COLOR CRUSH | MUSTARD

Sweater: ASOS (unavailable), similar here and here, Denim: Old Navy (old), Booties: Kemi Suede Fringe Booties. 

The past few days have been absolutely beautiful. There is something about a walk on a fall day that I just love. And our neighborhood was definitely made for walkin'. Among many other things this fall, I have been completely crushing on anything and everything mustard. It just screams fall to me! This flowy sweater was no exception. I chose to pair it with black denim and a pair of black fringe booties. I opted for a more simple look, but I also love the idea of adding a gold statement necklace or a printed scarf as well. Hope you are all enjoying this fall as much as I am! 

How beautiful is this huge yellow tree behind our house? It just keeps getting prettier and prettier!  

PENDANT LIGHTING UNDER $200

We have recently moved on to working on our foyer. The awful red Asian-inspired wallpaper and green and white checkerboard tile can be gone forever! After tearing down the wallpaper this summer, we decided to wait on painting until the other two rooms were finished. Well, the painting is almost done and we are looking into new flooring and lighting. Let me just tell you...looking at lighting is fun! I am loving all the unique pieces out there and I truly feel like having the right lighting can really make a room. We decided on a piece already, but here are some of my favorite pendants I found while I was searching. Enjoy! 

ELEMENTARY STYLE TURNS 1

Image via Pinterest

This past weekend, Elementary Style turned one! Hard to believe I have been blogging for a year now. I want to start off by saying a huge "thank you" to all of you who stop by every once and awhile. Your support means more to me than you know. It's weird. In the blogging world it can get hard to not always think about numbers...how many people visit your blog, how many page views you have had, how many new followers you have. Honestly, I do my best to not think about those things. I constantly have to remind myself why I started this in the first place. To me it's about doing what I love and sharing that with others. If this blog can inspire one person to follow their dreams and do more of what they love on a daily basis - than I am happy. The past few years for me have been a roller coaster career wise. Even today I struggle with feeling like I don't get to use as much creativity in my job as I would like to. I am so thankful to have a place that I can use as a creative outlet on a daily basis if I choose to. If you are thinking about starting a blog, my advice would be this. Do it. Everyone has to start somewhere! One of my favorite quotes I have seen flying around Pinterest is, "Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle". It's so true! Life is too short not to follow your dreams and do what you love.

I am excited about some of the things I have been working on for the upcoming year! I have had some things laid on my heart lately that I cannot wait to share with you guys. All I can say right now is this...sometimes the Lord places something on our hearts, pushes us to take risks, and asks us to trust him. There may be some changes coming to Elementary Style, but I promise they will be good changes. I hope that you all continue to follow along!

Thanks again for stopping by. I would love to know...what would you like to see on the blog this upcoming year? Leave your comments below!

XO, 

Jacqueline

DIY TO TRY: SPRAY PAINTED HARDWARE

When we first moved into our house I knew we were going to have to do something about some of the hardware. Although many of the important things in this house have been updated, the style was very 60-70 year old appropriate and we are working on making it more 20-30 year old appropriate. I like to call our home a "cosmetic fixer upper" because structurally the house is in excellent condition, however it desperately needs a cosmetic face-lift throughout the entire home.

One of our recent projects included painting all the woodwork in the living room. The hardware on the living room doors was an awful shiny brass, which desperately needed to go. Instead of replacing all the hinges and door knobs I decided to try a black matte spray paint to update the hardware. I used Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X in black matte from Home Depot. I was so pleased with how well it covered and how great the hardware looked when we were finished! Our doors look like brand new and we saved ourselves some major money on the project. When we were looking at new knobs they were priced anywhere from $20 and up. One can of spray paint costs less than $5, which got the job done! I can't wait to share the whole room with you guys. Just wait until you see the before photos!

XO,

Jacqueline