Trying New Things (Organic)

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Hello Everyone,

Today is going to just be a quick little post about natural products that I am trying. I have been reading and watching a lot about natural living. I believe it is important but it will be a slow process for us all. 

I am starting with these natural candles that I found at my neighborhood grocery store. These are called Nature’s Own Natural Candle. I found these in our cleaning section and wanted to give them a try. Now they are not as powerful as the other candles that I use but they are lightly scented. They do smell wonderful and burn quite well. I purchased the Wild Tuberose (smells like roses) and White Thyme and Tangerine. 
Next is this Ultra Downy Nature Blends- Plant Base Softener. It smells DIVINE! I purchased the rosewater and aloe scent. We love it! Now I must admit I have not used fabric softener in years! Everything I purchased made us itch! We have been using this for a month and now I believe that I can’t live without it. It was a great find and did I mention it was plant-based!
And last on my list is this Simple Truth Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray. I use cooking spray every day and then it dawned on me that maybe I should try some organic spray. I love it and did notice a change in taste with my food. 

I hope you all enjoyed these products and if you have found something organic that you would like to share please do so in the comments section! I love reading about all your home ideas!


Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Welcome Autumn!

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Well Hello Autumn Morning,

Yesterday we all got up early to go to the 9:30 service at our church and when we open the garage door the crisp autumn air hit. It was 50 degrees and raining. It was wonderful! I put on a chunky cardigan and grabbed one of my cozy scarfs and beautiful brooch and just grinned at my husband who just shook his head. He hates the cold….

I have started transitioning our home and my clothes over to welcome in the changing trees and cooler weather. Last weekend I changed my bright pink and lavender wreath over to the wreath above. I love it and think that it adds just enough to our porch. 

I pulled out my faux light blue and white pumpkins and moved my mandeville over and placed it on the blue and white stool. Love the way that looks!
I also pulled out my pillows and placed them on the chairs. You can see my noisy dogs in the window. They are always watching what I do. 

This is what the other side of the pillow says. I try to remind myself of that every day. 
Now is the time to start swapping over my shoes. Sorry for the mess, but this is just a glimpse of what I do when seasons change. 

I actually wore these to church on Sunday morning. A little glitter never hurt anyone!
I’ve been looking at my faux fur scarves and trying to determine what I can wear now and what can wait. We have a few days this week where the low will be around 40 degrees! 

Love my pink blush scarves!

Ann Taylor Orange tote (Poshmark find)

Time to pull this out. It is the perfect orange for the season.

I also took a look at all of my cardigans. I have A LOT of cardigans. I don’t know why but they are my favorite thing to buy. 

It was also nice to have a hot cup of tea on Sunday. I sat down and watched the Phantom of the Opera on Netflix. It was free so I had to take a chance. It was wonderful! I watched the 2004 version with Gerard Butler whom I thought did a nice job. 

Well, I hope you all are receiving cooler weather in your parts of the world. I particularly enjoy this time of year. Let the reign of pumpkin spice begin!



Thanks for reading!




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

The Enchanted Home Desk Calendar

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Good Friday Morning,
It’s the beginning of fall break here for our students. I know that our daughter and my step-son are really excited! Honestly, I am too. It’s nice to get these holiday breaks so that you can reset yourself to get your schedule back in-sync. 


At the beginning of the school year we were leaving the house at 7:30 in the morning. Now we have slipped up to 7:40 which is killing us! I’ve got to get it back together. It’s amazing how that 10 minutes is everything. 


In today’s post I wanted to share a recent item that I received last week. I did the pre-sale order for the Enchanted Home Desk Calendar.


And it’s in blue and white of course!

I already have it on my desk at the office and can’t wait to use it in 2020. 
This one happens to be my favorite. She has her signature orchid on top of the table with all of her gorgeous blue and white ginger jars at the bottom. 

And look at December. Isn’t that picturesque? The nutcrackers, the ginger jars, the stockings and fire.
Very nice!

I think that Tina and the artist did a wonderful job with these. They are simple yet still elegant but we should not be surprised. Tina’s Blog is just beautiful and she has wonderful taste. I did not purchase the easel from her. I actually purchased this last year from Inslee. I ordered her desk calendar last year and it came with the gold easel so I was in luck! I did not have to purchase one. 

I hope that you enjoyed this new chic little office find and thank you to everyone who watched my mid-week video on Youtube. I actually had fun filming that one. Have a great weekend!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

An Elegant Skinny Scarf

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Good Morning Ladies,


I hope you all are enjoying your week. Today I just wanted to post about this elegant skinny scarf from Ann Taylor. I actually tried to order this online about two weeks ago but could not. I don’t know why but there was an error on the Ann Taylor website. 

Luckily, I got to visit the store recently and they had it there in person. I always love it when that happens. 

It’s a beautiful silk scarf and would look lovely on anyone. I spoke with the sales associate about if they were staying. We have lost so many locations. I just hope we are able to keep ours. I hate ordering online!  I like to be able to see my clothes and accessories in person. She told me that so far we would keep our location here in Indy. So fingers crossed! I hope everyone enjoys this find!


