Ideas on how to clean and organize the home

Working with My Second Brand!

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Good Morning Everyone,

I hope all of you had a wonderful Mother’s Day and I do extend my heart to those of you who no longer have your mothers. I am sure that this day can be quite hard around this time. I stayed home for Mother’s Day and quite enjoyed it. We went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I love salmon tacos! They are so good! I also tried some fried ice cream. What a treat! 

I just puttered around the house trying to get some home chores done. I worked in my yard a bit and went to a new nursery! It was called Allisonville Gardens and it was such a delight. I really loved the nursey. They had lots of flowers, supplies, a coffee shop, restaurant, and they had a wonderful gift shop. It was really nice. 

It got some wonderful Mother’s Day gifts that I will share in my May favorites blog post!

In current AHFE news, I have begun my work with a second brand. I have shared their products before and have wanted to work with them for quite some time, so I was really excited to receive an email about their new brand affiliate program. The company that I referring to is NOTIQ! 

 

photo credit: Notiq.com

 

I discovered Notiq during the pandemic. I was looking for organizational items for my life especially the workplace and I stumbled on this brand on Instagram. I loved how elegant the planners were and how sophisticated the totes looked. But what I loved even more was the founder’s, V.J. story. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I loved V.J.’s tenacity and bravery in pursing her dreams. I connected well with her story and found tidbits of myself in it. My very first purchase was the I Am Becoming Affirmation water bottle. I cannot tell you how many people have stopped me and asked me about my water bottle. Everyone loves the color and the affirmations. I was in a meeting with our second person in command in my office and he said, “Can you turn your bottle around? I want to know what you are becoming!” Now how fabulous was that! I have TWO of these!

 

 

Next on my list was the Saffanio Structure Tote bag. I have it in the blush. I love this tote. It holds EVERYTHING! There is a card and phone holder on the inside and a clasp to keep the bag closed. If you are thinking of ordering this, you may want to soon. This bag will be retiring shortly. Inside my tote is another organizational item and it is my pen case. My pen case is in every tote that I carry. I DON’T leave home without it. I no longer have to dig in my purse or tote to find a pen. They are all there in my feminine pen case. 

 

 

She also has elegant lunch bags! This is the lunch bag/backpack satchel in mauve pebble, and I have had numerous women ask me about this. This is such a lovely lunch bag and holds your containers and small water bottles. There are also the pouch sets as well. The pouches are on final sale so don’t wait too long. Both items come in multiple colors.  There is also the bundle if you want a set.  I think I may get a red one!

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

There is also my card key case. This goes everywhere with me. I carry my government office cards in it. I also use it to store my garage pass card. This is always in my tote and looks lovely when I pull it out to use it. It comes in multiple different colors and textures. 

 

 

I almost forgot that I had this. I ordered this last year. This is the envelope laptop case in leopard. Isn’t it great? If you don’t like the leopard then get it in the other 16 colors available. 

 

 

And lastly are my new Executive leather clipboards. These are a new release on the Notiq website. When I saw these in the reel, I knew that I wanted one especially for my meetings and for traveling! They are so well made and so excellent. I want to order more! 

I am so happy to be working with this brand and honored. I think V.J. and her team do an excellent job with executing the vision of the brand, they provide excellent customer service, and seek to help the planet. Here is my original blog post if you wish to read it. If you want to see my reels about the products you may watch them here. 

Let me know in the comments section below if you have already purchased a Notiq item!

 

  • This post is sponsored and has affiliate links attached. 

A Wardrobe Idea…

/in , /by

 

Good Morning,

Goodness gracious! It has been so cold here in Indy. We got down to negative temperatures! Burrrr! I sure do miss my morning walks, but it has been much to cold outside! I am still getting over a cold and trying to learn to listen to my body. So going for a walk in cold temperatures is not ideal. 

My organizational projects are still going on in my home. I have so many ideas on how to transform my spaces, but my husband is not on board with some of them. I really want to paint my cabinets, but he does not. I am trying to come up with other ways to brighten up my kitchen so we will see.

