It brings you back.

Hey there Loves, hope you are having a great day! Thanks to technology I was able to enjoy my morning coffee while watching the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief. I love the ability to DVR!

I will be honest when I say, some parts of the concert weren't easy to watch because as I sat in my flat in France, the television was showing devastating pictures of my hometown. I was born and raised in Staten Island, one of the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.

When Sandy hit I watched from afar, feeling so helpless as my family and friends suffered from its aftermath. It wasn't until two weeks later when I returned to New York for a short trip that I got to see with my own eyes what this natural disaster did to my home. It was overwhelmingly heartbreaking, I am a mush to begin with but when I saw parts of my community in ruins, it crippled me. There were numerous moments while I was driving in my car through my hometown that tears started streaming down my face as I saw houses destroyed and cars flattened from fallen trees. This has to be a dream? You never think that something of this magnitude could happen to your home, but it can and it did.

It's going to be a long time before our Staten Island and beloved Jersey Shore are back to normal and last night's concert definitely shed light on that. Hopefully the concert raised a ton of money and people will get the help they need.

The concert had quite the lineup, I looked over to Kyle and said,"These are all of my favorite artists!" Because with each song performed I was taken back to a particular memory and they all took place in Staten Island or the Jersey Shore. It's where we grew up, where we live during Kyle's offseason and where we plan on raising our family when Kyle's playing days are over.

Isn't Music Amazing? The power it has to bring you right back to a particular place and time in your life. Here are some of my favorite memories that come back when I heard some of the songs performed last night.

Bruce Springstein's Born to Run took me back to my days at University Basketball Camp, every summer from age 6 to 14. I looked forward to camp not only to play basketball but because every morning during warmups Bruce would be blasting and I loved it.

The Who's Teenage Wasteland takes me to the start of the very first half marathon I ever ran. It was in Brooklyn and this song came on as I was running along the boardwalk in Coney Island, at that moment I felt like a badass, I was running 13.1 miles and I didn't tell anyone I was doing it. I told my mother the morning of the race that I was going to Brooklyn to watch the race, when in fact I signed up for it. It is something I will never forget and hearing that song brings me right back.

Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer brings me back to my days running for St. John Villa Academy and being on the track. Like clockwork, halfway through our team workout one of the girls would scream out, "Oh, we're half way there!"and we'd follow by singing, "Oh, living on a prayer." It got us through the hard workouts every time.

Oh Kanye! I love your music, but as a current student at F.I.T. that kilt was a fashion don't! But your song Jesus Walks had me back in my silver Honda Civic when I first got my license and I drove around like a little punk, windows down, blasting College Dropout.

All of Billy Joel's songs take me to one of my favorite places in the world Long Beach Island, New Jersey. I hear his songs and I am right back in our summer rental, with my family, dancing around, singing his songs, enjoying a few beers and just being so happy to be together enjoying the simplicity that is Long Beach Island. I know one day we will all be back there, enjoying Billy's songs and that makes me smile.

Chris Martin (I Love You!) singing Viva la Vida, brings me back to Spring/Summer 2008 when I met Kyle and we were starting something new and unknown. Coldplay and that album hold such a special place in my heart, which is why we have chosen one of their songs as our wedding song.

Lastly is Paul McCartney, whose voice I grew up listening to. His songs, along with his songs with the Beatles take me back to so many different memories, that I'd be here all day writing. However, I will share one with you, hearing him sing Blackbird takes me to Sundays in Staten Island, waking up early getting in my car, driving up Forest Avenue to Starbucks, getting my coffee all while listening to Breakfast with the Beatles. It's something so simple, but it is something that I live for doing each weekend.

These are all beautiful memories to me and it's good to know that all I have to do is listen to a song and I can go back in time to those moments, they never leave you.

Season's Greetings.

Ever since we got our golden retriever Wooden,  I have been obsessed with taking pictures of him. He makes it very easy because a. he is so stinking cute and b. he is very cooperative. Wood loves being the center of attention, what a ham!

With each Holiday I have the habit of sending family members cards with Wooden sporting some sort of costume. Kyle always rolls his eyes and says, "Poor pup!" Especially after the costume I put on Wooden this past Halloween. I figured we should show everyone how much we love France, so I dressed him up as a Frenchy. I will admit, even though Wooden posed for me, he didn't look to happy.

