Posts that inspiring an elegant life

A New Pen Pal

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Good Morning!

I’ve got a busy day today! Of course, I have to head into the office and have my normal workday but I made an appointment to meet with our Indiana Department of Revenue to make sure that I am all ready for the upcoming tax season for my boutique! This will be the first year that I file returns and pay sales tax for the boutique and I want to make sure that everything is in order. I am really excited about this meeting. I always enjoy things like this. I just hope that I get a “seasoned” individual that can answer all of my new business owner questions. 

Later on this week I will begin wrapping presents for family, friends, and staff. I will be finishing up my Christmas Eve dinner list and I plan on writing my pen-pal for the first time! 

I mentioned it before that I was a part of Jennifer from The Daily Connoisseur Chic Society. I love being a part of this group and I do enjoy the Zoom calls we have. So Jennifer had a pen-pal sign up recently and I signed up to receive a pen pal. Well, I was assigned to one recently and I wanted to have some new customized stationery to use when writing her. So where do I head to? Etsy of course!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I ordered this set from Chickadee Cottage Company on Etsy. This is called the stationery letter writing pen pal set. You can customize it to your preference. You pick the color of your envelopes and the color of your letters and font. I love the way my set came out!

 

 

I can’t wait to start writing her! I will be sending my first letter this week. I hope everyone has enjoyed this post and let me know in the comments below if you have a pen pal. I haven’t had a pen pal since 5th grade! My teacher at the time Mrs. Belmont became friends with another teacher in Phoenix, Arizona and they came up with the idea of their students becoming pen pals. I thought it was great! I wish I would have stayed in touch with her. My pen pal’s name was Victoria. Classic right? Have a great Monday everyone! 

 

Oh, I almost forgot! The boutique’s new plus-size arrival is ready. I decided to name this dress Maxine. The Maxine Balloon Sleeve Midi is super soft, comfy, and is the PERFECT mauve pink. It’s available in 1x, 2x, and 3x! 

 

This post was not sponsored.

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

The Chinoiserie Scarf

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Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday was a wonderful day in the office. I treated the staff that I supervise to a small Christmas luncheon! I made reservations at Capital Grille in the Conrad Hotel and it was amazing! The food was exceptional. I ordered the roasted chicken breast with mushrooms and parmesan risotto. It was so delicious. I am still thinking about the risotto!

Last week one of my glamour wishlist items arrived. A few weeks ago I shared my glamour wishlist and this item was on it. I saw this chinoiserie scarf and had to order it only it was sold out!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I tagged the company in one of my posts in my stories on Instagram and they reached out to me and told me that they had a limited stock and that I could order one! I shrieked and ordered one right away! Once it arrived I could not get over the customized packaging. It came beautifully wrapped in this blue paper. 

 

 

It had my name on it! Now, how wonderful is that?

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Once I opened the wrapping I just stared at the scarf. The illustrations and colors were so exquisite. It is made from 100% Italian silk from Lake Como (a dream destination for me), and is a timeless design. The illustration was inspired by the Renaissance and did you look at the tag? It’s thick and is tied to the most beautiful blue velvet ribbon. 

 

 

I ADORE this scarf! I have tied it to my bag and have been carrying it all week. It’s stunning as a bag scarf! I think luxury and beauty should be everywhere. Put it anywhere you can. Life is so short and many of us have learned this past two years. Enjoy your beautiful things and use them! Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

This post is not sponsored. 

 

 

 

New Fabric Purchase

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Good Morning Everyone,

I don’t want to complain but I am ready for some much-needed time off. I feel like I need another week of staycation! But as I look at the coming weeks things will start to slow down here soon. Honestly, I just want to sit in my bed, look at design books all day and watch my My Fair Lady with a cup of tea! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay, so today’s post is going to be a quick one. I was on eBay recently just looking around. Well, I was inspired by some of my favorite antique Instagram accounts to look for certain items. The first item has been this china pattern called pink Minton Cockatrice. I actually found some sets on eBay. The next has been chintz patterns. I started watching the pattern above about 2 weeks ago and it had quite a few bids on it. I only bid on the last day and at the last minute. I mean I literally wait until there are 30 seconds left and then I give my highest bid. It has worked for me on numerous occasions.

