Christmas Clusters

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Happy Friday and look at what I found at New York and Company ….. cluster earrings!

And they are on sale! I got both pair for under $25! They are perfect for those holiday parties. 

These are called goldtone floral cluster earring. They are sooo pretty! Very feminine and flattering. 

These are also clip-on’s; my favorite!
Unfortunately, I could not find these star cluster earrings online. I tried looking for two days now and still could not locate them. I am sorry. 
I did however find a few options, like these sparkling floral cluster earrings. I actually saw these in the store and was torn between these and the ones in the photo above.  Another great option are these silvertone floral earrings. They look quite lovely and the price is fantastic! 
These are actually for pierced ears but I converted them to clip-on earrings as soon as I got home. 
You should take a look around their website. There were lots of beautiful earrings all at 50% off! Enjoy taking a peek and relax knowing that you are getting them pretty cheap!
Have a great weekend!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Tables for Nightstands…..Why Not?

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I am in home redecorating mode. I have been making lists, searching websites and doing everything I can to journal my thoughts on some of the rooms that I would like to redecorate in our home. I even want to redo the laundry room. I need a better shelving system and more hanging space.

Anyhoo, I have recently been taking a second look at our master bedroom. I love it don’t get me wrong but I want more table space for my nightstand area. I recently saw some pictures on Pinterest where some individuals used actually tables as their nightstands. Honestly, I think that is brilliant!

Okay…. here is my nightstand. It is very nice but it is really small. I purchased this from Homegoods around 2011. I do love it but I need more table space. I am considering moving the bedroom furniture around. If you look closely you can see that my nightstand is right next to the bathroom which means I have no wall space to get a bigger table. So I may have to move the bed which I am sure my husband will have a fit about. 
I would love to have something like this. It has drawers and the surface space is enough for me to have a cup of tea, my lamp, current book I am reading and a bouquet of flowers. With this nightstand having drawers I can place all of my personal items or books inside. Very nice and ideal. 

Just loving all of the table space. Ohh I need it!
Having more surface space would be wonderful ….

I thought this was quite creative. This almost looks like a bench. But I love how there is a large mirror for you to view yourself in the mornings before leaving. 
These next two tables are quite interesting….
No drawers but definitely like the option of having two surfaces. 

This one even offers three surface areas. Very nice!!
Honestly this might be the best option for me if we do not move around the furniture. 
Now this has nothing to do with nightstand tables but I do love the antique dresser with the antique white mirror. I think that the contrast between the two is just lovely. It’s very subtle yet very elegant. This might be my next suggestion but we will see. 
I hope that my husband is open to my new ideas. I don’t think that I am asking for too much. I think the nightstand idea can be accomplished now and the kitchen ideas can be down the road but we will see. 
Thanks for reading!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

My Perfect Kitchen Makeover

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We have been in our home for about 5 years now and I still love it. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we are going to stay in this house. I hate living in an HOA with all of the rules and how it is managed. It’s a mess.

My wish is to live in an older more established neighborhood. One with mature trees and older homes. The one thing that I hate about living in a subdivision is that you are stuck with the models and options that they offer and sometimes it can be pretty limited. In the end everyone ends up with the same home because when one neighbor sees you doing one thing then they end up doing it too. It’s no fun!

Could we stay in this home….. yes I believe that we could but if that is the case then I’ve got some ideas on how to change things around.

I would love to start with changing our kitchen. I do love the setup but I want newer cabinets and I want to bring in some bright airy colors.

Now there is our kitchen. I love it and I loved the cabinets and counter-tops when we picked out everything 5 years ago but I know that down the road I am going to want to change this and I have been “pinning” ideas to my Pinterest board for sometime now. 
Of course this is my ideal kitchen. This is one of my favorites. I love the detailing in the cabinet doors. I showed my husband this photo and I said this is what I want and he was okay with it. I love white cabinets but I don’t want anything “stark” white and I need them to have details on them. I hate seeing all white cabinets with no details. They look too plain to me. 
Also look at the island. It is the perfect blue and look at all of the carvings on it. It looks like a work of art. The gold hardware is exquisite. It is the perfect combination of french charm. 
I also love the stove in this kitchen. This would inspire anyone to cook at home. The island in this kitchen is also ideal. The wood beams in the ceiling are captivating too. 
I also would not mind having some of my cabinets with glass doors. I think that this is a lovely way to display some of your china and to see it. You don’t use what you don’t see. 
We also have a half bathroom downstairs connected to the kitchen. I still want wallpaper. I would love to install something like this in my small bathroom downstairs. I even love the gold hardware around the sink. 
I am glad to record my thoughts and ideas here on the blog. It’s funny, I’ll have an idea about something then I realize that I can’t remember all of the details so I come to my blog and pull up the entry and voila it is there. The Bible says to “write down the vision and make it plain”. Here is my vision for my kitchen. I hope that it can come into fruition. 
Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley and Pinterest)

Lovely Napkins in the Car…Why Not?

