So I have 2 photos to share today because I had school during the day (seniors last day- WoooHooo) and then I had to chaperone prom later that night. I have to say I love the kids at school- its really good being a teacher! They are just so cute and sweet and prom was really a blast to chaperone.
Headband: a Jenloveskev creation
Plaid Shirt: Old Navy $9.99
Jeans: Joe Jeans $70
Flats: Target
Headband: a Jenloveskev creation
Necklace: Figs and Ginger $40
Dress: Jacob $60
Shoes: Thrifted in Hawaii $4
So the top secret project I was working on the whole time Kev was gone was that I redid our entire bedroom!!!! Not to toot my own horn but it looks so freakin good!! I was so excited to surprise him yesterday- he loved it and was totally speechless!! I redid everything- new furniture, new paint, new bed, new matress, new curtains. Nothing in that room was saved- well there was nothing to save because we had nothing to start with. I have lots of photos to show you- some before, some full room shots and some good stories about how and what I did and things like that. This is just a little teaser of what is to come…
So today I am sharing with you some artwork that I did for the Band The Restless Age. I posted the original drawing/painting a little while ago on my old blog but with new readers and the actual cd in hand now, I wanted to share the scanned verison of the cd. It came out great huh? It was a group effort- Me artwork, Kev laid out the whole thing and of course the oh so talented Joel made the amazing music that is on the cd. We miss you guys!
I used a mix of collage elements (sheet music and paper scraps) with pen and ink and watercolor.
So our friends Sean and Hannah got married last month and they had this great idea to set up a little photo studio area for guest to get their pictures taken by a second hired photographer. It was awesome. You could take as many as you wanted so we made good use of it. We had a great time at their wedding and we were just so happy for them!! These pictures just crack me up- everytime I look at them I laugh to myself…
So I’ll admit it was one of “those days” today. Its cold and raining and I haven’t seen Kev in almost 2 weeks and I am just tired. I didnt even put in my contacts today. Sorry for the bad pictures lately. Kev took all his camera equipment with him to Maui which left me with just the on camera flash. They’ll be better again soon. The shirt I am wearing is actually really cute but you can’t tell from this picture. It’s a silk cami that is black with white polka dots.
Cardigan: Forever 21 $4.99 (on sale)
Polka Dotted Cami: NYC&CO $12
Jeans: Guess $90
Cuff: Gap (see previous Style File)
Flats: Steve Madden $40 (can you tell I like these shoes?)
Today’s I’d Wear That… is inspired by the fact that this Friday I am one of the chaperones at prom. I did it last year and as much as its terribly awkward to watch high school students dance, I love seeing them all dressed up and so happy and excited for what they have been waiting for all year. With that said- I need to wear a dress and look nice but it has to be school appropriate, so that means no thin staps or strapless dresses and nothing to short. I also don’t really want to wear heels because 1. I have to wear the shoes all night and 2. I have to stand almost all night as well. If I had some extra cash I would totally love to own this Jcrew dress it’s just beautiful! I love the contrast of the blue and the bright peach!! I have added some advil that I will need by the end of the night and some sunglass that I’d like to wear to block the “too close” dancing i’ll have to watch all night. Oh, High School… hehe
So as I posted earlier with Kev being gone I haven’t been eating all that well. I have had pasta like 6 nights in a row. Finally last night my body said enough- it was craving some sort of vegetable. I went to the grocery store and bought like tons of fresh veggies and made one huge freakin’ salad. It was delicious with almonds, carrots, celery, cucumber, spinach, and cranberries. Mmmm I also bought some fresh bread and made a little dipping sauce with olive oil and some spices. To top off the great dinner I had one of Jon’ s Microbrews of the month he left behind from our last BBQ. Sorry no recipe this week just me and my veggie salad…
I also treated myself to some coconut gelato with some fresh strawberries and rasberries. Mmmmm
Top: Forever 21 $15
Skirt: Goodwill
Stockings: H&M $7
Flats: Steve Madden $40
Leather Cuff: Gap $? I have had this thing for like 7 years. It use to not leave my wrist in college- ha!
