Elegant Herbal Teas

/in , /by
Happy Hump Day all! Since Monday was a holiday I find that keeping track of what day it is can really be hard sometimes! The week can really slip away from you if you are not aware of your days! 
Last week I promised that I would share some of the herbal teas that my husband purchased for me from David’s Tea.

I love how organized this little box was. 
Love all of the colorful tea packets. It looks like a rainbow. This is the sachet tea wheel.
And on the sides they have the teas labeled by flavor. 
Now I just wanted to share a few of my favorites. 
This is honeycrisp apple tea. Oh can you imagine having this on a crisp autumn morning with warm buttery bread and buttery scrambled eggs? I can!

It has apple, sweet blackberry leaf, green tea, hibiscus, apple pomace, pear and natural and apple flavoring. 

This is cherry blossom tea.

This has white tea, green tea, cherries, coconut chips, rosebuds (you can smell those), natural and artificial cherry flavoring. Now this was good but not one of my favorites. I am not a huge coconut fan. 

This is one of my favorites!! It smells wonderful! I gave a few to my co-workers to taste and that’s all they raved about. 
Forever nuts

This has apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot, and artificial flavoring. It does contain almonds so be careful if you have a peanut allergy. 
My husband also purchased teas for the office for me. Most of those have been really good! I love the “just beet it” flavor. The smell of the elderberries is a wonderful scent in the mornings.
Well I hope that you enjoyed this post and check out David’s Tea in person if you can.  I enjoy having my small pot of tea in the morning with my breakfast at my desk. It is a wonderful getaway. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Monique Lhuillier Dinner Plates

/in , /by

Earlier this year I shared on my facebook page about how I wanted some of Monique Lhuillier’s dinner plates. I went to our local Pottery Barn that weekend and they were sold out! Not a huge surprise because they are so beautiful. I had the urge to go again a few weekends ago. I did not know that Pottery Barn was having an awesome sale and that those garden plates were going to be half off!

Eureka!!!!!

These are called the meadow dinner plates and I managed to get them for $4.77 per plate! Can you believe?! So thrilled!

These are so chic. Just enough design and color. I love the beautiful simplicity of them.  
I think that these are so chinoiserie inspired. 

And of course they are microwavable and dishwasher safe. 
I have used these a few times already and just enjoy pulling them out of my cabinet and staring at them. I believe that you can have small beautiful things in your life. Even if they are just a few pretty dishes. 
Au revoir!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Simplicity ~ Tea for One

/in , /by

When we left Talbots a few weekends ago we passed a lovely store in the mall called David’s Tea. So we decided to go in and take a look around.

It was a lovely store and the staff was very friendly. I looked at all of their teas (I will share what I received for my birthday in another post) and accessories. I sampled one of the herbal teas and enjoyed it.

But there was one thing that caught my eye and it was their tea for one set.

This is called the White Simplicity Tea for One set. When I saw this I just knew that I had to have it. It has the strainer on the inside so that you can have a tea bag or your loose herbal tea. It is just wonderful! I have been using it at work all week and just love that I can have more than one cup of my herbal tea. 
The pot is just big enough for one person. I place my tea bag inside the metal strainer and just pour my hot water in. With the lid on top my water stays hot and I can let my herbal tea just sit and simmer inside the pot. This was me this past weekend. I had breakfast in my bedroom. 
My breakfast this weekend. My cup is the Royal Albert English Roses print (see here), my plates are blue and white (see here) and my breakfast tray is from Walmart (see here)
It has been such a joy to have this weekend. I am very grateful to my husband who purchased this for me for my birthday. It is a lovely gift. Now, I do not use the small cup that came with it. It does not have a handle and I love having my china cup with saucer to enjoy instead. I may use the cup to put my fresh fruit in.  Now, next week I plan on sharing all the herbal teas that I received as well. 
I hope you enjoyed this post! Au revoir! 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

The Crest Brooch

/in , /by

I stopped by Talbots a few weekends ago to see my good friend Geneva. She is one of the managers there and I have not been able to see her for sometime now.

While I was waiting for her I decided to walk around the store to see what new goodies they had. Well, that was a bad idea because I then noticed this beautiful crest brooch!

This is called the Regal Crest Brooch. Isn’t it beautiful? If you are a Ralph Lauren fan then this is right up your alley. I love the Ralph Lauren crest that is displayed on the blazers and sweaters. 
It is going to be a wonderful addition to my collection of brooches and I think it is a novelty piece that one should have in their wardrobe. This was one of my birthday gifts from my husband. I would say that he did very well. I do hope that you can purchase it. It is on sale!
Enjoy!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Order is Elegant

/5 Comments/in , /by

A few weeks ago my office had it’s WLI meeting (Women’s Leadership Initiative) and in these meetings we always have a speaker and discuss ways to volunteer around our city. Our co-members of the group always want to start it with an icebreaker. This month’s icebreaker was to come up with a hashtag that described your morning.

Most people talked about coffee and their kids. I sat and thought about my mornings and the first words that came to mind were order and elegant. I always try to have order in my morning routines (see my blog post here about that) so the word order had to be included. The word elegant is always on my mind because of the way I desire to live. It doesn’t have to be fancy but elegant.

So in today’s post I wanted to share a little more about my morning routine.

