First, let me say a big HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Punky!! Yay, It’s your birthday!! Ok, now back to the post. I have had these pictures forever. Whoops. There is something so fun about wearing back and White and then some other bright color. My two favorites would be neon pink and yellow. I went with yellow on this one.

I am going to make this one short and sweet. It is 1:24am. Yikes. I don’t know why I am up so late. Well, that’s a lie. I am up so late because I just finished making an instagram Blurb book for Rowan. It is 160 pages worth of pictures from her 1st year of life. I can’t wait to share it with you guys!! Now I am up getting all my blog posts scheduled, so tomorrow can be about playing with Rowan. I am trying to make at least 1 day a week a no internet sort of day. Scheduling blog posts help with that. I just need to work on not doing that at 1:30 in the morning. Eyes.are.burning.must.go.to.bed. (I am such a mom. I use to be able to stay up all hours of the night)

Have a good Wednesday everyone!!

Outfit Details:
Yellow Jacket: J.Crew (scored at Swap)
Polka Dot Dress: Delightful Dozen (via Lulu Letty)
Wedges: c/o Wanted

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/6097660573/
Make sure to head over to Le Mode Accessories to check out all my favorite items on sale!!

I am getting super excited that Fashion Week is next week! I love getting to see all my blogging pals, especially all in one place, all at one time. It always feels very surreal. Are any of you guys going to be in town next week? Hope we bump into each other!! Anyone going to the Lucky Conference? I’ll be there!!

There has been lots of running around this week so far. We are having Rowan’s birthday party this weekend and I am trying to get everything squared away for that. I am trying not to go over board and just keep it simple, but it is hard. Every ounce of me wants to throw the biggest, craziest party ever to celebrate how awesome she is. haha. We are having her birthday party on my actual birthday and I really can’t think of a better way to celebrate my bday.

I have been wearing this outfit a lot lately. It is easy and comfy and well, it looks like I actually tried to look nice. That is my kind of outfit!

Outfit Details:
Vest: Old Navy
Tank: Forever 21
Skirt: ASOS
Belt: NY&Co.
Necklace: handmade
Jeffrey Campbell Wedges: c/o Lulu’s
Traveling Handbag: c/o Le Mode Accessories

One of my favorite parts of my birthday is getting to dress up special and spend the day with the people closest to me. I always start looking for a special birthday outfit weeks before my bday arrives. Do you do that too?

The lovely folks at lulu’s offered to host a fabulous birthday giveaway this week!! Help me find the perfect birthday outfit and you could win a $100 giftcard to use at lulu’s! Awesome!

Here is a little birthday outfit I made using lulu’s items. Isn’t it the cutest?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/6093565522/

To enter this $100 giveaway…

Head over to Polyvore and create a “BIRTHDAY PARTY” outfit using only lulu’s items. Then leave the link to your set here in a comment. All entries will be judged and narrowed down until a winner is chosen. Winner will be announced here on the blog next Monday, Sept. 5th.

Good Luck!

p.s. for those who don’t know, Polyvore is a quick and easy way to create collages (like the one above). You can add a “clip to polyvore” bookmark on your computer, which lets you “clip” any item from any website (like lulu’s) and brings it into polyvore. Then you can use those items to create your collage.

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope everyone survived the hurricane. We just got a lot of rain and some gusty winds. Not too bad. Saturday was actually a pretty lovely day. Kev had planned a surprise birthday camping trip to Lake George, but the camp ground shut down for the hurricane. Bummer! He did however give us part of our birthday presents (My birthday is the 4th or Rowan’s the 12th) A NEW BIKE SEAT FOR ROWAN!!!! The first time we put the helmet on her I cried I was laughing so hard. She was like a bobble head doll. We biked all around town on Saturday before the rain started…

I have an exciting birthday giveaway coming up later today! Stay tuned…

I was totally inspired by a post I saw on A Cup of Jo the other day about her son’s favorite toys. It was such a cute little post idea! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what another little one liked to play with and I am convinced remotes are the universal toy! haha. I knew what toys were Rowan’s favorites, but I followed her around today to catch her in the act…

What “toys” are your little one’s favorites?
Isn’t it funny how they never seem to be their actual toys?
Happy Friday everyone!

The weather has been awesome lately. Perfectly warm, yet you can feel the fall coming when the wind blows. I am so excited. I love when fall comes around. I just wish it lasted longer. I am looking forward to transitioning some of my summer items into fall. I love wearing sundresses with cardigans or jean shorts with long sleeve button ups. It’s so casual and relaxed.

Do you love the cooler weather that fall brings? What are you looking forward to wearing?

This outfit is great for the summer, but I am excited to pair it with a sweater for fall. I bought a few cropped tops this summer at UO. I love the brass snap buttons up the back of this one. Perfect to wear with a high waisted skirt.

Outfit Details:
Cropped Top: Urban Outfitters
Mango Chambray Skirt: c/o jcpenney
Sunglasses: c/o 80’s Purple
Heels: Chelsea Crew
Bracelets: Gifts, handmade
Necklace: Thrifted from Savers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/6076957897/

Who wouldn’t want to win $50 dollars to use towards all the adorable items from Shop Kempt? I know I sure would. I want these black scalloped shorts!

Giveaway is open from today until next Tuesday evening. Winner will be randomly chosen and emailed on Wednesday.

To enter:
1. Visit Shop Kempt and pick out your favorite item and let us know in a comment below.

SIMPLE AS THAT!
Good Luck!!

Hi Everyone! Lately, I have been trying not have my nose stuck in the computer all day (as well as twitter, instagram, etc.) I’m starting to revaluate what I want to spend my day doing and how I use my time. Sometimes the business of blogging can weigh you down and cloud your focus. My stress level has been heavy on my shoulders and I am trying to spend more time doing hands on projects. I am really excited where this new focus will take this blog. Look for some new things popping up here and there over the next little while.

One of the things I have been working on is making some items for my etsy shop. Remember when I use to make all kinds of stuff for there? It seems so long ago. Anyway, I am loving these new bunting flag necklaces I made last week. There will be an esty shop update really soon… Stay Tuned!!

What do you think?

Hi Friends! How was your weekend? Julie’s wedding was just wonderful! I haven’t danced that hard in a long time. It really was the best weekend ever! I can’t wait to share pictures.

Today, I am over on the Lulu’s blog sharing another Art Inspired Fashion post!!! I love these posts. It’s so fun to pick out a painting and create an outfit inspired by it. I really hope you will hop over to the Lulu’s blog and leave a comment saying hello!!

Here are a few pics from the post…
(head over to Lulu’s to see what painting this outfit was inspired by!)







Outfit Details:
Fire Walker Knit Shorts: c/o Lulu’s
Denim Shirt: Thrifted
Jeffery Campbell Nude Leather Belted-In Wedges: c/o Lulu’s
Canvas Shoulder Bag: c/o Lulu’s, shop similar styles
Necklaces: c/o Lulu’s, shop similar styles
Bracelets: Handmade, gifts

When we went to Paris, I packed a lot of dresses and flat sandals. Dresses are a super easy and cute way to pack for a trip. They are a no fuss kind of outfit. This dress was perfect. I kept the styling really simple because of the cut out back and cute buttons on the shoulder. I let the details do the talking.

Outfit Details:
Coy in Crimson Dress: c/o Modclothairbnb. I love that website! The timing wasn’t right for our stay, but I would definitely use it next time if I planned better.

2. We did however stay at The Grand Hotel Saint Michel and I can’t say enough good things about it. Super modern, good size room, comfy bed, free internet, awesome bathroom. The best part by far was that we had a balcony in our room. We sat out there every night, chatting, drinking wine and eating pistachios. It was in a great location too!

3. Go with an idea of things you may want to do, but do not go with an itinerary. I feel like that defeats the purpose of Paris. Wake up each day and see what the day unfolds. Let plans change based on where you are, what you feel like doing or your mood that day.

4. Walk! Walk! Walk! We walked everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. Some of my favorite moments where walking back to our hotel after we had missed the last metro. We saw so much more of the city that we would have missed, if we had taken the bus or the metro everywhere. When you don’t have an itinerary than you have the time to walk and take things slow.

5. Stay away from all the touristy things. Go see the monuments of course but don’t get sucked up in all the gimmicky tourist crap. Experience the real Culture.

