Home Updates, Accessories & Tours

A Provence Tour

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It’s Friday and I am feeling inspired. Tomorrow the St. Joan of Arc here in our city is having it’s Annual French Market. I just learned about this about a month ago. Those Facebook event calendars are a great resource!


I have been viewing some of the photos from the past events and trying to get a feel for what the environment may be like. This year I made a goal to attend more events. So far so good. Today’s post is a beautiful home tour of a property located in Provence.


I can’t tell you how many times I have dreamed of visiting Provence. I mean I think about it almost daily. I recently read about Sharon Santoni’s Italy tours.  I showed my husband the information and we both think that this is perfect for us. You have someone with you the entire time you are in Provence, and they take you antique shopping, there are flower arranging courses, and I mean the list just goes on and on. I told my husband this maybe the best route that we can take to go to Provence. It would be a dream for me.


Okay back to this beautiful home tour that I found on Traditional Home.

How would you like to walk up to this beautiful door? This door was made by a company in Provence and the stone has been dated back to 1699! How wonderful is that?
The couple has this beautiful iron day bed outside. It is being used as a bench. I never would have thought of that but how chic. Look and are those climbing roses?




The french tapestry is of a antique cartoon and the chandelier was designed by friends who used Italian artifacts. 



The couple had the floors made with creamy Jerusalem stone. I actually like the green pillows. They give the room a pop of color but still in a subtle way. 

French artisan assisted in helping to get the Provencal details right. Glazed cabinets and limestone counter-tops along with this stunning French range hood complete this elegant kitchen. 
Oh my goodness! I adore this 19th century Provencal boiserie.

What a beautiful room. Couldn’t you wake up to this? The painting is of Madame Le Fevre Caumartin and is a copy. The room is decorated beautifully and not over done. 




I hope that you enjoyed this beautiful home. If you wish to read the original article you may read it here. There are more rooms to explore and gain inspiration from. I hope you all enjoy your Friday and your weekend! 





(photos via Traditional Home.com)

Our Painted Room

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Our room before 

Well Hello Everyone!


I am very excited this morning. As most of you know my bedroom, master bathroom and our daughter’s room was painted this weekend. Oh my gosh, it has been a long wait but my husband and our good friend Rob got it done Saturday morning. 


I wrote about the paint colors in 2017 so this has been in the making for a while. 


I made sure that I stayed out of the way. I was invited to a purse/truck party on Saturday morning. There were vintage Louis Vuitton’s and Gucci’s available. I did not purchase anything. I was not emotionally ready to spend over $1,000 and I am glad that I didn’t. 


After
When I came home it was almost finished so I just waited downstairs and relaxed. I think it turned out great! It is pretty close to the color that I originally picked out. 
It’s funny the color is called excalibur gray.  It’s interesting how they name colors now. 
It definitely has a purple tone to it. I was trying to talk my husband into a pink blush but that didn’t go so well. I think down the road I will end up getting it. 

I do love my new paint color and will enjoy it. Our daughter’s room was painted a sky blue and she loves it! I would post a picture but her room is a mess. Teenagers! I hope you all have a great Monday and thanks for reading!


(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

Beautiful Cupboards

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Good Morning Everyone, and happy Friday! It’s been a long week for us. We had to adjust to a new schedule because I now have to have our daughter at school by 7:50 instead of 8:30. Huge adjudgment! 

Today I just wanted to share a simple post about beautifully decorated cupboards. Most of you have read about my cupboard update back in 2017. I can’t believe it’s been that long already. 

These cupboards were a few of my favorites on Pinterest.
I even love this small dish organizer. This would be great for an apartment or even a college dorm if your young adult is chic!

This is my favorite out of all of them. Of course, I love the blue and white but I also love seeing the napkins at the bottom and the fresh floral arrangments. So beautiful!
The gold pieces in this are lovely also. I am so drawn to order. Especially, order in the home. I love seeing it. It is inspiring, needed, and celebrated. If you love organizing and cupboards you should watch this Martha Stewart video about cupboard organizing. 

Again, I hope you all enjoy your weekend and I will see you all next time!


Thanks for reading!





(photos via Pinterest)



Summer Candle Love

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It’s August 1 and my daughter’s first year of high school has begun. Sighing… I can’t say it enough. This year is moving too fast.


There have been so many things going on. I’ve been doing so soul searching about my career and trying to re-group and ask myself questions about where I want to go in the future.


It hasn’t been easy but I am hoping that the Lord will shed some light on my career journey soon. It’s Friday and I had some new candles delivered yesterday. Oh my gosh, you guys, I have found the perfect rose candle for me.

It’s called ballerina rose from Bath and Body Works. It is perfect. The notes are rose petals, peony blossoms, summer greenery, and essential oils. It reminds me of fresh-cut roses from Yankee Candle.





