Top 10…TV shows

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Top 10 (1)

in no particular order…if you have any suggestions, please share!

  1. Breaking Bad – a chemistry teacher who makes meth to pay for his cancer treatments, that’s just the beginning of an intriguing series.
  2. Arrested Development – This is truly a series I could watch over and over. This comedy follows a family in Orange County, the “OC” – but don’t call it that.
  3. The Office – especially the earlier seasons with Steve Carrell. I feel like most people have seen this mockumentary series and can all relate to exciting days in an office 😉
  4. Freaks and Geeks- set in the early 80s and follows two groups of high school kids – the ‘freaks’/misfits and the ‘geeks’/nerds. Sadly, is only one series but I’ve re-watched it countless times.
  5. The Walking Dead– It’s more than the  zombie apocalypse! There’s enough characters you come to love that you become attached to the show, although slow at times.
  6. Downton Abbey – a period drama set in England, early 1900s. I loved the clothing and proper behaviors, ha, ha
  7. 30 Rock – created by and starring Tina Fey. What more needs to be said? It’s a comedy that’s for sure
  8. Better Call Saul – a spin off of one of the characters from Breaking Bad. Very well written, directed and intriguing to see the background of Saul Goodman.
  9. Veep – a political satire with Julia Louis-Dreyfus where she is the VP of the US.
  10. Parks and Recreation – similar style to ‘The Office’ starring Amy Poehler.

 

A random, totally weird fact about me and TV: I can’t watch shows that have laugh tracks. I feel like it makes it less funny and too forced.

Portland: City Spotlight

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Since one of my favorite things to do is travel, this series will spotlight cities I love and also destination cities – a brief summary of things to see, do and eat!

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I’d been fascinated with Portland for a while before we actually went last fall. My husband and I also love the TV series Portlandia 🙂

See and Do

We both loved Cannon Beach, where the famous Haystack Rock is found. We lucked out and were there during a low tide so we could see the tidepools and walk basically all the way out to the rock!

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Multnomah Falls is even more beautiful than the pictures! It’s a short drive from downtown Portland and is not a long hike. We only went up midway but it was a pretty easy, paved trail.

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Tillamook Cheese factory, about an hour west of downtown Portland, is great for adults and kids alike. They offer tours, delicious cheese samples and my favorite part, the ice cream!

Crater Lake – about 4 hours south of downtown, but worth the drive! We went in a non peak season and basically had the place to ourselves! There’s a short hike down to the lake and they have boat tours (we didn’t do one though). You can drive the loop around the lake with lots of viewpoints – it’s very beautiful if you have the time to drive out there!

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While this isn’t a full travelogue, I of course wanted to include a few of the amazing places we ate at because 1) I love food! and 2) a cool thing about visiting new cities is trying new restaurants!

Eat

Voodoo Donuts and Blue Star Donut – apple fritters are my favorite donuts and I was beyond excited to try these places! Voodoo had more novelty donuts and crazy flavors while blue star had more classic and gourmet flavors. I loved both places!

Salt & Straw – between here and the Tillamook ice cream, I feel like we ate best ice cream in the country! I tried the ‘Oregon Rocky Road’ and it was probably my favorite ice cream ever, no exaggeration!

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photo from Yelp

Piazza Italia – both the food and the decor were awesome!

Image-1Check out this amazing 10 day road trip from Kansas to Denver including the beautiful the Pacific Northwest! She included lots of good food places, which is something I always look for on trips 🙂

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What’s in a name?

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So where on earth did the name ‘Jam Tart‘ come from?!

After completing undergrad degrees in Utah, my husband got an internship in Edinburgh, Scotland with the Scottish Parliament. It was the most magical few months of our lives! We absolutely fell in love with the city, people and culture. Scotland is extremely beautiful – green, rolling hills, ocean breeze, new and modern buildings, historical buildings and castles, bagpipes, tartan, awesome accents and friendly people.

One of the local soccer teams is ‘Heart of Midlothian‘ and one of their nicknames is ‘Jam Tarts’. So the name was born from my love and passion for soccer and Edinburgh.

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH
Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

St. Margaret’s Loch, Edinburgh

 Holga photo by me 

Top 10…realistic baby purchases

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Top 10

Thought I’d share a few baby products I loved with my two kids. Like most new parents, we registered for a lot of items that we didn’t end up using much – oops!

  1. Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag – I went through a few diaper bags before finally spending the money to buy this bag! It has a full zip and an awesome amount of pockets (perfect for bottles, keys, changing pad, and I always like an exterior pocket for trash). They occasionally have outlet sales too! Another thing I loved is that it can be worn on the shoulder OR as a backpack – especially awesome when you have two little kids and need both hands!

petunia2. Boppy nursing pillow – perfect size, removable cover for easy washing

boppy3. car seat clip in stroller – allows you to easily put a sleeping baby in the stroller without unbuckling the straps. The particular one we got was super easy to fold the frame to put in the trunk.

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4. Halo swaddle – a lot of people like the Aden and Anais brand swaddle, which we also liked, but like that these swaddles could be a little more snug

5. Halo sleep sack – after ‘graduating’ from the swaddle, we used this sleep sack which is basically a wearable blanket.

6. BOB double jogging stroller – This stroller is really awesome – super durable, easy to use, easy to fold and store up. Both kids are really comfortable and secure in 3 point belts and the covers fold down half way to shield from rain or sun.

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7. White noise machine – we have loved these to help our babies nap well during the day and sleep well, especially with outside noises, lawn mowers, our dog, etc.

8. pack and play with bassinet and changing table – this one was the perfect size to fit in our room with newborns.

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9. Dr. Brown’s bottles – these have a filter which are supposed to help babies eliminate extra air swallowed (which can cause gas).

10. Baby Bjorn – great for carrying a newborn facing you and then forward facing when they’re a little bigger

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Any must-have baby items you’d add?

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All made up

~ jen ~ 2 Comments

I’m always curious what kind of make up other girls use, so I thought I’d share some of my favorites. I feel like it’s taken me years to find a look that only takes 10 minutes and feels natural for my style! And as you’ll see, I’m a Clinique fan 😉

Any recommendations or makeup products you can’t live without? Please share!

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Top 10…wanderlust

~ jen ~ 5 Comments

After living in a variety of places from San Diego to Guatemala city to Scotland and the East Coast, my desire to see the world has only increased tenfold. I’m in a constant state of wanderlust, and dreaming of all the amazing places. Here’s my current top 10 travel wishes of places I haven’t been to:

  1. Iceland
  2. Thailand
  3. India
  4. Spain
  5. Morocco
  6. Italy
  7. Greece
  8. New Zealand
  9. Alaska
  10. France

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iceland via pinterest

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hello

~ jen ~ 4 Comments

Welcome to Jam Tart Boutique, the blog and the shop – where like a boutique you’ll find a little bit of everything good –  top 10 lists, travel, fitness, food, fashion, family, sports, photography, etc. I’ll also be posting occasional shop updates and new products and spotlighting other shops I love.