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Word of the Year ~ 2025

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Good Morning!

It’s still cold but manageable. I do miss my morning walks. I need them now since I am seeing so many things in the news. My goodness… California. I didn’t realize that the fires were that bad until this weekend when I actually got a chance to sit and watch the news. My goodness… North Carolina is still struggling from the hurricane. So many things Lord, so many. My mornings walks would always help be sort things out in my mind. I am back on my elliptical for the next few months because the mornings are so cold here.

Now as you can see from my title of this blog post I will be sharing my word of the year. For me it is never just one word. My words are always phrases. It always takes me a few days before the end of the year to get my phrase, but it usually comes because of some life event. This year it came because of a recent activity that I did with a therapist. I may share that later, but my word of the year or phrase of the year is “be present”. 

Now I catch myself and I have been doing this most of my life, thinking about the future or the past. Those thoughts in most cases provided a distraction from something that I was dealing with at the moment. Now my goal is to be present. In happiness, and sadness. Be present! 

I have also started my new planner. Jennifer from the Daily Connoisseur recently shared her planners. I am normally a Day Designer kind of girl but this year I decided to try a new planner called Planned & Proper.  

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This planner is exceptional! I was not sure how it was going to work for me, but it is a perfect fit for my life! I had my name added to the first page, so personalization is an option. The third page is your word of the year page! You write it down along with your thoughts. There are pages for plans or projects, book goals, and brainstorming your big ideas. The daily format is a winner. It provides a section for your top 3 priorities, to-do list, current goals for the day, a timeline, self-care section and daily gratitude. I mean each day has those items for you to jot down!

 

 

This planner has so much! There is a body & wellness page for the year, a place for you to map out your goals for your social life and friendship goals, career and business, financial, home and family, spiritual and creativity! It truly forces you to think about your life for the year. Using this planner and brainstorming about your life will take a few days. It’s not some basic planner that you can just jot down a few things. It really does encourage you to think big about your year in detail. It took me about 2 days to fill out my lists for the year and now I just keep going back to them to keep myself on track.

Let me know in the comments section below what planner you are using and if you have already tried this planner. Also share you word of the year. I think this maybe a repurchase for me next year!

Enjoy your week!

 

 

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Winter Self Care Favorites

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Hello 2025!

Have you made your resolutions yet? I have started my lists for goals that is for sure and will be sharing that soon. We spent a quite evening at home as usual celebrating the new year. I did visit a new consignment shop! I am over the moon about it. Oh my goodness, it is not filled with junk! So happy. It’s called Consigned by Design and they have two locations. I came out with a few things but have other furniture pieces on my radar. 

It’s still warm here in Indy and I have a feeling that in February and March it will get really cold. It always does. Around this time, I normally suffer from dry skin and also the winter blues. I am trying to embrace my seasons (thanks to Lydia Millien’s book Evergreen) and enjoy the chapters of life that I am in. With that being said I wanted to share some winter skin and self-care favorites for this year. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

My first favorite and new discovery is the Mario Badescu mango and coconut lip mask. What a great find! I love it! Lip conditioners are always hard for me, and I am so glad that I found this and enjoy using it. I also purchased this trio of lip balms from Amazon as well. I have also been using this Sallen Hansen cuticle massage cream. It has a very clean scent to it and has been a hero to my hands and cuticles this winter. 

For feet this best thing that I have used to soften my heels is Vaseline! It works and nothing works like it. If you have not tried it, you should. Just rub some on your clean feet before going to bed especially those heels. Put on some socks and look at the difference in the morning. If your heels are really bad, then it may take a few nights and a few applications, but I am telling you it works! 

 

 

Before                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  After- 3 hours later 

 

I did not want to post these on here, but I wanted to give an honest review about my recent experience with the Biodance (viral) Bio-Collegen mask. I did not know that they were viral until after I purchased them and saw all of the reviews. Now I love an overnight mask, but I have never tried anything like this before. I was so nervous, but it was a wonderful experience! The mask feels so good sitting on your face and was comfortable to wear. I even fell asleep with it on. My husband woke me up to take off the remaining sheets. The first photo was after putting it on and the second photo was about 3 1/2 hours later. Most of the mask had disappeared delivering active ingredients into my skin. I then tried the Biodance Hydro Cera-nol Moisturizing Mask. All I can say is… order one! It’s the ultimate self-care mask! Perfect for the winter.

 

 

Next up is a purchase that I have been wanting to make for a long time but was not sure. I have been wanting a neck massager but for the most part they never worked. One of our insurance reps brought this in and I tried it and oh my word! It has been on my radar ever since. This is the Mirakel Neck Massager, and it works my friends. I absolutely love it! Most people get the back massage machines, but I am a neck person because of sitting at the computer all day. I have used this SEVERAL times already. It hits that spot for me. It’s a wonderful self-care evening treat. 

 

 

The last self-care night item for me is a special treat. I love a hot cup of green tea or chamomile. I recently found this beautiful vintage dish at the antique store and could not resist putting some of my favorite Dove chocolates in it for a self-care night. Self-care is not only treatments but beauty as well. 

 

 

I hope that you all are inspired to take some time for yourself this year. Crave out the hour or two hours just to calm down and have a moment. Life has a way of beating up on you and I am learning to take time for me. Enjoy my video as well!

 

 

 

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December Favorites ~ 2024

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Good Morning and Merry Christmas to you all!

It is the end of 2024. Can you all believe it? Wow… it has really flown by. I think that I have my “phrase or word of the year” for 2025, and I am making a list of home goals, personal goals, and career goals for 2025.

The one thing that I am really trying to do is to keep things in perspective. And I don’t want to absorbed other people’s issues, dramas, and problems. That list of responses from Dr. Witte is putting me on the path to learning how to respond to things in my life. I hope you all can use those responses.

Now this week will be filled with enjoying my time off and family. Lauren and I attended the Nutcracker this year and we went to the L.S. Ayres Tea Room as well.   I love keeping our family Christmas traditions. 

 

Now here are my favorites for the last month of 2024!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First on my list have been the holiday shoes this season! Now I took my time this year and decided to curate a collection where I loved and enjoyed wearing every pair. I have already shared my red satin shoes in my November favorites which have been a season hit. I could not resist a second pair so I went back for the black ones and then I purchased these velvet bow slingbacks from Ann Taylor Loft and lastly these gorgeous, sparkly bow pair of pumps from J. Crew.

 

 

Second on my list are more holiday fashion finds. I wore this comfortable but fantastic red skirt from Old Navy to two parties this season and this satin blouse from Old Navy as well. I was inspired by Nathan Rollinson and Nicolas Fairford in their autumn video to buy some long leather gloves for the winter season. I found these stunning leather gloves on Amazon! They are so good! I really need a second pair in brown. 

 

 

My love for accessories continues. I ordered this bandana scarf from Zara. Sorry but it is now sold out so I cannot share it. I also added some new bands to my wedding set. Inspired by Lydia Millien, I decided to add some crown inspired bands to my set. The compliments have been non-stop! I do love the look! 

 

 

 

 

My fourth favorite was a new store discovery! While taking the kids ice skating (photo on the right), I got to visit some shops that were around the Carmel Chriskindlmarkt and one of them was called Addendum.  It was a fantastic upscale gift shop. They carried lots of elegant items that I only get to see online. I will be adding that to my list for a future visit soon. The other photo is a rare photo of us as a family going ice skating. It is me, my husband, our daughter Lauren, son Ely and his girlfriend Faith. 

 

 

Next on my list is this photo of me earlier this year at the Guild Luncheon. It is me with my friend Kathy and Shannon. I love it so much. It shows the importance of friendship and spending time together. As I get older, I am learning that “it is not good for man to be alone”. Is that not in the Bible? Spending time with people is so important and I don’t want to lose that. 

I hope that you all enjoy your holiday season. I hope that you got to see my videos on YouTube. I recorded two “shorts” of me discussing a question and response from Dr. Witte. 

Enjoy your week!

 

 

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Christmas Decor Around the Home ~ 2024

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Good Morning,

I am so ready for Christmas next week! I am taking the week off and cannot wait to be home! I have a long checklist and look forward to getting things done. Thank you to everyone who read Dr. Witte’s Q & A. It was truly an honor to work with her, and I will be working on my Zoom call/Interview soon. I would love to post a video of our interview in the near future. If you read my November Favorites blog post then I wanted to share an update. I got my green cabinet! I will be sure to share it later.

We went took our adult children to Christkindlmarkt for ice skating and then had dinner. I only have a few things left on my Christmas dinner list and gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Now on to sharing my home decor this year. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Let’s start with the entryway. You all know that I love my FBMP vintage secretary. This piece has truly updated the space and made it some much more presentable. I added some faux flowers, pine and wreaths. I added the wreaths to the doors of the secretary. They turned out great. 

 

 

 

I added some garland to our staircase. Garland is always a hard thing for me to find and purchase. The garland that I really want is a fortune, so I am trying to find pieces that still fit with my decor and are real looking. I found this garland at Micheals. I loved adding the blue ribbon as well. It’s great for adding elegance, color, and for holding the garland up. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Our Barbie tree is always a treat. I didn’t buy any new ornaments this year. You can find old and new Barbie ornaments on Poshmark, Walmart, and Amazon! I did add some pink ribbons and pink balls to the tree. I moved my birdcage near it to assist with the whimsical look. Seeing the Barbie Dream House ornament makes the little kid inside of me light up. 

