The Chronological Archive

Select the month / year which you'd like to search

List
Post

Jul 29

Favorite Finds…

Happy Monday!
This is the week to get crap done! Oh boy! I have a to-do list that is about a mile long. We leave Thursday night for Texas and I have a boulder size ball of anxiety in my chest about leaving Finley. That is whole other blog post though. I still need to finish (i mean write) my workshop talk for the conference. Eek! I am just so nervous it’s making me doubt everything I want to say. At least I will get to hang out with the above lovely lady all weekend! Well, I leave you with my favorite links from around the internet this past week and a bunch of phone photos that make me smile.

Let’s knock this week out of the park!

LINK LOVE:
1. This oversized cardigan (sweatshirt?) looks like probably the most comfy thing ever.

2. How adorable is this Stella McCartney Kids bloomers set? And it’s on sale!

3. How cute are these pies? and only .69 cents!

4. A bright red, tweed, motorcycle jacket? Oh goodness.

5. How adorable is Linda? Love her in this pretty pink dress.

6. I would love to be lounging in these Nike pants. Also, how cool are the color combo in these running shoes. Oh I love new work out gear.

7. Tears. Tears. Tears. Loved Rachael’s birth story.

8. Love the fit and shape of this skirt. Makes me want to twirl around.

9. I’ve been wanting to do one of these zombie runs! Don’t they look like so much fun?

10. Kind of dying to get these jeans. Just need to justify the price though. So perfect for fall.

11. 2 words. This cookie!

12. My most favorite place to get jewelry! Always great prices. Look how pretty this necklace is.

13. Loved reading this little brain dump over on Sometimes Sweet.

14. I have 2 of these personalized wire necklaces. One Finley one and one Rowan one. I love them so very, very much. So delicate and beautiful!

15. Oh Goodness! I love these shoes. Cap toe shoes get me everytime!

*the most amazing stroller ever in the top picture was a gift from 4Moms.

Tagged

Jul 28

This Weeks Ice Cream

Jul 28 | Do It Yourself

I bought an Ice Cream Maker about a month ago and it has been deadly! I’ve been having way too much fun, way too often with that thing. I thought while the summer months are present and hot I would share some of the recipes we’ve made. My mom got me the Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home book for Christmas a few years back and boy, oh boy! they are good. For the first installment of “This Week’s Ice Cream” we are going with…

Maple Cinnamon Almond.
(holy cow! this is so good)
Now the recipe in the book is for maple ice cream with salty buttered pecans. I opted for some cinnamon covered almonds instead. I am sure either would be delicious.

Ingredients:
2cups whole milk
1T + 1tsp cornstarch
3T cream cheese (softened)
1/2tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4cups heavy cream
2T light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups Grade B or C pure maple syrup (I was able to make ours with the syrup we got at the maple farm in the early spring)
3/4 cups chopped cinnamon almonds (I got mine at target)

Directions:
Prep â€“ Mix 2T of the milk with 1T plus 1tsp of cornstarch, set aside.
Whisk the 3T of cream cheese with with 1/2tsp fine sea salt, set aside.
Mix 1 1/4cups heavy cream with 2T corn syrup, set aside.

Cook â€“ Bring 1 1/2cups maple syrup to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to medium and continue boiling for 8minutes, or until the maple syrup is reduced by half and is darkened around the edges. Now you can remove the syrup from the heat and slowly add the cream mixture, then add the remaining 2cups of milk, whisking until combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 4minutes. The mixture became a little curdled from the acid in the syrup, but it came back together from the churning in the ice cream maker. Now you can remove the mixture from the heat to add in the cornstarch slurry. Put back on heat and boil until thick, about a minute. Add the final mixture to a Ziploc bag, chill in the ice bath for 30 minutes, and then freeze in your ice cream maker for 25 minutes or until thick and creamy. Just before you go to turn off the machine. Add the nuts and let them get mixed through. Store in an air tight container and let freeze in your freezer at least 4 hours before serving. Eat until all gone!

