the big announcement!

As I mentioned yesterday, I have two big announcements to make today!:

I think the first announcement is already quite clear, but if not...

SHELL & CHINOISERIE HAS A NEW DESIGN!

For weeks now I have been working with the lovely Lisette from High Note Designs to give shell & chinoiserie a facelift. Although Lisette might beg to differ, I have been waiting as patiently as possible to reveal the new look to you all, and the time has finally arrived...

Ta-da!

I began shell & chinoiserie nine months ago today, which is quite the uncanny coincidence given the timing of the new design reveal!

Here is a screen shot of my first post from May...and of my original design, which I sketched on construction paper with colored pencils!:

shell & chinoiserie has come a long way in the past nine months, and so have I! Read on for the second big announcement, but fair warning: I'm feeling a little nostalgic today...

While bobbing in Thailand's Andaman Sea last spring, my husband and I thought a lot about our future and made the difficult decision to move back to Charleston from Boston.

Blissful Bobbing...

We laughed, we cried...and then we got wrinkly from the water, so we dried off and celebrated with "a few" fruity drinks...

When we got home from our honeymoon, I felt more mentally prepared than ever to find a house to turn into our home, but logistically we just weren't there yet, so I started shell & chinoiserie as a way to collect inspiring spaces and places, as well as document my own ideas.

Blogging from Boston!

Soon after I started shell & chinoiserie, my friend Andrea of The Glam Pad--who has been so supportive of my blog since the beginning--helped me share the news that we would be moving, as well as my plans to share our progress with you all, which I have done, so my apologies if I sound like a broken record. But bear with me just a little longer...:

After a long summer of packing and saying some really sad goodbyes, August arrived and we made the move to Charleston...

...where we have been temporarily living in my family's home on a little, boat-access barrier island. Fun, you say? Yes--very fun! Fun for a weekend. Or maybe even a week. But not for six months...

Marni Rothschild

My husband's hour and fifteen-minute-long commute to work currently consists of a golf cart ride, a ferry ride (if the ferry's running), and a car ride--most of which have been cold lately! Having said that, we have loved life on our little island, and have appreciated the opportunity to live rent free and lease free while we got our feet on the ground! But boy are we are desperate to get back to society...aaand delivery pizza!

So in the fall we started house hunting, and after an emotional and exhausting three months, the roller coaster ride has come to an end...

WE FINALLY FOUND A HOUSE!:

Our New Home!

As you can see, the home is not the Lowcountry style we were originally looking for, but we fell in love with the interior the second we walked through the door and we are beyond happy with the exterior, too. And after admittedly feeling so homesick for New England throughout the fall, we actually welcome the more traditional style!

One of my favorite parts? Many of the trees surrounding the home lose their leaves in the winter, and will therefor become quite colorful in the fall! That arch window above the front door will be the new shell & chinoiserie headquarters, so I can't wait to sit and watch the seasons as I write... :)

So much transition has taken place in my life since I started shell & chinoiserie last May, and blogging has been one of the few constants in all of the chaos. That and my saint of a husband. And YOU all have seriously been my cheerleaders, so THANK YOU! Thank you for your enthusiasm, support, and advice about blogging, designing, and life along the way--it is much-needed, and much-appreciated.

I am so excited to continue to share the next phase with you all here on the new and improved shell & chinoiserie. I am also excited to share more photos of our home than you would ever want to see as we update and decorate over the next few months! But for today I will leave you with the following two photos--perhaps not the most flattering, but certainly fun considering where we were a year ago and where we are now: