Elegant Clothes and Feminine Accessories

My Autumn & Winter Bags ~ 2024

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Good Morning Everyone!

Goodness, I am so glad to have my hour back! I know some people may not care but I do! It really makes a difference on Sundays. I feel like I get a lot more done, and I get to bed at a decent time. The Indiana Conference for Women was great! I was a volunteer again this year and loved it! Registration went well and I met more women this year. The speakers were phenomenal and the books… oh my goodness they are really good! So we got Career Foward: Strategies from Women Who Made It, Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion and Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes by Valerie Bertinelli. Some of Valerie’s books were autographed. I managed to get one for my boss. I really enjoyed the speakers for the first book Career Forward. They were down to earth, brilliant, and precise. I was placed in the green room for a moment and got to meet author April Simpkins. She was such a sweetheart and the story of the daughter Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, was heart breaking. 

Martha Hoover, another heavy hitter in my city, was at the conference as a moderator for Valerie Bertinelli and it turns out we know a lot of the same people. I hope to have her come and speak very soon at my office. We talked and talked in the green room, and she asked me to take a selfie with her! Now how cool is that! 

I will be putting up my Christmas decorations this weekend and finishing up my Thanksgiving grocery here soon. Now on to some new fashion finds. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Oh sweet autumn is here and so are all of the rich colors and fabrics! I am a tote girl and I love a tote with great organizational spaces and pockets as well as beauty. I have managed to find three Kate Spade Manhattan totes that I love. My first tote was the Manhattan tote in houndstooth. I purchased this about 2 years ago and knew I wanted a second one. I managed to find this one on the website! It is still available for now. Order it while you can. 

The second purchase was the Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote in green! Oh be still my heart! Honestly, I was shocked that I loved the green one, but I think that was my “winter palette” screaming at me. I ordered this one from Poshmark. Then this past summer I saw the black Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote and thought, “you know that might be another great addition to my wardrobe”. I found this one on eBay. Both leopard totes were purchased brand new. If you are interested, you may check Poshmark and eBay. 

 

 

Now this is my newest addition. This is the Gucci Brown & Multicolor Suede Ophidia Large Tote. What’s funny is that this bag was not on my radar. I have been stalking the Fendi Sunshine Large tote for almost a year. Maybe even longer. I found a few used ones on the Vestiaire Collective website but for some reason I could not pull the trigger. I just kept praying about it. Every time I added one to my cart, I would let it sit there and ask myself a series of questions. It was a bit ridiculous, but I had a number in my head that I did not want to go over, and I was trying to stay on budget. Also a thought popped in my head.  It was, “in the next five years would that big Fendi sign across the bag bother you”? And I thought wow, where did that come from? It really made me think. 

I am trying to do a better job of cultivating my wardrobe and I am starting to think long term, like years. So then I said, “Lord I am on the hunt for an elegant bag for this season and I want it to fit into my wardrobe permanently”. Can you find the bag that I am suppose to have? I swear to you about one hour later this bag popped up in my Vestiaire search! It came out of nowhere and I did not even type this name in! When I saw it my heart SANG! 

I was so in love with the shape, the deep rich colors, the black leather, the suede, the structure, the handles and the perfectly size branding! Oh my goodness, I was in love instantly. Also the price was pretty good but then as soon as I liked it the seller sent me a deep discount! I ended up paying under $900! Thank you Lord!

I am so happy with my purchase and so happy with my collection this year. I have more bags for the autumn/ winter, but these are the newest additions. I don’t know if you pray to God about your purchases, but I will tell you this. You should try it!

Have a great week! 

 

  • Affiliate links attached 

My Color Analysis Journey

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Good Morning Friends,

I had a really good birthday weekend. Thank you all for the birthday wishes truly! I actually have a lot of content to share. I will be working with my friend Dr. Minju Witte here soon on a blog collaboration for etiquette! So if there are any etiquette questions that you want me to ask Dr. Witte please put it in the comments section below. 

I have some wonderful autumn photos from the Lily House and an outdoor lunch that me and my Guild girlfriends had a few weeks ago. And I have a reel that I will be posting soon from my birthday dinner at the Cakebake Shop. I had tea there and loved it. Of course I could resist purchasing a teapot for myself. They are so beautiful in person. 