(recipe from Jeniâ€™s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer)

Tagged

ice cream

Jul 26

Instagram Photo Wall

Jul 26 | Home Tours

Don’t you just love photo walls? Is is by no way a new thing but I have always just loved thousands of photos all in one place. The walls of my bedroom growing up were always covered floor to ceiling with pictures. I would say I’m a pretty nostalgic person. After a lot of research and one failed attempt at Walgreens, I decided to go with Printstagram to get a crap load of our instagram pictures printed. I could not be more pleased with the quality of the printing, paper or service. It’s quick, easy and relatively cheap (and there is an app!!).

I tried out like 3 different tapes, tabs, etc… to adhere the pictures to the wall. In the end, the thing that worked the best was 3M blue tape balls on the back. I didn’t want to use anything that would damage the wall or the pictures.

I started out with a level line of tape that I used as a guide for the first row of pictures. After that I just eyed balled all of them. Here is the first progress shot…

Rowan loves sitting on the stairs telling me about each picture. Always saying “Member that Mommy?”. I will be the first to admit that i’ve become completely obsessed with getting instagram pictures printed now.

If you don’t already follow us on Instagram, you can find us @jenloveskev or Kev’s @encrgothers

Tagged

Jul 24

Tiny Dancer

Jul 24 | Lifestyle

Ever have that moment as a parent when you look at your child and can clearly see them as a teen? It’s a very strange thing to experience. It has only happened a few times to me and every time I am taken aback at this idea of my baby all grown up. I had a very, very clear picture of Rowan as a teen the other day when we brought her to her very first dance recital. It wasn’t during the recital that I saw it though, it came after. She stood there with her friends giggling and acting excited over what had just happened. Then it hit me. I could envision going to find her after a high school track meet, soccer game, theatre performance, or whatever it may be. Standing with her friends excited and sharing stories over what they just accomplished. I saw her being brave, yet a little reserved. She is going to be a leader; I just know it. She is the best combination of outgoing and sensitive. I feel like we are entering into this new stage with her. The one where she is old enough to be dropped off at things like ballet camp. Where she can stretch her wings and be a little more independent. She starts school this fall and I know without a doubt that she is just going to LOVE it! It’s fun to try to guess what your kids will be like when they get bigger. I am not wishing away this time right now, but I like seeing the little glimmer of their personalities all grown up.

*it was an Angelina Ballerina Dance Camp- that’s why they have mouse ears on.

Tagged

ballet
rowan

Jul 18

My Everyday Style | 07.18.13

Jul 18 | My Everyday Style

Good things come to those who wait, right? I tired this shirt on at j.crew a while back and fell in love. Then I saw the price tag. Jab to the heart. It was $110- I did love the shirt but not $110 worth. Sadly I put the shirt back on the rack. I forgot all about it till I saw it majorly, majorly on sale the other day at our local j.crew. Now it’s not on sale online. I don’t know why but there sure is a heck of a lot of other stuff on sale and its 30% off on top of the final sale price right now too. Anyway, as you can see I know own the top. Is there anything more rewarding then getting an item you really wanted on sale? I think not!

OUTFIT DETAILS:
Baja Embroidered Top: J.Crew
Chino Shorts: J.Crew
Belt: J.Crew
Sandals: Report (similar wedge)
Hat: Urban Outfitters

p.s. speaking of sales- up to 70% off with an extra 10% with code take10 over at asos!

Tagged

Jul 17

The Day to Day…

Jul 17 | Motherhood

Sometimes motherhood isn’t all that glamourous. Hmm who am I kidding? Most days aren’t all that glamorous. It is easy to pop on the internet and see families living in big exciting cities, doing big exciting things and feel less than thrilled about your own small town surroundings. But truth be told, every Mom, no matter where they are living has to figure out how to handle their day to day. We all have laundry, dishes, bills, crazy kids, sleepless night, etc… In all honesty, I really truly feel like “fun is how you make it, not where you make it” (Thanks Piebald!). Somedays the mundane tasks can get you down though. I know I feel like that sometimes. You try to juggle so much, hoping to get everything done yet you find yourself defeated at the end of the day with a whole lot of nothing finished.

