Today is probably one of the nicest days ever. Its beautiful out! Perfect temp: low 70’s, bright blue sky and super nice breeze. I woke up this morning took a shower and got dressed for the day. I really wanted to wear this neon necklace from modcloth today. Its so so bright- so I paired it with a simple black and white stripped shirt and just a plain black skirt. The outfit isn’t really anything fancy or crazy but I love what the necklace adds to it.

I decided since it was such a nice day I would pack up my water bottle, camera and a snack and go for a bike ride. We have a really nice bike path by our house. I figured I would try to take an outfit picture somewhere along the bike path. Well, our bike pump is broken and my tires were super flat, so I had to ride Kev’s bike. His bike is too tall and has no basket. So I had to figure out some way to hold all my crap as I biked along on a bike that was not real comfortable to ride. It was not the bike ride I envisioned in my head, haha but the weather did make up for it. I left around 1 thinking it wouldn’t take me too long to take some pictures and enjoy a ride. Well I just got back and its 4. doh! I am so not good at taking pictures myself. It takes me forever!! Plus I am extra slow with my pregnant belly getting in the way all the time. I must look ridiculous to anyone that sees me. I mean I would laugh if I saw myself. Plus my skirt is super light and a few times caught wind and up it went. I think I flashed a handful of cars along the road to the path. haha so not graceful.

Oh hey! guess what? we start out birth classes tonight! Its so crazy and weird to think about. But the end of the summer is going to come so soon. I’ll let you know how it goes tonight in the baby post tomorrow.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4749375297/
Highlight-Her Necklace: c/o Modcloth
Stripped Shirt: H&M
Skirt: H&M
Jean Jacket: Gap (thrfited)
Sandals: Sears

The shower was such a wonderful day. I can not express how blessed Kev and me felt by having so many of our friends and family there. We love all you guys! The rain even held off for most of the day and only sprinkled for just a few mins at one point. For the most part everyone just hung out in my parents backyard. We had picnic tables set up and vintage blankets and linens out on the grass for lounging as well. There was lots of Lemonade, ice tea, and old school looking glass sodas. I bought a bunch of those stripped paper straws that added a lot of fun to the drinks. My mom and me collected old glasses from thrift stores for the past few months and everyone got to use a fancy glass. Everything looked so cute together!! My sisters and me made Strawberry lemonade cupcakes and chocolate ones that had pansies on them. We had chalkboard menus, a clothes line of my baby dresses, old baby pictures, lots of snacks, beautiful wildflowers, lots of milk glass and fun games. We played tug-o-war, sack races, home run derby, we hula hooped and played corn hole. Of course the day goes by way to fast and its hard not to regret not spending more time with each person, or that you didn’t get certain pictures of things but that night after it was all over, Kev and me laid in bed and just talked about our day and told stories and reminisced. It will be a day that we wont soon forget. Thank you to the people that made the day so special!!

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Ruche, has done it again! Their new summer lookbook is absolutely beautiful and styled to perfection. I get excited every time they put out a new book because its always so inspiring. I love the county feel to this one. I makes my want to dress in beautiful dresses and eat apple pie on a picnic table.
If you go to the site and look thru the lookbook you can shop each outfit, how convenient huh? What are your favorites?
Here are some I loved…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4742440600/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4741803153/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4741803227/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4742440686/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4741803469/

p.s. Detail shots of the baby shower will be up around noon- so come check them out then!

So the baby shower was a blur of a day and I really didnt get to take a single style file picture of my dress that I made but I did get a few with Julie! 2 is better than 1 anyways, right? I ended up starting my dress last week when I went home to my parents. I knew what I wanted in my head and was trying to adjust a pattern I had to my ideas and to fit my pregnant body. There were a few hours one night between 12am and 2 am that I thought the dress was a lost cause but I stuck with it and I am actually really proud of how it came out. I was hoping for more of a fuller skirt but everything turned out about as good as I good have made it. I am by no means any kind of seamstress so it is pretty ghetto in places. I was so glad Julie and Chris got to come and hang out at the baby shower!!

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You can see come more pictures of my dress in our mustache pictures in the post below as well.
Dress: Handmade by me!
Pink Studded Belt: Forever 21
Love Bird Necklace: Figs and Ginger
Vintage Peep Toe Flats: Thrifted
Sunglasses: Ray Ban Clubmaster

Our baby shower was on Saturday and it was more than I ever could have imagined. We had about 80 people come and it was so overwhelming with fun, friendships, love and family. I really have yet to process the whole day and feel all emotional still when I think about it. We will be doing a major Baby Shower Recap tomorrow as we start sifting thru all the pictures tonight. All I can say for now is Kev and me feel so blessed by the friends and family that we have. Every person that was there meant the world to us and their presence is what made the day so very special.

