What He Wore

Bag: Briefcase in Dark Navy Leather

Bracelet: Riskybeads

Jacket: Urban Outfitters

Button down: Nonnie Threads

Jeans & belt: Levi's

Shoes: ALDO

Uh oh. Do I sense a new series coming into play?

Well, kids, let me tell you a little story.

I had to pout for 2.25 days before Boy finally agreed to stand in front of a wall for me to photograph.

It should be noted that the last time Boy modeled one of my bags was sometime in 2009, which is the photo I use for all my promotional items for the shop for mens stuff.  So naturally, I felt like I need to update the look more regularly.




I've contemplated hiring a model for these model photos. It is just way easier because I prefer to stand behind the camera and take photos than model myself or force my fiance to model. But seriously, for 10 minutes of time, this is just more efficient. And free! Ish.

So once Boy agreed to model, I quickly handed him the bag and said, "wear whatever!". While he got dressed, I gathered my camera, tripod and light bounce. I glanced at his outfit as I rushed him out the door and thought, "Oh la la! I'm marrying a hottie hottie with awesome fashion sense!" and immediately knew which location I wanted to shoot.  The building next door! (It cannot get easier than this, people.)

10 minutes later, we're done. Everyone survived. Boy warmed up to the idea of doing once-monthly photo shoots to help me out. And I am giddy giddy to get these pictures posted!

So, I'm pretty happy.

And that means Boy doesn't have to listen to more complaining.

Win-win.

Happy Friday!

Love,
Jenny

Are you ready?

Traveler in Black and White Houndstooth

I may be too eager too soon, but...
I'm ready to pull out the sweaters and jackets from the vacuum pack.
I'm ready for red, orange and yellow foliage.
I'm ready for crisp cold air.
I'm (a little) ready for snow.
I'm ready for Hubert to stop shedding already!
It's mainly Hubert and the shedding. 

Making this new Traveler made me ready for all of these things.


Are you ready??

Lazy Sunday

Lazy fatty.

Hello, Merlot.

My last post had some important info about my shop for the month of October, and also featured some almost-completed bags in the new leather color, Merlot. (Lighter than the popular Fig from last year.)

This color is gorgeous. Incredibly gorgeous. A deep multi-tone burgundy. Shiny, soft and a beautiful pebbly grain. It reminds me of fall... and wine tastings... and cheese platters. Hence the name Merlot. Because I am in the mood for some wine and cheese.

Mmmm.



Just a reminder that you have seven days to order your Made to Order bags before they disappear from the shop for the month of October.

F'real. Do it!

Shop Announcement for October!

Bags in Merlot, in the shop now!

Hi hi friends. I'm busy preparing lots of inventory before my wedding.

Why?

Starting October 1st, only Ready to Ship items will be available in the shop for the duration of the month.

For you, that means September 30th is the last day you can purchase Made to Order items; then the next day, they will all disappear from the shop for a month!

I'd like to spend my October with my future family members flying in from India, preparing for the wedding and also enjoying the wedding. Then enjoy the last week of October as a giddy woman married to my handsome husband (and not my sewing machine).

Please plan ahead because you have NINE (9) DAYS to purchase Made to Order bags!

Thanks in advance for understanding. :)

Love,
Jenny

My Steelers Boys

Last Sunday before the Steelers vs. Seahawks; taken with phone.

My favorite boys. So cute in their Steelers jerseys. I'm also wearing one.

The right image just makes my heart melt a little bit. :)

Giveaway: JenSan Candles

I told you I'd surprise you, right?  I totally didn't spoil it by telling you the giveaway at the end of Wednesday's post, did I?  I did.  But you're still happy, yes?  Yes.  Yes, you are.

Have you heard of JenSan Candles?  If you haven't, you're missing out on some major pampering opportunities.  I have the 16oz tub of dead sea salt scrub from their shop that I got a while back.  I use it when I want to smell of lemongrass (all the time).

Today the lovely ladies of JenSan are offering a very generous giveaway to one of my readers (lucky you!):
1 8oz soy candle
1 8oz scrub
2 organic soap bars

You choose the scents!



Tell us about yourself! 

Hi, I’m Sandra and together with my big sister Jennifer we make and sell handmade candles, soaps, body scrubs and reed diffusers.   By day, Jennifer works in the legal field and I work in the book publishing industry, but most evenings we can be found in our kitchen creating and testing new products or packaging orders up for shipment.

We are originally from the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados but have lived in the US since we were kids.  As kids and young adults, we lived in Queens, NY but have now lived in NJ since 1991 when we bought our first house together.   We are now in our 2nd home—a 1920’s colonial that like most old houses needs constant upkeep.  Our elderly mother, two nieces, a nephew, our dog Happy and cat Nibbles live with us.  We love living in the NYC tri-state area and can’t imagine ever living too far away but we have been thinking recently of relocating so we shall see what the future holds.

Both Jennifer and I are voracious readers.  We are fans of all types of books from commercial romances to literary novels and will usually recommend books to each other.  Some of our favorite authors are Zadie Smith (White Teeth is the perfect novel), Elizabeth George, Phillip Pullman, Ken Follet, Glenville Lovell, John Steinbeck (East of Eden is probably my favorite book), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Although I read all types of books, my two favorite genres are science fiction and fantasy.  I am also a serious Star Trek fan.


How did you get started?

It is actually because of Jennifer that JenSan Candles was started.  And as you may have realized, we came up with JenSan by using the first part of our first names.

We both love the fragrance, mood, and ambiance created by burning a candle.  Over the years we have spent a lot on candles but we were often disappointed with candles that smelled great in the store but had little or no fragrance throw when lit at home.  So one day Jennifer decided to try making her own.  She bought books about the subject and spent a lot of time in the kitchen making some samples and testing out different scent combinations.  I saw her at it but didn’t think too much about it until I started smelling the amazing scents that she was coming up with.  When she felt truly comfortable, she shared some samples with friends and other family members to garner their opinions.  Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  Word got around and people started to ask if the candles were for sale.  It was then that we discussed the idea and made the decision to invest some money together and offer candles for sale.  Thus, JenSan Candles was born.


How does your lifestyle cater to your craft?

Jennifer and I have very hectic daytime jobs.  We also have two active teenagers in the house who are always demanding our attention.  On top of that, we both work in NYC so we have to commute to and from work every day.  As a result, most of our work with JenSan is done in the evenings and on the weekends.  This means that we have to be very careful with how we schedule our time.  Most of our products are made to order but we try to keep a small inventory of the more popular items on hand to keep things running smoothly.

Since we commute together, sitting on the train in the morning and evening gives us time to discuss things related to JenSan.  It is then, along with the weekend that we discuss possible new product ideas.  Because we are from the Caribbean, we tend to love bold colors and lively scents.  We have tried to bring this love to JenSan and if you visit our online store, you will see lots of color because that is all we saw around us in Barbados.  You will also find products filled with lots of the bold floral and fruit scents of the tropics.  We have carried these scents across our product lines—including candles, soaps, body scrubs and reed diffusers.  And soon we will be launching our body cream line of similar fragrances.

Jennifer and I never thought that at this point in our life we would be in the bath and beauty/home fragrance business.  Her degree is in business administration and mine is in marketing.  However, you never know where life will take you and although it is a lot of hard work, we love it!



Enter the Giveaway

Visit JenSan Candles on Facebook and like them.
Come back and fill out this form. Winner will be chosen based on answers.

Giveaway is closed.

Chicago and Showers

Renegade Chicago, Day 2 (with an emptier booth)

Don't be fooled by the title. It didn't rain in Chicago for the show this year (yay!).  I'll tell you about the shower thing later in the post.

Let's talk Chicago Renegade!

As you may remember, we were in Austin last year, and flew to Chicago for the first time. We made lots of mistakes, learned lots of lessons, but overall had a fun trip. This year, we drove from Pittsburgh (500 miles each way) and applied lots of the lessons learned into this trip. It turned out to be so much more fun and a lot more successful business-wise. We also met lots of ex-Pittsburghers, which was a super-bonus. We love Pittsburgh and love meeting people who used to live here and are still in love with the city.

Chicago still loves the Briefcase, so I made sure to have lots in stock. Time well-spent!

Speaking of the Briefcase.

