Posts that inspiring an elegant life

My Monique Lhuillier Dinner Plates

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Earlier this year I shared on my facebook page about how I wanted some of Monique Lhuillier’s dinner plates. I went to our local Pottery Barn that weekend and they were sold out! Not a huge surprise because they are so beautiful. I had the urge to go again a few weekends ago. I did not know that Pottery Barn was having an awesome sale and that those garden plates were going to be half off!

Eureka!!!!!

These are called the meadow dinner plates and I managed to get them for $4.77 per plate! Can you believe?! So thrilled!

These are so chic. Just enough design and color. I love the beautiful simplicity of them.  
I think that these are so chinoiserie inspired. 

And of course they are microwavable and dishwasher safe. 
I have used these a few times already and just enjoy pulling them out of my cabinet and staring at them. I believe that you can have small beautiful things in your life. Even if they are just a few pretty dishes. 
Au revoir!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Simplicity ~ Tea for One

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When we left Talbots a few weekends ago we passed a lovely store in the mall called David’s Tea. So we decided to go in and take a look around.

It was a lovely store and the staff was very friendly. I looked at all of their teas (I will share what I received for my birthday in another post) and accessories. I sampled one of the herbal teas and enjoyed it.

But there was one thing that caught my eye and it was their tea for one set.

This is called the White Simplicity Tea for One set. When I saw this I just knew that I had to have it. It has the strainer on the inside so that you can have a tea bag or your loose herbal tea. It is just wonderful! I have been using it at work all week and just love that I can have more than one cup of my herbal tea. 
The pot is just big enough for one person. I place my tea bag inside the metal strainer and just pour my hot water in. With the lid on top my water stays hot and I can let my herbal tea just sit and simmer inside the pot. This was me this past weekend. I had breakfast in my bedroom. 
My breakfast this weekend. My cup is the Royal Albert English Roses print (see here), my plates are blue and white (see here) and my breakfast tray is from Walmart (see here)
It has been such a joy to have this weekend. I am very grateful to my husband who purchased this for me for my birthday. It is a lovely gift. Now, I do not use the small cup that came with it. It does not have a handle and I love having my china cup with saucer to enjoy instead. I may use the cup to put my fresh fruit in.  Now, next week I plan on sharing all the herbal teas that I received as well. 
I hope you enjoyed this post! Au revoir! 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Tea in the Evenings

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Since I have started my herbal journey I have been trying to incorporate more natural herbs and organic foods into my diet. It has not been as hard as what I thought. Once I made my mind up my eating habits began to change.

I shared a few weeks ago my herbal teas that I have been drinking. I have since added to my collection. On Wednesdays, during the summer, my city hosts a downtown market event. We have several vendors who arrive and sell their products. One vendor in particular is a herbalist and her booth is always busy.

This past week I stopped by to see her latest herbal teas and tinctures. I told her that I was interested in herbs for the female reproductive system and herbs that would help with digestion.

She handed me her blend of goddess tea, healing heart tea and Gentian tincture. The goddess tea is made of red raspberry, red clover, nettle, lemon balm, peppermint and passion flower. The healing heart tea is made of hawthorn, linden, lemon balm, mother wort and rosemary. I have to admit I loved the goddess tea! It tastes wonderful!
My husband purchased this tea filter for me years ago from Teavana. 

It fits perfectly in my cherry blossom tea pot also from Teavana. It is real china. 
I boil my hot water on the stove and pour in my herb tea and water and let it steam for about 15 minutes. I have been enjoying a cup in the evening in bed all week. 
I put everything on my lovely tray and take it all upstairs to my bedroom. I sit and sip while watching my old Martha Stewart dvd’s. These have been lovely evenings indeed. I also put a spoonful of honey in my hot teas. I do enjoy a little sweetness to my teas. 
Before I forget I wanted to share information about the tincture that I purchased from her also. I just put two dropfuls in my bottle water and drink. I hardly taste anything but it is nice to know that I am taking in natural herbs that are good for my stomach. 

I do hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to give natural teas a try. If you wish to share where you are purchasing your herbal teas I would love to know! Please share in the comments section below! Thanks for reading!!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Refreshing Moments

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On Saturday and Sunday mornings I do my very best to make sure that I sit down and enjoy a quiet breakfast. Before I got my new settee I did not use my sitting room (see blog post here). I just did not like the way it looked.

It’s amazing how one item changed the whole environment of a room. I now look forward to my weekend mornings in that room. Especially on Sundays. Sundays are the best for me because I usually have all of my weekend chores done and all of my errands finished.

I am completely dressed when I come down for breakfast and I usually make some whole wheat toast with butter, some fruit, a cup of tea, orange juice and water. 
On this particular morning I made scrambled eggs.
I will open my window and listen to the birds chirping and watch the butterflies fly around. 
We had a lot of butterflies this season! I love our butterfly hydrangea bush. We planted it last year and it has done very well this year. 

It has a wonderful light smell and the butterflies can’t seem to stay away from it. It is a wonderful sight in the mornings while I enjoy my breakfast. 
While I eat, sip and watch I do take a moment to read my devotional and plan my week using my day designer. 
I really do enjoy these moments and it does feel like a “refreshing moment” happens. I sit look around at my home and I take it all in. I remind myself of how grateful I am and how life can be good. 
Enjoy your moments!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Herbal Teas

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I have been on a quest for healthy living. Ever since I have been reading this book called the Women’s Herbal Apothecary my interest in herbs has been sparked.

In the first section of the book she discussed the many different ways to use herbs and herbal teas was one of them. She talked about all of the natural herbs that could be used for certain types of ailments. She mentioned chamomile tea as a good tea for mood swings and your menstrual period. She mentioned the same about peppermint tea.

Here are my herbal teas. I have been making weekly visits to our organic stores here in our city. These are all of the herbal teas that I have purchased so far.

The first tea is my detox tea. I normally have this Saturday morning. The chamomile tea has been my favorite. I usually have this at night while I am in the bed. I love it with two teaspoons of honey. The herbs in this tea is used to sooth and support your digestion. My herbal peppermint tea is a tea that I normally have with my lunch. This is so refreshing and aromatic. 
The next herbal tea is my organic Belly Comfort tea with peppermint flavor. I normally have a cup of this after dinner. It is suppose to relieve feelings of fullness or gas and get the juices flowing. 

Now this has been my favorite too! Do you see the box? Relieves temporary water weight gain? Yes, please! I have a cup with two teaspoons of honey when I feel bloated and it helps! Plus the cranberry flavor is marvelous. 
Here are the honeys that I use. You can find these teas or honeys at your local grocery store or Walmart. I did find this on the Traditional Medicinals website. It will help you to find your best herbal teas for you. 
Well I hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to take a glimpse at some herbal teas that may help you.
Enjoy!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Rosemary Inspired Party

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Have you ever see a beautiful photo on Pinterest and began clicking on the sources to try to find out where you can locate whatever it is that you have fallen in love with? Yes you have? Good! Because I didn’t want to be the only nutty person to do that.

Okay, this is the Pinterest photo that I became enamored with. So I clicked on the sources link and it took me right to Traditional Home. It was in an article from 2011 written by Krissa Rossbund and Julianne Hilmes. It was a patio party inspired by rosemary bushes. 
The china and table setting is stunning. Again, I would not have thought to put blue and lavender together. It is quite beautiful. 
An up close look at the floral arrangement. Beautifully done…..
Okay, so can we just stare at the garden chairs for a moment. These are exquisite! I love that they are different. 
A beautiful pear, pancetta and feta salad. The recipe is below…
  • 6 slices pancetta (about 4 ounces)
  • 1 to 2 ripe Bosc pears
  • Lemon juice
  • 1 small red onion
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
  • Kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 cups torn mixed greens
  • 6 tablespoons French or Greek feta, divided
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pancetta slices on baking sheet lined with aluminum foil lightly coated with cooking spray; manipulate slices into tight circles. Bake about 15 minutes, or until desired doneness. Set aside; cool.
Using mandoline set at 1/4-inch thickness or less, slice pear lengthwise. Select 6 largest, most appealing slices. (Reserve remaining slices for another use). Brush lemon juice over pear slices. Rinse mandoline and adjust blade (if desired). Thinly slice half the onion. (Reserve other half for another use.)
In medium bowl, whisk together oil and molasses; season with salt and pepper to taste. To serve, toss greens with dressing. Divide evenly between plates. Top greens with onion, pear slice, pancetta, and 1 tablespoon feta. Makes 6 servings.
And oh my does this look delicious! A ricotta cheesecake with blackberry sauce. Looks yum!
If you wish to read the original article you may do so here. This sure has inspired me in the clothing arena. I will now check my closet to see if I have any lavenders and blues that I can put together. See Pinterest continues to inspire. 
(photos via Traditional Home)

My Framing Project

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While we were in Charleston I found this gorgeous drawing of magnolias. Now magnolias are another favorite flower of mine. I think that they are so attractive and fragrant so finding a huge poster of them was wonderful.

I found it at the gift shop at the Magnolia Plantation. It was such a beautiful picture and a wonderful price! We only paid $10 for it! I knew that I had to have it framed and I knew that I had some wonderful frames at home.

What it looked like before framing my new artwork. 

Assessing the poster and picking out the matting. 
It took them about a week to get the project finished. They called this past Sunday afternoon while I was running errands. I was looking forward to seeing it…..
Bringing it home….
Hello Beautiful!!!! It is gorgeous! Better than expected and I love the contrast between the matting and the photo. My husband wanted the matting to match the photo but I thought having two different colors would give it a more custom look. 
I could not wait to hang it. 
And just so you guys get an idea of how big it is.
I took this photo beside it. It is a large picture. 
I am so please with how this project turned out. Michaels only charged us $50 for everything which I thought was an outstanding deal. I now have this beautiful work of art that I can saw I got it while in Charleston. I will now consider custom framing for every picture that I want at home. 
Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)