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New Healthy Rituals

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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. 

 

 

 

A Garden and Autumn Dinner with the Girls

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Good Morning Friends,

I can NOT believe how warm it still is. Honestly, it’s driving me nuts! I hate this. It’s October. I know that at this moment I could not live in a warmer climate. I love the cooler temperatures. It’s still 80 degrees here. 

Sorry for my rant, let us move on. I recently printed out my Christmas list. I am trying to get started with that. Since it is almost the middle of October I feel like I need to get started on Christmas shopping.

I am still organizing my home and replacing items bit by bit.  I recently organized all of our family photos. It took me hours but I feel great that this is now done. I had brunch with my brother in law this past weekend and then went to HomeGoods afterwards. I believe I just found my curtains for my canopy project. I shared them on a reel recently. 

I have been trying to capture beauty in my life. With so many things coming up, I just want to try to enjoy life whenever I can. Which is why my “girl’s days and dinners have become some important to me. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

A few weeks ago I had a girls dinner planned with my Guild friends. We decided to tour the gardens at Newfields. Now I have been here several times but I have never toured the gardens. It was a real treat.

 

 

There were small ponds and water features everywhere. I did a Google search on lots of the flowers there. I am always looking for ideas to add to my garden or green house. 

 

 

It was such a beautiful day. We had the sun, just enough heat and lots of florals. We walked around and chatting about everything under the sun. 

 

 

My friend Kathy, the little one in the orange jacket, is so outgoing. She wanted to have a photo shoot and wanted to include us in it! I just laughed the whole time but she got me out of my comfort zone. The photo on the right is both of my friends Kathy and Judy. 

 

 

I could not pass up the Lily House. If you have read this blog long enough then you will know that this is my favorite home. I take inspiration from this every time I see it. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After touring the beautiful gardens we headed to dinner. We had dinner reservations at a restaurant called the Meridian. I have never been here before but was open to visiting a new place. 

I got the brussels sprout salad. It had toasted pecans, shallots, pears, and warm apple cider vinaigrette. It was delicious. For my main dish I ordered the Ora King Salmon with turnip and apple harsh, onion, celery, craisins, kale, soy-cashew, aioli. Again so good. We also had a glass of rose wine to toast our dinner! 

 

 

I can’t tell you how much I needed a girls dinner that day. Having these monthly get-togethers is such a needed luxury in my life. As I stated I never knew how priceless friendships were until recently. My supervisor at my office has been such a excellent example. I have watched her for 3 years go to dinners, host book clubs, and take girl’s trips. Once I saw that I thought, “oh that is what friendship are all about”. You can have fun!  I never saw good friendships until now and I want to make sure that I cultivate wonderful friendships with those I love. Nurture those friends! 

 

 

My Color Analysis Journey

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Good Morning Friends,

I had a really good birthday weekend. Thank you all for the birthday wishes truly! I actually have a lot of content to share. I will be working with my friend Dr. Minju Witte here soon on a blog collaboration for etiquette! So if there are any etiquette questions that you want me to ask Dr. Witte please put it in the comments section below. 

I have some wonderful autumn photos from the Lily House and an outdoor lunch that me and my Guild girlfriends had a few weeks ago. And I have a reel that I will be posting soon from my birthday dinner at the Cakebake Shop. I had tea there and loved it. Of course I could resist purchasing a teapot for myself. They are so beautiful in person. 

Okay now let me share my wonderful color analysis appointment with you that I had on my birthday!

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

A few weeks ago, my branding company, shared a new project that they were working on. It was a new branding project for a local color analysis consultant. Ummm that caught my attention immediately and I reached out to her to find out what services she offered.

Elizabeth from the Color Coordinator , was so helpful and offered an in-person experience and a virtual one as well. I thought about having the virtual appointment but honestly nothing compares to doing it in person. So I set up an in-person appointment and put it on my calendar! 

When I arrived I saw that she had the scarf rack which made me so excited. Now I have seen this done on YouTube so I kind of knew how it was going to be.  

 

 

She was very personable, knowledge and fun. She made me feel so comfortable and we talked about colors, age, and a little bit of everything. I could not resist a selfie! 

