Blog posts that inspire

A Time to Focus

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Good Afternoon,

Well, I guess snow felt the need to make an appearance this season. I can’t believe all the snow that they are getting in Texas! Wow…. here we are holding steady and honestly Indy is use to this kind of weather. It doesn’t mean we like it but we are use to it. Well enough snow talk….. 

 

I recently found this meme on Pinterest and wanted to share it.

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I read this during quarantine last year and it made me do some serious thinking. I began to think about everything that I tried to do in my office to get promoted and then it dawned on me that it was wasted energy. So at that moment, I began to take that energy and put it toward things that mattered. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest 

So then this meme popped in my news feed on Pinterest and I thought, hum. God is listening. I think the Lord uses small things to speak to us. So I then started to put more of my time and energy into my home life. I got my daughter on a checklist schedule for school. I began to think of things that my husband and I could do. I put more energy into prayer and devotional time. I got focused on my weight loss, moved my blog to my own website, organized my home, and started an online boutique. And you know what, I have been so much happier!

 

photo credit: Marchioness (Instagram)

 

I honestly just got tired of things. I am tired of all of the stupid competing that some of the support staff in our office do. I just got tired and so now I am at the point where I really don’t care who they promote I am just going to take my energy and run my own race! I am so excited about my new online boutique! I am telling you guys even looking for items for my boutique has given me a joy that I have not had in a long time. That’s how I know that I am following my passion. 

 

If you feel like you are running in circles in your career, you may want to take a step back and re-evaluate things. Really began to ask your self is this what you really want? Is this position or job really worth the fight? I asked myself those questions and I came up with a loud and resounding NO! Now I am not saying that I am going to quit my job but what I am saying is it’s no longer going to take top priority. No, it’s been shifted to last on my list and that is where it will stay. 

 

photo credit: Laurel Bern Interiors 

 

Now if the Lord opens a door for me as far as a promotion then I will accept it because I don’t think he will allow jobs or opportunities into my life that are not his will. But one thing that I am done with doing is being concerned with other people’s thoughts of me. And worrying about if they think I am worthy of promotion. Over it! 

What are your thoughts? Have you been here before? Be brave and share your experience. In the meantime here is an article about 11 Ways to Uncomplicate Your Life. It’s a great list. I hope you enjoy it! 

 

Other blog posts about life elegance:

Challenges in the Office, the Symphony of Elegance, Chic Tips for Working Women, and  Be Someone of Quality

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day at Home

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed your Valentine’s Day with your loved ones. I saw lots of pictures on Instagram full of candies and sweets. They all look great but I don’t know about you but I can’t eat sweets like that anymore. I am not sure why but my taste buds are going through changes. I did enjoy seeing everyone’s flowers. I love flowers and love a wonderful large bouquet for no reason. 

Mr. Shockley and I spent the holiday at home. I am telling you I did not step foot out my door yesterday. Saturday I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things but that was it. Today I wanted to visit my p.o. box (just to check on things) but that will have to wait until later this week. We are getting ready to get hit with our 6 to 8 inches of snow today!

In today’s post, I did want to share how my stay home date went with my hubby.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

Of course one cannot start Valentine’s Day without flowers. My husband asked if I wanted anything specific and I told him to just keep it simple this year. So he came home with these and I could not love them more!

 

 

A rose bouquet that he got me earlier in the week. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

I think I shared that I did not want to go out for dinner so I included a steak dinner in our HelloFresh box for this order. This was the middle eastern steak and rice pilaf meal.

 

It turned out pretty good. I was really intimidated by the steak. I have never cooked steak on the stove. I have always cooked it in a crockpot. It always comes out so tender. But the basmati rice was good and I always love roasted vegetables. The dipping sauce for the steak was sour cream, yogurt, and zucchini which I thought was a bit unusual but it tasted good. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

We turned off the lights and I brought down my candelabra from the boutique. I placed a candlestick in it and we enjoyed a nice quiet dinner. Where was our daughter you may ask? Well her bestie called her and asked if she could come by for a few and we sent her over there. It was nice having a quiet home. 

 

 

Even though we spent the day home I still got dressed up. I dress every day so this was not hard for me. And yes I spent the whole day in the house looking like this. I enjoy looking nice so sitting around my home like this does not bother me at all. 

Overall we had a nice Valentine’s day. I did order a few things from Express while they had their sale. I ordered this lace cami, this wrap blouse, and these quilted slides in pecan.  I have actually tried these slides on in the store and they are super comfy. 

I hope you all have a great Monday and enjoy your day! Stay warm!

 

 

 

 

Please note: some links are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through this link, I will receive a small commission for referring you to the product. Thank you so much in advance if you decide to make a purchase through my link.

 

 

 

A Home for Elegance ~ Online Boutique

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Hello Everyone!

