
Meet Chicago Mama Amanda Jane Jones And Daughter Jane
Written by James Kicinski-McCoy
Photography by Matt and Stevi Savage
With her impeccable eye for the clean and minimal, it’s no wonder we chose Amanda Jane Jones as our first Midwestern mom profile—just take a look at her charming abode! She and her husband Cree recently relocated to Chicago with their baby daughter Jane in tow. While Amanda’s better half is busy working on his fifth Master’s Degree (that’s right, makes you feel a little lazy, doesn’t it?), she’s been moonlighting as the founding art director of Kinfolk. And, when she’s not playing with her adorable mini-me and exploring their new city, she’s taking on freelance work and loving every minute of it.
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"Our home is very simple. Every wall is white and we keep our décor pretty minimal and neutral for the most part. I don’t like clutter, so I try to keep it as tidy as I can with a toddler."
Amanda wears a Hanes t-shirt and black lounge pants by Uniqlo. Jane's jammies are by Baby Gap.
- "Not aesthetically persay, but we’ve had to become very strategic about what we put below knee level."
- "I’d have to say our bedroom. It’s cozy and calm with a lot of natural light. When Jane wakes up, we always bring her in for morning family cuddles. We just sit and chat and plan out our day."
- "Less is more."
- "I’ve become a gentler and more patient person. Having Jane in my life has forever changed my heart. She’s changed the way I see people, the way I see the world. To me, everyone is someone’s baby and I find I have much more compassion."
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"I didn’t fully understand just how much love I’d have for her and how quickly my maternal instinct would kick in. I was so nervous to be a mother, but when they brought my little girl to me for the first time, I just knew. I knew she was mine and we were meant to be together. It was one of the most peaceful moments of my life."
Amanda wears a black and white dress by Sam & Lavi. Jane wears a shirt by Baby Gap and checkered bloomers by Willaby.
- "I was named after my great grandmother, Amanda Jane. I’ve wanted to name my first daughter Jane ever since I was 12 years old. I even wrote it down in my diary. Cree picked her middle name, Elizabeth. I though it was the perfect match."
- "We always start with snuggles. Breakfast with Daddy, naptime, some kind of adventure—picnic, pool, bike ride, park visit, beach—we try and mix it up. Another nap in the afternoon, then we pick up daddy from school and have dinner. A pretty simple routine, but it works for us and we couldn’t be happier."
- "She’s so sweet and is always trying to help. She helps me fold laundry, and picks up her toys if I ask her. She helps clean up the food that falls off her chair after dinner. She loves to help brush my hair. She just wants to be a helper. She also loves to laugh. Her giggle is my favorite sound. It’s like magic and makes everything worth it."
- "Jane is a real adventurer and not much of a cuddler, so the rare moments throughout the day when she snuggles me are like gold. Sometimes she’ll climb up on my lap and smoosh her cheek next to mine. I adore those moments."
- "We love our piano (Jane does, too!)—we found it on Craigslist for free. It’s been expensive to move it from state to state, but worth it!"
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"Simple, comfortable, and neutral."
Amanda wear a keyhole back top by Hackwith Design and a vintage skirt. Jane wears a red knit jumper by Misha & Puff.
- "Totally! I’m still nursing, so I always have to have something that’s loose or that buttons down. My clothing is much simpler now, easier, and less form fitting. I’m still trying to loose some of the baby weight."
- "These days, my t-shirt and shorts are my go-to outfit for our daily adventures."
- "I love COS for its modern design and simplicity. I also use a lot of J.Crew for my staples. And recently, I’ve been wearing a lot of Uniqlo. Simple styles that fit my current lifestyle."
- "Yes! There is a lot less of it."
- "Since I don’t get to dress up that often, we usually wear our nicest outfits on our dates. I’ll wear a dress and he’ll wear a blazer and tie. We’re lucky to have beautiful restaurants just around the corner from us, so now that Jane sleeps through the night, we can put her down for bed and run over to have a dinner out while the babysitter hangs out at our place."
- "I’m not much of a product girl—I wish I was!"
- "Jane’s room is still a work in progress. We moved right after she was born, so there are still a lot of things I’d like to do. Right now it just has the basics, and of course, lots of toys within her reach."
