I really can’t seem to get enough of thrifted sweaters this year. I love finding fair isle knitted sweaters. They always seem so cozy. I really liked the color scheme in this sweater when I found it. It was so feminine for such a thick sweater. I decided to match that with my Low Whisper Petticoat from Modcloth and my new sweet tall lace up boots.
I have been playing dress up in my head for the past week now thinking about getting ready for NYC in 2 weeks. I am super excited but I always get so nervous to meet people. I hate being awkward which I totally am. Anyone else heading in to the city for NYFW? I am only going for a couple of days but let me know if you will be there!!
Sweater: Thrifted
Low Whispers Petticoat: c/o Modcloth
Mocha Tights: c/o We Love Colors
Akira – Brown Boots: c/o Wanted
Hi Friends! Did you have a good weekend? We had a wonderful weekend spent with friends, a 4 mile outdoor run, lots of cuddle time with Rowan and a late night Hockey game last night. Kev grew up playing hockey and I grew up loving hockey. I guess we are a match made in heaven. He hasn’t played in a very long time but he found a pick up game last night, so off we went to watch him. It was Rowans first of many Hockey games.
I am hoping to get better at bringing back Over the Weekend post. I like sharing pictures.
I think I am the proud parent of super baby. hehe. I am sure every mother thinks that, but I am positive Rowan is a genius. I feel like in the last week she has learned so much. I am amazed everyday at what she can do. She LOVES to touch everything! I know this is how babies learn and it is just so cute. Anything that is in arms reach- she is reaching for it. I have to be careful of what I stand near with her. The other day Kev came to find me and said “want to see the funniest and saddest thing ever?” I was like, yeah of course! He said “it’s called Rowan trying to hold a soda can.” haha. Her little hands don’t even come close to wrapping around the can, but she just keeps trying to hold it. It’s so darn cute. Every morning when she wakes up and I undo her velcro swaddle, her little hand shoots up and starts playing with the lace on the side of her pram. She also knows where on her playmat the crinkly texture spot is and she wiggles and flips around until she can reach it with her fingers. She just likes to run her fingers over it to make to the noise. It cracks me up.
Rowan has also learned to flip over both ways. Back to Stomach and Stomach to Back. She likes flipping from back to stomach the most. She is constantly flipping over trying to reach for her toys. She absolutely loves her blabla owl doll. It is her new favorite. The poor owl has hard crunchy hair because she chews on it all day. Rowan also loves her little blabla bird. They are soft, easy to hold and some have rattles in them. I really want to get like 100 more toys from there. They are the best.
She is getting all the typical baby rolls and I love it. Her little thighs are so chubby but the ones that kills me the most are the roll around her wrists- I want to eat her up!
and with that said… I wish everyone a Happy Weekend. I am turning off the computer to go enjoy some time with Rowan as we wait for Kev to get home from work! I love the weekends.
Remember this video Kev made me for Valentines Day last year?
Well it took him a year but as we come up on Valentines Day again, Kev + Jon were able to design and develop the website for Love Of My Life!!! It’s so freakin’ awesome. I love it!! I am so excited.
Here is a little excerpt from the site that Kev wrote:
“I started this project for three reasons. First, to show my wife how much I love her. Second, to give others a simple way to do the same for their significant others. Third, and probably most important, is to help show people how good it is to love and be loved. My hope is that when people start participating and posting flyers, others would see the flyers and notice the movement.
This is not some way of spreading propaganda and making a bold, controversial statement. Rather, a way to proclaim to the world that you’re in love and there’s nothing better. Some people are drawn to love; they crave it. Sadly, many aren’t. A lot of people are bitter and jaded towards the subject. They’ve been hurt in the past and never want to look back. Who can blame them? While I don’t think that seeing a piece of paper that says “love of my life†will necessarily change someones perspective completely, I do think that it could at least make someone consider their circumstances and how they would be different if they had love in their life…” -Kev
For me this isn’t just being in love with a significant other. There are so many ways to have love in your life. Your friends, your parents, your siblings, your pet. I see it as a way to take a few moments and reflect on how good life is and remember that all that really matters is surrounding yourself and taking pride in your loved ones.
Will you participate??? Help spread the word. You can go to the website, download the flyer and then take and upload your own pictures. Proclaim to the ones you love how much you appreciate them.
We are redoing our color scheme in our living room right now and I am looking for some new items to add to the decor. I am swooning over these super cute prints from Paper Sparrow. I just can’t decide if I want animals with shirts and neckties or all cats with sweaters? Either way it’s a win, win situation but I think my crazy obsession with cats is leaning me towards an all cat print. Which is your favorite?
I think these are my favorite boots of the winter. Pants, skirts, dresses, they seem to go with everything and they keep my feet dry and warm. I am not one for enjoying the cold, so as long as I am warm I don’t mind winter all that much. It is very pretty when it snows.