 

 

My blue and white Christmas tree makes me smile as well. I got most of my ornaments from the Enchanted Home but you can now find these on Amazon. There are some here, here, and here. My Dior Advent was such a beautiful find last year. I love it so much! It’s so elegant, different, and fits with my home decor. I did find this one on Amazon. It is not Dior but the colors are pretty close. I added some faux pine and florals to my ginger jar and my Santa with my Nutcrackers to surround the tree. 

 

 

 

I am revamping our family tree right now. I am still on the hunt for new ornaments, so it looks a little bare. I donated a LOT of ornaments last year and got rid of some this year. I want ornaments that fit with more home decor. I have been learning to wrap ribbon around my trees and learning to tie them. I also love poinsettias on my trees. It’s like adding a flowers to it. It fits my personality. There are a few influencers that are inspiring my home decor this season in my life. Christmas decor can get so expensive so I trying to manage that. I just keep telling myself that beauty comes with time. Don’t rush it. I put garland in different parts of my home. I added some garland to my bookcase upstairs in my office and some around our T.V. stand in our room. I didn’t take photos of those because it has been getting so dark lately. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. 

 

 

Quick update! I got my chinoiserie inspired cabinet from FBMP! It’s beautiful! Sorry the photos are dark but it’s a lovely green color. I love it so much! I moved my Christian Dior Advent calendar to the top of it and added a giant poinsettia from Costco. Just lovely! 

 

To find more inspiration and read previous Christmas blog posts see here. 

 

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November Favorites ~ 2024

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Hello December!

I know that I am a little late with my November favorites, but I needed a few days away from the computers, and I do mean computers! My eyes needed a break and so did my head. It was nice. We spent Thanksgiving at home of course catching up with our adult children. I tried two new recipes which I will share soon, and I loved my table setting. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

I found some orange astromelias at the grocery store and thought that they would be perfect in the center of the table, and they were! If you want to shop my table, you may read my blog post here or see my short video on my LTK page. 

I had to search my phone for my November favorites. This month went by so quickly. I was not sure if I had any, but I have a few. 

 

 

My first is this beautiful, green, chinoiserie inspired cabinet on FBMP. Now currently this is still available. It turns out that the seller actually has a store nearby, so I went to see this in person. I am trying to wait to see if I can get it a little lower if so it will go in my kitchen. I can see it now! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second are these GORGEOUS star and pearl earrings from Amazon! We all know that Amazon is hit or miss sometimes, and these are a hit! They are so pretty in person and the quality is not bad at all. I have been wearing them non-stop. They are a perfect Christmas party accessory or gift. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Next is my Christmas decor this year. Each year I fine tune my home style more and more. This year I got to decorate the entry way with more items and having my vintage cabinet there was lovely. When I open the front door, I no longer feel like I have to hide my hideous coat rack that was there. If you missed the before and after post you can read it here. I will be sharing more Christmas decor here soon. 

 

 

Oh I know I got another STANLEY! I could not resist the antique pink that was on the website. That was the name antique pink, and I got it in a smaller size. It’s quite lovely. Order one soon you know that they don’t last. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Next up is my recent Target visit. Sometimes I find things and sometimes I don’t but this round… oh my goodness! I finally found a coat that I love! I found this gorgeous herringbone wool coat and these stunning red satin shoes! Both items looked like a million bucks when I wore them together. I got so many compliments! Then I purchased this beautiful vintage Cameo brooch from my local jewelry store. Both the coat and the shoes were about $100 together! Now that is chic but affordable. 

 

 

 

My last favorites are these leopard pom-pom key chains from Amazon. I was not sure how they were going to look but they are quite chic. I got three. I got the navy, gray, and brown. They could dress up any bag or key chain. 

Well, that is all for this month. My boutique is still having its Black Friday sale. Use code BLKFRIDAY24 for 10% off of your order sitewide. Also, if you make a purchase, you will receive a free pair of Cameo earrings! Just put “free Cameos” in the note section of your order! I don’t have many left so order while you can. My newsletter will be going out soon and new items have been added to my Shop my Favorites page. Have a great week! 

 

 

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Thanksgiving Table ~ 2024

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Good Morning Friends,

There is so much going on around us. I found myself praying more than usual now. But let’s start off my blog post on a good note. This past weekend my husband and I attended the Art, Wine, & Design party for the St. Margaret’s Guild and we had a great time. I got to talk with our upcoming interior designers, have a glass of wine and enjoy the night. Here is a photo of me and some of my Guild friends! 

