So I can’t express how much fun this Delightful Dozen swapping is. It is so exciting to see how each of us style the same pieces. Its very inspiring. I would highly recommend getting a group of your girlfriends together and swaping clothes. You will be amazed at how it inspires you!!
Have you been following all our Delightful Dozen swaps on our Facebook Page? Here are just a few pics of items that have been passed around…
I have been looking around the internet a lot at spring clothes. I am dying to lounge around in the warm sun in beautiful dresses and rompers. Here are a few things I am totally loving right now…
So these pictures were taken at one of our favorite spots on the island. It’s called Makapu’u. There is an awesome lookout point, a hike, tidal pools and an amazing beach all at this spot. I was excited I got to wear my chinese laundry sandals again on vacation. They are my favorite sandals because they are just so comfy. I also got this tank before I left at Forever 21. I thought it was very fitting to wear in Hawaii. It is sort of hawaii shirt like but it a much cooler way. hehe
So our trip to Hawaii was awesome. It was so great to spend a whole week with Kev and see so many of our friends. Honestly, it was a little emotional landing and getting off the plane together. We have not been back together since the day we moved. It has very special meaning there for us, it was our first home together. Anyways, we lived it up everyday. We drove all over the place visiting all our favorite beaches and places. We went back to our old apartment. We walked around were we use to work and hung out were we use to eat lunch together everyday on bishop street. We got to see Jenni, Toby and the boys as well as Charlie and Gina and Kev’s old Boss Chris and his wife Julie. Everyday was jam packed and we loved it.
I will say the travel time out to hawaii is very hard. It is a long trip and everytime I am on the plane I wonder if it is worth it, but as soon a I walk off that plane and I feel the warm breeze, I smell the sweet air and I see the mountains I know there is no other place like this. It was very hard to leave!
As I was going thru our pictures, I realized we really didnt take all that many. I guess when you lived there and you go back, you don’t really remember to take a lot of pictures because we already have so many. I do wish I had more pictures of all the friends we visited with. Bummer.
Here are a few we did take…
Yay, we are back!! We’ll I don’t know if I would really say yay, I didn’t want to leave but here we are, back in a very snowy Albany. We had a fabulous time!! We love it there so much, it will always have a very special place in our hearts. Tomorrow I will have some vacation pictures to share, but for today we have our first of many vacation style files. I have been dying to dress for warmer weather lately (I am finished with winter!) so I packed my suitcase full of clothes and wore everything I brought. Kev took lots of pictures for me, so hopefully we can spread a little summer cheer to these (hopefully) last days of winter.
Dress: Modcloth
Belt: Forever 21
Sunglasses: I think Target
Peep Toes: Vintage
p.s. We have been getting our first emails in our withoutyouitsjustnot.us inbox!! It’s so exciting to see other people print out the flyer and send in pictures. Keep them coming!! Read more about our Love Project Here.
So I got an email from Jessica a while back asking if I could help her out with an outfit for her bachelorette party in NYC. She said it was going to be a spa day paired with some walking around the city, dinner and some dancing. Sounds like fun huh? Anyways, she wanted an outfit that she could wear all day going from spa to dinner and something that she would be comfortable walking around the city in. I found this awesome dress (which I think is just so pretty) on ThreadSence and I went from there. I paired the dress with some flats so she could be comfortable walking but that were also cute for night time. I figured she could wear a cute cardigan over the dress during the day and then at night take it off and let her jewelry show for a little more glamor at night. What do you guys think? Do you think this outfit would work from day to night for her bachelorette?
How is everyone’s week going? We are having a wonderful time here and it feels so nice to have the sun hit my Pastey winter skin! Hehe. Even though we are away I couldn’t wait to post this giveaway. As I have talked about before, Roll and Tumble Press are an amazing letterpress company with awesome awesome prints. For this weekend giveaway they are giving one lucky winner their “Love Nest” poster. Kev and me actually have this poster from them and we absolutly LOVE it!! We just got it framed and will be sharing pictures next week of how we used the print in our house.
