Styling Bridesmaid's Dress

This summer seems to be the summer of weddings for me.  Two very close people in my life are getting married, and I can't be more thrilled for both!  I get to be a bridesmaid for one of the weddings, and I am so excited because, well, I've never been one before.  Bridesmaid dresses are so beautiful now.  I think the wedding industry is more on style than it use to be and you can break the rules a lot more.  No more satin pepto-bismol pink ruffly gowns!

So I created a storyboard for accessorizing four different j.crew bridesmaid dresses.  I think it's best to wear classic jewelry pieces with little pops of an accent color while not overdoing it with trendy styles.  All jewelry shown can be ordered through Darleen Meier Jewelry.  Good thing--all jewelry pieces come in different colors.

Top two shoes: Badgley Mischka
bow-tie shoe: Caparros
bottom shoe: Jcrew

Sunday Styles: Coral for Mother's Day

The color coral is still going strong this spring/summer, and I got to show off some of my new jewels for Mother's Day that are apart of our new collection. Before heading out for the day, my children got up way too early and dragged the hubby out of bed to make breakfast for me.  It was so sweet and they were very excited to bring the breakfast feast to me in bed.  And then they sat on the bed and watched me eat my food.  It was quite funny and cute at the same time.  

Polka Dot Shirt: Karen Walker, Skirt: Anthrologie (similar), Wedge Shoes: J.Crew
Jewelry: Justine earrings, Rockette bracelet, Hilary bracelet

 

South Walton Beaches

We have stumbled upon a "good thing" about living in Georgia.  The close proximity to some of the best beaches in the world--Florida!  With 26 miles of white sandy beaches, turquoise water, charming beach towns and warm water, South Walton Beaches has definitely filled my void of "miss-living-5-minutes-away-from-cold-and-rocky-Connecticut-beaches".  Just a quick drive away, we headed there for spring break and fell in love with the ocean scenery and the quaint towns.  My favorite was Seaside, which is recognized as the shooting locale for The Truman Show and is as picturesque as it is in the movie.  We biked around the darling town square and pastel-colored classic beach homes, ate lots of seafood, biked some more and looked for sea creatures.  

Favorite beach activities: jumping waves, building sand castles, boogie boarding, skim boarding, looking for dolphins, nighttime hermit crab hunting

Winner for iPad mini + $100 gift certificate!

After collaborating all of our information from four sites and double checked extra entries, we have a winner!     We used Random.org number generator.

Congratulations Krystyna of Misspedia!  She will be contacted through email. Enjoy shopping on your new iPad mini!!

Be on the look out for new jewelry that has pops of NEON--the colors of spring/summer this year!  Who would of thought neon was going to make a comeback.  What I love about these are the crystal accents.  It adds a bit of sophistication.

   

New Arrivals! Statement Necklaces!

I'm branching out on my jewelry styles and what I carry in my shop, and have decided to carry more heavier pieces, like statement necklaces, along with my delicate necklaces, charms and bracelets.  I'm also using many different jewelry material like base metals, acrylic, crystal, stone set, faux leather. The jewelry description will list what materials are used so you'll know whether a style has a base metal chain vs gold filled or sterling silver.  Or whether a necklace is stone vs semi-precious.  I'm excited about having more options available for you!  Check out some of our new arrivals.  More are coming!

iPad mini + $100 gift certificate to DMJ giveaway!! {CLOSED}

Happy May Day!  In this month when beauty and color is re-emerging from its deep winter sleep, we have been extending our jewelry line to carry different styles and materials.  Which means a lot more color and jewelry trend!  And with the launch of our new jewelry website, it's made it possible.  We are so excited to be giving away an iPad mini and $100 gift certificate to Darleen Meier Jewelry.  The iPad mini will be perfect to use as you shop for new jewels on our website!

To enter the Apple iPad mini and $100 gift certificate from Darleen Meier Jewelry:

WE WANT YOU TO ENTER AND GUIDELINES ARE BELOW.

This giveaway is open to everyone and a winner is chosen randomly but your name can be entered in more than once (see below).

