new ways to connect, read and follow.

well, hello again everyone. this is just a quick little note on where to find us these days, since, as you can plainly see, the blog has gotten a bit *ahem* dusty, to say the least:

• tommy is still frequently seen on twitter, using @tommypez rather than @jenandtommy these days.

• jen is less of an onlineophile, but she does have a twitter account that she occasionally updates: @jenmeyerart.

• jen is relaunching her Etsy store soon with a new line of prints, illustrations and paintings. for now, it's up and running with some previous stock, but you never know what she might be adding on any given day. her store name is: nspire.

• since tommy discovered tumblr and it's relative ease of use...compared with certain other blog hosting sites...he's been merrily posting away once again on his new personal blog packed with goodies, places and thoughts, called "Urban + Man = Urbman".

• another good way to contact us if you aren't on tumblr, twitter, etsy or facebook is just to leave a comment on this blog, any post will do. we get notifications to our email whenever that happens and can write back or answer any questions.

We're planning to move back to Miami from New England sometime in 2011, so we'll try to keep anyone who's interested up-to-date, but the methods listed above should be fairly active over the coming months. Hope everyone is having a great 2011 and is happy, healthy and prosperous.

Cheers!

jen + tommy :)

happy new year! 2011 update/2010 review

well, it's a new year once again; and, once again, we've gone through some dramatic changes this year...

we started out the year as vegetarians. new to the path, we were still living on cheese pizza and bean burritos much of the time. but as we started learning more about factory farms and dairys, we decided to completely eliminate all animal products from our diet - including dairy & eggs - and practice maintaining a fully vegan diet for all of 2010.

this turned out to be one of the best decisions we ever made, as not only did we feel 100% better physically, we also felt better emotionally and spiritually as well. though it may be nothing more than coincidence, ever since we went to visit the "hugging saint" Amma in summer of 2009, we felt some kind of heart opening that resulted in more compassion towards ALL living beings, so the vegan lifestyle, in retrospect, seems inevitable to us now.

we learned a ton of great info from books like The Kind Diet and websites like VeganCoach.com, and we've cooked at home more than ever before. as a result, i (tommy) lost over 30 lbs of fat and jen (with the addition of running daily) has lost nearly 50 lbs. another benefit is that when we experience a cold or sniffles, it now passes after only a day or two instead of dragging on over a week or more, like it used to when we were carnivores.

we also found out that probably some time in 2011 we will be moving back to Florida, specifically Miami, as my design business down there is flourishing and i'll need to be available to meet with clients in person more often - i've currently been flying down there every month for meetings, which is fun but can become tedious after awhile, so the move will give me greater flexibility. we've thoroughly enjoyed our time in new england, and we're both thrilled to have been given the opportunity to reconnect with jen's family out here, as well as forge new relationships with the many people we've met since we moved north back in 2008.

jen is about to complete one of her largest projects to date: "the sketchbook project: portsmouth". this project entails her filling an ENTIRE Moleskine® notebook with sketches, drawings, watercolor paintings and writings from our time in portsmouth, and the resulting finished piece will be displayed permanently in an art library in brooklyn, ny. next month, we'll be traveling down there via coach bus to attend the opening party and see jen's work and the work of the other artists who participated in the project. as our first trip to nyc, it should be a blast.

in 2011, we're planning a return trip to colorado for the first time since we left in 2007, and it will be great to see all of our old friends and family members again. it feels like 30 years since we left, thought it's only been 3, so it will be interesting to see how things look to us now after all the changes we've gone through since we left.

we'll also continue our spirituality studies, sharing what we think is relevant and writing updates on what we're doing in our personal lives as well. 2010 was a period of intense growth and goal accomplishment for both of us, on many different levels, and as such left us with little time for blogging. that's an area i hope to change in 2011, so expect more frequent posting as well. the content will be varied, that's all i can say for now...

so that's the latest jen+tommy update - hope you enjoyed it, and hope to hear lots of comments from everyone over the next year. have a wonderful, safe, healthy, abundant, satisfying new year, and we'll talk to you soon!

with much love + gratitude,
jen+tommy

the power of gratitude.

there is a family in ecuador that lives in a one-room hut made of mud bricks, straw and chicken wire – but don't pity them, because they don't pity themselves. they are actually closer to God/the Universe/All-That-Is than the majority of those living in so-called "first-world countries".

they do not have a pantry, per se, from which they decide if they want to eat cereal for breakfast, or waffles, or bacon and eggs, or pancakes; rather, what they eat that day they either have to pick, find, catch or hunt. they literally do not have any idea what their next meal is going to be.