All you need to do to enter this giveaway is go and check out Roll and Tumble Press on etsy and then leave a comment below. Simple as that!! Every household needs this print hung somewhere in it! I just love it so much!!
Hey everyone. There will be no style files till next Wednesday. Kev and me landed in Hawaii last night and will be taking a week to relax and disconnect. I do have a few things set up for the blog while I am gone, including an I’d Wear That later today, an AMAZING giveaway tomorrow and of course I will be popping in to say hi with some photos every so often.
I brought some awesome outfits for pictures so when I get back there will be lots if Hawaiian style files. So stay tuned! Have a wonderful week everyone!!!!!
This is a picture we took of our favorite beach and we are up and getting ready to go there!!
Peace out
ok so, I don’t even know how to start this post to talk about my Valentines Day present from Kev. I am already getting choked up writing this. If you have been reading my blog for awhile you know that I write a lot about Kev and how much I love him. When I started this blog I thought about whether I would share personal things like that, but honestly I don’t know how I couldn’t. It is who I am, it is something I truly believe in. I think the most important thing I want to get across in my blog is not about fashion, or art or food but that Love is something that is worth it. The love in our lives can make such a difference. That includes love in marriage, with family, with friends and love to the people around us. Can you imagine a world were we all really just loved one another. There is so much hate and destruction out there. I just want to share a little love with everyone as mushy and stupid as that sounds.
As I have mentioned before, Me and Kev got engaged and married in a matter of 3 weeks. We got married on a cruise where the only things we picked out were my dress and his tux. We got married in the Viking Lounge on the cruise ship in Key West, FL at 10am in the morning by a crazy JP that came on the boat just to marry us. It was a ceremony that was totally about us- no decorations or planning that distracted us from that. Kev’s sister took some video of that day on her camera that I have not seen since the day of the wedding. It has been on her camera since and the camera has been lost and for many other reason we have just not gotten it off there. So when Kev sat me down to watch his Valentines day video and I saw the video start I totally lost it. I cried (like balling) thru this entire video. I think the thing that means so much is (of course other than him showing me how much he loves me) is this message of spreading love. I leave you to watch the video first and then i will talk more about the project he started of Withoutyouitsjustnot.us.. It’s only 4mins long and I promise you its way more than a few clips of our wedding. I hope you will watch… (if you click on the link you can see it bigger on the vimeo site)
isn’t the out take right at the end so cute? I love it!
So now that Kev’s year long secret project is out, it’s our project to work on together. This is where you come in!! We want to keep this idea of spreading love going. If there is someone that you love in your life, we ask that you would visit the site withoutyouitsjustnot.us and print out one of the flyers. Take pictures of yourself holding the flyer in places you live, or a place that has meaning between you and that loved one. Write your loved ones name all over the flyer if you want so they know. Then send us the pictures at withoutyouitsjustnotus@gmail.com. Every so often when we collect enough pictures we will be making videos with the photos and sharing them on jenloveskev as well as withoutyouitsjustnot.us. What a fun way to make this large world seem a little smaller by bring us all together with the idea of Love. Print out tons of posters if you want and place them all around- get the word out and see how far this can go!!!!
What a weekend this has been!! The perfect way to start a weeks vacation if I do say so myself! On Friday, Julie and myself headed on train (full of crazies) to NYC. We were off to a Girls Night Out sponsored by Dove and hosted by Jess from What I Wore. The first part of the night was at the Dove Parlor, where we got to mingle, have delicious little sandwiches and some awesome drinks. It was so great to meet up with everyone in person. Its funny when you see the girls in real life for the first time- you instantly feel like you have known them forever. hehe. I love having blogger meet ups!!! All the girls were amazing and I had such a great night! After the Dove Parlor, we got picked up by a gigantic stretched suv limo for 2 hours of party time around the city. Our driver took us all around stopping at major attractions and letting us hop out and take lots of pictures. I think all the tourist around thought we were crazy. They were taking pictures of us taking pictures and wanting to get their pictures taken with our limo. It was a night I will not forget anytime soon!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4358860035/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4358859381/Tieka and Me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4359600034/Andrea, Tieka, Elizabeth and Kim
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4358898127/Tieka, Jess, Elizabeth, Melissa and Kim
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4358851703/Erin, Julie, Rebecca and me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4358858999/
All pictures were taken by the lovely Andrea of Blonde Bedhead!