So for our Christmas card this year, I decided to go a little more low key. A simple Christmas bow would have to do, both Wooden and Kyle seemed happy with the choice. But after snapping a few shots, something was indeed missing! Thank goodness I brought back some props from the United States, a nice pair a reindeer antlers for Wooden to rock.

I placed the antlers on his head and he just looked up at me. I laughed because he looked so miserable that it was actually cute. I only took a few photos before he took the antlers off himself. Thank you Wooden for being such a good sport, it is much appreciated! And a warning to my unborn children, wait until I get to dress you up!

Such a nobel shot. The winning shot for our Christmas Card.

HAHA, he reminds me of Max from The Grinch here.

He looks so happy here, don't you think?

Wooden in his Halloween Costume.

Notes: Be sure to check out IG now through Friday, enter for your chance to win any Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes Skreened Shop Tee! To see Giveaway details check me out @megmccarrick 

The Holiday

Happy Tuesday Beautiful People! Hope the start of your week went off without a hitch. It is a chilly day here in Limoges and I am throughly enjoying my coffee this morning. I am excited because today Kyle and I will do some Christmas shopping and we will pick out our Christmas tree. I am hoping we don't have any problems like "The Crash of 2011", I will keep my fingers crossed.

In keeping up with Christmas traditions, Kyle and I watched one of our favorite Christmas flicks last night, The Holiday. I don't know why I love this movie but I can tell you that it did solidify my love for Kyle. Join me on this little trip down memory lane.

It was back in 2008, I was in South Bend visiting Kyle at University. We were in bed, I was asleep until Kyle was nudging me to wake up, I looked at him and then my phone, which read that it was 2:00a.m., was the apartment on fire or something. Why would he wake me up when I was dreaming of sugar plum fairies or something like that. Well to my surprise, Kyle woke me up to tell me that The Holiday was on television and he wanted me to watch it with him.

I looked at him a moment more and just smiled, what 21 year old guy, college student, star of an athlete loves The Holiday? Well it happened to be the guy laying next to me and that made me fall in love with him even more. I tried my hardest to stay up to watch with him, but soon fell back asleep.

A few weeks later on Christmas, my mother gave Kyle a gift, a copy of The Holiday on DVD so we could watch it whenever we wanted to. Now it has become a tradition not to watch in until after Thanksgiving, it has become one of my favorite things to do during the holiday season. I love to curl up next to my fiancé and watch a movie that takes me back to such a great memory.

Notes: Be sure to check me out on instagram @megmccarrick,  today starts the Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes Skreened Shop T-Shirt Giveaway! Don't miss your chance to win the JTTC's Skreened Shop Tee of your Choice!

Christmassy Spirit.

Hello Lovers, Happy Tuesday! Hope you are doing well, enjoying the Holiday Season with family and friends. I am currently in France, spending my first Christmas season abroad. I am a little sad that I won't be with Kyle's and my family, but it is really important to Kyle and I that we are together on Christmas.

With that said, my mission this December is to make our flat in Limoges feel just like home, making sure we keep up with some family holiday traditions. There are three boxes from the United States making their way to our place, filled with little things that will help us get into the Christmas Spirit. I have to say Limoges does do a great job of getting Kyle and I feeling Christmassy, their downtown is lit up like a winter wonderland, so beautiful.

While I was home in New York, I saved my Starbucks cups (Cleaning them of course.) and brought some back with me, along with a few pounds of their ground coffee. I thought it would make both Kyle and I feel like we weren't missing out on our beloved Starbucks, and the Christmas cups really make me smile.

As I always say, it really is the little things in life that can turn any ordinary day into an extraordinary day.

Enjoying our coffee. 

It Feels good to be back to blogging, to be honest I needed a little break because my  T-Shirt shop has really taken off, which is a good thing but it took me away from my daily posts. If you would like to check out my shop which bears the same name as here click the link JeansTeesTravelCakes Skreened Shop .

I also run a monthly T-Shirt Giveaway on Instagram! So if you would like the chance to win a sweet tee of your choice follow me on IG @megmccarrick. December's Giveaway starts tomorrow!

Have an amazing day!

November 6th.

As I sit here in my apartment in France on this sixth day of November, I can't help but be nervous about what the seventh day of November will have waiting for me. Today is a big day for America an election that will indeed show which direction we as Americans want our great nation to go.

