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Cheese Plate ~ 2019

January 16, 2019/2 Comments/in Recipes, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

We are starting the third week of 2019 already. These years are going by so fast. I was checking past posts on the blog and I made my first cheese plate in 2017. I loved that one. I felt like a “grown up” that year.

My second cheese board in 2018 was delicious also. I loved the sweet french bread with the fig spread and brie.

This year I picked out my own cheeses with a little help from one of the reps. He showed me that they had a section with cheese for $5 and below. Great!

I love the dried apricots. I don’t feel as guilty nibbling on these. They are so good and add just enough sweetness to the board.

The other suggestion that he made was getting some nuts. So I ended up purchasing some honey roasted nuts. Also really good!

I grabbed a bag of green grapes and crispy crackers and we were ready to bring in the New Year!

We popped open our wine and sat and enjoyed the evening.

Everything was so good and our daughter loves the smoked gouda. I couldn’t get enough of the brie cheese with the fig spread together. Goodness, that was good!

I hope that you all enjoyed your New Year and are looking forward to 2019! Cheers!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Soft Face Cloths

January 14, 2019/6 Comments/in Home Organization, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

It’s amazing… some of the things I had to learn on my own when becoming a woman. My mother was not into beauty products when I was growing up so a lot of what I have learned has been from reading, asking questions, trial and error.

One of those things has been face cloths. When I was growing up we used the same cloth on our face as our bodies. Not a big deal back then but when you are a teenage girl and you realize where that cloth has been….. you don’t really want to put that on your face.

I remember the day I realize this. I had just finished my bath and was about to start washing my face and I picked up that cloth and I was about to wipe my face with it and I said, ohhhh no this is a bad idea. I need to get some separate cloths for my face. I think I might have been in middle school. So I went to the store the next day and purchased some soft cloths for my face. So happy I started doing that.

I just had to replace some of my face cloths. I purchased these last week from T.J. Maxx and they are so soft. The price was excellent too!

Love all the colors and the elephants. Very different!

And look at that fabulous price! Only $2.99 for a soft great face cloth.

I love using my soft cloths on my face and I actually love shopping for them. With the prices being so good it’s hard not to buy a few. I am sure that many of you have face cloths. If so what’s your favorite brand? Do any of yours have special features? Let me know in the comments section below.

Have a great week!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Washing my Jewelry

January 11, 2019/2 Comments/in Home Organization, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Along with house purging, flower refreshing and cleaning I have also been organizing my clothing and jewelry. I always try to keep my jewelry nice and clean. I love it when they sparkle but then again what woman doesn’t.

I pulled a few pieces out to wash last week.

Honestly, the only thing I do is fill my bathroom sink up with soapy water and let my jewelry sit for a few minutes. You can use dish liquid soap if you want. All of the oils, dirt and hair come right out.

Love it when everything is sparkly!

I place everything in the soapy water. My earrings….

Pins and brooches….

I rinse everything and just let it dry.

I then just place everything back in my jewelry box and it’s all ready to wear for the up coming weeks. Keeping your jewelry clean and up to date is just another way of making sure that you are organized and “pulled together” as a woman.

Take care of your beautiful things. Enjoy your weekend!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Flower Refresh…

January 9, 2019/4 Comments/in Home Organization, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Let the purging season continue. I have been getting rid of so many things in my home. It’s amazing how much crap your house can hold. Honestly…. I have been going through all of the nooks and crannies of our home. Getting rid of things that we have not used since we moved into this home almost 6 years ago!

Next on my list is home decor. It’s funny it seems like every couple of years my taste in home decor changes slightly. One item that has been changing has been my taste in faux flowers. I love them don’t get me wrong but I have been desiring more simple arrangements. So I walked through our home and picked out certain arrangements that needed a “flower refresh”.

This “flower refresh” was inspired by this bouquet that I found at T.J.Maxx. I thought it was so life-like and beautiful.

I put the bouquet in one of my blue and white vases. Looked beautiful….

So I went back and got another one….

And began looking around more….

Faux flowers have come a long way.

I especially loved this arrangement. I was thinking about purchasing this one to replace the one I have next to my tub in the bathroom.

But then I spotted this one and loved the vase that it was in. Plus it was only $14.99 and the one above was $39.99!

I decided to start with the arrangement in my office. I took a look at it recently and I thought, “oh my goodness, this is starting to look like a creature.”

