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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! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

 

A Girl’s Day ~ Antiques and Flowers

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Hello Friends, it’s September!

As I stated in my August newsletter, I love this month. It’s a sign of cooling down, a closet refresh, sweaters and lovely silk scarfs. I just love it! Lauren came home this past weekend and it was so nice to have her home. It was a first drive down from campus by herself! As you can imagine my mom-bear was so nervous but when I saw her pull up in the driveway I was able to take a deep breath, look up at the sky and say thank you! These beginning years of adulting are a new chapter for us all.

I shared a few weeks ago that I had a girls day with some of my friends from the Guild. We planned a day of lunch, antique shopping and visiting my friend’s cabin. It turned out to be a great day and a wonderful time to chat, catch up and explore.

We started off with a meetup. Everyone ended up at my home and everyone wanted to see my greenhouse! We then walked around to look at my David Austin roses and then loaded up in the cars to head to Starbucks.

It was an hour drive so we just talked about everything under the sun. Our health, family, goals, and dreams. It’s always good to chat with friends and to get a fresh perspective on life. Sometimes all you need is someone else’s point of view to guide you back to where you need to be. Our first stop was lunch at a restaurant called the Hard Truth which is also a distillery company. 

 

 

The views were magnificent. We had a wonderful lunch while seeing nature. 

 

 

Next we did some vintage jewelry shopping at Touch of Silver, Gold and Old. They had a vintage cameo that I wanted so bad but of course the one that I selected was $2,000! I did not purchase it but we had a wonderful time looking around and meeting the owner. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

We then walked to a lovely coffee shop called Olde Bartley House. I LOVED the decor! The vintage table, and chairs, chandeliers, and floors were so aesthetically pleasing. It had lots of beautiful artwork and was filled with history from the town.

 

 

And this door!?? Loved it!

 

 

Once we left the coffee shop we then went to my friend’s cabin and spent a few hours there. We sat in her sky chairs and just laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. She also had an outside tea room which was lovely. I didn’t take any photos of my friend’s cabin because some things just need to remain private. Once we left there we went and visited one of the properties that she is working on. It had an outside tree house which was one of the most beautiful tree houses that I have ever seen. I didn’t take pictures of it because I wanted to be in the moment. 

After that we then stopped by the sunflower garden. I posted a video of it on my Youtube channel. It was such a magical place. 

 

 

I had such a great time with my friends and on the inside I teared up a bit. For about 12 years I have been praying for good godly friendships. I have been saying almost daily, “the Lord will bless me with friends, that will pray for me and I will pray for them”. I have been wanting friendships for a long time. I believe that having friends as a woman is another form of self-care. Friendships are so meaningful in life and I never really understood that until recently. If you have some girlfriends, nurture those relationships. Work on keeping them in your life. They are so important. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

 

 

The Vintage Birdcage

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Good Morning Friends,

I feel like a new woman. I changed around my office and I swear it feels like a completely different space. I told my husband that I need a refresh in this house. I am going to be replacing all of my curtain rods here soon and hopefully buying some new curtains. I got a new office rug, a new lamp, and I moved around some art work on the walls. I now love going into my home office again. I knew that I was due for a change because I didn’t enjoy going into my office space. Not a good sign. But now the space feels new. Sometimes that is all we need. A little change. 

With this new office change I have also been going thru cabinets and drawers. I feel like we needed to purge some things as well. I will be going thru my closet here again soon and getting things ready for our neighborhood HOA. I am trying to encourage my husband…. wish me luck. 

New antique items are being added to my list. I really want to change up my entryway as well. I have so many ideas for my home. Purchasing antiques and furniture with a little more substance is where I am headed and trying to stay. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I spotted this vintage birdcage at an antique months ago. The owner of the store told me that this gentleman sells lots of items on FBMP. I found him and began following him. The original price was $220 and I did not want to pay that.

 

 

A few more months went by and I saw that he dropped the price about $100! A part of me wanted to purchase it then but something on the inside told me to wait a bit longer. Now this birdcage is really big! I loved the color, and the details. It reminded me of a Victoria greenhouse honestly. I thought it was stunning. 

 

 

Then one weekend I was on my phone checking for other antiques when I got an alert that he dropped the price to $80! What a steal. I immediately reached out and asked if I could purchase it. He said of course and met me and my husband at the antique store. He is quite the collector. He goes to estate sales all the time. I have no idea where he finds these sales! All I ever find is junk! We asked him if he knew anything about it and he said no. He didn’t know the year or what the history was. I really wish he knew the details. That would have been the wonderful part about this purchase. I love learning about antique pieces.  

I hope to have this piece for years to come. I think having a few “whimsical” decor items in your home makes life interesting. This is definitely one of those pieces for me. I hope that my “future” grandchildren adore it and that it will always remind them of me. 

 

 

 

 

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. 

My First Plate Wall ~ Home Decor

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Good Morning Friends,

Goodness, it is still hot here but it is August. My David Austin roses are doing so well. They are blooming beautifully!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

Oh my goodness! I am so happy! My English Garden dreams are coming into fruition. I have always wanted an English inspired garden. I will be going to Costco to try to find another trellis here soon. 

Okay friends. I have finished my plate wall for now. I want to add more plates, and I am on the lookout for some smaller ones to add but for now the project is complete. If you recall the room below was the inspiration for this. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

If you want to read more about this room, you may visit my blog post here. 

 

 

Now it took me a few weeks of searching Poshmark, Ebay, and antique stores to find plates that I liked. Honestly it was harder than I thought! Everyone is keeping their “grandma” china and selling it. I hardly found anything in the Goodwill stores here in my city. Those locations were filled with junk! It blew me away! 

Only two of my plates were found at the antique stores the rest were from Poshmark!

 

 

If you recall the blue and white plate on the far left was a plate at the showhouse this year. I did the Google lens feature on my phone and found it online. There was a seller on Poshmark that had two. I purchased both of them. The bottom middle plate was plate on the wall in the room designed by Jenni Egger. I found that on Poshmark as well. It was called the Andrea by Sadek Japan Buckingham Porcelain Floral Paisley dinner plate. There were quite a few on Poshmark. 

 

 

This is the right side. Some of the small plates are on this side and they were found on Poshmark as well. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I found this plate on Poshmark and I was not sure what it was going to look like in person. When it arrived and I saw this, I went on the hunt to find a second one! It’s stunning. It’s made by Asahi Japan. I have never heard of it but it’s stunning. 

 

 

This plate was another favorite. As I mentioned it was at the showhouse. It’s called the 222 Fifth Avenue Adelaide Dark Blue and White Dinner plate. It’s very affordable and should be easy to find. 

 

 

Despite the searching and looking this was so fun to do. I did find a new Instagram store called Tulip Home Design. I purchased one of my plates from there as well. Now I am thinking about adding about 8 desserts plates to the wall, but I want them to be a set. I think that would bring a cohesive look to the collection. The plate hangers that I used are from Amazon and came in a pack of 12 with different sizes. They were so easy to use. 

Let me know in the comments section below if you have a plate wall or you are considering creating one. I would love to know.

I was going to wait to share this news, but I am too excited! Sarah Flint has changed the brand ambassador program, and it is a good change! Now when you use my NEW code SF-SHOCKLEY-15 you get 15% off of your purchase and that means ANY purchase! You can use my discount code on all items including accessories! All you have to do is spend $230 or more and you can use my code and you can use it MORE THAN ONCE! Now how great is that! 

I am thrilled about this change! So I hope that you can order your dream shoes or scarf, or belt soon! 

 

 

 

My Travel Luxuries ~ 2024

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Hello Everyone,

Goodness what a weekend. I am trying to stay away from the news. There is too much going on right now. I did go antiquing on Saturday. One of the interior designers from the showhouse has a booth at Midland’s and I wanted to take a peek at it. While I was there, I found a gorgeous armchair that I will share in my July favorites. I placed it inside my greenhouse. It looks so stunning there. 

I am gearing up for my trip next week. I will be flying to Virigina. In this blog post I wanted to share my current travel items. Honestly some of them are a luxury to me because I did not have really nice travel items until recently. There are a few influencers that I follow on Amazon, and they have shared some wonderful items on how to travel with affordable luxury. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley

 

I will start with this first. This is the cabinet in my closet. I have taken the first two shelves and created these “travel essentials” shelves. What I noticed (after traveling all these years) is that after we go on a trip, I usually leave my travel essentials and bags in my suitcases. What I noticed is that when my trips were approaching, and I was making a list I would NEVER know what I needed for my trip because everything would be in my suitcases tucked away in my closet. So dumb! 

So when I reorganized my closet a few months ago I decided to go through everything and pull things out and make space for my travel essentials. It has made me so happy! I can know see what I need, and it has encouraged me to purchase more travel items and get more organized for my trips. 

 

 

One of the new travel luxuries that I have purchased are these petite candles from Linnea. Now these are NOT petite. They are the size of your hand but so easy to pack away and take with you. I will be taking the Night Bloom with me to burn in my hotel room at night while I read a book. I also have a box of matches to take with me from Linnea. How elegant is that! 

 

 

My second new travel luxury are these gold airless pump cream jars from Amazon. First off, these are stunning. I will be filling these with my facial cleaners and creams. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Okay I have succumbed to the clear case epidemic but only for the cleaning kits that I kept seeing on YouTube. I love the idea about having my very own cleaning kit. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a hotel room wish I had some tools to clean items with. 

 

 

But honestly, I am so happy to now have this as a part of my travel luxury items. A cleaning kit for the hotel room? Yes please! I ordered this bed bug spray and the rest was found at stores. If you can’t find any items, this travel cleaning kit is available on Amazon as well. 

 

 

The last newest travel luxury are my new tea bag tins. So most of you know that I love tea and love having it with me when I travel as well but I will admit that I am TERRIFIED when I take tea bags with me through airport security. I do have TSA precheck but still these look suspect! So I wanted to come up with something to carry these in and a sandwich bag was NOT going to cut it. Really these in a sandwich bag? Think about it! So I thought about it and saw that my Harney’s tea is stored in tins, so I searched Amazon for these, and I love them now! I fill so much better having my bags with me and a secure elegant place. 

Of course, I will still be using my packing cubes, vitamin pill holder, contact lenses container, cosmetic bag, and travel jewelry box. This is a work trip so my new mouse pad will be going with me as well as my new laptop screen extender. To see more of my travel favorites, you may read here, and here. 

Also this week I have two new bags that should be arriving. This one from Notiq! I can’t wait. It comes in a smaller version as well. And this bag that I have also been stalking for a while from MME.Mink. I will share an unboxing soon. Have a great week! There will be no blog post next week because I will be out of town, but July favorites will be posted the following week. Talk soon!

 

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