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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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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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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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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. 

 

 

September Favorites ~ 2024

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Good Morning Everyone,

Yesterday evening I had another girl’s day with my friends from the Guild. We went to Newfields to visit the gardens, and had dinner at a restaurant called the Meridian.

 

 

The gardens were lovely and the weather was perfect. We had such a wonderful time. Now on to my favorites for the month of September!!!

 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

My first favorite is this beautiful scarf from a company called Fable England. This is the Morning Song Narrative Square scarf. It depicts a tranquil woodland scene and a whimsical doe. What also captured me were the colors. It’s a beautiful pink color. 

 

 

I also got the Rose scarf from Fable England. It contains Dr. Robert John Thorton’s painted roses. Both scarfs are made from 22% silk and measure about 90 cm. They are both large, light weight, and very elegant. 

My boutique’s scarves are still on sale as well. 

 

 

Have any of you heard of Create Academy? If you are a member I would LOVE to know your thoughts. Their advertisements have been appearing in my social media feeds for sometime now and I reached out to ask about their classes and memberships. I really want to take the A Year of Cut Flowers course. That really captured me. I will be signing up soon! 

 

 

My fourth favorite was a new find. I noticed that during the summer my lips hurt sometimes or burn. Then it dawned on me (after 20 years) that my lips needed to have an SPF (duh). So I did some googling and found this on Amazon. It is the Beekman 1802 Goat Milk lip tint with SPF. It is wonderful and I truly feel a different now. 

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I feel like such a dork saying this but “I GOT NEW POTS AND PANS AND THEY MATCH”! Sorry but my pots and pans usually don’t match and I feel like such an elegant woman with a set. This is the GreenPan pot set . I wanted something that was going to be toxic free, easy to clean, beautiful, and non-stick. I thought this was a lovely set to try. I am in love so far. 

 

 

Most of you know that I love my totes but sometimes my handles can get a little worn. My bags are “work horses” for me and I need them to last. I found these faux leather handle protectors on Amazon and now I don’t need to worry about frayed handles. They work great and come in several different colors. 

 

 

Of course the new home items did not stop at the pots. I started to look around my home, and noticed that my curtain rods were looking a little worn and they were black. My goodness I have had these same curtain rods since we moved in around 2013. It was time for an update. So I ordered these gold heavy duty curtain rods from Amazon and they worked perfectly. I was a little worried about the color but they look phenomenal! 

 

 

 

I also got rid of my black light fixture in my office and replaced it with flush mount light fixture. It gave my office a completely different look and the lighting was much better in the room. 

 

 

 

And lastly is my new sparkling water drink called Bonsai. Now the only place that I could find this online was my store Kroger. I don’t know if it is available anywhere else but I love this drink! It only has 10 calories and 1 gram of sugar. It is so wonderful! I asked my dietitian if this was okay to drink and she said yes! So happy! 

Of course I hope that you all enjoyed my favorites for the month of September. On Saturday, my birthday, I will be having my first appointment with a color analysis. I am so excited you guys and will be sure to share it soon! Have a wonderful weekend and keep an eye on your mailboxes for this month’s newsletter. 

 

July Favorites ~ 2024

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Good Morning Everyone,

Well, I am trying to get back into the swing of things. My work trip was last week and honestly it really kicked my butt! I was so tired most of the time. We had late meetings and I had lots of interviews, reports to write, and still had to manage my workload back home. Whew!!! I am taking a few days later in August as “puttering days” because I just want to hang out at home and do things around the house. I have a few antique stores to visit, and I want to move around furniture in my office. I am really looking forward to being home. 

Okay, let’s get into my favorites for this month. Thank you to everyone who reaches out to tell me how much they love my monthly favorites posts. This are not easy to put together, so I am glad that you all enjoy them. 

My first favorites have been a working horse in my wardrobe lately. I have been looking for chaffing shorts for years and I mean years! I finally found a pair that do not “ride up”, sink, or move. 

 

These have been so wonderful and come in various sizes and colors. Get you some! I have 9 pairs now! I have been wearing them under my dresses non-stop. They are perfect. 

 

My second is my new phone sanitizer from Amazon! It can sanitize any phone, any size. It’s great!

 

 

Third is my new bikini trimmer. I have been on the hunt for one of these for a while and you know what else it does? It’s a nose hair trimmer! Yes! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

It comes in other colors and with a $15 off coupon. 

 

 

Fourth is my new to me but vintage armchair that I found while antiquing last weekend. I saw it in one of the booths in Midlands and could not leave it there. It was only $35 and I immediately saw it in the greenhouse. It’s perfect. 

 

 

This was such wonderful purchase. This fly/bug trap has been a summer dream this year. I hate seeing flies and gnats flying around my home so I have been on the hunt for something that would work. I saw this on QVC and found them on Amazon and had to order them. They are so easy to install and use. Order you some! 

