Posts that inspiring an elegant life

Elegant Baby Shower Ideas & Checklist

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I love throwing baby showers! It’s another fun way to celebrate with friends and family. Last year my brother had his first baby and I was so thrilled to host the shower. There are so many ideas out there. Martha Stewart has a great baby shower website and so does Style Me Pretty. Below is the checklist I use when planning a baby shower.

*  Set the Date
*  Pick a Host
*  Send invitations
*  Pick a theme
*  Choose a menu
*  Pick a drink (if you choose)
*  Pick out games
*  Get gift list together (make sure the soon to be mom is registered)
*  Get a baby memory book (I love these!)
*  Encourage everyone to get a book for the nursery library (if you choose to do so)
*  Pick up party favors for guests

Baby shower games are always a fun way to get people to communicate and have fun. Below is one example. These are so easy to find on the internet. I found this game on Baby Shower Savvy.


Here are some more baby shower ideas and inspiration. I hope it inspires you to throw a simple elegant shower for your loved you. Enjoy!

The “Girl” Baby Shower that I hosted for my brother. 




More pictures from the “girl” baby shower. 







Shower favors I gave to each guest. I saw this idea on Pinterest.
Pink polish, easy and fantastic!







This is from the “Boy” shower that I hosted for my cousin. 






More photos from the “Boy”shower. 






Also, please click on the link below and watch the Youtube video from Vera Bradley. The shower was hosted by The Tomkat Studio. It has great ideas also!

Vera Bradley Baby Shower by The TomKat Studio – YouTube




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)



Elegant Cell Phone Manners

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Ohh this is a touchy subject. Cell phones, we all have them and use. Personally, I hate having a cell phone sometimes. I miss the time when people could not find you but they are necessary for emergencies and children.

The one thing I cannot stand is obnoxious cell phone behavior! I see people talking in their cell phones like they are walkie talkies! That is not what they are used for. I also hate hearing other people’s phone conversations. That is the worse!

But what saddens me is that I see WOMEN with the worse cell phone manners! So I found a list for proper phone etiquette which can help everyone. I have learned a lot from this list too. I also found a fantastic video from The English Manner. The English Manner is a unique British company providing international training and consultancy in contemporary etiquette, protocol, the arts, social skills, household and event planning.


So view the list below and watch the Youtube video from The English Manner and fine-tune your cell phone manners! Enjoy!



  • Proper Cell Phone Etiquette: Cell phones should be in silent mode in a restaurant, theater etc.
  • Try not to answer your phone during dinner or entertaining. If you really need to, make it brief or tell your caller to call you back.
  • Be considerate when you are on the phone in the public. There should be no reason people in proximity can hear your entire conversation.
  • Please use hands-free or speakerphone when driving.
  • Cellular phone etiquette – Do not send text messages when you are in the company of others. If you absolutely must, do so discreetly.
  • If you have to, please say, “I’m sorry, do you mind? I have to get this” And I hope it is in only in extremely urgent cases.
  • Silent mode does not mean noisy vibrating noises as well.
  • Never answer another’s phone. If you really have to, immediately identify yourself and state the reason why you are answering the person’s phone, “Rachel’s phone, Anne speaking. Rachel is driving at the moment.”
  • Voice-mail greeting etiquette on a cell phone: Brief, clear. Basically, you should identify yourself because that’s the whole point.
These tips are from the Elegant Woman. 

(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

Mobile Phone Manners: A Guide from The English Manner …

(click on this link to watch the YouTube video)




Classic Movies I Enjoy

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I love, love, love classic movies! They don’t make movies the way they use to. I am a big fan of the 30’s and 40’s. Honestly, anything before the 1960’s I am a fan of. The costumes of the movie stars are just breathtaking and so elegant.

I love seeing the women in their gloves and hats and the men in their suits. Looking presentable on a daily basis was normal back then. But times have changed and that does not mean that I can take a look back and enjoy some of the best movies out there.

Below is a list of the movies I have in my collection so far. There are still quite a few I would love to get but I am having a hard time finding them. I have watched these movies over and over. I just love them. Here is the list:

An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr
I am such a Cary Grant fan. He was just stupendous!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) with Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
This is an all-time classic! I want every piece of Audrey’s wardrobe in this movie!

Carmen Jones  with Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte
I adore Dorothy in this movie. She was so glamorous and sultry!

Coco before Chanel (2009) with Audrey Tautou
One of the best stories of Chanel I have seen.

High Society  (1956) with Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong
What a cast! Great film and music!