We all have our reasons why we cast our ballots for a particular person or party. It's our right as Americans to do so and I respect the opinions of my fellow citizens even if they are opposite of mine.

Kyle and I have been following this election very closely, and it seems that no matter how hard we try not to talk about politics it always finds its way into the conversation. We both lean to the side of the Democratic Party.  Each having our own reasons why, Kyle's concerns mostly focus on healthcare and national security. As my concerns also include healthcare and national sercurity, my main concern is civil rights.

 I believe that no matter your sex, your race, your creed or who you love should have any effect on what rights you should have as an American. I mean because aren't "all men created equal", sadly some don't believe that to be true. I fear that if President Obama isn't relected our progressive country will take a major step backwards. We've made so much progress in the last four years when it comes to these simple rights.

Over dinner one night I said to Kyle, "I can't imagine having a son or daughter denied their rights as an American simply because of who they love." It simply boggles my mind and no matter what you believe in, I think we all want our children to grow up treated equally.

I don't know if it was growing up in New York City, where my parents taught my siblings and I to open our minds to everything. I don't know if it was working in Manhattan for seven years, working with people of all races, friends that were gay, straight, bisexual, they were all the same to me, they are my friends. I never judged, I was taught as a Catholic to love thy neighbor. I don't know if it's been Kyle and I living all over Europe the last three years, seeing that no matter where you come from, everyone is just trying to get by. Maybe it's a combination of all three that makes me think the way I do and makes me feel so strongly when it comes to the topic of civil rights.

So today I chose Obama, maybe he will be victorious perhaps he won't. The outcome will never change my view. I believe in forward thinking, I believe in hope for my children who yet to exsist, that they will be allowed the same rights as their fellow Americans. I believe in helping people who are sturggling and that if I make a little more money then some, maybe I can give a little more back to my country to make it a great country, better than it already is.

I've seen over the past week in my hometown of Staten Island, which was devastated by hurricane Sandy, how everyone came together no matter what their differances are and helped each other. That's America, that's what we are about, helping people who need it. Strangers helping strangers, how beautiful! That's what it is all about.

Note: I just want to thank Kyle for putting up with me the last few months, especially while watching the debates. He had to calm me down on more than one occasion and he still wants to marry me. What a keeper!

Pinteresting Finds.

It's been awhile since I posted an edition of Pinteresting Finds. As you know, I am a huge fan of Pinterest, I am always going on the site to get ideas for just about anything. I have to say that having Pinterest while living abroad has been a lifesaver, helping me discover great D.I.Y's, recipes and style tips.

Here are a few Pins that have been inspiring me as of late! What's your favorite section on Pinterest?

Infinity tattoo, I absolutely love! Board: Stuff I Love, Love, Love

Love the Boho Bun and it is so simple to do! Board: Beauty

A yummy super easy treat! Frozen Banana and Peanut Butter! Board: Foodie Fun

The sexiest thing a girl can wear; Jeans and a Fresh Tee! Board: Fashion Snapshots

I love quotes that make my heart melt and I love Johnny Cash.  Board: Quotes I Dig

Must make these! Ferraro Roche Cupcakes, YUMMY! Board: Foodie Fun

Love this look, leather and chambray! Board: Fashion Snapshots

This photo reminds me of life in Limoges, lots of rain and plenty of coffee! Board: Stuff I Love, Love, Love

Catching Up

Hello there, my beautiful Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes readers! I am mucho sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been working really hard on my new little business, which I'll tell you more about in a little bit, and I'm also back in school, so papers and reading about Fashion forecasting has been consuming my life as of late. I guess being busy is a good thing but I've missed writing to you. So I've made a promise to myself to get back on the blog train and post, post, post! So with that said, this is what has been going on in my life lately.

I got PICKPOCKETED!

Kyle and I were enjoying a beautiful day in Limoges by going to the center of the city and having a drink outside. It was such a nice afternoon UNTIL two girls approached our café table, I have seen this before in Paris and immediately Kyle and I said no to whatever they were trying to offer us, we knew they were Gypsies and were trying to pickpocket. Well they succeeded, in the midst of us saying no to one of the girls, the other girl successfully stole my cell phone! Which I didn't realize until a minute later when they already disapeared into the crowded city streets. I looked at Kyle and said, "my cell phone is gone." Kyle went to look for them but no luck, tears welled up in my eyes.

