Posts that inspiring an elegant life

The Beauty of Collecting ~ 1

/4 Comments/in , /by

 

The first weekend of Spring has begun. I went out to my front yard to check the progress of my lilac bushes. Everything is beginning to come in! I am looking forward to my blooms this year. I also went and spent WAY TOO MUCH money at HomeGoods. I wanted some new bed linens and purchases about two bed-in-the-bag cases. One is sage green and I am loving the way it looks.  Alright, so last Friday I talked about the beauty of collecting and shared how I was going to be discussing Aerin Lauder’s thoughts on collecting. 

One of her first tips is, “your collections do not have to be valuable (yay); they only have to instill joy and have meaning to you. Sometimes they start quite spontaneously- when you realize you’ve accumulated more than four sets of salt and pepper shakers or you’ve inherited your grandmother’s willow-ware china, or you start picking up antique linens at flea markets. Whatever attracts your eye, pay attention to it”.  

 

photo credit: Rodolfo Marques 

 

The second tip is to “look for meaningful additions to your collections on your travels, both to enhance your journey or conjure happy memories once you’re home. I’ve bought napkin rings on safari in Tanzania, colorful candles in London, and plates in Panama. I often find inspiration through travel”. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Whenever we go out of town I always have at least one antique store or Goodwill on my list to visit. I have found some of my best pieces on my travels. My recent obsessions has been Facebook Marketplace. I keep finding the most beautiful vintage French provincial furniture. I really don’t have the room for it but it doesn’t stop me from looking. I am also learning that I have a small obsession with china. I love china and here again, I don’t have the room for it. Makes me so sad! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Another recent find at an antique store has been my Wedgwood piece. It is stunning! You know maybe in the near future I could add antiques to my boutique. It’s a thought, isn’t it? I hope you all enjoyed this post and I am happy to report that the new arrivals for my boutique have been added. You are more than welcome to purchase anything on the boutique’s page. I also have one more plus-size dress on the way and another regular-size dress. I am also trying to get a few more accessories. I will keep you all posted! 

 

 

Also, don’t forget about my favorites page. I do earn a small commission if you make a purchase and don’t forget to follow me on the LIKEtoKNOWit app. 

The Beauty of Collecting

/4 Comments/in /by

 

 

And here we are…. Friday again and fast! This weekend I have a few things planned. Not much. One of my good friends and co-worker is getting married but we can not attend.  She just wanted a small ceremony so we will be watching via Zoom. I am happy for her and will be smiling from afar. 

I have some new arrivals for the boutique coming soon. One of my dresses arrived yesterday and I am in love with it! I can’t wait to get it posted to the website! 

 

Well in today’s post I wanted to share the beauty of collecting. I have been reading my copy of Aerin Lauder’s book Entertaining Beautifully and absorbing every beautiful idea that I can. Every time I read her books I always wonder what life would have been like for me now if both of my grandmothers were still here. I miss them dearly. Hearing Aerin’s stories about her grandmother always puts me in a place of bliss. 

 

photo credit: Julia Newman Photography/ The Glampad 

 

On collecting Aerin says, “collecting is a very personal passion, sometimes connected to value, history, or rarity, but more importantly to meaning, memory, and pleasure. It’s all about embracing what you love and enjoying it”. I could not agree with her more! 

 

photo credit: Harper’s Bazaar

 

I will be sharing more of Aerin’s beliefs on collecting and ideas we can take as our own. In 2016, I wrote about collecting and feminine pursuits. You may read my post here about that. Until then have a wonderful weekend and “live elegant everyday”.  

 

 

 

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.

 

 

My First FBMP Purchase ~ Haviland China

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Our weekend was pretty quiet. My daughter had a hair appointment and I just went to the grocery store. I wanted to go shopping so bad but I did not have a place in mind so I stayed home and did some house stuff. 

I have recently started doing searches on Facebook Marketplace for antiques and furniture pieces for my home. I am a member of the Grandmilliennial Style Facebook group and they are always posting wonderful finds that they purchased on Facebook so I decided to take a peek to see what treasures my city may have to offer. 

I was really surprised to see so many wonderful furniture pieces and they were great pieces! I have lots of items saved on my list. One of the items that I had saved was this Johann Haviland 56-piece china set. I also decided to look this particular design up and found out that it is called the blue garland design. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After reading the history I knew that I had a great set saved to my favorites list. I also saw how much it costs and soon realized that I need to get this set soon! The gentleman selling the 56 pieces originally wanted only $70 which I knew was a steal! But I sent a message and asked if that was firm. He then responded by dropping the price to $50! OMG!!!! SOLD! 

