Home Updates, Accessories & Tours

A House Tour in Georgetown

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When we were walking through the neighborhoods in D.C. (see here if you missed it) and as I was looking at all of the homes I was dreaming about what they look like on the inside. Well, House Beautiful has given me a chance to take a peek inside a historic row-house in Georgetown.

photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
A beautiful 1901 rowhouse

photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
Love the table in the entryway

photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
The Carver’s Guild mirror is beautiful
photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
A blue and white garden stool. I love these!!!
photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
A series of 17th-century bird prints cover the walls. 
photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
Love this custom farmhouse table from Holland & Company. 
Again, love all the blue and white in the cabinets. 

photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
Going upstairs, the master bedroom is full of blue and white. 
Another garden stool…..
photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
Love the print on the bed, it’s Colefax and Fowler print is also repeated on the curtains. And if you look closely there are french doors to the left. Lovely…

photo credit Ngoc Minh Ngo
This is the guest bedroom. The wall is herringbone wallpaper by Ralph Lauren and faux bamboo nightstands. Lovely guest bedroom.


This is a very nice home tour. If you wish to read the original article you may see it here. 

Enjoy!
(photos via HouseBeautiful.com)

Essential Oil Candle Collection

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It should come as no surprise that once this candle collection hit Bath and Body Works I was going to be a fan. I purchased 3 but I bought two of the Rose scents. All of them are lovely.

The eucalyptus has some peppermint notes in it and is very light. 
Eucalyptus 3-Wick Candle - Bath And Body Works
The lemongrass has lime and may chang essential oil. I have that in our bedroom. And the rose has lemon and orange essential oils and I have that in our family room. I love the three scents that I have. I did not realize that there was a lavender and cypress available. They did not have those in my store. I smelled the bergamot and I may go back and get that as well. I did not like the cinnamon and the almond. The almond reminded me of vanilla and the cinnamon had a hint of clove in it. But everyone likes what they like. I am a huge fan of floral scents.  But I do hope that my location will get that lavender and cypress soon. I hope you enjoyed this post and will go and do a “test smell” with them all. Enjoy!
(photo via Mrs. Shockley and BathandBodyworks.com)

Office Pretties

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This is a quick post about office items that I discovered. I found this pretty decorative box for my office. You can put anything inside. It is quite chic……

I tried to find similar ones on the T.J. Maxx website but it was quite hard but if you are still curious here they are. My box is by Max Studio just in case you wanted to search the web. 
The other item that I found was the gold letter holder. It was only $10! Great deal and looks wonderful with the office also from T.J. Maxx. 
The last item in the photo is my faux peony arrangement. Also a T.J. Maxx find. It was $16.99. 
Here is a photo of inside the box. It will be great for putting sticky notes in, reminders and anything I need. It was only $24.99. Sorry I could not find the links to these on their website but you can try to search for them. 
I love finding office pretties and using them everyday. Until next time, #live elegant everyday!

(photos by Mrs. Shockley)

Buying Beauty in France

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I love reading about people buying chateaus and renovating them in France. It takes a lot of courage and imagination to visualize the beauty that your chateau could be.

One such brave individual is Julie Huh-Carrie. I began following her Instagram account about 2 years ago and it has been a joy watching her journey with her beautiful chateau.

Her chateau is called the French Manior and was built in 1857. Julie admits that the property was not in good condition but after a week of seeing it her and her husband agreed to purchase the property.
Julie rents the property while she is away and she offers many services with your stay. You can host a wedding or party, have a workshop or schedule your very own brocante buying tour. 
You may also stay during her time slots for the bed and breakfast. This manor has so many wonderful things to offer. I hope that I can visit it one day. 
If you would like to read the original article you may see it here. And as always I hope that you enjoyed this mini tour! 

(photos via Victoria.com)

A Gracious Kitchen ~ A dream kitchen

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House Beautiful magazine always has inspiring homes. Some of the interiors are so amazing and are just non-stop elegance. I have been waiting patiently for this kitchen to post on their website for about two weeks now.