I recently had an idea about my closet space. I shared this on my recent YouTube video which I will post below. So I am trying to use my space more properly and the last thing that I realized was I need an area to hang my daily outfit. I had a hook in my closet on the wall, but I was hanging my robes on it, and I realized that this was not working. So I moved my robes to the back of my closet door and decided to purchase a vintage door knock as a hanger for my daily outfit. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

What I ended up finding was this gorgeous vintage key hook from an Etsy shop called BespokeOnBrookline. Now she only had one which is another reason why I purchased it right away!

It looks so classic on my wall! As soon as I opened the package, I squealed a little. I just loved the way it looked and it was the perfect size. 

 

 

After hanging it in my closet I thought one of my pictures in my storage closet could look wonderful in the space as well. So I hung this photo with lots of names of flowers called “Summer” above the hook and I could not love it more. The gold frame and the gold key hook practically match one another. 

 

 

I share a small video of the hook on my YouTube channel and I found a few on Etsy. You can view one here, here, here, and here. I hope you all have wonderful weekend! I am hoping to get some blog posts done, finish organizing and decorating my home. I actually just hung some of my vintage plates in my closet and family room. I will share those soon! 

 

 

 

“And Why are We Living this Way?”

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

Good Morning Everyone,

I have had a very busy week! Lots of meetings and Zoom calls! I am looking forward to the extended weekend. I plan on finally taking down all of my Christmas decor. I have been so ready to get everything put up but with my recent closet organization project, I knew that it would take up my entire weekend and it did!

I also need to stop by Bath and Body Works. I want to get some spring scents for my home but I may need to check my cabinets. I think I already have a stash of candles waiting. I also need to film a YouTube video or maybe post a short. We will see what I can get done.

Now what is the deal with this title you may ask? Well, I will be glad to tell you. 

For the last few weeks, I have been doing things around the home and to my frustration things have been broken, I can’t find it, it’s not organized, and so on and so on. So, the phrase, “why am I living like this”, came out of my mouth. As soon as those words came out it was like a revelation. My mind said, “well why are we”? There are so many tools, tips and tricks out there that honestly, we are without excuse not to bring order to our lives. 

I will start with these few things…

 

 

First is my new battery organizer from Amazon. So my husband had a giant sandwich bag of batteries, and they were just stuffed in one of our drawers in the kitchen. Every time we opened that drawer to look for something the bag of batteries would be in the way, some would come out, and I just said out loud, “why are we living this way”! So, I ordered this. Easy fix! And you know what? I had been dealing with that for over a year! A year people! Ridiculous! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Next was my mouse. I have been wanting a white mouse for years for my downtown office and other staff kept saying, “can’t the office just order you one”? Well, a few months ago I had a “why am I living like this” moment and I just decided to order one myself from Amazon. Then when I would take my laptop home to work from home the next day, I would stuff my mouse in my laptop case. I then thought, “why don’t I just order my mouse its own case”? So, I ordered this case from Amazon. Problem solved! 

 

 

Now we move to my car. Now I shared a few things that I purchased for my car last year, but there were still some things that I wanted to get for it. I loved my other purchases so much that I decided to finish my list. I went ahead and ordered this car trash can. I absolutely LOVE this thing! Oh my goodness! It’s a great addition to my car. It comes in a set of 2. 

 

 

Then I moved on to my closet. I have been wanting to re-organize my closet for months. I will be honest; this is what it looked like before I got to work on it. This is the worst it has ever been! I sort of just let my shelves go for a few weeks until my new organizational items came.  

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Here is the end result! I felt like I was not using my space in the proper way. I wanted my shelving system to have more of a boutique feel. So I just and looked at it and figured out what I needed. I knew that I wanted to see my sunglasses, so I ordered this sunglass display, and it looks so much better! I also put my sunglass cases in a box next to them for easy access.

 

 

I also purchased these purse organizers to separate my cosmetic bags and wallets. 