Food and Drinks, limo service and Dove Visibly Smooth samples were generously provided by Dove.
So there was no “Dress like a Teacher Day” because we had a snow day. Bummer! Although, I did really need the day off. There is just too much stuff going on! Albany did not get a lot of snow though, like nothing, so it was a good day to get errands and things done. I went shopping trying to find something to wear this weekend for NYFW. I am going to a very fancy Girls Night Out tomorrow with a bunch of extremely lovely bloggers. I can’t wait to meet everyone!! Julie and me are heading down to the city for the weekend tomorrow after work. I can’t wait to share all the pictures with you guys on Monday.
Tomorrow is also the last day of school before vacation!! So excited!!! NYC this weekend with friends and then Hawaii on Tuesday with the love of my life!! Yippie!
I found this jean shirt at the goodwill last week and was really excited to wear it. I also got this fuzzy leopard belt. I love finding good things thrifting, it’s so rewarding…
I would like to welcome my newest Sponsor To Be Determined!!! To Be Determined is a wonderful etsy shop that has a collection of hand selected vintage pieces and reconstructed & handmade items made of recycled vintage garments. Caitlin runs the shop and does an awesome job with all the reworked items!! I would love to wear any one of the skirts.
To introduce the shop to you guys To Be Determined having a giveaway!! Caitlin would like to give the winner a choice of any SKIRT from her shop!! All you need to do is visit her shop and leave a comment below. Simple as that!! The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Monday morning (2/15)!
Who wouldn’t want to win one of these fun skirts! I adore the plaid skirt with the bow- it is beyond adorable!! Remember all you need to do to win is leave a comment!
So, remember last week when I mentioned my super fun new necklaces that I got from Modcloth? Well here is the other one!! It’s a Robot!!! I also seem to talk to myself or well to my robot a lot when I wear this one. When I was getting dressed, I guess I was making Robot noises because I heard Kev say “are you talking to your robot?” haha I didn’t even realize I was talking out loud. haha so funny!
Now, I know I wore this sequin shoulder shirt last week and I don’t like to repeat things so often but when I got dressed yesterday it just came together so easily and I was kinda running late so I hope you will forgive me! I love the black and white of the outfit and then the brightness of my neon tights!!
It’s spirit week at school this week and tomorrow is dress like a Teacher Day!! I have had a bunch of girls come in and tell me that they were going to dress like me. I can’t tell you how excited I am to come to school tomorrow and see them all dressed up. Yay! I am so excited. I think it will be so fun. I am definitely going to take some pictures, I am just figuring out how I can post it on here with out crossing any kind of lines. If you haven’t noticed yet, I never post any pictures of students or of school. I think that could get me in a lot of trouble. I just want to be respectful. We’ll see…
It’s been about 2 weeks since my first post, photography basics, which reviewed the equipment you need in order to start taking better photos. So, I think enough time has passed for everyone to save up a few thousand bucks, and make their purchases, right? Either way, onto the next logical topic: Creating a proper exposure.
Your exposure is essentially how light, dark, or just right your photo is. You obtain this by combining the proper aperture, shutter speed and ISO setting. (external light source or flash will also play a role in proper exposure, but I’ll cover that another time).
Each one of these variables (aperture, shutter and ISO) play a factor in your exposure. They each represent something unique, but need to work together in order to get a desirable result.