 

 

All of the pieces are in great shape. There is some fading on some of the plates but no matter. I still love it!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

 

I have a total of 8 dinner plates, 8 medium plates, 8 small plates, 8 teacups and saucers, 1 large bowl, 1 large gravy boat, 1 small gravy boat, 1 large oval plate, 1 large covered bowl with lid, and 1 small bowl with lid. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this set. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have to say that this piece is my favorite. I learned that it is called round covered vegetable. 

 

 

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Everything is so beautiful. I could not wait to use the teacups and saucers for my morning breakfast and hot tea. 

 

 

I hand-washed every piece and used the plates and teacup and saucer for my breakfast. It was so nice and the quality is incredible. You can always tell if a china piece is good. I found a few pieces on Ebay. I did find this 40-piece set for $110 or you can make an offer. There was also this set. I also found this three-tiered plate stand that you can make an offer on. 

 

I hope everyone enjoyed this post and I have a few more items saved on my FBMP tab. There are some french style nightstands that I REALLY want to go and take a look at! I hope I can soon! Have a great Monday!

 

 

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.

 

 

Valentine’s Day at Home

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed your Valentine’s Day with your loved ones. I saw lots of pictures on Instagram full of candies and sweets. They all look great but I don’t know about you but I can’t eat sweets like that anymore. I am not sure why but my taste buds are going through changes. I did enjoy seeing everyone’s flowers. I love flowers and love a wonderful large bouquet for no reason. 

Mr. Shockley and I spent the holiday at home. I am telling you I did not step foot out my door yesterday. Saturday I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things but that was it. Today I wanted to visit my p.o. box (just to check on things) but that will have to wait until later this week. We are getting ready to get hit with our 6 to 8 inches of snow today!

In today’s post, I did want to share how my stay home date went with my hubby.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

Of course one cannot start Valentine’s Day without flowers. My husband asked if I wanted anything specific and I told him to just keep it simple this year. So he came home with these and I could not love them more!

 

 

A rose bouquet that he got me earlier in the week. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

I think I shared that I did not want to go out for dinner so I included a steak dinner in our HelloFresh box for this order. This was the middle eastern steak and rice pilaf meal.

 

It turned out pretty good. I was really intimidated by the steak. I have never cooked steak on the stove. I have always cooked it in a crockpot. It always comes out so tender. But the basmati rice was good and I always love roasted vegetables. The dipping sauce for the steak was sour cream, yogurt, and zucchini which I thought was a bit unusual but it tasted good. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

We turned off the lights and I brought down my candelabra from the boutique. I placed a candlestick in it and we enjoyed a nice quiet dinner. Where was our daughter you may ask? Well her bestie called her and asked if she could come by for a few and we sent her over there. It was nice having a quiet home. 

 

 

Even though we spent the day home I still got dressed up. I dress every day so this was not hard for me. And yes I spent the whole day in the house looking like this. I enjoy looking nice so sitting around my home like this does not bother me at all. 

Overall we had a nice Valentine’s day. I did order a few things from Express while they had their sale. I ordered this lace cami, this wrap blouse, and these quilted slides in pecan.  I have actually tried these slides on in the store and they are super comfy. 

I hope you all have a great Monday and enjoy your day! Stay warm!

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

A Home for Elegance ~ Online Boutique

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all are well. Valentines’s Day is this weekend! My husband and I really don’t have much planned. I really don’t want to go to a restaurant. The wait time has been terrible because of social distancing, so I plan on spending it at home. Our second Hello Fresh box is suppose to arrive today and I am so excited. I picked out a steak dinner to prepare and eat at home. That is what I plan on doing for Valentine’s Day this year.

I think most of you follow me on Instagram (and here) and saw that I have started an online boutique! I made a decision in November to start this journey. I am really excited and have been wanting to do this for quite some time now. A few of my orders have arrived and I will be sharing them on my A Home for Elegance boutique account. Of course, I will be sharing lots on the blog too! Here are a few photos so far. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

I took a corner in the loft of our home. I use the loft as my home office so there is plenty of space in this room. I had my elliptical here. It was placed sideways and I just felt like it was taking up good space so I moved the elliptical next to my desk. Everything looks great in this corner! What do you guys think?

I found the table with drawers (buffet) at the flea market. I paid about $100 for it. It is solid! The clothing rack is from Amazon and was only $89 with a coupon! The clear chair I found at a florist shop but I found one similar here. The quilted handbag is from RedDress. I am trying to find some for my boutique. I love how everything turned out.