 

 

 

 

Next were my totes. I have been wondering about these tote hangers from Amazon for a while now. So I decided to order one pack and I could not be happier! Oh my goodness! I love them!

 

 

And last on my list were my robes. Now I only have a few but I wanted them in a more centralized area. They were on hangers in a different section in my closet and I never saw most of them. I want to be able to see them and use them so I purchased this over the door hanger rack. It has worked our marvelously! 

I now feel like I have a better system going on in my closet. I am using my space in a way that benefits me and it looks beautiful. Since I did a closet purge, I am selling some of my items on my Poshmark closet. Take a look and make an offer if you want! 

Oh and I almost forgot! My boutique has a new arrival. The Gatsby pearl necklace is available for purchase. It would look lovely with a pair of the blush Cameo earrings! Have a great weekend!

 

  • Post contains affiliate links

 

 

Autumn Blue and White

/6 Comments/in , /by

 

Good Morning Everyone,

My branding project is still underway. I have been slowing changing and playing around with my new logo and other new branding tools that my brand manager has sent me. It has been truly inspiring seeing my vision for a more elegant logo and signage for my blog and boutique come to pass. I am hoping that this is a sign of things to come. 

I had a lot of fun creating a reel for the boutique’s new arrival. My husband helped me with filming. I want to create more reels but they are a lot of work! Especially if you have a certain vision in mind and don’t want to mimic with other people are doing which can be very hard because there are so many creative people online. 

We are now in the full swing of the autumn season, and I have found myself a little too busy to decorate! Well, I will be honest the items that I really want are far too expensive. I follow Belle Omniley on Instagram and find her holiday style so inspiring! She recently posted the photo below and I knew that this would be the inspiration for my porch!

 

photo credit: Belle Omniley (Instagram)

 

Oh my goodness! Do we see the color palette? Do we see the blue and white ginger jars? Oh my goodness! As soon I saw the ginger jars I wanted to pull mine out and place them on the porch immediately! It’s just gorgeous!

 

 

So happy that she shared an up-close photo. I have this photo saved in my phone. I have already purchased 3 huge mums but they died already! I am seriously considering getting some faux mums! I found these faux green topiary balls on Amazon and I think that they would look great in my blue and white planters. They look really similar to her green mums in this photo. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did find these beautiful blue and white pumpkins at the At Home store last year at the end of the autumn season. I don’t think that they are available anymore, but I have these placed in our family room. 

 

I pulled my fabric blue and white pumpkins out this year. I love these and they were such a good find! Of course, they are from the At Home Store, but they are no longer available. You can see my skeleton Frank who is sitting in his chair for this Halloween season. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did purchase a new magnolia wreath for my porch. It looks beautiful! If I am able to find some new mums or purchase some faux topiary I will be sure to share a new photo! Happy Autumn!

 

  • Affiliate links attached

 

Plans for my new Greenhouse

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Hello!

I can’t believe June is almost over! Goodness gracious, that went by really fast! I have had some busy days and I have some more busy workdays ahead. Next week, I am so nervous, but I found a new hair stylist. I have not been to the salon for a full-service appointment since 2019! Ever since my hair stylist passed away almost 2 years ago now, I could not bear going to someone else. This new stylist that I found I discovered her on Instagram. So wish me luck. 

 I also did something wonderful recently. I got a greenhouse!!! I can’t believe it. I have always wanted one and Costco lowered the price on theirs, so my husband and I had to go and get it. I would provide the link but it is not available online. 

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

 

I am on cloud 9. I love it so much! We are hoping to get it up in the fall or by the fall of this year so we will see. My husband wants to do some more research on how to handle the foundation. We also have to get it cleared by our HOA. As soon as I walked inside of it I saw my very own flower cutting garden. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I know that I want to grow this tulip pictured above. These are white parrot tulips, and I will definitely be ordering these! I have never seen them in person but have always loved them.