 

 

The sixth favorite was my new dress that I purchased from JJs House. My stepson was recently married, and I went on the hunt to find a dress that I could wear to the wedding, but I also wanted this dress to be something that could stay in my wardrobe for other events.  This dress worked wonderfully! I got lots of compliments and the price was fantastic! I order the dress as a try on and only paid $10. I ordered two different sizes and kept one and returned the other. Once I decided to purchase it they gave me 20% off. The dress was only $99 then with the 20% off I paid around $79! Wonderful transaction! Would highly recommend. 

 

 

My seventh favorite is actually for the fall season. I tried this on at Von Maur and initially I didn’t like it when I smelled it in the bottle, but I decided to spray it on and walk around. After a few minutes, my daughter turned and looked at me and said, “Mom is that you? You smell good!” Okay at that point I knew that it was a winner. I already have a few of the Aerin scents and honestly, she never disappoints. The notes are violet leaf, cedarwood, and amber. A little scared of scents? Order a sample here or the bottle here. 

 

Next on my list is this divine video of Dame Joanna Lumley at Wimbledon explaining afternoon tea.

Simply wonderful to watch. Now I hope you all enjoyed my favorites for this month. My newsletter should be hitting your inboxes soon. Here shortly I will be sharing the status of my plate wall, sharing two new bags, and my new vintage birdcage! It is stunning! 

I am also about to start putting items on sale for the boutique. I need to start trying to clear out inventory. With that being said the Gatsby Pearl Necklace is now on sale for only $10! The WooPay option is easy to use and accepts all cards. Order a pair for your wardrobe to enjoy and to wear when you feel the need to be elegant. WEAR THE PEARLS!

Enjoy!

 

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May Favorites ~ 2024

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Good Morning Everyone,

Well, I had a wonderful few days off. It was so nice to be home and to be able to get some housework done and read a little. I also had resting on my list. I wanted a few moments just sitting on my porch resting and reading. 

I have a few days in the month of June where I don’t have things scheduled so I am hoping to take advantage of that before my work trip in July. I do have some news… MY GREENHOUSE HAS BEEN INSTALLED! I am so excited and honestly in love with it. My husband has been watching lots of reviews on YouTube and we have seen nothing but good things. I will be sure to share it very soon!

Now I have some wonderful May favorites to share with you this month if I do say so myself.

 

 

First on my list are new beauty products that I have been trying (for a year) for the summer. So far this has been the best anti-chafe stick that I have ever had! If you are a plus size gal like me then chaffing legs is your worst nightmare during the summer. I mean my legs have blistered because of chaffing. I have used this stick for over a year and love it!

 

 

The second beauty product is this Dove Melanin Even Tone bodywash. I saw that it was co-created with dermatologist of color and thought I would give it a try. I have been using it for several months now and can say that my armpits are a little “lighter” in color. They had some dark spots in them, but those spots are now gone! I will continue with using it in other areas. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Third is the Decorators’ Show House & Gardens candle. I co-created this with some of my fellow Guild members. I shared this on the blog back in February and this was such a fun project. We sold several at the show house this year and I hope to make another for next year’s home. My team at the office loved this and want to have a “team building” session making one this year. I hope to do this in August with them. 

 

 

My organizational projects continue. Fifth on my list is the registration and insurance card holder for your vehicle. I will admit my registration and other car info were just thrown into my glove compartment and I have been looking into finding something and saw this. It is wonderful and comes in many other colors. You will love it. I promise you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sixth was finding something to hold my EarPods and charger. I would just place this in my bag and have the charger hanging from it. It was really bothering me, so I ordered this hard case to carry both in. It works wonderfully!

 

 

With spring arriving, I was on the hunt for some new faux florals to have in my home. With all of the recent Homeworthy home tours I was so inspired to try some new arrangements. I found these gorgeous faux lilac bushes at Michaels for a steal! If they don’t have them in store order them online. 

 

 

I simply could not pass this up! I saw this on an influencer’s reel and had to order it! I wear glasses in the evenings, and I am always looking for a “safe place” to put them at night. This has been perfect! It comes in several different colors!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Now this find here has been a TREASURE! I saw this on another influencer’s reel and had to have it. My goodness if you work from home and use a laptop this is a hidden gem! I ordered this screen extender and I now I cannot go back to just working on one screen. I have two screens at my office downtown and I honestly dread working from home because of the small laptop screen. This has truly made my life so much easier, and I now love working from home again! 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

And lastly is Winston. I have been wanting this faux golden doddle since December and my husband got him for me for Mother’s Day. I just love him. I was inspired by Nicola’s antique sheep that she had in her home. Once I saw those I knew that I could have Winston in the office with me. I changed his collar to this beautiful emerald green and I think it suites him.

 

 

I hope you all enjoyed this month’s favorites. I have several more but I am going to wait until June to share those. Please don’t forget about the beautiful new boutique arrival. I now have two chinoiserie silk scarfs available and they are stunning! Order both for your neck and handbag. 

 

 

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