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Christmas at My Home ~ 2025

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Hello Friends,

I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgiving. Doesn’t it feel like everything is a rush right now? I think it could be because Thanksgiving was so late this year. Now I feel as though Christmas is right on my heels! This week I reviewed all of my gifts. We just have a few more gift cards to get then we are finished. I am on the hunt for another turkey. Geez, I hope I can find one. I am also helping with our first grandchild’s baby shower! We are having that in January and that is coming together nicely. My Christmas decor in my home is ever evolving. This year the family tree looks a little different and I am exploring with ways on how to insert ribbon inside of my trees. Let me know what you think!

 

photos via: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This year I decided to add some red and burgundy to our family tree and I do love it. I purchased the ribbon and ornaments years ago. I knew that I would have a moment when I wanted red and this year was the year. I filled the bottom of the tree with white poinsettias. I loved the way it looked. I also added some green velvet as well. I am trying to learn how to tuck in ribbon in my tree. It’s an art form for sure. 

 

 

I love my blue and white tree this year. I need to take another photo of it in the front. I used ribbon in this as well. I also got a new star topper. One cannot forget the ginger jar ornaments from The Enchanted Home. They are just so pretty and always look so elegant. In the second photo is my new tortoise shell hurricane vase from the At Home store. I added faux peonies to it. I think it’s a perfect fit. 

 

 

Decorating the entryway is always a challenge for me. We have very limited space, so I try to work with what I have. Of course, my dream is to have a large entryway but maybe later. For now, I decorated the stair rails with this beautiful blue ribbon and some garland. I added these small wreaths on the secretary with blue ribbon. I think it ties in my ginger jar perfectly. Maybe I should have added a bow to that!  

Now I love my Barbie tree. You all have seen this multiple times. I added the nutcrackers to the bottom of the tree, and I think they are better suited for this. I love the way everything looks. I have been buying vintage Barbie ornaments from Poshmark. I love the vintage ornaments from the 90s and early 2000s. 

 

photos via Mrs. Shockley 

 

OMG! Yes, you are seeing the green version of my pink Mrs. Alice chinoiserie urn! I could not resist. I got an email during the cyber-Monday sales and I was able to buy this $150 less! This was on my radar to purchase next year because I think it may be going into my new office downtown. We will see. But I have it placed here on my new black chinoiserie secretary next to my 2024 Christian Dior Advent calendar and my new ginger jar vase. 

I have also shared how much I love the giant poinsettias at Costco. This year they had the white ones and so I purchased a red and white. I kept thinking if I had a planter to place my poinsettia in, so I pulled my Asian planter from the guest bedroom, and it was a PERFECT fit! I adore it. I think poinsettias will be going in this planter yearly now! 

 

 

I added a little bit of Christmas decor in our bedroom. Here is our vintage chest in front of our T.V. I picked up some small red poinsettias from the grocery store and placed them in some of my ginger jar vases. It looks lovely in our bedroom. And lastly, I had a stupendous shopping haul from HomeGoods that I will share in an upcoming reel soon. In that haul was this gorgeous pine scented candle. Just look at this sophisticated emerald green and gold candle holder. The scent is wonderful, and I will definitely be keeping this container and tassel. I need to go back and get a few more! 

Well friends this is the decor in my home this year. There are a few more items around but most of it you have seen before. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and let’s try to remind ourselves to be grateful. I am saying that to myself and much as to you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Favorites ~ 2025

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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It has been so nice taking time off from social media and the blog. I almost forgot to get this post done. I have some beautiful finds for the month of November. My newsletter should be arriving soon. Creative Mail who I have been using for years is closing their doors and I am now using MailChimp for my newsletters. We will see how this goes.

I have a few scarf bracelets left. They are now on sale for only $15 and I only have one Lux Cardigan Brooch left! Order while you can! Now onto my favorites for the month. 

 

photo credit: MeetatMahj

 

First on my list is me and my friend Minju! You all know her from my YouTube video and blog post called Etiquette for Life. You have become really good friends and have started learning Mahjong together! We are so excited and will be going to our Mahjong studio this week to play!

 

 

Next up is one of my new planners for the upcoming year and commonplace book. So, I heard about the commonplace book from Jennifer L. Scott, and I never thought I would be interested in having one, but I started one this month and I do enjoy it. It helps me to get my thoughts out and captures my dreams and goals as well. I found this Notes book at T.J. Maxx. The other book is a new planner from photographer Jamie Beck. It is stunning! I will be using this not as my daily planner but a monthly to-do list. You have to visit her website to get an understanding of it. She really put thought into this planner. 

 

 

Now we have my new tote. I talked about this in a previous blog post or video but it finally came. This is the viral Velantra bag. It took two months to arrive but it finally did. Now I will tell you it is not high quality, but it is beautiful and is pretty solid. I ordered it in the large in light chocolate. I am not sure how long they will be selling these so if you are truly interested then order soon. I did share a video on my Instagram account. 

Then I saw this video on Instagram. O.M.G… I had to take this screenshot of it. It is Jennifer Lopez in her upcoming new movie called The Last Mrs. Parrish. She looks so elegant. I had to find out what her bag was! Of course, I could not but I did end up finding one from H&M that is quite similar. I ordered it of course! 

 

 

THIS COAT! Oh my goodness. I have never been this smitten with a coat. I LOVE IT! I ordered it in gray and red and I am so sorry to report that they both have sold out! I did find a similar one here and here. I also ordered this beautiful, embellished scarf from Ann Taylor. It is a showstopper but so elegant. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Now this bag is an old one, but I recently pulled it out to take it for a spin. I accidently broke one of my old Ann Taylor necklaces so I draped it over my tote. I loved it! It looked so beautiful and sophisticated. You will also see my ginger jars all on the floor. This is my downtown office, and I am currently going through all of my things to decide what is going and what is not. The ginger jars are going of course. 

I went to another tag sale recently held my one of my favorite interior designers Jenni Eggers. I ended up purchasing this vintage cabbage bowl. It is huge and I could not stop staring at it. It will be a lovely addition to my decor and could end up being a part of my tablescape in the future. 

 

 

Speaking of tablescapes here is my tablescape from this Thanksgiving. I hope all enjoyed my favorites from November and let me know in the comments below which one was your favorite. Have a great week! 

 

 

  • Affiliate links attached. This post is not sponsored. 

 

 

 

 

The Inspiring Design Panel

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Hello Friends,

What a busy few days I have ahead of me. I am now trying to get caught up with “life” since they have re-opened the government. I am now working on my Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas list. For the past few days, I have really been into home design, comfort and beauty. My home is completely decorated for the holidays, and I will be sure to share that later but for now I did want to share a recent video that posted to YouTube.

The video is called Conversations on Design. 

 

Photo via Charlotte Moss.com 

 

 

This video was an absolute joy to watch, and I so enjoyed the conversations. I wish I could have attended this in person! This was a special event spearheaded by Charlotte Moss celebrating creativity, community, and the future of interior design. This inspiring program benefits the Interior Design Scholarship at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCUarts), supporting the next generation of designers, creators, and innovators. The program features leading voices in the world of design:

If you love design, then you will LOVE this video! I will be taking next week off from the blog to spend Thanksgiving with my family but will return the following week with my November favorites. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

  • Some text via YouTube. This post is not sponsored.  
  • Shop my favorites page for any gift or ornament ideas! Or go to my ShopMy page for more higher end purchases. 

Flower Magazine Show House~ 2025

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Hello Everyone,

I have started my Christmas decorating in my home. I took some days this week to get my trees up and get everything decorated. It feels good to have that long list behind me. I am also in this small task/details/ tedious work in my home mood. What I mean by that is I am going into various rooms in my home and re-organizing, and cleaning small areas. Recently, I went into my kitchen cabinet under my sink and re-organized it. I am picking apart my closet again. I will be going thru my home office and moving it around. I need to clean out my phone gallery and get my digital photos organized. There are just a lot of small projects around the house that I want to do. 

