May 30

Breakfast Club/Andrea’s Birthday.

Last year I started a Supper Club where every 2 weeks my closest friends and I get together for potluck style festivities. This time was Andrea’s turn to host and she decided instead of supper, she’d like to make breakfast, her favorite meal of the day. We stuck to a classic menu with pancakes, omelets, potatoes, biscuits, and bacon. And one GIANT fruit salad.

pin it!
For some reason I always feel like Supper Club is the perfect time to squeeze in some bad graphic design.

pin it!
I hadn’t done any arts and crafts since my Valentine’s Day party. I forget how much i love to cut paper.

pin it!

pin it!
I like my fruit salads like my friends; colorful, diverse, and sweet. :)

pin it!
I’m glad my hat from Halloween got to see some action. I love it but rarely have an occasion to take it out.

pin it!Pancake whisperer.

 pin it!

pin it!

pin it!
Andrea made most of it. Breakfast is her thing.

pin it!

pin it!
I freakin’ love these kids <3

Posted by Jen at 12:00 am — 6 comments
Categories: , ,
Feb 14

Valentine’s Day Card Making Party.

I don’t know why everyone says Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark-created fake holiday. In 1382, English poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

[“For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

According to Wikipedia, mass-produced cards with sentimental (sometimes racy) verses have been exchanged in England since the late 18th century. Most people don’t know that I’m secretly a sentimental (sometimes racy) person. But most people do know that I love to cut paper.

I recently threw a card making party with my friends Natasha Huang and Kelsey to get everyone together for some wine, sweets, and creative time. Most of our friends have not done any arts & crafts for at least a decade, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to share our appreciation for friends, family, and lovers aplenty. THANKS to everyone who came out, despite the frigid temperatures. I was so impressed by how wacky, hilarious, and touching the cards were.

Huge thanks to my good friend Kelsey who let us bombard her beautiful loft with glitter, stickers, and candy. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends. Good day and much love to you all.

pin it!

pin it!
By Peter Park

pin it!

pin it!
One of my favorite cards by Natasha, to her cat. I love how it’s shaped like a tote bag. How appropriate.

pin it!
Kristen Adams’
cards were so creative and amazing!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!Fort Greene Pride! This neighborhood makes me happy.

pin it!

pin it!
These are some of the cards I made.

pin it!

Posted by Jen at 11:02 am — 5 comments
Categories: ,
Jan 17

My Mom’s Home Office.

I woke up this morning and thought, “Seriously Jen? 6 weeks since the last blog post? That’s lame.” No excuses here. I was just in a weird mood and didn’t want to blog. My queue of projects to blog is pretty long, so happy 2011 everyone. Here we go…

Before the holiday I was working on Rachel’s house. I was really hoping to have after pictures up before Christmas, but we ordered a few things that were backordered so as soon as those come in, I can take pics. Her place is alllllmost done. Can’t wait to finish it up and show you guys.

In the meantime I went back to my parents’ house in California for the holiday and worked on their house for a few weeks. Last year I showed you guys the exterior and kitchen, both of which we’re super happy with. The house has been “done” for a year and the transformation still amazes me. I think when you put in 132.6% into a home improvement project, you never really tire of the finished product. Sometimes I sit in the living room and stare at the ceiling for quite some time and admire the crown moulding just bc i freakin’ love it.

The entire house is furnished and functional, but I had to put some final touches on the rooms before I could release pics into the universe. My current favorite is my Mom’s little home office. Unfortunately I don’t have befores but it was pretty sad looking. Just take my word for it.  There was an ill-fitting glass table, the short end stump of a sectional sofa, a TV from the 80’s, and a really ugly exposed storage area wallpapered in orange and brown tweed. I’m glad to say that ALL of that is long gone, and the room is looking mucho sexy.

pin it!
I was always a fan of the wide stripe we used on the Project Runway All Star Challenge, so I opted for the same paint treatment in my mom’s office. The colors are Benjamin Moore Wet Concrete and Hazelwood. The gorgeous rug is from Williams Sonoma but has been discontinued.

pin it!
The cabinets are from IKEA. I spray painted them gray and embellished them with wood trim. More on how I pimped out those cabinets here. The desk is from Target. I found the chair on craigslist and sprayed it white.

pin it!
The sofa and ottoman is from Room and Board. The side table is from TJ Maxx. The pillows are from a home store in Taiwan.

pin it!
We finally put a door on that god awful storage nook. I put frosted window film on the glass to cover the clutter. The awesome shoe cabinet is from IKEA. It fills my heart with joy to see things fit that perfectly. The TV console is actually a buffet and is from Target. Again, perfect fit. <3 <3 <3 Oh and raisin colored french doors?!!

pin it!

pin it!
The pic on the left is me and ma with my grandmother. She’s the real artist of the family. She made the shirt she’s wearing as well as almost every article of clothing my mom and her 3 brothers wore in their youth. She’s a self-taught everything and a wicked smart lady.

pin it!
THIS IS MY MOM! Isn’t she fab? As you can see, she is WAY cooler than me. I definitely inherited her attention to detail and bargain shopping skills, but not her super skinny legs or keen fashion sense. I’m pretty sure every year she looks a little bit younger. Love ya, mama!

Posted by Jen at 8:18 pm — 11 comments
Categories: , ,
Nov 2

Halloween 2010.

After months of debating what I should be for Halloween, I finally committed to re-purposing a top that that my former roommate left behind when he moved. I considered being Willy Wonka, or the Mad Hatter, but didn’t want to spend too much money buying or making purple pants and blazers. I rummaged through my closet and jewelry collection and realized I could easily pull off a Victorian/Steam Punk/Equestrian Lady. I scoured the fashion district for the ideal embellishments for my fancy hat, and this is what I came up with.

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!

pin it!Andrea was a fallen angel. Check out the broken wing and glittery angel blood. She made her costume, too.

pin it!Sad angel. :(

pin it!This photo made me chuckle. She kind of looks like a bride wearing a boa. Kind of looks like a glamorous hobo lady.

Posted by Jen at 2:28 am — 4 comments
Categories:
Nov 2

My Costumes over the years.

This one time I was at the mall in Newport Beach on Halloween. There were little kids scurrying from store to store trick-or-treating. I was in a jewelry store when a family came in for some candy. First, the big sis strolled in dressed as lovely Cinderella. Then the older brother stormed in donning some serious superhero gear. Then the baby boy stumbled in dressed as a KETCHUP BOTTLE.

I cannot wait till Halloween! I always have to start preparing early or else I get overwhelmed or lazy and my costumes don’t come to fruition. I don’t usually dress as anything literal. Personally, I prefer thematic or stylistic costumes because I have the freedom to interpret the theme however I wish. Still, I’m super impressed by people who can pull off dressing as inanimate objects like Facebook or sushi. Or ketchup. What were your favorite costumes? What are you going to be this year?

These photos are only from 2005-2010 because I was probably a witch or cat from the age of 5-18. Boring.

pin it!2005 Friday the 13th aka Andrea’s birthday

pin it!2005 Halloween. I made Andrea’s costume, too

pin it!
2008 New Years Eve Party. Random guy who was dressed like my soulmate of the evening

pin it!
2009 Halloween

pin it!
2010 Mermaid Parade
Pics of Halloween 2010 coming soon!

Posted by Jen at 1:28 am — 1 comment
Categories: