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A New Book ~ Bridgerton Guide to Entertaining

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And it is the weekend…. the NBA All Star Game is here, and I am trying my hardest to stay away from downtown. I am working from home today and will enjoy every minute of it. I am looking forward to making some time to read the latest copy of Victoria magazine. I had a hard time finding it in my stores! A little scary.

For Valentine’s Day Rick and I kept it simple. He got me a beautiful bouquet of roses and took a Hershey chocolate bar bouquet to Lauren! She was so surprised. It was so sweet!

I really want to make some time to sit and watch Three Coins in a Fountain and read the newest book that I just found!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

Can you all believe that I found this? It was a treasure for sure. I found it while we were waiting for our table for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. We always go into the Barnes and Noble bookstore that is attached. It’s a great place to read and relax. While we were there, I stumbled on this The Official Bridgerton Guide to Entertaining and it is truly a treat!

 

 

As soon as I opened the book, I audible gasped. The photography was so beautiful! Just look at this, the first chapter is called “A Breakfast Visit with the Bridgerton’s”. I mean, come on, who would not be curious about this? In this chapter, they give you recipes for crumpets with salted honey butter, Meyer lemon & poppy seed tea biscuits, crustless quiche with leeks, ham, and English cheddar, kippers on toast, and London Fog lattes! Oh my! 

 

 

Here is the table of contents. Each party is divided into chapters. We have the Queens Lawn Party, Afternoon Tea with the Sharmas, Dinner at Featherington Ball and Lady Danbury’s Den of Iniquity. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

Not only will you be inspired by the recipes, but the photography is inspiring as well. I love these elegant glimpses into the family home, clothes, and decor. 

 

 

This is truly a beautiful book and I hope that if you are a Bridgerton fan that you will order a copy for yourself. It is priced quite well on Amazon so don’t feel bad about ordering this treat of a book! If you do order it and make one of the recipes I would LOVE to know! I will be sharing my recent afternoon tea adventure next week!

I hope you got to see the recent Instagram story from the Little Pink Casa sharing the blush Cameo earrings! They look so lovely on her. Please feel free to use her code: PinkCasa20 for 20% off the entire boutique. Enjoy! 

 

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The Soul of Civility ~ Author Meet & Greet

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Good Morning Everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My weekend was a tad bit longer. We got MLK day off so having that extra day was so helpful. I finished taking down all my Christmas decorations and was able to purge more items! I always feel good when I am able to drop off stuff at the Goodwill. Always a good feeling.

I am now in deep 2024 planning. I discussed a few things on my recently recorded YouTube video. I will link it below if I have it finished by the time, I share this blog post.

In my video I talked about my word of the year and how I was letting myself become frustrated with things and how I was beginning to pull back and allow myself to think and stay composed. That got me thinking about my recent meet and greet with author Alexandra Hudson and her book called the Soul of Civility.

In the first chapter, Alexandra mentions Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and begins to talk about the difference between civility and politeness. She said, “King wrote that racist laws gave the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Like segregation, incivility deforms the soul of both the abuser and the abused. Also, like segregation, incivility often originates from an inaccurately low view of personhood. Often, people lash out at others because of their own inaccurate view of self. This can manifest in their deriving their validation in abusing others; but harming others only makes them feel lesser. Appreciating the gift of being human and realizing that when we hurt others with our incivility, we hurt ourselves – is central to reclaiming basic decency in our world.” 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Alexandra said, “Civility- the motivation behind our conduct that sees other persons as our moral equals and worthy of basic respect- is much deeper, richer, and of greater import than politeness, or external compliance with rules of etiquette. Politeness and manners are the form, the technique, of an act, but civility is more.” 

 

 

I could tell that Alexandra was genuinely interested in each person that came up to her during our meet and greet. Before signing a copy of her book, she asked me what I loved in life and what I did. I told her and this is what she wrote in my book, “Thank you for your passion for beauty! It will heal our broken world”. Love Lexi… 

Her words on civility truly had me thinking about how I think of others and treat them. Am I just being polite, or do I look at them with dignity and inherently valuable? 

 

photo credit: K. Cuppy

 

Alexandra had a very elegant bearing about her when I met her, and you can tell that she does see others with dignity and value. I hope that you can order her book and let it inspire you as well as educate you. 

 

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My Word of the Year…

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Good Morning Everyone,

It is the first full week of 2024 and I have my word of the year. Well, I have my phrase of the year and it is “radiate calm”. My post from 2018 popped in my head a few days ago. That quote, “radiate calm” really spoke to me. I have had several moments in 2023 where I felt like becoming unhinged. I let things really get to me instead of maintaining a quiet spirit. Maybe that should be my phrase for the year.

I went back to my post. I still can’t believe that I read the book and wrote this post 6 years ago. The book provided four ways to radiate calm under any circumstance. 1) Stay composed, 2) Avoid drama, 3) Find common ground and 4) Maintain perspective. 

I can recall several moments where I should have used those tips! I have decided to take these four tips and for every week for this entire year I will write one of those tips for the week in my Day Designer to remind me what to focus on.

Another tip or thing that I do is pray and try to breathe deeply. I want to keep my mind and emotions in order. Last year was so full of changes that I felt like I did not have perspective. As I get older that has become very important to me.

 

photo credit: L. Shockley 

 

As I begin 2024, I am trying to remain hopeful that staying composed, praying, and keeping perspective will help me to radiate calm this year. 

Enjoy your week!

 

 

Being Elegant in Public…

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Ready to celebrate the new year? Me…. I am not sure yet. With each new year I know that there should be excitement but for me I am always apprehensive. I never know what to expect for the upcoming year.