Can you tell that this dress has little birds on it? I didn’t take very good pictures to show them off, but it’s super cute. Lulu’s has such a great dress selection. I love finding little gems like this one there. They also have a bunch of cute spring stuff coming in daily.
I am eating frozen grapes right now. Are you eating anything good?
Always Believe Long Sleeve Grey Dress: c/o Lulu’s
Wanted Prague Boots: c/o Lulu’s
Wool Scarf: My Mom’s
Black Tights: c/o We Love Colors
I was sad when we moved from our house because I had just spent so much time redoing our bedroom. I loved the birch tree mural that I had painted. I was also sad because I knew the Loft style apartment that we were moving to wouldn’t let me paint the walls. Bummer. I had to figure out someway to add something special to the room with such tall ceilings. I think our ceilings are around 14ft. We live in an old factory building where they made the union army uniforms for the Civil War. Cool huh? I was pretty sure I wanted to attach real tree branches to the wall. My mom called me one day after her and my Dad came in from a walk to tell me she found the perfect trees. She took a special trip out one day to visit with all the trees sticking out the back of her car. She was right, they were PERFECT! I still wish I could paint the walls but we did the best with what we could do. It’s hard decorating with such tall ceilings.
At the moment Rowan doesn’t have her own room. We never made her a nursery because we knew she was just going to sleep in our room for awhile anyways. We have a room that is going to be her nursery, I just could never decide how I wanted to decorate it. I am still working on it. We are getting to that time though that we are ready for her to have her own room. For now she sleeps in her vintage pram in our room. We also brought her change table and added it to the bump out where the window is. It fits perfect in there. It is very convenient for early morning changes.
Most of the artwork in our room is by Kev or I. He took the photo above Rowan’s Pram and I painted the Ship and Mermaid painting as well as the Deer painting on the shelf. I also made Bruin Cat. haha. I love that thing. I found an old vintage bruin patch at the good will one time and decided it needed to be attached to a cat. I also made the skeleton/teeth etching, as well as the screen printed “Don’t be an art Killer.”
I was really excited when Art.com approached me to do a review of their new service Photos to Art. If there is one thing I love- it’s Photos. I always want things documented and then I love getting the pictures framed and placing them around our apartment. It makes it feel like home. Art.com was kind enough to give me a gift certificate to use to try out the service.
I thought the site was very easy to use. You can upload any pictures you would like and then see how they would look in each of the print choices they have. I am not a huge fan of photos printed on canvas but that is just me. I absolutely LOVE the acrylic option but it is a little pricey. I went with the wood mounted choice. It “permanently bonds images to a 1/4 inch thick piece of stabilized hardboard. The surface is treated to protect against moisture, dust, dirt, fingerprints, and protects against UV comparable to standard glass.” I ordered 2 wood mounted prints. One 16″x24 and one 11″x14″. They arrived very quickly and were protectively shipped. I was so excited to open them up. I LOVE them!!! They came out great. I will definitely be using art.com again to get photos turned into wall art. I think it will be a great present idea for future birthdays and mothers (grandmothers) day.
Anyways. Art.com would like to offer a $50 gift code to one lucky reader to use to create their own photos to art print. All you need to do is head over to Art.com, check things out and leave a comment letting us know what print choice is your favorite (wood mounting, canvas, acrylic, etc.). Any ideas of what you want printed? We’d love to hear in your comment as well!
The giveaway will run from now until next Monday. Winner will be randomly chosen and emailed Monday evening.
Good Luck!
This is what I brought to wear to the swap last Thursday. I didn’t end up wearing it because I was much to lazy to change out of jeans, military boots, a stripped tee and J.Crew Cardigan. I do very much love this outfit though. I got to go out by myself the other weekend and hit up a few thrift stores. It was like heaven. That is the one thing I think I miss the most before Rowan arrived. The time to just wonder around thrift stores looking at everything in the rack. It takes time to find treasures. I do very much appreciate it now when I do get a chance to do that.
I love finding someone else’s old clothes and taking them home to make my own.
Cynthia Rowley Wool Hat: c/o T.J Maxx
J.Crew Stripped Shirt: Thrifted
Olive Green Belted Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: c/o We Love Colors
Liz Claiborne Bag: Thrifted
Heels: Jeffrey Campbell
We tried to give Rowan some Earth’s Best Organic Rice Cereal tonight for the first time. haha. It was hilarious and well, unsuccessful. I am not sure she liked it much, nor did we really get all that much in her mouth. It was quite entertaining though and we will try again soon. Maybe next time with some bananas or apples mixed in. I love these cute and messy pictures though…
Here is my running schedule for week 2. It’s still not all that bad. A 4 mile long run this weekend seems like nothing in comparison to what you get up to. It is still hard though. It is hard to start back up again. It takes a few weeks to get in the groove. Everyday now is pretty tough to motivate yourself to get up and run. I make sure I go and run at the gym when there is something good on tv to watch to keep my interest. Like tonight, Erin and I watched Sex and the City. It passed the time quite well. I am really looking forward to running outside though. I am not a huge fan of treadmill running.