I hope you all are well. Valentines’s Day is this weekend! My husband and I really don’t have much planned. I really don’t want to go to a restaurant. The wait time has been terrible because of social distancing, so I plan on spending it at home. Our second Hello Fresh box is suppose to arrive today and I am so excited. I picked out a steak dinner to prepare and eat at home. That is what I plan on doing for Valentine’s Day this year.

I think most of you follow me on Instagram (and here) and saw that I have started an online boutique! I made a decision in November to start this journey. I am really excited and have been wanting to do this for quite some time now. A few of my orders have arrived and I will be sharing them on my A Home for Elegance boutique account. Of course, I will be sharing lots on the blog too! Here are a few photos so far. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

I took a corner in the loft of our home. I use the loft as my home office so there is plenty of space in this room. I had my elliptical here. It was placed sideways and I just felt like it was taking up good space so I moved the elliptical next to my desk. Everything looks great in this corner! What do you guys think?

I found the table with drawers (buffet) at the flea market. I paid about $100 for it. It is solid! The clothing rack is from Amazon and was only $89 with a coupon! The clear chair I found at a florist shop but I found one similar here. The quilted handbag is from RedDress. I am trying to find some for my boutique. I love how everything turned out.

 

 

Every morning when I get up, I come into this room and just stare at it. It’s not much but this boutique does wonders to my soul. I have dreamt of starting something like this for many years and to actually began the process of making this happen has just been amazing to me. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

This dress was in my first order. This is a dress that I will have in plus sizes. I already have it in 1x, 2x, and 3x! I intend on carrying regular and plus sizes. I have a few more items that I will share later. I added the brooch. I think it looks fantastic! What do you think?

My hope is to have everything ready in March. There are still a few things left before we can launch. I hope you all enjoyed this post and I know it’s crazy but I can’t believe that I am turning my blog into a business. I hope you guys come along on this journey! 

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

 

Also, don’t forget to follow me on the LIKEtoKNOWit app.  This app is completely free and is easy to download. I was a little apprehensive too until I decided to download it and follow some of my favorite grandmillienials. I don’t regret it. It’s a wonderful app and I don’t get any money if you download it. I only get a small commission if you purchase something from my account. 

 

 

A Classy Galentine Luncheon

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

I am super excited! My orders from my first two vendors arrived yesterday. Everything looks great and I have the correct sizes! I can’t believe it. I am still so nervous about this but there is a little tug on my heart that is letting me that this is okay. 

With all of the work that I have had to do for the website, boutique, housework, etc., I almost completely forgot about Valentine’s Day this weekend! I saw this on another blogger’s post. This is something that I would love to do with some of my close friends. 

 

photo credits: Mary Craven Photography 

 

 

Wouldn’t this be nice? I would love to invite some girlfriends over and we could sit, enjoy a nice meal together and just chat. 

 

 

What a wonderful lunch? Chicken and mushroom crepes? I have never heard of that but it looks delicious! I’ve never had a citrus salad either. Looks refreshing!

 

photo credits: Mary Craven Photography 

 

Oh and let’s not forget the china and dessert. This looks similar to Aerin Lauder china that I shared in yesterday’s blog post! This is bittersweet chocolate with creme Chantilly. Add some fresh berries and some shortbread and you have a light but tasty dessert. 

 

 

I have already visualized myself and some of my very good friends at this table. So classy, timeless, wonderful, and benevolence. If you don’t have a Valentine for this year then call on your good friends! You don’t have to be as fancy as this. Use your best and do your best but enjoy your time. If you wish to read the original article you may see it here. 

 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Your Dreams ~Inspiration from Victoria Magazine

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Hello Everyone,

I don’t think I have made it a secret about how much I love Victoria magazine especially January’s issue. If you have not picked up a copy I would suggest you do! It was SO inspiring. For me having my very own side business has always been a dream. I never knew how I would accomplish it and to this very day I still don’t know how, but creating beautiful things has always been a dream for me. 

Even having this blog has been one of the best adventures that I have ever taken. This blog has caused me to create an environment that I love and can’t wait to return to. I love my blog seriously I do. It’s nice to have something that belongs to you. Especially if it is something that you are creating. I always pray that the Lord will continue to lead me in the right direction. 

I picked up my magazine in December and dived right into the articles. This issue is the Entrepreneur issue and has lots of women who are starting businesses while also following their dreams. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

 

This issue talked about seven women entrepreneurs. I follow about three of them and love the work that they do. It is so rewarding to do what you love. I think that most of us follow Jennifer L. Scott and love her channel. I thought they did such a wonderful job telling her story. 

 

photo credit: John O’Hagan ~ Victoria Magazine 

 

The other entrepreneurs that I follow are Cheryl Luckett and Erisha Rubingh. Both of them have wonderful companies that will inspire you to live well. Another person that was mentioned in the magazine was Ajiri Aki who has a business that I dream of.  Ajiri Aki has a wonderful business called Madame de la Maison.  Ajiri has a fondness for beautiful things and turned that into a career. She started her business after she explored Paris’s flea markets and began to buy items to sell online. What a dream!!! 