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) with Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall
Again the wardrobe is fantastic! I thought Marilyn Monroe was a hoot and Lauren Bacall was such a class act!

Little Miss Marker (1980) with Walter Matthau and Julie Andrews
I saw this movie on Netflix and I just enjoyed it so much. Walter and Julie come together at the end to save the little girl! Just great!

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955) with William Holden and Jennifer Jones
I think Jennifer Jones is just a gorgeous woman! The politics in the movie was great also!

Murphy’s Romance (1985) with Sally Field and James Garner
An older man falling in love with a single young mom. Just fantastic! I love James Garner’s line at the end. “Separate the men from the boys Emma”. I show some wear I don’t deny it”. “I am faithful and steady”… it’s just something you don’t hear anymore.

My Fair Lady (1964) with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison
This movie has it all. The clothes, the scene, the music & the acting. I love the song at the end of the movie sung my Dr. Higgins. “I’ve grown accustom to her face”. Just lovely.

Only You (1994) with Robert Downey, Jr. and Marisa Tomei
Oh my gosh, this movie is filmed in my dream vacation spot, Venice, Italy. Each scene is just stunning! The story is a bit funny. Marisa who plays “Faith” is following a man by the name of Damon Bradley whom she thinks is her true love. She gets the name from the Quija board game when they were kids.

People will Talk  (1951) with Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain
This is one of my favorite movies. “Debra” played by Jeanne Crain faints in a classroom while being taught by Dr. Praetorious, played by Cary. She then ends up at his doctor’s office. She shoots herself once she finds out that she is pregnant. Dr. Praetorious marries her to stop her from “trying again”. It’s a great movie with Cary Grant. Did I mention it had Cary Grant?

Remains of the Day (1993) with Anthony Hopskins, Emma Thompson and Christopher Reeve
This is a very special movie to me. It’s about an English butler who is fanatical about his work. Emma Thompson plays as the estate’s housekeeper. Hopskins and Thompson gradually fall in love and neither of them admit it. But you see it in their fierce arguments with one another.

Sabrina  (1995) with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear
This is my favorite movie! My top five! The Larrabee estate is a dream home. Being sent to Paris for a year to study fashion, another great bonus! Having a makeover by Vogue, need I say more. Also, having two brothers being in love with you, oh my……

Somewhere in Time (1980) with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour
To travel back in time to meet someone whom you have fallen in love with just by looking at their picture. I bet a lot of people would be doing that if it were possible. What was interesting was the fact that she gave him a gold watch in the future and told him to come back to her.

Working Girl (1988) with Harrison Ford, Melanie Griffith & Sigourney Weaver
I can relate to this movie. I am a secretary and it feels as though you work your tail off and get no where with it. But then an opportunity comes along and changes the atmosphere. I thought Sigourney and Melanie were very classy and sensational in this movie!

Well these are some of my favorite movies. I have watched all these over and over. I hope you can find some of your favorites from this list.

The movies that I am still going to buy or I can not find are:

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge with Halle Berry

Do not Disturb (1965) with Doris Day

In the Pleasure of his Company with Fred Astaire & Debbie Reynolds

The Birds & the Bees (1956) with Mitzi Gaynor and George Gobel

Sabrina (1945) with Audrey Hepburn




(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

Thrift Store Shopping- Affordable Elegance

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Thrift store shopping is one of my favorite hobbies! I go and visit the thrift store, Goodwills and antiques shops a few times every few months. I love the hunt! I love finding pieces and pulling everything together. I always find great deals and wonderful pieces.

My grandmother was a thrift store shopper. She went every weekend. The staff knew her by first name and always looked forward to seeing her. As I got older she would come and pick me and my sister up and we would go with her. She was so good at finding things. It were as though the items would just navigate to her.

I think I may have inherited that same gift. I always seem to find fantastic pieces and great clothing. I went to the Goodwill store this past weekend. We have one of the south-side of Indianapolis. This location has become one of my favorites. So take a look at some of the great items that I found. These are pieces that I was drawn to. So go and visit your local thrift store. You never know what great items you may find to add elegance to your life!

 
I found some great pillows for a great price!

I love the jeweled details. Both pillows were $3.99 each!

Oh my gosh! I loved this table it was only $40!
I could see it next to a chair with a small lamp and some
of your favorite books. Great find!

I thought this picture was great. Great photos of nature!
It was only $5.99; it was a large picture too!

This was a great picture also. It is a copy of a painting called the
“Mediterranean”. It was only $5.99! I purchased this and I am now looking 
for a frame.  

I love large platters. This is great for daily family meals to place your
main dish on. I use this all the time. This was only $3.99!

I love white dinnerware and utensils. These were only $1.99 each!

These purple goblets are great for entertaining. They were only $2.99 each!

This was a huge crock pot! It was in great condition and very clean.
Only $20! I love using these. It’s great to put your meal in before work and
come home to dinner being ready. 

I found a set for 5 mixing bowls. I only purchased the big one. 
It was only $4.99. 

Enzo Angolini pumps; these were a  size 9 1/2! Only $10!

I couldn’t purchase them. They were a size too small.

I really liked this rocking chair. It was only $29. I loved the
neutral color. 

I also found a set of 6 dusty rose place-mats. 

They were only $.99 each!


Keeping your Handbags Elegant

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I own about 12 authentic designer leather bags. I love my bags and use them. The one thing that I cannot stand is seeing a woman pull out trash and other foreign objects out of her bag!

I just think, “Are you serious”! You don’t have time to throw the trash away but you seem to have the time to keep stuffing your bag with it. I think cleaning your bag about once a week is a good habit to adapt.

And when I say cleaning your bag I don’t mean scrubbing it down every week. Just simply getting rid of trash, receipts, old candy, hair, lint and dirt.

What I use for cleaning my bags are baby wipes, Coach Leather cleaner, Coach Fabric cleaner and a lint roller. Below are pictures of what I use and what I do to care for my bag. There is also a video from Martha Stewart and she shows how she cleans her bags. Enjoy!

What I carry in my bag is 3 small makeup bags, my Coach wallet,
Travel organizer, Coach Sunglasses and small bottle of body spray.

The black and gold item is my travel organizer. You actually use it to pack your toiletries 
when you are going on a trip but I use it for organizing bills, notes, checks, etc.

I use a lint roller to grab hairs and dust out of my bag

I use baby wipes or leather cleaner to get the dirt off.

I use small makeup bags to keep small items in. Like in my small black one I 
keep my headphones, mp3 player and charger. 

The cleaners I use on my bags. The are only $10 at the Coach stores. One is for fabric 
and one is for leather. 
http://www.marthastewart.com/243340/handbag-care-how
 
 

9 Gestures a Woman Should Never Do

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Last week I posted a book review on “A Guide to Elegance”, by Genevieve A. Dariaux. I am still finishing this book but it is so fantastic to me! I just think it’s wonderful.

It’s rich with ideas and standards that you can began to incorporate into your own life. Being a woman is becoming a dying art. But this book can help you with bringing it back to life!

I read the chapter called “Gestures”. In this chapter she discusses gestures that you can do to immediately obliterate any image you may create of being well dressed. So below is the list of things that can demolish a woman’s elegance. Remember these are actions done in public:

1.   Diligently seeking some undesirable foreign matter by means of an exploratory finger in her mouth. (digging for food in your mouth)

2.  Scratching her head. (guilty!)

3.  Tugging at her underwear. (guilty!)

4.  Pulling up her bra straps. (guilty!)

5.  Carefully examining the condition of her complexion or teeth in her compact mirror.

6.  Biting her fingernails.

7.  Sitting with legs apart.

8.  Combing her hair at the table.

9.  Talking to loudly in a public place. (this drives me nuts)

Homekeeping with a Pet

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Homekeeping is very important in regards to being elegant because a clean home is an elegant home. I really like to clean and organize. It takes my mind off whatever issues I may have for the moment. It’s great exercise and you can listen to your favorite music.

I have a boxer named Bishop. I love my dog and enjoy having him. One thing I will not tolerate is my home smelling like “dog”. My visitors should see my dog not smell him. That is why I clean my house religiously. I keep my floors swept and vacuumed. We bath our dog and wash his blankies.

One product I decided to try last year was the Swiffer.  It is absolutely wonderful!!! I use it on all my floors and it gets all of the dog hair and human hair. Another product I use is Odor Control Solutions. My husband buys it at our local pet store. It is an all natural treatment for bacterial odors. I sprinkle a little on the floors and vacuum. It works great!! They have it in lavender and lemon scent.

The other products that we use are the Nature’s Miracle . They have helped when he had his little “accidents”. Of course I still have my Bath and Body Works bulbs in my walls and that keeps the house smelling wonderful. Below are some photos of what products I use. So I want to give those of you a little hope who have pets that having an elegant home is possible.

My dog “Bishop” in my sitting room

The carpet cleaner I use





My Swiffer

All the hair it picks up (sorry I know this is gross but I wanted to show everyone)

My beautiful Casablanca lilies, my dog does not bother them. 









(photos via Mrs. Shockley)