An Elegant Update

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Good Morning Friends!

I had a nice quiet weekend. On Saturday, my husband and I went to Cincinnati to visit their outlet mall. I love their outlet mall. It is so close to us and has the best shopping. Our outlet mall is simply horrible, and I wish there were more stores but it’s not that great!  I got to visit the Tory Burch store which is my favorite! I got so great pieces for wonderful prices. We also got some of our Christmas shopping done and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory nearby. Great weekend…

I can’t believe that I almost forgot to share my most recent FBMP find! I have had it for a few weeks already….

 

 

So I have been on the hunt for a new but vintage couch for a few weeks now. I found this on Facebook Marketplace and fell in love immediately! What’s funny is that I just got a new couch a few years previously and still loved that piece as well. When I went back to find this post I couldn’t believe that it was in 2018. Goodness time is flying by!

I have since moved that piece from Wayfair to our bedroom and it looks very nice. The couch above was from 2009, I believe, and she paid about $3,000 for it. She had it on FBMP for about $500. I waited a few days and contacted her to come by and see it. Turns out she was moving that next day and had to get rid of it! So my husband made an offer of $350 and she took it. I was so happy! 

I do need to replace the cushions and I may have it reupholstered, but I am not sure yet. I do love the original color. Let me know in the comments section if I should? Also, my boutique is having a wonderful sale. The Vintage Vanity Collection is on sale for $15 for each piece! Don’t forget that these are vintage Elizabeth Arden pieces for your vanity. Perfect gifts as well. Order soon!

 

 

Elegant Amazon Finds

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Good Morning Everyone,

The weather here has gotten quite crisp, and I am loving every minute of it. My husband always has a fit when the temperatures drop but I love the crisp weather. I feel like I can open up all the windows and let that fresh air in the house. It’s wonderful. I especially love it when the crisp air is coming in while I am burning my apple scented candles. So lovely! 

This weekend I don’t have much planned. I just need to make sure that I have my calendars in order, and I finish working on my Christmas list. Speaking of gifts, I am sharing some great and affordable gift ideas from Amazon!

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

First on my list is this fabulous hydrating facial mist from Elizabeth Arden. I have had this for a few weeks, and I love it! Every time I use it someone gives me a compliment about how my face is glowing. I would highly recommend it. 

 

 

My second beauty find is this dusting powder from Woods of Windsor. I found this while watching Lydia Millen on YouTube. She mentioned dusting powder and how no one ever uses it anymore. She mentioned this brand and I had to look for it on Amazon. It is wonderful and the scent is perfect. This is the lily of the valley scent. I will be going back to order the jasmine scent next. This is a perfect beauty gift for yourself or someone else. 

 

 

Next is another great travel find or for daily use. I found this pill travel case on Amazon as well. It is much bigger than the one that I currently have, and I love the separate sections that it offers. I can carry a lot more and a variety of pills. I have my aspirin and vitamins in here now. It’s perfect!

 

 

Now I stumbled on this dusty pink purse bags while shopping for something else. These come in different sizes, colors, and with a draw string for tight closure. They are made of breathable silk. This are so beautiful and would look great in your closet and covering your handbags. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

The last item is the best thing that I have purchase this month! I was inspired to look for atomizers while watching Lydia (again) and decided to a search on Amazon for perfume atomizers. I found these and wanted to give them a try. I have to say they are phenomenal. I love being able to fill each one with my favorite perfumes that I normally cannot carry with me. There are five in a pack and the come with the tools to remove the perfume from your bottle. 

I hope you all enjoy these Amazon finds! I love finding elegant things on Amazon. It’s quite fun!

I do have the new arrival for the boutique finally. The Belle Rose Maxi is available in small, medium, and large. It is so pretty and perfect for any occasion! It is covered in rose peonies! 

 

 

Rebranding A Home for Elegance ~ New Project

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Good Morning!

I had a really nice weekend. I got some of my home projects done, re-arrange some flowers, cleaned my laundry room, started my Christmas shopping, had a Zoom call with my paralegal group, and received my new first round of branding items from my new brand manager!

Yes, you read that correctly! I am rebranding A Home for Elegance. I am approaching my 10th year of blogging! I NEVER thought in a million years I would still be doing this! But I love my blog and love the inspiration that I can provide to my readers.

I felt like this was the next step. I want my brand to have a more uniform look and some order to it. I wanted a custom logo and something that belonged to me so one night I did search on Instagram for graphic designers and Mary with MK Design popped up.

I was so nervous. It took me a few days to contact her but I finally did and we set up a Zoom call. It turns out Mary actually lives here in Indy! She is only 30 minutes away from me so that helps if we need to meet in person.

