Blog posts that inspire

Reputation by Association

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Good Morning Everyone,


It has been an interesting week. I am still volunteering at Dress for Success and still enjoy it. Being around all these different women just had me thinking. Do you believe that we attract who we are?


I believe it and have seen it work in my life as well as others. Remember that classless co-worker that I talked about here on the blog? Well, one of our other co-workers was friends with her and as I watched their friendship I noticed that the other co-worker (who was very nice) begin to act like and sort of take on the nasty one’s demeanor. 


photo credit Mariah Hewines 



It was really hard to watch and some of us noticed it right away and felt sorry for her. Well, I am happy to report that they are no longer friends. The nasty one (who was nasty to me and others) destroyed that friendship as well and the nice one was left without an explanation. 


She just stopped talking with her which is really sad. She didn’t even tell her why she did not want to be friends anymore. I can’t say I am surprised. I talked with my mentor about it and she said (which is what I already knew) she no longer had a use for her and didn’t need her anymore. Really sad…


























Be careful who you let into your “gates”. Not everyone is for you. I am still reading the English Etiquette and I am in the chapter about reputation. Alena had some wonderful tidbits in this section. 


“When you spend time with people who are thin on morality, manners and common decency as if by osmosis, your reputation and self-worth will begin to fall in line with theirs”. 


“Choose wisely who you spend your time with because despite what you know in your heart, you will look guilty by association and the time spent with those people will only serve to drag you down and perhaps tempt you in the long run”. 


“Be the light to these people but don’t validate what they are doing by passively hanging around with them in order to make yourself or them feel better”. 


I take these wisdom points very seriously. I am very, very cautious about who I let into my gates. I know that not everyone is my friend. It’s so unfortunate that we have to be this way. But be careful that you don’t turn a blind eye to someone’s horrible behavior just to have a friend because is that really friendship? 



















photo credit Anatasia Lysiak 







I have been praying for years (since 2012) that the Lord will send me godly friends that will pray for me and I will pray for them. But another thing that I always pray is that the Lord will sever ties with people that I don’t need to be in relationships with. 


So I hope that these tidbits of wisdom help and remind you that friendships are wonderful but be careful about who you let into your life. Have a great weekend!

Elegant Wednesday

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Good Morning,


I saw this bit of wisdom on Pinterest also. Whatever you have in life make it beautiful. 




And she always had a way with her brokenness. She would take her pieces and make them beautiful. 


~ R.M. Drake




I use my broken pieces all the time to create something marvelous. We are not perfect but we are living. Enjoy your day!

photo credit Freddie Martyn 

Confident Monday

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photo credit Brigitte Tohm 

Let’s start our Monday off with a little confidence…




I saw this poem on Pinterest.


I know God has a plan. I pray for direction to follow it, patience to wait for it, and knowledge to know when it comes. 


I whole-heartedly believe this and need this. I hope this inspires you today. 






Enjoy your Monday!




Other posts on confidence:


Mental Chicness


A Lovely Mind


A Lovely Mind- Part 2









Blush for Autumn

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Good Morning Everyone,


Goodness, Halloween is next week and I have begun my holiday list review. It dawned on me this morning that I have to start preparing for Thanksgiving. 


I like to start my turkey shopping as soon as possible. The brand that I like to buy usually sales out pretty quickly here in Indy. 


Yesterday morning, I attended the Coffee Classic Series at the symphony. The performance was called Mozart’s Concerto for a King. The program started at 11:00 a.m. so I took an hour of leave and attended the performance. It was lovely. I really enjoyed having a morning symphony. It eased my mind and I was completely relaxed. I look forward to attending more morning symphonies. 


I wanted to end the week with these beautiful photos of autumn decor from Victoria Magazine. Autumn decor is usually brown’s, yellow’s and orange’s. But I really like how these pastel colors were tastefully done. 

Softly Shaded

I adore this look. The pumpkins are the perfect mauve color and I love the gourds and weathered lanterns. But I would be worried about my dogs picking up the pumpkins and chewing on them.


Softly Shaded
Don’t you just love the vintage linens? I am on the look-out for a vintage table linen for home. I have not found one yet but will keep my eyes open. The vintage books are a nice touch and so is the candlelight. 

Softly Shaded

 These are gorgeous! I love the botanical greenery and the hydrangea blossoms. The dusty pink pumpkins are a perfect fit in this window box. To read the original article you may see it here.


I hope you all have a great weekend. I will try to upload a video this weekend. I am just trying to figure out what I want it to be about. Enjoy your weekend!








(photos via Victoria Magazine.com)





The Beauty of a Woman

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I saw a fantastic post on one of the interior designers that I follow on Instagram. She posted tips from Audrey Hepburn about beauty…. had to share them. 




















photo credit Aerin Lauder Instagram 


For attractive lips…. Speak with words of kindness.