Have a wonderful day!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley )

A Lovely Birthday ~ The Cake Bake Shop in Carmel

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Happy Monday Morning Everyone!


Thank you all for the wonderful birthday wishes! I had a great weekend. I didn’t do a whole lot but going to the Cake Bake Shop was everything. 

Walking into the shop this is what you saw. Grand chandeliers everywhere! Gwendolyn did not skimp on the glamour for this restaurant. 

Loved the mirrored walls and elegant sconces. They were everywhere!

This was our table. The tables and chairs were just as stylish as the walls and floors! I adored these salt and pepper shakers. I asked if they were available to purchase and they were! If you are interested here is the link.

Once seated I immediately ordered the sparkling lavender lemonade and it did not disappoint. It was delicious! I love lemonade that doesn’t taste like a cup of sugar! The hint of lavender was just enough. I loved the real fresh rose petals too!

I ordered the turkey and gruyere sandwich. It was on a toasted french baguette with maille dijon. It was served with an arugula salad lightly dressed with a lemon vinaigrette and parmesan cheese. Delicious!

I could not help myself. I ordered a side of the herb potato salad. It’s baby red potatoes with dill, Italian parsley, basil, green onions, lightly dressed with lemon. It was mixed with their homemade mayonnaise.  

My husband ordered the lemon parmesan chicken breasts with pommes frites. He also could not help himself and ordered a bowl of the chicken velvet soup. It was sooo delicious ladies! We ordered four bowls to go!

And lastly, for my birthday cake, I ordered the millionaire cake. It is three layers of Valrhona french chocolate with house-made caramel, vanilla bean buttercream, and house-made butter shortbread cookies. It was topped with Callebaut Belgian chocolate fudge, more shortbread, and caramel.  

Once we finished lunch I had to visit the ladies room. I know this is weird but I love beautiful bathrooms. Is that bad? This one had beautiful sconces and gold hardware. It was hard not to admire. 

Mrs. Gwendolyn’s article in Tea Time Magazine. 

Love the paint color and gold hardware!

Sorry I know it’s toilet paper but how chic!



Once I was finished in the ladies room, I decided to visit the bakery section of the restaurant. 
Tasteful Halloween decor in the bakery

Look at all of the lovely Lenox china. I really wanted the teapot but the price was a little scary.

More and more delicious desserts. We did grab a few of the macaroons before they sold out. 

I thought these snow globes were so charming!

Of course, I could not leave without seeing the teacups and saucers. 


I also loved these silicone spatulas! These would make great gifts!

Oh, the cookies and cream cake!

I still have not tried the red velvet cake. I really need to try that!
I took one more walkthrough before leaving.

The bar scene was pretty elegant also.

Of course, I could not leave without a teacup and saucer. These are pricey but I only purchased one which is enough. 

I also could not pass up these gorgeous pink pens and the ink is blue! Yay, my favorite!

It was a wonderful birthday lunch with my husband.

We enjoyed ourselves very much and look forward to returning.




Thanks for reading!

Cake Bake Shop Visit 2016

Cake Bake Shop Visit 2018




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Lovely Friday

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My office bouquet this week

Good Morning!


It’s a lovely morning. I am taking the day off! I am so happy that I did. Today should be a great day (I hope)! I am going to take my daughter to school and then come back and make a lovely breakfast, get some housework finished, then head to the Cake Bake Shop for lunch!


I hope that it is just as lovely as the smaller location in Broad Ripple. My husband and I visited that location in 2016 and 2018. It is suppose to big bigger and have more items on the menu. I have been following the renovation from beginning to end on Instagram. Based off of the photos and videos it looks absolutely stunning. 


I will take as many photos as I can. I took a look at the menu and narrowed down my selections. For my drink, I plan on trying the sparkling lavender lemonade. For my entree, I am torn between the broccoli quiche and the turkey gruyere sandwich. I love her herb potato salad. It’s made with red potatoes which are my favorite. I also saw that she has the chicken velvet soup which is an L.S. Ayres Tea Room classic and for my cake selection this year I want to try the millionaire cake which has layers of French chocolate, in house carmel and homemade shortbread butter cookies. I am also looking forward to maybe buying one of her teacup and saucer sets but we will see if those are available. 

Lastly, there is a Goodwill nearby and I am hoping to slide in there and take a quick peek after lunch. My 37th birthday is Saturday ladies and I plan to do nothing but we will see! 


Enjoy your weekend!



(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

What Are You Reading?

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photo credit Tuft & Trim.com


Hello Everyone!



It’s been a busy week for me! I think I’m in the clear for right now and things are in order. In today’s post, I wanted to know what you ladies were reading?


Does anyone care to share what books they are reading or what audiobooks you are listening to? I have been toying with the idea of joining Audible. I have heard nothing but good things. 


I love the idea of listening to a great novel on my way to the office or on my way home. I try to listen to the world news about twice a week, jazz or classically music the rest. 




















So please if you would share in the comments section below whatever books, articles, and magazines that you are reading. And if you are using Audible, please share your thoughts and your concerns with us!


Thanks for reading!