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My Word for 2026~ Curate

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Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope everyone has started 2026 being safe and with family. Of course, we had a quiet evening at home, and I even stayed up this year. Which honestly, I think my hormones has something to do with it but whatever. It was quiet which is what I love. I finally got my recent video edited and posted to my channel. I will share it below. 

In the video, I talk about my word of the year which is curate. The dictionary meaning of curate is selected, organized, and presented using professional or expert knowledge. This word came to me in November of last year as I was thinking about my life as whole. I told my husband that I wanted to live well and then live beautifully. I also remember mentioning it in my “becoming a better life curator” blog post. I want to first start with my thoughts. I have a lot of junk that I let run rampant in my mind. I remember driving to work one morning and this crazy thought came into my mind. I remember stopping it and thinking now why am I letting this crazy thought stay here?

That’s when curate came into my mind. Now I know that I will not get this perfect but let’s start the process. Let’s curate these thoughts. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

The next is my home life. Once you watch my video you will understand what I am doing in my home and what is on my list. We have to update carpet, repaint rooms, and purge! Oh my goodness, we have so much stuff in this house. Just last week I dropped off 3 trashbags, and 2 big boxes of home and closet items. There is so much stuff that we are living with that we just don’t need. Curate. Let’s curate the home decor and my closet. 

 

 

Now on to my planners. I will continue to use my Day Designer, but I am now adding a second planner. I decided to order the Monthly Planner from Jamie Beck. This planner is exceptionally beautiful, and I will be using it for my monthly goals. You can watch my video to get an up-close look at it. 

On a second note, I found this gorgeous Christian Dior journal and pencil set on Poshmark! I thought this would a beautifully curated addition to my journal inventory. 

 

 

I hope you all enjoy my video and let me know your word of the year below. I am always curious about where people are and I think your word of the year says a lot about your yearly journey. Take care!

 

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A Christmas Tea at Irwin Mansion

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Good Morning Friends,

It’s the week before Christmas, can you believe it? These last few months have just flown by! I went to the L.S. Ayres Team Room yesterday with my team. It was a wonderful lunch. I don’t think we are going to see the Nutcracker this year. I honestly want to take a break. The last few years have been a lot. The venue has been so crowded and dealing with people has just been a lot for me. They did change venues this year so maybe…..

This past weekend I did something fun with my girlfriends. We went and had Christmas tea at the Inn at Irwin Gardens! We were not sure if we were going to go because the temperatures dropped so low. It was -2 that day and then we had tons of snow the night before. Also, the mansion is about an hour away from everyone, but we decided to go out, and we had a great time!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This was inside the mansion as we entered it. The ceiling had lots of details, and I loved all of the wood in the entryway. The original mansion was built in 1864 and was remodeled again in 1890. 

 

 

These were some of the beautiful rooms that you could choose to have tea in. I actually loved the green room. It was so warm and inviting and the color in person was perfection. The other room was very grand and had a fireplace. I also loved the fabrics in that room.

 

 

Here is an up-close photo of one of the chairs. I LOVED the fabric so much. I believe these chairs were vintage as well. The room on the right is the room that me and my girlfriends had tea in. 

 

 

We started off with a cup of roast pears and plums. It had a little bit of Greek yogurt and nuts. It was quite delicious. Of course, there were tea sandwiches, a hearty vegetable soup and dessert. 

 

 

The dessert was the banana pudding with a ginger snap cookie. I enjoyed a cup of peppermint tea and a lovely conversation with the girls. They also gave us a tour of the bedrooms. This mansion was quite big for being 135 years old. I think it would be lovely to stay in a mansion like this. My husband hates bed and breakfasts so this would have to be enjoyed without him but that is okay. 

 

 

Aren’t these Dress Christmas trees beautiful? A few on the rooms had them. I would love one for my office one day. I may have to search Amazon. It was a wonderful, lovely day with the girls and so needed before the holidays. I will be taking time off from the blog next week. Let me know in the comments below what you plan to do this holiday season! Merry Christmas!

 

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My First Hydro-Facial

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Whew, another short week for me. I am loving these! Actually, this week has been hectic so far. The Indiana Conference for Women is happening this week, and I am on staff! We have some great speakers like Hoda Kotb and Tina Knowles! It should be really exciting, and I am looking forward to it. 

I am still on my self-care exploring journey and in today’s post I want to share my first hydro-facial that I got a few weeks ago. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

When I walked into Restore Skin Therapy I was greeted by the lovely receptionist and the staff. They had soft music playing and made sure that I was comfortable. They had lots of their own products. I loved their lip balm and their Renew Immune Serum. I have been using both while at home. After I spoke with Erin, I got all comfortable for my hydro-facial. She warmed the bed for me and explained the process of how it worked. 

