Cherry Blossom Tea

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Along with visiting the cherry blossom trees, I had to take a second visit to the Library of Congress. While there we visited the gift shop. I love walking through there. You will find all kinds of items and gifts. One of those items was this beautiful tin of cherry blossom green tea.

I was a little on the fence about it because they did not have any samples around and I could not see inside the tin. I knew that I was taking a chance on getting it but I could not resist this beautiful pink tin and I am such a fan of green teas. I figured it could not be that bad. 
The aroma when I opened the tin…. Oh my! You can smell the vibrant and fragrant cherries. The scent is just exquisite. I purchased a tin for my supervisor and she said, “I just leave it open to smell it”. It is that wonderful!  
Now the tea is loose and placed in these appealing sachets. They look almost like silk. You can get two cups of tea from it and it is a light color but the taste is very elegant. If you are a tea lover I guarantee you that you will enjoy this tea! It is that good!
If any of you are familiar with this tea and have tried it please share your thoughts below. If any of you are thinking about purchasing it I hope that you do and share your thoughts too! Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Cherry Blossom Season~ Finally

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Sorry for the no-post on Monday. I have been really wiped out lately! I think my body was still tired from the trip and then I am going to be honest…. I still have not recovered from the time change. I want my hour back darn it!

But anyway I must adapt and move on…. right? It has been almost two weeks since my trip to D.C. and I have still not stopped thinking about those cherry blossoms. I have been trying for years and I do mean years to see them. This year when I was making travel plans I told myself, “okay I don’t care anymore I am not going to get upset if we miss cherry blossom season again. I am just going to enjoy my trip and that is that”. And seriously you guys I left it at that. I did not think about it nor worry anymore. It was so freeing.

And then this began to happen the day we arrived….

We arrived in D.C. on March 24 and this is what I saw. I thought, “okay, don’t get too excited. Last year it snowed”! So just calm down. 

Then we came back on Monday and some of the trees looked like this. Astonishing right? 
Then it just got better….

And better…

It turned into heaven right before your eyes. I just stood there and smiled. I could not believe how beautiful it was!

You can see the Jefferson Monument in between the branches in this one. 

It was a beautiful day and the temperature was 60 and up! We could not ask for better weather!

The magnolia trees were blooming too and so fragrant.

There was a local artist there painting. I loved this one. I wanted it so bad but someone had already purchased it. 

And the crowds were a sight to see too. My goodness, there were so many people!

No matter it did not stop us from enjoying every moment that we could. 

These were cherry blossom shortbread cookies and they were so soft and delicious! I wished I had purchased more. The cherry blossom festival was going on and there were lots of booths, tents, music, and food. 

The Washington Monument in the distance. 

It was such a magical moment for me and my family. I know that my husband and I enjoyed it. I am not sure how the kids felt about it. You know teenagers. They only give you one-word adjectives. Heaven forbid they had to express their thoughts. 
If any of you have been able to visit the cherry blossoms please let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley, yay I took these!)

Beautiful Finds in D.C.

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Bonjour everyone! It’s the end of the week (finally) and I am looking forward to our 70-degree weather that has been predicted for our weekend here! Yay! I have gone out to my front yard to see if there is any sign of life and my peonies are coming up!

So excited! I hope I get some great blooms this year. This will be my first year growing my very own peonies. I will update you guys on the process as things come along. Well, today I thought I would share some beautiful and elegant pieces that I purchased while on my way to D.C. last week.

I wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to purchase these before they sold out.

First, on my list are these beautiful and sophisticated bow slingback pumps in silver sky. These are gorgeous shoes and will go with just about anything. They also come in a deep sea teal.
Another chic item that I had to purchase was this elegant boatneck top. It comes in three other colors and is only $14.99 right now. I would order this quick! 
The last two items that I wanted to share was this beautiful fireball illusion necklace in rose gold. It comes in two other colors and this ruffle trim top in winter white. These are great pieces that are very versatile and lovely. If you are like me you would wear these with skirts. But I could even see these worn with a pair of jeans. I think both tops would look lovely with a pair of jeans and the necklace. Even the pumps would add a feminine look to a casual outfit. 
Well, I hope that you enjoyed these finds and I look forward to sharing some beautiful photos next week of all of the enchanting cherry blossoms trees that I got to bask in. 
Enjoy!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

March Favorites

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It’s Wednesday…. already. We are in our first week of April and I have not posted my March favorites. It did take me a moment to remember a few things that I have enjoyed for the month of March. I had a lot going on work-wise so everything just flew by.

Well, let’s get right into my favorites…

First on my list is the grilled chicken wrap at Chick Fil A. I LOVE this!!!  But I normally have the staff “red flag” mine because I like it with crispy chicken instead of the grilled. I know that is not a healthy choice but it’s so good! Love it!
Second, on my list is my set of J Crew multi-strand pearls and Chanel inspired brooch. I purchased my necklace from Poshmark and my brooch from Etsy. Lately, I have just been pinning my brooch to my pearls for a very beautiful combination. I adore the way it looks!