Here is my list of must have runners gear:
1. New Running shoes. Never get a new pair of shoes right before a race but it is good practice to get new shoes. You will be surpirsed how fast you flatten out the support if you are putting in the miles. I need a new pair desperately. You couldnt tell from the look of them, but I trained for my last marathon with them and it is time for some new support
2. A well fitting sports bra. I can’t say enough about a supportive sports bra. Worth the money.
3. A headband. haha. So 80’s I know but I like them because I guess I sweat a lot and I hate the stingy sweat getting in my eyes. It works for me. I try to keep it cute with braided pigtails. haha. I am such a dork.
4. An armband for your ipod. I hate holding on to my ipod. It cramps my arm up. I love having an armband for it.
5. A runners belt. Also not cool looking but hey! a girls got to stay hydrated right? I don’t use this till my miles start getting up over 6 miles but it comes in handy. I can fill bottles with gatorade and then use the little pouch to hold my runners gel. To bad it didnt have a jet pack on it to make me run faster.
If you are still interested in running a race for LOVE 146 this Spring/Summer and haven’t emailed me yet you still have time! Jenloveskev(at)gmail.com
We would love to have you in our runners club!
I just realized that it is almost February. That is just crazy! I am kind of excited though because I am totally over winter. It is really hard being a stay at home mom during the winter. It feels like you are trapped. Like today I think it is minus degrees out. I wish so badly I could go for a walk with Rowan.
I wore this outfit on Friday. I got this skirt and my boots at previous swaps but they are some of my all time favorite swap items. I wore this skirt in one of my favorite pregnancy style files as well. When I put on this outfit it made me really miss teaching. I loved getting up and dressing for work. This would have been a perfect teacher outfit I think.
Landsend Button Up: Thrifted
Brown Leather Belt: Thrifted
Skirt: Swapped
Maroon Tights: c/o We Love Colors
Vintage Boots: Swapped
Hi Friends! Happy Monday. I think I took an unintentional little blogging break the end of last week and into the weekend. I headed back to my moms Wednesday night and spend the rest of the weekend there. Thursday I got to help out and participate in another crazy awesome Clothing Swap in Boston. My favorite part about the swaps is that I get to spend the day with these ladies! Not only did I get to see Punky and Julie on Thursday but most of Saturday and Sunday as well. I love these ladies and I love their partners in crime, Chris and Adam as well. Kev and I had the best weekend eating Cat Cookies for people, thrift store shopping, celebrating Adams birthday, eating brunch and dancing to Journey with these guys. It’s always a hard drive back to Albany Sunday night. I miss my Massachusetts friends.
Happy Birthday Adam!
I will have a new running post and a new outfit post up today. Make sure to check back!
Are we friends on twitter?
It was been a very wintery week so far. Snow. Sleet. Freezing temps and some very grey days. I have not felt much like dressing up. I’ve spent most of my days at home hanging out with baby and drinking tea. Today, I had to go run some errands and I decided to just take a picture of my typical go to winter weather outfit. Boots. Coat. Jeans. Scarf. I wear my coat all the time. Even inside. I get so comfy, I never want to take it off. I usually hear the words “why don’t you take off your coat and stay awhile” a lot in the winter months.
A little while ago I was lucky enough to win a Sorel Winter Weather contest over on Lucky Style Spotter. I got a gift card to use on some new boots and I was able to get a couple pairs for me and a matching pair for Kev. Let’s just say my feet have never been warmer. They very much appreciate these awesome boots!
Coat: Converse/Target
Fur Cowl: LOFT
Jeans: UO Boots: c/o of Sorel + Lucky
Hey Everyone! I have decided to purge my closet and say goodbye to some favorite things that I just don’t wear enough to keep around. I have set up a tumblr site where you can browse items and even see outfit pictures where I wore that particular piece.
All prices include shipping and each item is reasonably priced. If you see an item you would like to buy please email me (jenloveskev(at)gmail.com) to reserve it. You will then have 24 hours to send your payment thru paypal. Then the item will be yours!
So, head on over and check it out!
You will even find this pretty Johnny Martin Halter Dress up for the taking (Give it a good home! It was special to me because I won a Weardrobe contest with this dress!)
I am so confused by this whole week/month age thing. Last week Rowan technically turned 4 months (Sept. 12th to Jan. 12th) but as far as weeks go- she has been alive 18 weeks. Which when you think about it- one would think is more than 4 months. So which is it? What is it that you say? Someone please fill me in.
We had our 4 month appointment last week. She got a couple shots in her legs and got checked all over. She is our little growing machine. Growin’ Rowan as we like to call her. She weighted 15lbs 11oz. which put her in the 90% and her height put her in the 95%. haha. She is so tall. She hardly fits length wise in any of her 3 month clothes anymore. haha. But then again she looks ridiculous in 6m ones because they are too big. Doh!
I feel like in the last week she has learned so much! She can almost roll over from her back to her belly now. She twists all around on her play mat so she can reach for toys she likes. We had her in bed the other morning with us and she dropped Sophie down beside her. She couldn’t reach it anymore and we watched her figure out how she could move her body and arm together to flip and pull the sheet so the toy would comes closer to her. It was amazing. She was learning right before our eyes.
She also has learned her first game. She does this thing now when you hold her, she holds her hand out to you and she wants you to pretend to eat her fingers. She gets so excited when you do it. haha. It’s so cute. She just keeps putting her hand out for you to do it again and again. She loves it.
We still swaddle her when she sleeps (naps and at bedtime). How long did you use a swaddle? We use the velcro kind, so I don’t know when its time to stop swaddling because she can’t break out of it. I am afraid to not use it though. I know she wont sleep as good. She sleeps so good for us and I am a little scared to give that up. How did you ween off the swaddle?
We also get to start feeding her Rice cereal!! So excited!! We will be sure to document it. I know it will be hilarious.
Rowan is wearing:
Sweater: thrifted by my Mom
Jean Skirt: H&M
Tights: Gift from my sister
Swap.com & The Swapaholics present:
EXCHANGE YOUR WAYS
Join Swap.com‘s own Swapaholics for the first ever National #SwapDay kick-off party & mega swap! We’re celebrating another awesome year of swapping, sharing instead of owning, and sustainable style with our biggest swap yet.
Thursday January 20th
at the Arts at the Armory
191 Highland Ave
Somerville, MA
Registration & Swap Lounge
5 to 7:45 p.m
Swap!
8 to 10 p.m.
The Exchange Your Ways mega swap & National #SwapDay launch party will include:
– Women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, handbags & accessories
– Men’s clothing, shoes & accessories
– Kids clothing & gear
– Maternity wear & gear
– Books & audiobooks
– CDs & cassettes
– DVDs, Blu-Ray & VHS tapes
– Video games
I will be curating the Kids and Family Section! There is going to be a great selection of children’s clothing. So, Mommies come on out and grab some goodies for your little ones. I’d love for you to come say Hello! and get some new guilt free clothes for yourselves as well! It’s going to be a great night. If you live in the Boston area it is going to be an event you wont want to miss.
Buy Tickets and get more info on the The Swapaholics Event page
USE CODE: JENLOVESKEV for $5 off your ticket.
It was a very cold, grey day on Friday. I felt like I wanted to wear something that matched my surroundings. I wore this white lace dress from Modcloth, black tights and my Fur hat. I am super picky about tights but I just got these black We Love Color tights in the mail and they are by far the best black tights ever. They are so opaque, I love it!! I instantly threw out all my other black tights because they couldn’t compare. I think tights are way warmer than jeans in the winter. Cold jeans are miserable to me. Want to hear a funny story? I totally fell while I was taking these pictures. I had stopped using the remote for a second to try something and I hit the timer button and scurried back to my spot slipping on some ice. Boo.
How was everyone’s weekend? I got my first email this weekend from someone sharing a picture of them wearing the Jenloveskev dress! It was so exciting and she looked super cute! Thank you Corinne!!
Faux Fur Hat: H&M
Cowl: LOFT
In Yo’ Lace Dress: c/o Modcloth
Black Tights: c/o We Love Colors
Bismuth Booties: Seychelles
Last week I wrote about a BIG idea I had and today marks the start of that big idea. Today is the first day of marathon training. It’s always a weird day. There is always a pit in your stomach. You know there is a hard but rewarding journey ahead of you, one that will take over your life for the next 5 months. Once you start you are fine, but the days leading up to starting you are consistently thinking about it. I am anxious and excited. I am excited because 1. that high when you finish your race is something indescribable 2. so many people have signed up to run a race for Love 146 in their own neck of the woods 3. the impact we can make spreading the word about Love 146 and raising money for them and 4. I am excited about getting in better shape after the baby.
It’s not to late. If you would like to run for Love 146 this year, send me an email!! Any race is awesome- a 5k, 10k, half or full marathon. Do what you feel comfortable with.
Here is the Marathon Training Schedule for the Ottawa marathon. Today we start really easy. We are starting right at the beginning with a 1 mile run…
Hi my friends! My Etsy Shop is updated with a few tunnel scarves. I hope you will want to snatch one up. I wear one almost everyday, all day long. It makes dreads in the back of my hair because I wear them so much. I can’t help it though.
They are so darn cozy. Hope you love them as much as I do.
Head on over to my Etsy Shop…
Wow, yesterday was such a high. I just wanted to say a BIG ol’ Thank You to every one for your nice words of encouragement and congratulations. It totally blew me away. I sure have the best readers!!!!
I am kind of at a loss of what to say today. Nothing really exciting has happened to talk about yet. We got a lot of snow. I had a blow of cereal. I washed poop off my hands (Rowan’s, gross). I did some laundry and I just put Rowan down for a nap. I am still in my pjs and plan on being in them until we have to go to Target later. We took these pictures on Sunday. I wore this out to church and to lunch at a super awesome diner. I love diners. When I saw this dress had only a few left in stock, I had to jump on it because I loved it. The little sleeves are darling and I love the shape of it. I can’t wait for it to be warmer to wear it without a sweater and tights.
illustrated Floral Dress: c/o Modcloth
Cardigan: J.Crew It’s on sale right now!
TIghts: ?
Leatherette Wedge Dress Shoes: Forever 21
Necklace: Gift
Hey! Guess what? I’ve got some super awesome news!!
I am honored to announce that I was chosen to be Modcloth’s Blogger of the Moment! I have loved Modcloth for a long time and I am completely beside myself. So exciting!! You know what else is awesome? They named a dress after me! My namesake dress is the perfect mix of fun, whimsy and flirty. I LOVE foxes!! One of my favorite movies is The Fantastic Mr. Fox, so when they told me my namesake dress would have a cute little fox pattern on it I jumped for joy!
Who wants to start a Jenloveskev dress gang? I don’t know how tough we would look wearing an ivory dress with ruffles and foxes, but maybe we won’t be the trouble making kind of gang. More like the drink mint tea and eat dainty cookies gang. Yeah, I would be ok with that! Mmm Mint tea. So run, go get the dress and be part of my sweet gang. (Seriously though, if you get the dress totally send me your pictures!!)
Jenloveskev Dress: c/o Modcloth
Belt: Thrifted
TIghts: c/o We Love Colors
Cardigan: LOFT
Wanted Military Boots: c/o Lulu’s
Heart Necklace: Gift from Suzi
Sweet Baby,
I know I write a post each week talking about you and how you are growing. Sometimes I even write little letters to you about how I am feeling and how much joy you have brought to my life. Today though, I want to talk to you about your Daddy. He was never good with babies. He had never even held a baby before. They were foreign and they were scary. When I was pregnant, I knew he was nervous. I wondered what it would be like to watch him hold you, how he would be with you, how he would love you. I wasn’t nervous about it, but just curious to see this foreign side of him. The day you arrived you changed him. I see it in him daily. It started as he watched you being born, haha it was something we thought he might not get thru (he sometimes faints) but he did. He didn’t even flinch. He knew that it was his time to arrive as a father. There have been somethings going on lately that are daily reminders of how thankful I am for him. We are truly blessed with each other and with you. I have grown to love him more and more since you were born. There is something so indescribable to see the man you love hold their baby. You. To see him hold you makes my heart melt. He loves you so much. You bring him so much joy and I know you have created in him an even better man than he already was. Every night he comes thru the door from work and can’t wait to hug and kiss you. His special time with you is bedtime. He dims all the lights, wraps you up tight and closes the door to the bedroom. Its just you and him in there. I can hear him singing to you thru the walls. He walks you back and forth until you fall asleep. He never wants to put you down until you are sleeping. He loves holding you. Sometimes when we are laying in bed to go to sleep ourselves, I will think he is sleeping but he will say little things like “she is such an angel.” I think he just lies in bed thinking about how cute you are. I know you will be a daddy’s girl. He is going to spoil you. One bat of your long pretty eyelashes and he is going to cave. You are wrapped around his heart and he loves you so very much. Always know that sweet little girl.
Love always,
Your momma
There is going to be a very special and awesome style file post later today!!! Check back!
When I ran my first marathon in Oct. 2009, I ran to raise money for a charity called LOVE 146. If you were a reader back than you may remember what it is all about, but I wanted to take a minute and spotlight this unbelievable charity. This little video gives a quick overview…
Isn’t it just mind blowing? Did you know that human trafficking is the second largest grossing crime in the world? To think that there are millions of children in this word that are being sold for sex and slavery makes my heart ache. LOVE 146 not only helps with the prevention of Human Trafficking but also with Aftercare and Research. They provide children saved from slavery with education, family, security and help them find their place in society again. I really can not say enough about LOVE 146. The idea of child sex slavery has always greatly effected me, but since becoming a Mom, my heart has grown like a million times bigger toward children. Sometimes when I am holding Rowan, I can’t help but think of all those children that need us to do something to help them. I really can’t stop thinking about it. I always make goals for myself on New Years and this year I wanted to do something that could make an impact, even if its just a small one. Sometimes I feel like we get so caught up in our own lives, that we forget that there are other things greater than ourselves going on around us. That is why I decided to come up with this idea….
