Autumn Blue and White

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Good Morning Everyone,

My branding project is still underway. I have been slowing changing and playing around with my new logo and other new branding tools that my brand manager has sent me. It has been truly inspiring seeing my vision for a more elegant logo and signage for my blog and boutique come to pass. I am hoping that this is a sign of things to come. 

I had a lot of fun creating a reel for the boutique’s new arrival. My husband helped me with filming. I want to create more reels but they are a lot of work! Especially if you have a certain vision in mind and don’t want to mimic with other people are doing which can be very hard because there are so many creative people online. 

We are now in the full swing of the autumn season, and I have found myself a little too busy to decorate! Well, I will be honest the items that I really want are far too expensive. I follow Belle Omniley on Instagram and find her holiday style so inspiring! She recently posted the photo below and I knew that this would be the inspiration for my porch!

 

photo credit: Belle Omniley (Instagram)

 

Oh my goodness! Do we see the color palette? Do we see the blue and white ginger jars? Oh my goodness! As soon I saw the ginger jars I wanted to pull mine out and place them on the porch immediately! It’s just gorgeous!

 

 

So happy that she shared an up-close photo. I have this photo saved in my phone. I have already purchased 3 huge mums but they died already! I am seriously considering getting some faux mums! I found these faux green topiary balls on Amazon and I think that they would look great in my blue and white planters. They look really similar to her green mums in this photo. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did find these beautiful blue and white pumpkins at the At Home store last year at the end of the autumn season. I don’t think that they are available anymore, but I have these placed in our family room. 

 

I pulled my fabric blue and white pumpkins out this year. I love these and they were such a good find! Of course, they are from the At Home Store, but they are no longer available. You can see my skeleton Frank who is sitting in his chair for this Halloween season. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I did purchase a new magnolia wreath for my porch. It looks beautiful! If I am able to find some new mums or purchase some faux topiary I will be sure to share a new photo! Happy Autumn!

 

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Rose Canton Vintage Find

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Happy Friday!

It is truly amazing that this year is almost over. I don’t know about you, but I am not ready for 2024. Not at all. Yesterday was my monthly lunch with my friend and we went to a new restaurant called Gallery Pastry Shop. It was really good. I like trying to visit new places to eat. Especially when they are near antique stores. 

My quest for beautiful home items continues. I visited a new antique store recently and honestly, I was not really impressed with it, but I did find these gorgeous ginger jars. I thought that they were Rose Medallion…

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

But it turns out that they are Rose Canton. These are dated from 1960-1980. I was so excited when I saw them under a table at this new antique store. 

 

 

I am loving all of these colors! Such a beautiful combination of the greens, pinks, blues, and creams. Another detail that I really love are the hand painted brush strokes. I was told by Katherine from Pender & Peony that the marks on my jars mean that they were potted in Japan and painted in Hong Kong. 

 

 

When I purchased them I had not decided where they would go yet so I have placed them on my bookcase in my office. I love them there for now. They are quite substantial. I paid $250 for both which I am not sure if I got a good deal or not but I will say this… I do love them! I believe that they are wonderful addition to my home decor. 

You can search for Rose Canton ginger jars on eBay and Etsy. They are everywhere. If you can make an offer, then do it! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy Hunting! 

The boutique does have a new arrival! My Blush Cameo Earrings are available to order! They are the perfect pink and feel very comfortable on the ear.

 

 

 

 

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! 

 

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