Posts that inspiring an elegant life

Lhuillier Rose Collection

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In keeping with this week’s floral theme, I wanted to share some favorite small picks from the Monique Lhuillier Rose Collection at Pottery Barn.

I want to start with this beautiful table setting. The rose napkins are such a beautiful blend of pinks and creams. It also has a lovely jacquard weave. So lovely.

I also adore the beautiful stoneware and the Gabrielle etched glasses. I was able to see those in person.

Dreamy isn’t it? I was able to see this feminine bedding set at the store. This is called the Penelope Ikat Duvet Set.  I could see this on our own bed and take a look at the dainty clare swivel vase on the nightstand.

It was exceptional in person. Well, I hope that you all enjoyed my floral finds for this week. I am still on my pink blush hunt and will continue to buy as many items in that color as possible. I just know that eventually everything comes to an end and they will stop selling items in pink soon. I hope that I am wrong and that this season of femininity continues to grow. Enjoy your weekend!

(photos via Pottery Barn.com)

The Chic Assignments – Jennifer L. Scott

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Okay, I have been so excited about this new monthly challenge by my favorite author Jennifer L. Scott called Chic Assignments. Not only am I working on civility but also trying to keep chic elegant activities going on in my life. I love that one of her readers came up with this idea! It’s wonderful! With all of the silly challenges that I see on social media, this one is worthwhile.

I believe that most of you are Daily Connoisseur fans so these challenges should not surprise you.

Alright so her first challenge was to listen to classical music. Well, I can check that off on my list because every morning in the office I have my Mozart station on my Pandora already going with my hot cup of tea.

My favorite piece is “Spring”: l. Allegro by Takako Nishizaki

You may listen to it here.
Secondly, I don’t use the ten-item wardrobe but I have been getting rid of items and selling them on my Poshmark account. 
I am actually selling this dress right now on my Poshmark account. 
For the third chic assignment, I have been incorporating natural products into my life and home. I have been using the Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner. You can view my blog post here about that. 
And her last chic assignment was to read a book. I have been reading the Civility Solution, the Woman’s Herbal Apothecary, and the Inviting Life: An Inspirational Guide to Homemaking. Like Jennifer, I read about three books at a time. 

I have really enjoyed these assignments this month. I can’t wait to see what Jennifer has planned for March. Please let me know in the comments section below if you have joined in or intend too! I would love to hear what chic activities you are all inspired to do. Thanks for reading!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)


The Tiffany Blue Tea Set

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It’s always great when your husband finds a beautiful gift for you. This past weekend my husband found this wonderful new teapot for me at Davids Tea.

This is called the jolly teapot and it is absolutely beautiful! It is a gorgeous tiffany blue color. 
It has beautiful gold hardware and a gorgeous gold infuser. 
Now you can buy the teacup and teapot separately but why in the world would you do that!
Jolly Teacup
It is a beautiful set and I loved using it this weekend. I will be taking it to work to enjoy for this week. I hope that you enjoyed this find. If you order it or go and take a peek at it let me know your thoughts. It is a very beautiful set to look at. Enjoy!!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Lovely Mind

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I was recently listening to a conversation between a co-worker and my supervisor. They were discussing all of the current events in the news and what’s going on with this and what’s going on with that. At that moment I realized something horrible….. I had no idea what they were talking about.

What’s even worse is that they were discussing some things that were going on with our government. I work for the federal government. Not good. They weren’t discussing things that were going on with our office per se but they were discussing current events that could potentially effect us.

It was then that I also realized that I had to do a much butter job in keeping up with the world around me. I hate watching and listening to the news. I don’t even like watching our local news here. I hate the news…. I really do….but in order to have an educational and in-depth conversation with those around me I do need to be aware of issues going on.

In 2015 I posted this about the news and “mental chicness”. I have to admit that I have still not done my very best at keeping up with current events. It is very hard not to take what’s going on in the world “as your own”. A lot of us are guilty of accepting the news into our emotions. I am guilty of it too.

But in order to be an alert, well-rounded woman, knowing what’s going on and being able to discuss world events is very important. For the last two weeks I have been listening to NPR Now on my satellite radio station in my car in the morning or evenings. I try not to listen to it too much. 

I do enjoy listening to this station. They discuss a variety of things including cooking, the arts, economics, etc.

I will say this, after this last week of listening to NPR I do feel a little more confident about the information that I received and when I heard my co-worker and supervisor discussing more headlines I knew exactly what they were talking about. I was able to engage. 
Being an elegant woman is very important to me. Dressing well, thinking well, and being emotionally and spiritually well are some of my top priorities in life. I believe that God wants us to be informed but not afraid and that is my goal. 
On a side note, the other stations that I have on my favorites are Real Jazz, Siriusly Sinatra, Holly (Christmas music), the Symphony Hall, and Joel Osteen. I try to make sure that I have wonderful stations to listen to. 
What are you thoughts about the news? Do you enjoy watching or listening to it? Please share….
(photos via Pinterest)

Lovely Napkins in the Car…Why Not?