Once I saw her portfolio and we had our Zoom call I knew that Mary was the perfect fit for rebranding my website! She then sent me a project list and deadlines along with some homework for me to complete.  I had to create a Pinterest board of inspiration for Mary to gain some insight on what I wanted my new brand to look like. Below are some of photos that I pinned for Mary for inspiration. 

 

photos via Pinterest

I loved all of these font examples. Some of these were incorporated into my fonts for my brand.

 

In my heart, I knew that I wanted a crest. I could not shake it. I knew that I wanted one so these were the examples that I sent to Mary. 

 

 

Here were some of the colors that I wanted to include. I love the blues, pinks, creams and greens. I loved doing this part of the work!

 

Here it is! This is the first round of my new crest for my brand! I almost teared up when she sent me the packet! OMG! This was sketched by hand for me! I love everything about it. This really does speak to my brand! This is A Home for Elegance. I can already see this on my new packaging, dress tags, social media, website, just everything! I am so excited about this new journey! I think that Mary is also working on my very own chinoiserie print! I can’t wait. I want to put that on a silk scarf and have my very own collection! Now how beautiful would that be? I will share more later but this is all I want to put out for right now. Thank you to all of you who have been readers and supporters from the beginning. I still remember back in 2015 when Google approved my blog for advertising, then in 2020 I was approved to be on the LTK app. Then 2021 I started the dress boutique. Now I am rebranding. It certainly has been a slow and steady journey!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Elegant Chinoiserie Phone

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It’s a four-day weekend for me! You guys I am SO happy! I have a list of items to get done and I can’t wait to just be at home. Tomorrow I am going to have brunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my cousin and after that I just plan on taking my time getting things done around the house. 

One of my friends from the Guild and a reader recently shared a profile from Instagram with me. Have any of you heard of Diane Hill?

 

photo credit: House Beautiful Magazine 

 

Diane is a London based artist and she paints nothing but chinoiserie art inspired by the 18th century. If you are a grandmillennial at heart, then you will love her work and her website. 

I had to visit the site and look at her blog. I have been wanting chinoiserie wallpaper on my walls for years but getting bits of it in my home has helped with that desire. Especially after seeing her phone cases!

 

 

I ordered one a few weeks ago. I was a little worried because most of the time these phone cases are for iPhone users. We android users don’t get a lot of luxuries in this area, so I was thrilled when I saw that she offered her phone cases in my model!

 

 

I ordered the Rosie phone case, and it only took a few days to arrive. Isn’t it beautiful? I am so happy! I just love my phone case. It’s the prettiest one I have ever owned. I love the blooming peonies, and romantic colors.  

She has so many to choose from. Let me know in the comments section below if you own one already or if you have heard of her. Have a great weekend everyone! 

 

My Visit to Sarah Flint in Atlanta

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Good Morning,

This past weekend we had phenomenal weather. I went to a hair appointment and had my hair trimmed and realized how long it really was! I have been trying for years to grow my hair to my bra strap. It is finally there! Such a goal to meet after all these years. 

Oh my goodness everyone! I was recently on a Zoom call with Sarah Flint and she was showing us the new holiday collection for 2023. I don’t know if any of you were on that call but there was a pair of shoes and scarf calling my name! I did order the scarf but the shoes I will wait because the price was quite high!

Going to a Sarah Flint store is a wonderful experience and quite satisfying. She is certainly true to her brand and the appearance. I had to visit the store in Atlanta while I was there.

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

I love visiting these stores. It’s like a gift to your grandmillennial mind! So many textures and colors. It does not feel like a hospital and each store is so different and has its own character. 

 

 

The staff was so nice and we talked and talked about the brand and local restaurants around. 

 

 

The staff let me try on different size belts and the Gracie Perfect Pump 85 in pink. Looking at the shoe dust bags was enough to make you swoon! Oh my goodness were they gorgeous! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Looking at all of the care and detail that went into decorating the store. There were so many details! 

 

 

Still true to blue and white! 

 

 

I am still loving this framed scarf idea. I am seriously considering it for my home office. 

 

 

Every nook and cranny was carefully displayed. There were vintage books and Sarah’s blue and white china set which I was told that she has thought about launching that as well. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The dressing room slipper which I now own! I love wearing it around my home. The price has dropped ($119 off) and you can use my code SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for an additional 15% off! 

 

 

The store has such an English home feel and look. I truly enjoyed visiting. I will miss the Nashville store. It has been permanently closed! The manager at the Atlanta location told me. I was so sad, but I am very grateful that I got to visit last year. 

I would love to visit the Dallas store next. We will see if the Lord can get me there. Don’t forget to shop with my link or use my code SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for 15% off! Have a great day! 

 

*Affiliate links attached 

 

Shopping in Buckhead

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Hello There!

Another end to another week. Boy this month went by quickly! This weekend is a little busy as well, but I want to make sure to sit at some point and enjoy my new FBMP find! I will share it soon! 

I do miss Buckhead. It was such a beautiful place. One of the resources that I used to help me find places to shop was this guide that I found on Flower Magazine.com. All of the designers shared their favorite places to shop while in the ATL. Some of them live there so I knew that I needed to print this off and use it!

 

photo credit: Mr. Shockley 

 

After eating lunch at the Swan Coach House my husband and I went to the Shops at Buckhead. There were a lot of really nice stores there. Our first stop was Sarah Flint but I will share that in a different blog post. The second was this beautiful Hermes store. 

 

 

All I did was wonder around the first few minutes. We don’t have a Hermes store here in Indy and the last time I was at a Hermes store was in 2017 in New York. 

 

 

 

The staff was incredibly friendly and so helpful. I was so glad to see that. You always hear rumors about the staff in Hermes but they were wonderful. I did pick up a lip oil in the color rose kola and I love it so much! It such a beautiful color and now I have something that I want from Hermes! Great… not sure if that is a good thing. 

 

 

The second place that I wanted to visit was the Dior store. I have been wanting a Christian Dior floral scarf for years now. This was stunning. I asked the rep. if he would hold it up for me. I just loved it, but they are so expensive. I did find this Etsy seller online who has a superb collection of vintage scarves. You should check it out!

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After leaving Dior drooling over everything, we went to Diptyque. Again, we don’t have a store in Indiana, and I really wanted to visit this store. We smelled practical everything candle in the store and we both loved the jasmine. I have it on my desk now and my goodness is it marvelous. 

 

 

After shopping in the lux area, we went to the Lenox Mall near our hotel and decided to look around. We ended up stopping in Carolina Herrera and looking at her store. I purchased a jasmine candle from there as well. It’s downstairs and when I have both of the jasmine candles burning… oh my goodness is my home glorious. 

We then made our way over to Louis Vuitton. I have never seen LV trunks in person. My store does not have them. Not that I can remember so seeing these was so exciting. The small trunks above are my dream trunks. I really want one for my vanity but at $4k I think it may be a minute. I am on the Vestiaire Collective website (previously known as Tradesy) keeping my eye out for a cheaper one, so we will see. 

 

 

 

It was such a good experience again and the staff was excellent! So friendly and helpful. 

 

 

 

This LV trunk was hand painted by an artist that they have come by and work. There was also Louis Vuitton paint! She painted it with Louis Vuitton paint. Incredible! 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

After shopping at the mall I found an antique store nearby called Antiques & Beyond. My goodness was this such a great store. Nothing like I have back home. The staff again, was phenomenal. There was so much to look at. 

 

 

I gasped when I saw the cabinet full of vintage Chanel jewelry. I wanted practically all of it but of course, it was all so expensive. 

 

 

I did purchase this Chanel brooch (faux), this Louis Vuitton pouch and this bust from the antique store. The Tory Burch heels came from a consignment store called Labels. They had 3 stores all on the same street. One for men’s, women’s, and accessories. Crazy right? I loved shopping in Buckhead. There was so much for me to see and do. I really do hope to return. Have a great weekend! 

 

Lunch at the Swan Coach House

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Good Morning,

I had quite a busy weekend. I attended a paralegal retreat on Saturday, filmed a YouTube video finally, and attended a private home tour for charity. The private home tour was simply amazing! I wish I could have taken photos but there we not allowed. It was truly beautiful. 

Today I am continuing with my empty nester trip. I am sharing a few photos of our visit to the Swan Coach House.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

I wanted to have lunch at the Swan Coach House after our tour at the Swan House. It was only a few minutes away and was tucked away near the Swan House. 

 

 

It was so beautiful walking in and had a lot of the southern charm. Of course, there is chinoiserie everywhere.

 

 

There were a few ladies in the distance celebrating a 70th birthday. It was so sweet! They all had on their little Derby hats on and were dressed up. I loved it!

 

 

I absolutely loved the floors and the decor. The gold mirror in the distance was so elegant. 

 

 

 

I ordered some tea sandwiches, and carrot soup. The soup had a little kick to it! It had a little spice but was really good. The staff was very kind and there was a gift shop and art museum in the home as well. 

Overall, it was a great experience, and I am so glad that my husband and I went and visited it. If you are nearby you should stop by! It’s such a wonderful place.