Home Updates, Accessories & Tours

A Dining Room Update

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Well, the moment of truth has finally come. Back in 2017, I posted a blog entry about dining room inspiration. Last week we finally purchased a dining room table and chairs and I am so excited! 

This was our dining room table and chairs. It has served its purpose. I only purchased this back in 2008 because it was within our budget and it was the only table (at the time) that had 6 chairs. 

I will NOT miss this table. I hate the bar room style dining room table. The chairs are not comfy and I hate that I had to buy chair cushions every year because the chairs are too hard. Not to mention, this past Christmas when I hosted, my husband’s 88-year-old grandmother tried to sit in one and it was too high for her and she slid right out of it!

Nightmare….

This is going to my step son’s house. He will enjoy it more. I believe it fits more of the bachelor lifestyle. 

(In the store)

This is our new table minus the chairs. Our table arrived on Thursday (see below) and I could not love it more. My other four chairs will not be available for delivery until June 11th and they are Queen Anne style chairs. 

(Now in our home)





(My new host chairs)



I can’t wait until my dining room is complete. I will post more photos once my set has been delivered. It’s been a long journey waiting for this and I hope that everything comes together as it should. 

Enjoy your weekend!




(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

A Stroll in Homegoods….

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Hello Everyone, it’s Monday and we are starting another week. I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. I really enjoyed mine. My mother had knee surgery a few weeks ago so I have been going over checking on her and cleaning her home. It’s been a challenge for everyone but we are muddling our way through it. 


One of my favorite things that I got to do was go to Homegoods. Now it’s unfortunate that you can’t order online yet so if I find any of the items online I will provide a link of course. 


This was one of the first things I saw in the store. I absolutely adore this faux arrangement! My husband is not a fan of faux arrangements but I am! It is truly gorgeous!

The next items that I saw were these two planters. Some of you may have seen my hibiscus trees on my Instagram account and I purchased these for them. I believe they will look stunning in these planters.

I am so happy to see that the blue and white era is beginning to pick up here in Indiana. We are slower than molasses catching up with things so when we do it’s like a miracle!

This was my favorite. I may have to go back and get it!


Now I found these items in the clearance section…..


There was this large vase for $9! And yes I did purchase it.

This large blue and white bowl was calling my name but I did not purchase it. I couldn’t think of a place to put it. 


Then I saw a few pieces of art…

Blue and white monkeys

This was stunning. It had a bit of shimmer to it. 

Now, this I love. I don’t know why but I do. I did not purchase it but could not stop staring at it. 
Saw this….a beautiful ghost chair. Now I already have one so I was not tempted to buy it but if you are interested the link is here. 

And finally I saw these beautiful glass and floral jewelry boxes. How chic are these?


I wish I could have found a link but I could not. These would be great for a teen daughter (if she is willing). It was a wonderful trip and I found lots of beautiful things including a new beautiful blue and white Ralph Lauren lamp (original price $105; sale price $45) and this sophisticated floral Ralph Lauren pillow (on sale for $25). Both of these items will be going to my office today. 

As always I love sharing beautiful things and finding them. Being a woman is a wonderful thing. I embrace it every day. 

My plan is to post a new video this Sunday. I am not sure what content I will present but I hope it will be fun and inspiring. 

See you all soon!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Acrylic Chair

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Last month one of the biggest florist companies that we have called McNamara had a garage sale. Now they do this every year and every year I try to make plans to go. Well this year I said that I am going and I made sure that I scheduled it!
They had lots of faux flowers, pictures, Christmas decor and furniture. I spotted this stack of acrylic chairs in the back. Now I wrote about this in 2017 so I was really surprised to see these there. I have always wanted an acrylic chair and just thought that they were way to expense right now. 
But they had these priced at $40 each! A steal!!!! I could not wait to get it home and get it all cleaned up. 
A good soapy towel and some Windex took all that old dust and dirt off quickly. 
It looks lovely…
I placed it in my office here at home. I looks really chic and I got a feeling that I am really going to enjoy this chair. It’s something different which is so hard to do here in Indiana. As I mentioned everyone wants the same clothes, furniture, cars, etc. It’s frustrating sometimes but no matter. I will continue to following the beat to my own drummer and move forward in the things I love. 
If you are looking for an acrylic chair or ghost chair Target has this one and this one in seven different colors. 
What are your thoughts on ghost furniture? Elegant or non? 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

New Curtains & Valances

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Ever feel like you need change? I have been feeling that way lately with small little decor items around the home. I wanted to change my curtains in the family room. I wanted something simple and sophisticated.

My husband and I found these great blackout curtains at Costco. I adore them! We have them in the beige color and there seems to be a hint of gray or blue in them. They are lovely!  
I also wanted valances for some reason. It has been so long since I have had these. I found these white valances at Walmart and they turned out really well. 
The curtains come with two panels so all I had to buy was two for my family room. My husband likes it and so do I. 
I hope that you enjoyed this quick little home decor post. Let me know in the comments section if you like valances or not. Have a great Monday!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Smelling the Garden in Winter

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Hello Friday! It has been a brutal week weather-wise here in Indiana. On Wednesday the windchill factor was -35! But we had it easy compared to Minnesota whose windchill factor was -65!! Good golly!

So cold! I keep telling myself, “okay the nurses at my daughter’s school said years ago that we need things to freeze so that they may die”. Okay, are they dead yet because it’s COLD! Alright, let’s move on. I am looking forward to spring as many of you are and my favorite company has delivered a little bit of it already.

I went online a few days ago to check out new scents at Bath and Body Works and discovered beautifully decorated candles and wonderful new scents. I was so excited!

First things first, they brought back an oldie but goodie flower shop! I was so happy to see this candle. I had to purchase at least two for right now. My candle is the plain white one at the bottom. I must admit I hated that x and o wrapping on it. That was hideous to me so I had to take it off. Other than that I am so happy to have my favorite return. 
The next scent that I purchased was water hyacinth. I believe this is a new scent and is absolutely wonderful if you like hyacinth, bergamot, and water lily. Very refreshing, fragrant and just look at the wrapping. Very chic!
And many of you may have already seen this photo on my Instagram account but this is the last fragrance that I purchased and it is called garden greenery. It is lovely and just look at the wrapping on this? Gorgeous right? The notes in this candle are apricot, fresh basil, and bright mint leaves. The apricot is strong in this one but it is lovely. 
I also purchased cucumber lily a few weeks ago and loved that one too! The notes in that candle are fresh cucumber, green tea, and lily of the valley. All of the candles have essential oils and burn very well. Love seeing all of the floral wrapping on these candles. Makes it a joy to look at them too!
Well, I hope that you enjoyed this post and that if you are in a cold climate like me I hope that these floral candles helped you to forget what horrible wind is lurking outside. Enjoy your weekend!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Tables for Nightstands…..Why Not?

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I am in home redecorating mode. I have been making lists, searching websites and doing everything I can to journal my thoughts on some of the rooms that I would like to redecorate in our home. I even want to redo the laundry room. I need a better shelving system and more hanging space.

Anyhoo, I have recently been taking a second look at our master bedroom. I love it don’t get me wrong but I want more table space for my nightstand area. I recently saw some pictures on Pinterest where some individuals used actually tables as their nightstands. Honestly, I think that is brilliant!

Okay…. here is my nightstand. It is very nice but it is really small. I purchased this from Homegoods around 2011. I do love it but I need more table space. I am considering moving the bedroom furniture around. If you look closely you can see that my nightstand is right next to the bathroom which means I have no wall space to get a bigger table. So I may have to move the bed which I am sure my husband will have a fit about. 
I would love to have something like this. It has drawers and the surface space is enough for me to have a cup of tea, my lamp, current book I am reading and a bouquet of flowers. With this nightstand having drawers I can place all of my personal items or books inside. Very nice and ideal. 

Just loving all of the table space. Ohh I need it!
Having more surface space would be wonderful ….

I thought this was quite creative. This almost looks like a bench. But I love how there is a large mirror for you to view yourself in the mornings before leaving. 
These next two tables are quite interesting….
No drawers but definitely like the option of having two surfaces. 

This one even offers three surface areas. Very nice!!
Honestly this might be the best option for me if we do not move around the furniture. 
Now this has nothing to do with nightstand tables but I do love the antique dresser with the antique white mirror. I think that the contrast between the two is just lovely. It’s very subtle yet very elegant. This might be my next suggestion but we will see. 
I hope that my husband is open to my new ideas. I don’t think that I am asking for too much. I think the nightstand idea can be accomplished now and the kitchen ideas can be down the road but we will see. 
Thanks for reading!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & Pinterest)

My Perfect Kitchen Makeover

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We have been in our home for about 5 years now and I still love it. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we are going to stay in this house. I hate living in an HOA with all of the rules and how it is managed. It’s a mess.

My wish is to live in an older more established neighborhood. One with mature trees and older homes. The one thing that I hate about living in a subdivision is that you are stuck with the models and options that they offer and sometimes it can be pretty limited. In the end everyone ends up with the same home because when one neighbor sees you doing one thing then they end up doing it too. It’s no fun!

Could we stay in this home….. yes I believe that we could but if that is the case then I’ve got some ideas on how to change things around.

I would love to start with changing our kitchen. I do love the setup but I want newer cabinets and I want to bring in some bright airy colors.

Now there is our kitchen. I love it and I loved the cabinets and counter-tops when we picked out everything 5 years ago but I know that down the road I am going to want to change this and I have been “pinning” ideas to my Pinterest board for sometime now. 
Of course this is my ideal kitchen. This is one of my favorites. I love the detailing in the cabinet doors. I showed my husband this photo and I said this is what I want and he was okay with it. I love white cabinets but I don’t want anything “stark” white and I need them to have details on them. I hate seeing all white cabinets with no details. They look too plain to me. 
Also look at the island. It is the perfect blue and look at all of the carvings on it. It looks like a work of art. The gold hardware is exquisite. It is the perfect combination of french charm. 
I also love the stove in this kitchen. This would inspire anyone to cook at home. The island in this kitchen is also ideal. The wood beams in the ceiling are captivating too. 
I also would not mind having some of my cabinets with glass doors. I think that this is a lovely way to display some of your china and to see it. You don’t use what you don’t see. 
We also have a half bathroom downstairs connected to the kitchen. I still want wallpaper. I would love to install something like this in my small bathroom downstairs. I even love the gold hardware around the sink. 
I am glad to record my thoughts and ideas here on the blog. It’s funny, I’ll have an idea about something then I realize that I can’t remember all of the details so I come to my blog and pull up the entry and voila it is there. The Bible says to “write down the vision and make it plain”. Here is my vision for my kitchen. I hope that it can come into fruition. 
Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley and Pinterest)