P.S. This is Gully the cat she wanted to show off her outfit too!! Well maybe she is just trying to sneak outside…
So Jenloveskev has been featured on 2 very awesome blogs in the last week and I just want to give a shout out to these 2 inspiring ladies and their lovely blogs. I have nothing to say but wonderful things about both of these blogs- so go and check them out!!!
So I have had an interesting weekend. I am working on a super top secret project while Kev is away and that has taken up a lot of my time. I can’t wait to share it all with you- its so great!!! I am so excited about it.
I sold my first 2 headbands this weekend- so I sent those out!
Saturday night our friends Mike and Erin came out to Pittsfield because Mike’s band was playing out here. This was the first time I had seen his new band play and I really liked them a lot. The show on the other hand was like nothing I had been to before. Man, the scum of pittsfield really came out of the wood work (sorry to be mean) but geeez. I wont go into details but lets just say I got slammed in the wall, I think my foot is broken and then they called the show because some idiot was yelling all this incredibly insensitive stuff. oh well- stupid pittsfield.
I also ran 8 miles yesterday. I am training for a half marathon on June 28th. Oh YEAH! (I dont look so great after 80 mins of running-hehe)
Since Kev is gone I have had no motivation to cook nice things like I usually do. Here is what my diet has consisted of for the past week….
Pasta is my total comfort food! Good thing I am running so much… eeek
oh yeah and I remembered how much I love O Brother, Where Art Thou? I could listen to that soundtrack all day!
So as I was saying before Kev is in Maui right now for work. He has a new client at work that just took over a hotel in Hana, Maui and now him, Jon and everyone are making the new website for it. Now because Kev is the best photographer in the world (hehe to me) they flew him and Jon out there to photograph everything for the site. Anyways, here are some pictures from Jon’s Flickr of kev out there. So funny!
Headband: A jenloveskev creation
Cardigan: Banana Republic $0 hand-me down from amy
White Tank: Old Navy $5
Halter Dress: Forever 21 $30
Flats: Steve Madden $40
So today, 3 years ago Kev and me got engaged and decided we would be moving to hawaii. Crazy how time goes by!! haha what a amazing night that was. It was a Monday and my sister’s wedding had been the night before. A whole bunch of my Aunts and Uncles and cousins and my nana were staying at my house. My extended family all lives in Canada so it was a moment that if I had thought about I would say they wouldnt have normally been there for it but they were and it was amazing. I had had a phone interview on the Friday before with a school in Hawaii and they offered me the job and said I had till Tuesday to decide. I didn’t tell anyone other than Kev- it was Carries (sister) weekend and I didn’t want to ruin that- but by sunday night I was bursting!! So as soon as the wedding was over and we were all back at the house I spilt the beans to my parents. The next day we had a little “family meeting” with my parents and Kev’s parents to talk about whether we thought we would be able to afford to just pick up and leave and make it out in hawaii. We already knew we wanted to get married we were just waiting for the right time and here it was- so that night we decided with everyone there we were going to get married and move in 3 weeks. The next day we went and picked out a ring and when it was done a few days later we went to “our spot” in Framingham by the bridge and we formally got engaged. It was not your conventional engagement but if you know us at all you wouldn’t expect anything less- it was pure perfection to me!
Kev is currently in Maui on a business trip. He has been gone for a week already and is still gone for 1 more. It has been extremely tough and I am very upset thinking about another week without him. We have never been apart this long. He completes me and makes me feel whole, so when he is not here its very sad. I miss him!! I want to hear him laugh and I want to take our hooded sweatshirt walks holding hands and get ice cream!! Come home soon!! I love you! hehe ooops that turned more into a note to him at the end.
Anyways For those of you that actually read thru this super long winded note I wanted to just finish up in a completely different direction and let you know some plans for jenloveskev…
1. add a previous entries button at the bottom so you can look back at older post easier than having to click thru the archive.