I have decided to run another Marathon. I will be running the Ottawa Marathon on Memorial Day weekend (*there is also just a half marathon that day too, if you were more interested in that) this year and I want to invite you to run it with me. If you live in the Northeast, it would be awesome if we could make a team of runners to run for LOVE 146. Even if you don’t live around the NE maybe you could find a marathon in your own hometown and run along with us as part of our team. I want to spread the word and I want to help. I will be making weekly posts about training, recipes that will be good for fueling your bodies and chronicling the journey along the way. If you would like to train along with me, each Monday I will be posting the weekly training schedule that you can complete on your own or with friends. I will be setting up a donation page that you can use to get your friends, family and local business’ to donate to. Even if you aren’t a runner, you can still help us with this fight by helping us raise money along the way or by donating yourself.
If you have any interest this year to run a marathon or to do something that will help so many children please email me at jenloveskev(at)gmail(dot).com. I would love to talk to you personally and give you more info about the LOVE 146 running team. Please don’t feel like you have to run a marathon to make a difference. If you have a goal this year even to run a 5k, that is awesome. I would love to hear about it!
Love Protects, Love Defends, Love Restores, Love Empowers
To watch other LOVE 146 informational videos, head over to their youtube channel
Wanna hear some crazy news? I signed up to play on a co-ed indoor soccer team with Kev. haha. Don’t ask me why. I am not sporty at all. I am a tomboy and I like running but that does not translate well into organized sports. I am so super nervous. Our first game is tonight. Some how they convinced me to think it will be fun to play with Kev and our 2 other couple friends that are on the team as well. Ahh I am so nervous. I don’t know the first thing about soccer. Wish me luck!
I feel much more at home with a pair of colored tights, a pretty dress and a scarf around my neck wondering around in the brush. That seems more like me. This cardigan is my new staple. I pretty much wear it over everything I own everyday. Oh J.Crew you can do me no wrong!
Tunnel Scarf: Made by me
Cardigan: J.Crew
Dress: c/o Kissing Tree Vintage
Tights: ? Maybe Vera by Vera Wang
Flats: My sister
P.S This tunnel scarf and a handful of others will be up in my etsy shop at the end of the week. I will make an announcement on Thursday when they are all set and up for sale!
Tea Collection has a wonderful selection of Girls, Boys and infant clothing. I love every tea collection piece of clothing that Rowan has. It is so soft and the patterns are so great. Tea Collection would like to offer one lucky reader a $100 gift certificate to use on their site. They even carry women’s clothing now, so any one could use this gift certificate, kids or not.
To enter, all you need to do is visit Tea Collection and find your favorite item on the site (they are having a great sale right now!) Then just leave a comment below letting us know what your favorite item is.
Giveaway is open from now until next Wednesday night. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Thursday.
Everyone and there Mother has this buffalo check shirt from J.Crew. I am sure you have all seen it a hundred times around the blog world. How can you blame anyone though? I have loved it since the first time I saw it the catalog. I wore it a ton thru the 30 for 30 remix challenge and told myself I would take a break from wearing it for a bit, but then some twitter friends suggested there should be a day where everyone wears there shirt. Kendi decided we should call this little one day group project “The Gingham Gang”. So, here I am wearing this shirt again for the 100th time and I still love it as much as thehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/5197023300/
*and as the old lady at the store asked me today. Yes, you can see right thru my ear. hehe
Fur Collar: My Grandma
Wool Cape: Little Ocean Annie Vintage
Buffalo Check Shirt: J.Crew
Brooch: Vintage
BDG Black Skinnies: UO
Studded Flats: Target
I have to say I feel very Max Fischer in this outfit. No, its not a red beret or a navy blazer but maybe more like a new and improved Max Fischer. Oh man I love that movie. It’s definitely one of my favorites. Maybe I should get these pencils.
Anyways, I really love how this outfit came together. I started with the blazer and kinda went from there. I added the chambray shirt and then tried on a couple skirts, until I settled on this lace one. I just got these shoes the other day and I really love them. Forever 21 has some great shoes right now. I like buying better quality shoes but you really can’t beat the price of the shoes at forever 21. Whoops. I saw these same shoes in a navy suede and I really wanted those too but couldn’t find my size. Probably a good thing. This cute beret was a Delightful Dozen Secret Santa gift from my lovely friend Julie. Thanks my dear!
