Flowers and Pearls

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Good Monday Morning! I just wanted to share a quick little post of some recent finds. I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who are watching my YouTube videos. It is very hard to try to make good quality videos. 


With yesterday’s video I got very frustrated with my husband. He just won’t sit still and keeps opening doors and windows and I keep trying to remind myself that he thinks he is helping just let it be. I also feel like I am slouching in the videos and I am trying my hardest not to appear that way. 


Then I feel like I should rehearse more but I think with that it would put more pressure on me and I just want to have fun with these so that is the goal! I hope you guys are enjoying them! Okay moving forward….


I saw these beautiful beaded floral earrings on the New York and Company website. The price is great and so is the color! Now keep in mind they are a bit big but if you love large earrings then these are right up your alley!
The next item is this gold-tone faux pearl necklace. It is only $6.99 right now and I shared this on my YouTube video from yesterday. It looks very pretty on and would be a great addition to any wardrobe. 

I hope that you enjoyed these small finds and maybe one of these would make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift! I think the pearls would make anyone happy!

Enjoy!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Affirmation Journal

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Hello Everyone! Welcome to Friday! I shared in February  a book by Martha Stewart called Living the Good Long Life as one of my favorites for that month. I am still reading that book and almost half way through it. I am taking notes and highlighting important facts along the way. 

I am in Chapter 4 and in a section called “maintaining a sense of purpose” and in this section she mentions keeping an “affirmation file”. I found that to be very intriguing….

Martha said, “Anytime you get outside approval- a note from a co-worker or family member about something positive you did- save it in a special file. Any other accolades- merit awards, perfect attendance records, races completed, pounds lost, old grade-school report cards, letters of recommendation- go in this file. Then, on days when you wonder about your worth to those in your life, you can show yourself just how talented and accomplished you are”. 

Now isn’t that great? We all have those days when we wonder what our purpose in life is and what things have we accomplished. I started a career journal sometime ago to keep track of career goals and accomplishments. 

I found this wonderful and colorful journal at T.J.Maxx. They have such a variety of journals and note pads to choose from. If you are inspired by this go and pick up a note pad, folder or journal to start recording your accomplishments and goals. 

We should all be doing this and making a habit of it. I started recording job accomplishments in January of this year and it’s already May. I took a peek at it yesterday and thought… wow I have had a busy 2019 so far! Now if these goals and accomplishments had not been recorded I would have forgotten half of them already!

I would encourage you to do the same. The Bible says to write down the vision and make it plain. Write down yours and stay encouraged!

Have a great weekend!



(photos via Mrs. Shockley)


Mark & Graham

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The one thing that I LOVE about blogging and other bloggers is how everyone shares information! I was reading Shannon Ables blog and she mentioned this very chic company called Mark & Graham. She shared a beautiful photo of their boarding bags and oh my was I smitten!

How chic is this? Fantastic right? This is the Concourse Boarding Bag in white. This is absolutely exquisite. You can also add a monogram to it and who wouldn’t. I think “SMS” would look fantastic on this bag. 
Concourse Bag in linen
These bags are incredible! Another bag that I saw on the website is their Caroline Leather bag. 
Isn’t this bag attractive? It looks like it is tastefully done and would be able to remain in your closet for eternity. 
After looking at all of their bags I then ventured off and looked at jewelry and home accessories. 
Cheese Board
This is an elegant marble and wood board and would look lovely on my table for a New Year’s Eve celebration. 
I could go on and on but you can take your own adventure on the website and find more wonderful things to fall in love with. I am seriously considering buying that concourse boarding bag in white. I think that would be so elegant in the fall with a chunky sweater, pearls, and some Chanel perfume. I hope that you enjoyed this post and this elegant new company!
(photos via Mark&Graham)

Wild Blueberry and Honeysuckle Cream

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It’s Friday and I am looking forward to getting into my flower garden this weekend. I am hoping that some of the rain will hold out. I really want to get some mulch, and flower pots for my porch. My Canadian cherry choke tree is blooming and it smells like fresh lavender out front. It is so lovely.

I love simple pleasures like that in life. Being out front with my husband looking at all of the work that we want to do this spring to our yard and then getting a whiff of our scented tree. Very nice….

Speaking of scents, I hope that some of you have had a chance to get to Bath and Body Works. Their new scents are amazing! It has been very hard for me to find a scent lately. I am still a dedicated fan of the oldies but goodies. Like the original cherry blossom, that has been the last of the retired scents that I have been able to order. I love it and order it in bulk when I can.

But now their new wild blueberry scent is a close second! I love it! I have been wearing it for about two weeks now and still love it. That is a good sign. Another great fragrance is their pink honeysuckle. It has such a clean smell to it. I really like the notes of pink mandarin and sandalwood in it. It’s lovely.

I hope you can all get a moment to stop by and smell these. Enjoy a simple pleasures!