When something is stolen from you especially a cell phone, you feel so vulnerable and on top of that we weren't home, we are in France, so I couldn't just go to the nearest AT&T store and tell them my predicament. But thank goodness for technology, the iphone was immediately erased from our computer and AT&T blocked any further use, so the phone was now junk, TAKE THAT THEIVES! My new phone is on its way from the States and should be here in a few days.

T-Shirts, T-Shirts, T-Shirts!

As I mentioned a few posts back, I opened my own little T-Shirt shop on Skreened and I am so proud to say it has really taken off. My first month  of sales has really shocked me, who knew people loved cupcakes, coffee and wine as much as I do, so much so that they want to show the world by wearing it on a T-Shirt. Seeing my designs splashed all over Pinterest by strangers is very surreal and to know that people all over the United States and abroad will be wearing my creations is an awesome feeling.

Below are some of the Shop's Best Sellers, stop by the shop and let me know what you think. If you are to purchase a tee and have instagram make sure you post a picture in your new tee and hashtag #jeansteestravelcakes so I can put you up on the site!

The T-Shirt Shop's Hottest Seller Coffee, Cupcakes, Wine

Popular Tee over on the Wedding Shop

Merry Christmas ya filthy animal over at the Holiday Shop

Wine Makes Me Smile, this is a hit over on the Makes Me Smile Shop

Note:
Every month the T-Shirt Shop will run a tee giveaway on instagram, be sure to follow me @megmccarrick to stay up to date and have a chance of winning the T-Shirt of your choice.

Wedding Planning!

I keep asking Kyle if I should be more stressed out about our wedding. Everything is going so smoothly even as we plan from over here in France. I head to New York in two weeks where I will get some more stuff done.  It's been so much fun planning and I am really lucky to have a guy who is into the planning part of it, so I never feel like I am doing it alone. I also have to thank Pinterest, I don't know what brides did before it, there are so many great ideas on the site, it really gets my creative juices flowing.

So that's my life in a nutshell right now, no complaints except for the pickpocketing but other then that life is good! Our approach heading into this year overseas has made all the difference, we are focusing more and more on the little things in life, which makes us appreaciate this opportunity more and more.

Back at it.

It's been quite a few weeks since I went for a run and I believe I am suffering from withdrawels. I don't know what has kept me from running but it's time to get back at it. I've been researching different marathons I could run this upcoming year and after looking, I decided to register for the New Jersey Marathon. I've heard great things about this marathon, that it's a flat, fast course and you run along the Jersey Shore. (One of my favorite places on earth.)

So today after much time off, I will be lacing up my running shoes and hitting the pavement, hopefully I won't be to winded afterwards! It's never to late to set a goal and make a dream come true, you need to find things that you are passionate about because they make the other things you have to do in life worthwhile.

To help me get motivated for marathon training I've created some t-shirts that are available at the Skreened Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes Shop. These shirts give me that extra push I need to succeed.

Comfort Zone Sports Tank

T-Shirt Shop.

As a student of fashion, I've always has a tiny dream to sell something that I've created. Now I am a realist and I know I am never going to be Karl Lagerfeld or Ralph Lauren, I simply don't have that kind of talent, not even 1% of that talent. So I decided to start small and what better way then T-shirts! Especially having a blog with the word "Tees" in it, it was only natural.

Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes teamed up with Skreened a cool online T-shirt company and officially has it's own little T-shirt shop. This shop is inspired by the phrase,  "Live a little, be a risk taker, eat some cake." A phrase that I came up with in high school and delivered in my closing speech as school president, you can see I've always been a corny nerd. This T-shirt shop has Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes written all over it, in the literal sense where we actually sell logo tees and in the figurative sense, all the shirts are a little corny just like this blog.

There are a wide variety of T-shirts in the shop, for women, men, kids and baby, along with some cool tote bags. We have classic logo tees, humor, sports and college geared tees. All the items on the site are American Apparel based, I feel that it's important as an American to support American made products, so I'm proud to say all the tees and totes from the shop are made in the USA! New tees are up on the site weekly and if you have a special request, we can always make to order.

Check it out, by clicking the box below! I want to thank you ahead of time for taking the time to visit the shop and we would love your feedback.



Here are our current top sellers from the shop, it's good to know what people love in this world.