1. Leave a comment in the comment section telling me what you love most about Spring time and what is your favorite Darleen Meier Jewelry style (past or current).  Also include in the comment section if you have entered extra entries and which ones:

For Extra Entries:

1.Like Darleen Meier Jewelry on Facebook

2.Click "share" on our iPad mini image on Facebook

3.Follow Darleen Meier on Instagram or Pinterest (separate entries for both)

4.Repost our iPad mini image on Instagram OR post a picture of what you love most about Spring and use hashtag #dmjipadmini and tag @darleenmeier

5. Become a follower of Darling Darleen blog through blogger or your feed reader

6. Blog about our giveaway linking back to this post. Let us know in the comment section about this post by linking your blog post.  

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, May  2013 and notified.  The winner will have 72 hours and must be 18 years or older to claim this prize or another winner will be selected. You can choose between the white or the black 16BG WI-FI iPad mini and a $100 gift certificate will be mailed to you along with the iPad mini.  

Spring Outfit

This weekend it was warm enough to wear a short sleeve shirt with no sweater, jacket or cardigan.  Perfect spring weather!  Colors that scream spring are canary yellow and kelly green.  And I'm loving the two colors paired with this black and white striped dress I picked up from Banana Republic.  Best part--it has pockets!

My outfit details: Striped Ponte Dress, Color block Plume Shirt, Green Belt, 
Nude Heels (similar), Darleen Meier Jewelry (Hilary bangles) and (Kiley Lee bracelet)

Summer Running Must-Haves

I am not much of a runner during the cold winter months.  If I want to run it's usually on the treadmill, which is quite boring.  So, when warm weather arrives, I get pretty stoked to get my running shoes on and hit the pavement.  I love waking up early and the house is still quiet, and everyone is sleeping.  Going on a long run while the sun is coming up and it's warm outside, is one of my favorite ways to soak up summer.  Here are a few of my must-haves for running long distance.

1. Asics running shoes--if you have ever ran a marathon, look around.  Most runners are wearing Asics. They are truly the best running shoe for long distance
2. Zella Athletic top
3.Garmin Watch--best for tracking your distance and time
4. Lululemon speed shorts
5. Athleta gym tote
6. Oakley sunglasses
7.  Three Strand headband

 

Here are some other things you might want to pick up for a long run: sunscreen, a fuel belt and some good music for your mp3 player.

Transformer Birthday Party

I'm finally getting around to posting Jackson's transformer birthday party, which happened the end of last year!  But it's too cute not to post, even though I'm a few months behind.  This child of mine has quite the imagination and he can bring any little toy alive in his little mind.  He plays hard!  The current obsession is transformer.  He's so obsessed that now two of his little friends are obsessing over them too.  I'm not sure how their moms feel about that but, let's say his themed party was a huge hit.

For his invitation and all the party printables, I ended up reusing his Robot party printables and made changes so it would have a transformer theme.   Since his birthday is in the winter time, we ended up having his party at an indoor children's gym play center.  They had a party room for us so I could still decorate a candy/cake table and the party tables.  The lighting was horrible so pictures aren't the best.  One thing that they do at each birthday party, is have one of their guys dress up as a character and do a dance party for the kids.  So the kids were really excited to dance with an optimus prime character.  Resources for the party at the bottom:

 Party favors:

Party Resources
all party printables: me
birthday cake and cupcakes: Miss Mamie's (winner for Cupcake Wars!)
transformer lollipops: Candied Cakes
black and white stripes tablecloth: i made it from Ikea fabric
glass candy jars: Ikea
black and white chevron candy bags and cupcake liners: HeyYoYo
little transformer toys for party favors: TF Source

More Easter Egg Decorating

When decorating eggs for Easter, I love the idea of having different technique stations set up on your table so you can get a variety of decorated eggs.  There is a little planning before the decorating happens, but it runs pretty smooth when all the materials are right there.  And you will love looking at your bowl of decorated Easter eggs.  A perfect centerpiece for your Easter table.  These techniques are really easy.  And don't require you to do a color bath beforehand so less mess.

Twine-tied Easter Eggs

Washi-taped Easter eggs

Ribbon Easter eggs