A Lush Georgia Farm


Entertaining is always a wonderful thing. I love learning from interior designers about how they live and entertain family and friends. It was very rewarding to find this wonderful article in Veranda a couple of months ago.

Keith Robinson an interior designer shared his tips on entertaining. I love his home which is called Redwine Plantation located in the southwest part of Atlanta.

photo credit Thomas Loof
A feast for the eyes. | Photo: @loof39, Design: Keith Robinson:
photo credit Thomas Loof 

Robinson hosts family and friends under his lush magnolia trees. Oh, magnifique!



photo credit Thomas Loof 

He uses gleaming glassware, antique china and vintage flatware. “Using fine things in the garden creates magic“, he says. I couldn’t agree more… 
photo credit Thomas Loof 

Robinson grows every vegetable imaginable and uses them in his meals. When guests arrive he puts a drink in their hands walks them about the garden and takes them to the staging area where the meal is waiting. This table is set under blooming Lady Banks roses. Lovely isn’t it?



I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. It was just lovely….
( to read the original article see here.)
(photos and text via Veranda.com)

Feminine Pursuits


Last month I shared that I am reading a book called Thirty Chic Days~ Practical Inspiration for a Beautiful Life and I am still enjoying this book. Last week I was reading a section of the book called “enjoying feminine pursuits” and in this section, the author Fiona talked about feminine pursuits or past-times that she loves to include in her life.

That got me thinking….. hmmm do I have any feminine pursuits that I enjoy? Well of course I do! So I decided to share my list of my favorite feminine things to do.

* Goodwill shopping ~ I love looking for great skirts and shirts to add to my wardrobe. See my blog post here about my thrift store shopping.




My blouse and skirt are from the thrift store.


* Playing the piano ~ I take lessons every Monday! See my blog post here about my lessons

* Buying flowers and flower arranging ~ Shocker, I think not!






















My weekend flower loot!

* Reading


* Watching old movies. See my favorites here.


* Manicures and pedicures


* Hearing influential women speak about life, failures, and careers


* Having tea with friends. See my post here about that. 







* Collecting silver and learning about it. See my blog post here about that. 


* Wearing perfume. See my blog post here about my favorites.


* Collecting blue and white plates. I have a serious problem… but I love the way they look.



























The blue and white plates I found at T.J. Maxx last month along with some of my other goodies.


* Wearing pink and red fingernail polish. There is just something so chic about those colors. 


* Wearing big curls in my hair every day! I love it! 


* Volunteer work. I recently volunteered as a fashion counselor for the Dress for Success program at my office! Yeah!


* Listening to my little girl every morning talk to me about life. 


* Before leaving my office making sure my daily to-do list for the next morning is complete. I hate coming to the office and not having my day planned. Drives me nuts!


And last but certainly not least, praying on a regular basis (sometimes hourly if I am truly disturbed) and working on my finance spreadsheet every other Wednesday. You should know what your monthly finances are. 


I hope you enjoyed this list. Keeping your goals and dreams in front of your mind is always helpful and will help you stay the course. 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

The Butler Speaks ~ Starter Cleaning Calendar


Good Morning, and today is the last post from my “The Butler Speaks series”. I hope you all have enjoyed reading them. I know I have enjoyed the comments.

For this particular section of the book, Mr. MacPherson talked about a simple “starter” calendar. This calendar ensures that you will deep clean one area of your home per month, instead of doing it all at once a couple of times a year.

You’ll notice that there are no tasks scheduled in December. This is a month for us to entertain and enjoy time with our families.

January
* Deep clean kitchen (post-holiday entertaining)


* Flip mattresses


February 
* Clean out all closets


* Deep clean master bedroom


March
*Dust bookshelves


* Deep clean all other bedrooms








photo credit the French Manoir Instagram account

April
* Flip mattresses

* Check all outdoor lights burned-out bulbs

* Deep clean hallways, front hall closet, linen closet

May
* Wash windows

*Clean garage (post-winter mess)

*Deep clean laundry room and basement area

June
*Clean all outdoor barbecue items

* Deep clean outdoor entertaining areas

* Deep clean the kitchen





photo credit the French Manoir Instagram account



July 
*Flip mattresses

*Deep clean bathrooms

August 
*Clean garage (post-summer mess)

Deep clean kids’ rooms; prepare wardrobes for school (this would be done in July for us!)

September 
*Deep clean family room

*Check furnace for the winter season
October
*Wash windows

*Flip mattresses

November 
*Clean silver (preparing for holiday entertaining)

* Install holiday lights before the first snowfall

December 
*Enjoy your family and friends!

photo credit French Country Cottage Instagram account
(list via Charles MacPherson) 

The Butler Speaks ~ 10 Golden Rules of Housekeeping


I hope everyone is enjoying my posts about The Butler Speaks. I am telling you I have learned a lot these past few days.

Today I want to list the Ten Golden Rules of Housekeeping. Now, I know most of us know these things but it is still quite wonderful hearing it come from a butler.