My second favorite has been the new gingham scent which has notes of freesia, white peach, and fresh clementine.





And my last favorite has been the freshwater & aloe scent. It has notes of water-flowers, aloe blossoms, and ozonic accord (not sure what that is but it smells good).




But I have a feeling that ballerina rose will be my summer favorite and maybe even a fall favorite. It is that good! I hope that you all can get to the store and check out these scents. I will share my July favorites next week. That month flew by so quickly. I will have to do a mental review to remember what I used the most. Have a great weekend!








(photos via Mrs. Shockley)



A Dresser Update

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Good Morning Everyone! I am beginning to count down the days until vacation. I am looking forward to being home and going to Florida. I am also hoping to get to Naples while we are there. I have always wanted to visit there. 


If you follow me on Instagram then you saw my recent photos of my dresser. I am so happy with my new piece! The photo above is the old dresser that we purchased a few months before we got married in 2003. It has served its purpose and we have moved it to our future guest bedroom. 


This is our new dresser. It’s called the Charleston dresser and it is lovely! I had to wait an entire month before I could get it delivered. It has been selling like crazy! 
The first thing that I noticed about this dresser is that it stands taller. My old one you had to bend down to pick up items from it. So looks like they are designing these better!

I adore all of the compartments for storage! I forgot to show the other side of my dresser in my video. I have two necklace storage areas located on both sides of the dresser. 

This was the other side. 
I am using both of my side drawers as toiletry storage areas. It’s nice to have those items stored away instead of having everything on your dresser. It has less clutter on it now. 

I now have a place for my heirloom items. 
I have room to look at my perfume collection. 

More space for freedom!

I am using my blue and white canister from the Library of Congress in D.C. as a place to hold my glitter puff. 
To live elegant every day is a dream. 
Even if it is just a simple dresser. I know that I will enjoy this for years to come. I hope that you all were able to view my YouTube video for this. If not you may see it below. 
Thanks for reading and watching!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Dining Room Update ~ Part 2

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So here is where we left off. My Charthouse Dining Room Table arrived two weeks ago along with my beautiful host chairs. I was then told that my other four chairs would not arrive until sometime later (this past Tuesday). 


Well, they have arrived and I adore the way my new dining room table looks.

My Queen Anne Chairs look lovely and are very comfortable. I selected the water white color. I wanted a neutral color and something that would give the table a fresh look.  I am so pleased to finally have a “normal” dining room table. It’s nice to have a sophisticated eating area rather than something that feels like a bar. 

It’s been a long journey but I am glad about our selections. 



Love my pom-pom throw that I found at Homegoods. It looks so comfy hanging over my host chair. 


The dark color of the table is the perfect look. I love a dark table with neutral color chairs. The contrast between the two goes so well with our other home decor. 

I look forward to entertaining this holiday season and for many seasons to come! 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Office Inspiration ~ Part 2

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The last time that I wrote a post about office inspiration was in 2014. The very first year I started blogging. I must admit my taste in decor has changed slightly…..


I was reading another blog and she mentioned this inspiring office space on the One Kings Lane website.  Now I believe that most of us have heard of them. They sell some of the most beautiful furniture, art, and home decor that I have ever seen. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have wanted one of their vintage Hermes scarves!


I clicked on the link and it was like I could hear a beautiful chorus. So much inspiration…


This is the office of Stellene Volande’s. She is Editor in Chief of Town & Country.

photo credit Tony Vu

Okay, can we start with this beautiful chinoiserie desk? How gorgeous is this? I actually saw one of these in an antique store last year. I wish I could have purchased it but it was really expensive! 



But don’t worry it has not left my list! I will own one of these or something similar to it!

photo credit Tony Vu
Now opposite of the desk is this beautiful gold mirror from Ralph Lauren, a gorgeous photo of Babe Paley and I love the glass desk with gold accents and ranunculus. 

photo credit Tony Vu

I think that it is wonderful that she is using the glass desk as a double table. I really like the lacquered bamboo chairs. 
photo credit Tony Vu
This etagere is gorgeous! Do I spy a silver tea set? I believe this is the Darian Tea Set by Ralph Lauren and one’s office could not be complete without blue and white. 

photo credit Tony Vu

Here is a look at the office with the desk cabinet open. Look at all of that wonderful storage space! 
photo credit Tony Vu
And what an elegant conference room? I would sure love to have meetings in this space. 
photo credit Tony Vu

I love, love, love this space. One could get so many ideas from this. I know one thing is for sure. I am definitely going to keep looking for a chinoiserie desk. I think a piece like that would be wonderful to own. If you wish to read this article you may view it here. There are so many details in this one room. Enjoy it!

(photos via One Kings Lane)