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Ever look inside your glove compartment and realize that you don’t have any napkins and if you do they are quite crappy?

I love buying napkins by Vanity Fair. They are great quality and look quite lovely in your glove compartment. I had too many one weekend and decided to put some in my car. Best decision I ever made!!!!

They were great for spills, wiping my hands, wiping our noses, and any other needs we had. My daughter loves them and so do I!  
They are not to thick and not too thin. They are really soft and quite affordable. I only paid about $4 for a pack of 50. Well worth it indeed!
Here they are in my glove compartment in the car. I just love having them there and I know that it is weird but there is a slight elegant feeling to them when you pull one out to use. They are quite lovely and for the price why not? You can find these any where. I think I found this pack at Walmart. 
I hope that you enjoyed this post and this idea. Simple, elegant living is what I am all about. Enjoy!!!!
(photos by Mrs. Shockley)

November Favorites

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Wait, wait… November is over? Oh my goodness. When I was reviewing my drafts for this week’s blog entries I saw that this was ready for me to write and I thought wow…. November is over. It really flew by. Well I have some new favorites for this month and wanted to share them.

Well first on the list is Ina Garten’s new television series Cook like a Pro. I have been watching every episode and recording them. I love going back and watching them at night. It’s such a treat after a long day at the office. 
My candles at home
My second favorite has been the crushed candy cane candle. My goodness it smells so good! It is not as strong as the twisted peppermint that I normally buy. It has been a nice subtle smell in the house. 
Third on my list has been my glitter dot ruffle blouse from New York and Company. The color is called berry bliss and it is the perfect mauve color. It looked so nice with my long flowy skirt and kitten heels. 
Fourth on my list has been the Nutcracker. I found the 1993 Nutcracker with a young Macaulay Culkin on Netflix! My daughter and I watched it while eating dinner one night. It was lovely!!! 
Here is the Youtube video if you wish to watch it. 

We also went to see the new Nutcracker and the Four Realms. That was lovely also. It wasn’t crazy and it didn’t steer to far away from the classic. There were some changes to the story but I was okay with those changes and so was my daughter.

My fifth favorite for this month has been Laura Calder. I mentioned her book a few weeks ago (see here) and I have ordered it! I can’t wait to dive into it.

I have really enjoyed her Youtube channel and I have watched some of her videos over and over. Like this one about dieting.

and this video about the power of lists….

Other home favorites have been my giant poinsettias from Costco….
My sitting room at home

Our bedroom
And last but certainly not least my homemade apple cinnamon tea cake from scratch. I made this for Thanksgiving. The recipe is here.
My teacake at home 
Well I hope that you have enjoyed my list of favorites for November. I have already started my list for December. Really….. December. I can’t believe it is almost here. I guess 2019 is coming whether we want it to or not. 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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(my home last year)
Goodness…. another Thanksgiving is here already. It’s been 5 years since we built this house. My step-son will be graduating this coming May from high school and will be joining his brother in the “real world”. My daughter will be a freshman is high school this fall! I just can’t believe how fast the years are going by. 
I will be taking the rest of the week off from the blog. I am just going to enjoy my time off and enjoy my family. I am NOT going out on Black Friday. I never do! I did however see some wonderful items on Ann Taylor’s website that I quickly added to my wish-list. I am trying to be strong and not buy anything. 
Well I am off to preparing for Thanksgiving tomorrow. I am hosting this year. I am expecting about 15 people so we will see how this goes. My house is cleaned. I have all of my candles ready. My Christmas trees are up and my apron is wrapped around my waist as I type. Seriously enjoy your holidays with your families. I didn’t realize how fast time went until the last few years. Goodness…. it is going. Enjoy!!!
(photo via Pinterest)

The Cognac Tote

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A great brown, tan or cognac tote is hard to find. I like my totes large and with structure. So when I saw the aventrio tote at Aldo I had a silent scream on the inside.

Now when I saw it in the store it was in black. Cognac was not available. So I had to order it. 

I am glad that I did. It’s a great color!
Love totes with “feet” on the bottom and this one is “tech-friendly”. So it has a charger to go with it. Now you can’t use the tote as a charging station but it’s nice to have the extra charger with it just in case you lose yours. 

The inside has lots of pockets and is set up for folders, tablets and laptops. 

I wanted to have a photo of what it looked like with me holding it. Sorry I was at home and in my slippers. It’s a great tote and I just wanted to share it. I hope that you enjoyed this post and this find. It comes in three different colors. It’s a perfect size and great for travel. My boss is already having her husband get her one for Christmas. Enjoy!!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)