All Posts By

Jess

SHOPBOP FRIENDS + FAMILY

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Sale alert! Shopbop is giving their friends and family (that’s YOU!) 25% off the entire site with the code SPRING25! Ends tomorrow at midnight so take advantage fast! I collected some favorites, here’s the breakdown—

1// Ordered this Free People dress for the upcoming Hangout Music Fest! It can be found here.

2// Spring calls for the perfect woven basket tote, like this Clare V. Kenya bag. It can be found here.

3// Bring on the sun! As well as mirrored lenses, these Ray-Bans can be found here.

4// Step into this Spring’s hottest shoe trend, espadrilles, with these fun Tory Burch kicks. Find them here.

5// Spring cleaning calls for an update on some home decor, do it with some boho flare. Find this dreamy dream catcher here.

6// Speaking of shades, how cute is this mug?! Use it for those homemade iced coffees, find it here.

SAVE THE DATE

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Now that they’ve been sent out, I can finally share our save the dates! I’m especially proud because Dustin and I did them ourselves. We selected a photo from our engagement session, got it printed on fancy paper, cut down each image and got a stamp made from the local company Native Bear (same maker from this post) with our save the date information. We are both so happy with how it turned out!

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DIY’n isn’t always the easiest or cheapest but it’s definitely rewarding! We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from friends and family receiving them which makes it all seem very much worth it. Leela did such a great job on those itsy bitsy letters, anyone in need of a custom stamp, holler at this gal!

BIRCH LANE

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Wednesday evening I got invited to preview the first outdoor furniture collection from Birch Lane at Wahoo Grill.  The garden party took place out in their beautiful atrium, which was a perfect setting for their outdoor furniture and dining collection.  After arriving there was a table of appetizers which Dustin and I gladly visited especially since we’re familiar with the restaurant and it’s delicious!  We really enjoyed the baked apples wrapped in prosciutto and the fried calamari-which was the legit-tenticals and all-kind!

If this is your first time hearing about Birch Lane, no worries. They are around 1 year old and are a sister company of Wayfair.com – which I’m sure you know. Birch Lane can appeal to my age-late 20s/early 30s-on up. We got a small preview of their line but after looking through their site I can tell you it has vibes everyone can get into.

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After apps and visiting we all took a seat.  The table I was sat at was set beautifully with a Spring palette consisting of gold, white, peach, yellow, purples and greenery.  There was another table that had sage, white, navy with silver and lots of green garland.

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We were given a menu and started dinner. For the first course, a salad, Dustin and I both chose the blood orange citrus and fennel salad which was a perfect balance of fresh and tangy. Next up was dinner and most of us chose the grilled amberjack over rice pilaf with capers and spinach.  Amberjack is such a hardy fish, almost as dense as chicken, which I really liked. The capers really made this meal, added a little jolt of flavor. Lastly, was dessert. I got a lava cake and Dustin got the bourbon bread pudding, naturally. Man oh man was this meal tasty! And in such an elegant setting, I felt very lucky and wanted all the beautiful tablescapes!

Thank you to Birch Lane for hosting our group of lifestyle, fashion and decor bloggers-we had a terrific time getting a first hand look at your Spring outdoor line!

PRESERVING PLACE | BISCUITS + JAM

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Preserving Place is a natural light filled storefront with an interactive kitchen and dining area.  It’s located in Westside Provisions shopping district, one of my favorite areas in Atlanta. Recently my gal pal Sarah Dodge took over the classroom, photography and social media role.  She’s helping spread the word of what they offer and that anyone of any cooking (or non-cooking) background can join in and have some fun while learning skills and recipes.

When the Spring class schedule came out I was drawn to several classes.  As a birthday gift to myself, I attended the Biscuits + Jam class on March 24th with my girl friend Natasha.  When I got there I was pleasantly surprised to see many familiar faces as well as meeting some new ones like Blayne of This Photographer’s Life -who is so funny and great with a camera.

The class was a hit, take a look–

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The table was beautifully set while we cooked. I couldn’t keep my eyes off that delicious looking bacon! In between mixing and learning we sipped on wine they provided, keeping things silly and light-hearted!

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We were put in teams of two and went down the recipe step by step with instructor Sarah leading the way. Our class had some jokesters, myself and Natasha included, along with Conner who’s a local stand up comedian who was challenging the class and cracking us up!  We had fun with it and didn’t take things too seriously which is what I’ve realized I love with the people I know and Atlanta as a whole.

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Sarah shared many tips with us, which I won’t give away because you should just join in on the fun! We filled our bellies with biscuits, bacon, wine, fruit preserves and filled our minds with memories of a JAM’n good time!

DRINK UP | ORANGE TEA

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In celebration of my 29th birthday, which is today (how crazy, almost 30!!!) here’s another cocktail recipe! Continuing the celebration, tonight we are going to Fleetwood Mac. This is one of those concerts I’ve been wanting to attend since jamming to their tunes with my dad when I was a young girl. We get that chance tonight, can’t wait!

Spiked orange tea concoction recipe below.
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Ingredients:

Whiskey
Black Tea
Simple Syrup
Orange
Rosemary
Fig Bitters
Nutmeg

In shaker smash up orange and rosemary, add 2 drops of bitters, dash of simple syrup, 1 jigger of tea, and 1.5 jiggers of whiskey. Shake and serve over ice ball. Garnish with something pretty.