Home Updates, Accessories & Tours

My Kitchen Chandelier

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I have been wanting a kitchen chandelier for the longest time! Now that we have a new home I can splurge on different decor items and experiment more.

I found this gorgeous chandelier at Lowes.  I absolutely adore it!

Monticello 6 Light Chandelier

(all photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Waterford Crystal

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I first learned about Waterford Crystal from Martha Stewart. I then heard about it from my favorite Youtuber Trina Leavers.

Trina has a beautiful crystal vase in her dining room. She said that it survived a roof falling on it! I thought WOW! Really, is it that durable? So while I was in my favorite store Von Maur I checked our their Waterford Crystal vases.

All I can say is WOW! They are incredibly heavy and beautiful. I thought about it and I have decided to purchase one in the near future. I always have fresh flowers in my home and a Waterford vase would be a nice addition to my antiques.

The Waterford vases at Von Maur




This is the vase I have my eye on.
It’s the Waterford Grant Vase. 
Gorgeous isn’t it?





(all photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Art in the Closet

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I love decorating!! I will decorate any room in my home including my closet!! I have been putting small decor items in it for the last year. I recently just hung this picture in it. I love it. Beauty should be everywhere you are.

photo via Mrs. Shockley

The Details of Estee Lauder’s Bedroom

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Last month I purchased Aerin Lauder’s book Beauty at Home and it has been absolutely stupendous! I have really enjoyed reading about the history of the Lauder Family and Estee’s home. On page 191 of the book, Aerin explains in detail Estee’s room. These details were so profound to me I just had to copy it from the book and share it…



“Estee’s devotion to blue and white was clear in everything she touched, from the design of a jar of face cream right down to the Porthault linens on her bed…….


She preferred twin beds- both of the original bedrooms had them- and these are French, made of white-painted wood.


On the bedside table, she would always have a pad of paper with a matching pen, a vase of flowers, family photographs, and a white porcelain lamp- the more ornate, the better…..


But my favorite thing in the room is Estee’s Louis XVI-style dressing table. When Eric and I first came here to stay and I opened the drawers, her hairbrushes, and combs, her lipsticks and sunglasses were still there- as if she had never left. On top of the table was an array of perfumes. She felt every woman should have a wardrobe of fragrances- one floral, one spicy, one sporty, one black-tie formal. A silver tray held a selection of compacts-golden, enameled, sometimes set with semiprecious stones. She was a genius at the packaging and she knew how alluring a pretty compact could be. Some, shaped like Faberge eggs, held solid perfume. “

(from Beauty at Home)



The book to me is a must-have for those of us who love beauty and the details that come in making it.

Estee’s vanity
(photo from Aerin’s Instagram)

Table Skirts

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I recently read an article called “The Skirted Table“. It was in the House Beautiful 2015 Issue. I had a skirted table about 10 years ago but I must admit it was not a chic as these tables are!



I love the idea and may have to “revisit” that with a more updated and fresh look. I think a skirted table would look great in my home and would add more storage and beauty. Looks like I maybe visiting my local Homegoods store and maybe Pier One. 

(photo of Nicolas Fairford Home, via the Glam Pad)

The Making of My Shelfie

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I heard the term “shelfie” sometime last year while reading some of my favorite blogs and thought, “what in the world is a shelfie”? To me a shelfie is a small space in your home to place things that you love. You can use books, bowls, plants, pictures, boards, statutes, basically just about anything.

It’s how they are placed that determines the beauty. I think if you have an eye for beauty and organization you can decorate a “shelfie”. It’s all about personal style and things you love. I believe that you should always use things that you love in your decor. So for my shelfie I used just that. See for yourself.

(My shelfie)
Okay, this is a file cabinet that was moved into my office a week ago. So I decorated the top of it as my “shelfie”. I used my poster board photo that I found at the Goodwill last year. I purchased some frames from the flea market and printed some photos off of Pinterest and placed them in the frames. Gorgeous pictures aren’t they? Then I purchased some branches and tall flowers and placed them in a vase. I added a blue and white cup for my decor and color. I placed my new Aerin Lauder Beauty at Home book (which I love) on the cabinet and I thought my Amazon Kindle (1st generation) looked good there also. I love my “shelfie” because it’s another extension of me. 
Thanks for reading!!!

Heart of the Home

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Photo by Flaunter on Unsplash
I read this recent quote from Vicente Wolf out of Southern Home magazine….
” In the most successful spaces, you don’t see everything at once. The more time you spend in them, the more you discover. They open up like flowers.”
I couldn’t agree with him more…..