To give you a little sneak peak of the day. I am going to share all the mustache pictures with you. hehe! They came out so great!! I made a bunch of wooden mustaches and then thru out the day we snuck some snapshots of everyone…

Me and my 2 sisters (Amy and Carrie)…

some of our friends came picture picture for our vintage backyard bbq…

Whew! Can you Believe this is the last week in June? This month has been a crazy one for me but today I think things have finally settled down for the summer. So, with that I wanted to take a moment and share some of the extremely cute and must have things from some of this months sponsors. It seriously takes me like an hour to browse each shop and only pick a few things to post on here. Each store has so much to offer. Sometimes I dont even know where to begin!

Modcloth is continuing to expand their summer dress selection. If you have a function or party to go to this summer and are wondering where to find an outfit I would tell anyone to start looking here. So many styles to chose from! Here are 3 of my favorites (isn’t that polka dot dress so adorable?) …

1. Parade Watching Dress & Picnic Pin Up Wedges
2. Skies of Blue Dress & Over the Moon Wedges
3. Summer Wheat Dress & Westward Bound Wedges

Ruche is your summer one stop shop. Everything from dresses, shirts, skirts and shoes!! They have some amazing, amazing shoes right now!! I think I have to have these 80%20 Wedges. I have been drooling over them for a very long time. They would be perfect to pair with so many summer dresses…

1. Browsing the stacks chambray dress & Fern Weave Coral Flats
2. A Day in Chantilly Chiffon Top & 80%20 Bonnie Wedge Sandal
3. Bittersweet Goodbye Pocket Dress & Stitched Floral Peep Toes

Roll and Tumble Press is always the place I go to first when I need to find a gift for someone. They always have something that will be perfect. I have a few baby showers for friends coming up and I think the sweet dreams poster would be perfect addition to any nursery. Or what about the Eat, Drink posters- Perfect for a house warming gift! Surprise your friends with something more than ordinary!

1. Close Your Eyes Handprinted Letterpress Poster
2. Drink Handprinted Letterpress Poster
3. Sweet Dreams Handprinted Letterpress Poster

Ahh can you believe it! I am already at 30 weeks. Its crazy. It’s starting to feel very real that she is coming really soon. If she came early then it would be even sooner. I feel like there is still so much to do. Now that school is over I am hoping that I can start focusing more on the things I want to be done for her when she gets her: “nesting” if you will. I am starting a To Do List that I will work thru until the end of summer. September 3rd is right around the corner.

So, Betty Pram meet everyone, Everyone meet Betty Pram. haha I just named it Betty. Isn’t she a beaut?!?!!!! I love this stroller. Its huge and takes up way to much space, but I just love it so much. Its like a classic cadaillac, a boat of a car but ooh so cool. We felt a little funny strolling it around as we took the pictures, haha I think everyone thought we were crazy as they rode by and saw that there was no baby in there. Soon Enough. Its a Pedigree pram is from the 60’s. I tried to find a Silvercross but no luck in my area. This one works just as good. Its so pretty and in such good condition. I love the little detailing on the side.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4720920886/


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Dear Baby Girl:
This has been such a fun week. We are getting ready to celebrate you with a big party this weekend. I have been staying at Grammy’s house all week with Auntie Amy getting things ready. I am getting so so excited!! You have Great Aunts coming from FL and Canada and your Great Grandparents are coming from Canada too! There will be lots of family and friends here! I really feel so blessed by all the friendships you daddy and me have made thru the years. So much love!!

We have been making lots of cute things for the party. I made a bunch of paper pinwheels in really cute paper, mustache’s on sticks for our photobooth, we have been sewing tableclothes and napkins in all this beautiful vintage fabric. We have jars of old school candy and lots of milk glass vases for fresh wild flowers. I wish you were here now so you could see it all. It’s going to be the best Vintage Backyard bbq Shower ever!!

I also made a dress to wear to the party this week. I am hoping if I get better at sewing I can make you lots of cute little dresses too! I made a little sundress with tie shoulder straps in this really pretty floral print with a black and white checker skirt. It came out great. It was a little rough for a bit but it all worked out!

So, do you like your pram? I think you are going to love it!! I want to crochet you a little blanket for it with granny sqaures. We already have all these big plans for us to go on picnics with it when daddy comes home from work. You and me will get all ready and then when he comes home, off we will go. You are going to look so cute laying in there. Ahh it’s too cute to even think about! Well there is lots more to do for the party so I am off- Can’t wait to show you the pictures from it one day!

Love you little girl!
Your Momma

Ok, ok so I didn’t actually wear this today because well school is over, but I wanted to show you this super cute dress I got at the Canal District Clothing Swap. I got to wear it a few times before school ended and I just never got a picture to show you yet until today.