6. Explore the neighborhoods of Montmartre and Le Marais. So cute!

7. Take this bike tour, if you are going to do one sight seeing tour. It is awesome!! Someone recommended it to us and it the best advice we got. We took it at the beginning of our trip so we would know where to go back and explore the rest of the trip.

8. Go ride bikes around the gardens of Versailles (you don’t have to pay to go inside)!

9. HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF PICNICS!!!

10. Stay up late and experience the city at night. I think we went to bed every night at like 3am.

I got up this morning and for the first time in a long time wasn’t really sure what to blog about. I have some outfit posts saved up, but didn’t feel like posting them. I have pictures for Rowan’s 11 month post and I have some posts about birthday wishlists for Rowan and I, but I didn’t feel like posting those yet either. So, instead I am just going to share this cute picture of Rowan with you! Kev took it in her room about a month or so ago. She has been walking for about a month now and yesterday was the first time she stood up on her own to start walking. She has always crawled over to something to pull herself up and then walked around. As we watched her stand up on her own yesterday at the park I realized: is this one of the last big milestones before things slow way down? As excited as I was for her I was also super sad. She is getting so big! Her birthday is less than a month away! Oh man what a year this has been.

Well, happy Wednesday everyone! We are off to a lovely lunch date with some of our lady friends. See you tomorrow!

Hi Friends! Just wanted to let you know I am guest blogging over on Orchid Grey today.
I am sharing…

It’s a post about a “Summer of Love” and who better to share that with Kev and Rowan.

Outfit Details:
Vintage shirt: re-sized and sewn by my mom. It use to be 5x too big!
Skirt: J.Crew
Belt: H&M
Heels: c/o Modcloth

jcpenney contacted me a few weeks ago, to see if I was up for a style challenge: To create a look inspired from a back to school photo from my childhood. I loved it! I knew exactly what picture I wanted to use as soon as I read the email…

Haha. Little Jen. Isn’t that dress so cute? I thought it was the perfect starting point for creating an outfit that was updated and modern. I chose to use the chambray fabric as my starting point. I found this AWESOME Mango Chambray skirt at jcpenney and paired it with my favorite blouse from J.Crew. I am pretty excited with how it all came together.

I may not be heading back to school again this year to teach, but something about the end of August always makes me want to get some new “back to school” items in my Wardrobe.

Outfit Details:
Blouse: J.Crew
Belt: Thrifted
Mango Denim Skirt: c/o jcpenney
Socks: Cut tights
Wedges: Forever 21
School Bag: c/o Lulu’s

one more…

I would love to hear about your previous back to school looks. What was your favorite? Your least favorite? Any super embarssassing ones?

LEAVE A COMMENT SHARING AND YOU WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN A $50 GiFTCARD TO USE AT JCPENNEY!!

Morning everyone! Did you have a great weekend? I sure hope so. Do you love instagram? I am addicted along with everyone else in the world. There is something so fun about capturing little moments of your day. I have also fallen in love with the blurb book for instagram. I am making one for Rowan’s birthday of all her first year pictures. So Fun! I know not everyone follows me on twitter, so here are some of my favorites from the past few weeks…

p.s. you can always see all my instagram pics (as well as others) on my tumblr!

Here are some favorites from Around the internets this past week!
1. OMGOSH! I want this homemade ice cream book so badly!!!

2. These DIY dollhouse planters are the most adorable thing ever. I can’t wait for Rowan to have a doll house!

3. A lesson in being present. Always good to keep in check.

4. I am dying over these leopard wedges and this awesome fall jacket!

5. How cute is Tieka? Answer is: Super cute. Love her band Circle Maybe!

6. The photography and styling in the new Ruche lookbook is just beautiful!!!!

7. Most adorable 1st birthday party! Lots of great ideas.

8. I told Kev I wanted a tattoo for my birthday. Florals have always been top on my list.

9. Love this wall art DIY. Easy and so cute!

10. HUGE summer sale going on over on Spotted Moth! Check it out!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/6035557622/

Last Tuesday, Rowan and I headed out to Newburyport for a little blogger meet up, with Indiana and her adorable family. We all had such a wonderful time. I can’t wait till the spring now for the next Texas Style Council Conference. Driving home (it was also a long drive) I was thinking of all the wonderful things that are going on and I decided to make myself a little happy list to focus on…

1. Rowan’s bigger than life personality. It cracks me up. She is seriously the biggest social butterfly. Everything takes us like a hundred times longer, because everyone has to stop and talk to her.

