My trips or places I would love to visit

My Travel Luxuries ~ 2024

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Hello Everyone,

Goodness what a weekend. I am trying to stay away from the news. There is too much going on right now. I did go antiquing on Saturday. One of the interior designers from the showhouse has a booth at Midland’s and I wanted to take a peek at it. While I was there, I found a gorgeous armchair that I will share in my July favorites. I placed it inside my greenhouse. It looks so stunning there. 

I am gearing up for my trip next week. I will be flying to Virigina. In this blog post I wanted to share my current travel items. Honestly some of them are a luxury to me because I did not have really nice travel items until recently. There are a few influencers that I follow on Amazon, and they have shared some wonderful items on how to travel with affordable luxury. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

I will start with this first. This is the cabinet in my closet. I have taken the first two shelves and created these “travel essentials” shelves. What I noticed (after traveling all these years) is that after we go on a trip, I usually leave my travel essentials and bags in my suitcases. What I noticed is that when my trips were approaching, and I was making a list I would NEVER know what I needed for my trip because everything would be in my suitcases tucked away in my closet. So dumb! 

So when I reorganized my closet a few months ago I decided to go through everything and pull things out and make space for my travel essentials. It has made me so happy! I can know see what I need, and it has encouraged me to purchase more travel items and get more organized for my trips. 

 

 

One of the new travel luxuries that I have purchased are these petite candles from Linnea. Now these are NOT petite. They are the size of your hand but so easy to pack away and take with you. I will be taking the Night Bloom with me to burn in my hotel room at night while I read a book. I also have a box of matches to take with me from Linnea. How elegant is that! 

 

 

My second new travel luxury are these gold airless pump cream jars from Amazon. First off, these are stunning. I will be filling these with my facial cleaners and creams. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay I have succumbed to the clear case epidemic but only for the cleaning kits that I kept seeing on YouTube. I love the idea about having my very own cleaning kit. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a hotel room wish I had some tools to clean items with. 

 

 

But honestly, I am so happy to now have this as a part of my travel luxury items. A cleaning kit for the hotel room? Yes please! I ordered this bed bug spray and the rest was found at stores. If you can’t find any items, this travel cleaning kit is available on Amazon as well. 

 

 

The last newest travel luxury are my new tea bag tins. So most of you know that I love tea and love having it with me when I travel as well but I will admit that I am TERRIFIED when I take tea bags with me through airport security. I do have TSA precheck but still these look suspect! So I wanted to come up with something to carry these in and a sandwich bag was NOT going to cut it. Really these in a sandwich bag? Think about it! So I thought about it and saw that my Harney’s tea is stored in tins, so I searched Amazon for these, and I love them now! I fill so much better having my bags with me and a secure elegant place. 

Of course, I will still be using my packing cubes, vitamin pill holder, contact lenses container, cosmetic bag, and travel jewelry box. This is a work trip so my new mouse pad will be going with me as well as my new laptop screen extender. To see more of my travel favorites, you may read here, and here. 

Also this week I have two new bags that should be arriving. This one from Notiq! I can’t wait. It comes in a smaller version as well. And this bag that I have also been stalking for a while from MME.Mink. I will share an unboxing soon. Have a great week! There will be no blog post next week because I will be out of town, but July favorites will be posted the following week. Talk soon!

 

  • Affliate links attached. 

My Visit to the RH Indianapolis

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Good Morning Everyone,

“Taking a deep breath”…. let 2024 begin! I still don’t have my word for the year, but I think it will come to me very soon. I will not rush it. I know that I want to work on my schedule this year and try not to be so busy. That is at the top of my list. Organization is still at the top of my list as well. I have already started with a few small things.

I am hoping that more “elegant adventures” will be coming down the pipe this year. I visited a lot of beautiful places in 2023. I hope that the Lord will allow me to see more beautiful things. I do have an upcoming work trip to Viriginia in July. I am looking forward to that. I hope to slide in a historical home tour and maybe some antique shopping before I began my busy week there. 