The quickest and easiest way to calculate the proper combination of these factors is by utilizing your cameras built-in light meter. In most cases, you’ll see the light meter towards the bottom of your display while looking through the viewfinder. Your cameras light sensor will judge the required settings by what is currently in focus. In other words, if you aim your camera at the bright sky, your light meter may tell you that your settings are over exposed and that they need to be altered. Similarly, if you aim your camera in a shaded area your light meter may tell you that your settings are under exposed and that you’ll need to, again, alter your settings. You can alter these settings by changing any one or all of the three factors mentioned above. Once the indicator on your light-meter is directly in the middle, you should have a proper exposure. However, there are many ways to obtain this exposure, and the one you choose might not be accomplishing the “look” that you were initially going for… When I first started taking pictures I would only adjust the shutter speed in order to create a proper exposure. Unfortunately though, that technique was short lived until I found out that the slower my shutter was, the blurrier my photos became. Therefore, I needed to find a good balance between all of the factors involved in order to create a desirable photo for every specific instance.
When you understand the role that each factor plays within your exposure, you’ll have much more control over the results of your images. I’m going to walk through some of these factors to help give a better idea of what to expect when altering your aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Click the link below to read the rest of the post!
So today marks my first participation in the Delightful Dozen. We got this shirt from the fabulous online store Ruche. I was the first to receive it and was to style it up and then send it out to Jessica from What I Wore. When I opened the package I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to wear with it. I had just been talking in the car to Kev about how I wanted to make sure I wore my leopard skirt one more time before I sent it out to be part of the clothes swap. I opened the shirt and thought maybe I would wear the shirt with my leopard skirt. I laid both of them out on the bed and thought they paired very well. Then I remembered I had bought these nude lace tights a while back that I had yet to wear. I threw those on the bed as well. Then I went into my closet to dig around for a black belt when I found all my hats. I pulled out the black beret. Everything just kept coming together.
I put everything on and fell in love. I just loved the look. I added some of our joke glasses that we wear around the house sometimes (haha yes, they have no lens in them) and then decided I needed a pop of color. I never wear lipstick but the outfit was calling for it. So on it went and it totally just completed the look.
Kev did a great job with these pictures! I also love that we took the pictures in front of our letter press. I love that thing and this is it’s first appearance on jenloveskev. I am not sure how I feel about the nude lace tights though. They are cool, but sort of make me feel like I have some sort of Disease. What are your thoughts? Do you like the tights? Do you like the outfit?
Julie, from Orchid Grey also got this top this week. I can’t wait to see how she styles it! Then the shirts will travel around thru the rest of the 12. Stay tuned to see how we all style it in our own ways…
So I don’t really have very exciting pictures from our weekend but we did do some fun stuff. We headed up to Manchester, VT on Saturday to the Equinox Resort and Spa. We went up with some of our good friends and spent the weekend eating good food, Shopping, swimming in the pool and relaxing. Here are some of the generic pictures from their website. It was super nice there- very fancy! The pool area was so awesome. They had an outdoor hot tub, saunas and then indoor poor, so fun!
We even went to a bookstore and found the Lucky Magazine to show Jon and Carrie…
I also got a picture this weekend from a reader wearing one of my tunnel scarfs she bought. Doesn’t it look awesome on her!!
Well, I am pretty excited because today starts the last week before our vacation!! I can not wait!! Especially because I woke up this morning feeling super run down and congested. I need that Hawaiian sun to heal me!! 4 more days of work after today!
So yesterday was already a pretty monumental day- things were going great! Then I got the mail and I was flipping thru my new Lucky Magazine, when I stopped at a Lucky Style Spotter Ad and to my shock and surprise there I was!!!! haha I was so excited!! I know its so not a big deal- its not like its about me or they even mention my name but its the small things right? I was so happy. Its the first time I have been in a legit print magazine, so its exciting to me!! I have 3 things to say about it…
1. I think its hilarious that they mixed up my title with the blogger who runs Fashion Bananas(to the right). I mean look how gorgeous and made up she is in her picture. hehe. Much more and a makeup artist than me! I know she writes a lot about her make up techniques on her blog. I think a better title for myself would have been lifestyle blogger. No complaints though- hehe who wouldn’t want to be a make up artist?
2. The picture they picked it so funny to me. Its probably the least fashiony picture. hehe but I like it because it’s totally me. It was taken on a day that Kev and me went apple picking in September. It was such a laid back and relaxing day! Do I wish I didn’t have pig tails in my first magazine picture- yes, but would I want it to be a picture that didn’t represent a good idea who I am really am, no. So it works out I guess.
3. I love Lucky and Lucky Style Spotter. They are a great a magazine and Lucky Style Spotter is an awesome website to get involved in. I am one of the Alpha Shoppers over there with I think 100 other girls. Its pretty fun. You should hop over and check it out if you haven’t already!!
So, yesterday I got a delightful Modcloth package in the mail and in it included what I have to say are 2 of the FUNNEST (Is that an actual word?) necklaces I have ever owned!! I am going to share one with you today and you will have to wait to see the other one!!! I can’t stop wearing it up around my lips and speaking to myself like I am Sherlock Holmes or someone. Saying words like “old boy,” I wish I had a monocle as well. Seriously, what day can be bad when you are wearing a moustache around your neck? I cracked myself up all day long!!! I am head over heels with this necklace. I also can’t get enough out of wearing my moto jacket. I am sure you guys are sick of seeing it but it’s just so warm and paired with my favorite colored tights and this speckled wool skirt, I felt pretty darn good yesterday!
Moto Jacket: Forever 21
Ruffle Blouse: Target
Wool Skirt: Old Navy (hand me up from my sis)
Tights: Hue (TJ Maxx)
Shoes: DollHouse
Necklace: Courtesy of Modcloth
I think one of the best things about blogging is the community that comes along with it. I have come across so many wonderful people and so much inspiration over the last year. So when the idea came up to start a group where we could share our style and love for fashion, sort of a “sisterhood of the traveling style” I jumped at the chance. Yesterday I had mentioned I was going to be doing some clothes swapping but today I would like go into some more detail and introduce you to “The Delightful Dozen.”
We are all unique in our styles, sizes, blogging and locations but we are joining together and will be swapping clothes, posting side-by-side photos and posting items where all of us have styled one item so you get 12 different options!! We have a lot planned, so be sure to stay connected through our facebook page. It’s going to be a fun adventure!!
I am sure you know most of these lovely ladies but The Delightful Dozen are:
A few weeks ago I received an email from Taylor asking if I could create an outfit for her Bridal Shower. Her Aunt is throwing her a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” themed shower where the invites have the tag line “Little Black Dress and Pearls Optional.” It sounds like a very classy, fun and beautiful shower. Taylor wanted to stick with the black and white theme but wanted to do a twist on the dress idea with seperates maybe. As I was planning out an outfit I thought why not take the twist in a different direction. If everyone is going to be wearing black, I don’t want Taylor to blend in on her special day. I saw this turquoise dress and knew this is it! Why not change up the main color of the outfit, while still staying in the color scheme, so that Taylor stands out. Besides when I saw this dress everything else failed in comparision. The dress is just so pretty!!! Here is what I came up with…
Thanks for all the ideas for getting yourself out of a clothing rut. They were very sweet and quite helpful. I appreciated every single one.
I am going to part of a secret swap in the next few weeks and I am excited about it. I know it will help! Plus I like the idea of getting excited about outfits for when I am in Hawaii. There’s a good way to get ready for spring and summer, right?. I also am heading in to NYC the weekend before we leave for Hawaii with Julie for some awesome Fashion Week fun. We are going to some events that I am totally excited to dress up for! Lots to look forward too!
On to this outfit. I had not worn this skirt to work yet because the last time I wore it, it was for a dress up event. I wasn’t sure how to dress it down for school. I decided to wear less jewelry, a more fun top and my flat boots. I think it ended up working well for school.
Mmmmm. This is has been a favorite dish of kev’s for a long time. My mom makes a killer Rigatoni ala Vodka. Kev hopes we have it every time we go over there. I usually never make it myself though. My mom gave me her recipe and I have made it once before but of course it didn’t taste the same because my mom wasn’t making it. Anyways, for our special LOST night I decided to try a different recipe for it so then we weren’t disappointed that it just didn’t taste like my moms. This one was pretty darn good. It had a little bit of a kick to it with the red pepper flakes which I liked a lot. I toped it off with some fresh Parmesan and some garlic bread.
