My Elegance Tested…

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Friday…. oh how I have longed for this day this week. It has been one interesting week. I’ll start off with my first disaster. 













photo credit Marchioness Instagram


So most of you know about my Ainifeel quilted handbag that I purchased from Amazon two months ago. I adore this bag so much that I decided to purchase it in lavender. So last Wednesday, I place my order and decided to pay the extra price to get 2-day shipping. 
It arrived on Friday (on time) and I was so, so excited to receive a call from our receptionist desk about my package being here. So I walk to the front open it and…… it was in BLACK! My heart fell and I was sorely disappointed. I could feel the heat rise to my face. No matter I will remain calm and simply call Amazon and find out what we can do to fix this mess. 

I call Amazon to tell them of the mix-up. The customer service agent was very kind and I decided at that moment that there was no need to be rude. This could be fixed right?
photo credit Randi Garrett 
The customer service agent then sends a “replacement” the same day. All weekend I am having second thoughts about this “replacement”. I don’t have peace about it and I am already irritated. So Monday arrives and so does my package. I get a call from the front desk to come and pick it up. I pause as I hold it. Take a deep breath and gather my thoughts because I just don’t feel right. I open a corner of the package and….. it’s BLACK again!

My mind is full of anger and frustrated thoughts. My friend Melissa who is filling in for our receptionist sees my face and knows that I am MAD! I don’t say a word because I know that she is watching but boy do I want to blast off! 



photo credit Annie Spratt 


I call Amazon tell them of the situation and they apologize profusely. Sigh….. I really wanted that bag and I can’t try to order it again. Now it says that it is sold out. So disappointed. Now I will not lie. I did give them a bad rating for this but I still felt guilty for doing that. I don’t know. But oh my frustrating week did not end there….
At the time that I placed my order for my handbag, I also placed an order on the H&M website for two more purse scarfs and a cashmere scarf. That package arrived yesterday to only have what? A package of men’s underwear and T-shirts. Arrrggggh!!! Oh my gosh so not only did I not get my lavender handbag but I did not get the correct order from H&M? 

Ohhhhhh… I wanted to call H&M and blast off but I caught myself and said, listen there is no need to be rude. I am surrounded by it on a regular basis. Don’t fall into this. I never want to be an odor to people but a fragrance but it was hard…… I prayed and said Lord, I don’t remember praying for patience recently but you sure are testing it right now. I called H&M and they were also very gracious. I have to return my package before I get my refund but they were still gracious. 


Photo by Freddie Martyn on Unsplash

I am sharing this with all of you because I want to put you on notice that this is where we are headed as far as shopping. With all of the stores closing, online shopping is taking over and we will not be able to try on items nor see them in person. It’s unfortunate. I love going to stores. It is an opportunity to see items that you are interested in but it’s also an opportunity to engage in the five senses and with people. So now we must put our “patience pants” on and learn to wait. It’s going to be hard adjusting to this but we must. 

I hope you all have a great Mother’s Day weekend and enjoy your families. Be a fragrance to people not an odor. 






The Purse Scarf

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This was a such a fun find! I was so elated when I saw these on the H&M website! These are called the purse accessory scarfs and they come in a variety of patterns and colors. I purchased two in the store and ordered two online. 
The key-chain comes attached to the scarf. How great is that?

I could not tell you how many scarfs I have lost over the years because I did not tie them good enough. I mean I have been seriously heart broken because I lost a silk scarf that should have been double knotted on my bag. 
No worries with this and look at how chic it looks. I shared these on my YouTube video that I posted this past Sunday. I can’t want to see what the pink and polka-dot ones look like once they arrived.

I think Elle Woods from Legally Blonde would be very proud! Sorry but I love that movie! Well have a good hump day and stay inspired!



Do you see the purse scarf? This is where I saw it first!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Google)

Flowers and Pearls

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Good Monday Morning! I just wanted to share a quick little post of some recent finds. I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who are watching my YouTube videos. It is very hard to try to make good quality videos. 


With yesterday’s video I got very frustrated with my husband. He just won’t sit still and keeps opening doors and windows and I keep trying to remind myself that he thinks he is helping just let it be. I also feel like I am slouching in the videos and I am trying my hardest not to appear that way. 


Then I feel like I should rehearse more but I think with that it would put more pressure on me and I just want to have fun with these so that is the goal! I hope you guys are enjoying them! Okay moving forward….


I saw these beautiful beaded floral earrings on the New York and Company website. The price is great and so is the color! Now keep in mind they are a bit big but if you love large earrings then these are right up your alley!
The next item is this gold-tone faux pearl necklace. It is only $6.99 right now and I shared this on my YouTube video from yesterday. It looks very pretty on and would be a great addition to any wardrobe. 

I hope that you enjoyed these small finds and maybe one of these would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift! I think the pearls would make anyone happy!

Enjoy!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Affirmation Journal

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Hello Everyone! Welcome to Friday! I shared in February  a book by Martha Stewart called Living the Good Long Life as one of my favorites for that month. I am still reading that book and almost half way through it. I am taking notes and highlighting important facts along the way. 

I am in Chapter 4 and in a section called “maintaining a sense of purpose” and in this section she mentions keeping an “affirmation file”. I found that to be very intriguing….