2. Add all my wedding invitations to my etsy account. Do you know anyone getting married? Send them my way if they want some beautiful and creative handmade invites.
Today’s Around the House is about one of my bestest friends Erin. They are currently redoing somethings in their lovely home and we have been talking back and forth about some ideas for their downstairs bathroom. It currently has dark wood trim and a beige counter top and toliet. Erin and Mike picked out a greenish color from Benjamin Moore called Desert Green that they are going to paint the walls. They want to leave the trim the way it is and they are going to paint the vanity a color (also from BM) called Black Bean Soup- which by the way is amazing color name. Mmmm I love black bean soup but that is getting off topic, sorry! Erin also said she wanted to get some terra cotta colored towels. What a nice accent color! Anyways, this is what I was thinking. I think it looks great all together- very modern and classic all at the same time. I love floating shelves! and all the white pottery keeps it neutral but elegant. I would roll up facecloths and put them in that basket and I would just go with a nice white shower curtain. What do you all think?
So instead of sharing something I made today, I wanted to share some photos from my students work. We had our annual LMHS Art Show the other night. It went really well and I really enjoy seeing all the kids so excited about their work and the fact that other people are there to see it (they are so sute about it!!). It took me about 3 days to get ready and get it all hung and presented nicely and we just took it down in about 20 mins. ugh! haha its sort of like Thanksgiving, you cook all day and then everyone eats it in like 10 mins. Oh well it was great! Check out all the picture by click the “Read More” button below…
So first let me just apologize for the lack of teacher style files. Kev has been gone since last friday and lets just say I am all thrown out of whack. My days have been super busy till today because my school art show for all the kids was last night. There was endless work that needed to get done and plus my mom was here visiting and that was just more important. But I am back…
So I wore the skirt I made over the weekend and lets just say I have never received so many compliments from people. Everyone loved my skirt- which made me love it even more!! Its just so bright and bold!
Sunglasses: France $8 euros
Necklace: Kohls (Simply Vera by Vera Wang) $3
Tee: Walmart $5
Skirt: Priceless (ha)
Flats: Steve Madden $40
Hat: Forever 21 $12
So today’s I’d Wear That… is in inspired by the fact that a marketing rep from Old Navy contacted me a while ago and sent me a gift card to use there. It was a very nice thing to do and I am very appreciative. I love Old Navy! They are perfect for all the essentials and their prices totally fit into my teacher budget. Here are some must haves I think from Old Navy right now. I might just go snatch them all up!! I love all the bright summer colors!
So I found this recipe on Veggie-Wedgie and it’s a great summer salad dish. There is nothing I love more than a pasta salad in the summer!
You need:
-Whole Wheat pasta
-1-2 avocado
-15 Cherry tomatoes
-1 fresh onions
-2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
-juice of 2 lemons
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tbsp Tabasco (or more if you like it spicy!)
-salt and pepper
Boil pasta and while you are waiting chop up cherry tomatoes in quarters, avocado in strips and fresh onions in thin circles. Combine the veggies with lemon juice, Tabasco, salt, pepper and olive oil. Drain pasta and allow to cool. Now mix pasta with everything else and chill in the fridge for about an hour. Serve!
Perfect for a BBQ!
So I guess I could have saved this post until thursday but we had so much fun making our skirts and they came out so good I needed to share them now!! I had never made a skirt before and laura hadn’t sew’d any clothes before (dont get me wrong she is an already excellent sewer). We have a long childhood of child labor enforced by our mom’s in their craft rooms helping with all their country folk art stuff- haha. Anyways, I picked out a bright blue fabric with big white polka dots and Laura picked a nice denim. The skirts have big pockets on the front and a zipper on the side. They are very cute! Take a look and let us know what you think…
So it’s monday again and I am counting down the days till the seniors are done with school- 9 days!! After they are gone I will have 1 less class during the day and most of my classes enrollment numbers drop by at least 50% OH YEAH!!!
