Posts that inspiring an elegant life

The Chic Assignments ~ April

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Goodness, April is almost over. It’s going by way to fast. I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter. I always to try to make sure that we continue to teach the children what’s important about Easter. Christ has risen! 

I was able to find some baby’s breath at the store. I was not sure if I would be able to its also prom month here in Indy and the baby’s breath is always elusive.

My table at home


Okay, now let me share with you all on how I am doing on the Chic Assignments for April.
The first assignment was to listen to Schubert’s Ava Maria. After seeing the Notre Dame Cathedral burn this was hard to listen too. That was so heartbreaking to me! I immediately starting thinking about all of the beautiful, historical buildings in our country. God, please protect them! We all enjoy them and honor them! 
I did, however, watch the video that Jennifer had on her site of the father singing it with his beautiful daughter watching. That lifted my spirits after seeing the news about the cathedral. 
The second assignment was to read poetry from author Percy B. Shelley. I did listen to the poem that Jennifer read on her blog but I also love Maya Angelou’s poem called “Woman Work”. I think we can all relate to this poem. 
photo credit Pinterest 
The third assignment was to dress up for no reason. I live my life like this so it is not hard for me at all. I enjoy dressing up every day. Even on the weekends. It is truly amazing how much people pay attention to that. I wore a floral dress and cardigan to the grocery store this past weekend and people were stopping me everywhere saying how much they loved my dress. I told my daughter. People love seeing well-dressed people. I don’t care how they act. People, deep down inside, love it!
Me in my floral dress and cardigan
If you are interested in this dress you may purchase it here.


And the last assignment was getting intentional rest. I try to make sure that I do this from time to time. A few years ago I realized that I did not take any personal days from work. Then one of my good friends who was a supervisor at the time said, “Don’t worry about this place. The work will be here when you return”. So now I take more personal days and enjoy my life. 
My office at home
And I spend them at home. I’ll watch a movie with a cup of tea, read, run a few errands, visit an antique store. I really take time to relish in the things I love. 

Well, that is all from the chic assignments of Mrs. Shockley. Let me know what all you have been doing for the month of April. Being chic I hope!
Thanks for reading!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Cherry Blossom Tea

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Along with visiting the cherry blossom trees, I had to take a second visit to the Library of Congress. While there we visited the gift shop. I love walking through there. You will find all kinds of items and gifts. One of those items was this beautiful tin of cherry blossom green tea.

I was a little on the fence about it because they did not have any samples around and I could not see inside the tin. I knew that I was taking a chance on getting it but I could not resist this beautiful pink tin and I am such a fan of green teas. I figured it could not be that bad. 
The aroma when I opened the tin…. Oh my! You can smell the vibrant and fragrant cherries. The scent is just exquisite. I purchased a tin for my supervisor and she said, “I just leave it open to smell it”. It is that wonderful!  
Now the tea is loose and placed in these appealing sachets. They look almost like silk. You can get two cups of tea from it and it is a light color but the taste is very elegant. If you are a tea lover I guarantee you that you will enjoy this tea! It is that good!
If any of you are familiar with this tea and have tried it please share your thoughts below. If any of you are thinking about purchasing it I hope that you do and share your thoughts too! Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Chic Assignments ~ March

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So we are already into the middle of March and these months are just flying by. My favorite author Jennifer L. Scott has already given us our chic assignments for March. I shared a few weeks ago my February chic assignments and the status of where I am on them. This is such an enjoyable activity. I have really enjoyed this.

Now let’s get into March’s assignments.…

Jennifer’s first assignment is to listen to Chopin Nocturne and I have. What a wonderful piece! I am still working on practicing my piece from Bach. It will be a process. Stay tuned!

The next assignment is to make your laundry more routine and more pleasurable!  It’s funny because I was already working on that. I went to the Container Store to try to find some organizational bins for my laundry room and I found these and these and they worked out great!

So many wonderful options….
I picked out the grey ones and I also added this beautiful picture in my laundry room. I found this in South Carolina about 5 years ago! It was in a Goodwill store. Love it hanging in my laundry room. 
Her third assignment was to study the works of Claude Monet. 
I was fortunate enough to see his work in person at the National Gallery of Art in Washington last year. See my blog post here and here about that. I got to visit twice!
And her last assignment was to prepare your wardrobe for seasonal transition. 
I am already working on that. I am looking for as many floral wardrobe pieces that I can find. I don’t have a ten-item wardrobe but I do get rid of items very quickly if they are not serving me well. I found this gorgeous blue and white dress at New York and Company. It is lovely and I can not wait to wear it this spring and summer. I have also ordered three new dresses from Old Navy and a new leopard maxi from New York and Company. I also shared some of my favorite spring finds from Ann Taylor. You may view that post here if you wish. 
I am looking forward to spring and I am excited to continue this series with Jennifer. Please share your March chic assignments below. I am very curious about you guys! Thanks for reading!!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

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)