Wonderful Books to Read

Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL (5)

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope all is well. Halloween is tomorrow. We purchased a little bit of candy just in case we have trick or treaters stop by but other than that it will be a quiet weekend for us. 

I will be working on the blog, reviewing my Thanksgiving dinner checklist, finishing some last Christmas gift purchases (I am almost finished), and hopefully getting in some reading. 

Okay, let’s get into this week’s Living a Beautiful Life tip. I am still in Chapter 3. It is quite a long chapter and I have been quite busy with other things so I have it on my list to finish this chapter this week. Alexandra the author continues to talk about food and how to enjoy it. She says…

“Good eating is a philosophy. I know a French lady who muses, “I am the keeper of my sacred body. I guard carefully everything I put in my mouth.” She eats entirely by the seasons. 

What great advice! I have been recently trying to eat my produce by the seasons. There is a great difference in taste when you do this. 



Photo by Melnychuk Nataliya on Unsplash



She goes on to say, “Certain foods should be eaten at certain times of the year. Nothing is more disappointing than a tasteless plastic tomato in December. The best way to select fresh ingredients at the best price with the most flavor is to follow the seasons.

In the early spring, asparagus comes on the market, and by June and July, there are melons and berries. Corn in July. We often go to a local restaurant that has tomatoes and basil on the menu all summer, yet only serves this dish when the tomatoes are perfect. “

I recently stopped buying blueberries because they began to taste terrible. I have shifted to grapes for the moment. I do buy apples as well. 



















Photo by Євгенія Височина on Unsplash



The last tip that I wanted to share from Alexandra is her tips about taste. She says, “Experiment with your basic menus. Add ginger and blanched scallions and Greek olives to your chicken one night; the next, nutmeg, bacon, and sour cream to your spinach. Then add a touch of soy sauce to whatever you have in the wok…..  Carrots are delicious with fresh orange or tangerine juice squeezed into the butter, plus a pinch of cinnamon and a little brown sugar.”

That sounds stupendous! Carrots with all those flavors, I may have to try that!

Let me know in the comments section if you have ever tried carrots prepared this way. I still hope that you all are enjoying these snippets from the book. I enjoy sharing them. 

Have a great weekend everyone!




Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL Book (4)

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Good Afternoon,

The middle of October already. I am trying to plan out how I am going to get my early voting done. I hope you all are ready to vote or have accomplished it already. No matter who your party is vote. I am one who supports freedom. It doesn’t matter to me who you vote for. It is your freedom! 

Well, I had a wonderful weekend. I got my grocery shopping done, went to the nail salon, and got my gel nails back (yay) and we got to have dinner at the Cake Bake Shop!

It is so quiet. Our dinner was delicious and our server Brian was fantastic! It was not crowded which we loved. I will share some photos below. 

Today I wanted to share this week’s Living a Beautiful life post. I am in the middle of Chapter 3 which is “The Kitchen: Enhancing the Flavor of Good Eating”. 




















Alexandra said, “The more carefully we plan our meals, the less tempted we will be to overdo in quantity. Meals are small acts of great importance, moments set aside for conversation, reflection, and communion. I think there should be a high concentration on the ritual of eating. Beauty has no calories and yet it improves your health.” 

Well said! Beauty has no calories and yet improves your health. It does! There are countless times when things around me have helped pull me out of a dark cloud. 





















She goes on to say that there are “three basic elements in interior design that bring atmosphere and charm into your kitchen: Keep it simple, make it appropriate, make it beautiful. It sounds so easy-simple, appropriate, and beautiful- yet you need to be watchful to accomplish it. “

I understand the watchful part. Sometimes with the day to day life schedules clutter can creep into your kitchen and dining area. My husband is a “pile keeper”. He will keep piles of crap everywhere if I let him so I have to be mindful. 

I hope you guys enjoyed these beautiful tips from Alexandra today. I will be sharing more kitchen tips next week. Now on to my Cake Bake visit and photos!



Once we arrived I checked us in and went to the gift shop to look around. I loved the new Christmas ornaments. 




This was Lauren’s favorite!

I have to say that the swan ornament was my favorite!

The gift shop and bakery shop is always fun to walk around in. 

