Friday Roundup

Happy Friday from Brisbane!  In flying here, you lose a day, so technically, I had no Thursday. I'm thrilled to be here, back with my tour family, and in SUMMERTIME no less. I love hemispheres.

Speaking of summer- Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes. Too bad my hotel room doesn't' have an oven...

Super interesting article on "intellectual humility".

Ice cream lock-hilarious, but if it's real, I'll take one!

Book recommendations based off of favorite children's books. I'll be reading a bunch of these.

Also,  the updated Goodnight Moon.

Incase you need an excuse to get the bigger pizza...

A cat and her owner are adorably inseparable.

All the dresses of Best Actress winners.

Sriracha can make you happy!

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Jenny's Favorites: February Edition

I've seen a little bit of everything this month, sun, snow, work and a few precious days of rest. Here are a few things that have gotten me through! 

1. The Aviator's Wife is an historical fiction telling of Ann Lindbergh's life. If you liked The Paris Wife you'll enjoy this one. I read it on a flight, and it was a bit ironic to think that I was up in the air, flying across a continent in part due to the work of Charles and Ann Lindbergh.

2. If you happen to be in Portlnd, check out Little Big Burger.  Great little burgers with local beef and TRUFFLE FRIES. YUM.

3. While in Mexico and got a new Frida bag! Thanks to Amazon, you too can have one. I'll have to remember they are available online when I inevitably wear a hole into this one.

4. If you are in need of a comfy shirt, this is the softest thing I've ever worn. Thanks for making comfortable but stylish clothes Free People.

5. Speaking of Portland, I recently found Portland Bee Balm at Whole Foods and for chapped winter lips, I think it's actually better than Burt's Bees, which I've been a big fan of for years. Gasp. Also, I love the idea of supporting a small (somewhat) local business.

6. Teresa introduced me to Haim, yes, I realize I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I'm enjoying them none the less. Three sisters start a band with a bit of an 80's vibe, I'm in.

7. See's lollypops were something I loved as a child, and recently discovered, they are available at pretty much every airport. The perfect something sweet for long flights.




Chanel Ever Red




On Monday my sister posted two photos on Instagram, 10 hours apart, featuring bright "Ever Red" lipstick by Chanel. She did not reapply in that entire time period. What?! If you are into long wear lip color this seems like a must buy. Thanks for the tip Laura!



Bookshop Engagement Photos





While we were in L.A. for the Grammys, Jason and I made time to do an engagement shoot with Robyn & Bruce, who's wedding we will be shooting in November. 

I was thrilled when Robyn suggested The Last Bookstore, a super quirky bookstore in Downtown LA. 

I LOVE books, so my one  regret  was not having hours and hours to wander aimlessly through the rows. 

While the photo to the left was being taken, I was using a flash to backlight it (notice the nice light coming from behind Robyn's hair, that's backlight) as I was crouching next to a bookcase, holding a flash, I discovered a genre of books I didn't know existed, cat mysteries! This is not a joke. There are a ton of cats solving mysteries out there in the land of fiction! 






Images, Studio JKoe

Starting Solids: Baby Led Weaning

Thanks to everyone who commented on my post a month back regarding starting Mylo on solid foods. Since then we've taken the plunge with the Baby Led Weaning approach with great success! I had never heard of BLW until I started researching what foods to start Mylo with once he turned six months old. The basic idea  is to give him whole foods instead of purees. We serve him mostly unprocessed, basic food (just a veggie, fruit, rice, meat, etc) cut into finger shaped pieces. He chooses what he wants to eat and uses his little hands to scoop things into his mouth. 

There are lots of reasons that we chose to go this route but mostly it seemed like the best option for our family and seems to suite Mylo well. As you can see by his photos, he LOVES to eat and he is also a very independent baby. Both of those things made me think that giving him a bunch of appropriately sized foods and letting him go for it was a good choice for us. Although he doesn't have any teeth yet he is oddly capable of "chewing" and consuming large amounts of food. The one part of BLW that is a little hard to get used to is that babies gag a little when they are learning how much food they can fit in their mouths. Mylo has never choked but he has gagged and spit up a little food. 

Overall, we are having a blast giving him all sorts of new foods and it's encouraging me to cook healthier options at home since the idea is that he just eats what we are eating. 

If you're interested in this approach, I thought this blog post was wonderfully helpful. 





Watch This: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding


This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Lillehammer Olympics and the most notorious incident in the world of figure skating. Who else remembers watching the media coverage as it all unfolded like a soap opera?

I was thrilled to find ESPN's 30 for 30: The Price of Gold on Netflix. I highly recommend it. The archival footage was amazing. It's worth watching for the clothes, costumes and hair alone. Above all, I appreciated revisiting this saga as an adult. 

The Price of Gold made me feel for Tonya Harding, Yes, she made bad decisions, but in many ways, she is a product of her environment, which was something I couldn't understand when I was in 4th grade. 

I missed NBC's documentary Nancy & Tonya which aired before the Sochi closing ceremony on Sunday night. If anyone can find it online, let me know! However, Nancy Kerrigan's interview after the documentary is online, and that was super interesting to hear a bit of it from her perspective. 

Nancy was definitely a role model for me as a child, in part due to her pretty costumes, but I'm even more impressed with her now as an adult who can somewhat comprehend the effects of negative press. I couldn't imagine the determination and willpower it would take to not lash back in the media and not even to defend yourself against backlash in the press, but to stay out of the drama and focus solely on recovering and training for the Olympics. Even now while Tonya still seems to be living in the drama of it all, Nancy is free, she's forgiven and forgotten, which is always a great lesson in life. 

I have always admired Nancy Kerrigan's class and sportsmanship, now she's also my new role model for what I want my skin to look like when I'm 44. 


Monday Motivation



Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? Mylo has his first cold so we are hunkering down around the house trying to get him well. His little cough is so pitiful. :(

Here are some links to get the weekend started:

10 fascinating facts about redheads.

These scones look delicious and so cute.

10 thoughts for new moms.

Dr. Seuss' private hat collection - Jenny, you will love this.

New cat species discovered in Nepal!

10 tips from Japan for travelers going to the US.

Did you see Michelle Obama on the Tonight Show w/Will Farrell? :)

My kind of DIY, hanging vase display. Or if you're more ambitious, cool dot wall.

I'm thinking these grey shoes for mama and these grey shoes for Mylo.

(Image of Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes, swoon.)

The next adventure...


So, life is picking up again for us and the view from airplane windows is about to become all too familiar. We just got back from a lovely wedding in Mexico, and we've got a week to unpack, get lots of work done, cuddle with the cat and repack. Jason and I are headed off on tour with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis again. This time to places like Sydney, Manilla and Tokyo, a bit more exciting than Buffalo, NY in November.

I have to admit, I haven't posted about this yet, because I've been trying to enjoy my time at home- live in the moment, we've been gone so much this year, that being home is a treat and the thought of leaving again was a bit daunting. Now, after that taste of sunshine in Mexico only to come back to extremely wet and extremely gray Seattle, Australia sounds very appealing. 

So I'm a lady with a list. A long list. On a clipboard. Slowly crossing things off. Naturally, "buy new swimsuit" got checked off rather quickly while "finish 2013 accounting" will probably be the last one checked off. 

This time packing is proving a bit more difficult. Only one suitcase for a full month that covers two hemispheres. Instead of living on a bus, we'll be traveling by plane, almost every other day. It'll be summer in Australia and New Zealand, but only early spring by the time we reach Tokyo.

Updates to come along the way, along with a post or two about all of the great books I'm reading on airplanes (I have a growing list of suggestions, feel free to add to it if you've read anything good lately!)  along with lots of other fun things. 

Stitch Fix Box #2




My second Stitch Fix box arrived in the mail last week and I have to say they did an awesome job of listening to my feedback on the first box and customizing this one to fit my taste more accurately. When I opened the box I was excited about the colors and cuts of what I saw. Sadly, two of my favorite items just didn't quite fit so I had to send them back. With my feedback from this box I'm hoping my third box will hit it out of the park with style AND fit. 

COLIBRI SOLID TAB SLEEVE BLOUSE $48: Love the color and fit of this top, wore it the next day to work. KEPT

MICKEY JEWELED COLLAR PEPLUM TOP $48 -  I liked the idea of this top a lot but when I actually tried it on the peplum just didn't quite hit my hips right. I debated about this one but returned it in the end. 

KARSON TEXTURED PENCIL SKIRT $58 - When I opened the box I was super excited about this skirt, love the fabric and color. Unfortunately, I literally couldn't get it over my thighs it was so small. The tag said S but it seemed more like an XXS to me. Had to return. 

YUSUF EMBELLISHED SHOULDER STRIPED TOP $58 - This was my least favorite item in the box, it fit well but I just wasn't into the shoulder pads/bejeweling. Sent back. 

ABANA ANKLE LENGTH SKINNY JEAN $148 -  I upped the price point in my profile for pants after my last box and was really pleased with what they chose. I liked the quality, color, and stretchiness of these jeans. Sadly, I needed one size smaller. Hoping they will send me them in a smaller size in my next box! RETURNED




Puerto Vallarta Wedding

Here are a few of my favorites from our wedding in Mexico last weekend…

Jamey & Shelby got married in the beautiful Church of our Lady Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta, followed by a reception at a private villa overlooking the ocean. 

I loved that Shelby had a custom made dress and dramatic veil with lace for the ceremony, then changed into a deeper ivory gown from BHLDN for the reception. Both dresses fit her so well and the dramatic veil was perfect for the church while the romantic feel of her second dress was perfect for dancing the tango at the reception.

My favorite detail of the day were Shelby's shoes. They we're designed by her sister and custom made by Uxibal in Guatemala. 

When picking locations, Shelby and Jamey knew they wanted to focus more on the Spanish colonial architecture and vibe of Mexico rather than the beach and I love how that turned out, giving the entire day a elegant feel, slightly different than most Mexico destination weddings. 









Myles: Six Month Old


I am WAY behind on my updates, tomorrow Mylo will be seven months! Better late than never though right?? I'll give more of an update next week with his seven month photos but he's doing great. Loves sitting up and playing with his toys and blocks, is eating solid foods (update on that coming too!) and has slept through the night for almost a week straight. His fuzzy little hair is growing in which cracks me up. Love our little guy.






Monday Motivation


Have a great Presidents Day!


Friday Roundup


Happy Valentines day and hello from Puerto Vallarta! Jason and I are getting some sun and drinking Mexican Coke in preparation for shooting a wedding here tomorrow. Many photos to come for sure. I hope you have a wonderful weekend no matter where you are!

Pretend I sent you a Valentine and it looks like this. 

In trying to find the light & happy side of the Olympics, I appreciate that Team Italy wore Armani & Sweden wore H&M to the opening ceremony last week.

Historical images of breastfeeding.

Donna Karan uses New Yorkers, not runway models at Fashion Week.

RIP Shirley Temple Black, an amazingly talented woman on so many levels.

Jack + Rose

Parenting tips from Law & Order SVU

Pretty sure we won't see Evgeni Plushenko perform this routine in Sochi.

Thoughts on creating better content for bloggers.

Woman eating salad and other common stock photos of ladies.

Are you awkward? (According to this criteria, I definitely am, in case you're wondering.)

This seems to be a fairly accurate depiction of Facebook.



Image by Jason, we really do love Mexican Coke

Saving Mr. Banks


Last August I wrote how excited I was to see Saving Mr. Banks. Have you watched it yet? Patrick and I snuck away for an evening when we were in California and saw it at the Chinese Theater in LA. It did not disappoint!! We both loved it. The movie is much deeper and more inspiring than I expected from the previews. Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson and especially Colin Farrell were so wonderful to watch on the screen.

Also, the movie portrays the premier of Mary Poppins back in 1964 which we realized took place at the very theater we were sitting at in Hollywood! We had no idea, it was a fun little coincidence.

I'd highly recommend this movie for the whole family, bring your Kleenex!

Music Video Throwback Thursday


In preparation for Valentines Day, lets watch Mariah's "Always Be My Baby". I LOVED this song and video when it came out. Thanks to VH1's Pop-Up Video I remember that the majority of it was filmed at Camp Mariah, a camp that she had funded, in upstate New York (wikipedia confirms it). I still love the innocent camp romance!  

What's you're favorite throwback love song? 

Snow Baby


It snowed on Sunday and we took Myles out for a little sled ride around the house in his furry (ewok?) hat! He is at such a fun age right now, it's a blast to see him experiencing all of these new parts of life for the first time. Yesterday my sister's little dog kept running up and licking him in the face and he was dying of laughter. For about one second it made me want to get a dog. :)







Location, Location, Location!






 This past weekend, Jason and I headed up to Snoqualmie Falls with Tracy and Cuong for a post wedding portrait shoot aka "Trash the Dress". Some people are really hesitant when they hear the "trash" part of that. I promise, the goal of the shoot isn't to wreck your dress! 
The goal  of a post wedding shoot is to capture amazing photos that wouldn't have been possible on the wedding day. 

Apart from just wanting an excuse to get to wear your dress again, here are a few reasons you might not have considered to do a post wedding shoot: 
-Get photos in a special spot that wasn't logistically possible on your wedding day. 
-If you didn't love your hair/makeup, here's a second chance at it!
-If the weather didn't cooperate on your wedding day. 
-If you are really stressed out on your wedding day, a second shoot is a great way to get photos where you don't looked stressed! If you know ahead you'll probably be stressed out on the big day, plan to do a post shoot and lighten your load on the wedding day. 

Thoughts on Sochi...


Have you been watching the Olympics? 

I can't help but be a Debbie Downer about them this year.

Usually, I LOVE to watch the Olympics, both summer and winter. But I haven't really gotten into the Sochi games. All of the negative press has really gotten to me this time. Instead of watching figure skating, I find myself reading articles about nearby communities without water, thanks to Sochi construction demolishing their wells and how Russia spent over $50 billion on the games-yikes. Not to mention everyone's fixation on a certain snowflake that refused to become a ring.

I appreciate that all of the negative aspects are coming to light instead of being hidden from the rest of the world. Russia isn't the first country to host an Olympic Games that has a less than stellar human rights record. And no matter where you are, hosting such a big event is a magnet for terrible things like human trafficking and threats of terror. Just as it is an issue in Sochi, sex trafficking was an issue at the London games. Maybe the positive in this is that all of these things ARE being reported on instead of ignored, the first step toward change.

One more complaint, then I'll leave you be. #sochiproblems, REALLY people? Do you realize the people of Russia have to deal with yellow tap water ALL the time, not just for 2 weeks like you do? Stop complaining! Did every news outlet send only journalists who've never traveled outside of the US before? I really appreciated the way this article tackled the issue.

I WANT to get into it. I do think the idea of the Olympics is still a positive one once you get past the human rights violations and overpriced pyrotechnics. I remember watching as a child and it inspiring me to continue with sports- definitely a great message for people of all ages today.

Have you been watching? What has been good?

Hopefully I'll watch some of the games and be back next week with a post full of Olympic spirit!


PS. Loved this about Surya Bonaly- one of my favorite figure skaters from back in the day. But even Surya and her backflips, something I looked on with nothing but amazement as a child is rife with it's own controversy.







Best Friends

I love this little gif of Mylo and Rafa "playing" together yesterday. Happy Monday!


Monday Motivation



Friday Roundup

Happy Friday! Any ideas for fun things to do inside with a 6 month old?? I think Mylo is going crazy with this cold streak Seattle is experiencing. We can't wait for spring!

Anyway, here are a few links to kick off the weekend.

Fascinating article about the importance of play in children's lives.

Scarlett and Kate look great w/out makeup.

Can you distinguish between different languages? Play the great language game.

Love the idea of having a fireplace in the kitchen.

Interesting info-graphic.   

Tips to bounce back from winter burnout.

I'm in love with this Nantucket cottage. Dreaming of summer.

Adorable Valentine's Day cookies.

Simple ways to make someone's day.

So this is what Dan Stevens has been up to since he deserted us Downton fans. Better be good.

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Throwback Thursday: Music Videos

In the last year, a LOT of people have asked me what music videos are my favorites. This has inspired me to go back and take a look a the videos that definitely shaped TRL watching youth from my current perspective. I have to say, I still feel like I had pretty good taste in videos! 

I've decided to do a series of posts on awesome videos of the past. I love that now, thanks to YouTube, we are no longer at the mercy of MTV VJ's to play what we want! 

Here's one that I remember being in awe of the first time I saw it. Michael & Janet Jackson's "Scream" was nominated for 11 VMA's and won 3. It is STILL considered the most expensive music video ever made with a $7 million budget. Yikes. It was directed by Mark Romanek, who most recently directed Jay-Z's "Picasso Baby" which was another Grammy nominated Best Music Video this year. 


Wedding Wednesday: Grammy Wedding Part 2


Last week I posted about my sister's wedding at the GRAMMY's with a few pictures and stories mostly from my perspective. This week I wanted to share some of her personal photos and the story of how her wedding came about. Just a quick note that because of security/privacy Laura was only able to bring her iPhone in to the venue, no cameras allowed. So all of these photos were taken on iPhones by her, me and our fabulous nanny/friend Jessica!
Laura and Alex had been planning to get married but no date had been set yet and they were not in a rush since she just had a baby in December (doesn't she look amazing!?!). My brother rung them up eight days (you read that right) before the Grammy ceremony and asked them if they would want to join 33 other couples in getting married live at the Grammy's by Queen Latifah while they performed their song "Same Love." Laura said they decided to take a day to think it through but in the end decided they couldn't turn down this once in a lifetime opportunity. So we all had one week to plan for their big day!
They spent the week shopping for rings, outfits, etc while we all prepared for a last minute trip to California! Laura was able to find her gorgeous dress at the last minute at Nordstrom and we all hopped on a plane on Friday and set off for LA. 
Laura and Alex participated in two long dress rehearsals at the Staples center and met all of the other couples who were getting married alongside them. On the morning of their wedding we all gathered in their room and helped them get ready for their big day! 
They set off for rehearsals and were back stage for a few hours before they got to line up with all the other happy soon to be married couples and filled out for everyone to see! As they walked down the aisle they saw Sir Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and other celebrities. We were up in the rafters but were able to wave our cell phones so they knew where we were. Here is a video of the whole thing in case you missed it. 
It's pretty awesome to be able to say that Queen Latifah signed your marriage license and Madonna sung at your wedding!! Not to mention Beyonce wore white on your big day. 
After the wedding we headed out for the after party/reception, and celebrated with the newlyweds and Grammy winners! Talk about a once in a lifetime weekend!!



Smart Entertainment


A couple weeks ago, Teresa shared that she hasn't read a novel since Myles was born in July.  Now it's time for my crazy TV confession:

Since mid-December, I've watched five seasons of Parks and Recreation, the first two seasons of Scandal, the first seasons of Orphan Black and House of Cards, all episodes of Ja'mie: Private School Girl, two seasons of Bob's Burgers and I'm caught up with my favorite shows airing now, Downton Abbey, Girls, Modern Family, etc. 

To be fair, I like to have Netflix on in the background when I layout wedding albums and input data into Quick Books, so a good chunk of my TV watching has been fairly productive.  It's always helpful to be laughing at Leslie Knope when you discover the total amount you've spent on parking tickets in the past fiscal year. 

All that said, I'm working on transitioning into more edifying things! I've been listening to more This American Life podcasts, but I'd love other recommendations! What are good TED talks? Or how about documentaries on Netflix? 


PS. Just in case you were wondering, I totally recommend all the TV shows listed above!

PPS. This made me feel infinitely better about bingeing on Scandal. Apparently I'm in good company.

(image via)