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 box Whole Wheat pasta (really doesn’t matter what shape)
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 basil leaves, rolled together and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh cracked pepper and salt
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil. Add onions, garlic and crushed red pepper cook until onions are translucent about 5 minutes. Pour in vodka. Cook 3 minutes. Pour in tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Set aside.
3. After sauce has simmered for 20 minutes, whisk 1 tablespoon of sauce into cream to temper it. Slowly stir tempered cream into the tomato sauce. Add cooked pasta to the sauce. Stir to combine.
4.Stir in basil and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
Serve with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers.
The garlic bread is made by spreading butter (earth balance) on bread, add some garlic salt, top with grated Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes and broil for a few mins until golden brown.
Ever have those days, weeks or even months were you just feel like you are in a clothing rut. I def. have been feeling that lately. I don’t know what it is but I can’t seem to get myself out of it. I am not writing this looking for compliments from you guys, I am just being honest and looking for suggestions on how you guys have gotten yourselves out of ruts like this. I feel like I walk into my closet and stand there not knowing what I should put on and not feel inspired by anything. I def. think the weather has gotten the best of me. I am tired of wearing winter clothes. Spring hurry up! Any advice you guys have I’d greatly appreciate it!
Well on to the outfit. I have always had a beef with Forever 21 and there return policy. I think its stupid that you can’t fully return items there only exchange things. It’s never been a major problem because I can usually just find something that I would exchange for. Back in Dec. before our Boston Blogger Meet up I bought some things, not sure what I would end up wearing. One of which was this shirt. I never ended up wearing it to the meet up and I decided that I would return it because I have 3 black and white stripped shirts already (no they don’t have sequin shoulders, but I figured they were just too similar). In my head I expected to have 90 days to exchange like other stores. I finally went in the other day to exchange for this pretty dress I found and they told me they couldn’t do it. You only have 21 days. I was so frustrated because the shirt is still in the store, I have the receipt and the tag is still on the shirt. I mean come on- how difficult can you be!!! Ugh! Long story short- I am now the owner of this shirt, I better put it to good use. They are lucky that its a cute shirt.
Shirt: Forever 21
Belt: Forever 21
Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: Target
Bracelets: ? I dont remember
p.s Last Nights Dinner will actually be Tonights Dinner. We had some stuff going on last night and had a quick something. We are planning on just taking a picture of our delicious dinner we have planned for tonight!! It will be posted later on tonight or tomorrow morning.
We have a delicious dinner planned, ice cream in the fridge and snacks in the cupboard. We are SOOOOO ready for our lazy night tonight curled up on the couch together watching the 3 hour premiere of LOST. SO EXCITED!!!!!!
Did you have a good weekend? We had a layed back weekend but did a lot of driving. We drove out to Framingham, MA to meet up with one of our college friends to talk about her wedding invitations. I am going to be making her custom invites, programs and a guest book for her beautiful wedding in October. yay!! It was great to see her and meet her fiance, who we loved by the way and are so happy for the 2 of them!!
After that we headed over to the Natick Mall to walk around. That place is crazy. They built luxury condos on top of it. I mean who really needs to live on top of a mall right? Anyways, We have been talking about getting a new computer for a while now, Kev’s old G5 has been getting really slow lately and it has been such a hassle to use it. I refuse to go online at home because it takes forever. We ended up in the apple store and well the fanciness off the iMacs got the best of us and we ended up walking out with a new 27″ iMac. I am so happy for Kev that he has a new computer. He deserves it! He was like a little kid leaving the candy store after we bought it.
I cant wait to watch LOST recaps on Hulu tonight on it!!!
On weekends I usually dress down a little. When we stoped by my parents house this weekend I found this vest hanging in my old closet. I think its my sisters (amy I am only borrowing it) I think she found it at some goodwill. I like how old school it looks. I had fun making a weekend outfit for it…
p.s. I love rubber boots, You can jump in any puddle you see and not have wet shoes!! So fun!
Plaid Shirt: Old Navy
Vest: Borrowing from sister
Jeans: Guess
Boots: Steve Madden
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!
