Elegant Adventures Archives - A Home for Elegance

A Charcuterie Board Party

May 22, 2025/0 Comments/in Elegant Living, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Hello Friends,

The weather here has been fantastic lately. Sitting on my porch and enjoying the birds and flowers has been added to my self-care routine. A few days ago, I grabbed a book and a cup of tea and sat on my porch for two hours. It was heaven.

My David Austin roses are in full bloom. I cut a few and placed them in vases in my home. I adore my scallop tray table from HomeGoods. I tried to find it online but could not. I did find this similar one on Amazon. My lettuce teapot has been sold out from Target for a while, but I did find a set that is similar on QVC. You may shop the teapot here, teacups here, and the sugar and cream set here.

My events for the month of May have continued. Another event that I attended was the build a charcuterie board day at the show house. This event was hosted by my group, the Guild, and put on by a local company called Sprig + Plate.

photo credit: K. Cuppy

The company was started by the lovely Molly (on the left). Molly and her team were so helpful in explaining how cheeses and meats worked together as well as fruits. Once we sat down, I could not wait to dive into the lovely spread. There were fresh sweet peas, cheese, pretzels, nuts, spinach dip and oh yes chocolate!

Molly and her team could come to your home and do a “build a charcuterie board” event with you and your girlfriends! We had a lot of fun doing this at the show house! We picked out our fruits, meats, cheeses, nuts, and there was a spinach dip that I was in love with! It was so delicious with the fresh carrots that she had. We placed everything in our little box that came with a lid so that we could take it home. My box did not make it out of the tent!

We laughed, drank wine, and learned that Molly also does meal prep dinners for families. I was so inspired by this that I now have a spinach dip in my fridge with carrots that I have been eating on! Also, I will be creating my very own charcuterie board for Memorial Day! If you live in Indianapolis, I would encourage you to look them up and set up an event for your friends and family. It was a wonderful experience and hope that they return to next year’s show house!

This post is not sponsored. Affiliate links attached.

Spring Garden Party – Providence Home

May 15, 2025/2 Comments/in Home Décor, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Hello Friends,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend! I wanted to keep things simple and just have dinner and stay home. My husband did get me this green cherry blossom ginger jar from Williams Sonoma. It has been on my list for a while now and I am enjoying it in my kitchen. I was busy with the show house last week. We had really big crowds and beautiful weather. I was one of the directors this year, so I was running around keeping an eye on everything and relieving the docents for breaks, but it was a lot of fun! I am already looking forward to seeing next year’s house and will share a few photos later of the 2025 show house.

I am sharing a recent spring garden party that I attended a few weeks ago. It was actually hosted by one of our show house designers Judy Bates. Judy has an interior design company called JB Designs Interior Design and she focuses on clean, classic, and comfort.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

The event was held at a store called Providence Home & Garden located in Noblesville. This store is a home decor store that offers a cafe shop as well. It was beautifully decorated, welcoming, and smelled wonderful!

This first event was a mini cocktail workshop with a complimentary cocktail to sample. I am not a cocktail person but have grown to become interested in it since the kids are getting older. The company that taught this portion was called MixoIndy. They are a local company that teaches in person classes, and they provide everything. I cannot remember that name or ingredients for this drink, but it was so delicious!

The next event was table setting and Judy took the lead in this portion. She talked about the furniture, china or dishes, napkins and floral arrangements for table settings. We looked at one of her table settings for indoors and outdoors. There were lots of laughs and down-to-earth conversations about how one could live with beautiful items which I am always discussing here on the blog. We went outside to look at one of her outdoor table settings and to hear her ideas. One of them was to use a blanket as a table cover for the outdoors. GREAT IDEA especially for the summer!

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

Once Judy finished discussing her table settings we went inside to shop with our discounts and gather some flower arrangements outside the store. Overall, it was a fabulous experience, and I am so glad that I attended. It gave me an opportunity to talk with Judy, visit a new store, try a cocktail, and learn a few tips and tricks about dining and making drinks. If you are here locally, I would encourage you to visit Providence Home and Garden in Noblesville. If you love home decor and are looking for different places to then drive up there. It’s a beautiful store with a wonderful staff. Also if you are looking for someone to help you decorate your home or your elderly parents’ space then contact Judy Bates. She is adding that new feature to her company which is helping family with life transitions.

I will be sharing a reel of this event on my Instagram page here.

This post is not sponsored.

Story by Tiffany Skilling~ A New Store

May 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Elegant Living, Home Décor /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning,

I’ve been a busy little elf. This week I am filming a video in my home with Dr. Minju Witte! I have been keeping it under wraps because I needed to work out the details but now, I can share it! We will be discussing the questions from you and then just letting our conversation have some freedom! I look forward to sharing the video soon!

