Posts that inspiring an elegant life

Affordable Table Setting Pieces

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Good Morning Everyone,

I am peering out of my bedroom window hoping that I don’t see snow! This time last week we had about 2 inches of snow on the ground! I couldn’t believe it. Yesterday evening I went out and checked my lilac bushes, rose bushes, and peonies and everyone looks great! My lilac is even blooming. I went to smell the bushes and they smelled wonderful. My husband and I sat on the porch for a moment and enjoyed the scent. Fingers crossed we have no more snow! Geez! 

I also wanted to tell everyone that the Beverly tote is ready for purchase! Please know that since this is a new arrival the Mothers Day sale code (MTDY25) cannot be used on this purchase since it is a new arrival. It can be used on anything else in the boutique. I do hope that everyone will be able to enjoy the sale and thank you again for your purchases!

 

photo credit: Etsy.com

 

Now on to today’s inspiration…. during my lunch hour on Tuesday, I was looking at my Aerin Lauder book and saw a lot of beautiful table linens and dishes and I thought, “there has to be some affordable tableware out there. So I did a quick search and found a few things. I found this beautiful sheer chiffon table runner on Amazon! It has great reviews and is under $20! 

 

photo credit: Amazon

 

Next was this gorgeous set of 4 Portmeirion Botanical glasses. They are under $50 for all 4!

 

 

Third, are these shatterproof Godinger glasses! Even your kids could use these! They are stunning and only $21 for a set of 4! 

 

photo credit: Amazon

 

Fourth are these spring-inspired dessert plates. All four are under $40 and would be a great addition to anyone’s china collection! Oh and I found this set of six Blue Room Georgian plates for under $80! What a steal! 

 

 

Next is this adorable Garden soup and sandwich set! Great for an afternoon lunch or a snack by the fire with a good book. It is under $30 with 5% off right now with Amazon! 

And last on my list is this beautiful garden pitcher! Can’t you see it filled with flowers or lemonade with fresh lemons? So gorgeous….. I hope you all enjoyed these affordable china finds and have found some inspiration. Tomorrow I am going to the Indiana Decorator’s Show House and Gardens. I am going all alone and I can’t wait!!!! I am taking the afternoon off. I have been wanting to attend this for some time now so I am really excited. I will share photos if I can. Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hunt for Floral Danica

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Oh my goodness you guys, I am furious right now! As I look out my home office window I am seeing SNOW! You read that correctly snow! I am so upset right now. My Canadian chokecherry tree is leaning over to the side. He looks so sad. Just this weekend I was out smelling his sweet floral scent and looking at his beautiful white and creamy blooms. The same for my lilac bushes. The purple buds are beginning to come out and now everything is covered in snow!

I feel like screaming! And in a few days, we are suppose to be back up to 60 degrees! I am so mad right now but let’s talk about something else I love and that is china. 

 

photo credit: Victoria Magazine

 

I saw this beautiful china pattern in the Flowers & Gardens Victoria Classica Magazine in July 2020. I love this design. It is called the Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica collection and it is extremely expensive! 

If you read some of the information about this china you will quickly learn that each piece is handpainted and each one is different! Now how fantastic is that! You ladies should know that I have already checked my local Facebook Marketplace section to see if anyone has a listing for any piece. I will be checking often and I hope to stumble on some plates. Fingers crossed!

 

photo credit: Victoria Magazine

 

I hope you all enjoyed this post and I hope that none of you have snow right now! This is dreadful! I will be covering my bushes tonight because I think we are due for one more freeze and hopefully that will be it. 

Let me know in the comments section below if you had snow these last few days or if there is a china print that you have been after for some time now. I would love to know what it is. Have a great Wednesday. 