Okay now let me share my wonderful color analysis appointment with you that I had on my birthday!

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

A few weeks ago, my branding company, shared a new project that they were working on. It was a new branding project for a local color analysis consultant. Ummm that caught my attention immediately and I reached out to her to find out what services she offered.

Elizabeth from the Color Coordinator , was so helpful and offered an in-person experience and a virtual one as well. I thought about having the virtual appointment but honestly nothing compares to doing it in person. So I set up an in-person appointment and put it on my calendar! 

When I arrived I saw that she had the scarf rack which made me so excited. Now I have seen this done on YouTube so I kind of knew how it was going to be.  

 

 

She was very personable, knowledge and fun. She made me feel so comfortable and we talked about colors, age, and a little bit of everything. I could not resist a selfie! 

 

 

I did wear one of my favorite pink dresses but I was open to whatever Elizabeth was going to show me about color. I was also wanted some advice or make up colors. Sometimes people will just tell you, “oh that color lipstick looks great on you”, but then you get it home and find out that you don’t love it. I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased a pink lipstick only to not wear it.

In the above photos you will see a before and after. Elizabeth suggested that I go for berry color lipsticks and blushes. She actually applied a color on my lips and cheeks while I was there. You can watch her reel of my session here. 

 

 

After going through all of the seasons Elizabeth was able to narrow down my colors to “bright winter”. I never thought in a million years that I would be a winter. One of the great aspects of this season of colors is that black is a neutral for me. Now how great is that! Elizabeth also explained that I have three other sister palettes which are dark winter, cool winter, and bright spring. In addition to the booklets I got this color swatch to help me pick out colors for my clothes, nails and makeup! I love it! 

It was such a wonderful experience and I have NO regrets doing it. I have been wanting to experiment with more activities in my life and this was one of them. As we all know, life is so short and I want to do as much as a can to make it beautiful. 

If you live in the Indianapolis area, I would recommend Elizabeth if you want to take an adventure in discovering your colors. It could do wonders! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ShopMy ~ New Sarah Flint Platform

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Good Morning Friends,

Whew what a week so far! We had our HOA sale this past weekend and a few dresses finally left the boutique. I was so happy to see them go! Fingers crossed that my new arrival will be coming soon. They have been on back order with my vendor. I don’t want to ruin the surprise but I sure do hope that they ship soon and they are not dresses! 

I am in “small update” mode in my home. I got a new light fixture for my office and hopefully some new curtain rods will be arriving soon. Speaking of updates… the Sarah Flint Brand Ambassador/Curator program just got an update. Not only did we get new codes, you can now use them more then once, and we got our very own platforms to share our favorite Sarah Flint items. 

 

 

I am now on the ShopMy app or website for Sarah Flint! We can share our favorite Sarah Flint items and our discount codes are active on every item. The wonderful thing about this new platform is that you can use our codes MORE THAN ONCE! It’s a great website for brand ambassadors to curate our favorite SF accessories.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have my page divided into shoes, accessories, and the home collection. You can shop all those items and use my code. 

 

 

I love that our codes are displayed right under the item and shows the percentage. 

 

 

I recently ordered the Sarah Flint Gracie Oxford and have already taken them for a spin! I have been wanting these shoes for a while now. They are the perfect balance of comfort and elegance. I loved the pink blush color, Gracie print shoe strings, and the extra padding added to the foot bed. 

 

 

These are officially going to be my travel shoes. These are a perfect combination to my dresses. I love wearing dresses and finding comfortable shoes to wear with them when I travel is always a challenge. I hope that you check out my new ShopMy page and look around at my favorites. Also don’t forget to check out the home collection from Sarah Flint. She has a few great pieces there. You can watch my unboxing on YouTube. 

I am so excited about this new upgrade to the program. It’s a wonderful way to keep getting your favorite Sarah Flint pieces with our codes on repeat! My new code is SF-SHOCKLEY-15 and you can use it on the site at any time. Just sure that your order is at least $230 or more! Enjoy! 

 

  • This post is sponsored. 

