Just Jen

This. Was. Awesome.

 

I love his intensity.

If only we all took our life's pursuits this seriously. Just imagine what we could do, right?  I'm inspired by football today. And Shawn Moreno, sir you are awesome.  

LOVE. IT.

Jen can cook

When I concentrate really hard. LOL

I really tried to embrace cooking this weekend.  Keep hearing how you can find inner peace in a quiet kitchen.  And since I have a nice kitchen now (squeal), I had to try and do it justice.

I made 21 breakfast burritos for the boys and 30 family favorite Bieroch too. ( a labor intensive family recipe I apparently have yet to master, but the boys seem to be eating quickly without fail)

And that's that.  Hope you didn't fall over in shock. LOL

My latest Stitch Fix (#7)

Sorry I haven't been good about posting these.  Nevertheless, here's my latest fix...

1. Cherry Hi-Low Racer Back Tank (Sweet Rain) - I mourned this one a bit.  Too tight for me, but my mom swiftly robbed it from my box as it fit her beautifully. Loved the dark teal base on this one.

2. Marci Square Print Tab-Sleeve Blouse (Collective Concepts) - Lovely fabric on this and a super fun neckline, but a little snug in the arms for me, and my mom got the same shirt and it fit her better. Went back.

3. Penelope Polka Dot Lace Detail Sweater (Yumi) - Very nice light sweater fabric, but the high rounded neckline did nothing for my figure. Went back.

4. Enamel Circles Link Necklace (41Hawthorn) - Beautiful necklace, but I decided it was a little too bold and too heavy for me.  I am going to be very selective with jewelry - my armoire is pretty full. Went back.

5. Orinda Stretch Banded Leggings (41Hawthorn) not pictured - These were lovely and I would have kept them had I not already owned a decent pair of black leggings. Went back. 

So overall a bust, but still super fun happy mail.  Oh, and I may have stolen a fun burnt orange top from mom's box... not all was lost. :-)

That's all for now, fashion peeps.

 

Yes, I fell in.

My good friend, Kathy, will say 'Did you fall in?' when she hasn't heard from me in awhile via email... it's been a long time since I've posted here, so yeah, I admit 'I fell in'. :-)

Been busy lately getting ready for the upcoming house move. Still scrapping a little here and there - in fact just posted some updates to the galleries here yesterday.  My goal was to finish the first half of 2013 Project Life &  all of the pages to my Florida vacation from last june before I packed up all of my room. I'm almost there and it is attainable today - yeah me. So all of my scrappy stuff is going into boxes now... hope some of my crafty mojo is going in there with them, as a major change of location seems to be threatening my desire to craft already. (crossing fingers)

Here's some closeups of recent projects in case you are needing encouragement to check out the side galleries here. I don't post all of my pages on SC or anywhere else, and pretty much keep my PL here exclusively (they just are hard to look at in public galleries, I think).

 

 

And as it is the holiday weekend for just one more day, I have to say...

Happy Birthday, America!

We didn't do much here to celebrate, but the boys and I had a few moments with some poppers before throwing a few boxes of snaps at one another. :-) Sure do miss fireworks - but forest fires are scary - hoping for a very wet winter (note I didn't say cold or snowy - ha!) so we can see them return next year.

And I can almost guarantee I will 'fall in' again with the move, but I'm going to try and be better about coming back here... ;-)

Stitch Fix #3 Review - April

The anticipation of getting this box is just too fun for words. 

For the first time I made a request for layering tops and lots of color. They totally delivered.

I really wanted to like the teal top because the color and silk fabric is delish - but pintucking in the front just does not work with my figure. Looks like a tent.  Even tried a belt, but it's just too much fabric. Bummer.

The coral top is really fun. I typically don't like hi-low tops (as you can see in the second picture of this piece), but it is not overdone, and tried with a few jackets actually looked nice. Doesn't totally cover the bum, which is nice because I think mine is half way decent - don't hide your assets, right? I needed a little Hollywood Fashion tape to stop gaping in the front between the bottons, but it worked like a charm and that's a common need for me. And the gold button detail on the shoulders is really unique. Most likely keeping this.

The bracelet is actually 2 pieces and could be worn separate, so I really like that.  A bit heavy, but it made them hang really nicely and the feel is really smooth. Most likely keeping these.

Um, hello multi print tank. Fell in love with you on first sight and you fit awesome.  Love the versatility and all the color options with this one. Grey, navy, red, orange and even hot pink! Oh yeah, you are living here now.