Third, on my list is my new king-size Nautica comforter. I purchased this from HomeGoods earlier last month and my husband and I have enjoyed it. It is so plush and cozy. It was a great find!  
Fifth, on my list, is an oldie but goodie. I have worn this perfume for years now and continue to do so. I still get compliments on it. I adore the Donna Karen Cashmere Mist. Every time I put it on I just feel so pulled together. It is a wonderful scent and it is classic. 
Sixth, on my list is my peppermint body oil from my herbal lady. She sells her herbs, teas, oils, and other home remedies during the spring and summer. We have an open market on Wednesdays when the weather gets warm and I always go and visit her. I purchased this bottle last year and it is homemade. I rub it on my cuticles and on my heels especially. Those spots get really bad during the winter. It smells heavenly and works wonderfully.  
Seventh, on my list, are my favorite hand soaps from Bath and Body Works. 
These are my favorites, crisp apple, cucumber & lily and white tea & sage. All are wonderful scents and will leave a lovely smell in your bathroom and on your hands when you use them. I even bring one with me when we travel. I hate the little cheap bar soaps that they leave in the room. I love having my own hand soap in our hotel bathroom. It’s such a treat! 
And last but not least are my hand and nail creams from Clarins.
Clarins is a wonderful company that has some of the best lotions and creams. I have used their body rich lotion and it is marvelous! The smell is stellar and the coverage is exceptional. The scents for these 3 are fresh and clean. I have really enjoyed using them and will keep one in my purse. 
Well, that takes care of my March favorites. Let me know in the comments section below if you enjoy these favorites every month. Have a great day!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

The Classic Quilted Handbag

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I have returned home from Washington and it was a great! I enjoyed all of the sights and I really loved the cherry blossoms! I still can’t believe that I got to see them! It was like a dream….

I look forward to sharing my trip on the blog. But I wanted to address something here just for a moment. You know….. I hate it when porn websites visit my blog. It is the most disgusting thing to see… porn sights show up on your blog reports. Yes, we see you sick people visiting our blogs. GO AWAY! I don’t know why you people are visiting my blog. I am working on getting you banned from my blog. It is really ridiculous!

It’s makes you wonder why they are visiting. Are you trying to steal my photos and use them on your sight and pretend you are me so that you can steal money from other people? I would not be surprised if that were the case. I am so glad that my office is prosecuting people like this. Just gets on my nerves.

Well let’s move on….

My very good friend Mrs. Shery shared this wonderful find with me. This is called the Ainifeel Women’s Quilted Handbag and it is gorgeous!

It has the double flap just like the Chanel one. 
The inside has a lot of room, pockets, and lots of compartments. 

No detail was overlooked. 
I watched multiple YouTube videos on this handbag and I would encourage you to do the same before you purchase. The outside is made of real leather and the chains are very comfortable. I carried this for an entire day during our Capital tour and it gave me NO problems. I just received lots of stares. 

The chain can be converted to go longer or you can carry it with the double chain if you like. The bag weighs about 3 lbs. before you fill it so just be aware of that. If you are used to carrying big bags then this should not be a problem. 
It is quite beautiful. My friend said that it reminded her of the Chanel 2.55 handbag from 1955.
I would have to agree. Wow…. I was really surprise to see this myself. It makes me feel even better about buying it. 
It was packed really well and came with a dust bag. Very nice!
This is me with my dream Chanel bag about 2 years ago. Of course I did not purchase it because it was $4,000! My husband looked at me and just shook his head. I know… but I just wanted to carry it. If only for a few seconds. 
But I have to say that my Ainifeel is pretty close and I do like the way it looks. 
When you click on the link above, you will notice that there are more colors and different size options. Like this beautiful Ainifeel bag. I know…. it’s great isn’t it? I found the fellow blogger’s website here if you wish to read about this handbag. 
Well I hope that you enjoyed this post and this beautiful find. I always love finding classically inspired pieces for a great price! Enjoy!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

Round Three, D.C.!

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It’s time again! I am headed to Washington, D.C. for another week. My family and I will be there next week so I will be m.i.a. on the blog. I am going for another week of work but I am hoping to enjoy it like we have the last few times.

Cherry Blossom season had been predicted again for the week that we are there so fingers crossed! I am hoping that we will see it this year! I really want too!

Another place on my agenda is a Goodwill! I know that is weird but I am so curious to see what things I could find at a Goodwill store in D.C.

Other than that I am open to whatever. Of course, I would love to see all of the monuments again and visit the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Art. Those are my favorite places in D.C.

So until April….. enjoy your week!

(photo via Mrs. Shockley) 

Chic Assignments ~ March

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So we are already into the middle of March and these months are just flying by. My favorite author Jennifer L. Scott has already given us our chic assignments for March. I shared a few weeks ago my February chic assignments and the status of where I am on them. This is such an enjoyable activity. I have really enjoyed this.

Now let’s get into March’s assignments.…

Jennifer’s first assignment is to listen to Chopin Nocturne and I have. What a wonderful piece! I am still working on practicing my piece from Bach. It will be a process. Stay tuned!

The next assignment is to make your laundry more routine and more pleasurable!  It’s funny because I was already working on that. I went to the Container Store to try to find some organizational bins for my laundry room and I found these and these and they worked out great!

So many wonderful options….
I picked out the grey ones and I also added this beautiful picture in my laundry room. I found this in South Carolina about 5 years ago! It was in a Goodwill store. Love it hanging in my laundry room. 
Her third assignment was to study the works of Claude Monet. 
I was fortunate enough to see his work in person at the National Gallery of Art in Washington last year. See my blog post here and here about that. I got to visit twice!
And her last assignment was to prepare your wardrobe for seasonal transition. 
I am already working on that. I am looking for as many floral wardrobe pieces that I can find. I don’t have a ten-item wardrobe but I do get rid of items very quickly if they are not serving me well. I found this gorgeous blue and white dress at New York and Company. It is lovely and I can not wait to wear it this spring and summer. I have also ordered three new dresses from Old Navy and a new leopard maxi from New York and Company. I also shared some of my favorite spring finds from Ann Taylor. You may view that post here if you wish. 
I am looking forward to spring and I am excited to continue this series with Jennifer. Please share your March chic assignments below. I am very curious about you guys! Thanks for reading!!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)