Martha said, “Anytime you get outside approval- a note from a co-worker or family member about something positive you did- save it in a special file. Any other accolades- merit awards, perfect attendance records, races completed, pounds lost, old grade-school report cards, letters of recommendation- go in this file. Then, on days when you wonder about your worth to those in your life, you can show yourself just how talented and accomplished you are”. 

Now isn’t that great? We all have those days when we wonder what our purpose in life is and what things have we accomplished. I started a career journal sometime ago to keep track of career goals and accomplishments. 

I found this wonderful and colorful journal at T.J.Maxx. They have such a variety of journals and note pads to choose from. If you are inspired by this go and pick up a note pad, folder or journal to start recording your accomplishments and goals. 

We should all be doing this and making a habit of it. I started recording job accomplishments in January of this year and it’s already May. I took a peek at it yesterday and thought… wow I have had a busy 2019 so far! Now if these goals and accomplishments had not been recorded I would have forgotten half of them already!

I would encourage you to do the same. The Bible says to write down the vision and make it plain. Write down yours and stay encouraged!

Have a great weekend!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)


Mark & Graham

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The one thing that I LOVE about blogging and other bloggers is how everyone shares information! I was reading Shannon Ables blog and she mentioned this very chic company called Mark & Graham. She shared a beautiful photo of their boarding bags and oh my was I smitten!

How chic is this? Fantastic right? This is the Concourse Boarding Bag in white. This is absolutely exquisite. You can also add a monogram to it and who wouldn’t. I think “SMS” would look fantastic on this bag. 
Concourse Bag in linen
These bags are incredible! Another bag that I saw on the website is their Caroline Leather bag. 
Isn’t this bag attractive? It looks like it is tastefully done and would be able to remain in your closet for eternity. 
After looking at all of their bags I then ventured off and looked at jewelry and home accessories. 
Cheese Board
This is an elegant marble and wood board and would look lovely on my table for a New Year’s Eve celebration. 
I could go on and on but you can take your own adventure on the website and find more wonderful things to fall in love with. I am seriously considering buying that concourse boarding bag in white. I think that would be so elegant in the fall with a chunky sweater, pearls, and some Chanel perfume. I hope that you enjoyed this post and this elegant new company!
(photos via Mark&Graham)

Wild Blueberry and Honeysuckle Cream

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It’s Friday and I am looking forward to getting into my flower garden this weekend. I am hoping that some of the rain will hold out. I really want to get some mulch, and flower pots for my porch. My Canadian cherry choke tree is blooming and it smells like fresh lavender out front. It is so lovely.

I love simple pleasures like that in life. Being out front with my husband looking at all of the work that we want to do this spring to our yard and then getting a whiff of our scented tree. Very nice….

Speaking of scents, I hope that some of you have had a chance to get to Bath and Body Works. Their new scents are amazing! It has been very hard for me to find a scent lately. I am still a dedicated fan of the oldies but goodies. Like the original cherry blossom, that has been the last of the retired scents that I have been able to order. I love it and order it in bulk when I can.

But now their new wild blueberry scent is a close second! I love it! I have been wearing it for about two weeks now and still love it. That is a good sign. Another great fragrance is their pink honeysuckle. It has such a clean smell to it. I really like the notes of pink mandarin and sandalwood in it. It’s lovely.

I hope you can all get a moment to stop by and smell these. Enjoy a simple pleasures!

(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

April Favorites

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Oh my… the end of another month. My goodness. It is truly flying by! I had to really think about my favorites for this month. I am still enjoying my favorites from March and still thinking about the cherry blossoms! 


One thing that I have been enjoying are the latest flowers that have been appearing at the grocery store. I get about 80% of my flowers from my local grocery store. They are affordable and I am able to start wonderful relationships with the florist. It’s great.

I will say this. I was so excited to find Queen Anne’s lace this past weekend! I could not believe it. It is so rare to see this in Indiana. The last time I had a bouquet with this was in 2014! So this was definitely a favorite for this month. 

My second favorite this month were these pink and purple roses. I was inspired to look for a bouquet like this because of this gorgeous photo below that was posted to Instagram and a few weeks ago. 
photo credit Rachel Parcell 
Oh my gosh! I don’t remember whose account this came from but goodness gracious is that stunning! I would seriously want to take that bouquet with me everywhere! I would want it in the car, in my office, at home, in my closet, in the kitchen, just everywhere! 
My next favorite was this screenshot that I took from a Hallmark movie that I was watching last week. I can not remember what movie this was from but this women’s outfit caught my eye. Isn’t she chic? Look at the hat and the blush colored dress. Very sharp! I even tried looking for her bag online. Hallmark needs to seriously consider sharing their wardrobe finds on their website. I should post this on my Instagram account and tag them in it asking for details. 
My last favorite is my first Youtube video! I am not sure if any of you have had a chance to watch it but I was so petrified making this video. Youtube is such a scary place and you never know what people are thinking or doing. I don’t know if I will be making anymore. I plan on taking it slow.
Well, I hope that you enjoyed this post and let me know your thoughts below about my Youtube channel.  
(photos via Mrs. Shockley and Instagram)