 

 

I, of course, want to grow peonies and I would love to have some David Austin Roses. Casablanca lilies are also on the list as well as some climbing roses. I would not mind some wisteria as well, but we will see. 

Overall, I am delighted that I get to start this new project. I adore flowers and have them everywhere in my life. To be able to grow what I want right outside my back yard will truly be a blessing. I can’t wait to smell the beautiful scents inside my greenhouse. Have a wonderful weekend! 

 

 

A Hanger Refresh

/7 Comments/in /by

 

 

Good Morning,

The warm weather is finally here! It was just lovely this weekend. We are planning Lauren’s open house party for this upcoming Saturday and I am continuing to purge items from my home. 

On Saturday morning, I went and had brunch with my cousin. It was so nice and a great way to start my weekend. We had mimosas, waffles, and just chatted along. I am so glad that I scheduled this. We plan on going to shop at the outlet mall next month. I am looking forward to that as well. 

In today’s post I wanted to do a quick share of a simple yet beautiful update to my closet. In 2015, I shared how I decided to match all of hangers. I can’t believe that it was that long ago that I posted that. 

I was recently looking at my closet and thought, “you know I really want to update these and change my hangers to white”. And so I did and could not be happier. 

 

 

Here is the before look. It still looks better than what it did back in 2015. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

And this is after.. lovely, just lovely! I love these hangers. I love the velvet texture and rose gold swivel hooks. These come in a ton of colors so there are many options to choose from. If you have the 10- item wardrobe this would bring your closet up a level. You get 50 hangers for $29! It’s a great deal. 

I hope this inspired you to bring a simple closet refresh to your wardrobe. Enjoy!

 

 

~ Post contains affiliate links

 

 

An Elegant Car?

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Good Morning Everyone!

I had a nice quiet weekend! I did not do much and was quite happy with it! I ran a few errands on Saturday, came home did a few chores, ate dinner, then some desert and watched a movie. It was very nice! Our weather was okay. We did have a tornado warning Friday evening but thank you Lord we did not have any touch down near us. I finally managed to post a video on my Youtube channel. Here is the link if you have not seen it yet. 

I think that I mentioned that I am on an organizational kick, and I have been purging and organizing my life honestly. I created a list in my phone called “home projects” and on that list I have things that I need to purchase along with details and measurements if needed. One area that I worked on recently was my car. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

One of the first things that I needed to buy was a SUV Trunk organizer. I have needed one of these for years! I had a basket that was literally falling apart, and I had my grocery bags, scarves, and whatever else shoved in that small little basket. I told my husband that I could not take it anymore and ordered this. My world has changed completely!  

It has 3 sections. One section is for my scarves, the middle is for my canvas grocery bags, and the third is for my car cleaning sprays, scents, and ice scrapers. I love it!

 

 

The second item was these purse hooks. Now I have seen these in multiple places but never really looked at them. My life has changed! These stop my totes from falling all over the car. They stay in place and everything stays organized. I am going to be ordering this set next. I like these a little better! 

 

 

Next was this car steering wheel cover. My car is all black on the inside and I wanted a pop of color but not too much so I ordered this new steering wheel cover. It’s black and beige and adds just enough color and a custom feel to my car. It comes in a few different colors. I also needed a new cell phone holder so I decided to order this one and I love it! I hooked it up to my vent and my phone is now up where I can see it. I am no longer looking down while driving. That drove me nuts! It’s not safe. I love having my phone sit higher up. 

I know that many of us don’t carry money anymore but sometimes coins seem to find their way in my car so I managed to find that coin holder that was in that Instagram reel that I shared in my newsletter. I have this sitting inside my car door. I can now place the lost coins that find their way in my car in this holder. I am still thinking about getting this car trash can and this tissue holder. I still keep my favorite napkins in my glove compartment, but I think this tissue holder might be a great idea. 

Let me know in the comments section below if you need to organize your car! I hope that I have left you with enough organizational tools to accomplish your goals! Have a great day!

 

fyi: This post is not sponsored. I use affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links.