In my April newsletter I shared that I had lots of “elegant adventures” scheduled in the upcoming weeks ahead. This is one of my adventures from April. I visited the beautiful new store of one of my favorite interior designers here in my city Tiffany Skilling.

Her new store is called Story….

Her gorgeous new store is located just across the street from her interior design firm. I have been to her firm before to shop but love the idea of her having a second location! I decided to go for a visit after my floral prep volunteer shift at Random Acts of Flowers.

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

Walking into the store I gasped, and I mean I had a big GASP! It was so beautiful and so layered. That is one thing that I think Tiffany and her team do well is layering. There were antiques in every corner. There was china, crystal, chandeliers, solid wood furniture pieces and vintage rugs.

I mean seriously! This was an elegant dream! The beautiful vintage garden stools, wonderous trinkets, oil paintings, and can we talk about the wallpaper!

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

The lovely sales associate told me that it was Schumacher. Of course it is. Look at how beautiful that is! And just look at that stunning vintage mirror.

I then began walking about the tables investigating all of the details until I noticed a heavenly scent in the air. I looked on the bookshelf and they had this beautiful collection of botanical candles called Carriere Freres 1884. I could not resist so I went over to smell all of the scents and had a very hard time not buying all of them. In the end I ended up choosing Lily of the Valley and Tomato. I was told that the tomato scent is one of their most popular scents and I can see why. The notes in it are so good and it does not smell like a vegetable candle. It is quite lovely. Now not only do we have a gift for the eyes, touch, and now there was a scent. The store is a gift to the senses!

There was also wrapping paper that looked like wallpaper. Each table had a charming table setting with different plates, napkins and glassware. There were also trinkets and paintings. I was in love with the pink blush bench that was position at this table and just look at the spectacular chandelier!

The store felt so cozy, warm, inviting and elegant. The way interior design should be. You can tell that everything was carefully curated and thought out. I believe that beauty is a way of living and as I get older that belief is becoming stronger in every element of my life. Life is so interesting to me now. Since my mind and heart want beauty it seems to come to me in every way. Even visiting stores like this bring fulfillment to my soul. If you live in Indy and love design, you should visit Tiffany’s store. As I said before, it is a gift to the senses. Have a great weekend and Happy Mother’s Day!

This post is not sponsored.

A Walk-Through History

April 17, 2025/in Elegant Living, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning Friends,

Do you have any blooms in your neck of the woods? I certainly do! I love it when my trees begin to bloom. It certainly helps with my morning walks. It makes them so pleasant and beautiful. My tulips did okay in my greenhouse this year. When we install my raised beds, I will be sure to move those to the outside. But I am also trying to give myself some grace because this is the first year of me trying to grow tulips in my greenhouse.

Remember my elegant adventures that I mentioned? Well, I just had one this past weekend. The organization that I volunteer for just had a run/walk marathon through our historical home district and it was phenomenal! This was the 3rd annual Dash by the Past, and it was my first time. It was so nice walking through that area with friends and seeing the gorgeous homes that I have loved since I was a kid.

A photo of me not being dressed up is rare! But here I am in my sun hat that I wear on my morning walks, my black cape, workout sweater, workout leggings, and walking shoes. I was comfy and layered up because it was cold. I still wore a pair of pearls and some big sunglasses.

It was such a beautiful day and a fun walk. We walked about 3 miles and got to look at all the homes in the historical district. There were about 300 people who signed up.

Our Guild group put out all of the Past Decorators Show House post. It was so fun to see each past show house. I have only been in the Guild for 3 years and have learned a lot, had fun, and made friends.

If you live in the area, I hope that you would consider joining us next year. All of the proceeds benefit Eskenazi Health and go toward helping us with our mission to support mental health. Cheers to home beauty and supporting the community!

Afflialte links attached – photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

Scheduling Elegant Adventures

April 2, 2025/in Inspiring Posts, Travel /by mrs.sshockley

Well friends, how is everyone? Are we ready for spring? The trees in our neighborhood are starting to bloom and my peonies are perking up through the ground. We are waiting a few more weeks before we install my raised beds, and I am ready to have some warmer walking mornings.

Oh goodness… my title. I tell you I have been having some deep life thoughts lately. Especially around how I want to live. There are so many ugly things going on in this world. I try to limit my news watching and doom scrolling. I am also trying to monitor my stress at work. That has been really hard with all of the changes that we have been having.

I came up with this idea “scheduling elegant adventures” when I was meeting with my doctor and therapist. Yes, I have a therapist, and it has been the best thing ever! I have been going for almost a year, and I believe it was one of the best decisions that I have made so far. I was discussing with her my idea about elegant adventures, and she loved it!