(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

April Favorites

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Oh my… the end of another month. My goodness. It is truly flying by! I had to really think about my favorites for this month. I am still enjoying my favorites from March and still thinking about the cherry blossoms! 


One thing that I have been enjoying are the latest flowers that have been appearing at the grocery store. I get about 80% of my flowers from my local grocery store. They are affordable and I am able to start wonderful relationships with the florist. It’s great.

I will say this. I was so excited to find Queen Anne’s lace this past weekend! I could not believe it. It is so rare to see this in Indiana. The last time I had a bouquet with this was in 2014! So this was definitely a favorite for this month. 

My second favorite this month were these pink and purple roses. I was inspired to look for a bouquet like this because of this gorgeous photo below that was posted to Instagram and a few weeks ago. 
photo credit Rachel Parcell 
Oh my gosh! I don’t remember whose account this came from but goodness gracious is that stunning! I would seriously want to take that bouquet with me everywhere! I would want it in the car, in my office, at home, in my closet, in the kitchen, just everywhere! 
My next favorite was this screenshot that I took from a Hallmark movie that I was watching last week. I can not remember what movie this was from but this women’s outfit caught my eye. Isn’t she chic? Look at the hat and the blush colored dress. Very sharp! I even tried looking for her bag online. Hallmark needs to seriously consider sharing their wardrobe finds on their website. I should post this on my Instagram account and tag them in it asking for details. 
My last favorite is my first Youtube video! I am not sure if any of you have had a chance to watch it but I was so petrified making this video. Youtube is such a scary place and you never know what people are thinking or doing. I don’t know if I will be making anymore. I plan on taking it slow.
Well, I hope that you enjoyed this post and let me know your thoughts below about my Youtube channel.  
(photos via Mrs. Shockley and Instagram)

The Chic Assignments ~ April

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Goodness, April is almost over. It’s going by way to fast. I hope that you all had a wonderful Easter. I always to try to make sure that we continue to teach the children what’s important about Easter. Christ has risen! 

I was able to find some baby’s breath at the store. I was not sure if I would be able to its also prom month here in Indy and the baby’s breath is always elusive.

My table at home


Okay, now let me share with you all on how I am doing on the Chic Assignments for April.
The first assignment was to listen to Schubert’s Ava Maria. After seeing the Notre Dame Cathedral burn this was hard to listen too. That was so heartbreaking to me! I immediately starting thinking about all of the beautiful, historical buildings in our country. God, please protect them! We all enjoy them and honor them! 
I did, however, watch the video that Jennifer had on her site of the father singing it with his beautiful daughter watching. That lifted my spirits after seeing the news about the cathedral. 
The second assignment was to read poetry from author Percy B. Shelley. I did listen to the poem that Jennifer read on her blog but I also love Maya Angelou’s poem called “Woman Work”. I think we can all relate to this poem. 
photo credit Pinterest 
The third assignment was to dress up for no reason. I live my life like this so it is not hard for me at all. I enjoy dressing up every day. Even on the weekends. It is truly amazing how much people pay attention to that. I wore a floral dress and cardigan to the grocery store this past weekend and people were stopping me everywhere saying how much they loved my dress. I told my daughter. People love seeing well-dressed people. I don’t care how they act. People, deep down inside, love it!
Me in my floral dress and cardigan
If you are interested in this dress you may purchase it here.


And the last assignment was getting intentional rest. I try to make sure that I do this from time to time. A few years ago I realized that I did not take any personal days from work. Then one of my good friends who was a supervisor at the time said, “Don’t worry about this place. The work will be here when you return”. So now I take more personal days and enjoy my life. 
My office at home
And I spend them at home. I’ll watch a movie with a cup of tea, read, run a few errands, visit an antique store. I really take time to relish in the things I love. 

Well, that is all from the chic assignments of Mrs. Shockley. Let me know what all you have been doing for the month of April. Being chic I hope!
Thanks for reading!!!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Floral Satin Scarf

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Finding a great satin scarf is a wonderful thing. I love finding a beautiful scarf each spring. This was a stupendous find! It is gorgeous and under $15! How great is that?
This is the patterned satin scarf at H&M.
The colors are tasteful and the flowers are very attractive. 
I wore this the entire time I was in D.C. It went well with all of my outfits. 
Goodness, I can’t believe that it is Friday again and Good Friday at that. I am keeping things simple for Easter dinner. I am making my crock-pot chicken with Campbell’s cream of chicken soup, buttery mashed potatoes, green beans, and some crescent rolls. I hope my store gets some stock in of baby’s breath. I love having that around this time. It gives off a light fragrant scent. I plan on having small vases of that as centerpieces for the table.  I hope that you all have a wonderful Easter and celebrate Christ. 
Enjoy!
(photos via Mrs. Shockley & H&M)