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Kim Darling Johnson

@thedarlingday

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For women wondering, “What’s next for me?”
You don’t have to have it figured out to begin.
Go First • Say Yes • Stay Curious
↓ Begin here 💖

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Before The Darling Day was a community, it was one small yes.

One table. One invitation. One step forward in a season I didn’t see coming.

If you’ve ever stood at the edge of a chapter you never prepared for, quietly wondering what’s next, this one is for you.

You are not behind. You are not too late. And you are not the only one.

Sometimes the next chapter begins with one simple invitation.

Connection becomes direction.

#intentionalliving #communityovercompetition #womensupportingwomen #slowliving #midwayutah by @thedarlingday

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3 months ago

I thought I was hosting a dinner. I didn’t know I was building a community. ✨

It started with one table, a handful of women, and a quiet hunch that something meaningful happens when women gather.

One dinner became another. Strangers became friends. And those friendships became something I can only call community.

I have watched new ideas take shape over dessert. I have watched women remember their courage. I have watched possibility walk through the door simply because someone said yes and showed up.

The origin story of The Darling Day has never really been told, so we’re doing it. This is part one.

In part two, I’ll take you all the way back to where it began.

P.S. Around the table, something happens. Connection becomes direction. Welcome to The Darling Day.

#thedarlingday #intentionalliving #communityovercompetition #midway #womensupportingwomen by @thedarlingday

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3 months ago

An open door may be one of the most underestimated gifts in the world.

Dolley Madison understood it. She knew that gathering people mattered. A table could soften hearts, create conversation, and bring people together during a defining time in America’s story.

That same spirit is at the heart of the Freedom 250 Initiative, a national celebration of America’s 250th, inviting us to remember that America is strengthened not only in grand moments, but in homes, neighborhoods, communities, and tables where people gather.

✨ Set the table
✨ Open the door
✨ Have courage
✨ Extend the invitation

At The Darling Day, this is what we believe.

Gathering matters.
Hospitality matters.
Conversation matters.
Connection becomes direction.

As we celebrate America’s 250th, may we each look at our own corner of the country and ask,

Who can I welcome?
Who can I invite?
Where can I create a little more light?

#thedarlingday #freedom250 #america250 #america250utah #america taken in Utah, USA by @thedarlingday

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5 months ago

The life you’re waiting for might begin with the one thing you’re afraid to say yes to.

My time in France reminded me how much can begin with one invitation. New places, new friendships, beautiful conversations and experiences I couldn’t have planned.

I’ve been sharing more of my French adventures in my Friday Darling Day newsletter, including the little stories and unexpected moments that made this trip so special.

If you’d like to come along, I’d love to have you. Sign up through the link in my bio by Thursday to receive Friday’s letter.

Here’s to staying curious, saying yes and discovering what’s next.

#intentionalliving #france #slowliving #womensupportingwomen by @thedarlingday

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a day ago

When I was invited to write a hosting toolkit for the Freedom 250 initiative, I thought I was writing about hospitality.

Then I started researching Dolley Madison.

And I realized I was writing about something much bigger.

Dolley understood the power of opening a door.

Her gatherings brought people into the same room who might not otherwise have chosen to be there together.

Yes, there was food. There were beautiful tables. There were details worth remembering.

But that wasn’t the point.

The point was what happened because people came.

They talked. They listened. They connected.

That idea eventually became Host Like Dolley.

Today, the book has found its way to the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the National Archives Museum Gift Shop, and Sun River Gardens here in Utah.

But the thing I carried away from writing it wasn’t really about hosting at all.

It was this:

Someone has to open the door.
Someone has to extend the invitation.
Someone has to go first.

Who taught you how to bring people together?

#dolleymadison #womensupportingwomen #gathertogether #intentionalliving When I was invited to create a hosting toolkit for the Freedom 250 initiative, I began researching Dolley Madison.

And I discovered something much bigger than how she entertained. by @thedarlingday

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2 days ago

What if six months from now, one of your favorite people is someone you haven’t met yet?

I think about this all the time. So many women have walked into a Darling Day gathering not knowing everyone. They’ve come with a friend, come alone, and sometimes almost didn’t come at all.

Then someone asks a good question, the conversation goes somewhere unexpected, phone numbers are exchanged, and another invitation follows. That’s the part I love.

We can believe that by this stage of life our circle is already formed. I don’t believe that at all. There are still people we haven’t met who may become part of our story.

That’s why I keep creating places for women to gather.

On November 3, The Darling Day is gathering again at Dainty Pear for A Season of Invitation, an evening built around something I believe deeply: the power of invitation.

Come for festive food, creativity, meaningful conversation and the possibility of meeting someone you didn’t know you needed to know.

Bring a friend, or come ready to make one.

Either way, consider this your invitation.

Because someone has to go first.

November 3 • 6 PM
Dainty Pear, Midway

Tickets at the link in bio.

#intentionalliving #midwayutah #womensupportingwomen #communityovercompetition by @thedarlingday

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3 days ago

You never know where one hello will lead.

