Happy Birthday, Chris!

In true little sister fashion, I post a picture where I look adorable and my brother isn't ready for the camera.

You're welcome.

Bah!

Your annoying little sister

Sir Hubert by Clair Hartmann

Amidst the hectic pre-fall preparation for the shop (hence my absence from the blogging scene), I was happy to find a special something in my inbox on this fine Monday morning.



I told you that I've always wanted a distinguished pug with a top hat.  

Clair Hartmann made it happen. (See the painting up close here in her shop.)

Monday morning has been made, my friends.

Love,
Jenny

p.s. Speaking of pre-fall preparation, I have a surprise for you on Wednesday.  Actually, two surprises.  If you've been following my Facebook page, you'll have an idea of what's coming.

Friday: Link Love

I'm ending this week by writing this blog post standing.  I'm not showing off or anything.  My butt is sore from yoga that it hurts to sit.  Fortunately, I stand for most of my work (except the sewing part), so 'tis just a minor problem. 

'Nuff butt my problems.  Let's get to some fun links around the inter web things.


Musical wine glasses (just fill and play)!

I'm not yet 30, but my friend circle is not quite what it used to be.

Cute type faces.

I need these double agent shoes.

Not your typical wevther forecast.

Stanley (the interactive piano) takes requests via Twitter. 

Perfume for book lovers.

Feel the (phantom) vibration!

Trying to live by this aesthetic.

Fun road trip game: eat the cars passing by.

Boxing kitten.

Pantone flesh tones.


Happy Friday!

Jenny

Shop Update: Blush Rose Pink

I just can't help myself.

I know super girly pinks don't fly off the shelves like browns and neutrals, but I picked up a pretty pretty pink leather anyway (and made it into a humongous bag).  I'm a rebel. 

I thought I was going to endure another lecture from Boy on inventory management and profit optimization yadda yadda blah blah, but instead, I got deep sigh when I showed him the new leather.  

The girl's gonna get what she wants.  Whether he likes it or not, you see. 

Plus, this bag is super adorable.

Can you imagine carrying this around as a baby bag for a baby girl?

OMG.  So cute.

Also available in the Baby Ruche.  :)

p.s.  When I showed Boy the finished bags, he actually really liked them.  One must learn to trust his wife's judgement on leathers. 

Meetup: Pug Luau

Saturday, we went to the Pittsburgh Pug Meetup Luau.

Hubert had a ball.

As you can see.

See more pictures from that day on my Flickr.

(He's wearing his Silly Buddy bowtie and it was a hit!)  

Cocktail Hour: Gentleman's Martini

Boy and I have been dabbling into cocktail making and dranking lately.  (Boy makes, I drank.)  :)

This inspired a new segment "Cocktail Hour", where Boy will share some of his tasty alcoholic concoctions while I drink (and take pictures).   I'll let Boy take it from here.



When Jenny and I first met three years ago, we had almost nothing in common.  One thing that we did share was our taste in alcohol - unfortunately we also shared our drinking palates with most cartoon pirates. 

But, as we have grown in our relationship and our waistlines, we have made an effort to change the way we enjoy our drinks.  Nowadays, we find that having a good time makes us want to share a drink with our friends and family, and I thought I'd share one of our favorite drinks with all of you.  It reminds us of everything that's good about the summer this year. 

The Gentleman's Martini is our take on the bartender's classic Manhattan.  This drink brings out the woodiness of a good Bourbon, entices your olfactory senses with aromatic bitters, and reminds you that "amore" is in the air this summer with the bittersweet after-taste of amaretto.

2oz Bourbon - we use Woodford Reserve
1/2oz Amaretto
1/2oz Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes of your favorite aromatic bitters - we use Angostura

Serve shaken.

Have one on us, and let us know how you like it.

Cheers!

Jenny & Boy

Sunday Park Day

I love park days with my boys.  Mainly for the picture-taking.  :)
 


Happy Monday!

Love,
Jenny

p.s. Another park day session.

Friday: Link Love

Boy did this week fly by.

Temperatures in Pittsburgh have been in the 90s all week (I know, it's hotter everywhere else in the world; I'm being a wuss).   I think I've gotten so acclimated to the colder weather than when temperatures reach above 70F, I'm already breaking a sweat and complaining. 

Enough of my whining.  Let's look at some cool links from around the interwebs!


Do you hate Comic Sans font?  These people don't. 

Really wicked wicker furniture.

Brilliant idea for closet storage!

Super cute pug print.

Paint swatch wall.  Now to go to Home Depot for swatches...

Why women still can't have it all.

Freak out your friends with a wig of your own hair. 

No coaster needed when you have a floating mug!

Lego bridge.

This would be fun for practicing dunks.


Happy weekend!

Love,
Jenny

Happy July 4th

You probably remember this picture.

Yeah.  I couldn't help but resurface a photo from my youth for the sake of Independence Day.

Happy Fireworks!

Love,
Jenny

Hey Ombre

Over the 4 years of making leather bags, I've used a lot of different leathers.

And I've accumulated lots and lots of scraps.

I strive to minimize as much waste as possible in my business (and in my every day life --you should see what dishes I can come up with using leftovers and assorted pantry materials).

A few months ago, I tackled the task of organizing my 6 storage boxes of leather scraps by color.  You know, for fun and hopefully to inspire a new project.

You can imagine how many shades of each color I've worked with if you've been following my shop from the beginning.  It was obviously time for an ombre project!

Here they are:  3 one-of-a-kind Mini Ruche bags in Rose, Green, and Ocean Ombre. 

These were made with the largest of my scraps (which are very rare and took quite some time to find enough to make these three bags).

I have to admit, these were extremely time consuming.  From conception to finished product, these occupied a large chunk of time in between sewing orders.

While you shouldn't expect to see my shop filled with these projects, every once in a while, you can expect something unexpected.  :)

Love,
Jenny

Hubert and the Playground

Remember when Boy gifted me a month of unlimited Bikram yoga?

I've definitely been successfully attending 3-4 classes/week and I'm loving it!

Boy times his gym schedule to overlap the end of my yoga class so that I can go home and have disrupted time in the kitchen to prepare dinner.  Then he arrives just when I'm done cooking.  It's kind of awesome.  So glad to be on a schedule.  I love routine.

Sadly, Hubert has been left to a sedentary lifestyle. When we come back from our workout outs, we end up lounging on the couch to eat dinner and watch TV. (See Hubert watching TV like a lazy bum.)

However.  Lately, we've decided to take our Pug kid to the nearby playground after dinner (when other human kids aren't around) for some exercise.

After three minutes of crying and being a wuss about going through the plastic tunnel, Hubert finally went through and then enjoyed running back and forth thereafter.  He's a pro now, don't worry.

(See, sometimes kids just need a little push... literally).

Now we all get our exercise. :)

So, what have we all learned here?

1. Boy and I may or may not be bullies.

2. Going to the park with Hubert may or may not be more fun than watching TV.

3. We may or may not have made Hubert climb stairs, run through a tunnel, walk across a rickety bridge and slide down a windy slide.  He may or may not have been excited for another round afterward.

4.  Hubert may or may not have passed out from exhaustion after these playground nights.