Today was also my first time taking my own pictures since last summer. Kev is always my handy camera man but we are trying to free some time in our schedules now a days. Since I have my days free now, I am going to try to take them myself. First thing I learned today was: We need a remote! Plus I am not good at photography. I need some practice. Boy is it hard to find something to focus on that will be where you will stand so that you are in focus. These pictures came out a little soft, but practice makes perfect right? It can only get better from here (here’s hoping that is!)

Anyways, back to the dress. Isn’t it just too cute? I love the colors and the little lace collar. I don’t wear much jewelry, or well any at all when I wear this dress. I like to keep it simple. I think the shoes jazz it up enough. Trying to run back and forth in time for the self timer and over little rocks- proved to be quite difficult. I ended up having a lot of mess up pictures as you can see below…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4727415209/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4728054612/
Dress: The Swapaholics
Belt: H&M (worn Backwards)
JC Clogs: Lulus.com

p.s. I dyed my hair the other day and at first I thought it was too dark but after looking at these pictures I think I really like it darker brown. At least all the brassiness is gone. yuck!

Remember my valentines day present from Kev? If you are new around jenloveskev or never got a chance to watch the video he made me take a look…

Love of my life from Jen Lula on Vimeo.

I wont recap every mushy feeling I have about this video but if you want you can read the full post on it here. But I just wanted to give everyone a little update. We have been getting pictures from around the US as well as Europe and I just wanted to share a few with everyone. It’s seriously so fun to get the emails and hear peoples love stories. Love is such a universal language and its so awesome that we can all feel connected by such a powerful thing. So if you havent had a chance yet to download the flyer and take some pictures with your loved one- get on it!! We would love to see them and will post them here on jenloveskev when we get them.
Let’s take a look…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4724752550/









http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4724101531/

You can download flyer here and email pictures to: withoutyouitsjustnotus@gmail.com

Help spread the word!

We were lucky enough to have a little photo shoot set up for us when we went to the clothing swap. Anne Ruthmann was there to photograph the event and do some style pictures of us. I wore a Gap chambray wrap dress that I had just recently found at the thrift store and my JC clogs. This dress is awesome for a pregnant lady. I feel like its flattering and comfortable and works good for my expanding self. These pictures were taken about a month ago but I am still wearing this dress now even with my belly being way bigger. I do think I want to shorten the dress a little. With the heels I think the length works great, but now that I am not wearing heels it sometimes feels a little matronly to me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4720956838/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4720305893/
Chambray Dress: Gap via Goodwill
Necklaces: Forever 21
Jeffrey Campbell Clogs: Lulus.com

and of course some awesome group photos (and yes I am a giant in these shoes next to other people)…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4720955740/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4720955852/
In pictures: Julie, Punky, Melissa and myself

So a little while ago I was asked by Punky if I would be interested in coming out to Worcester for The Swapaholics Canal District Clothing Swap. Free Clothes? She did not have to ask me twice. I was so excited to be going and that Julie would be going as well. I love these 2 bloggin’ ladies. It was such a fun day!! We got to go early and be the first to look thru all the clothes. I felt pretty special. Julie and I got a whole bunch of great goodies. Some if which I have been wearing lately in my style files lately (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4701562769/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4686812614/). We also got some good stuff for the Delightful Dozen. Why not swap clothes with friends that you got from a clothes swap? Its like a super mega swap!

Punky and Melissa were great swap hosts. We had the best day and it was a huge success. There were tons of people that came out to participate. All you had to do was come, drop off some clothes, get a stamp and come back an hour later to check out all the other clothes. There were tons of helpers that were taking all the bags and sorting them into organized sections. It was fun to see everyone working together for such a great event. I seriously can not wait till the next one. You can check out all the goodness that is The Swapaholics on their website. They are in LA right now spreading the Clothes Swapping Fun.

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All pictures taken by Anne Ruthmann Photography

So Kev and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary yesterday. I can’t even believe how fast time has gone. I feel like it was just yesterday that we started dating. I am beyond blessed to have him as my other half in this life and can’t imagine doing anything, whether big or small, without him by my side. For the last 4 years we have taken a little picture on our anniversary day, lets recap…
Our wedding: 06.16.06. Key West, FL on a Royal Caribbean Cruise

Year one: O6.16.07. Oahu, HI. Spent the first year of marriage livin’ in Hawaii. Here we are in the park having a picnic and playing chess.

Year two: 06.16.08. Pittsfield, MA. We closed on our very first house on our 2 year anniversary. We spent the night eating chinese food on the floor of a house we had no furniture for. Amazing!