That is what I did for this fabric. I gave my highest bid and won! I was really surprised that I won. I am always apprehensive when I see that someone has set up automatic bids because you don’t know what their threshold is. But I won…. 

So now the question is what do I do with it? When I saw this pattern I thought, oh pillow covers. Now I am thinking pillow covers and maybe an apron. What do you guys think? What should I have made with this gorgeous fabric? Let me know in the comments section below. Enjoy your Wednesday! 

 

 

 

 

My Christmas Decor So Far…

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Good Morning Everyone!

It has been a wonderful five-day weekend! I loved every minute of it. I did a present review this weekend to make sure that we have gifts for everyone and I am happy to say that I am officially done Christmas shopping. Yay for me! I am now working on my Christmas dinner menu. It will be about the same as Thanksgiving but I am trying a new dessert recipe. I will attempt to make a caramel cake. We will see how it goes. In today’s post, I wanted to share my Christmas decor so far…..

 

I was asked to share some of my Christmas decor this year. I really did not put out a whole lot but I do have 3 full-size Christmas trees up! 

 

 

This is the family room. I always have at least 2 trees in this room. The kids love it! I must admit so do I. There is something about having these in this room and watching a Hallmark movie. It provides peace and gives you a feel of coziness. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I believe I shared my Santa last year. This year he is camped out on my table next to the blue and white tree. I think he fits well in this spot. I still can’t believe that I have these gorgeous blue and white ornaments. They are so elegant and are of good quality. 

 

 

The family tree is always hard to decorate. I really didn’t have a theme this year. I just placed my favorite ornaments on it. I did want some really big ribbon to wrap around it but I could not find the color I wanted. I love the white poinsettias on it! I may add more next year! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This is the Barbie tree. I have shared it before. It is in a different location this year but in the same room. I normally have it placed by the window but I decided to move it to the other side of the room. I do love having the little pink Victorian home under it and the feather tree skirt. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Isn’t it adorable? 

 

 

My nutcrackers are also making an appearance next to the Barbie tree. I think all the pink and glitter look great together. I have a dash of leopard around as well. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I also have some garland around our kitchen cabinets with lights. I added some garland around our mirror in our master bedroom. I did it last year and loved the way it looked. We have some stars in our windows that light up and our giant elk that I named Max is outside in our front yard. He lights up as well and looks so real! We’ve had people stop us about him because they thought he was real.  

Well, this is what my home looks like so far. I don’t intend on adding any more Christmas decor. I do want to go and get more poinsettias to add to my tree and stay on the hunt for ribbon. Let me know in the comments section below if your tree is up! Have a great Monday! 

 

 

 

 

A Quiet Thanksgiving…

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Good Friday Morning!

No Black Friday shopping for me! I plan on NOT leaving my house today. We had a pretty good Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. It was just me, my husband, and the kids. We sat, ate, and talked. It was really nice! I cooked the family favorites and we were finished eating before 5 which was great! I was done cleaning the kitchen by 7 and was in my nightgown by 9 and in my bed! I just sat in the bed and relaxed the whole time. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This was my table setting for this year. I normally use my Christmas plates but I wanted something different this year. I used my china that I found on Facebook Marketplace and I loved the way it looked! I did find a set here and here on eBay. 

 

 

Most of my china is second hand and I love that! All of the pieces were purchased from an antique store, eBay or Facebook. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

My reindeer are from Target and are sold out but I did find these. I also found my casserole dish on eBay if anyone is interested. 

 

 

I used my creamer as a small vase for the table and it turned out so well! I love the light pink roses with the babys breath. 

 

 

 

I also used my beautiful Wedgewood wine glasses. Oh my goodness I love these so much! They are so high-quality. I am so glad that I purchased them. I did find some similar on eBay here and here. The wine that we drank was Oliver’s Lemon Moscato.  It is so good and light. It’s low-calorie and low alcohol. 

 

 

 

I made my cornbread dressing. I just use Jiffy and I add raisins, cranberries, pecans, walnuts, and all of my seasonings. It is so good. Martha’s dried-fruit and nut cornbread dressing inspired me to do this years ago. It is always a big hit!