 

 

photo credits: Madame de la Maison 

 

 

I hope you found this post to be inspiring. Whatever your dream may be, whether it’s joining Youtube, starting a blog, or an online business, do what you LOVE. With everything going on around us we are in a time where the “pursuit of happiness” is a must!

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

 

Simplify Your Life

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Good Afternoon Everyone,

It’s back to the daily grind for me and my family. Our daughter has returned to school part-time so we will see how it goes. My step-son is suppose to return to college this week. Fingers crossed he does. This has been a long, long Thanksgiving vacation and I want my couch and fridge back! Speaking of all of the things that go on in our lives I wanted to share this book that I purchased back in 2008. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

It is called 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Joyce Meyer.  I was looking at my bookshelf and my eyes just landed on it and I thought, wow this might help someone. We are all facing challenges this year already. I know for us we are losing lots of restaurants in our downtown location. It has been really sad to watch it all fall apart. But I am trying to trust that God has a plan. 

 

 

This book is full of short chapters that provide great impact. I do have my favorite chapters and wanted to share them. The third chapter is called, “Keeping God First”. It starts off with a wonderful quote, “Man’s life is of God, not of his goods, however abundant they may be”. ~ Henry Alford.

Joyce says, ” I believe it is God’s will for his people to be prosperous in every area of their lives, including finances, and material goods. Psalm 35:27 says that God takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people. I find no scripture saying He is pleased when his people do not have their needs met.”

I try to keep this in mind when things are tight or when I believe something ought to be my way and it isn’t. Another favorite chapter of mine is “Don’t Make Mountains out of Molehills”. Boy, can I make things worse in my mind. I am trying to learn to keep things in perspective. 

 

 

There is also a chapter on “Minding Your Own Business, Refuse to Live in Fear, and Don’t Fret over Evildoers”. I need a refreshing course on this! I feel like evil is running wild! But the quote in this chapter helped me to but this back in order, it said, “I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?” ~ Henry Ford 

I hope you have found some peace and inspiration in this post. I am just as confused and lost about what’s happening in our world today. But I just keep praying that God will lead us in the right direction. I hope you have a great Wednesday!

 

photo credit: Nina from Pinterest 

 

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

 

Thoughts on my Youth

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photo credit This is Glamorous



Today I wanted to be honest and open in my post. Do you ever think about things you wish you could have done differently?


For me, I married young and had our daughter at age 22. At that age, most people are still in college and still have some sort of freedom. When I moved out of my mother’s home at age 19 I had only lived in my apartment for about 6 months before my husband and I started dating. 


He already had been married and had two children. They were 6 and 3 at the time. About 9 months later he asked me to marry him. Now I will be honest, I did not want to at the time. I thought why in the world would I do this. I was still young and still had my own dreams and goals. 



























photo credit Ulker Mammadova 





But I did and here we are 16 years later. The boys are gone and our daughter will be starting her sophomore year in high school this coming fall. I heard a quote recently from Beyonce that made me sit and ponder for a few days (see the interview here). She said, “Make sure that you have your own life before you become someone’s wife”. 


How do you guys feel about that comment? Never mind who said it… but what do you think about it? It for one moment made me think, did I do that? Did I have my own life? And the truth is… I didn’t. 

Now please hear my heart I am not mad at my husband nor do I regret where we are today. But as I think back I wish I had someone back then telling me to explore the world, take chances, and take risks! 
My heart still craves adventure and for taking chances but now since I am almost 40 everything has to be a calculated step because it will affect my family, not just me. 




























photo credit Zay



Now I have gone to the Lord in prayer and asked, what shall I do? Here I am Lord, wishing that I had studied abroad, lived in a different country, explored the world around me, but can I still do that? I keep telling myself, there is still hope.


Now that I have almost finished my “motherly duties” and once my daughter is settled in her college life then maybe the Lord will allow me some “adventure time”. I want to do things in his will so maybe the early marriage and early motherhood was the purpose he had for me. 


There is something grand about being finished early in life. A lot of my co-workers who are in the late ’30s and early ’40s have very young children. They are tired constantly and have had to give up things now instead of early on. One of my co-workers who is the same age as me has a 1-year-old. Prior to his arrival, she had an extra bedroom that was her entire closet!

At the same time, I was getting those new closet cabinets I came into the office so excited, and then she shared how she had to change her closet into a nursery for the baby. I felt bad immediately. But then I realized we made different choices in life. She studied abroad, lived in Japan, and went on trips. While she was doing all of that, I was at home with a newborn and two step-sons. But now I see that we are about to flop lives and that is okay. 

So I will say this. I am learning that the Lord has a different plan for each of us. I still don’t understand why my plan turned out this way but I am hopeful that I will know in the end. I do know this. I am telling my daughter that she does not have to marry early and have kids. “Have your own life before you become someone’s wife”. Go out and see the world, enjoy it!


What are your thoughts?