I was also discussing it with my dietitian as we talked about my stress management and weight. I mentioned to some of the girls in my Pilates class and everyone took it in like “wait a minute maybe I should try this”. What I realized is that taking a vacation once a year for one week is not enough for me. Not anymore. I need more beauty, more time alone, and more adventures.

So on my elegant adventures list, at least once a month, I go to dinner with my “Guild Girls” and last month we went duckpin bowling.

We had the best time! I had a blast. I really did. It forced me to slow down, play a game, and enjoy the moment. We went to dinner right after that and it was a wonderful adventure!

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

I tried a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri. It was so good! We also walked around the Bottleworks hotel which was very beautiful. This past weekend I decided to have another elegant adventure.

I have been wanting to go and see Swan Lake at the ballet for years now and I got a ticket and went. It was a beautiful ballet, and I am so glad that I went. I sat in the balcony. I sat with two couples. I went alone and had no regrets. The couples were so nice and funny. We all had a great time! Honestly, I have never read the story about Swan Lake and read it in the program. It is VERY interesting. I thought the Indianapolis Ballet did a great job. They are the same production that puts on the Nutcracker each year and the Indianapolis Symphony orchestra played the entire time. Talk about “seeking the arts”.

For the month of April, I plan on going to Nordstrom Rack. I rarely get to go to that store. I also want to go to Consign by Design again, and this has just been added to my radar for this year. Isn’t this hotel GORGEOUS? This is about an hour and 45 minutes away from me and my supervisor told me all about it. I want to go and stay for a few days, tour the hotel, and have a spa day. Now how wonderful would that be? My goal is to go and do something that I love each month and take that time to get away and just breathe. Stress and high cortisol levels are a real thing, and I just don’t want them to rule me anymore. Elegant adventures each month for me!

New Healthy Rituals

October 16, 2024/4 Comments/in Beauty & Health, Inspiring Posts /by mrs.sshockley

Good Morning Friends,

I recently had a four-day weekend and truly enjoyed it! I got my mums for my porch, order a few items online, started printing off to-do lists for the holidays, and kind of slowed down a bit. I am working on getting my canopy installed above my bed so I will be sure to share that soon.

I don’t know about you but since I am getting a little older I have been shifting things in my mind and body. My health journey has been a part of my life since my 20’s but I have noticed that my needs are changing as my life is changing. First on my list is breathwork. I recently became interesting in breathwork after reading Rushing Women’s Syndrome and watching Jennifer L. Scott’s video about breathing. So I added this video on breathwork to my weekly routines.

I enjoy doing this so much and it has helped me tremendously. I noticed that I do tend to pay more attention to my breathing. Next on my list has been stretching. I don’t know about you but I love a good stretch in the mornings so I added this video to my weekly routines as well.

I feel wonderful after doing these stretches in the morning. Another item has been my workout clothes. I shared my morning walk clothes some time ago but I am beginning to add more items to my workout wardrobe. I found some great new yoga pants to wear and new sports bras.

A fourth item has been new products. The first are these Garden of Life PMS Support pills. I am ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS skeptical of pms support pills. Most of the time they never work for me but these have been working!!! My cramps aren’t as bad, breast tenderness is better, and my mood is a little lighter. I don’t take them for the entire month. I usually start them a week or two before my cycle. They work great!

I am also going to try this Ryze Mushroom Matcha. I have been seeing this all over Instagram and have been curious for months now. I have read that some people have gotten flatter stomachs, feel less bloated, helps with inflammation, anxiety and energy. I will be sure to report back soon.

And the last item on my list is Pilates. Now my normal workout routines contain a mile and half walk around my neighborhood and a day of weights. I have taken Pilates before but it was at home and a dvd. When I saw Lydia’s video of her doing Pilates on the reformer I immediately became interested, so I told my husband that as another birthday gift I would like a session of reformer Pilates classes and so he paid for them!

I am now taking pilates at Indy House of Pilates! I am so excited. I have not been in a gym in 20 years! They last time I was in a gym I was 8 months pregnant with Lauren. I started about 2 weeks ago and will be finishing up my private sessions here soon and will be able to join classes when I want. It has been really hard. The first day after my first session I got in the car and thought, “dear God what have I done”! But I really want to continue my health and body are very important to me. When I see the other women walk in for classes, I pay attention to their posture. It’s straight and there is something about how they walk that looks different. I want that!

With these new classes I got to order some pilates shoes. I saw Lydia wearing these while taking her classes so I found some on Amazon and I love these! You can wear them around the house as well.

I am enjoying this new health journey and hope that with hard work and persistence I will be able to love my body and enjoy the upcoming years. Let me know below if you have taken a pilates reformer class, or have tried any of the products that I have mentioned.

Affiliate links attached
Other health journey posts: My Journey with Perimenopause, Tips for a Balanced Life, Healthy Eating is Elegant, & Loving your Season.