Classic Logo Tee 

Coffee, Cupcakes, Wine Tee

Dream Team Tee

Future Hipster Onesie

Namaste Tote

Jeans and Tees and Travel and Cakes T-Shirt Shop

fat bottom fridays... perfecting homemade pizza

now i don't know about you guys, but fridays in my house is movie and pizza night... it's something that i think me and my boys look forward to... its a chance to start the weekday wind-down...

 

 being a New Yorker i was always spoiled by amazingly delicious pizza... every New Yorker says it's one thing that makes the pizza, the artisan breads and the bagels stand way above the rest... the water... it has some sort of magical bread making property :)

so whats a Mainer to do... i guess, try my hardest to make some really good homemade pizza-pies to fulfill those cravings...

 so... i have been working with different kind of dough: simple 5 minute doughs (blaahhhh, they are tough and dull)... and dough's that need to rise 24 hours (i'm too impatient)... and then there is the standard 2 hour yeast doughs, now these are more my speed...

here is the recipe i have been using lately, it's not perfect but it's pretty darn good and easy to make...

basic pizza dough (makes a single pizza)
prep: 10 minutes  rise: 2 hours
ingredients:
1 cup warm water (about 110)
2 1/4 tsp (or one package) of active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
*sometimes i add a little garlic powder, maybe a little dried oregano to the dough

directions:
1. place water in a bowl and add the yeast (let it bloom for 5 minutes)
2. in a large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the sugar... make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture and the olive oil... with the dough hook attachment stir the dough until it comes together, adding in as much of the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, until the dough forms a ball
3. place the dough in lightly oiled bowl (turning over so the dough is coated with olive oil), and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until 2 hours
4. punch down the dough, place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into desired diameter and begin to assemble your pizza

 one of the things i like to do, is right before i put the pizza in the oven, i brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and maybe a bit of grated parmesan cheese... this makes an amazing almost breadstick like crust... my boys love it...
speaking of my boys, they are strictly plain cheese pizza guys... but i love anything on pizza... fresh spinach, red wine sauteed mushrooms and onions, zucchini... lots of fresh mozzarella cheese... or creamy melty goat cheese... the sky is the limit... and the pizza dough is the canvas

here are some of my culinary masterpieces... enjoy :)

 

 

until next week...mangia! mangia!

 

and don't forget to check me out over at fat bottom for more deliciousness :)

fat bottom friday... a fantastic flashback :)

hey everyone... how you doing? well, today i'm bringing you a pretty little melt-in-your mouth treat... vanilla macarons with strawberry mousse and chocolate ganache... mmmm... sweeeeet! these lovely ladies are as much as a feast for the eyes as they are for my tummy... bit sized pieces of heaven :)

like usual, i used my go-to macaron recipe that comes from the fantastic dessert queen, "tartelette"... her desserts and treats are just simply amazing, she's an artist... one day, maybe i'll be at that caliber... fingers crossed... :)

after the macaron shells were baked to perfection (look at those cute little feet and their little round tops... adorable!), it was time to fill them...so, i then made a simple dark, bittersweet chocolate ganache and a creamy strawberry mousse...

i never get tired of these sweet treats... they are a little time consuming, but you know what.. in the end, it's so worth it... enjoy :)

happy baking everyone!

Friday Favorites.

Hey there Loves, happy Friday! I can't believe this is the last week of September, it really blew by. I am looking forward to October, I love the crisp Fall air, it's perfect for running. Speaking of running, I decided that I will be running the New Jersey Marathon in May, I am itching to get another marathon under my belt and this one is really close to home so it's a win/win. And speaking of home aka New York, this week I booked a flight home and will be joining my family in November for Thanksgiving. Because of my Visa situation I can't stay in France for over 90 days at a time, so this trip home is a must. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and being able to get some wedding stuff done while I'm there.

It's been a pretty productive week, school has me busy and since I am going to run the NJ Marathon I began working out, building a base so I have a good marathon platform. I hope you had a great week as well, do something special for yourself this weekend, you deserve it! Here are some of my favorite things and moments from this last week in September.

I got to see Kyle back in action, I love watching this man play!

Enjoying a rainy day inside with Kyle, those are the best kind of days. 

Wooden greeting another English Golden on his daily walk around the neighborhood. 

This may be one of my favorite pictures of all time, celebrating Wooden's First Birthday. He had his own Pup Cake.

These guys complete me. 

First attempt at making cupcakes from scratch, I used the classic vanilla Magnolia recipe.