Here are the rules:

1. Before you being cleaning, get your caddy ready. ( I have been using one for about 8 years. It makes carrying supplies easier to carry up and down the stairs).

2. Clean from the least contaminated item in the room to the most contaminated.

3. Clean a room from top to bottom.

4. A good housekeeper moves his or her eye within a room from top to bottom, and from left to right. This helps you notice details that aren’t at eye level.




























5. Look at a room from the user’s perspective. What will someone in the room see while sitting down at the table or lying in their bed?


6. Always clean under objects, moving them as necessary.



photo credit Jon Tyson


7. Use cleaning methods that are the least invasive or harmful to surfaces.


8. Dust regularly.


9. Tackle seasonal deep cleans to help reduce the time required for daily and weekly housekeeping.


10. Don’t bother with artificial air fresheners. A clean home does not require them. ( I don’t agree with this one. I have 2 boxers so I need a wallflower or 2 maybe 4! My dogs can smell bad and I love walking in my home and smelling “fresh cut tulips”. That is the name of the scented bulb I have been using).


Well, I hope you have enjoyed this list. I know I have and Friday will be my last post (for now) about the Butler Speaks. Enjoy!!


(list via Charles MacPherson)

The Butler Speaks ~ Deep Cleaning


I am learning a lot from these snippets from Mr. Charles MacPherson about home-keeping. What I do know is that I love it! I don’t mind doing chores. In fact, I enjoy it!

Having a beautiful home is like giving your family a gift. And I have learned that they do appreciate it! Well, let’s continue with our understanding of cleaning.

Today I want to share Mr. MacPherson’s thoughts on deep cleaning…

Deep cleaning is what many households think of as “spring cleaning”; however, for me, deep cleaning includes special projects as well as scheduled cleaning tasks that may or may not correspond with the seasons.



























Deep cleaning special projects include polishing silver, vacuuming drapery, cleaning chandeliers, dusting and washing air vents, washing baseboards, and so on. 

photo credit This is Glamorous Instagram account
Scheduled cleaning events can be coordinated around a season. For example, the seasonal transfer of a wardrobe is the perfect opportunity to wash and clean drawers, closets, and shelves. 


I
hope you enjoyed these tips just as much as I did. Once I receive my book I am sure I will share more. Until then, be elegant every day….


Wait, I do want to share this video about polishing silver from my fav home keeper P. Allen Smith. He has a great channel on Youtube.
(text via Charles MacPherson)

The Butler Speaks ~ Housekeeping


In our continuation of the Butler Speaks, today I will be sharing his snippet about housekeeping. On Wednesday I shared his snippet on house-cleaning. I never knew there was a difference but in his world there is.

Mr. MacPherson says:

Housekeeping is the day-to-day work that goes into tidying, reorganizing, and detailing rooms in a home after it has been properly cleaned. Housekeeping is that extra touch that goes into a good presentation.





















Photo by reisetopia on Unsplash




This includes fluffing pillows, positioning furniture correctly, organizing magazines and books, properly making a bed, and so on. 




photo credit Murphy Beckerart Instagram account


Without good housekeeping, a clean room is only a clean room, not necessarily an inviting one. I’m not saying clean is bad- it’s simply NOT ENOUGH. A good housekeeper has a FINE TOUCH and a KEEN EYE for detail (I love this)! A clean room can only reach its full potential with good housekeeping.


I hope you enjoyed these tips from Mr. MacPherson. In my next post, I will be sharing his thoughts on deep-cleaning! Until then I hope you enjoy this video from Sir John Richardson. I have watched this a million times. I can’t get enough of it!
(text Charles MacPherson)

The Butler Speaks ~ House-Cleaning


As I shared on Monday I ordered this book called The Butler Speaks: A Return to Proper Etiquette, Stylish Entertaining, and the Art of Good Housekeeping and I will be sharing some information from this book.

Today I want to talk about Mr. MacPherson’s thoughts on house-cleaning. He stated the following:

House-cleaning is the foundational work that goes into keeping a home clean. This includes washing floors, vacuuming carpets, dusting furniture, cleaning shower stalls and toilets, washing bed linens, and so on. Remember that a home can be tidy without actually being clean.





In many homes, the emphasis is on the surface details that define housekeeping and not on cleanliness. Conversely, a home can also be clean without being tidy. The cleanliness of any living space can be undermined by a lack of organization and attention to visual presentation. The standard should be a room that’s both clean and tidy.


photo credit Micheile Henderson

When cleaning a home, take the opportunity to perform preventative maintenance checks. Look for things like leaky faucets, improperly flushing toilets, wobbly door handles, and so on. It’s always best to address these issues before they become major ones and more costly to repair.


I really do look forward to reading this book. I think it will be a joy to read. If you wish to read about how I take care of my home see here. I will be updating this post with a new one. And lastly, if you want tips on being the perfect house-guest see my post here.



( text via Chares MacPherson)