I also need to go through everything in my downtown office before we move. I can’t wait to take everything out, throw stuff out, and move my new furniture and items into my new space. Like I said I want to be a better curator. 

I just want beautiful spaces wherever I live. Speaking of new spaces, we now have our new show house for the upcoming year. I also just found out about the Flower Magazine Show House! Oh, my goodness, if I would have known about it earlier, I may have planned a trip to go and see it. There are so many show houses going on in the country. I really need to get a list going and get dates on my calendar but for now here is the Flower Magazine Show House. It is gorgeous! 

 

watercolor illustration of the Flower magazine 2025 showhouse front facade in Nashville Tennessee

Illustration by Adrienne Retief

 

 

Look at this spectacular home! This is a 6-bedroom, 11 bath home was built in 1999. It is a total of 20,000 square feet and was built by architectural firm Pfeffer Torode. This show house was open from October 9 to October 26. There were 23 designers and 9 floral designers. Some of the big names that I recognized was Mark D. Sikes, Corey Damen Jenkins, and Meg Braff. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

First up for me was this beautiful bedroom decorated by Alexandra Norwood Interiors. This is absolute heaven. I love the fabrics, and simple elegance of the room. I would have loved to have seen the green light fixture. You should visit her website. She has lovely taste. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

Next up is the fantastic Corey Damon Jenkins. I recently fell in love with Corey’s work while watching the Kips Bay Show House in New York. He decorated the dining room and oh my goodness! It was spectacular and wonderfully layered. Corey decorated the study in this show house. I am loving the blues, greens and creams. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by A. Moreno 

 

When I saw the wallpaper in this room, I immediately took a screenshot. I am toying around with ideas for my walk-in closet and adding wallpaper is one of them. This room was designed by Duval Design. Again, another design firm that has the gift of layering. I loved this little corner of the bedroom with the vanity/desk, chair and dreamy wallpaper. 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Shanna Masters 

 

This room felt like a secret garden. This was the guest suite in the show house designed by Kim Scodro.  Again, the wallpaper! I am in love with it along with the substantial furniture pieces. This room also has wonderful light and French doors. What a guest room! 

 

photo by Leslee Mitchell/ Illustration by Diane Carnevale 

 

The last room is the mud room designed by Parkes & Lamb Interiors. Now this would be a dream room to have. I love the flowers and fabrics. It would be a great space to house all of my coats, scarves, and other outerwear accessories. I love the idea of having fresh flowers in a mud room. Now what a great welcome would that be to come home to? I hope you all enjoyed this house tour. I am loving home tours lately and looking for inspiration in my home that I can incorporate. Let me know in the comments below if you have visited a show house in your city! 

 

  • This post is not sponsored. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dream Secretary

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Good Morning Friends,

Oh I am so happy to have the hour back. It means a lot in the mornings and really does help with getting things done throughout the day. This past weekend was nice. I did my usual errand runs and did a few things around the home. 

But friends I will be honest, this past month has been really frustrating especially these last two weeks. As a federal worker, I will say that it is hard. Lots of people think that we are sitting at home still collecting a paycheck but what people don’t understand is that we really are not. This week could be the second paycheck that we miss, and I tell you it is hard on families. I shared this back in 2019 (Living During a Shutdown), and I am still living this way but with a lot of frustration. 

I am still praying for clarity, peace, and understanding. Now onto my glorious FBMP find!

 

 

I still cannot believe that I actually purchased my dream secretary. I mentioned that I wanted this desk back in 2020. It is so funny how sometimes you can mention something, share it, post it, or put it on your vision board and watch it come into fruition. I must admit sometimes it is a bit scary. I shared this office in a blog post in 2019, so this desk has been on my mind for a long time. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

 

Now how did I found this beautiful piece you may ask? Well my one of our interior designers from the show house, Blake Richardson, sent me the FBMP post. I told him that I was on the hunt for one and he mentioned that he saw this piece on marketplace. I looked at it and immediately fell in love the only problem was it looked humongous on marketplace! I went home and pulled out my measuring tape and measured it out. Then I reached out to the seller to get more info. I spoke with my husband, and he said that it would just be too big. I then convinced myself that it would be too be for my space and tried to let it go. But I could not. I mean do you see the details of this beautiful thing! 