It needed to be “refreshed”. The flowers were starting to look dark and I have had them for over 6 years. Time for a change.

So I put the “creature” in the bag for donations and decided to keep the arrangement simple.

Better much better….

But then I thought of the other arrangement that I just made and put it there instead. Now I don’t know which one I want. They both look nice.

This was the arrangement in my bathroom sitting on my tub. See how the faux water looks yellow? Eewww, time to change that!

Better….

Much better….

I also change and threw away all of the old faux flowers in my office and purchased new ones.

Looks wonderful….

I have enjoyed this “flower refresh” for my home. The next project is finding better ways to organize and utilize my laundry room. I have some ideas so we will see.

I had to share this photo. This was from last week in my home. I could not believe that these were carnations. I picked them up at the grocery store. Stunning! I will now be looking into this flower more.

Thanks for reading!

(all photos Mrs. Shockley)

Gray Blue

January 7, 2019/8 Comments/in Fashion Posts, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Hello Monday….. Monday... a sign to start your week again. Any-who, I wanted to share a recent find from H&M.

It’s this lovely tote that they are calling the Weekend Bag but I am using it as a regular purse.

I’ve been carrying it for about a week and I have received a lot of compliments on it. Most people love the color. It’s different and very roomy. I purchased the faux fur key-chain from H&M also. It was only $2 and looked good on the bag.

I just wanted to share this beautiful tote. I hope that you can find it at your local H&M. It’s better to see bags in person if you can. Enjoy your Monday!

(photos via H&M and Mrs. Shockley)

Elegant Evaluating

January 2, 2019/8 Comments/in Inspiring Posts, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

It’s the beginning of a new year and I don’t make new year resolutions but I do begin to evaluate for the upcoming year. I make mental goals and ask myself questions….

photo credit Ilyas Bolato

1) How is my health? Am I exercising enough? Have I been consistent?

2) How are my eating habits? Am I getting enough sleep? Do I drink enough water?

3) Am I happy with my wardrobe?

4) Where am I with my faith?

5) Do I need to change my career goals?

photo credit Alyssa Hurley

6) How is my daughter doing? Does she have what she needs? Do I pay attention to her enough? Is she afraid to tell me things?

photo credit Pinterest

And honestly, I can go on and on. Here is the thing. I am constantly evaluating. Not just at the beginning of the year but on a monthly basis. I am constantly asking myself questions.

But honestly doing this keeps me honest with myself. I recently went on a “purging spree”. I got rid of a lot of clothes in my closet that just wasn’t fitting well. I start saying to myself, ” Are you really going to wear that. Let’s just be honest here”. With me having that conversation with myself I was able to let go of some of the pieces that needed to go. I will donate most of it to Goodwill, some will go to Poshmark and I did take a few pieces to my seamstress Mrs. Sunny. There were 3 dresses that I just LOVED but the top part was too loose. So I asked her to turn those pieces into skirts. I pick them up later this week. Fingers crossed!

photo credit Mrs. Shockley

I also began to talk with myself about “bogus shopping“! It’s a quote that I came up with when I began to purge some of the clothes, shoes and purses that I kept. Some of the items that I purchased were apart of bogus shopping. I purchased it because it was on sale, or I felt like I “needed” to buy something because I hadn’t made a purchase in a while (maybe like a week), just stupid spending. That could have been a lot of money that I could have saved. Even today I was at HomeGoods looking at all of the Christmas ornaments on sale. I began to say to myself, don’t start “bogus shopping“! Buy only what you love, and I did. I am very happy with my purchases.

photo credit Mrs. Shockley

Then last week I did a “home purge”. There were a lot of things taking up space in closets, pantries, and cabinets. It was a lot of home decor that I didn’t need. So I bagged all of it up and will donate it this week. I now have a lot more room in my cabinets. I only want the items that I use. I will also begin an “office purge” this week. I need to get rid of the items in my office too.

I have also been thinking about making appointments and seeing specialists this year. I have made an appointment with my doctor to review my cholesterol and other levels. I am also having issues with my legs. I had my daughter take a photo of the back of my leg and I have a few varicose veins. Oh no! So I made an appointment about that. I heard that natural witch hazel could help with those. So I purchased a bottle and I have been seeing results! Fingers crossed!

I have also made this a year to have my first professional facial. I have never had one, shocking I know. So that is on my list too! I look forward to making some changes and to see where some of my new decisions will take me. I hope that this inspires you too!