I got the best testimonial from a customer who purchased a Briefcase at Renegade Chicago last year.  He's a student at Northwestern and heavily uses his Briefcase. Well. "Heavily uses" is an understatement. The Briefcase has been through war and back.

He came by the booth this year to let me know how he's been enjoying his bag.

His Briefcase in Chestnut Brown...
...survived the Chicago blizzards.
...lived through all the salt, snow and wind of the Chicago winter.
...wiped clean after a long hiking trip.
...endured a small scratch when he was hit by a bus while riding his bike (he and his laptop are intact).
...easily carried his Yorkie on some summer days.
...is a great bag for carrying his laptop and books.
...is still in great condition!
...is sold out, but this one is a great durable one for guys (and gals)!

"Well, we certainly won't recommend all those things to customers, but we'll gladly take the testimonial!" said Boy after Customer told us his story.

And we did. And now you know.

Moral: Be careful with your Briefcase around buses. You may scratch the leather. :)

With the show out of the way, I've been thinking about wedding stuff non-stop.  So much so that I had a dream last night that it was the day of the wedding and I wasn't sure if I had showered or not. I spent the entire dream trying to entertain guests and timing when or if I should take a shower.

I wonder if the lack of showering last week has caught up in my dreams...?

I could use some pampering right about now. Like, a long bath next to some scented candles. Or just a normal shower. With soap. Or a nice salt scrub.

Speaking of long baths with candles, soaps and salt scrubs!

I have a surprise for you on Friday.  It involves candles, soaps and salt scrubs. That's all I'll tell you now. Because it's a surprise.

See you Friday!

Love,
Jenny

p.s. It's a giveaway. There. I said it. Come back, OK?

Kit Kats for Breakfast

I've been preparing for Renegade Chicago and getting a head start on new items for the holidays (that you can find in the shop now!). Then, then then. I will be able to shift my focus to wedding decor!!  At least for a few days. :)

Oh gosh. What have I been up to for the past week? 

I've been sewing all day every day, eating snack-size Kit Kats for breakfast, popcorn for lunch, and leftover Indian food from Boy's mom's visit has come in handy for dinner. I nibbled on a carrot here and there. And threw in some orange juice for vitamin C. I'm probably in need of a little diet before the wedding.  

Juuuust a little.

In other news, I finally got to wear one of the outfits Boy's mom gifted me for my birthday last June to  Ganpati with Boy's family last weekend (I love getting clothes for my birthday).  The photo was taken with my phone, and I didn't have time to re-shoot it for a proper outfit post. Because that meant changing out of pajamas and showering, which would obviously disrupt my efficiency in making all these bags...

Good news! I've managed to bribe convince Boy's mom to prepare all our meals for our entire stay in Chicago (they live in Chicago). How did I negotiate such awesomeness? Holding her son hostage. Ah, leverage. Essential in times of need[ing home cooked Indian food].

See you soon, Chicago!

Pajamas and Heels

Bag: Mini Ruche in Coffee Bean Leather

Top: American Eagle via TJ Maxx

Leggings: Lamixx*

Heels: Aldo

You guys.

I cleared out one of the windowsills in our apartment because I had this idea to do a fancy high-fashion photo shoot while posing with six-inch heels and a bag and let the light shine through my semi-see-through top. I was going to be a sexy goddess. It was a genius plan.

Except. Body Pump class killed me.

I have been limping for the past two days, and I can hardly lift my arms above chest-level. I already had a hard time getting dressed, so when the heels went on, immediately my gluts were like, "Oh nu uh girlfriend, I don't think so. Sit back down, sista!" (Because my butt cheeks talk and all.)

So I sat.

On Boy's big comfy reading chair.

I'm sure he will kill me when he sees that I dug my heels in his chair. But my quads were really sore and I couldn't keep my legs (which were six inches longer than normal thanks to the heels) up high enough. Sorry babe! I love you! ;)

The things I do for a good photo shoot.

Though if you're wondering, I did wear this outfit, but with flats. Like. Really. Comfy. Flats.



Besides the heels, the outfit feels like pajamas.

Love!

*If you haven't noticed already, I own practically everything from Lamixx. I even have a section in my closet dedicated to Jacqueline's clothing line.