Blazer: LOFT
Chambray Shirt: Target
Lace Skirt: Target
Brooch: My Grandma’s
Tights: Forever 21
Shoes: Forever 21
Beret: DD Secret Santa Gift (Thank you Julie)
I knew that when I posted a blog post where I was asking for peoples opinions on my blog I would have to toughen up my skin a little before I read thru them all. I very much appreciated all the comments and I did read thru all of them (haha so did my mom), but I will be honest and say it was hard not to get defensive over things. Not because anyone was mean, but because it’s hard to hear things people don’t like about you/your blog. Over all it was very helpful for me to learn a few things…
1. You can’t please everyone. No matter what you do there is always going to be someone who wished it was different. I would have someone say they didn’t like seeing posts about Rowan (those ones stung the most. I am a proud momma) and then in the very next comment someone would say they wanted to see more Rowan posts. Some liked recipes, some didn’t, etc. etc… For every one who didn’t like something, there was someone who did.
2. I started this blog for me. I write this blog for me and I have to remember that. I love sharing my life with everyone and I am so honored that you guys like to read it, but I wouldn’t be very truthful if I went about writing posts trying to please everyone. I have to stay true to who I am and what I like. So, yes, I will take everyones comments into consideration but at the end of the day I am going to continue doing what makes me happy.
3. So…
-I will continue doing daily style files. That is a huge passion for me. I love it. It’s why I started this blog. I wont be able to do it everyday now with Rowan but it will still make up most of my blog.
-I will continue doing Last Nights Dinner post. I love cooking. I love being a vegetarian and I love sharing healthy ways for people to eat dinner. It is something I have been posting about for 2 years and I will continue to write about it. Yes, lots of people post pictures of food, but I don’t care. I have never just had a fashion blog with random food posts. I have always had a lifestyle blog where I share passions in my life. Cooking and being healthy is a big part of that.
-Rowan will always be a part of this blog. She is my biggest passion in life. I always hope I can share my experiences with people so that even someone half way across the world might feel like, “Hey, I am not the only one going thru this.” Maybe you are not at the stage of having kids, but one day maybe you will and I hope then maybe you will check back and like the posts about Rowan and being a new Mom. I am an open and honest person and I enjoy writing about this new stage of life I am going thru.
4. I will be handling sponsor posts in a whole new way. I totally agree with all your input so Thank you!
5. There will not be a schedule anymore. Yes, there will be regular posts you will see each week, but I do think that trying to stick to a strict posting schedule leads to a very stressed momma. I think I have gotten pretty good at keeping up on all my posting, so I don’t want to limit myself to what I feel like posting about each day.
6. The new blog design will DEFINITELY have a better search function and categories to find posts easily. That has always been my biggest pet peeve about my site. Now I just need to convince Kev to design me a new site sometime soon. (Looove. yoooou.)
7. I will definitely be trying to post more about our home decor, my art and try to do some craft tutorials. I do all that stuff already, I just have to get better about posting it. It’s hard putting your artwork out there. Art is very personal and I get nervous to share it sometimes, even though I enjoy sharing it.
8. I chose the picture above for this post to remind myself what is most important in my life. Not that I forget but everything I do is because of them. Those 2 are my world and I love them with every ounce of my being. They make me want to be a better women, wife and mother. This blog is really just a journey in all of that.
Thank you all for reading this journey!
* I just want to add that I did not think any ones comments in the survey were particularly mean. Please don’t feel bad for leaving me a survey comment. I really appreciated them all. Everyone it entitled to their opinions. These were just my general thoughts afterwards. I am not upset at anyone.
I know I say this every week but wow! the weeks go fast. It’s so easy to get behind on these. I am going to do 2 at once here to catch up a bit.
We call her our little hipster baby when she wears this outfit. hehe. She just needs a pair of thick rim glasses (she might just need some someday- both Kev and I are super blind)
Cardigan: JC Penny
AA Someone in Brooklyn Loves Me Onesie: Gift from friends (who live in brooklyn)
Skinny Jeans: Baby Gap
Plaid High Tops: JC Penny
Headband: Handmade by me
Maple Leaf Teether: Little Sapling Toys (Yay Canada!)
This super cute hooded romper is always the first thing I put on Rowan after the wash is done. I just love it. The pattern is so different and unique and the fabric is so soft. Also, I seem to melt when a baby has a hooded anything on. The Romper was a gift from Tea Collection. There is a big sale going on right now over there. I would definitely check it out. This romper is now only $19.50!!
A lot has gone on over the last few weeks. Christmas has already come and gone and we are already into our first week of January. Rowan is growing so fast. It still blows my mind when I look back at pictures of when she was just born. She is rolling over like a champ now. She can roll both to the left and right while she is on her tummy. No back to tummy yet, but we are working on it. Still no giggling too, she does do it in her own way but I don’t think it counts as a real laugh. She has also started making this ridiculous dinosaur/Darth Vador noise. It makes me laugh so hard. I don’t know why she does it, but it is hilarious.
Our days lately have been filled with highs and lows. Rowan is definitely teething, so she will go from being a happy little camper to being very upset very quickly. This morning we were laying in bed and she kept going from toy to toy chewing the crap out of them and just whining this sad, sad little cry. I felt so bad for her. I really don’t know much about teething. Anyone have suggestions for me? What works what doesn’t?
We are getting pretty good with our daily schedule. It takes a while to figure it all out but after a few months you start to know. Rowan usually wakes up around 8am. She eats. We play and then she goes back down for a nap 2 hours later. Somedays she wakes up at different times but I know whenever it is that 2 hours later she will need to go back down for a nap. She sleeps around 2-2.5 hours. She will eat again and then if we have errands, we go out and do them. She will usually take another nap around 3ish for another 2 hours and then she will be up until bedtime which is around 9. I think back to the early newborn days and remember the chaos of it all. There was no schedule and you wonder if you will ever feel normal again. Hang tight ladies! It all works out. Things calm down and you really learn to read your little. That’s how I felt anyways. Everyday that goes by Rowan captures more and more of our hearts. We honestly can’t imagine our life without her now.
The winter is back in full force here this week. It is cold! Last week was such a tease. I think I could really get use to 50 degree weather in the winter. That sounds pretty perfect to me. Anyways, when winter hits I pretty much bury myself in winter coats. I hate being cold. I feel like I start collecting coats like I do necklaces or some other kind of accessory. This coat is one of my new favorites. It’s not as warm as I would like it to be but with a sweater underneath it does the trick. Do you have a favorite coat? How long do you usually keep a coat? I seem to never throw them out. I have coats from over 5 years ago still. Whoops.
BB Dakota Jacket: Lulu’s
Jeggings (ugh I hate that word): Target
Dexter Shoes: Thrifted from Savers
Dinners have to be sort of quick these days. I don’t really have time any more to spend hours cooking something. Rowan just wont play by herself that long, so I am always on the look out for quick, easy and delicious meals. I love my subscription to Vegetarian Times. They always rescue me with good recipes. This recipe came out of the October 2010 Issue. It was very good and I definitely make again sometime soon.
Ingredients:
Box of Farfalle ( I used a whole wheat kind)
1 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp. pine nuts (I ended up using more)
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups of a creamy tomato soup (I used the v8 brand)
1/4 cup of half and half
2 Tbsp. dry white wine
6 Tbsp. of creamy goat cheese
1. Cook Pasta as normal. Adding peas to the water about 3 mins before pasta is ready to be strained.
2. While pasta is cooking, roast pine nuts over medium heat in another pan until toasted and fragrant. Transfer to plate and set aside.
3. In same pan saute garlic with olive oil for a min. Then stir in soup, half and half and wine. Bring to a brisk simmer. Reduce heat and gently simmer for about 3 mins or until sauce starts to thicken.
4. Add cheese. Stir while it melts into sauce.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Once pasta is done, drain with peas and then toss all together and add pine nuts.
Happy New Year!
Did you have a nice New Years Eve? We had a fantastic New Years. Probably one of the most fun ever. We all got a little dressed up, even Rowan. She wore a cute little pink tutu and polka dot shirt. Kev wore jeans, a vest and a tie and I got to wear my favorite sparkly shorts. We spent the evening with our closest friends hanging out, laughing, drinking, eating way too much food and taking ridiculous photos.
Blazer: American Eagle
Pink Blouse: Gap
Necklace: NY&Co.
Shorts: Forever 21
Tights: Target
Heels: Chinese Laundry
Happy Monday Everyone!!!
Just wanted to say that I started a little inspirational tumblr site over the weekend. It’s a way for me to keep/share everything I star in my google reader throughout the week. I’m sure it will also be home to a lot of random pictures of Kev, Rowan and I that don’t really have a home here on this blog. I hope you will check it out and enjoy the things that keep me feeling creative and inspired.
*haha this picture cracks me up. It’s a screen shot of my family and I having a video chat with my sister in Alberta.
So, let’s finish this up. These are my absolute favorites from the whole year. It’s funny how when you look back at your pregnant self, all you remember is how much you loved it. I will say I am pretty proud of myself for keeping up my outfit posts and getting so creative with staying away from maternity wear.
July:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/5318872763/
September: These 2 pictures are very special because they are taken right before Rowan was born. The one on the Right was taken on Friday and Rowan was born Sunday Morning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/5318872997/
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!