My husband and I recently got to visit the former estate of philanthropist Christel DeHaan. No one was sure what was going to happen to this beautiful Palladian inspired villa, but I am happy to report that RH has taken over and I could not be happier!

 

photo credit: RH.com

I still can’t believe that this estate is here! The rumor is Ms. DeHaan lived her with just her staff. If that is true, that is incredible! This property is about 42,00 square feet. It is so big! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

This was me and my husband approaching the property from the somewhat long drive to it. This house was located pretty far from the busy street on Michigan. I hope you got to see my reel on Instagram about it. 

 

 

Valet parking is available, but we decided to park the car ourselves and walk up to this beautiful villa. 

 

 

 

Walking in we were greeted by a wonderful team of hostess. They provided all the information we need to guide ourselves through the 42k square feet and helped us with drinks and reservations!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I was trying to listen to the hostess as she was explaining everything but I could not take my eyes off of the entryway. I loved the antique inspired statutes and marble floor. I just kept thinking is this original to the home or no?

 

 

These gilded mirrors… oh my!

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

These hallways. For just a short moment I pretended that I lived here. I looked to my right and pretended that my English garden of roses was there and that I was on my way to my room for a cup of tea.

 

 

Of course, I could not resist talking a selfie in these gorgeous, gilded mirrors! I was very comfortable and felt put together. If you like my faux fur scarf you can shop a similar one here. My wrap you can find a similar one here, my shoes are from Ann Taylor (last season) and my tote is the On the Go by Louis Vuitton. 

 

 

Each room was decorated with simplicity but lots of elegance. 

 

 

My husband and I wanted to try a drink and decided to get the RH bellini with peach puree and prosecco. It was marvelous! So good!

 

 

Walking around the gallery….

 

 

Another elegant bedroom 

 

 

After walking around we sat down for our dinner reservations. I got the rotisserie chicken salad with butter lettuce, lemon and, chives. The taste was really good but I wanted a few more veggies in my salad. I LOVED the sweet potato fries with the rosemary aioli. So good! My husband got the filet with truffle fries. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

We had a really wonderful time and plan to return in the spring. We want to venture outside a little more and see the gardens in bloom in the spring. If you live in Indy I would encourage you to go and see the property! It is truly a dream. I know that some of my friends from the Guild want to go for a visit so I might be returning with them. 

Have a wonderful day!

 

 

  • this post is not sponsored; affiliate links attached 

 

My Visit to Sarah Flint in Atlanta

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Good Morning,

This past weekend we had phenomenal weather. I went to a hair appointment and had my hair trimmed and realized how long it really was! I have been trying for years to grow my hair to my bra strap. It is finally there! Such a goal to meet after all these years. 

Oh my goodness everyone! I was recently on a Zoom call with Sarah Flint and she was showing us the new holiday collection for 2023. I don’t know if any of you were on that call but there was a pair of shoes and scarf calling my name! I did order the scarf but the shoes I will wait because the price was quite high!

Going to a Sarah Flint store is a wonderful experience and quite satisfying. She is certainly true to her brand and the appearance. I had to visit the store in Atlanta while I was there.

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

I love visiting these stores. It’s like a gift to your grandmillennial mind! So many textures and colors. It does not feel like a hospital and each store is so different and has its own character. 

 

 

The staff was so nice and we talked and talked about the brand and local restaurants around. 

 

 

The staff let me try on different size belts and the Gracie Perfect Pump 85 in pink. Looking at the shoe dust bags was enough to make you swoon! Oh my goodness were they gorgeous! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Looking at all of the care and detail that went into decorating the store. There were so many details! 

 

 

Still true to blue and white! 

 

 

I am still loving this framed scarf idea. I am seriously considering it for my home office. 

 

 

Every nook and cranny was carefully displayed. There were vintage books and Sarah’s blue and white china set which I was told that she has thought about launching that as well. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The dressing room slipper which I now own! I love wearing it around my home. The price has dropped ($119 off) and you can use my code SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for an additional 15% off! 

 

 

The store has such an English home feel and look. I truly enjoyed visiting. I will miss the Nashville store. It has been permanently closed! The manager at the Atlanta location told me. I was so sad, but I am very grateful that I got to visit last year. 