 

 

Every morning when I get up, I come into this room and just stare at it. It’s not much but this boutique does wonders to my soul. I have dreamt of starting something like this for many years and to actually began the process of making this happen has just been amazing to me. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

This dress was in my first order. This is a dress that I will have in plus sizes. I already have it in 1x, 2x, and 3x! I intend on carrying regular and plus sizes. I have a few more items that I will share later. I added the brooch. I think it looks fantastic! What do you think?

My hope is to have everything ready in March. There are still a few things left before we can launch. I hope you all enjoyed this post and I know it’s crazy but I can’t believe that I am turning my blog into a business. I hope you guys come along on this journey! 

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

 

Also, don’t forget to follow me on the LIKEtoKNOWit app.  This app is completely free and is easy to download. I was a little apprehensive too until I decided to download it and follow some of my favorite grandmillienials. I don’t regret it. It’s a wonderful app and I don’t get any money if you download it. I only get a small commission if you purchase something from my account. 

 

 

A Classy Galentine Luncheon

/in , /by

 

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I am super excited! My orders from my first two vendors arrived yesterday. Everything looks great and I have the correct sizes! I can’t believe it. I am still so nervous about this but there is a little tug on my heart that is letting me that this is okay. 

With all of the work that I have had to do for the website, boutique, housework, etc., I almost completely forgot about Valentine’s Day this weekend! I saw this on another blogger’s post. This is something that I would love to do with some of my close friends. 

 

photo credits: Mary Craven Photography 

 

 

Wouldn’t this be nice? I would love to invite some girlfriends over and we could sit, enjoy a nice meal together and just chat. 

 

 

What a wonderful lunch? Chicken and mushroom crepes? I have never heard of that but it looks delicious! I’ve never had a citrus salad either. Looks refreshing!

 

photo credits: Mary Craven Photography 

 

Oh and let’s not forget the china and dessert. This looks similar to Aerin Lauder china that I shared in yesterday’s blog post! This is bittersweet chocolate with creme Chantilly. Add some fresh berries and some shortbread and you have a light but tasty dessert. 

 

 

I have already visualized myself and some of my very good friends at this table. So classy, timeless, wonderful, and benevolence. If you don’t have a Valentine for this year then call on your good friends! You don’t have to be as fancy as this. Use your best and do your best but enjoy your time. If you wish to read the original article you may see it here. 

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make Time for Yourself

/2 Comments/in /by

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend. I did, it was cold but I enjoyed myself. On Saturday our daughter had a hair appointment so we dropped her off at the salon and my husband and I headed to the mall. We are trying to get into the habit of doing more things together. My husband headed to Von Maur and I went to Sephora. I picked up some new skincare products. I will be sharing them soon. 

On Friday I stopped at the flea market to find a long table with storage for my online boutique. I am hoping to have it up and running soon. The goal is to add another page to the “shop” tab and call it the Boutique. I still have a lot of work ahead of me but we will get there. My goal is March but we will see. Anyway, while I was at the flea market I found some gorgeous crystal candlestick holders! They are stunning. I can’t stop looking at them. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

After that, I went grocery shopping and picked up some gorgeous lilies. These are going to be so beautiful to have in my home office/boutique this week!!!!!

 

 

On Sunday I did a little housework, blog work, and boutique work and then decided to give myself a pedicure. While sitting I started to read my Entertaining Beautifully by Aerin Lauder. It is so well written and so inspiring. I got to page 15 and this subchapter was called, ” Make Time for Yourself”. Aerin discussed how it may seem counterintuitive to focus on solitude before you entertain but her grandmother Estee said that it is worth taking the time to make any meal or occasion beautiful. And you all know that I could not agree with her more….

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

I love the early mornings on the weekend. It is my time to enjoy the silence of my home, make a beautiful breakfast, and savor a hot cup of roasted dandelion and chamomile tea. I use all of my china in my home. I don’t care what day it is. 

Aerin went on to say that, “Even when you’re having your morning coffee or afternoon tea by yourself, it’s deserving of a china teacup, cream and sugar served in a pitcher and sugar bowl, not a carton and a linen napkin. These things only take a moment, but they elevate the entire experience so that you can slow down and actually enjoy it”. 

 

photo credit: Simon Upton, page 17

 

The above photo is of Aerin’s tea set. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Aerin says, “Fresh flowers and your best china and silver shouldn’t just be saved for special occasions or holidays: use them every day for yourself and notice the difference in how it makes you feel. I think taking time for yourself is the secret to being a good hostess, wife, mother, and friend. I believe in putting the same care into a cup of afternoon tea for myself as I would when serving a guest. It’s those little niceties that rejuvenate me”. 

I hope you are inspired to use your best and to take moments of solitude. Even with everyone working from home these days, we still need that rest and solitude. Take care of yourselves and do it beautifully! I have written other posts about using your best. See here, here, and here. Enjoy!