Archive for category: Elegant Living

Summer begins officially this week and I am already dreading the summers here. It is so hot and humid in Indy. For the first time this year, I felt like we actually had a spring! We have had 60-degree weather for most of the spring. Some nights have even gotten down to 40 degrees! I love it! I love those crisp mornings. Especially heading into the office during the weekday. I love those morning walks. 


Some mornings I get a chance to look at Instagram for a bit and I always smile when I see a post from Cathy Graham’s account. If you are not following her than I would suggest that you should. Cathy is an awarding winning artist and fashion illustrator. Her first book Second Bloom: Cathy Graham’s Art of Table was published in 2017. In her book, she covers elements that will make any event shine.  Her beautiful photos will put a smile on your face every time. 

I love all of the colors that she uses and her whimsical style. I have been taking a second look at single stem arrangements. 

I was recently in the car with my husband and I started thinking about certain events, foods, and flowers that I enjoy throughout the year. For instance, it’s peony season!!! I love this season and I went a few days ago to check and see if they were available at my local florist shop and I was able to get a few bouquets!

I told my husband about a vintage Martha Stewart video that I have about weddings and how the florist in that video was talking about how he loves to WAIT for certain seasons to come for certain flowers. He said, “I don’t want lilac when it’s not in season, nor do I want roses. I love waiting for those seasons to come around so that I can enjoy those flowers in their proper season”. Now this DVD was from 2006 so I was about 23 years old.

I recall thinking, “No, I don’t want to wait!” I want these flowers now! I want blueberries now, I want grapes now!


So now that 13 years have passed and I am a little older I can now appreciate why that florist said that and why it’s a wonderful thing to wait for things until it’s their season. For instance, I used to buy blueberries all the time and when it’s not their season those things tasted awful! So I would waste money! Same thing with certain flowers. They would die and I would be so mad!

So now I have learned and realized that everything is beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11, he has made everything beautiful in its time…..

Each year I calendar in advance what events I want to attend, when is the best time to buy this or that and I enjoy doing this. Blueberries taste blissful this time (April to late September). Peonies are from now until June. Grapes are good from now until October but the peak is September. Lilies are beautiful in late summer.

During the summer I look forward to the  Lunch Break at the Symphony. I have already purchased my ticket for the first show which is music from Romeo and Juliet. This is a wonderful time for me to enjoy the symphony. I grab a salad on my way there and sit in the audience and eat my lunch while listening to the orchestra. It’s fantastic and only in June each year! 

My desk last year

I started growing peonies in 2017 and I believe I will have my first blooms in a few days! I still volunteer at Dress for Success and love doing the personal shopping during the summer because of all of the beautiful new donations we will have.


So everything is beautiful in its time and I am learning that slowly. You don’t have to have it all now. Honestly, I am still furniture shopping for a new dining room table and chairs. But I don’t want to settle and I know when it’s time it will be there in the store waiting for me.

He (God) has made EVERYTHING beautiful in its time. The blueberries, strawberries, peonies, the symphony, lilies, the weather, everything about life. And I want HIS time. That’s all I want. Enjoy your Wednesday!










(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

Gosh, it’s the middle of May already and Jennifer L. Scott just posted her Chic Assignment Check-in for May. So what I have been doing is following along with the assignments. I do enjoy these very much and always want to update my readers on my status. 


So the first assignment was to listen to Erik Satie Gymnopedies. I listened to it and all I can say is magnifique! That YouTube video that Jennifer provided was wonderful! I saved it to my favorites and play it in my office all the time. What a great source to have for classical music. 

The second assignment was to regard the works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. I viewed his artwork and my favorite piece of his was The Rose Garden at Wargemont, 1879. 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir‘s Rose Garden at Wargemont painted in 1879, is a studied game of depth and form imparting a sense of movement and energy. The artist explores the natural idiosyncrasies of plant growth and boils them down to a series of experiential dabs of color.

This is a beautiful painting and Wayfair has a reproduction on their website to purchase! I may have to think about that! 

The third chic assignment was to wear a piece of jewelry that you don’t normally wear. I usually don’t have a problem with this. I rotate my jewelry pretty often so each piece gets worn throughout the year. I love wearing jewelry. I feel like my jewelry pieces help me to feel more feminine. 

And the last chic assignment was to get yourself manicure and pedicure ready. I am actually scheduled for my nail appointment this Sunday and I normally give myself a pedicure every other Sunday. I have the foot rasp that is on Jennifer’s blog. I purchased mine 2 years ago and have not looked back! My heels have improved by 100%! I don’t have crusty heels any longer. 


I look forward to Jennifer’s June assignments and will do my very best to stay on top of it! If you missed my March and April assignment check-in’s you may view them here and here.


Have a great weekend and make sure that you subscribed to my Youtube channel! I will try to post new videos every Sunday. 






(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest; text via Wikipedia)