I would love to visit the Dallas store next. We will see if the Lord can get me there. Don’t forget to shop with my link or use my code SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for 15% off! Have a great day! 

 

*Affiliate links attached 

 

Shopping in Buckhead

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Hello There!

Another end to another week. Boy this month went by quickly! This weekend is a little busy as well, but I want to make sure to sit at some point and enjoy my new FBMP find! I will share it soon! 

I do miss Buckhead. It was such a beautiful place. One of the resources that I used to help me find places to shop was this guide that I found on Flower Magazine.com. All of the designers shared their favorite places to shop while in the ATL. Some of them live there so I knew that I needed to print this off and use it!

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

 

After eating lunch at the Swan Coach House my husband and I went to the Shops at Buckhead. There were a lot of really nice stores there. Our first stop was Sarah Flint but I will share that in a different blog post. The second was this beautiful Hermes store. 

 

 

All I did was wonder around the first few minutes. We don’t have a Hermes store here in Indy and the last time I was at a Hermes store was in 2017 in New York. 

 

 

 

The staff was incredibly friendly and so helpful. I was so glad to see that. You always hear rumors about the staff in Hermes but they were wonderful. I did pick up a lip oil in the color rose kola and I love it so much! It such a beautiful color and now I have something that I want from Hermes! Great… not sure if that is a good thing. 

 

 

The second place that I wanted to visit was the Dior store. I have been wanting a Christian Dior floral scarf for years now. This was stunning. I asked the rep. if he would hold it up for me. I just loved it, but they are so expensive. I did find this Etsy seller online who has a superb collection of vintage scarves. You should check it out!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After leaving Dior drooling over everything, we went to Diptyque. Again, we don’t have a store in Indiana, and I really wanted to visit this store. We smelled practical everything candle in the store and we both loved the jasmine. I have it on my desk now and my goodness is it marvelous. 

 

 

After shopping in the lux area, we went to the Lenox Mall near our hotel and decided to look around. We ended up stopping in Carolina Herrera and looking at her store. I purchased a jasmine candle from there as well. It’s downstairs and when I have both of the jasmine candles burning… oh my goodness is my home glorious. 

We then made our way over to Louis Vuitton. I have never seen LV trunks in person. My store does not have them. Not that I can remember so seeing these was so exciting. The small trunks above are my dream trunks. I really want one for my vanity but at $4k I think it may be a minute. I am on the Vestiaire Collective website (previously known as Tradesy) keeping my eye out for a cheaper one, so we will see. 

 

 

 

It was such a good experience again and the staff was excellent! So friendly and helpful. 

 

 

 

This LV trunk was hand painted by an artist that they have come by and work. There was also Louis Vuitton paint! She painted it with Louis Vuitton paint. Incredible! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After shopping at the mall I found an antique store nearby called Antiques & Beyond. My goodness was this such a great store. Nothing like I have back home. The staff again, was phenomenal. There was so much to look at. 

 

 

I gasped when I saw the cabinet full of vintage Chanel jewelry. I wanted practically all of it but of course, it was all so expensive. 

 

 

I did purchase this Chanel brooch (faux), this Louis Vuitton pouch and this bust from the antique store. The Tory Burch heels came from a consignment store called Labels. They had 3 stores all on the same street. One for men’s, women’s, and accessories. Crazy right? I loved shopping in Buckhead. There was so much for me to see and do. I really do hope to return. Have a great weekend! 

 

Lunch at the Swan Coach House

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Good Morning,

I had quite a busy weekend. I attended a paralegal retreat on Saturday, filmed a YouTube video finally, and attended a private home tour for charity. The private home tour was simply amazing! I wish I could have taken photos but there we not allowed. It was truly beautiful. 

Today I am continuing with my empty nester trip. I am sharing a few photos of our visit to the Swan Coach House.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

I wanted to have lunch at the Swan Coach House after our tour at the Swan House. It was only a few minutes away and was tucked away near the Swan House. 

 

 

It was so beautiful walking in and had a lot of the southern charm. Of course, there is chinoiserie everywhere.

