My trips or places I would love to visit

My Visit to The National Mall in Washington

/2 Comments/in , /by

On our first day in D.C. my husband wanted to see the National Mall. After we visited the museum we walked over to the monuments. The good thing about the National Mall is that everything is close or it seems that way.

The Washington Monument 
On foot everything seems to be miles apart!! No kidding! You will definitely get your steps in when you visit. 
This monument is so huge! It took my breath away walking up to it. 
The World War II Monument
After staring at the Washington Monument and the World War II monument we decided to walk down and see the Lincoln Memorial.
I am sorry but I immediately thought of Forrest and Jenny when we walked by this. 
It was huge and crowded!!
But definitely worth seeing….
Looking out….
Wow….
And standing where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his legendary speech….
After walking all of this on foot we decided to head out and have dinner. 
Only to return tomorrow and take the night bike tour….
We visited all the same spots on the bike tour but we did not get to see this on foot which was wonderful. The MLK monument….
His quotes surrounded his monument.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that”. ~ MLK (1963)
The sun began to set and we came back around to the World War II monument.
Beautiful isn’t it?
We rode our bikes back to the Lincoln Memorial.
Very pretty at night….
The Capitol at night….
We finished our bike tour early and my husband asked if we could stop by the White House.
We did a quick “ride by” and I just could not stop staring. I didn’t care who was in office at that moment, I just wanted to enjoy the beauty of this building. 
Visiting the National Mall was the best experience that I have ever had. I loved being able to bring my family on this business trip with me so that they could see the sights! It was so worth it! We hardly spent any money on seeing everything. It was beautiful and I hope that we can do it again soon.
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Visit to the National Museum of African Art

/2 Comments/in , /by

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.

/2 Comments/in , /by

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.

/3 Comments/in , /by


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

/in , /by

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

/2 Comments/in , /by

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

/5 Comments/in , /by


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