the look-out for a vintage table linen for home. I have not found one yet but will keep my eyes open. The vintage books are a nice touch and so is the candlelight. 

Softly Shaded

 These are gorgeous! I love the botanical greenery and the hydrangea blossoms. The dusty pink pumpkins are a perfect fit in this window box. To read the original article you may see it here.


I hope you all have a great weekend. I will try to upload a video this weekend. I am just trying to figure out what I want it to be about. Enjoy your weekend!








(photos via Victoria Magazine.com)





Inspiring Quotes

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photo credit Jean Philippe Delberghe

I have had such a busy week so far. I am filling in for my friend and co-worker again. But honestly, I love that I have been given the opportunity to do this. I am really grateful for it. 


That had me thinking about a recent article that I read called “61 Inner Peace Quotes”. These quotes are from all kinds of different people. They are different in many ways but all searching for the same thing. Peace….


I wanted to share a few of my favorites. 


“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace”. ~ Dalai Lama


“If you only walk on sunny days, you’ll never reach your destination”. ~ Paulo Coelho


“You are the sky. Everything else- it’s just the weather”. ~ Pema Chodron


“Peace is the result of retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you think it should be”. ~ Wayne W. Dyer


“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset”. ~ Saint Francis de Sales

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”. ~ Viktor Frankl 

“When you’re in the weeds, all you can see is the process of doing the work. When you take a step back, you can see the purpose”. ~ Adam Grant

photo credit Brigitte Tohm 
“Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is, therefore, the means for correcting our misperceptions”. ~ Gerald Jampolsky 

And the last one (I wish I could get to this one day).

“This is my secret. I don’t mind what happens”. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti 

I hope that you have found some inspiration for today. I am learning that I do not have the grace to deal with things in the future. Grace is only granted to me one day at a time. 

Enjoy your day.

(A blog post that I shared in 2014 about elegant quotes)