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Ever look inside your glove compartment and realize that you don’t have any napkins and if you do they are quite crappy?

I love buying napkins by Vanity Fair. They are great quality and look quite lovely in your glove compartment. I had too many one weekend and decided to put some in my car. Best decision I ever made!!!!

They were great for spills, wiping my hands, wiping our noses, and any other needs we had. My daughter loves them and so do I!  
They are not to thick and not too thin. They are really soft and quite affordable. I only paid about $4 for a pack of 50. Well worth it indeed!
Here they are in my glove compartment in the car. I just love having them there and I know that it is weird but there is a slight elegant feeling to them when you pull one out to use. They are quite lovely and for the price why not? You can find these any where. I think I found this pack at Walmart. 
I hope that you enjoyed this post and this idea. Simple, elegant living is what I am all about. Enjoy!!!!
(photos by Mrs. Shockley)

Trying to Live Well

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We are about to embark on the holiday season and this can be a very hard time of year for some of us. I was running some errands yesterday and people were just everywhere. I became very frustrated. I must confess…. I have been “people struggling” lately.


I told my husband that and he said, “what do you mean”? And I said, ” I have been finding myself recently not wanting to be around people”. And it’s not everyone. It’s just the rude ones. Yesterday in the store I was having an internal fit about some of the rude women around. I literally had to calm myself down because I felt as if I was going to explode!




I find myself not wanting to go to restaurants anymore because I have been so disgusted by the attitude of the waiter or how dirty the bathrooms are or the restaurant itself. I feel like if me asking you for a refill on bread is such an inconvenience for you then why are you serving? Why are you working in the service industry? Find a career where you don’t feel forced to engage with people. I don’t know maybe I am asking too much. 

Even at the office. For the most part, I do enjoy the people I work with but those few “bad apples” that are continuously rude get really old to me. Now that I have expressed my frustration at two of the meetings that we have had now they want to suddenly “act right” when they have been venomous for the last 10 years!  They also expect me to just “get over it” and basically pretend that they have not trashed me all these years. Not a chance…. 


Now I am for forgiveness but only when I know that the person is genuine in their apology and for the individuals in my office (which they have NOT apologized), they are not. So moving on….


For the last several months I have been asking myself. How do I want to live? The answer is I want to live well. So I have to realize and know that not everyone is going to believe in the same things that I believe in. Not everyone is going to be polite, not everyone is going to give respect, not everyone is going to do their part. Dealing with very difficult people or situations requires patience, resolve and restraint.

I can’t change people but I can pray. And that is what I do on a regular basis. I have to. I must. Have my prayers been answered? In most cases, yes! When I pray and ask the Lord to help me be a “light” in the grocery store or wherever I am, he then gives me an opportunity to be respectful or helpful to someone. Then they “light up” and respond to me in the same way. So that to me is apart of living well. I just keep telling myself. We have a goal and living well and beautifully is going to require a lot of you Mrs. Shockley but we can do this because we choose to. Being respectful, dressing respectfully, working respectfully and loving respectfully, always.

We can do this for this upcoming holiday season. We must be a “light” for people and maybe, just maybe we may even show them the way. I tell myself that all the time. Don’t give up. We are making progress. Live well….



(photos via Pinterest)

Learning Bach

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Back in 2015 I started taking piano lessons with a private teacher. I am sad to report that earlier this year she had to close her studio due to renting issues. I am hoping that she will reopen but she is so close to retirement and has been so busy at work that she has not had the time to teach.

I have been really sad but nevertheless I have continued with my studies in piano playing and have stayed in touch with my teacher. We had lunch last week and were able to catch up on life and discuss her maybe doing private lessons in her home (fingers crossed).

Me with my teacher, I miss it so much
Each week I like to use my planner and get things on my list to do and make goals. I was thinking about personal goals that I could set and I thought about my piano lessons. There is one thing that I would love to be able to do and that is to play at least one song by heart. 
The piece that I have chosen is called ” I Preludium” by Johann Sebastian Bach. This was one of my favorite pieces to play while I was taking my lessons. 
So my goal is to practice once a week and learn it group by group. I am hoping that within six months to a year I can play this entire piece from memory. 
I love setting goals and I love playing the piano. I am happy that I decided to include this in my weekly goals and lifetime accomplishments. Find something that will challenge you….

(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)