 

 

It was so relaxing. The first thing that she did was massage my face and shoulders which was so needed. She then prepared my face for the machine. I will say I loved seeing it at work sucking all of the dirt out of my face and pores. The mask felt like heaven so did the aromatherapy oils that I smelled. We talked about my skin, skin tags, moisturizing routines, and hormones. 

Here is the four-step process that I went through:

HYDRO-FACIAL: A FOUR STEP PROCESS

  1. Cleanse – A deep cleanse with product formulated to each client’s skin.

  2. Exfoliation – The Hydro-Facial uncovers a new layer of skin with gentle exfoliation and relaxing resurfacing. The enzyme removes dead skin cells to reveal healthy skin.

  3. Extraction – The wand cleans out pores with painless vacuum suction. Blackheads, whiteheads, and impurities are removed instantly.

  4. Hydrate/infuse/protect – The Hydro-Facial saturates the skin with antioxidants and peptides to maximize your glow. Targeted skin solutions are delivered to address specific skin concerns. The skin is washed with a solution rich in antioxidants and highly moisturizing hyaluronic acid.

 

You can surely see my hydro-facial glow in my photo above. That was right after my session. 

 

 

This was the day after. I was still glowing! I did not have on any makeup, just lipstick. It felt as if my face had a reset. It certainly needed. I would highly recommend getting one if you can. If not I did find some great at home tools that you could use. The BeautyBio GLOfacial tool was highly recommended. This serum came recommended for the BeautyBio. There is also the blackhead remover, and the facial pore blackhead remover. I also found this face steamer. Oh, my I think I may have to order it. 

Let me know in the comments below if you have every had a professional hydro-facial. I would love to know!

 

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Brow Lamination

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Good Morning Friends,

Still warm where you are? It is here, goodness! I am so ready for cooler temps. This past weekend Lauren came home for fall break. She only gets two extra days. She wanted to go to Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati, so we took her. There were a lot of people and a lot of things to look at! Oh my goodness! I really wanted to get some seasonings, and we picked up a few. Overall, it was a great experience. Lauren loved it and it was a great way for me to hit the outlet mall. I must say, I am not sure if outlet malls are for me anymore. I can’t find much there anymore. I look for specific things now and my taste must be too old fashion. Oh well…. 

I am still having my self-care appointments despite the shutdown. I shared on my blog a while back how I try to live during these times. It is always hard, but I try to wait and trust in the Lord. The good thing about my upcoming appointments is that most were birthday presents so they are already paid for! A few weeks ago, I did go and have my very first brow lamination appointment. 

 

 

These are photos of my eyebrows before. They have been thinning out for years now because I used to shape them with a brow razor. I have been trying to slow down to allow growth, but I think I may need a little assistance. Plus, I am tired of filling in my eyebrows every morning. As you can see in the photos, they are very light, and I don’t have very long eyelashes either. 

I started my hunt a few months ago and found Meraki Artistry.  She has so many brow services. I was thinking about getting the nano brows but was not ready to make a commitment so soon. I reached out to her, and she was so nice and so knowledgeable. She is also a nurse! She explained the process and payment options. 

 

 

But then I spotted the brow lamination service, and she explained how this will give you the nano brow look without it being permanent and a little more affordable. It gives you the opportunity to see how they would look if you wanted to go permanent. Above are my eyebrows after the treatment! WOW!

 

 

Honestly, they don’t even look the same. I have had them for about 3 weeks, and I still love them. Now Char puts a perm-like coating on your eyebrows. This trains them to lay down and brush in the direction that you want. I could not wash my eyebrows for 2 days but that is okay. For upkeep, I have a few small eyebrow brushes, and I lightly brush them with organic castor oil. Castor oil has been known for helping with eyebrow and eyelash growth. 

I will be going back in November for a second treatment and will continue until I see the results that I am seeking. I am enjoying being in this pocket of life. I love trying new things (that are in my arena) and having time to explore. I will update you all in the future regarding my eyebrow and eyelash journey. 

Take care! 

 

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Perimenopause the Journey Continues…

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Hello Friends,

How is everyone doing? This past weekend was nice. I took it easy and went to a friend’s daughter’s wedding. I had a great time with my Guild Girls and my hubby. We ate, drank, and laughed. On Sunday, I went and did something. So I have been working on “building my life team” and I started looking for someone to help me with my eyebrows. I went on a search for someone and found Meraki Artistry. I will be sharing my eyebrow lamination experience soon!  