 

 

I did wear one of my favorite pink dresses but I was open to whatever Elizabeth was going to show me about color. I was also wanted some advice or make up colors. Sometimes people will just tell you, “oh that color lipstick looks great on you”, but then you get it home and find out that you don’t love it. I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased a pink lipstick only to not wear it.

In the above photos you will see a before and after. Elizabeth suggested that I go for berry color lipsticks and blushes. She actually applied a color on my lips and cheeks while I was there. You can watch her reel of my session here. 

 

 

After going through all of the seasons Elizabeth was able to narrow down my colors to “bright winter”. I never thought in a million years that I would be a winter. One of the great aspects of this season of colors is that black is a neutral for me. Now how great is that! Elizabeth also explained that I have three other sister palettes which are dark winter, cool winter, and bright spring. In addition to the booklets I got this color swatch to help me pick out colors for my clothes, nails and makeup! I love it! 

It was such a wonderful experience and I have NO regrets doing it. I have been wanting to experiment with more activities in my life and this was one of them. As we all know, life is so short and I want to do as much as a can to make it beautiful. 

If you live in the Indianapolis area, I would recommend Elizabeth if you want to take an adventure in discovering your colors. It could do wonders! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Girl’s Day ~ Antiques and Flowers

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Hello Friends, it’s September!

As I stated in my August newsletter, I love this month. It’s a sign of cooling down, a closet refresh, sweaters and lovely silk scarfs. I just love it! Lauren came home this past weekend and it was so nice to have her home. It was a first drive down from campus by herself! As you can imagine my mom-bear was so nervous but when I saw her pull up in the driveway I was able to take a deep breath, look up at the sky and say thank you! These beginning years of adulting are a new chapter for us all.

I shared a few weeks ago that I had a girls day with some of my friends from the Guild. We planned a day of lunch, antique shopping and visiting my friend’s cabin. It turned out to be a great day and a wonderful time to chat, catch up and explore.

We started off with a meetup. Everyone ended up at my home and everyone wanted to see my greenhouse! We then walked around to look at my David Austin roses and then loaded up in the cars to head to Starbucks.

It was an hour drive so we just talked about everything under the sun. Our health, family, goals, and dreams. It’s always good to chat with friends and to get a fresh perspective on life. Sometimes all you need is someone else’s point of view to guide you back to where you need to be. Our first stop was lunch at a restaurant called the Hard Truth which is also a distillery company. 

 

 

The views were magnificent. We had a wonderful lunch while seeing nature. 

 

 

Next we did some vintage jewelry shopping at Touch of Silver, Gold and Old. They had a vintage cameo that I wanted so bad but of course the one that I selected was $2,000! I did not purchase it but we had a wonderful time looking around and meeting the owner. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

We then walked to a lovely coffee shop called Olde Bartley House. I LOVED the decor! The vintage table, and chairs, chandeliers, and floors were so aesthetically pleasing. It had lots of beautiful artwork and was filled with history from the town.

 

 

And this door!?? Loved it!

 

 

Once we left the coffee shop we then went to my friend’s cabin and spent a few hours there. We sat in her sky chairs and just laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. She also had an outside tea room which was lovely. I didn’t take any photos of my friend’s cabin because some things just need to remain private. Once we left there we went and visited one of the properties that she is working on. It had an outside tree house which was one of the most beautiful tree houses that I have ever seen. I didn’t take pictures of it because I wanted to be in the moment. 

After that we then stopped by the sunflower garden. I posted a video of it on my Youtube channel. It was such a magical place. 

 

 

I had such a great time with my friends and on the inside I teared up a bit. For about 12 years I have been praying for good godly friendships. I have been saying almost daily, “the Lord will bless me with friends, that will pray for me and I will pray for them”. I have been wanting friendships for a long time. I believe that having friends as a woman is another form of self-care. Friendships are so meaningful in life and I never really understood that until recently. If you have some girlfriends, nurture those relationships. Work on keeping them in your life. They are so important. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

My Travel Luxuries ~ 2024

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Hello Everyone,

Goodness what a weekend. I am trying to stay away from the news. There is too much going on right now. I did go antiquing on Saturday. One of the interior designers from the showhouse has a booth at Midland’s and I wanted to take a peek at it. While I was there, I found a gorgeous armchair that I will share in my July favorites. I placed it inside my greenhouse. It looks so stunning there. 