My kids have been all over to see him in concert. I met him in the jetway.

I was wrestling with my overstuffed bags on my return flight home and as I adjusted everything, I looked behind me, and there stood Post Malone.

Stunned, I said hello. He said, “Hello.”

We talked for a minute, and I told him my kids were big fans from day one. He said, “should we take a picture to send to them,” and, as we continued on to baggage, he offered to help carry my bags.

Are you serious?! ❤️

Thank you, @postmalone, for your kindness and your time. You made my kids’ day, and then photos and videos from some of the concerts and moments started to flood in.

You know I’m a believer in saying hello....one hello turned into a story we won’t soon forget.

And a fun fact, my son reminded me that we share the same 4th of July birthday! 🇺🇸✨ by @thedarlingday

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13 days ago

Maybe you don’t find what’s next. Maybe you begin it.

These photos were way outside my comfort zone and completely unplanned.

We had an old piece of pegboard in the garage that somehow turned into a makeshift runway. Jen said, “Hey, let’s turn this into a catwalk.” I can assure you, that is NOT inside my comfort zone. 😂

But she talked me into it. I said yes. And somewhere between the clothes, the YES sign, and me wondering what in the world I was doing, I ended up having fun.

Say yes. Stay curious. Try something new.
Let yourself be a little uncomfortable.

Sometimes direction comes because we move toward something. And sometimes, you begin it with an invitation.

#comfortzone #intentionalliving #slowlifestyle #womensupportingwomen Maybe you don’t find what’s next. Maybe you begin it. taken in Midway, Utah by @thedarlingday

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17 days ago

One of my favorite things about gathering women around a table is watching what happens when we get past the surface.

It usually starts with one good question. Someone answers a little more honestly than expected, someone else shares a story, and before long the conversation has gone somewhere none of us could have planned.

But I’ve also learned that if we want to really know one another, we have to be willing to let ourselves be known too.

That’s where going first comes in.

Ask the question, but answer it too. Tell the story. Share the thing someone might not know about you. Not because every conversation needs to be deep, but because some of the best connections happen when someone is willing to open the door first.

That’s what I hope happens around every Darling Day table, and it’s what I hope The Darling Post helps you create in your own corner of the world.

Good things grow when we tell our stories. 🤍

#womensupportingwomen #slowlifestyle #intentionalliving #gather There’s a difference between being noticed and being known. taken in Midway, Utah by @thedarlingday

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23 days ago

I’ve been thinking about how many good things in our lives begin simply because someone reaches out first.

Maybe it’s a text, an invitation, a question, or something in the mail that lets someone know you were thinking about them. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. But I’ve learned in my own life that sometimes that small gesture leads somewhere you never could have expected.

That’s really part of why I created The Darling Post. Women ask me all the time how I meet people and bring women together, and I wanted to create something that made it easier for you to do the same in your own life.

Every month, something arrives in your mailbox that gives you a reason to reach out, invite someone in, ask a better question, share something with someone you love, or maybe get to know someone new.

Because I really believe we need each other, and sometimes all it takes is one person willing to go first.

Mine began with one invitation. I had no idea where it would lead.

Maybe that’s the best part. You don’t always know what might come from yours. 💕 Link in bio

#intentionalliving #slowlifestyle #womensupportingwomen #hosting #gather What if “what’s next?” Starts with one small invitation? by @thedarlingday

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24 days ago

About 12 years ago, Rick gave me a double sleeping bag for Christmas.

Not because I wanted a double sleeping bag. 😂

But because he had a dream that someday I would actually go camping with him.

Rewind to last year. I was talking to a friend about what to do for his birthday and said, “He really wants to go camping.”

She said, Well, perfect I have a little trailer. Borrow mine.

And suddenly I had a plan. @beantrailer

I told him, “Meet me at this address at 4:00. Bring your truck.”

He had no idea what we were doing.

We picked up the trailer and, after 33 years of marriage, Rick finally Got me to sleep in the woods. I went camping with him. 😂

I’m not sure anyone has ever been happier about anything. He STILL talks about it. I may have made this year’s birthday very hard to top.

Stay tuned……

The power of an invitation has been on my mind so much lately, and this is one of my favorite kinds.

Sometimes the people we love keep inviting us into the things they love. Their adventures. Their interests. Their world.

And sometimes it takes us a little while to say yes.

Happy birthday, babe. I love you.

And apparently, camping now too. 😂🤍 by @thedarlingday

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a month ago

The honest answer to “how do you do it?” is that there’s no secret, only a willingness to go first, and willingness is the beginning. Each month, The Darling Post gives you that same head start with a personal letter, three questions worth asking, a recipe to share, and an invitation ready to send.

Somewhere in your life is a woman who is simply a friend you haven’t been introduced to yet, and your reason to reach for her is waiting at the link in bio.

#intentionalliving #communityovercompetition #slowliving #inspiredliving #connectionmatters by @thedarlingday

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a month ago