shout out for Jess LC

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Valentines Day: Cooking Classes

The romantic candlelit setting.

I return back to the jewelry studio tired but with a smile on my face from all the fun I had this weekend. My boyfriend, Erwin, is very thoughtful and romantic- which means Valentine's Day at our "house" (really, it's more of a tiny studio than a house) is always an adventure. This year was no exception.

For weeks leading up to February 14th, I desperately tried to guess what he had planned. I had convinced myself that he got us tickets to one of those big boat dinner cruises that go around the lake and you stare at the Chicago skyline. But I was wrong.

At 6:00PM on Valentine's night we pulled up to Kendall College. Somewhere online he had found a Valentine's Day couples cooking class. I was surprised and very excited; cooking has become a hobby of mine in the last few months. The class was structured so that a chef taught everyone how to prepare a six course meal, then it was up to the cooking couples to prepare the dishes, and later head up to a fancy dining area to enjoy our hard work.

Ahem, never thought I would post a picture with a chef hat.
Our workstation had pre-measured ingredients.

Needless to say, the meal was amazing and I am completely impressed that the dishes were fancy and easy to make. Over the next week or so I will post one recipe at a time so that you may follow along and recreate the dishes yourself. I promise that they are all simple but look very impressive when served. I also definitely recommend checking out Kendall's other "Spice Up Your Life" cooking classes - next on my list is learning to frost floral cake decorations!

The dining area where we ate our "hearts" out and met some great people.

off the chain update: 1,000 pounds of thanks

As you can imagine with this year's economy, many people have asked me how Jess LC is fairing. I understand their concern and I can say, that thanks to all of you, our online sales have seen an incredible increase! INCREDIBLE!

If you told me last August what kind of traffic and response we would get from online sales and retail orders in 2009, I would have fainted. I am humbled and thankful that so many people have purchased, referred, volunteered, spread the word, and supported Jess LC overall. Though our distribution in boutiques is substantial, the orders we get from readers has seen an unbelievable spike. UNBELIEVABLE!

Thank you. A ton.

post its: a few blogs that caught my eye

Welcome to a new end of the week segment, Post Its.* My intention is to make my last entry each week a compilation of posts worth a virtual Post-It-Note, across many different blogs.

Get your creative hat on.

The coolest chalkboard art. Ever.

Cheerful photographs.

Cookies with charm.

Super cool + cheap Valentine's Day project.

My next recipe to try.

Have a great weekend! And may February 14th be just as you like it.


*Obviously, I am not sponsored by 3M and the Post-It-Note subsidiary in any way. I use the name simply because it has become a generic term and the play on words pseudo-clever.
[Photo by Rachel at Heart of Light]

end of the week exfoliation

Exfoliating objects from one's life is like exfoliating one's face. The process is not as pretty as the results. Today is no exception. This water bottle is ugly, cheap, unused, and has sat in my cabinet for over a year now. Why I have allowed it to remain amongst my belongings for this long remains a mystery even to me. Another one bites the dust.*


*By dust I mean recycling.

treat of the week: molly's cupcakes

Treat of the week: another feature which will post weekly, or as often as my photo taking diligence allows. Since my infamous Quantum Wellness Cleanse, I have decided to continue treating myself to decadent desserts once a week. Here is what my friend Kaitlyn and I dined on last night at Molly's Cupcakes, at 2536 N. Clark St.

the mixed berry purple frosting cupcake in the top row will be my next cupcake from Molly's

my cinnamon roll cupcake, oozing with frosting

Kaitlyn's Ron Bennington cupcake

intentional obsession: farmers market bicycle

In the depths of January I mentioned that I desperately wanted the Gary Fisher Simple City bicycle. Since that post, two events have occurred.

The first fleeting interaction I had with an actual Simple City bike was through the Johnny Sprockets window, "conveniently" on my daily path to ship FedEx orders. The Simple City bicycle in the window was white and yellow-y mint green; perhaps some throwback color to a strange floral print in the 50's or bad shag carpet in the 60's. The color was hideous and my urge to get the bike vanished. My wallet heaved a sigh of relief.
The second encounter was not so budget friendly. The store has since replaced the offensive green and white bicycle* with a beautiful popcorn cream Simple City with white basket (pictured). It is darling. It is still expensive.

The drama continues.


*Note: When referring to a $969 piece of art, one cannot even consider using the word "bike" - ever noticed that?