it would not be surprising to find out that, upon waking each morning, the first thought on everyone's mind has to do with what the next meal is going to be, or what the family needs to do in order to survive that day. what is surprising, however, is that instead of thoughts like that first thing in the morning, this family, consisting of a mother, father, 2 teenage boys and 2 young girls, begins each and every day with a prayer of thanks.

they immediately thank their concept of "God" for another day, for in their world, every day of life is literally a gift, and is treated as such – and the moral of this story is their their thankfulness is the cause of their daily blessing rather than a result of it; they are actually living day-to-day via their own gratitude...

if they can do this with food, imagine what we can do if we apply this same level of gratitude towards every area of our lives!

thanks for reading, and have a great Thanksgiving weekend. :)

SugiPOP! at Portsmouth Museum of Art

*** showcasing cutting-edge Japanese anime, manga, comics and contemporary art -- runs through January 2011***

This show is a collaborative effort, featuring the work of nearly 30 established artists, and includes some awesome examples of original manga and comic art, plus original cels from somr of the coolest anime films made to date, like Cowboy Bebop and Princess Mononoke.

This show also features some original Edo woodblock prints from the likes of Hokusai and Kuniyoshi -- work that helped lay down the early foundations of today's modern Japanese style.

"Sugi", the Japanese word for "too much" or "excess", represents the extreme characteristics of Japanese manga and anime, which has then merged with the American phenomenon of Pop Art, to become SugiPOP!, a blend of Japanese and American contemporary art shaped and defined by over-the-top pop.

Cutting edge pieces have even been specifically created for the show, by such well-known personas as Mike Shinoda - lead singer from Linkin Park.

(more pictures after the jump.)

awesome epoxy work on this one.

"nice to meetcha."

pastry party.

you have to see this one in person to really appreciate the depth of it.

is the room too small, or is the bunny too big?

Astroboy anime cels.

teardrops/raindrops

About the PMA:

The Portsmouth Museum of Art is a community-centered museum presenting the work of emerging and established artists - local, national and international. We offer exhibitions and programs that educate the public about art, as well as to use art as a tool to generate conversation about current events, other cultures, social issues and a wide range of other topics with a diversity of viewpoints. Our goal is to enrich the local cultural landscape by developing partnerships, creating collaborative opportunities among artist and art organizations an by presenting a complete art experience that includes literature and poetry, performance art, film and other technologies and to initiate an on-going public dialogue around art.

Museum Hours:
Wednesday - Sunday 11:00-5:00
Open late Fridays until 8:00
Closed Monday and Tuesday

Location and General Information:
One Harbour Place
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603-436-0332

Visit the PMA's website for more information about the show or to become a member! At only $25, it's a steal. :)

this is a test post, but you can read it if you want to.

today we went for a drive to see some of that crazy fall foliage we keep hearing about. we headed up route 16 north through dover, nh, where we immediately hit traffic as (big surprise) the lanes were merged from two into one due to traffic – a common occurrence in new england.

jen then had the idea to get off the highway and get coffee in a small town called rochester, so we could wait for the traffic to end. rochester is a tiny town with a dunkin donuts, two irish bars, and, today only, an oktoberfest celebration. the celebration consisted of a mini-punkin patch for kids to select and paint faces on, plus a table outside one of the irish bars with steamed hot dogs in a big glass jar, and a vat of coffee and some cookies i think. also there was a live band and some women wearing traditional "german-style" dresses walking around.

the atmosphere was quite festive, as you can imagine.

further, there was a small "traveling barnyard", which happened to have the same animals that we saw a week ago when we went to the harvest festival at the apple crest apple farm in hampton falls, nh. so, jen got to again say hello to the three alpaca, two baby cows, 1 jackass, two chickens and several tiny goats and sheep that she spent over 30 minutes petting a week ago.

then we stumbled across an art gallery called artstream. it's a very cute little gallery with some nice art selections ranging from paintings to paper art to ceramics to one-of-a-kind jewelry. the creaky wooden floors and back room filled with bustling gray-haired women making crafts "live" added greatly to the kitsch and charm of the gallery. inside, we spoke with an employee who, upon learning that jen's name is what it is, gave her a book called jen 11, which showcases arts and crafts from 11 different artists who are all named jen.

this greatly inspired jen to create even more art pieces so she can hopefully be selected for the next issue of jen 11.

