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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! 

 

*Affiliated links attached 

 

 

 

My Autumn & Winter Bags ~ 2024

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Good Morning Everyone!

Goodness, I am so glad to have my hour back! I know some people may not care but I do! It really makes a difference on Sundays. I feel like I get a lot more done, and I get to bed at a decent time. The Indiana Conference for Women was great! I was a volunteer again this year and loved it! Registration went well and I met more women this year. The speakers were phenomenal and the books… oh my goodness they are really good! So we got Career Foward: Strategies from Women Who Made It, Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion and Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes by Valerie Bertinelli. Some of Valerie’s books were autographed. I managed to get one for my boss. I really enjoyed the speakers for the first book Career Forward. They were down to earth, brilliant, and precise. I was placed in the green room for a moment and got to meet author April Simpkins. She was such a sweetheart and the story of the daughter Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, was heart breaking. 

Martha Hoover, another heavy hitter in my city, was at the conference as a moderator for Valerie Bertinelli and it turns out we know a lot of the same people. I hope to have her come and speak very soon at my office. We talked and talked in the green room, and she asked me to take a selfie with her! Now how cool is that! 

I will be putting up my Christmas decorations this weekend and finishing up my Thanksgiving grocery here soon. Now on to some new fashion finds. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Oh sweet autumn is here and so are all of the rich colors and fabrics! I am a tote girl and I love a tote with great organizational spaces and pockets as well as beauty. I have managed to find three Kate Spade Manhattan totes that I love. My first tote was the Manhattan tote in houndstooth. I purchased this about 2 years ago and knew I wanted a second one. I managed to find this one on the website! It is still available for now. Order it while you can. 

The second purchase was the Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote in green! Oh be still my heart! Honestly, I was shocked that I loved the green one, but I think that was my “winter palette” screaming at me. I ordered this one from Poshmark. Then this past summer I saw the black Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote and thought, “you know that might be another great addition to my wardrobe”. I found this one on eBay. Both leopard totes were purchased brand new. If you are interested, you may check Poshmark and eBay. 

 

 

Now this is my newest addition. This is the Gucci Brown & Multicolor Suede Ophidia Large Tote. What’s funny is that this bag was not on my radar. I have been stalking the Fendi Sunshine Large tote for almost a year. Maybe even longer. I found a few used ones on the Vestiaire Collective website but for some reason I could not pull the trigger. I just kept praying about it. Every time I added one to my cart, I would let it sit there and ask myself a series of questions. It was a bit ridiculous, but I had a number in my head that I did not want to go over, and I was trying to stay on budget. Also a thought popped in my head.  It was, “in the next five years would that big Fendi sign across the bag bother you”? And I thought wow, where did that come from? It really made me think. 

I am trying to do a better job of cultivating my wardrobe and I am starting to think long term, like years. So then I said, “Lord I am on the hunt for an elegant bag for this season and I want it to fit into my wardrobe permanently”. Can you find the bag that I am suppose to have? I swear to you about one hour later this bag popped up in my Vestiaire search! It came out of nowhere and I did not even type this name in! When I saw it my heart SANG! 

I was so in love with the shape, the deep rich colors, the black leather, the suede, the structure, the handles and the perfectly size branding! Oh my goodness, I was in love instantly. Also the price was pretty good but then as soon as I liked it the seller sent me a deep discount! I ended up paying under $900! Thank you Lord!

I am so happy with my purchase and so happy with my collection this year. I have more bags for the autumn/ winter, but these are the newest additions. I don’t know if you pray to God about your purchases, but I will tell you this. You should try it!

Have a great week! 

 

  • Affiliate links attached 

October Favorites ~ 2024

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Good Morning Friends,

Can it really be November so soon? I have started buying my Thanksgiving dinner ingredients as well as December’s. I don’t want to be running around here in the next few weeks trying to locate items. I want to be prepared. My favorite brand of turkey has arrived in the stores but I am waiting on them to drop the price. It is still too much per pound. I have started Christmas shopping as well. 

This week has a lot going on. Taylor Swift will be here at the end of the week downtown and I am dreading it because the Indiana Conference for Women will be on the first day of her concert! Oh my! And I am on staff! I wanted to just enjoy this conference but I am so worried about the traffic. I keep telling myself just go and enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about the concert. There is nothing that you can do. 

We have some excellent speakers this year! I don’t think that I can stay of the entire conference but I already have the agenda and I am at the registration table this year which means my duties will be done around 9 a.m. Technically I can leave but I want to hear Valerie Bertinelli and Grace Puma. Wish me luck!! 

Okay here are my favorites for the month of October. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First on my list is this beautiful Chanel and dahlia canvas that I found at Burlington. Now I have not been in Burlington in years and we have a new one that was built in the downtown Indianapolis area. The beautiful colors and large gorgeous dahlias caught my attention. I normally do not like these types of perfume bottle paintings. They are normally pretty cheap looking but this one was beautiful! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next on my list are my parrot tulip bulbs. This particular flower has literally been on my Pinterest board for years! I have always wanted these but could never find them in store. So I ordered some from Easy Grow and they arrived a few weeks ago. I planted them in the greenhouse recently and look forward to how they will turn out next season. 

 

 

Third are my set of two teacup and saucer from Williams Sonoma. This is from the collaboration from Bridgerton. I was not sure what these were going to look like but when I opened the box I gasped. The size is perfect, the details are lovely and just look at the box. They are so beautiful! 

 

 

Most of you know that I just had my color analysis done for my birthday and true red is one of my colors. Needless to say that I was shocked but after leaving my appointment I immediately thought of these shoes. This are from J. Crew and were made in Spain with quality leather. I had to order a pair when they dropped the price. I also ordered this extremely chic Chanel inspired cardigan. I am so inspired to try jewel tones in my wardrobe now. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

Whenever I go to the Cake Bake Shop I always stare at the china. It is so expensive but I think that Gwendolyn recently added this teapot at a lower price. It is still made from Lenox so it is not really cheap but then again beauty and quality does have a price. I love using my teapot on the weekends! 

 

 

Sixth on my list are my Pilates shoes! I absolutely love these! I feel like a ballerina every time I wear them. They are perfect for my class but also perfect to feel elegant walking around the house in. You should get a pair! 

 

 

 

Next are my new books! I got these for my birthday. I have glanced at both but have not had a chance to dive in. The Art of Gracie and de Gournay are both based on hand painted chinoiserie wallpaper.  There is a lot of inspiration in these books and I love forward to reading them. They are both exquisite! 

 

 

 

Last on my list is my recent Amazon favorites video. I am sharing my most current Amazon favorites. I use all of these items and love them. I hope that my video gives you an idea of how these items work and encourages you to try them. 

I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for this month. My October newsletter should be hitting your inboxes very soon! Thanks for following along. 

 

 

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!