 

 

Curious About Wisteria

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It is the beginning of a new week and the starting week of training for my new position. I have truly been in awe all weekend. I still can not believe that I am a supervising paralegal in my office. It still shocks me. And now this week I begin training with my co-worker that I will be replacing. I can’t believe it…

This weekend has been rather quiet. I ran some errands on Saturday and processed some new orders for the boutique. Thank you to everyone who watched and subscribed to Rosenda’s channel. I hope that you all enjoyed the video and it was great to see my dresses being modeled on a wonderful person. The pinkcasa code for the discount will be good until Wednesday. I hope you all get a chance to use it. 

On Sunday, I pulled out some old and new Victoria magazines to find inspiration and stumbled upon an article about wisteria. I don’t know much about it. My very good friend Lyndsey grew some a few years ago and it looked gorgeous on her trellis up against her home. I am so afraid to grow certain things in Indiana. We seem to have unpredictable weather. 

 

photo credit: Stephanie Welbourne Steel (Victoria Magazine)

When I was reading the article it said that the burley vines can be trained to clamber up walls, pergolas, and other sturdy supports. Another tip that it gave was that once you cut the vines special care must be taken. Removing most of the foliage will allow for better water absorption. 

 

photo credit: Stephanie Welbourne Steele (Victoria Magazine)

 

What are your thoughts? Have any of you planted or have wisteria? I would LOVE to know if you do and how you are managing it. Please comment below and have a lovely Monday!

 

 

 

Florals, Promotion, & Boutique News!

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Hello Friday,

Yesterday I received some wonderful news. I was promoted! For the last 13 years, I have been grooming myself to become a paralegal supervisor in my office and I am proud to say that the hard work finally paid off! I have been on Cloud 9 for the last several hours and I am really excited to get started in my new position. I am still with the same office just moving to a different hall and I will be managing my very own staff of legal assistants. Very exciting!!! 

In today’s post, I just wanted to share this beautiful video that I have watched over and over on Youtube. It is a video of Rachell Ashwell on the Home & Family Show on the Hallmark channel. 

 

 

I love this video and thought it would be a great way to start the weekend. A little flower inspiration is always good for the soul. My favorite arrangement is the baby’s breathe with the few roses. I think that is exceptionally beautiful! 

Also and this is BIG NEWS! My Youtube collaboration with Rosenda from the Little Pink Casa is up on her channel!!! I am so excited you guys! The video is below. I sure hope that you all enjoy it! Rosenda looks wonderful in the blue swiss dot dress and the rose and dot dress. 

 

 

If you are a follower of the Little Pink Casa you are more than welcome to use the coupon code. Please check out Rosenda’s channel and subscribe! She creates wonderful, feminine, and vintage homestyle videos. I have been following Rosenda for quite some time and love her videos!

All of the information is linked in Rosenda’s video. Do enjoy it and subscribe! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

 

 

Linen Inventory ~ For the Table

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Oh, the weather has been fantastic here! I know we are suppose to get cold again but oh it has been so nice. It feels like spring is really here. My Canadian chokecherry tree is blooming and he is really pretty! I named him Murphy. I know it’s weird but I think it suits him. 

Okay, so we are finishing up our linen inventory discussion from Jane Scott Hodges book, Linens for Everyone Room and Occasion. Today is the tabletop inventory….

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

Now I will be the first to admit that my inventory for my tabletop is okay. I have a basket full of linen napkins and I never have enough that match. But for the most part, I have the majority of the inventory that Jane suggests:

 

  • 1 casual tablecloth
  • 1 formal tablecloth
  • 6 linen guest towels
  • 12 casual placemats and dinner napkins
  • 12 formal placemats and dinner napkins
  • 24 cocktail napkins 

Now the items that I do not possess are the cocktail napkins but we really don’t drink a lot so I will have to think about that. 

 

 

I am trying to get into the habit of inviting people over for dinner more. The pandemic last year and this year has made that really hard. Last Friday, I invited my in-laws over again I used all of my linens. It is always a wonderful feeling to use beautiful things that you have. 

This was my dinner above. I made roasted broccoli, roasted potatoes, ranch and bread coated chicken, and a spinach, green, and apple salad. It was all so delicious and I had everything done in 1 hour 15 minutes! 

How is your tabletop inventory? Do you use tablecloths and napkins? Let’s chat below! Have a great Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Linen Inventory ~ For the Guests

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Hello Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend! I did, it was rainy the entire time but I ordered some more vintage Weiss earrings from Poshmark, got a new purple plant for my blue and white planter, planted some beautiful purple stock in my new swan planter, and did some dress shopping for the boutique.

Have any of you started any garden work in your yards yet? What are your special projects for the spring? I did get some rose bushes from Costco and planted those so we will see how they do.

On Friday I talked about the linen list that author Jane Scott Hodges mentioned in her book. Today I wanted to share her linen inventory list for the guest bedroom and bathroom. 

 

photo credit: Jane Scott Hodges 

Jane suggested having the following to provide your guest:

Guest Bedroom:

  • 2 sets of sheets (flat, fitted, and pillowcases)
  • 2 blanket covers (styled for summer and winter)
    2 sets of shams to match the blanket covers
  • 1 duvet cover
  • 1 throw quilt
  • 1 boudoir pillow or neck roll

I still have not found a neck roll that I like. I am still on the hunt!

 

photo credit: Julia Berolzheimer 

For the guest bathroom:

  • 4 linen guest towels
  • 4 bath sheets
  • 6 bath towels
  • 6 fingertip towels
  • 6 washcloths
  • 2 bath mats

I hope this list was helpful to you all. You can use this as just a starting point to begin your linen inventory. My dream is to have a bigger linen closet one day. I hate smashing everything into my small hallway closet. I don’t understand why linen closets are still so small. Do any of you have large linen closets? I really would love to turn my step-son’s bedroom into a decor room but we will see. 

Thanks for reading and have a great Monday!  

 

 

 

 

 

Linen Inventory~ Thoughts?

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Good Morning Everyone,

The weekend awaits and again I don’t have much planned. My daughter has a hair appointment and I really want to visit a thrift store. I haven’t gone to one in a while and I have the “itch” to go and take a peek. I am in the office today and have a lot to do on my list so hopefully, everything will get done. I hope you all have had a chance to see my new arrivals at the boutique. I am really loving my new accessories and I am offering a first-time purchase coupon code. If you type in FTP10 in the coupon code box you will receive 10% off of your entire purchase!

I am also offering a 15% off code to those who have already made a purchase. If you would simply post a review on the boutique of your item I will email you the code. Okay, let’s get into today’s post. 

I am still reading Linens for Every Room and Occasion and yesterday I came across her linen inventory list. Now, this caught my attention because I have been thinking about this recently. I have been checking my linens and trying to decide if they need to be replaced. I did just purchase a new sheet and comforter set for our bed and it is so hard to get my daughter to commit to a new set. She doesn’t want anything floral…. so that limits me. 

However, I did want to share this list with you all and get your thoughts…

Master Bedroom:

  • 2 sets of sheets (flat, fitted and pillowcases)
  • 2 blanket covers (styled for summer and winter)
    2 sets of shams to match the blanket covers
  • 1 year-round blanket
  • 1 duvet cover
  • 1 throw quilt
  • 2 his and hers wedge pillows for reading (this sounds good)
    2 boudoir or neck roll shams (I really need one of these)

 

photo credit: Jane Scott Hodges (Paul Castello)

 

Now time for her Master Bathroom list:

  • 6 bath sheets
  • 12 bath towels
  • 12 hand towels
  • 12 fingertip towels
  • 12 washcloths
  • 2 bath mats

Okay, so I looked up fingertip towels and bath sheets. I found these fingertip towels on Amazon and these monogram ones as well. Do any of you own these? We do own a few bath sheets. We love them! They cover your whole body not just half.  Let me know in the comments section below if you already own most of these items. I am really curious. Next week I will be sharing her list for the guest bathroom, guest bedroom, and tabletop. Until then have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

fyi: This post is not sponsored. I use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links.