For lovely eyes... Seek out the good in people. 


photo credit Micheile Henderson 

For a slim figure... Share your food with the hungry.


For beautiful hair… Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day. 
For poise… Walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone. 



photo credit B Stinger Instagram




People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed…. Never throw out anybody. 

Beautiful tips if you ask me. Thank you, Audrey.

A Lovely Mind ~ Part 2

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I am still on my quest for “mental chicness”. This past December I wrote this blog post about having a “lovely mind”. I have been watching more of the news, reading more articles, and doing my best to stay abreast of the world around me without going into complete depression. 


It is not easy. There is so much going on in the world. Not to mention silly things that go on with social media. I have been so concerned about my Youtube channel and having “trolls”.  I have heard some of the other YouTubers talk about how people contact them and make horrible comments. I really don’t understand that. If you don’t like someone’s content just simply “unfollow” them. It’s so easy but then again people are crazy. 


I have been continuing to read the Living the Good Long Life by Martha Stewart. It was listed as one of my favorites a month or two ago. I have now entered the section of the book called “Accentuate the Positive”. 


I must admit I can be a negative Nancy sometimes so I am trying to work on that bad habit. Changing your thoughts can change your life and so that has turned into a life goal for me. In the book, Martha gives 3 tips from author Rick Hanson (Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom) on how to accentuate the positive. 


The first one is:
Turn positive events into positive experiences. All kinds of good things happen in your daily life that you hardly notice at all. (O.M.G. so true). Someone pays you a compliment- you barely pay attention to it or deflect it. Instead, take time to recognize every positive moment and experience it. 


I know for me when someone pays me a compliment, I immediately say, “thank you Lord for those kinds words”. But that is just me… 















photo credit Nicolas Fairford 







The second is:
Savor positive experiences. Once you get used to recognizing these types of experiences, take it a step further and relish each good moment: hold on to it for 20 to 30 seconds, and allow yourself to really feel it in your body. The longer you hold these moments in your awareness, the more neurons fire simultaneously so they start wiring together to form a memory. 


I like this idea of holding your moments in your thoughts. This is something I need to practice. 

















photo credit Annie Spratt 





And the third is:
Consider how the experience is sinking into you and becoming a part of you. In other words, help weave it into the fabric of your brain and yourself. 


Soak in the moments of life. I really want to work on this. With our daughter beginning high school this year soaking in moments has become a huge goal of mine. 


Well, I hope that you enjoyed this post and take some of these tips and work on them yourself. I think we all get caught up in the problems and concerns of life and that we do just ignore those lovely comments that we receive. 


No more ignoring…. take it in and be grateful. 








(tips: Living the Good Long Life, page 169)

Disagree Graciously

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I bet this title alone intrigued you. It intrigued me too as it is the chapter that I am now reading in The Civility Solution. I mentioned this book back in December and I am still reading it.

Now that the holidays have passed and work has gone back to normal I can get back on schedule with reading. One of the first sentences in this chapter was, “Rudeness is the ugly face that disagreement shows when it’s mismanaged.”  

 I read this sentence twice…









Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash


I read it twice because it is true. Haven’t we all done this? I know I have. When I don’t understand the person that I am communicating with sometimes I can be rude. Honestly, it doesn’t happen often with people outside my circle as with people inside my circle. 




Photo by Rob Sarmiento on Unsplash



But I am on a journey to improve my thoughts and emotions when discussing issues with individuals. Dr. Forni says, “when you disagree, focus on the other person’s position to gain a full understanding of it and make sure that your disagreements are warranted.” 


He also asked questions like, ” how many times have you argued for the mere sake of arguing? How many times have you turned the discussion into an opportunity to make the other person look bad?” 


He then goes on to say, “Success is progress measured against the betterment of a situation, not the defeat of a person.” I needed to read that because sometimes that is the goal of an argument. To defeat the other person instead of making the situation better. 



Photo by Sophie Louisnard on Unsplash



He encourages you to start asking yourself radical questions. “Why do you have an urge to prove yourself all the time?” We need to take a good look at our accomplishments. Silence your inner critic and avoid comparing yourself to others. 

“The next time you are engaged in a confrontation, be aware of the dynamics at work. Stop and think. “Is my insecurity pushing me to prevail at all costs?” Which is more important, that I prevail or that the issue is resolved in the best practical manner?”  Am I even listening to the other person? Is he or she offering good solutions?” 


If the other person is unwilling to follow you on this path then you can respond with: “Let’s give this some more thought before we talk again.” Your hope is that this pause will inject a dose of rationality into the situation. 




photo credit Annie Spratt 


And lastly, if you are in a marital disagreement Dr. Forni suggests not to communicate that dismissive, “I don’t understand to “Help me to understand.” That does sound better and it suggests that you are open to their ideas and help. 


Well, I hope that you enjoyed this small chapter from Dr. Forni’s book and may have found some information on helping you on your path to disagreeing graciously. Happy Monday!