 

 

My herb-roasted turkey was outstanding if I do say so myself. I put parsley flakes, minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and sage in a bowl and stir. After I butter the turkey, I rub this mixture all over my turkey. It is so good!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I also made the normal sides, homemade mashed potatoes, baked beans, green beans, and I made my cinnamon apple tea cake. There are tons of recipes for this online. My recipe is from 2014 and I have no idea where I got it from. I also made a banana pudding. The kids love that! Overall Thanksgiving was a success and we really enjoyed ourselves. I think for Christmas I may try a caramel cake recipe. We will see. 

 

I wanted everyone to know that the boutique’s Black Friday sale is still going on. Use code blackfriday21 for 20% off of your entire order and that does include new arrivals! Thank you to the lovely Rosenda for wearing the blue swiss dot dress in her latest video! I only have a few left and it is only $20. Use the code and it is only $16 plus shipping! It’s a great gift as well!

 

To watch Rosenda’s video click here. 

 

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

 

 

Wear the Red Velvet Shoes

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Good Morning,

Thanksgiving is this week! I can’t believe it. This year really zoomed right by us. I am looking forward to taking a few days this week. I am only going into the office today and tomorrow and then I am taking the rest of the week off. I can’t wait! I do plan on taking my morning walks this week and getting the house ready for the holidays. We just finished cleaning the carpets upstairs and we used a lavender-scented carpet cleaner from Febreze. It was so nice! My trees are up and I purchased a lovely poinsettia from Costco a few days ago.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Today I wanted to chat very quickly about wearing things that you love. Yesterday I got to participate in a lovely Zoom call with Jennifer from the Daily Connoisseur and the Chic Society! I love it when we can do the Zoom calls. They are so much fun and such a thrill to chat with everyone! If you are a part of the Chic Society, I hope you can watch it below! 

 

 

In yesterday’s Zoom call we talked about dealing with difficult people during the holidays and just wearing things that you love. I talked about how this past weekend I wore red velvet shoes to the grocery and loved every minute of it! Did I get stares? Of course, I did but who cares. I believe the stares did not come from a bad place but a place of “wow, I wish I could do that”. Here is the thing, you can! Life is so short and I think the last two years have shown us that. Life is so short… 

So wear the red velvet shoes or glitter ones if you have them! I wore glitter shoes last week and the stares continued but again… who cares. I enjoy being a woman and everything that comes along with it. Speaking of velvet the boutique’s new arrival is available!

 

 

I decided to name this dress Charlotte. The Charlotte Velvet Midi is ready to accompany you to your parties or family get-together! Also, my Black Friday Sale has begun! Use code blackfriday21 and get 20% off of your entire purchase and that includes new arrivals! I hope you all can find something that you would love or purchase as a gift! Have a great Monday and wear the shoes!

 

Note:

To my international buyers if you make a purchase please use the cheapest shipping offer! The Post Office informed me that no matter what you select it will take at least 15-30 days to get to you. I am so sorry but we have no control over it. Thank you! 

 

 

Elegant Living -Keith Robinson Inspiration

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Good Morning,

It has been a good weekend so far despite our loss last week. On Saturday my new carpet was installed in the family room and sitting room and I could not happier! It looks great! I am still waiting to get the stairs finished but we are off to a great start. We will finish the rest of the house next year. I will share some photos this week or next. 

In today’s post, I wanted to share this beautiful article about Keith Robinson. I talked about him on the blog in the past. In this article, they discuss his recent projects which include some new classes!

 

photo credit: Flower Magazine

 

One thing I love about Keith is that he did not let the history of his beloved plantation bother him. He mentioned that he has all of the tax documents and other papers discussing the property where he lived. He is fully aware of the 26 slaves that lived on the property and he did not let that stop him from turning the old plantation into a new home. I love that!

 

photo credit: Flower Magazine

 

I wish that I could take his homemaking classes. They sound wonderful! Keith is offering classes on cooking, gardening, and probably more tips on beautiful living. You should read the charming article about Keith and his work. See here if you are interested and be inspired. Have a great Monday!