So this weekend Laura came to visit and we had a great great time. We went into boston first- it was nice to be back.I havent been to Boston in a long time and I miss being there. I love just wondering around looking at everything. We had the most amazing dinner at a restaurant on Boylston St. on an out door patio. Mmmm it was delicious!! Then on Sat. we went to Brimfield. We walked around for a couple hours looking at all the antiques trying to find some great treasures. Usually when I go I have an idea of what I am trying to find. This time I didnt have anything set I was looking for and I ended up not getting anything. Oh well. It was still fun to browse. Laura and me then spent the rest of the day trying to find a fabric store. Since when does Walmart not have fabric???!?!?!? We bought a pattern, some fabric and a bottle of wine (not all in the same place) and headed home. We spent the rest of the night watching Princess Bride and creating our skirt pattern. It was fun. Lets just say we are zipper experts now. Well maybe not experts…
I leave you with some Brimfield Pictures. Click the “read more” below to see all pictures.
So I know today is suppose to be something about home decor and I had this whole post planned about subway tiles and what I would like to do in our kitchen but I don’t have the time right now to get it all ready because…. LAURA IS COMING. For those of you that don’t know Laura is my bestest friend. We have been friends since 6th grade but she lives in Long Island and is moving to GA, so we are spending some much needed hang out this weekend together!!! Yippie!! Boy do we have some good things planned. Today we are heading into boston for a wonderful day of havard sqaure, garment district, newbury street, boston commons and we can’t go by with out stopping at the marvel that is the natick mall… THEN TOMORROW WE ARE GOING TO BRIMFIELD!!! (its an amazing antique fair) I can’t wait to share all the pictures and stories of our treasure hunts. I wish you all a wonderful wonderful weekend. I leave you with a pic of brimfield goodness…
Neck Scarf: Ralph Lauren $25
Eggplant Cardigan: Banana Republic (hand-me-downs from Amy)
Gray Tank: American Eagle $20
Jeans: Joe Jeans $70
Flats: Steve Madden $40
More of a laid back day today- had a lot of work to get done at school and it was cold and rainy.
Ok, so I am renaming today “From the Craft Room” instead of “From the Studio” I think it sounds better. Anyways I spent almost all day sunday sewing this dress. It was a pattern I found at the recycling center in Holden, MA. It’s is the most amazing place- people from the community donate old art’s and craft supplies and then its open to the public to come and take for free- its like a free store of supplies. Its great- I love it!! They have an amazing selection of old patterns and I always grab a few every time I am there. This pattern is from 1985. I shortened it a little and decided I would wear a belt with it instead of making the sash. Although I am a slow slow sewer- it came out pretty good in the end. I really love the back of it. I don’t have a picture of it on, but you can see from the pattern.
So today’s look is inspired by the fact that I am going on a date tomorrow night with my lovely hubby. He is leaving on Saturday to go to Maui for 2 weeks for work (yes for work- can you believe that?) and I am going to miss him terribly. We thought we would go out on Thrusday night together so we could have a nice night before he left. Now if I had all this stuff I would totally be wearing this tomorrow night. I love the kinda rocker edge with the accesories/shoes and little leather (fake) bomber (drooling over!!) in contrast to the super flowery 80’s-ish dress. Arent those shoes great?
ok ok I know I have posted this video before- but I can’t stop watching it and neither should you! It’s just so adorable and catchy- I am completely smitten!!!
So I’ll be honest and say this is not last nights dinner but dinner from last week for Cinco de Mayo. Mexican is by far my favorite food- I can’t get enough! I decided to try out something new that night because we had recently had burritos for dinner. So I ended up making a lime marinade for my tofu and chicken for Kev, a Banana salsa and refried “beer” beans. I will say I was a little scared of the banana salsa- I wasn’t sure if it was something either of us were going to like but the sweet of the banana and the tart of the lime was excellent. It was an awesome cinco de mayo feast that we will def. be having again soon.
