Happy Weekend! We added several new vintage rental items to our inventory this week. My favorites? A pair of screen door frames, a vintage pull-out polaroid camera, a collection on old clocks, a loveseat bench and distressed blue cellar doors!
Visit our website to see more!
I hope you all have beautiful weekends!
xo
I am blessed to have recently photographed the beautiful Jonathan + Amanda. This super sweet couple made it easy- their laid-back temperaments and complete joy of being together created effortless photos. Their session was photographed at Specht Farm in Milledgeville, GA, the venue for their upcoming wedding. The farm is beautiful, and it was fun to get a chance to explore the venue together before the wedding.
Jonathan + Amanda… I am excited to have gotten to know you both better through our session together and look SO forward to capturing your special day in September!
{They both laughed but it was not because the idea was laughable but because they both so liked it.}
-Frances Hodgson Burnett, ‘The Secret Garden’
I am so excited about the new re-finished furniture pieces we have for sale! Neil has done an amazing job fixing up these sad, forgotten dressers and giving them new life. I want to keep them all, but Neil says that’s not the point and has set a ‘one-dresser-per-room’ limit. Sigh… I guess that’s reasonable.
You can see a gallery of all of our retail pieces by clicking on the ‘furniture pieces’ icon here.
These furniture pieces will be available at our booth at Scott Antique Market in Atlanta, GA July 13-15. See something you like and want to purchase before then? Email me at jessica{at}adarlingday{dot}com for pricing and delivery information.
… to the woman who has always encouraged me to try, who taught me that failure was not to feared and who picks me up whenever try and fail I do.
I love you, Mom!
Hello friends! And Happy Weekend.
I say it over and over, but the past couple weeks have flown by! Neil and I have some serious business goals set for the summer, so our days are filled with painting and sanding and (re)upholstering. And our driveway looks like this…
And the picture on the right? The little treasures hidden underneath bad, old upholstery.
Last week, I photographed three creative sessions, all of which were furnished by A Darling Day vintage rentals and styling. Hooray! I promise to share these lovely sessions SOON. Until then, here is a sneak peek…
And (if you follow me on Instagram this is something you already know) my week recap wouldn’t be complete without a photo (or two or three) of yummy food. I love to cut up an avocado, mash it with a fork, and add a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. Lately, I have been putting it on top of an english muffin. It’s delicious. And I’ve been making lots of spring pizzas (though Neil does not think they are technically pizzas because I omit tomato sauce). This one is a shaved asparagus and mozzarella pizza, which we added tomatoes to. You can find the recipe here.
Last weekend was my dad’s 60th (yes, 60th) birthday! We all met at my sister’s house in Charleston to celebrate. As I was packing, I wondered if it was possible to own too many stripes. Then I realized that was ridiculous. Oh, and Miss Murphy and my father are really excellent sports…
My mom and sister and I spent a day in downtown Charleston, walking Bay and King streets. The city reminds me of all the things I love best about Savannah, especially the cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings. I particularly liked this one… exposed brick AND turquoise trim? Yes, please. My favorite store was Blue Bicycle Books, a used book store on King Street. It had a blue bicycle out front, loaded with books. I immediately liked the place, especially after finding my favorite book by Madeleine L’Engle and perusing their extensive Pat Conroy section.
We were a little over-zealous on our walk, so we took a rickshaw back to our car. The FOUR of us girls crammed into the back on that tiny pedicab. You see only three? No, there is a number four… in that belly of my sister’s!
My dad’s birthday conveniently coincided with my nephew’s baseball games. I got to see Josh play t-ball first and am happy to say that he is one of the kids who knows where first base is. Then I got to see Sam play, and it was the perfect game to witness. Both times he was up, he got hits and made it on base. And enough kids got hits after him that he actually made it home (I would say ‘he scored,’ but apparently there is no score when you’re seven). There was a real play at the plate, as he raced the catcher and slid into home. Sam had such a good game that the umpire presented him with, gulp, the game ball. He held it in both hands like it was made of glass. It was a great night.
Well that gets you about up to speed on all the details of my life. How about you? Any big news? Did you do anything fun last week?
<All of these photos were taken with Instagram. Whether you have the iPhone app or not, you can follow all of my Instagram posts here…>
After I got back from Paris, I spent a couple weeks trying to figure out just how to say ‘thank you’ to my friend Chelsea, who blessed me in a once-in-a-lifetime sort of way by asking me to fill the shoes of her original travel partner. I used my iPhone as my primary camera while we were there, Instagram-ing our daily adventures (you can see the post of our trip here). While searching for a way to say ‘thank you’ to Chelsea, I stumbled upon Printstagram, and decided to order MiniPrints of our favorite Instagrams from the trip.
These prints took awhile to arrive, but it was worth the wait- they were so much cuter than I expected (especially for $12!). They are printed on a thick, deep-matte paper and the colors are so true to the Instagram filters. It is rare that I ever print out photos, but ordering these for Chelsea made me realize how fun it is to have tangible images. I can’t wait to order some more for myself!
If you use the Instagram app, check out Printstagram here. And please ignore my chipped nail polish.
Hello friends! I have been loving this mild, spring weather, have you? To fit with this lovely weather, I have a spring, “honey bee”-themed bridal shower to share with you today, photographed and styled by Sarah DeShaw (click here to view the full post on her blog).
Hello, bees. I’m a huge fan of your work.
Do you remember the honey bee paper goods I made a few months ago? Well, it was for this photo shoot, and I love how it all came together!
This photo shoot is full of cute shower ideas, including honey-lemon martinis, eco-friendly gift wrapping and fresh honey party favors!
Wouldn’t it be fun (and perfectly girly) to incorporate a mini spa into your bridal shower? One Love Organics came up with these sweet tea pedicures- a great addition to any Southern shower! You can see more of One Love Organics on their blog here.