I had to share it. It was in the April, 2017 issue of House Beautiful. This kitchen is so full of richly details and is just full of grace…..

photo credit Jennifer Hughes

This island was built from walnut, imbuia and anigre and is nearly 11 feet long.
It was inspired by English antiques. 



photo credit Jennifer Hughes
The industrial-style faucet which is modeled on fixtures found in the turn-of-the 20th-century boiler rooms. The sink is called a fluted-front sink from Rohl Shaw’s. 




photo credit Jennifer Hughes 
The clients asked from ladylike cabinets with soft lines and Anuzkiewicz (the designer) sketched out a design for beveled, leaded -glass inserts with lots of fluidity. 




photo credit Jennifer Hughes
Hidden appliances in the island. 





photo credit Jennifer Hughes
Love the antique mirror panels. Oh and the blue and white ginger jars!
So wonderful!!!





photo credit Jennifer Hughes
The butler’s pantry is exquisite. It has an antiqued mirror back-splash and a wall-mount brass faucet.






photo credit Jennifer Hughes 
This kitchen is a dream. I loved that the designer balanced the island with the twin pair of Chantilly chandeliers. They are truly show stoppers! 




I do hope that you enjoyed this kitchen tour and find wonderful inspiration from it. To read the original article see here. 

(photos via House Beautiful, description from Kathleen Renda)














My Cupboard Update

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Oh, I am so excited to share this post with you all. My mother-in-law gave me this cupboard 8 years ago. She had it for 20 years and her friend (whom she purchased it from) had it much longer than that.

So our guess is it’s about 30 years old. At first I thought about getting rid of it. But then I stared at it for a moment and began to use my imagination. I imagined it in a different color with new knobs.

Once I did that I was hooked and wanted to keep it. The only factor was getting my husband to paint it and replace the knobs.

He finally did it this past weekend and it looks great!

We painted it black and bought crystal knobs for it. It looks wonderful and we both love it!
My husband got a new light bulb for it and turned it on. It looks great!
I love the vintage glass. My brother in law asked if we were going to change the glass and I said no way! I want to keep as much of the authentic pieces to this cupboard as possible.  I just love my blue and white ginger jars. Looks like I may have to find some more!
I think the crystal knobs add a nice touch to the cupboard. I picked them out at Lowe’s. They were pretty reasonable. 
This is what it looked like before. This photo was taken in our first home in 2010. It was our daughter’s 5th birthday party. My mother in law had just given it to me. 
Here is another photo of the cupboard. It is a great piece with good bones and I am glad that I kept it. Plus it will be nice to share the story behind it. I can pass it down to my daughter and she will know that this came from her grandmother and hopefully pass it down to my grand-daughter who will know that it came from her great grandmother. I love the idea of passing down family heirlooms and I look forward to passing down this beauty.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Waterford Crystal Vases

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I know many of us have heard or seen the beautiful vases called Waterford. If you have purchased a gift for a wedding registry, I am sure that you have seen those beautiful crystal, glasses, dishes and vases on the shelves or cabinets at those stores.

Honestly and truly I have never paid much attention to these items until my favorite Youtuber Trina Leavers shared her home and talked about her Waterford vase that stayed in tact when her roof collapsed on it!

Once she said that I decided to take a closer look at these beautiful and slightly majestic vases.

This is my Waterford vase. It is called the Normandy vase and it is on sale now.  I have four so far. My husband got me this one for Valentine’s Day this year. 
This is my Waterford Grant vase. My husband got it for me 2 years ago for Mother’s Day. 
Now I have 2 of the Waterford Cassidy vases. My husband purchased one for me and than the second we found at a thrift store for only $15! I could not pass that up even though I already had one. 
I keep the second one at my office. Would you have passed it up? It had the box and everything. No, I could not leave that there. My heart would not let me. 🙂 
I do enjoy having these vases. I think they are wonderful heirlooms. I look forward to passing them down to my daughter. Click on the link above to read the history about this wonderful company. 






(photos via Mrs. Shockley)