 

 

photo credit: St. Margaret’s Guild 

 

Lauren came home this weekend as well. We got to love on her and plan for Thanksgiving which is next week! I can’t believe it. I have been moving things around in my home and still purging a lot. Coming up with a Thanksgiving table setting this year was a little difficult but then I remember these gorgeous leaf placemats that I found at HomeGoods a few years back. 

 

 

Aren’t they lovely and they are so different. I have not seen anything like these in the stores since I found them. These were a wonderful tablescape find. I found them in HomeGoods but the designer or company is Rachel Ashwell. These were the closest that I could find. Macys has some similar as well. 

 

 

 

I placed my Spode Woodland dinner plates on the leaf placemats, and I was in heaven. I really loved how everything came together. My cream table cover (similar one here), the table runner (similar here), and antique finds always seems to come together in the end. My green goblets are from my mother-in-law and I will probably need to replace them here soon. I did see these on Amazon and maybe adding them to my cart. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I pulled out the soup tureen that I found at an antique store several years ago. I found this one on Etsy it is similar, but I also found this one. 

 

 

 

 

The browns, creams, and greens are flowing quite nicely together. You have seen these candlesticks before. They appear and disappear from my table settings throughout the years. I have not picked up my fresh flowers yet. We are still a week away and I am not sure what my grocery store will have. The flowers at my local grocery store have been horrible for about a year. It’s the young girls that are in charge. They don’t seem to care. When I go to different grocery stores under the same company and ran by older women there are beautiful flowers to choose from. It just drives me nuts! 

 

 

 

My Bath and Body Works gold turkey candle holder is always popular. I have to admit I love it as well. I did manage to find two of them on eBay. I found one here and one here. They are about the same price. The rest of them were over $100 or just about. It holds a 3-wick candle and whenever I pull it out someone is always asking me about it. 

I also posted a video of me creating this on my Youtube channel!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and my video. My Black Friday newsletter will be going out on Friday with a code “BlkFriday24” for 10% off of the entire boutique. You can even use it on clearance items! Have a wonderful weekend! I will be taking next week off from the blog but will return the following week with my November favorites. Don’t forget to shop my favorites page for some Christmas gift ideas! 

 

 

 

 

A Canopy for My Bed

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Good Morning!

I am tried but I managed to get a lot done this weekend. I only have the produce items left on my Thanksgiving dinner list, we only have a few Christmas items left to buy, and my Christmas are up and the house is decorated! It’s a good feeling when those items are checked off my list. I have some beautiful new finds on my favorites page here on the website. 

I don’t really like to talk politics on my blog or on my social media platforms but all I have to say is I just pray. For whatever president is in office, I always pray. I don’t care what side that they are on. I just pray because I still believe in the Lord. The Lord has always taken care of me and my family regardless of who is in power. In the words of Charles Stanley, you fight your battles on your knees, and you’ll win every time.  Now let’s move on. 

I will be sending out a black Friday/Cyber Monday newsletter here soon. I will be offering a discount code for all items on the boutique’s website so stay tuned. 

Have I mentioned my desire to have a canopy above my bed? I think that I have especially during last year’s show house. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Seeing this room last year, designed by Sassy Green Interiors, inspired me to actually take a leap of faith and attempt to accomplish this in any way that I could. I have been toying around with this idea for years and I mean years! But actually, seeing it in person, and speaking with MaryEllen and Christy gave me the confidence to just try it and if it didn’t work then it’s not the end of the world.

I searched on the web and managed to find this DIY canopy frame on Etsy. It comes in multiple sizes. It ended up ordering the 54 inches and it was a perfect fit for our California King. 

 

 

The installation was pretty simple, and the product is a simple product. I was a bit worried about it begin too big but once my husband got it secured to the wall, and we added the curtains I was a happy camper!

 

 

 

It took my husband about an hour to get it hung up and to add the curtains. I knew that I wanted green, or emerald-colored curtains. I don’t know why but that is what my heart wanted. I found these at HomeGoods as well as the chinoiserie inspired Martha Stewart curtains. If you are looking for similar curtains you may find some here, here, here, and here. 

 

 

I love how it turned out. I love all of the colors and different textures. Now of course this will change as the years go by but for right now, I am happy. If you are interested in my peacock pillow cover you will find it here. I also found this gorgeous one with green. I also purchased these white pillow covers for my three large pillows, and I love these! This bed skirt is on our bed as well. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Sometimes you just have to take a risk in your home. I had a co-worker recently ask me about some linens she is considering for her home and one linen she really loved and she said, “oh I can’t use that”, and I asked why. She said, “isn’t that linen just for bedrooms”. That comment really sadden me a little because I thought you should be free to try things in your home wherever you want and that is what I told her. If you want to use this linen in your living room, then use it! Life is short, take some risk! 

I hope you enjoyed today post and remember take some risk in your home. It’s your beauty, enjoy it! 

 

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