 

 

There were a few ladies in the distance celebrating a 70th birthday. It was so sweet! They all had on their little Derby hats on and were dressed up. I loved it!

 

 

I absolutely loved the floors and the decor. The gold mirror in the distance was so elegant. 

 

 

 

I ordered some tea sandwiches, and carrot soup. The soup had a little kick to it! It had a little spice but was really good. The staff was very kind and there was a gift shop and art museum in the home as well. 

Overall, it was a great experience, and I am so glad that my husband and I went and visited it. If you are nearby you should stop by! It’s such a wonderful place. 

 

 

 

My Visit to the Swan House

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Good Morning All,

Busy week again and we have added dog sitting to our schedule. My stepson is out of town and asked us to dog sit. We are a little rusty but will get back into the swing of things. This weekend is very busy for me. I will be going to a paralegal retreat on Saturday. I am a director for the Indiana Paralegal Association and we all will be meeting to discuss future ideas for the association. On Sunday, I will be a docent at the Tiffany Skilling Home Tour. I am hoping that I can take photos. I am looking for inspiration for my own home. As my home office takes on a different look, I am looking for different pieces to redecorate. Now that the kids are semi- out of the house, I feel like I have a little more freedom to change things around.

Okay let’s get into today’s post before I get started on my hunt for decor rant!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I still can’t believe that I took this beautiful photo! It was so hot but this was such a great shot of the front of the home. The Swan House was built by architect, Philip T. Shutze. The family moved into their home in December of 1928. In designing this home Shutze drew from examples of both 18th century English and 16th century Italian architecture. 

 

 

When you tour the home you will enter from the back. It has a large garden and long driveway. We were told that the rear of the house serves as the main entrance. The backside represents the classical Palladian architecture. 

 

 

This vehicle was located in the back of the home. 

 

 

This car was also located in the back of the home. My husband wanted me to take a photo with. It of course belonged to the family. It is a 1929 Hudson. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Shutze sketched this garden while seated in the gardens of the Palazzo Corsini in Rome. Talk about inspiration! When Stutze was asked about flowers he stated that the Swan House has a green garden. Flowers in urns and pots he explained. 

 

The home had a grand entry hall which I failed to photograph because I was too busy taking it all in. I did however take a video of it and will be posting it on my YouTube channel soon. This room was to the right when you walked in. Looks like it could have been the breakfast room. 

 

 

Loved the drapes!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This is the dining room, and it is my absolute favorite room! I think I stayed in this room quite a while. This is where Mrs. Iman would receive her guests for dinner. The English wallpaper, hand-painted in chinoiserie, the French Abusson rug, Waterford chandelier, and contemporary Portuguese rainbow plaid draperies are examples of the beautiful style of Mrs. Inman. Her decorator, Ruby Ross Wood, was known for blending furniture of various periods, using colors and prints. 

 

 

Ruby Ross Wood believed that “decorating is the art of arranging beautiful things comfortably”. Now who could argue that statement! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

I love this photo so much! I am thinking about making it my screen saver. 

 

 

This was one of the most important objects in the room. This is an 18th century swan console table attributed to English architect, Thomas Johnson. The Imans purchased it in Bath, England in 1924. 

 

 

This 18th century mahogany bookcase was made in England. It was intended for the library; Mrs. Inman used it to display her collection of English Derby porcelain. 

 

 

The kitchen and butler’s pantry allowed the servants easy access to the dining room and breakfast room. 

 

 

Mrs. Inman updated the household appliances in the 1950s, but the restaurant size 1936 Magic Chef stove is the original model, and the 1929 GE refrigerator was added. 

A fun fact is that after 32 years of service with the Inman family, Lizzie McDuffie left to work for President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a maid in the White House. She used her close relationship with the President and First Lady to advocate for racial equality in the South. 

 

 

This was the morning room. This room contained a mixture of fine antiques in a blend of periods and styles, as well as quality reproductions and some contemporary pieces. 

 

 

We are now going upstairs….

 

 

This was a huge hallway with original floors! 