 

 

So a week goes by and it does not sell on FBMP. I cannot shake it. I kept thinking about it and you know what the price was? Only $330! Unbelievable! The cheapest I could find one was on Charish for $1,400 so I was completely aware that this was cheap, and I needed to see it in person. So I reached out to the seller to make arrangements to see it. Once I walked up to her door I knew. She was a beautiful older lady with fantastic taste. As soon as I stepped inside the house, I looked to my left and saw more Asian inspired furniture and the biggest smile on her face. It was as if she knew. One thing she did mentioned when I messaged her was that “only certain people can appreciate a piece like this”. I knew that that person was me. 

We sat and talked for over an hour! We talked about work, and beautiful homes. It was like she was my long-lost friend. The connection was truly incredible! 

 

 

She told me that this piece was over 40 years old and was purchased from an estate sale. She believed that it was originally from Spain but could not recall. I told her that it was beautiful and could not believe that she was selling it! She said that her and her husband were downsizing and that it would not fit in her new home. I then asked about the price of $330. She said that it was her favorite number. Look at all of the beautiful storage. I told her and her sweet husband that it was going to be placed in my new office in February downtown and that I promise to take care of it for the next 40 years. 

I am so happy to have this piece in my life. This was truly a surprise, and I am very grateful to God for having Blake send me the listing and for letting me have a wonderful encounter with Mrs. Ragland! Have a great weekend! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October Favorites ~ 2025

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Good Morning Friends,

Ohhh, my girlfriends and I were going to have tea at the Inn at Irwin Gardens, and it got cancelled! It was not our fault, but they did not have enough ticket sales. I am so sad but we are now going to their Christmas tea event in early December so that is something to look forward to.

I can’t believe it is the end of October already. I just got mums last week and they are looking so good. I have stopped buying mums so early because it is still warm here in October, so I now wait until end of the month to get mums and pumpkins. So far it is working out! 

The Indiana Conference for Women was so much fun this year. I was not expecting to meet Tina Knowles and get my book signed! Oh my gosh. I shared photos of it on my Instagram page. There are so many things that I love about being on staff for the conference. The perks far out weight the work that is for sure! 

Now onto to my favorites for October!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First on my list is my new Ralph Lauren coffee cup and saucer. I have been wanting one of these for a while now and my husband and I went to the outlet mall in Cincinnati, and their Ralph Lauren store had a few sets in stock! So I was able to see it in person. As of right now they are in stock online so if you want a set get it now! 

Second is my Mahjong practice area. I set this up a few weeks ago so that I could practice Mahjong. I will be attending my second class (Mahjong 102) this week and I am looking forward to it. So far I have two women who are wanting to play with me. I only need ONE more person to start my very own Mahj squad! I want to have game nights at least once a month of everyone other month. We will see! 

 

 

 

My vintage Louis Vuitton, of course, is on my list! I have had it a few weeks and I do adore it. I share the details about it on my YouTube channel. It is from the 1986 collection and does not have a lot of damage. The condition of the bag is extraordinarily good! I still can’t believe that I found a version in good shape. I am so grateful and happy! 

 

 

Next up are these hanging closet sachets. I decided to try the jasmine scent and oh my goodness! I do love them! They smell so good and are such a treat when I walk into my closet. I think they are such an elegant luxury and don’t cost much. I also have one in my car. You should try them. They are quite lovely. 

I know, I know. It is autumn and here I am sharing some white shoes. I saw these in Nordstrom recently and I do want to get more flats into my wardrobe. They are on sale for only $46 and I could not resist. They will be perfect for the upcoming spring/summer season. 

 

 

I could not pass up sharing my new secretary desk! I will go into more detail in another blog post because I think this deserves its own post. But I am so happy with her. 