My closet
What helps me to keep my mornings orderly is picking out my outfit the night before and all of the accessories that I am going to wear. 

I pick out my shoes (which sometimes can take an eternity).

I lay everything out so that I can see it. I switch my bags the night before if I need to. 
I will then look at scarves if I decided to wear one. 

I will pick out a bracelet….
Or a brooch for my outfit….
Of course I will have a pair of earrings that I will grab the next day.
And a bottle of perfume will be selected to wear the next day. 

Having these items picked out and ready to go the next morning makes my mornings go very smoothly. With all of this already selected it gives me time to have my morning workout and a bubble bath every morning. Yes! I take bubble baths every morning! I have been doing it since I was 21. My routine has not changed. 
Well I hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to add a little order to your morning. 
Enjoy your week! 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

September Favorites

/2 Comments/in , /by

Wow, September has come and went. It feels like this year is just going by too fast! Today is my 36th birthday and I really don’t have any plans. I just want a nice dinner, I already ordered two new dress online from New York and Company (see here and here) I hope that they fit well, had a manicure this past weekend and I finally got to Pottery Barn to get those beautiful Monique Lhuillier plates that I have been wanting.

Also, I have a secret, I have never had a birthday cake before. Sad, I know but it is true! So I am hoping to get one this weekend. Well, let’s continue on with my favorites for the month of September. A great month I might add….

Okay, I will start with this I am not a yogurt fan! I hate yogurt. I want to love it but have had a hard time finding one. I use to eat Dannon La creme yogurt but I think that they discontinued it because I cannot find it anymore. A few weeks ago they had samples out for tasting for this yogurt called Oui. It is a french style of yogurt. I love the glass container. So chic right? Well turns out that I love it and have been buying it every week.

So creamy. The vanilla is my favorite!
Okay, second on my list is my night herbal hot cup of tea…..
Here I am in bed watching a movie called Marty. I have enjoyed this ritual and I have enjoyed using my teacups every night also. 
Third, on my list has been our new flannel sheet set from Costco.  I tried finding this pattern online but to no avail. 
Fourth on my list has been this photo that I found on Pinterest. I have no idea where it is from or who the original photographer is but I adore this photo. I love the dress, the heels, the elegance behind it. It is such a great inspiration. I have been on the hunt for a blue dress like this for years now. This photo is my screen saver on my phone. It is so pleasing to see when I turn on my phone. 
Fifth on my list is chinoiserie wallpaper. I will always love this wallpaper but my husband will NOT let me have it. I think one day I am just going to order it and have it installed and let him go mad after it is done. I would love to have it installed by Gracie Studio. I am a huge fan of their work. 
photo credit Aerin Lauder

Sixth on my list are my Gucci sunglasses and yes I did pay this price for them. I don’t regret it because they are so timeless and chic. They are some “head-turners” for sure but I love them, they are so classic! 
And last but certainly not least is this Youtube video from Harper’s Bazaar. It is a video about Susan Lucci and everything that she eats in a day. This video so impressed me! First of all Susan is 71 and she looks incredible! 
Secondly, her food choices would put most of us to shame. I am so enamored with this video. I love her china cup with the bird on it. So pretty. She exercises every day, and heck, I am so happy when I get in 4 days a week! And watch her 80-year-old husband make a fabulous dinner for them. It is a wonderful video. 
Well, I do hope that you enjoyed my September favorites. I hope that I will have one for October but we will see. 
Have a great weekend!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

Tea in the Evenings

/in , /by

Since I have started my herbal journey I have been trying to incorporate more natural herbs and organic foods into my diet. It has not been as hard as what I thought. Once I made my mind up my eating habits began to change.

I shared a few weeks ago my herbal teas that I have been drinking. I have since added to my collection. On Wednesdays, during the summer, my city hosts a downtown market event. We have several vendors who arrive and sell their products. One vendor in particular is a herbalist and her booth is always busy.

This past week I stopped by to see her latest herbal teas and tinctures. I told her that I was interested in herbs for the female reproductive system and herbs that would help with digestion.

She handed me her blend of goddess tea, healing heart tea and Gentian tincture. The goddess tea is made of red raspberry, red clover, nettle, lemon balm, peppermint and passion flower. The healing heart tea is made of hawthorn, linden, lemon balm, mother wort and rosemary. I have to admit I loved the goddess tea! It tastes wonderful!
My husband purchased this tea filter for me years ago from Teavana. 

It fits perfectly in my cherry blossom tea pot also from Teavana. It is real china. 
I boil my hot water on the stove and pour in my herb tea and water and let it steam for about 15 minutes. I have been enjoying a cup in the evening in bed all week. 
I put everything on my lovely tray and take it all upstairs to my bedroom. I sit and sip while watching my old Martha Stewart dvd’s. These have been lovely evenings indeed. I also put a spoonful of honey in my hot teas. I do enjoy a little sweetness to my teas. 
Before I forget I wanted to share information about the tincture that I purchased from her also. I just put two dropfuls in my bottle water and drink. I hardly taste anything but it is nice to know that I am taking in natural herbs that are good for my stomach. 

I do hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to give natural teas a try. If you wish to share where you are purchasing your herbal teas I would love to know! Please share in the comments section below! Thanks for reading!!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)