My trips or places I would love to visit

My Visit to the National Museum of African Art

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After our long walk through the city of D.C. we took an Uber to the National Mall. The first Smithsonian museum that we visited was the National Museum of African Art.

When you walk into the museum…

Reliquary guardian figure, late 19th century to early 20th century

Stool, mid to late 19th century




Door and Frame, Swahili artist, Tanzania

19th century, wood and metal

Amhara artist, Ethiopia

Shield, early 19th century

Somali artisit, Mocadishu, Somalia

Necklace with amulet case
Mid 20th century

silver alloy, plant fiber, synthetic amber


One of my favorites its called “Monkeys Grasp for the Moon”. 
by Xu Bling (b. 1955)



Here is how to read it…
This is an oil lamp, bowl with cover and ewer. 
They are all from the Angkor period (11th-13th century). 

The best blue and white collection I have ever seen.
18th century 

This is called the “Princess from the Land of Porcelain”.
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

Oil on canvas
Nepal, 1082
Gilt copper with semiprecious stones and traces of vermilion






This was a massive collection of pottery.

This was a pretty peony floral arrangement and it was real!!
It was a great visit and I am glad we were able to squeeze this in. I really enjoyed the blue and white exhibit. It was my favorite!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)



Walking Around D.C.

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My husband and I have been wanting to go to D.C. for sometime now. So when the opportunity came up at my office for a mandatory training in Washington I couldn’t wait to tell my husband!

He was more excited than the kids! We got all packed up and headed out. It was a 9 hour drive but we enjoyed it along the way. Meaning we slept most of the way.

Once we arrived we checked into our hotel early and hit the streets. The first few moments there we walked several miles around the neighborhoods.

It was hot a day!!!

I loved all the small private gardens that the residences had. 

My husband said, “I spy blue and white in the window”. 
Loved all the different color buildings…

So chic… couldn’t you see a very chic woman walking out the door with her
cream silk blouse on, leather black skirt, nude pumps, black Chanel bag, 
gold bracelet and double layer pearls?

Pretty hydrangeas!

I love these. Does anyone know the name of this flower?

I have no idea what these are but they were too pretty not to take a picture of.
After our walk we decided it was lunch time and headed to 14th Street because some of the residents there told us that there were many food options there. We ended up at Taylor Gourmet. I love being able to choice my own bread, deli meat and veggies for sandwiches. It was really good and gave us a chance to rest up for the next items on our list. If ever in D.C. take a moment to walk around the neighborhoods. The historical buildings are very beautiful. 



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Traveling to Washington, D.C.

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Hello all! I just wanted everyone to know that I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. this week. I am excited and looking forward to the opportunity to see our nation’s capital.

Once again I am traveling for work purposes so I will be working while I am there but the good thing is my family will be going with me. I am hoping to get in some sight-seeing and delicious dining but we will see. I hope to post about some of my adventures when I return. Enjoy your week!


photo credit Mrs. Shockley 

















My Visit to World Market

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Visting new stores in my city is like taking an adventure. Any time some one tells me about a new decor store I always want to go and take a look. I did not realize that we had a World Market until recently.

My family and I took a visit last weekend and I just wanted to share some of my fave items in the store.

Scented floral soap, pretty!


This lotion is marvelous! I purchased the hand cream of the lilac blossom and I can not put it down! It is wonderful! I will be going back to purchase more!
AAA Lilac Body Cream
Great faux floral arrangements

Arley Accent Table

Jaelyn Headboard

Wine! 




And last but certainly not least, my beautiful basket. I will be using this for our summer picnic this year. It was a nice visit and the store had plenty of unique items and furniture pieces! My daughter even enjoyed this store! I hope you enjoyed this tour and that you visit your World Market soon!
(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

My Trip to South Carolina

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I shared last week that I was traveling to South Carolina for some work related training. The trip was good, but I hate to fly! Taking off and landing and always hard for me. There is lots of praying going on during those times.

During my flight there I had a two hour layover in Atlanta. I decided to stop and have some lunch at a nice restaurant and enjoy reading my magazine.

This grilled tuna with swiss was amazing!!!

This was the restaurant inside the airport where I ate that amazing sandwich at!

Cafe Intermezzo
Once I got to South Carolina I got settled and then headed out to take a walk. 






I decided to have a nice quiet dinner at Longhorn. It was wonderful and I ended up trying this.
It was called the Napa Chicken with artichokes, tomatoes and broccoli. Sensational!


Once I got back to my room, I got settled and begin to focus on my training. It was excellent and I learned a lot during the course. 
Another fantastic thing that I was able to do was have a meet and greet with one of my blog readers. She and I have become very good friends since I started the blog in 2014. We now communicate on a regular basis and it was so nice to be able to meet her in person. We had a nice dinner and she sent me home with these wonderful Royal Albert tea cups and spoons! I will truly cherish this and hope that her and I will continue to grow our beautiful friendship!


One evening I was able to visit a beautiful furniture store called Whit-Ash Furniture. They had some wonderful pieces so I took some pictures of some of my favorite items.

I love the shape of this table and the color. This is very similar to what we are having made. My husband asked his friend back in January to make our table. I mentioned this on my blog back in January about my dining room inspiration. See the post here if you missed it. 
The furniture store was great! The staff was nice and the service was terrific! I ended up purchasing this blue and white vase. Whoo knew that I would find this here!
Okay, that was a bad joke! But I do love this vase. It looks great in my black cupboard. 
I ended the week with dinner at the Blue Marlin. I ordered the teriyaki salmon with mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. It was yummy!
I really enjoyed my trip but I am happy to be home in my own bed! It is something about sleeping in your own bed. I do hope that you enjoyed this post and if you are ever in South Carolina let me know if you find any blue and white ginger jars!  Seriously, they are so hard to find here in my city! 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)












Traveling to South Carolina

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Well, by the time some of you read this post I will be on the plane (trying not to scream my head off) traveling to South Carolina.

I will be there all this week taking a leadership training course that I have been wanting to take for some time now. I am a paralegal with the United States Attorney’s Office and I am hoping to be a paralegal supervisor someday.

This course teaches you the requirements, strengths, and leadership skills that one would need to become an excellent leader. I am really looking forward to this and will enjoy it. I will return next week. I don’t know if I will be doing any “blog research” at that time but I will try to share some of the fun things I did while I was there. Enjoy your week!


Photo by S.R. Young on Unsplash

~The Cakebake Shop

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Lately I have been on this “let’s find beautiful places around my city” kick” and it seems that people keep giving me information about new consignment stores, restaurants, home decor stores, just everything! And the funny thing is I have not announced this to anyone.

This information just keeps coming to me! It’s great and a little strange. I guess that James Allen quote that I heard years ago might have some truth in it. “You attract what you are”. So since I am searching for beautiful things they are finding their way to me.

One of my co-workers told me about this wonderful little place in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis. It is called the Cake Bake Shop. My husband and I decided to go there for lunch and it was a wonderful experience.

I loved every bit of it. See my gorgeous photos below…

Beautiful 1940’s cottage

The entryway..

The treats…

Love the little teacups

Raspberry Champagne Cake

Red Velvet Cake

Lemon Cream Pie

My lunch; sun dried tomato quiche with agrula salad

My husband’s lunch; a turkey panini with potato salad 

My dessert; lemon blueberry cake, delish!
Me enjoying my lunch with my husband

Take home boxes

Cute little bag isn’t it?
I really enjoyed this place! I hope to go again soon with some friends. It is always packed! So reservations are a must! If you are ever in town please visit it.
Thanks for reading!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)