2. The smell of a lake in the summer time.

3. Brie on freshly baked bread (is it wrong I just ate that for breakfast with some raspberries?)

4. My friends and family. Life would not be the same without them. All I want to do all day, everyday is hang out, eat, and chat with everyone. It’s my favorite summer pastime.

5. Being overwhelmed with inspiration and just wanting to spend every second creating things.

6. They may be few and far between these days, but moments alone with Kev. I am looking forward to making some kettle corn and watching a movie tonight with him after Rowan goes to bed.

7. I know everyone loves them but I can’t get enough friendship bracelets. They are filled with so many memories. I love getting/making them with friends nowadays.

8. Clean sheets and new pillows

9. Making fresh fruit Smoothies after doing insanity.

What are your happy things lately?
p.s. did I mention Rowan loves to point?

On Saturday morning I headed up into the Maine countryside to attend Julie’s bridal shower. It took me 6.5 hours from Albany, ugh! What a beautiful drive though! I drove through VT, NH and into Maine. It was a lovely low key bridal shower (my favorite kind!) with tons of food, cupcakes and fresh wild flowers.

I’ve been so excited to meet the rest of the bridal party, so it was nice to get to know everyone! They are all so much fun. I can.not.wait for the wedding!!! I have the most beautiful bridesmaid dress and am so excited to celebrate such a wonderful day with Julie and Chris!

Outfit Details:
Top: Old Navy
Belt: Vintage
Skirt: Swapped
Dolce Vita Sandals: Swapped
Earrings: Swapped
Coach Bag: Vintage

After the shower the girls headed down to Portland for a Bachelorette weekend. Of course, not before we got some silly photos in…

I am back! I promise I didn’t fall off a cliff. This has been a crazy few days!! There was lots and lots of driving involved, but way more laughs and memories made. I will explain all tomorrow, but today I am in a major hurry to catch up on 5 days worth of no internet, clean up the giant mess of crap I just unpacked and get to the grocery store to get poor Kev some lunch. Here is an outfit from last week that I didn’t get to share…

Love, love, love the color combo of mustard yellow with a pop of red!






Outfit Details:
Polka Dot Top: c/o Romwe
Belt: Forever 21
High Waisted Shorts: Forever 21
Elisa Butterfly Sunglasses: c/o 80’s Purple
Bracelets: Swaped, Forever 21, self-made and gifts from Punky
Jeffrey Campbell Heels: Lulu’s

Do you have a dress that makes you feel like a million bucks? This is my new million bucks dress. haha. I put it on and instantly felt like a lady. Aren’t the colors so pretty? It is so different from any other dress I own. Rowan and I got dressed up yesterday for a lunch date with our friend Erin. One of my favorite things about summer is getting to eat outside. It was a wonderful afternoon of chatting and eating delicious sandwiches on the patio.

Can you believe that tomorrow is Friday already? Crazy! This week has flown by. I have some fun plans for the weekend, but I can’t share them quite yet. I will share pictures on Monday.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Beach House Barbecue Dress in Luau: c/o ModCloth
Sunglasses: c/o 80sPurple
Belt: Target
Franklin “Be Thankful” Necklace: c/o Jess LC
Wedges: c/o Banana Republic
Bracelets: Gift from friend
Delightful Dozen Traveling Handbag: c/o Le Mode Accessories

Don’t you love a good bargin? I do! I love when things go on sale. I actually have a hard time buying anything that’s not on sale. The internet is a very big place though, and going from site to site looking for sales takes time. When a friend told me about ShopItToMe, I was instantly hooked. They do all the work for you. They send me emails with sales from all my favorite stores. It’s dangerous, but awesome!! I found this pretty Kate Spade skirt on sale because of ShopItToMe.