New Vintage Inspired Bags

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Good Morning Friends,

I hope you are all well. My recent “girls day” went so well. I spent the entire day with some of my friends from the St. Margaret’s Guild and we had a wonderful time. I will be sure to share a blog post later about our adventure. 

This week we are taking Lauren back to her college campus. 🙁 I am really sad but she is ready to return to her friends. I also will be taking a few days off this week. I want to just “putter” around the house and get things done. I am thinking about changing around my office furniture so we will see what I end up doing. 

Have you read the title? Oh my goodness. I recently received a package and it was just stunning when I opened it. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This vintage hatbox is stunning and was created by V.J. from Notiq! 

 

 

This hatbox is a serious head turner! I took it with me on my recent work trip and you would not believe the amount of people that stopped me to look at it. It is perfect as a carry-on and to take with you for short trips. I have even used it to take to my office to carry my lunch bag, water bottle, and planner. 

It is made of sustainable luxury materials and will absolutely elevate your look. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The second bag that I just got is the MME. Carlton Basket tote. It is huge and I have always wanted a large basket bag. I absolutely love it. For one it is different. You will not see many people with this bag. Anytime I carry one of my MME.Mink bags I always get stopped and people ask me questions. This basket bag is made from organic grass fibers woven together. The bag also has leather and the distinctive MME. Mink design and gold hardware. It’s lovely. 

 

 

 

It’s has lots of room inside and I added my purse insert from Amazon to give me compartments and proper storage. I found something similar on Amazon, see here if you are interested. 

I can’t believe that summer is almost over. I am preparing for my closet review here soon. I actually cannot wait to do it, purge some items and get ready for fall. Speaking of purging most of the dresses in my dress boutique are on sale. Most of them have been marked down to only $10! Order a few for your wardrobe! 

 

 

 

 

  • This post is a paid partnership. 

Announcements & Sarah Flint Secret Garden Collection!

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Hello Friends!

The weather here in Indy has been fantastic! We have had sunny skies and 80 degrees! It is so nice to be coat free. I have been working on some new things and I have some announcements.

The first is that I am a second ambassador for a new brand, and I will be sharing that soon. The second announcement is that I was asked by an interior design firm here in my city to do a collaboration with them this Friday!!! I am so excited for this new opportunity, and I can’t believe that they asked me to do a collab! This is my first collaboration in this format, and I am really nervous but looking forward to it. Sassy Green Interiors is a local design firm, and their work is so beautiful. They are one of designers in the St. Margaret’s Show House this year and I will be conducting a Q & A with them called “Timeless Classic Living & Quiet Luxury”. I do hope that you all enjoy the photos and the interview! Another tidbit is that I will be bringing some of my Sarah Flint scarfs and shoes to place in their room to take photos! So exciting!

Now speaking of shoes and beautiful things, I wanted to share some of the new Secret Garden Collection at Sarah Flint.

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

First off, I have to share that I finally got one of the pairs of Gracie’s that I wanted. Sarah sent out an archive sale link and I was able to get this for only $199! I know that is still a lot of money but compared to the original price of $595, I have to say that this was a good deal. They are still on sale for $299 and they only have a few sizes left. You can still use my code SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for %15 off of your first purchase. 

 

 

Just stunning…

 

 

Of course there is a new scarf in this collection. I shared this on my recent YouTube video, and I have seriously not stopped wearing it. I just love it. The Secret Garden Scarf 45 is a stunning piece to have in your wardrobe. It is made of silk and is utterly timeless. I have gotten lots of compliments already. You truly will be able to have this in your wardrobe forever. 

 

 

I normally don’t like flats, but these Mauve Lace Parkers are sensational! Aren’t they adorable? 

 

 

One more item that has just launched on the website are these silk ties. They are originally for the Grear Sandals but can be worn in different ways. I especially love this way. I can’t wait for mine to arrive. I will be using them as purse scarfs and scarfs for my neck. 

Don’t forget to use my code: SARAHFLINT-CCMRSSHOCKLEY for %15 off your first shoe purchase! Let me know in the comments section below if you order anything. I can’t wait to share my collaboration with you all next week as well as my first tag sale that I got to attend! 

 

*This post is sponsored; affiliate links attached. 

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! 

 

 

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!