Year three: 06.16.09. Pittsfield, MA. One year livin’ at our house. Feeling like adults. Got dressed up and went out for a nice dinner. Not before flashing gang signs first. hehe.

and finally, yesterday…
Year four: 06.16.10. Cohoes, NY: Our Loft Apartment. Went and saw Mates of State play in Northamton, MA, 29 weeks pregnant with our little baby girl.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4708161414/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4707517027/
Dear Baby Girl:
This has been quite a week. It was very monumental for me. Mommy and Daddy celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary and today was my last day of work. I have been very emotional about it all. Being able to stay home with you is something I have always wanted but with the start of this week- I realized I was having a harder time with it than I thought. Being an art teacher has been a part of who I am for a very long time. I mean, while going to school, its what you say your profession is going to be when people ask. Then you graduate and actually become that and you are proud and glad to say what you do when someone asks. Today I closed that chapter. I am excited about starting the next one but honestly, I am a little scared too. Its hard not to be filled with thoughts about whether I am going to be good at being a mom or not. Will I love staying home? Will I feel valuable? It has nothing to do with my love for you because there is no question about that. I love you more than I ever thought even now and you are still just in my belly. I am just a little scared and nervous of all the changes and uncertainties. I don’t want to let you down. I want to be the best for you in every way possible. I hope that you will teach me to be a better version of myself. I am going to keep this letter simple this week because this is where I am. I locked my classroom door and said my goodbyes and I am moving forward. Slowly right now, but I know what you will bring to our lives will bless us more than I can even imagine at this moment. So to that I smile and hold my head high and look forward to this next chapter and next year of marriage to your Dad, who is the anchor in my life. Like the Mates of State song goes: “And I could be your Anchor, drop me in the bay and watch me hold you steady.”
All my love little baby girl,
Your momma

So in case you hadn’t heard me gush already about my super talent husband hear I go… Aside from being the most amazing husband ever, Kev is also the most talent Graphic Designer (and photographer) ever, ok ok I may be bias. Anyways, he is the one that designed my beautiful site and well he just launched a new redesign of his site/blog: encourageothers.com. He worked so hard on it and I love all the small details he added. I love that when you move your mouse over the slider bar, it pops up and says “drag me,” so clever! I would highly recommend heading over and checking it out! If you have any interest in design or photography you will definitely like his articles he writes. Most of the time its over my head but he writes them so well I enjoy every minute of reading them. I really love his style of writing.

Well I guess I’ll stop gushing now. Go check out his site!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4705676663/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4706318448/

So as I get closer and closer to my due date. I am finding it harder and harder to find regular clothes that can double for maternity. There are just so many cute styles out there this summer that just do not work for me, especially all the cute short and rompers. I do like to look around at things imagine getting to wear them.

I saw these shorts on Ruche last week and I have been loving them ever since, so I felt like today I would like to make an I’d Wear That based off these cute polka dot flowy shorts…

Oh man, I would love wearing this outfit. It’s so cute. I would like to be riding a bike along a boardwalk eating ice cream wearing this. hehe. I can just picture the little ribbon ties on the hat blowing back in the wind as Kev and me pedal along and enjoy the beautiful day. Yep, that sounds good! (in this dream I also picture a ferris wheel and skee-ball!!)

Spotted From A Far Shorts: Ruche $32.99
Scout Blouse: Ruche $89.99
Call Me Stylish Necklace: Modcloth $34.99
Jeffrey Campbell Sandals: JildorShoes $120
Ribbon Straw Beach Hat: Rumor $34

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Apple Grilled Cheese

So it has been a while since I have had a dinner post. Whoops. I hadn’t realized it till I was saving the picture into Kev handy organzational file system on the computer and saw the last one was like a month ago. I guess we really have been too busy. Cooking always takes a back seat when life gets busy. I guess that is also why this is a super easy dinner, but Mmm Mmm it was delicious. I saw a picture on a Cup of Jo and I had been thinking of this dinner ever since.

Ingredients:
Apple
Cinnamon raisin Bread
Sliced cheddar cheese
butter (I use Earth balance)
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Salad Fixings

I sliced the apple then in a pan sauteed them with a tiny bit of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. MMmmm. Then layered on Cinnamon raisin bread some white cheddar and the apples, then cooked the grilled cheese as normal. I made a simple salad with mixed greens, carrots and sunflower seeds with a bottled pomagranite/balsmaic vinegarette. Done and done! and Delicious. Mmm kinda want to have it again for dinner.

Hi All! Did you have a fantastic weekend? It rained here like crazy all weekend except for last night when we got to go on a late night walk together. It was one of the best parts of the weekend. We did get to see a good friend that lives far away so that was good too! There was lots of good company this weekend.

So today marks my very very last week teaching here at my school. Eeek! Its a little crazy feeling. My mom wrote me an email wishing me good luck with my last week and then she wrote “and then you will be ready to start the next stage of your life…” haha wow- I hadn’t really thought of it like that before. Its a big week. Today is also my first baby shower. The ladies from my school are having a shower for me. It is very sweet of them.