 

 

And my last items are my blue light blocking nerd glasses from Amazon. These are so good! I saw Lydia Millen wearing them and decided to give them a try. I am thinking about ordering another pair to have my prescription lenses put into. The frame is great! Now how cute are these brooches from Chico’s! I had to get the Winter Lady Brooch. Isn’t she fancy? Then I could not get the bumble bee ornament. Now I don’t intend on using this as an ornament but a purse charm. 

I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for the month of October. This was a great month for finds. Especially my new secretary which I will be sharing on the blog here soon. Keep in mind there are only 2 Lux Cardigan Brooches left. These sold like crazy earlier this month. I think everyone is getting their accessories ready for fall. 

I wanted to give a big thank you to Katie from The Modern Classic Life Blog! She recently shared my September favorites on her recent blog post. I loved her The Tenets of Luxury Lifestyle Blog post! You all should read it. It is exactly what we believe here on my blog. 

Have a great week and Happy Halloween!

 

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Becoming A Better Life Curator

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Good Morning Friends,

It is the middle of October already! I have printed off my Christmas shopping list and started thinking about my Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, and decor. It just seems to be creeping up on us! Last week I had a fantastic hydro-facial at Restore Skin Therapy. I will be sure to share that next week. Now let’s discuss my topic… becoming a better life curator.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have been thinking about this phrase for a while, and it popped in my head while driving to work one day. I was thinking about how I wanted to live. How I wanted my home to be, how I wanted to travel, where I wanted to travel, what I want to wear, and how I want to spend my time. I said the words “curate” and then it just came to me. How do I better curate my life? 

 

My new Asian Chinoiserie secretary desk from FBMP

 

To curate means to select, organize, and look after the items in a collection or exhibition. I know recently (maybe in the last year), I have been trying to get better at selecting. When I am out shopping, no matter the price, if it is not a heck yes when I see it then I don’t buy it. My husband and I just went to the Cincinnati outlet mall, and we were in the Ralph Lauren store. He kept picking up things and I just looked at him and said, “is that a heck yes”? He got a little frustrated with me at one point, but I really wanted him to think. I did the same thing looking at a sweater that they had and necklace. I ended up buying only ONE thing in the whole outlet because I was asking myself that question. I want to do better at selecting when I shop. The first step to being a better curator.

Next up is organize. I have set my sights back on my closet. In July, I shared that I had a consultant come from California Closets to give me a closet design. I still love this design and want to do it but for now I have other home projects on my list. That does not mean that my current closet needs to stay the way it is, so I have another option in mind that I want to try. I will update you all of course. 

Third is to look after items in a collection. The photo above is a recently FBMP purchase. One of our interior designers, Blake Richardson, sent the link to me after I told him that I was on the hunt for an Asian Chinoiserie secretary. This desk is literally a dream desk for me. I spoke with my husband about it and looked at the measures. I thought it might be too big for my new office but four days later I could not stop thinking about it. That’s when I knew that this piece was for me and I only had a limited amount of time to get it. So I reached out to the seller. Turns out it’s over 40 years old; she and her husband traveled a lot and believe that it is from Spain. I told her that I would take care of it the next 40 years. I intend to look after this item. 

 

photo credit: Pinterest

 

I believe that being a curator of your life includes everything. It includes what you read and watch to what you eat. All things need to be carefully curated. It goes along with “building your life team”, to seeking life seasons, to etiquette, and past choices. I am currently trying to curate my vacation for next year. I want to go back to New York and have Lily of the Valley Afternoon Tea at the Lowell Hotel! I would like to see the Belizaire painting which is currently housed at the MET in New York and dine at La Mercerie. Of course, the Ralph Lauren store and an antique store are on the radar. But I am carefully curating it. We will see what we do. 

I know this living with beautiful things is a risk that I take daily. I risk it being stolen, broken, or lost. But I would have rather had it then not at all. And I truly believe that. Let me know your thoughts below. 

Have a great week!