This was the chandelier above our table. Glorious isn’t it? 

These swan pillows are new decor features around the restaurant. They are very pretty in person. Smaller versions are available if you are interested. 

I could not pass up the brown butter salmon. It was great this time with the roasted brussel sprouts and potatoes. So yummy! I cleaned my plate! 

This time I decided to get a slice of the apple crumble cake! It was an apple spice cake made with real apples and pecans. It was also filled with homemade caramel. It was DELISH!

I have never seen it this empty but due to Covid there was limited seating. It was nice to be able to take a few photos with less people around. 

















These new fairies were a new addition too! I hope you all enjoyed this post filled with home inspiration and great dining. The Cake Bake Shop is always a magical place! Thank you for reading! And this blog post today marks my 1,000th POST!!!! I can’t believe it! Wow, thank you to all of you who continue to read my blog. 

(photos via Pinterest & Mrs. Shockley)

A Southern Lady Flower Tutorial

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Good Wednesday Morning, 

I thought I would share this fun and fantastic video about flower arranging from Southern Lady magazine. I love all of the blue and white that she has. 

And speaking of blue and white here is another fantastic video from the Chateau Diaries on Youtube. This has been one of my recent Youtube channel finds. I hope you all enjoy the video. 



(photo via SouthernLady.com & video from Youtube)

Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL Book (3)

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photo credit Mrs. Shockley 

Good Morning,

We are in the first week of October. October already…. I have been pulling all of my autumn and winter inspired candles to the front of the cabinet. I can’t wait to use them. I also ran some errands this weekend. I finally found the perfect faux leather skirt at Target. You can click on the size to change it to yours but I went and picked up my size and tried it on. I love it! It’s not too short and hits me at the perfect length. It is going to look very chic with a sweater this coming season.

Now time for this week’s inspired post from Living a Beautiful Life. I hope everyone has been enjoying the snippets that I have been sharing from this book. It has been a lovely evening read and a way to end my evenings. 

This week’s inspiration is…. “Coming home and shutting the door on the outside world is an experience I look forward to, and I celebrate with something refreshing.”  





photo credit Lilyoake.blogspot.com

“Having a soft drink, fruit juice, or a cup of tea or coffee as I prepare for the rituals that will follow, both symbolize coming home and uplifts me. And while I prepare my refreshment, I anticipate having it in a favorite glass, cup and saucer or mug, in my own place. We remind ourselves, as we pause, that being home is a real treat”. 

Being home is a real treat! I cannot tell you how working from home has given me such peace during this time. I look forward to the holidays. I am enjoying even the cold days that we have had this week. I am loving the rain and crisp air. There is something about the autumn months that gives me peace. Truly it does. 


photo credit Charisse Kenion 

At the end of Chapter 2, she mentions her “Grace Notes” and one of them was “when you’re just about ready to throw away your cologne, put the bottle in your lingerie drawer to give you and your clothes a lingering fragrance.” What a wonderful idea? Have any of you tried that? Let me know in the comments section below. 

I hope you all enjoyed this week’s beauty inspiration. Here is the first week’s and here is the second week’s inspiration from the book. 

Here is the link to Alexandra’s newsletter. 

Have a great Monday!

Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL Book (2)

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Hello Everyone,

It’s Friday… the last full week of September. I am a little sad. I love September. It’s still warm and it’s a welcome month to autumn. Next week here in Indy, we will have some days where it will only be a high of 50 degrees! I am so excited. I am hoping for some rain but the drop in temperature helps with the plants. 

So on to today’s post. Most of you learned last week that I was going to be sharing little tidbits from the book that I am currently reading called Living a Beautiful Life.  I am in the middle of Chapter 2 which is called “Creating Something Special Out of the Ordinary” and I think the title pretty much speaks for itself. 



















These words from Alexandra stuck out to me and I highlighted them. “Much of enjoying life is in the details- the larger issues have a way of working themselves out. Handling daily tasks well and thoroughly affects how we feel, our happiness, and the overall quality of our lives”. 

“The outside world can seem troublesome, dangerous, uncertain (boy is that so true right now). Frustrated by the difficulty of making a difference, (a lot of us are in this boat right now) we find it hard to grasp how we can effect change and make the world a better place in which to live. One’s home is a personal space of refuge. 