The cardigan is really neat. One small button in the front allows it to pull together more like a jacket for a fitted look, and the flip out royal blue inside the navy is an awesome touch. I also photographed the unique striping in the back,.  This cardi could be casual or dressy in an instant - LOVE that. Lovely piece.  I suspect I will either keep it or Kathy will talk me out of it for herself tomorrow. LOL  Too unique to not keep this one.

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Also have to show you my new wall of washi. 

Found these fun little washi boxes  at Michaels on 60% clearance (yeah!).  They include a dowel rod and metal tear strip, but I took those pieces out and just let the rolls sit inside (mostly because I had too many - blush). 

Already more useful in that I can see what I have and that's how I get to using it... and obvious I need to get to that since this shows blatently that I have a serious washi addiction - YIKES!

Thats all for today folks.  Thanks for stopping by!

(oh and yeah, still haven't found a house, for those that are wondering. It's making me a little mental... sigh)

 

Beautifully said

Found this on pintrest today and gasped with the truth I heard here.

Now that's powerful stuff.

Happy Easter

Hope you are enjoying family and happy memories today.

It's good to be alive.

Vacation Pages

Florida vacation album is currently underway!

I went back to a favorite technique to give it unity by adding a consisent little page corner showing which day of the trip the vent was.  This old sheet of MME paper that I had been hoarding forever ended up being the perfect touch ... the little beach huts were perfect - I fussy cut a couple dozen of them so they are ready to go...

Pages will be posted in the side gallery under vacation pages... so check out all my little beach huts!  tee hee

 

Stitch Fix Review - March 2013

Serious fun fashion right to your door... I am addicted to Stitch Fix already.

This is my second month getting 'a fix'. Last month I kept 2 things... a blouse with funny birds and some front pleating that I would have never thought to try (it's the same one that Stephanie Howell had if you happen to follow her darling blog) and a tshirt that looked like nothing special until I put it on and it fit like a glove.

So what came in my box this month?

• black ponte pants
• royal blue jersey blazer
• silk shirt
• another fun (more subtle) bird shirt
• chevron tunic

Wanna see?

Sorry for the goofy faces - I suck at self portraits apparently.

 

I'm keeping the bird shirt - love it. I clearly have something with birds. Which is funny in it's own way... but I digress.

The blazer was super cuddly and quite a lovely color, but it was a bit too snug for 'the girlfriends' so it went back. If it had come in pink or stripes, I might have kept it...

The ponte pants were tempting, lovely material I'll be watching out for now, but I didn't need another pair of pants like them and they were snug. Made me want to workout though, which is probably a good thing. 

 

This mint silk shirt was lovely, but almost the exact same cut as the bird shirt and I decided it wasn't a great color for me. (my friend Kathy swooped right in and snagged it though - we started a fix share this month, checking out each others goods before we sent back... double the fun. I highly recommend.)

The tunic was a major ' um, no'.  Lovely for being a tunic, as it was a lovely pattern and fabric and I love that it wasn't a loose tie, but tunics often translate into 'dress' for me.  And again, things with ties aren't flattering with a little more giftedness on top. My fashion nemesis.

So that's that.

Oh and I may have snagged an orange cardigan sweater from Kathy's box. And yes, it is the exact same one that Gillian Nelson totally destroyed in her blog... I laughed out loud and promptly tried it on again to make sure I wasn't crazy. I'm good. Whew.

Until next month...

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For those who are saying. "What in the heck are you talking about, lady?"...

Stitch Fix, is like a personal shopper that comes to your home. You take a survey about your fashion likes and dislikes, give them your sizes and preferred price ranges, and they choose 5 pieces for you and mail them to you. A $20 "styling fee" is charged when shipped that is applied to your purchase. You have 3 days to try on the clothes, you pay online for what you want to keep and send the rest back in an included, postage-paid envelope, and drop it off at the post office. Easy peasy. They also offer a discount of 25% off if you purchase all 5 pieces.

I'm not affiliated with Stitch Fix in any way, but if you are interested in checking it out and use my code, I will get a $25 credit towards my next purchase.  And if not me, pick someone, share the love.

Here's my code:  http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3050715

A decade ago...

I held this wee boy in my arms and knew he was the last. He has been a bundle of energy since day one and our family really would not be the same without him.

But 10 years sure have flown by. No more single digit ages in this house. (sigh)

Happy Birthday, my Sweet Andrew.

I love you just the way you are. Full of passion and energy - both good and bad.  It's signature 'you' and I wouldn't change a thing. Looking forward to seeing who you become - you've just begun the journey to discovering who you are and it's a treat to watch. Don't accept being a poor version of anyone else, because you were made specifically just the way you are for a reason. Go find that reason.

Love you so much.