Anyone else feel like this sometimes?

The other day when I was feeling way too house bound for my liking I decided to put aside everything that needed to get done and create some fun for us. It led to an afternoon in the teepee with the girls. Eating lunch, reading stories and making some memories. It wasn’t anything fancy or crazy but it was fun and we had a wonderful afternoon together in our backyard.

Jul 15

Super Cute Crochet Bunting!

Jul 15 | DIY Tutorials

A while back I decided to crochet a blanket for Rowan’s room. I wanted it to be made up of a ton of colorful granny squares. Well, 5 months later all I had finished was 9 squares. Story of my life. I thought of a useful way to use those squares to add a little color to our living room gallery wall though. Crochet Bunting! I had a few more pictures of the process that I some how deleted but it is pretty self explanatory. I am not going to go into how to make a granny square here. You can youtube that or look it up on pinterest if you want.

All I did was…

1. Make granny squares
2. Fold them in half
3. Hot glue them closed around a piece of yarn
4. Repeat in a line with remaining sqaures, hang, done!

I’ve learned that you can just as easily crochet a triangle granny square which I guess would be easier but I like the shape the folded square makes. It’s squatier than if you just crochet a triangle.

How cute would this look in a nursery or hanging in front of a crib. Hmmm speaking of that… I need to get on decorating Finley’s nursery.

Tagged

Jul 15

Favorite Finds…

Jul 15 | Uncategorized

Hey friends! How was your weekend? Our was low key and well, sort of chaotic all at the same time. We ended up at urgent care yesterday with Rowan. She’s got a bad case of swimmers ear and was not a happy camper. Poor girl. I also worked on my workshop talk for TxSC Conference. I am getting so pumped up for it. I can’t wait to have a great discussion with everyone over dealing with critics. Check out the updated schedule!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/9281270004/

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

and now for some other favorites around the internet…
1. Have you ever heard of True&Co.? Such an awesome way to shop for bras when you don’t have the time to head to the mall. I got my first box last week and all but one were keepers. I LOVED them. Sign up and get $15 off.

2. I am such a sucker for a cute, full skirt. Love the color of this one and how can you resist this pretty plaid?

3. Definitely need to try making these marbled popsicles. They look so yummy!

4. My absolute favorite bathing suit bottoms. They go with everything and fit like a charm.

5. I love this blog so much. How pretty are her wedding photos?

6. Love me some Kate Spade- and this skirt is majorly on sale!

7. How cool is this Camp themed birthday party? Oooh the details!

8. I am pretty sure these might be the only shoes Finley will ever wear.

9. Kids, picking sunflowers at golden hour- can it get any cuter?

10. The most comfy, extra high waisted jeans ever! Seriously, so good.

11. How cute is this patterned shirt dress? Love the detail in the back.

12. I really can’t seem to get enough of these ladies or their blog!

13. Let’s talk about shoes, shall we? I would like to add this pair, this pair, this pair and this pair to my closet please and thank you.

14. Such a beautiful soul. Inside and out.

15. This stroller is like a robot and we seriously can’t stop using it. It is so freakin’ cool!

Tagged

Jul 11

My Little (yet adorable) Date

Jul 11 | Motherhood

The other day I was talking with a girlfriend and I realized I hardly ever spend alone, one on one time with Rowan anymore. It struck me in that moment that I needed to make that a priority. I am with her every waking moment of the day but it’s very rarely alone time. We have lots of family time, lots of Rowan, Mommy and Finley time but nothing else. We spent 2 years with it just being the 2 of us during the day and I truly loved that special time together. I love being a Mom of 2 kids but I know I need to carve out some special time for each of them.