I am gearing up for my trip next week. I will be flying to Virigina. In this blog post I wanted to share my current travel items. Honestly some of them are a luxury to me because I did not have really nice travel items until recently. There are a few influencers that I follow on Amazon, and they have shared some wonderful items on how to travel with affordable luxury. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

I will start with this first. This is the cabinet in my closet. I have taken the first two shelves and created these “travel essentials” shelves. What I noticed (after traveling all these years) is that after we go on a trip, I usually leave my travel essentials and bags in my suitcases. What I noticed is that when my trips were approaching, and I was making a list I would NEVER know what I needed for my trip because everything would be in my suitcases tucked away in my closet. So dumb! 

So when I reorganized my closet a few months ago I decided to go through everything and pull things out and make space for my travel essentials. It has made me so happy! I can know see what I need, and it has encouraged me to purchase more travel items and get more organized for my trips. 

 

 

One of the new travel luxuries that I have purchased are these petite candles from Linnea. Now these are NOT petite. They are the size of your hand but so easy to pack away and take with you. I will be taking the Night Bloom with me to burn in my hotel room at night while I read a book. I also have a box of matches to take with me from Linnea. How elegant is that! 

 

 

My second new travel luxury are these gold airless pump cream jars from Amazon. First off, these are stunning. I will be filling these with my facial cleaners and creams. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay I have succumbed to the clear case epidemic but only for the cleaning kits that I kept seeing on YouTube. I love the idea about having my very own cleaning kit. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a hotel room wish I had some tools to clean items with. 

 

 

But honestly, I am so happy to now have this as a part of my travel luxury items. A cleaning kit for the hotel room? Yes please! I ordered this bed bug spray and the rest was found at stores. If you can’t find any items, this travel cleaning kit is available on Amazon as well. 

 

 

The last newest travel luxury are my new tea bag tins. So most of you know that I love tea and love having it with me when I travel as well but I will admit that I am TERRIFIED when I take tea bags with me through airport security. I do have TSA precheck but still these look suspect! So I wanted to come up with something to carry these in and a sandwich bag was NOT going to cut it. Really these in a sandwich bag? Think about it! So I thought about it and saw that my Harney’s tea is stored in tins, so I searched Amazon for these, and I love them now! I fill so much better having my bags with me and a secure elegant place. 

Of course, I will still be using my packing cubes, vitamin pill holder, contact lenses container, cosmetic bag, and travel jewelry box. This is a work trip so my new mouse pad will be going with me as well as my new laptop screen extender. To see more of my travel favorites, you may read here, and here. 

Also this week I have two new bags that should be arriving. This one from Notiq! I can’t wait. It comes in a smaller version as well. And this bag that I have also been stalking for a while from MME.Mink. I will share an unboxing soon. Have a great week! There will be no blog post next week because I will be out of town, but July favorites will be posted the following week. Talk soon!

 

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My Greenhouse ~ An Elegant Adventure

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Hello Friends!

There have been lots of things going on at my home. This past weekend, I made sure that I took some time to sit on my porch and read. I have been trying to pay more attention to my body and rest. I will share more of this journey in a later blog post. 

June is here already, and I am trying to “encourage” my husband to get some of those summer projects done that have been on my list. One of them was the greenhouse which honestly, I am shocked it got done. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I love it! I have the Meridian Greenhouse from Costco. It has an automatic roof vent opener to help with humidity and heat and is made with certified wood. There are similar ones on Amazon. You can view them here and here. 

 

 

I wanted a hummingbird for the front, but my husband found a bubble bee. What do you all think? Should I keep the bee or get continue the search for a hummingbird? 

 

 

I had to add some antiques, so I added some vintage plates and this blue and white head planter. I am not sure what to put in it. I could use it to store some gardening tools or to put some jasmine in. I ordered some of these box planters from Amazon as well. 

 

 

I had to add my vintage swan named Charlotte. She fits perfectly in the greenhouse. I have been buying seeds and plants and at this moment I am just trying things out. 

 

photos via: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did a search on Amazon for greenhouse supplies and a few things did pop up. This large repotting mat for planting and mess control was a game changer in helping me work in the greenhouse. You guys know how much I hate Crocs, but I needed a pair of gardening shoes for the greenhouse, and these were comfortable and looked presentable enough for me to wear. I also ordered this indoor thermometer to get an eye out on the temperature in the greenhouse. 

 

 

Adding David Austin Roses to my garden has always been a dream so when a co-worker told me that a nursery nearby was selling them, I had to go and take a look. The goal was to only buy one container, but we ended up buying 3. We purchased the Poet’s Wife, the Carding Mill, and the Lady of Shalott climbing rose. 

 

 

Walking in my greenhouse each day is such a treat. Seeing my beautiful roses and smelling them, I feel like a little slice of heaven is in my back yard. This past weekend, I potted up my English Lavender seeds, Bunny Tails, and Orlaya Lace. My sweet peas are coming in slowly. I will share those soon. 

 

 

My husband come home with a big surprise. We just planted a Magnolia tree next to the greenhouse. I was shocked that my husband wanted a flowering tree. We have named her Belle and hope that she is very happy in her new home. I think it will be so exciting to have another tree in the backyard especially a magnolia tree. 

I have had a few people ask me if I am going to plant tomatoes, and other vegetables but at this moment I don’t want to. I just feel like every time someone says that they are starting a garden people immediately put pressure on them to plant vegetables. Well, I am not going to at this moment. I just want to plant a beautiful garden of flowers and see where that takes me. I hope you have enjoyed this tour of my long-waited greenhouse. It has truly made my days more joyous! 

 

  • Affliate links attached 

The Peony Festival ~ 2024

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Good Morning,

I have been in my greenhouse every evening since it has been installed. I am on a bit of a learning curve, but we will get there. Right now, I am trying to defy the odds. Most of the individuals at the nurseys around my city are telling me that I cannot grow a flower cutting garden in my greenhouse! I WANT TO PROVE THEM WRONG! I know that flower bulbs need to freeze but I really want to try this. I am not saying that I don’t want to plant vegetables down the road but for right now my goal is my very own flower cutting garden. I am hoping that the Lord can guide me.

Did any of you get a bouquet of peonies this year? It seems like the season came and went so quickly! I tried to get out and get more peonies but it seems like everyone in my city was looking for them. 

One place that had tons of peonies and people was the Peony Festival this year. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

I saw these walking up to the festival this year. There were so many peonies and so many people! The word has gotten out and now everyone is coming. I think they may need to stretch it for two days. 

 

 

One flower that caught my eye this year was the Christmas velvet peony. Have any of you ever seen this version or color before? It was quite striking but so beautiful! A company called Mimi Made it by Lattia had these beautiful flowers. 

 

 

These little peony bouquets were so adorable and chic. I loved the pink blush containers and the little statute sitting on the table. This company was local as well as was called Louloudi. 

 

photo credit: L. Shockley – My handbag is the Bentley from MME.Mink. 

 

This was Louloudi’s photo area. Wonderful isn’t it? I am normally not a photo area person, but I could not resist the mannequin with the peony dress. I mean no one could! 

 

 

 

I walked around the festival with my flowers in my tote like this and EVERYONE stopped me about the bag and flowers. Lauren said that as I was walking thru the crowd women were leaning over to smell my bouquet. Love it!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

As we were leaving the festival a door was opened to a historical home and the owner was standing there. I looked over and said, “Can I come in and look around”. He said, “SURE! Come on in!” Turns out it was a newly renovated historical home turned into an Airbnb called Timeless on Tenth. 

 

 

The interior designer took me through the entire home giving me a tour and telling me about all of his FB Marketplace finds! I could not believe how much he find on FB Marketplace. 

 

 

It was truly a gem to find after the festival. I loved getting the tour and learning about the Indiana Historical Society. 

 

 

We left the Airbnb after the tour, had some brunch with friends and then I got home, and began to place my lush peony bouquets all over the house. I love this part as well. Smelling them throughout my home is such a treat. I also stopped at my favorite local candle vendor called Linnea.  I purchased their Moss and Rhubarb candle from their Botanik Collection. It is so good! I also ordered a few of the travel candles which I will share in a different post. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I truly do enjoy going to the Peony Festival every year. As I said, beauty is so important to me in life especially with so much ugly in this world. Just having a snippet of it in my daily life is a necessity for me. 

 

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