So first you will make the marinade for the chicken and tofu. I marinaded the tofu all day and the chicken when I got home from work.
Marinade:
1 Package of Extra Firm Tofu- sliced and drained. (I used the already cubed pack)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1.5 Tbsp of Lime Juice
1 Tsp Honey
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
2 to 3 Tbsp of chopped Cilantro
So as this new site gets rolling and everyone is leaving me such nice notes about how beautiful the website is, I just want to take a minute and give credit where credit is due. As many of you know Kev (my hubby) is a very very talented Graphic Designer and its because of him that this site is as beautiful as it is. He took my small ideas and made them more than I could have imagined. He also is responsible for all the amazing food shots for each week’s “Last Nights Dinner.” You can go and check out more of his photography and design work on his own website www.encourageothers.com.
Also Major thanks to Jon for programming the site and fixing all my small changes.
We owe you big time!!
So this weekend Kev went white water rafting up in Maine with friends for a bachelor party. He had a great time but because he was gone that meant I was here by myself. Friday I meet Erin in Northampton for Dinner at Mama Iguanas for some great burritos and margaritas. Then we headed over to the Academy of Music to see Nikki perform in Falsettos. She was amazing- but then again when is she not! It was a great night and it was nice to spend some time with erin.
Saturday I went to Tulipfest in Albany. I have never been before and it was crazy busy and alittle over whelming with so many people. It was a good time though with Sean and Hannah. There were lots of beautiful tulips and lots of food!! On the way out there I stopped at a garage sale because when I drove by I saw that they had a dress form out for sale. I have been looking for an older antique one for a very long time but can never find one that I can afford. Anyways as I was stopping I was thinking “I dont know why I am stopping I only have $1 dollar in my wallet.” When I got up to the dress form I noticed it was perfect condition and then I noticed it had a sticker with a “$1” on it. I was in shock- was this really happening!!?!?! $1- that is exactly what I had in my wallet. I asked the guy if it was really one dollar and he said it was but that this guy (pointing to a kid next to me) just bought it. I was crushed! I tried to see if he would let me have it but he said he was buying it for his mom for mothers day. DOH! So upsetting!! Anyways here are some pics from Tulipfest. If you click the “read more” link at bottomof post you will be able to see more pictures.
Today is Mothers Day and I don’t get to see my mom- sniff sniff! I hope she knows how much I love her! Thanks to her (and of course my dad) my sisters and me had the most wonderful and magical childhood. I have so many amazing memories and I owe that to her!! I love you so much Mom and wish I got to see you today. I miss you!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/3518886316/
and to my mom in law- Happy Mothers Day as well!! I don’t get to see you either- sniff sniff. Thank you for all you do for us and for raising what I think is the most amazing man in the world. You must be a super mom to have made him come out so great!!!
So for my first “Around the House” post, I thought I would share my ideas for our bedroom. We pretty much painted and designed the whole first floor but ran out of money when it came to the upstairs when we first bought the house. So after having our mattress on the floor for one to many months I am ready and itching to redue our room. I have been thinking about this for months and months and finally have settled on a design that I am in love with. I think it will be such a great retreat to go to at night. I was going for modern, romantic with mostly neutral whites and grays with hints of a mustard yellow and this rasberry purple sort of color. The walls will be painted a light gray with white trim. The wall behind the bed will have a hand painted mural of white birch trees. It wont be super stand outish- just sort of noticable. There will be 2 floating shelves above the bed with different size frames leaned against each other. 2 chandliers will be hung from the ceil to act as side lamps above the night tables. The bed linens will mostly be white with some grey sheets and accent pillows. There will be a coverlet that will be folded at the end fo the bed that I got at target which set the color scheme for the whole room. On the floor at the end of the bed will be a round gray shag rug. Here is my story board of the actual items all found at either ikea, target, cb2 or room and board. Then my drawing of the layout. Let me know what you think!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/3513525404/
So can we please talk about how freakin’ cute this is!?!?!?!!!! Kev and me bought this little kitty hut with high hopes that at least one of the cats would sleep in it. Our intentions were to get them off the couch so we wouldn’t have to vacuum so much as they shed off all their winter fur. We have had the thing for a week and neither of them has had any interest in it. We were both about to give up hope and then low and behold I walked into the living room today and there on the floor was Pirate all cuddled up in it!! I WAS SO EXCITED!! I had to call Kev right away. Let’s just hope she will continue to sleep in her little kitty hut.
