Uncategorized Archives - Page 68 of 127

French Country Home ~ A New Book

May 10, 2017/2 Comments/in Inspiring Books, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

My favorite french muse has done it again! Sharon Santoni author of My Stylish French Girlfriends is coming out with a new book this year! I am really excited and can’t wait to get my copy of My French Country Home: Entertaining Through the Seasons.

It is set to be released on August 8. I really enjoyed her last book and wrote about it here, here, and here. I can’t want to see what wonderful ideas, recipes and beautiful photos Sharon has in her book. She gave a sneak preview of it on her blog, see it here.

photo credit My French Country Home

I do look forward to reading this book and hope to share what I learn from it.

Art in Indy

May 8, 2017/in Elegant Living, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Last year I shared a post about the Stutz Art Show that we attended. We decided to attend it again with our kids and we always enjoy it. (see last year’s post here)

They had more classic cars and more bands playing music everywhere. Some of the same artists were there but then again there were a few new faces.

We had a good time. I did not take any photos this year. I learned that some of the artists do not like it. So I wanted to respect their work and just enjoy it. I did however take photos of some of the floral arrangements that were there.

Beautiful, beautiful simply beautiful!

Okay, I did manage to sneak in one piece but that was all. So pretty…..

Okay, this was my favorite thing in the whole show. This artist brought in some fresh lilac from her garden at home. She was really nice and very pleasant. Love the blue and white plate of course!

I hope you take advantage of whatever art shows or galleries you have in your city. Like Jennifer L. Scott would say, “continue to seek the arts”.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Ballet Nine West Pump

May 5, 2017/in Fashion Posts, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Now I can not seem to resist a beautiful shoe. I saw these beauties on Ninewest.com. Now when I ordered them I selected my size and when I received them they were really small. So I returned them and Ninewest gave excellent customer service. They even gave me the difference because they were now on sale!

I went up a size and they fit very well. I have received lots of compliments on them and I am enjoying them.

Ninewest Sylmar Pump

Here they are with the black ribbon…..

I have worn them for 2 days in a row now and I have just loved them! So if you decide to order them please order a size up! I do hope that you enjoyed this post.

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Picnic Ideas

April 28, 2017/4 Comments/in Elegant Living, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

Summer is upon us and this year and I wanted to do at least one thing. I want to have a picnic! I have not had a picnic since I was in high school and I loved them! So this year I have it on my calendar to plan a picnic for me and my family. Here are some of my ideas….

Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash

1) A nice blanket and some pillows

2) Of course I want lots of fresh fruit and sandwiches

3) I think some french bread would be nice to nibble on with some gourmet cheese.

Photo by Alexandra K on Unsplash

Beautiful spread

4) Oh and of course I can not forget the candles!

Photo by Julia Kicova on Unsplash

I am looking forward to this and I know my family will enjoy it! Oh and I can not forget the wine. It will be nice to have a glass with my husband while the kids walk around. I am really looking forward to this!

photo credit Daiga Ellaby

I am hoping that some flowers will be around while we are enjoying each other’s company.

I hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to have your very own picnic!

My Trip to South Carolina

April 26, 2017/2 Comments/in Travel, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

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

April 17, 2017/5 Comments/in Travel, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

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

A Gracious Kitchen ~ A dream kitchen

April 14, 2017/in Home Décor, Uncategorized /by mrs.sshockley

House Beautiful magazine always has inspiring homes. Some of the interiors are so amazing and are just non-stop elegance. I have been waiting patiently for this kitchen to post on their website for about two weeks now.

I had to share it. It was in the April, 2017 issue of House Beautiful. This kitchen is so full of richly details and is just full of grace…..