I wanted to give you all an update on my perimenopause journey. I wrote my first blog post about it last year in July and the journey is continuing. Here I am a year later, a little smarter, and a little more patient. So what has been going on this last year?

Well, I stopped the hormone pills, and I did go to the dietitian for almost a year.  For a year I was working with my dietitian, and I recently decided to take a break. I learned a lot about what foods would work for me in this time of my life and protein. I took lots of blood tests this year and learned that my protein was too high! Oh great another worry. Also, I loved my dietitian, but a lot of these weight loss companies are really pushing these weight loss medicines. I think they are great, but I just keep thinking, “I can’t stay on these all my life and the weight will come back eventually”. So far now I am working on keeping my carbs low and trying to focus more on eating protein whenever I do eat. My dietitian was wonderful and hope to go back to her soon. She is still a part of my life team. I am not on any diet medicines at this time. 

I have added strength training to my workouts, and I am still walking. I love my morning walks and cannot live without them. I am taking more strength training classes at my Pilates studio, and I am really enjoying them. What I am also working on is eating less at dinner. I must admit, I can eat more at dinner and it’s not good. So that has been my focus lately. 

 

Me in Washington, D.C. a few years ago. 

 

Have any of you heard of Midi? My dietitian mentioned them to me earlier this year and I do remember Jennifer L. Scott discussing them in one of her videos. At first, they did not take my insurance, so I decided to wait. But then I got an email that they did so I called and made an appointment with one of their perimenopause doctors. I took some blood tests and discussed my hormones, weight gain, hot flashes, headaches, sleep, and mood swings with the doctor. Of course, she said that I am in full blown perimenopause! I knew that! We decided that I would try birth control pills again and those made me feel worse! So I got off of those quick! I then decided to try HRT. I am now using an estradiol patch and taking progesterone at night. I feel a whole lot better I tell you and I am sleeping! I will be meeting with my doctor from Midi in a few weeks (this will be my third appointment) to discuss some more things from my blood test, but my protein has dropped! So that was happy news. 

 

 

Photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Life has become a journey for sure. Other items that I am focusing on are my thoughts. I heard a comment recently from Joyce Meyer’s Podcast called Talk it Out. She recently had a doctor on her show called Dr. Axe and he said some things in the first 5 minutes of this podcast that I just have to share!

“When I look at medical conditions for today, I think about half of it is diet or food related. That’s a big piece but I actually think that stress, spiritual, and mental health is equally if not slightly more impactful to our physical health and that’s very true of specific conditions. I’ll give you an example of how this cascade works with hormones. Like the hormone that most affects other hormones in the body is cortisol. And so, if you are stressed and living in a state of fear and worry and you don’t believe that God is a good father and that he’s going to be there for you and protect you; then you’re living in a constant state of insecurity, and your cortisol is higher. When cortisol is high that causes insulin to go high. Now your blood sugar when it is high that imbalances estrogen. And then the other thing that imbalances is then your thyroid hormones, T3 & T4. So having stress can be very disturbing to women’s health.”

WOW! You all should watch that podcast. It was very impactful, and I learned a LOT. I am one of those women who struggles with believing that God will take care of me. I will be honest. I am. So, this is something that I am working on and started with my Christian therapist last year. 

Another comment that Dr. Axe made was when your doctor tells you to stop stressing but they NEVER tell you how to stop stressing. He mentioned building things in your life that make you happy. That is how you combat stress, and he is right. That is another reason why I started going on and creating “elegant adventures” and started building my life team. If you need more life inspiration my blog post Tips for a Balanced Life may help and my How I Romanticize my Life Daily is other. 

Let me know in the comments below how you are doing on your perimenopause or menopause journey. I feel a little better this year than last and just hope that it keeps getting better. 

 

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My First Mahjong Class

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Hello Everyone,

Boy has it been a heavy week. I don’t want to repeat or talk about everything in the news but Lord you know our hearts and hear our prayers for EVERYONE!

Last week was a busy one for me and this past weekend was busy as well. We had our annual neighborhood HOA sale and a LOT of the boutique items sold! When you visit the page, you will see a lot of items gone and some marked down items as well. I hope to have a new arrival coming soon. 

But today friends I wanted to share how my first Mahjong Class went! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I found a company called Meet at Mahj and decided to sign up for their Mahj 101 class.  This group is run by a woman named Jamie and she was so nice and knowledgeable. She had a great team of women with her, and they were knowledgeable themselves and fun! They have a new studio in Zionsville, Indiana and offer lots of services. In my first class she explained the history of Mahjong which I appreciated and went to explain the rules. There is a LOT to learn. There were terms that I had never heard of in a game. 