Tonight Rowan and I went on our very first Mommy & Daughter date night. I think we were both super excited. I had been talking it up all day. I let her pick where we went to dinner (she picked Panera) and then we headed to this little kid amusement park by us. We rode a ton of rides, ate ice cream, and joked around a lot. Boy! She is fun to hang out with. As we were driving home I kept watching her in the rear view mirror. Now it might have been because there was a slow, overly emotional Taylor Swift song on the radio but I was getting all teary thinking about her growing up. My little baby. The one who made me a Mother. Here she was sitting in her car seat telling me about her ballet recital tomorrow and how she couldn’t wait to get home to paint her nails the pink sparkly nail polish I let her pick out at Target. How did we get here? How is she almost 3? It really does go by so fast.

I can’t wait till our next Mommy & Daughter date night.

*Here is an actual picture from our night tonight. What a little beauty.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/9267289102/ Rowan’s tshirt was a gift by our friends over at Of One Sea.

Tagged

rowan

Jul 08

A Holiday Hike

Jul 08 | Family Adventures + Travel

We don’t have family super close by so when holiday’s role around it’s usually is just the 4 of us looking for something to do. Of course we love our families, but I will admit I love the time together as just a family. On the 4th of July we decided to head to Thacher State Park and explore. I had heard some great things and was excited to go on our first family hike as a foursome. We loved hiking last year with Rowan. I got Kev a Deuter Kid Comfort III for Father’s Day last year and then I just carried Finley in our ERGO Performance. She actually fell asleep for most of the hike. I love getting out there all together. There were lots of beautiful views, waterfalls and silly conversations with Rowan.

Tagged

Jul 03

The Best Conference Around!!

Jul 03 | Uncategorized

Are you looking for a super fun, down to earth and motivating blog conference to go to? Well you should all go buy tickets to go to the Texas Style Council Conference this year. It is by far one of my favorite conferences. I look forward to it every year!! This year it’s going to be the best one yet. Indiana has revamped the whole thing- making a great schedule of small classroom type workshops instead of large panels. Now you can sit and talk one on one with other bloggers about topics that you want to learn more about. Kev and I will both be there leading workshops. Come pop by Kev’s workshop for some one on one time with a designer. Get tips and advice on how to design the best blog, logo, or other design elements for your posts. I will be talking about how to handle critics with your head held high. I am planning on chatting about both our inner and outer critics. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy- there can be a lot of competition, comparison and jealous with blogging. I hope to be real, honest and have a great discussion with you guys about it. I definitely don’t have all the answers but I have dealt with being critical of myself and also having to deal with a lot of internet bullies. The conference is geared towards any kind of blogger, business owner, or just fun loving, creative-types. See full schedule HERE

Did you know the Elsie and Emma are the Keynote speakers this year? How amazingly cool right? Love those girls to pieces.

Are you going? Can’t wait to meet you all.
There is still time!! GO GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!

*Posh Party Balloon Photobooth by Peter Tung (last year at the conference)

Tagged

texas

Jul 02

Celebrating 7 Years.

Jul 02 | Family Adventures + Travel

We headed up to Ogunquit, ME a few weekends ago to celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary. I can hardly believe we have been married that long. My heart is full of things I want to say about being married to Kev. But really all it boils down to is that I am so very grateful that on that day, 7 years ago, I stood in front of a boy who was my very best friend. We have had ups and downs for sure but at the end of the day and 2,555 days later I am still standing, holding hands and living an awesome life with my very best friend.

Here are a few of pictures from our weekend away and a little home movie with a silly interview about being married with kids.

And keeping up with our yearly anniversary tradition…

and then the past years…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenloveskev/3633011471/

Tagged

marriage

Jul 01

Minnetonka Moccasins

Jul 01 | Fashion

Hey Friends! It’s been a while. How are ya? We are doing good. We’ve been trying to get the most out of this summer with lots of trips and fun outings. A few weeks ago the lovely folks at Minnetonka Moccasins asked if we wanted to be one of their featured bloggers for July. Since we all wear our moccasins like everyday, I was of course honored and jumped at the chance to work together. Just wanted to share some of the photos from their post. You can read my little interview over on the Minnetonka blog.