This honey bee bridal shower was featured on Southern Weddings last week, and includes directions on how to make the sweet tea pedicure! Check out their full post here.
I hope you love this honey bee bridal shower as much as I do! Happy Spring, friends!
{Contributing Vendors}
Styling: Sarah DeShaw // Photography: Sarah DeShaw and Brent DeShaw // Venue: Hampton Island // Flowers: Holley Jaakkola // Clothing: Go Fish // Products: One Love Organics // Hair & Makeup: Katherine Taylor // Paper Goods: A Darling Day
Hello friends, and Happy Monday! Here is a {glimpse} of my week in pictures…
Neil and I dream of the day when we will have a proper warehouse/work space. Until then, we will unload, arrange and REarrange furniture between the box truck, the trailer, the driveway, our house and the two sheds in the backyard. This photo was taken during the chaos of unloading the box truck and packing the trailer for the weekend’s wedding. Oh, and a peek at two of our new couches!
This week ended with the happy, spring wedding of Brandi + Brian in Madison, GA. Here’s a look at their wedding reception, furnished with A Darling Day vintage rentals (floral design by Le Petit Jardin in Madison, GA).
Oh, and remember that tandem bicycle, requested by the bride and found by A Darling Day? Well, here it is in wedding glory, at the entrance to the reception venue (and a few other pictures of A Darling Day styling).
Also this week, our strawberry plants from last year yielded their first fruits! They smelled like perfect summer. And I have been obsessed with spring salad recipes that include my favorite spring vegetables: new potatoes, asparagus, arugula, radishes, cauliflower… Oh, I love spring produce (and the promise of summer produce right around the corner!). Both of these recipes were adapted from, of course, Smitten Kitchen.
How was your week, friend? Did you do anything fun? Make anything new?
<All of these photos were taken with Instagram. Whether you have the iPhone app or not, you can follow all of my Instagram posts here…>
Last weekend, my sweet friend Rejane married her love Lance on St. Simons. Rejane is from France, and she wanted to wait and have her bridal shower the week of the wedding, so her family and friends from France could come, too. Her theme request was for a ’50s Housewife’ bridal shower, and oh, how I love a good theme. I wanted to share some photos from this delightful little shower!
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know my love for writing notes… A ‘good housewife’ advice card doubles as a guestbook, and gives guests a chance to say a little something to the bride-to-be. And then put their card in the red gumball machine, of course.
Rejane’s kitchen tool dream? A red KitchenAid mixer. We worked this shower gift into the decor of the dessert table so it would take her a minute to spot it, and realize it was hers!
And what party would be complete without a photo booth? Aprons and oven mitts made perfect props.
Yes, a good houswife always makes sure to ‘have a cool drink ready for him upon his return home.’ Choose from ‘going steady’ sweet tea or ‘pretty in mink’ margaritas.
And it wouldn’t be the 50s with a bottle of Coca-Cola!
We have margaritas. Don’t be a square and drink water…
Rejane’s whole family played along, with head scarves and bobby socks!
A few retro props decorating the food table. And these French bridesmaids were the perfect 50s housewives… taking a little smoke break with their margaritas in hand!
<vintage rentals, styling and paper goods by A Darling Day, of course!>
Or, weeks. This seems to be a bi-weekly thing…
A couple delicious new recipes…
Dark Chocolate Matzah Bark
<I originally made this for Passover, but after discovering how absolutely delicious it is, I will be making it far more often than once a year.>
You will need:
4 pieces salted matzah
1 stick unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
1 pinch salt
12 oz dark chocolate chips
chopped nuts
Heat oven to 350. Lay matzah to cover a 9×13 pan lined with aluminum foil. Melt butter and sugar in saucepan, and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour mixture over matzah and spread with a spatula to cover each cracker. Bake for 8 minutes. Pour chocolate chips on top. Wait 4 minutes until chips melt and spread chocolate evenly over matzah. Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate for about an hour. Break into pieces to serve.
Lemon-y Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Red Onion Pizza
<adapted from Smitten Kitchen>
You will need:
Your pizza crust of choice
1 lemon
4 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
A few leaves of fresh basil cut into slivers, or about 2 tsp dried
1 yellow zucchini, sliced as thinly as you can
1 red onion, cut in slices and caramelized in olive oil
Olive oil to drizzle
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll your pizza dough thin. Lay in sprayed 9×13 pan.
In a small bowl, stir together the goat cheese with the juice of half your lemon. Season it with salt and freshly ground pepper, and spread it over your pizza dough. Scatter fresh basil slivers or dried basil over the goat cheese.
Arrange squash slices over the goat cheese. Spread caramelized onion on top. Squeeze the juice of the second half of your lemon on top of the zucchini and onions, then drizzle with olive oil and finish with more salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges of your pizza are golden brown and the zucchini looks roasted. Oh, and it will smell delicious.
Last week, a few of us threw a ’50s Housewife’-themed bridal shower for our dear friend Rejane (Yes, it required a little last minute hot gluing in the car ride down to St. Simons). Check back for a full post on the details of this shower soon!
It was a little stormy on the beach Saturday morning, but that didn’t stop Miss Murphy. She kept digging holes… and then sticking her head in them.
Our friends Lance and Rejane got married last Saturday! It was a beautiful wedding, with a location looking out over the marsh of St. Simons. There was delicious food, a live band (with which the groom’s dad even played a few songs!), silly photobooth props and a paper lantern send-off that made my heart swoon. Congratulations to Lance + Rejane!
<check Chris Moncus’s blog soon for what are sure to be incredible photos from their big day>
<All of these photos were taken with Instagram. Whether you have the iPhone app or not, you can follow all of my Instagram posts here…>