So the first time I saw Julie wear this dress- I was like Hey! I have that dress too!! It’s such a fun and summery dress. I love it. I actually wore this dress yesterday to church and to lunch with friends, but shhh don’t tell I am wearing it again today to school. Whooops. It was a no brainer this morning getting dressed. I already had the outfit all put together. I am wearing a navy cardigan instead of the jean jacket today though, oh and some flat sandals. Heels and school don’t mix all that well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4698393692/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4697766647/
Jean Jacket: Gap via Goodwill
Dress: TJ Maxx
Belt: Thrifted
Necklace: Figs&Ginger
Shoes: Calvin Klein via Clothes Mentor

Oh p.s. The Soc Chic Giveaway Winner is…
Stacy Carlise from honeysucklerenovation.blogspot.com CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

So these next few outfit posts are going to be the last few “teacher” style files! Today is officially the last day of real school! Next week we just have finals. Can you believe it? Wow! We are celebrating in ceramics class right now by listening to the Walt Disney Channel on pandora again. haha. Love hearing Beauty and the Beast at 8:14am!

So, not to sound too full of myself but I LOVE THIS OUTFIT!! I feel like myself first and pregnant second in it, which doesn’t always happen these days. I have had fun dressing for being pregnant but I feel like I have had to change my style a little to accommodate. I don’t generally wear so much plain stretchy cotton things on a daily basis. So when I put this on yesterday I was so excited it came together as good as it did. And THE SHOES!! In love!! I have had them for over a month now but this is their first appearance on the blog. These are the shoes that I fell in a couple weeks ago. Kev has since banned them to the closet till September. I will say I did not wear the shoes to school but hey my closet can’t have all the fun, right? I decided I have to wear them in small doses around the house for now just to get a little fill. I mean they make this outfit!! and they are just so pretty!! I would have wore them to school if I didn’t have weird pregnancy balance right now. I am over like 6′ in them. Its pretty awesome.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4686812614/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4686179807/
Lace Tunic: Forever 21
Skirt: From theswapaholics.com (thanks punky!)
Octopus Bracelet: c/o Modcloth
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via lulus.com

It’s been cold and rainy here all week so we had to take the pictures instead yesterday. Where did the summer go? I wish every one a summery weekend!! Hope we alll have great weather.

Remember today is the last day to enter the Soc Chic giveaway below!! Winner announced Monday.
Happy Friday!

This is my Dad:

He is the smartest person I know and probably the smartest in the whole world! hehe. Today is his birthday!! Happy Birthday Dad!! Wish I was seeing you tonight!! We miss you!!

As a hobby he builds telescopes and is an astrophotographer. He has been NASA’s photo of the day a couple times and has even been asked to work with NASA on special projects. See I told you he was smart- and did I mention cool? I love him very much! Here are pictures of his 2 observatories. One in my parents backyard and one in New Mexico.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4687659645/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4687659711/And here are a few snapshots of some of his photos. You can check them all out at his website: Heavensgloryobservatory.com

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4687659741/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/4688293154/

Well, we are officially in the 3rd trimester. Yikes! I have been feeling overall pretty good (metally) a little bit more uncomfortable though (physically). Things are definitely becoming harder and harder to do. I was all frustrated the other night just trying to put sheets on the bed. haha. I’m sure I am quite amusing to watch as I go about my normal daily routine with a waddle and huffing and puffing with any kind of bending action. I continue to get comments about how big I am when asked when my due date is. ugh! Just what every girl wants to hear right? “Boy, you are large looking.” I guess I have thus convinced myself that we are due for a big baby. We’ll see though, I have another ultra sound in a couple weeks which will give us a better idea of what the birth weight of the baby will be. So my appointment went good last week. Baby and me are both right on track. The glucose drink on the other hand was pretty disgusting. At first I was like “this isn’t too bad.” Kinda tasted like a unfrozen orange freezie. Then it got pretty terrible pretty quick. It is so sugary- it burns. Then you dont feel so great. All my lab results came back good though! haha Kev thought it was funny to document…

Kev has been beyond supportive through out this whole thing, we have had our ups and downs dealing with lots of changes but I think we have found our groove. I always feel lucky to have him as my husband, but this week I have been feeling particularly blessed. He is so sweet and caring about how I am feel each day. He holds my hand and protects me every time I walk down the stairs- just to make sure I dont fall, he tells me everyday I am doing a good job and that he is proud of me and how cute I am pregnant. Just hearing his voice on the phone in the afternoon can turn any day around. Ahh I Just love him so much!! I can’t believe that next week we have our 4 year wedding anniversary. Crazy!

Dear Baby Girl:
We know your name!! hehe we call you it all the time now. It’s still going to be a secret until you arrive but its very pretty. Magical even. Like you are a princess in a fairytale. We are very excited.

Your movements has been changing lately. I can tell when you move your whole body because I feel like there is an earthquake on my insides. Although its a little uncomfortable- I like to know you are doing good. You also poke hands and feet out a lot. It makes us feel like we can hold your hand. Sometimes I have to push you back down a little because it makes a lump stickin’ out the side of my belly.

I have this bunny stuffed animal that I have had since I was a little girl. Her name is Tanya Tonsil. Your Grammy gave her to me to take in the hospital when I had my tonsils out (she is in the picture above). Well, she is going to be yours now. I hope you love her as much as I have loved her. She is always there to give a little hug when you need one.

There is a band Mommy likes called She and Him and on their new cd (I am sure when you are old enough to appreciate these you will be like “cd? haha my mom is so old”) the last song is like the perfect little lullaby. I hope to sing it to you all the time. It is very sweet. It makes me think of rocking you to sleep every night singing to you and letting you know that everything is perfect. I hope you love it as much as I do.

Well little one. Next week on this day we will be back at the doctors getting to hear your little heart beat again and we can not wait!
Love you,
your momma

Last night we went to the first official summer bbq party with friends. It was awesome. I love being surrounded by friends, good conversations, food and bon fires. There is something about summer that makes time not matter. Like in the winter I feel like we say things like “we should go- its a work night” a lot but in the summer its like there is no time. You know you would just rather sit out side by a campfire with everyone than be anywhere else, no matter how tired that means you are going to be in the morning. I like that feeling. I am excited for this summer. I feel like its going to be a good one. I am a little sad that there will be no rollercoasters, ziplining or other adventurous things on my part but I am looking forward to good weather and sharing time with good friends and camping!! (although I am having a hard time picturing sleeping on a air mattress with this giant belly-hehe).

What are you most looking forward to this summer?

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Dress: Heritage 1981
Vest: SIlver Jeans (hand-me-up from my sis)
Peeptoes: Thrifted in Hawaii
Necklace: Forever 21

So as school comes to an end and I look onward to staying at home next year, my mind fills with fun things I would like to spend more time doing. Most of those being: learning to be a good mom, painting, blogging, making lots of stuff for my etsy store and making a little invitation business. I LOVE MAKING INVITATIONS. I don’t know why. Kev always asks me why I like it so much, but I just do. I have always loved book making and this just sort of goes hand and hand to me. Each one is like a little book. The possibilities are endless (events, colors, designs, etc…).

I have been working on two wedding invites over the last couple months for some very awesome girls. I can only share one right now because the other is not finished yet or mailed out, but here are the Save the Dates and Invite for our dear friends who are getting married in 1 month!! I am also making the programs for them, they will also match the set. They came out so pretty right?

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One of the best parts of having a party is getting to make the invitations. I also love making them with Kev. We make a good team. We have made awesome invitations for all our parties: murder mystery parties, zombie Christmas parties, rockin’ thrift store extravaganza parties, wedding parties, welcome home parties. We have made a ton of awesome invitations over the years. Hmm I guess I should do a post with all those ones huh? I wonder if we still have all of them?

Anyways, when we started planning out a baby shower I knew Kev and me had to make them (I am pretty particular- whoops). I wanted to have a shower that Kev could be a part of. I am not very traditional. I mean I am but I am not. I did not want to have a party where I sat in a chair in front of ladies and opened presents and guessed which melted chocolate bar was in a diaper. That is just not for me. I wanted all my friends and family around to celebrate and have fun, but I also wanted a theme. So that’s where the vintage backyard bbq came in to play. I envisioned chalk board menus, photobooths, wild flowers, vintage glassware, floral table clothes, three legged races, raspberry lemonade, mint juleps, popsicles, bbq food, lights in trees, love, laughter and fun. So that is what we are having!! I could not be more excited. We have a bunch of friends and family coming from all over and you have no idea how much that means that everyone will be around to celebrate with us. I told Kev my ideas and showed him some inspiration things I found (not that he needed the help) and asked to put the picture of the pram in there and he went from there. He designed them better than I ever could have imagined!!! I printed them on brown kraft paper and then backed them with pink cardstock so there was a little boarder around each one. Aren’t they the most darling thing you have ever seen???? Ahh so in love with them!!!

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UPDATE: You can see pictures from our beautiful baby shower HERE

So if you are getting married or have a special event coming up say like November or onward (lets give me some baby time first) let me know. I would love to start making invitations for people!

Also, are we friends on twitter yet?
@jenloveskev find me!!

and make sure you enter the giveaway below! You have till Friday!

So, the lovely Jess from Make Under my Life and the beautiful Jewelry of Jess LC has put together a social cause line of necklaces called Soc Chic (chic necklaces benefiting social causes). Each necklace has it’s own positive name, message, and non-profit which benefits from the sale of that specific necklace.

I was honored when Jess asked if I wanted to participate in holding a giveaway for the Silver Lining Necklace. 1. its a super cute necklace and who wouldnt want to win this necklace but 2. all proceeds from the necklace benefit Team in Training. I thought it was so fitting to hold this giveaway because I love running. I ran my first marathon back in October to raise money for Love 146 but I first looked into Team in Training and I think my next marathon will be done thru them. Team In Training (TNT) began in 1988. Runners, walkers, cyclists and triathletes participate in the world’s major marathons, triathlons, and century rides on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for medical research. For more information or to get involved, please visit Teamintraining.org. The support that comes from these guys is unbelievable. You can just tell when you see the team at any marathon that they truly believe in their cause and in each other.

All you need to do to enter to win the Silver Lining Necklace is leave a comment below. The giveaway will run today thru this Friday, June 11th. The Winner will be randomly chosen and annouced Monday, June 14th. Simple as that!!

The whole line of Soc Chic necklaces are being giveaway this week on different blogs. Make sure you hop around to each blog and enter to win each one. They are all wonderful and special in their own ways. Participating blogs are: Live Creating Yourself, Elements of Style, In Honor of Design, Ish & Chi, Kind over Matter, Life in the Fun Lane, Make Under My Life and M Loves M

How was everyone’s weekend? Ours was pretty low key. Kev worked on his new site a ton (post later about it) and I just cleaned, read, relaxed, and went to see SATC 2 with friends. It was a very nice weekend. We finished our baby shower invitations and oh my gosh!! they are so amazing!! Kev blows my mind everytime we make invites with how good he is. They are better than I ever imagined! I will also have a post later this week about the shower invitations as well as some of the wedding invitations I have been making lately.

Anyways, it was a sticky weekend, very hot and humid. I have been hitting the jackpot at the goodwill lately because they have all the clearance stuff from target there. I had been eyeing some of the dresses in the Liberty of London line at Target, but never got anything.Then low and behold I find the perfect dress for my pregnant belly from that line at the goodwill. Score! I am really trying to not spend lots of money on anything I am buying for this pregnancy because I have to buy a bigger size than I normally wear and know its not going to be something that I will wear forever, so there has been lots of target, goodwill, old navy, walmart type shopping lately. I am keeping the outfits simple and comfortable so me and baby can be happy.

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Dress: Liberty of London for Target (thrifted)
Hat: Forever 21
Purse: Converse for Target
Sandals: Old Navy

Ok, one little rant. I read Mel’s thought’s on flip flops in the work place the other day and thought how funny because flip flops are a pet peeve of mine as well. Don’t get me wrong I own a bunch of flip flops but there is a time and a place. For me that is the beach or the pool and maybe a few select others. There are so many cute and cheap sandals out there for summer that are just as comfy that won’t kill your outfit like a pair of flip flops will. Even my swollen pregnant feet can still wear most of my sandals and will not be resorting to flip flops. To me they are about as fashionable as a pair of croc’s, most of them are made out of the same material, right? Of course to each their own, but I challenge all of you to not just resort to a pair of flip flops everytime you get dressed this summer. Rant over.

Happy Weekend Everyone!! This week went super fast which is awesome because next week is my last full week of school!!! ahh so exciting. I am off to chaperone the Senior class picnic today. Every year the seniors go to this resort thing in Granby, CT to swim, horse back ride, all you can eat food, play games and other activities for the day. I have never gone before but I’ve heard the chaperones just sit by the pool and hang out all day. Haha I am not complaining. I have brought some of my pregnancy books and newest magazines and am ready for a relaxing day.

When we were in DC lets just say it was meltingly (word?) hot!! oh man. I dont know how you do it DC? Anyways, I tired to keep as cool as I could by wearing lots of summer dresses. One of my favorite things we did when we were there would be every morning wake up and go for a little stroll over the bridge to Adams Morgan and go have breakfast at Tryst. So good!! it’s such a cool place. Thanks to the readers who suggested it! Mmmm I love lazy breakfasts!

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Dress: Walmart (whhat? whatever fits this pregnant belly right?)
Sandals: Sears
Bag: Converse for Target
Necklace+Sunglasses: Forever 21

Have a good weekend everyone!

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I have my glucose test this afternoon at my week 27 appointment. Here’s hoping it all goes ok. This appointment marks the last every month appointment too. I move to every 2 weeks now. Makes me feel like she is coming awful fast now. I have been collecting all my questions to ask my midwife this afternoon all month, they include things like vaccines, wooden toys, vegetarian babies, the Bradley method, my birth classes, birth balls, doulas, etc… I have a large list this time.

We started registering at Babies R Us last week. We went late in the evening like at 8 one night which gave us an hour and a half. I thought that was going to be plenty of time. Boy, was I wrong! We only got thru like 2 aisles. There are a lot things out there. All I can say is I totally recommend getting the Baby Bargains book. It’s a life saver (Thanks Hilary!). I read that thing from cover to cover and have dog eared like every page. It totally goes thru everything you need, what’s a waste of money, where you can save money and rates each brand. Its awesome. I brought along that book and my lists that I have made when we went last week but its still quite overwhelming. I am trying to not get sucked into thinking I need everything that is out there because I know I don’t. I want to keep things simple, or well I am trying. I have to say its really fun being there with Kev though. I think its so cute as he thinks about what will be the best for the baby and what bibs or blankets are cute. hehe.

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Dear Baby Girl:
This week in our week 27 pictures is a picture of you Auntie Amy. We went to visit her last weekend. I was so happy that she got to feel you moving around. Your Auntie Carrie got to do that same thing the weekend before. It makes it all feel a little more real now that they have been a part of it a little. Your Auntie Amy gave you a bunch of books when we saw her that were our favorite books when we were little. She gave you a bunch of Berenstain Bears books, Little Critter and Robert Munsch books. Also a new Oliver Jeffers book that mommy doesn’t have yet. It was very sweet of her. She wrote when we tell her your name she will write in the cover of each book for you and sign them “auntie amy” which she then said she likes because it makes it sound like she makes yummy pretzels. haha!

Your dad and me were both busy last night with different things but when we finally were both at home and got into bed. Your dad said “you know what? when I got out of work today it was so nice out (and yes it was like the most perfect night!) all I could think about was coming home to my 2 girls (so cute!) and hugging and kissing you both and then us putting (insert your name) in her pram and all of us going for a walk together.” Ahh how sweet right? You dad is going to be such a good dad to you. Sometimes I wonder how I can love anyone else as much as I love him, but then I think you are something that we created together and that just blows my mind and I know my heart is going to grow bigger at the very sight of you. He reads his books at night in bed out loud just so you can hear his voice. He wants so badly to know that you are comforted by the sound of his voice. I think you are though. I know you can tell its your daddy- I like to think you can hear the love in his voice.
Well little one, only a few more hours till we get to hear you again. I love hearing your heart beat. It’s so heart (no pun intended) warming.
Until next week,
Your momma

So, I got this new dress in the mail right before we left for DC and I knew it would be the perfect memorial day weekend dress to wear. I love the pattern in it and the tie shoulder details. I also love the length of it. Sometime I have a hard time finding dresses that arent to short now a day and this dress is just great for taller girls like me. Did you know Modcloth has a section now for longer length dresses? It’s awesome!

I wore this dress on Sunday after we finished at the pool. We went out for a nice lunch and then headed over to the zoo. I loved pairing this large sun hat with the dress. I felt quite glamorous for being so comfy and cool. I think the little owl at the zoo liked my hat as well because he would not stop looking at me. Out of the many people standing in front of his exhibit kev and me watched him watch me like a hawk (or maybe an owl I should say). No matter where I moved or how fast his little head would follow me around. It was cracking me up. Even if I went out of sight and them came back he would instantly pick me up and follow me. It was crazy. I am including a picture of the red panda too- which I think is one of my new favorite animals. So cute!

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High Tech-Style Dress: c/o Mocloth
Sun Hat: c/o Pac Sun via Spring Break Crew
Bracelet: Forever 21
Flats: Target

So, Friday night after the Prom we decided to drive to DC real early (3:30am) to try to avoid traffic. It worked but boy were we tired on Saturday. We first stopped in Baltimore to pick up my sister and eat at One World Cafe (mmm so good.) We got to meet my sister’s roommates ridiculously awesome cat Matilda. Best cat ever! Then we all took the train into DC and by the time we checked into our hotel (Omni Shoreham) it was way late in the afternoon. It was such a beautiful evening. Perfect temperature. We went and saw the white house, Lincoln memorial, the Washington monument and well just walked around a lot. I was doing good until we had to walk up hill like 10 blocks to the metro at the end of the night.

Sunday Kev and me hung out by the pool for a good part of the day. It was so relaxing and being pregnant totally got us some lounge chairs at a packed pool. hehe! It felt so good to go swimming. Its nice to feel weightless and refreshed. Then we went to the national zoo which was right up from our hotel. The zoo was a let down. It was 1. way to hot even for being like 4:30 and 2. there were no animals to be found. Every exhibit we went into there was a cage but no animals. It was a let down followed by lots of jokes about why the zoo is free. We did see red pandas which are totally awesome.

Monday, my sister Amy came back into the city and hung out with us for the day. We watched the memorial day parade for awhile and went to the natural history museum. I love that place. The have a early human/evolution exhibit right now and you can get your picture taken and they will morph you into a “early human” oh man we were laughing so hard. We had a family in front of us in line that was making us laugh like crazy. The mom was so awkward and had the best (craziest) looking picture.

Overall it was a FANTASTIC weekend. We both LOVED dc and we loved our hotel and the area it was in. We ate at the best restaurants: Tryst every morning for breakfast, One City and Busboys and Poets for dinner, got to go swimming, explore a new city, spend time away together, visit with my sister and just have a lot of fun. I love 3 day weekends!!

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