“By creating beauty and order where you live and work you will be controlling the private hours of your life”. 

I found this so interesting that she wrote this in 1986 and how this information is so fitting for right now. 


















I want to close this post with this last suggestion from Alexandra… ” when you feel that the little things in your life are satisfying and speak especially to you, it’s amazing how outside pressures and disappointments loosen their hold. Intimate, necessary details add up to one’s private life. Select them with care because they are your life”.

I hope you all enjoyed today’s inspiring post. To read last week’s see here.

On Monday I will be sharing my September favorites and I have a pretty long list. Also, I am taking Monday off from work and will be going to get a pedicure and I want to look for some vintage earrings. Enjoy your weekend!




(photos via Pinterest)






Weekly Beauty Inspiration ~ LABL Book

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Hello Everyone!

I am wearing sweaters! Yay, but we will see how long this lasts. Yesterday I stopped at Walmart and picked up a few more faux autumn flowers and some delicious pumpkin bread from Starbucks! I haven’t had any in some years! It’s still delicious. 


















photo credit Rachel Ellen Events 



Okay, it is time for our weekly inspiration from Alexandra Stoddard’s book Living a Beautiful Life. I am really taking my time and trying to savor this book bit by bit. 

I have finished Chapter 1 and I am starting Chapter 2. There were a few more things from Chapter 1 that I wanted to share…

Alexandra said, “I always have fresh flowers at my workspace, even if it’s three daisies in a little vase. And I have a handful of my favorite books near me for inspiration and reference.”















photo credit Julie Hengel 


I am guilty of having books and flowers on my desk or near it. Alexandra said she believes that beauty can be achieved in the smallest, simplest ways, and this beauty enriches your work experience. I couldn’t agree more. Having a beautiful space at my job has helped me through some rough patches when dealing with co-workers. 

One more quote that I wanted to share from the chapter was… “Personal rituals make you a poet- and they can help you feel good about yourself and others. They reinforce the significance of the simple acts we perform repeatedly. While you are fulfilling basic needs, you can make the ordinary quite extraordinary. When you make your everyday rituals- simple things such as bathing, sleeping, and editing- meaningful and attractive, they nourish other areas of your life.” 

photo credit French Country Cottage 
I hope these inspiring quotes give you the desire to bring more beauty in your life. Even if it’s just the simplest things. Bring them in, live with it, and embrace it. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and let me know in the comments section how you are doing on autumn decor and wearing sweaters!

(quotes Alexandra Stoddard)

Evening Reading: A New Book

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Good Morning!

Whew has it been a week for me! I am still working on micro-managing my daughter and it has been tough. I have been practically doing Algebra with her. A few days ago we had a Google meet with her teacher that lasted about 3 hours! I have never done Math that long a day in my life! But I love my kid and want her to succeed.

As you can see from the photo above my book finally arrived! It took longer than a week to get here but alas it’s finally here. I have started to read it and it is wonderful. I still can’t believe that Alexandra wrote this back in the 80’s. 














photo credit Melnychuk Nataliya 

Each week I would like to share little tidbits from the book. I have only read a few pages and I found so many wonderful “nuggets” that I had to share them. The first thing that Alexandra discussed was rituals. I talked about this on the blog a few times ( see here and here). She said, ” Instead of rushing through our lives to get somewhere- instead of saving up real living for later- I think it’s important to remember that each single day is all we have. Single days experienced fully add up to a lifetime lived deeply and well”. 

I like that…. lived deeply and well… 


















photo credit Anthropologie

She went on and talked about rituals and making every day lovely. But I have to share one small story that she discussed. She talked about her friend who has made bill paying into a ritual. She said, “She puts Brahms on her stereo, she placed an arrangement of flowers on her desk, she dresses in a fresh blouse and skirt so she is actually ready to mail her bills (keep in mind no online bill-paying) as soon as she’s finished. She has elevated a necessary task- bill paying- into a ritual through the details surrounding how she does it”. 

I love that small story and I am sure that there are many in this book. I also noticed that at the end of each chapter she has a section called ” Grace Notes”. I am sure that I will be sharing those. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the everyday!