 

 

 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Like many couples in the 1920s and 1930s, the Inman’s had adjoining bedrooms. Shutze relates that Mrs. Inman owed and cherished the mantelpiece from her first home and insisted that it be reinstalled there. The room is filled with a blend of reproductions and fine antiques from the 18th century. 

 

 

 

 

 

An Italian immigrant named Athos Menaboni painted the bathroom. This was a really big bathroom! When I walked in it I thought, “goodness, this is huge”! 

 

 

In addition to the faux green marble walls, he painted draperies on the mirrors, swans on the ceilings, and stars all over the cabinets. 

 

 

 

 

After touring the home, we went up to the museum in the home. It housed some of the antiques and information about the home. It also discussed the decorator Ruby. I love that title, “The Road to Good Taste”. I honestly believe that I am on that journey.

 

 

 

Beautiful vintage fabrics are shown in the museum room. These were some of the fabrics that Ruby used in her decor.

 

 

My husband and I truly enjoyed this tour. I love visiting historical homes and really appreciate the value and work that went into creating these dream homes. They truly don’t make them like this anymore. I hope that preservation societies all over the country continue to protect these gems. They take you to another place even if it’s just for a moment. 

Enjoy the weekend! 

 

 

 

 

 

 (information and some text provided by the Atlanta History Center)

 

 

Our Elegant Trip to Atlanta

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Good Morning Everyone!

I had a very busy weekend. Our neighborhood HOA sale occurred, and I sold quite a bit from my closet as well as the boutique. There is not much left, and I am trying to decide if I want to order a new dress. I am thinking about it. 

I did donate a few items to the consignment store and dropped off some old furniture at the Goodwill. It’s funny with garage sales. As soon as you get that stuff out of your closet and realize that some of it may have to go back in that turns it into a big game changer for me. Oh no is this not going back! Let’s donate it! I hate hanging on to stuff I am not using! 

I also have a busy work week ahead of me of course, my first Guild meeting of the season, an Indiana Paralegal Retreat on Saturday, and a tour of Tiffany Skilling’s home on Sunday! Lots of fun things but busy! 

Speaking of fun things… I have not stop thinking about our recent empty nester trip to Atlanta. Mr. Shockley and I had such a good time. It started out rough. There was a torrential downpour in Kentucky when we were driving through. For two hours we could barely see the road.  It was not fun. Then while we stopped for breakfast my husband got an alert on his app that the tires were low! Great! Now we might have a flat. But it turns out that we did not. The pressure from the mountains in Tennessee caused the fluctuation of the air pressure in the tires. Thank goodness!

Once we got to Buckhead, my husband and I could NOT and I mean could not stopping staring at the houses! My goodness is Buckhead a beautiful area! I mean stunning Victorian inspired mansions. It was gorgeous!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

I did not take photos of the homes because I did not want to be weird but once we got to our hotel I looked up and was immediately smitten with the light fixtures and decor. Honestly and truly we have NEVER stayed in a hotel like this! 

 

 

We stayed in the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta. The staff was outstanding and so was our room. As soon as they took our luggage to our room we could not stop staring at the view and our room had its own doorbell!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Our room had the best view of the skyline for Atlanta. You could see everything, the beautiful buildings in Buckhead, lots of gorgeous trees, Stone Moutain and did I mention the skyline? 

The room had a beautiful black and white floral carpet, green velvet sectional couch, flat screen T.V., wine bar, huge garden tub, and walk in shower. We loved it! 

 

 

For dinner we decided to walk 3 minutes from the hotel to South City Kitchen for dinner. We both got the springer mountain fried chicken, collard greens, mashed potatoes in a honey sauce. It also came with biscuits, and I tried ginger (non-alcoholic) beer for the first time! Oh my goodness, it was so good! 

It was a great start to our first empty nester trip. Later this week I will share some of my shopping trips and the Swan House of course. A few of the boutique’s dresses are on sale. The Rose Blush Midi and Sylvia Shirtdress are on sale. I only have one Eleanor Lace Midi and only one Vera Blush Maxi left. Order soon! Have a great week!