joan's piano

We recently inherited Joan's piano. If there is such a thing as a family heirloom, this piano would be near the top of our list. Joan received the piano from her dad for her 12th birthday on September 10, 1945. It was her most prized possession. When the family relocated from Ohio to Southern California in 1960, the piano moved into my great-grandmother's living room because it wouldn't fit in Joan's apartment. Here's a photo of my mom playing the piano before her junior prom in 1973:

After my great-grandmother passed away the following year and Joan moved into her new house in the nearby suburb of Cerritos, the piano moved into a corner of her living room. You can see it in the background along with the chandelier that now hangs in our foyer:

For the thirty years she lived in the house, the piano occupied that space. When my sister and I were kids, we loved playing the piano. It was one of our favorite pastimes as children. After we sold Joan's house in October 2011, the piano moved across the country to my mom's house in Oxford, where it stayed until this spring when my mom decided to downsize. It now lives in our living room: 

We still have some work to do in this room, but we are excited to have Joan's piano in our home. Jonathan is already practicing his piano-playing skills. Porter sings along!

sadie wedding invitation suite

The Sadie wedding suite by Gerald & Joan Design

The founding principles of Gerald & Joan are family, history and the stories that tie us together, so it makes sense that our designs would reflect the people, places and stories that are a part of our lives.

Gerald and Sadie Hardin in June 1953.

The Sadie invitation is named in honor of Jonathan's grandmother and Gerald's wife. When I think of Sadie, I think of ice cream colors, pretty flowers and sweet fonts. A vintage linen hand towel from the 1950s provided the artwork for the suite, and we paired the suite with green envelopes. As I was putting together the suite, I asked Sadie about her wedding to Gerald. 

Here's their wedding story in her words. "On Sunday afternoon, we called the wife of George Rutherford, the circuit clerk, to come down to the courthouse so we could get our marriage license. We were married at a preacher's home in Booneville. We had a little trouble finding a preacher. The one who had originally planned to marry us had the mumps. The wedding took place on Sunday night. My cousin Betty Sue and her friend Anita Geno were our only attendants. My parents thought we were going to church. After we left, my aunt (Betty Sue's mother and my dad's sister) told them we were going to get married. To say the least, my dad was furious.

We spent the night at the old Holiday Hotel in Booneville. It was located where the Overbridge Apartments are now. Gerald was going to school in Memphis, so on Monday we took a bus from Corinth to Memphis. We rented a one-room efficiency apartment in Memphis."

Last June, Gerald and Sadie celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. They are just as cute as they look. Their love story inspires our own marriage. We are so lucky to have them in our lives.

Gerald and Sadie Hardin.

Gerald and Sadie Hardin.

family stories: adele and ernesto de forcade

My great-great-grandmother, Adele De Forcade.

This week I was lucky enough to interview my aunt and 91-year-old grandmother about our family. They told me several stories about my great-grandmother Tina, great-grandfather Raoul and my great-great-grandparents Ernesto and Adele.

Adele was born in Verona, Italy (home of Romeo and Juliet), married Ernesto De Forcade at 17 or 18, and had two children, Marie and my great-grandfather Raoul. 

Ernesto built railroads, and he was involved with the construction of the first railroad in Naples. The family moved to Naples during that period. When Raoul was eight, Ernesto traveled to Brazil to build a railroad, and he died suddenly.

Adele was still young, so she remarried. Her second husband was an attorney who spoke ten languages and travel extensively, even to the U.S., which wasn't very common at that time. He adored Adele and adopted Raoul. He purchased two apartments in Naples and a home on Capri for the family. These homes are still in our family to this day.

Adele died when my grandmother was four years old. Although her second husband was her senior, he died in 1936 when my grandmother was 16. My aunt described him as a bit of a health freak who chewed each bite of food 33 times. He also documented everything very thoroughly. My family live in the apartments that he purchased all of those years ago, and they have found boxes and boxes of his papers.

In the picture below, I see my father in Ernesto, his namesake, and I see my cousin Elena in Marie. Although my grandmother heavily favors her mother, I also see Adele in her features. 

Marie, Ernesto, Adele and Raoul De Forcade. 

on the road: california in the early 1960s

This week's post has a little bit of everything -- vintage cars, vintage boats, mid-century architecture, vintage signage, palm trees, beautiful water, open roads, great ocean views...and electrical towers. Didn't want California in the 1960s to appear too perfect!

The prettiest vintage cars in a rainbow of colors.

Ahh, mid-century road tripping at its finest! There are so many fun details in these old film slides. Which is your favorite?