after this, we hit the road again to see some leaves. it was a gorgeous, crisp, sunny day with a chilly wind, just enough to keep you feeling refreshed and your cheeks a little rosy all day. we came across a pond with some railroad tracks alongside of it, and being the lover of railroad tracks i am, we decided to park at a nearby gas station and walk the tracks.

we had a nice walk through the woods, eating apples and kind bars and sea salt & vinegar chips, then decided to head back to portsmouth. i'm writing this post now just to get (back) in the habit of documenting our experiences in new england, so we can look back on them later and have a good laugh or stir up some fond memories.

i'll add a few pictures from this experience in the next post, and i'm working on another post that describes the harvest fest we went to last week as well. we also have some halloween parties coming up (wait until my costume is revealed), along with the book fest and veg fest in boston over the next two weekends. all in all, fall can be a very busy time in new england.

until then, keep exploring!

what happened to @jenandtommy?

just wanted to make a quick announcement that we'll be maintaining our own individual twitter accounts from now on -- but still posting unique content to our old @jenandtommy from time to time. just don't expect an immediate response from us if you send a DM or something to that account. (don't worry -- jenandtommy.com will live on!)

what started out as a simple experiment: "is twitter fun/useful/simple/educational?" turned into a semi-passion (especially for tommy), and as time went by we both realized we wanted to promote different things at different times, follow different types of people and engage in different sorts of conversations.

so, to help eliminate the frequent question, "is this jen or tommy i'm talking to?" we just started two new accounts. we've had so many fun memories and relationships and adventures from @jenandtommy, however, that there's no way we can give it up -- it will just be sort of in the background, mostly lurking, at least for the time being...

so now, without further ado, let me direct you to our new twitter usernames: @tommypez and @jenmeyerart.

as always, we look forward to tweeting with you about anything from art and design, to urban hiking, to modern spirituality. come on over and say hi!

Timbuk2 Classic Messenger Bag Review.

They simply do it right.

Pros:

Good Strap Length, Roomy , Durable , Lightweight , High Quality, Attractive, Comfortable

Best Uses:

Light loads , Cycling, School, Short travel , Airplane travel , Commuting

Describe Yourself:

Classic, Comfort-Oriented, Practical, Modern, Career

Bottom Line:

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I use my Small Messenger as a daily bag and it is perfect. Some things I carry are a large and small moleskine, various city maps, pens, usually a magazine or book, a small first aid kit, business cards, iPod touch with two sets of headphones, and most of the year i have a winter facemask, gloves and a beanie. All of this fits nicely with room to spare, yet the bag is not so huge that it's bulky or cumbersome when I'm browsing in a store or riding the subway.
Over the past several years, I have tried and tested every kind of messenger bag EXCEPT a Timbbuk2 bag. Maybe I was resisting it because it was so popular. Now, however, I know why it is so popular. They simply do it right. Not too many bells and whistles, but it's not just one big open space either. Like I said, it's just right.

I also have a Medium Messenger that I take when traveling, usually by plane, because the Small is just a bit too small to be useful when out of town and you never know what yoou might need to carry. The Medium is also great for when you know you are going to a bookstore or might need to put your jacket inside, or if you are a student. But the Small bag is perfect if you just have to carry a few things around all the time and won't necessarily be doing much shopping.

Having two different sized bags eliminates the impossible quest for having "just the right bag" for all your needs. Overall, I do use the Small bag the most, though. I love it. I've probably gone through at least 2 dozen other brands of bags and not only did they not quite fit my needs, they all invariably had some kind of annoying feature that was so annoying I had to re-sell it or give it to someone else. This one is perfect.

Remember, this is an URBAN bag. If you're looking for something specifically for hiking or moutaineering, this is not for you. But if you live and work in a city or town, and this is what you will use the bag for, please save yourself a HUGE amount of time and money and just get one of these. You will not be disappointed. :)

Favorite feature: it stands up on it's own when you set it down! Yay!

Cool bonus: the add-ons that Timbuk2 makes allow you to customize your bag if there is a specific feature that you must have.

What it's missing: It could use a briefcase-style handle to make it easier to grab when you're on the fly, or if you need to pull off a more "professional look" going into a meeting.

Not mandatory, but it would be nice if: there was a elastic strap inside to hold a water bottle upright against the side of the bag. I say not mandatory because i use a leakproof bottle anyway, but it would be nice to know where it was. Also, I don't carry water everytime I go out anyway, because in today's society you can usually find or procure some H2O if you need it.

*NOTE: this would also make a great "Dad Bag" for diapers and stuff as well, without looking lame when you're out with the kiddos. ;)