May 6

Puerto Nariño & the Amazon Part 1.

We were in Colombia for 13 days, which was plenty of time to squeeze in a trip to the rainforest. After a short plane ride from Bogotá to Leticia, we scurried to the dingy port where a sketchy looking lady sold us seats on a sketchy looking motor boat.  We sped along the Amazon River for hours, got off at a small port, got on an even smaller boat, and eventually wound up at the Cabañas del Friar where we were greeted by a couple nice people and a smorgasbord of really hilarious animals.

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CLICK HERE for more photos from this entry!

Posted by Jen at 5:00 pm — 1 comment
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May 6

Puerto Nariño & the Amazon Part 2.

When we weren’t socializing with forest animals, we would walk to nearest pueblo, Puerto Narino. It’s an ecological community of about 6,000 indigenous people and zero motor vehicles. The epic rains caused heavy flooding so the young people spent every afternoon playing water basketball and sloshing around in the muddy waters.

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All the sidewalks were flooded so they set up an extensive zigzag of planks along the water front.

pin it!We were only 3 of maybe 10 tourists in Puerto Narino so it was surprisingly hard to find restaurants  that would feed us. Every time we walked into what appeared to be a food establishment, someone would say that the cook went home, or we came too late, or they weren’t really open. Fortunately, we found a fellow named Alfredo who had a river-front restaurant, and since we were his only customers, we deemed him our personal chef. Everyday we would stop by, tell him what time we wanted to eat, and we’d come back a couple hours later to elaborate home made meals with endless fresh lemonade. All for about $3.50!

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CLICK HERE for more photos from this entry!

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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.

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By Peter Park

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

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Kristen Adams’
cards were so creative and amazing!

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

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These are some of the cards I made.

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Posted by Jen at 11:02 am — 5 comments
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Jan 28

I Love City Snow.

I was in sunny San Francisco when the first blizzard of the season hit NYC. I love a good snowstorm, so I hoped for another one, and it finally came. It snowed all night, so the first thing I did in the morning was run to my kitchen window to see how many recognizable forms had been transformed into amorphous marshmallows.

The entire backyard was completely white, and the only movement came from birds fluttering and bouncing comically from flimsy branch to flimsy branch. The sun was doing that crazy thing where it peeks through the clouds and it looks as though Jesus himself is shining a light on Brooklyn.

With all signs of hazardous weather in the past, I armed myself with  3 cameras (4 if you include my phone) and ventured out into the wintery abyss. I had never seen city snow like this, and I think it made everyone feel like a kid again. Neighbors were chatting and joking while shoveling the sidewalks and stoops. Kids in giant puffy jackets were shoving handfuls of snow into their mouths. And then there were puppies. Oh god, I don’t think there’s anything I love more than dogs frolicking in the snow. I’m not sure if it’s me projecting my joy upon them, but they look SO damn happy.

I need to stop smiling. My face is starting to hurt.

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The view from my kitchen.

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On the roof.

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Overheard neighbors chatting.
“After I finish this sidewalk, I have to find a way to dig my car out.”
“Oh man that sucks. Which car is yours?”
“Not sure.”

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I’m so not afraid of you.

pin it!I think it would be fun to make little snow men with fruit faces on your friends’ stoops or in really awkward places throughout the city.

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I think I’m becoming a pancake person.

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Fort Greene Park was a wonderland. People of all ages came with their toboggans, trash can lids, cross-country skis, and cafeteria trays to slide down that little hill.

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This is Shoko! He is the protector of Adelphi Street.

Posted by Jen at 3:49 pm — 1 comment
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?!!

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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.

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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
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