I am in love with this outfit. It is super fun, bright and well…reminds me of teaching. I miss teaching sometimes. I loved interacting with the kids and teaching them about art and art history. Most days I don’t even think about it; just from time to time. I’d much rather stay home and play with little Miss Rowan anyway. Soon enough she’ll be at the age for me to start teaching her about art and I can’t wait!

Outfit Details:
Yellow Blouse: Thrifted
Skirt: Kate Spade (c/o ShopItToMe)
Necklace: Forever 21
Glasses: c/o 80sPurple (best selection of glasses and sunglasses. Ever!)
Wedges: c/o Lulu’s

When I was scrolling through the pictures on the camera, I thought, how silly that it takes so many pictures to find only a few I am happy with. Why are we so picky with ourselves? Anyway, seeing them in fast motion made me laugh. So, into a little video they went…

Rowan has gotten to the age now, where she refuses to let you feed her. She wants to do everything herself. That goes for everything too, not just eating. At least she can walk now, so when she squirms out of our arms, we can put her down and she can follow slowly behind. Eating on the other hand has become sort of frustrating. She doesn’t want to be spoon feed, but she is so picky about what she will eat. I am constantly afraid she is not getting enough vegetables. The only thing I can do is continue to put an array of choices on her tray and hope some of it makes it in.

Did your little ones become picky? Do you have any tips on how to get them to start eating what you give them? I would love to hear any eating tips you have for this age. If your little one is still 10-11 months are you still feeding purees?

On Rowan’s tray there are peas, carrots, shredded cheese, and some little bbq (vegan) rib bits.

This week, we have another recipe that I found via Pinterest. I will say it again, I am obsessed. I am also obsessed with Kale, so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it.

MMMMM Vegan Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash with Kale!

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, wash, stems removed, roughly chopped
1 medium sweet potato, diced into small cubes
1 1/2 vegan Italian-style sausage- sliced into rounds.
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp. red chili pepper flakes
2 tsp. soy sauce ( I just swirled it around the pot, exact not neccessary)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high
2. Add onions, and saute till golden.
3. Add sweet potatoes and garlic, and saute until sweet potatoes are nearly tender, stirring frequently.
4. Make a well in the center of the pan, and add sausage.
5. Cook 1-2 minutes until edges of sausage begin to brown. I flip them and cook both sides. I like them a little crispy.
6. Add kale, and saute for just a minute. Generously season with salt and pepper.
7. Stir in vegetable broth and tomatoes. Cook until kale is tender.
8. Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes, add soy sauce. Stir and remove from heat.
9. Serve.


*recipe from Food Fitness Fresh Air

We spent this past weekend at the “Swapping Uncapped” swap in Boston and it was definitely one of my favorite swaps yet. It was amazing to meet so many lovely readers while having Kev and Rowan there too. I swear Rowan stole the entire show. I mean, how could she not, right? She just kept walking around, smiling, and waving at everyone. She did such a good job being out and about all day. I was a little nervous, but she was seriously so fantastic. She just loves being around people.

Another reason why this swap was so awesome was because Jessica from What I Wore was there promoting her new book. She, of course, looked beautiful and it was so fun to hang out with for the day; I love that girl! We all went out afterwards for drinks and dinner. There is nothing I love more than a warm summer night, eating a delicious dinner outside in Boston with my dear, dear friends. It makes my heart feel very full.

Waiting for the swap to begin

ahhhh move out of the way!


I love these two ladies!

Thanks to Vitamin Water and Pinkberry for being such wonderful sponsors of the swap!

Dear Adam: Thank you for always taking such wonderful pictures and for letting us all use them! You are the best, even if you don’t like Canada. jk

Hello August! I hope you all had a great weekend! I will be sharing some pictures from the swap shortly. In the meantime, here is a little Delightful Dozen outfit post…

I was talking on the DD blog about summer staples. Do you have a summer staple? What is your go to piece in the warmer months? If I owned this skirt, I think it would be it. I tired it on with like a hundred shirts and they all seemed to go perfectly. I love pieces like that!

Outfit Details:
Skirt: DD (via Tick Tock Vintage)
Top: c/o ModCloth
Belt: Thrifted
Dolce Vita Wedges: c/o Lucky

Have a great Monday Friends!