We were taught how to plan American Mahjong. There is also Chinese Mahjong which I believe is a little more complicated. Each table had its own Mahjong tiles set and were so beautiful. I loved how she and her team decorated each table in its own theme. We sat down in groups of four and my group did not know each other which honestly, I like. I am in a chapter in my life where I don’t mind meeting new people. 

After she explained the history we went over what the tiles meant and each team member was assigned to a table to made sure that we all understood and could ask questions if we needed to. We were taught how to “wash the tiles”, the Charleston, how to deal, and how to pass which was interesting as well. We were taught how to push out our tiles and to make sure that the “dragon tail” faced a certain way. There was so much to learn during this class!

 

 

 

Once we went through the rules we started a game. I was not in a hurry to win or even understand it. I wanted to take my time and learn it. I wanted to enjoy the moment. I also wanted to be sensitive to the women in the room and not take a bunch of photos or videos. Some people may not want to be on camera, and I try to be mindful of that. 

Mahjong is a mental game I will say that. Each year a card comes out on how you should “create your hand” and I found that to be interesting! My table and I played our game and it took us a while, but we really enjoyed each other’s company and helped each other. I also brought my chinoiserie Mahjong set which the host of the game loved! She will be adding a Mahjong boutique to her game room which I loved that idea. Unfortunately, I did not win the game. My tiles were bad, words right from the teacher. I kept drawing tiles that were not helpful to my hand that I was trying to build but nevertheless I really enjoyed myself. 

The studio was decorated beautifully. I loved all of the pink, the wallpaper frames, chinoiserie fabrics, and tile sets. It was a great time! 

 

 

My Mahjong Set from Etsy

 

 

I will be returning to take Mahjong 102 and will be going to some of her open game courses. There is also a membership if you wanted to join and play all the time. I think that I am going to really enjoy this and look forward to meeting new women. Lord I need some Mahjong women in my life and hosting game nights at my home. I am speaking that into existence! 

Here is my set above. I adore it. I have my mat (mine is sold out here is one similar), tiles, tile racks, tile bag, and Mahjong bag. 

 

 

 

Let me know in the comments below if you have heard of Mahjong, play it or have played it. I am also interested to know if any of you have a girl’s game night! Have a great weekend! 

 

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The Parlor PS ~ New Restaurant Discovery

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Hello Friends,

It’s still HOT! Now I don’t want to wish the summer away but I sure do want to wish the heat away. I really want to sit on my porch, read a book and maybe have a glass of wine. But it is still too hot! On Friday, Lauren and I went to see Freakier Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsy Lohan. It was really cute and Lauren loved it. I also worked on my garden a bit. I have not been able to put anything in the greenhouse this summer it has been far too hot. We also visited a new restaurant about 40 minutes from where we live. It is called the Parlor PS. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

A co-worker told me about this restaurant last week. She mentioned that she was going there to have tea and you all know that I love afternoon tea. But once she showed me the website, I knew that I had to visit myself! This restaurant just opened in March and is located in Mooresville, Indiana. As soon as I walked in I immediately loved the Victorian decor. 

 

 

I am a chandelier girl and this had them everywhere. I also loved the deep blue paint color. It looked so beautiful with the matching chairs. It was a beautiful balance of old world charm and the Victorian era. 

 

 

I loved the china and teacup sets. You can tell that the owners carefully curated their antiques for this space. The wallpaper blended seamless with the paint color. 

 

 

 

Now the menu had lots of southern food and comfort food options. We ordered the southern biscuits to share. That whipped butter that they gave us…. OH MY GOODNESS! I could have licked it out of the bowl. It was so good. I also loved the homemade apple butter. 

We all ordered the half fried chicken withe bacon jam. It was a tasty combination. The homemade garlic cream and mashes potatoes were perfect along with the green beans. Now their gravy had a hit of expresso to it. You may want to try that if you go. 

They also had a great list of mocktails all alcohol free. I really want to go back for a tea time. I think that would be quite enjoyable. 

 

 

I did journey upstairs to see their event space. It’s a great space for baby shower, bridal showers, and small events. 

 

 

 

I did enjoy myself and hope to return soon with my girlfriends perhaps. If you live in the Indianapolis area and want to give them a try then you should. My co-worker also told me that they have an antique store next door! I completely missed that. If you decide to visit let me know. It’s a really cute space. 

 

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