So I wanted to share a craft I did the other day for the house. I have this sort of planter box ( I think it might actually be for umbrellas?) that we got at Home Goods but I never really knew what to put in it. I have tired a bunch of things, nothing really seemed to stick we mostly just hated everything we tried. I love branches and trees and drawings of trees and paintings of tree and well basically anything with trees, so I thought it would be cool to have a branch in there. I didn’t really like the brown branches and wanted it to look more like a sculpture so I got out my rolls of plaster, a bucket of warm water and ended up plastering the entire branch. Here is how it turned out… I really quite like it!
Hey Hey so here we go with our very first I’d wear that! Today’s look is inspired by a nice warm spring day with a lovely afternoon planned with Kev. Maybe we are going to the flea/farmers market or maybe we’re spending the day walking around boston and having lunch out in a cafe on Newbury St. Either way I think its a very cute and feminine outfit!
Headband: Halloween Store $5 (part of my flapper costume- hehe)
Yellow Cardigan: Delias $9.99 (on sale)
White Dress Shirt: H&M $3 (on sale)
Jeans: Old Navy $30
Flats: Steve Madden $40
Ingredients:
4 Bell Peppers (I use orange just because they are my favorite)
1.5 cups of Instant Brown Rice
3 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp of Cooking Sherry
1 Tsp Vegetarian Worcestershire Sauce
1.5 Cups of Extra Firm Tofu
1/2 Cup of Dried Cranberries
1/4 Cup of Chopped Pecans
1/2 Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Cups Tomato Sauce
3 Tbsp of Brown Sugar
1. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees. In a sauce pan cook your rice according to directions on box.
2. Meanwhile core and seed peppers. Place aside.
3. In a small frying pan bring soy sauce, wine and Worcestershire sauce to a simmer. Add tofu and simmer until liquid is absorbed.
4. Combine rice, tofu, cranberries, nuts, cheese and salt and pepper in pan. Heat to melt cheese a little.
5. Pack into pepper. Place peppers in a dish they can stand up in while you place them in to oven. Cook 25-30mins.
6. While peppers are cooking- in a small sauce pan over low hear combine tomato sauce and brown sugar. Heat until hot.
7. Spoon over pepper before serving.
I also cooked a small amount of spinach for myself last night.
Hey Hey Everyone! I hope everyone had a really nice weekend. We had a BBQ yesterday which although it wasnt very nice out and nobody could come we ended up having a great time. It was just Kev, Me, Erin, Stephanie, Roman and Jon. I really enjoyed everyones company and conversation. I really feel blessed for the long time friends that we have and the new friendships that we are making. Friday night and Saturday Kev and me just hung out- had great dinners, long walks, basketball games and some house cleaning. We ended the weekend last night watching the Bruins game. Nothing makes me feel more at home then it being dark out sitting on the couch with just a few lamps on watching a hockey game with loved ones. That atmosphere will always remind of my grandparents house when I was little. Its a fond memory that is very comforting whenever I find myself in that situtation again. Oh hockey I love you!
I leave you with a little drawing I drew on Friday…
So I saw posters all over the metro when I was in france for this girl and I have been listening to her music ever since. Its so good and sweet and I love it!
Welcome to my personal lifestyle blog. It features topics such as motherhood, family life, fashion, cooking, and all sorts of adventures. I hope you enjoy what you find!