I do need to figure out my word for the year and I do know that organizing is at the top of my list this year along with getting my greenhouse installed! I have been on the hunt for small organizational tools and will be sure to share what I order and end up using from Amazon. 

I really want to get my schedule under control. I hope that some recent changes at work will help with that. I also want to get the carpet replaced upstairs this year. Some many home to-dos. 

Continuing with my elegant appearance as best as I can is always number one and the photo below is one of the number reasons why I dress my best every day. 

 

 

Yes, this is a photo of me. So about two years back my family and I were at an ice-skating event, and they had some news anchors there. What I did not know was they were filming the event for their recent news story. 

I was caught in some of the footage, and they have been using it ever since. So, every year now for the last two years people text me and my husband saying that “I was on the news”!  But no one has been able to send me a snapshot until this year. 

When I got this photo I thought, “okay I look put together” because honestly you just never know how you might be caught on camera. I then looked at my husband and said, “You see this is exactly why you should always try to look your best”. You never know who or what is around you. I have said this so many times on my blog. Always look your best. If you need any ideas for a new year resolution, let this be one. Have a great weekend and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Christmas Happenings…

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It’s the end of the year already and here shortly I will be sharing the top posts for this year. But I just wanted to say thank you! Thank you to all of you who are STILL reading the blog. My 10-year anniversary for the blog will be coming up soon and honestly, I am surprised every year that I am still blogging.

My blog and/or website has truly been a blessing for me. I really needed something other than my job and this blog has given me new friends, and new opportunities! I do love it and hope that you still enjoy reading it and being inspired. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

I really enjoyed the Christmas decor around my home. I look forward to going out in about a week and looking for decor that might be on sale. Especially at the antique stores.

 

We had our Guild luncheon and it was a lot of fun! I love seeing the Woodstock Country Club all decorated and festive. It is truly a beautiful place. 

 

 

I had to sneak in a “bathroom selfie”. The wallpaper in this room….. I just love it! We had a speaker at our luncheon this year and I will be sure to share her in another blog post. 

 

 

 

I was on the decorating team this year and it was a lot of fun being there early to help set up the dining room for our luncheon. This year we kept things simple and added poinsettias, velvet fabric, glitter ornaments, and vines. I will tell you this, I learned a lot working with these ladies about affordable decor options. Our favors this year were these cute compact mirrors that we ordered from Amazon. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

After the luncheon I decided to go on over to the Lily House and tour it again. Truth be told this is my dream home and I have it saved to my wish list gallery on my phone. I can’t get enough of the chinoiserie walls and beautiful fabrics. 

 

 

This hall is always fun to walk down. The beautiful lanterns are the perfect pop of color in this area. And the floors don’t disappoint. 

 

 

This is the dining room in the Lily home. If you missed my tour of the Lily house you may read it here. This past weekend Lauren and I went to see the Nutcracker as well. My husband and I went and toured the new RH Indianapolis gallery and a good friend of mine took me to tour the Columbia Club downtown. I will be sure to share these elegant adventures in the days to come. Until then have a Merry Christmas and don’t forget to shop the boutique. The BLKFRIDAY23 code is still available, and you get 20% off the entire boutique when you use it! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria Magazine’s New Journal

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Good Morning Everyone!

We are almost in the home stretch! I have one more holiday luncheon for this season and one more party to attend. I am looking forward to being done! I know that sounds bad, but I have been the lead for two of these parties and I tell you it is a lot of work! Today I am working from home. Rick and I will be going to the new Restoration Hardware Gallery and restaurant that just opened in my city later this afternoon! It is located in the Christal DeHaan estate. It is gorgeous! I hope to share photos soon. 

Today I wanted to share a beautiful new journal that I purchased from Victoria Magazine. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

If you follow Jennifer L. Scott on the Daily Connoisseur, then you would have seen this beautiful journal on her Christmas holiday gift guide video. I knew as soon as I saw it I wanted it!

 

 

Just look at the inside. The journal is well made and has lots of beautiful photos from the magazine. I love that feature. I think that when you write an entry and have a beautiful photo next to your entry it could provide so much inspiration, hope, and beauty. I think adding this to their journal was brilliant.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

The French blue cover with gold letters truly beckons your heart to write. It also has gilded page edges and a satin bookmark. It truly is a timeless journal. I am not sponsored but I would really consider ordering one especially if you journal like me. It will be a great addition to your collection. I love to journal and my blog entry from 2016 explains why. I hope it inspires you to journal as well! 

 

 

My First Signature Drink

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Good Morning Everyone!

Let my busy first week in December begin. Today is our office luncheon and I just hope that it all goes well. On Friday I will be attending the luncheon for the Guild and helping with set-up. I will try to take photos if I can. 

This past weekend I had a few packages arrive. Things that I have been on my wish list for quite some time were on sale for Cyber Monday and I was extremely excited. I will try to remember to share those in my December favorites. 

With Christmas closing in, I am trying to make sure that I have everything I need to cook and prepare. One thing that was a hit for Thanksgiving was my new signature drink!

 

 

A few weeks ago, one of our Guild members had a small party at her house and she gave us all this time. Well I loved it and wanted the recipe asap!

So it’s a glass of half Prosecco (white wine Moscato), half cranberry wine (of your choice), some fresh cranberries, and a cinnamon stick. So easy right? 

 

 

It was so delicious and was a hit with our family. I am so excited about this drink. I have never served a drink before so this was quite exciting to make and try. 

Let me know in the comments below what your signature drink is!