- "My friend bought Jane a set of shadow puppets that we’ve started to include in our night time routine. When Jane wakes up she sits and points to them on her dresser and then wants to hold them immediately. She loves those things. She also loves her bear rug from Roxy Marj. She’ll just plop down and sit on it randomly throughout the day. "
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"Willaby, Misha and Puff, and Zuzii. I'm coveting a few things for Jane from Flora and Henri and Gray Label."
Jane wears a blue printed top by Willaby and skinny jeans by Baby Gap.
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"My mother loved us unconditionally and tried her hardest to be the best mother she knew how. I can honestly say, I’m trying to do the same."
Amanda wears a linen tunic and black leggings by Uniqlo and sandals by J.Crew.
- "Someone told me not to follow other people’s advice and, honestly, it’s been helpful. I know my own child better than anyone and every child is different. I trust my gut and I think Jane is a happy baby because of it."
- "The bedroom, kitchen, and family room."
- Amanda's husband Cree built the shelves and kitchen counters with the help of his father. The counters are made out of an old bowling alley lane, which Cree found on Craigslist for $200. So cool!
- "Yes, trying new recipes. We get stuck in our recipe rotation and I need to be better about branching out."
- "Ha! This is still a work in progress. Cree and I just went on our fourth date, in a year! We love hanging out as a family, but we need more dates sans baby. It’s so nice just to sit and chat with each other. Jane is still nursing, which makes date nights tricky to plan, but I anticipate when she stops it will get easier."
- "I’m a freelance graphic designer and art director. I love what I do.”
- "After graduation, I worked for a small design firm for two years, while freelancing in the evenings and weekends. I then quite my job to freelance fulltime and that coincided with the invitation to create Kinfolk. I worked for the next three years with Kinfolk and freelancing on the side, and now I work at a part-time capacity, still doing freelance design."
- "I love the flexibility and I love that I can work with a wide variety of clients. I never get bored—there is always something new. I also love being creative for a living."
- "Well, being successful and productive is much more important because I have an extra mouth to feed, but I also don’t work as much because my time with her is so valuable. Once I start working, I have to be focused during my work blocks. I’ve become really great at not wasting time."
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"Being a mother has taught me to work with the time I have. I’m extremely organized now and I work so much faster. I’ve made the decision not to have a nanny for now, so I only work when she's sleeping or with daddy. I’m always amazed at what I can accomplish during those short hours."
Amanda wears a black shirt by Zara and hand-cut denim shorts by Gap. Jane wears a chambray jumper by Baby Gap.
- "I just finished my last issue of Kinfolk. It’s been a great three years, but I’m excited to have time for other personal projects."
- "We moved to Chicago for the University. Cree just completed his joint JD MPP at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor."
- "We always have breakfast and dinner together. And we always take Friday night and Sunday off. Those are our family times."
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"We do love Chicago! And yes, we can live anywhere. We’ve been married only 5 years and have lived in Philadelphia, Provo, UT, Ann Arbor, The Philippines, Washington D.C., Geneva, Switzerland, and now Chicago. We love change and I’ve learned that I can make a house a home anywhere we go."
Jane wears sandals by Saltwater.
- "We tend to stay in our little neighborhood of Hyde Park. We have a walkable score of 98%, so everything is right in our reach. It had been pretty dreamy for a new mom."
- "It was so hard! I remember it being so cold some weeks that we didn't leave the house except to go to church on Sunday. We went a little stir crazy. The first time it hit 32 degrees, Jane and I took a snow walk to Promontory Point. The water was frozen solid, but it felt so good to get fresh air. I remember a woman commented on how I probably shouldn't bring my baby out in 32 degree weather. I'm sure if she'd been cooped up for two weeks straight, she would have done the same. As for entertaining her, Jane was so little that she didn't know any better. I'm really worried for this next winter, though. Now she's so used to going on outdoor adventures everyday. If we've been inside all morning, she'll go grab her beach hat and my keys and try to open the door! It's adorable, but also makes me nervous for winter. I'm going to have to get creative!"
- "To be honest, the only one I've been reading lately is Mother! And I'm not just saying that because you're interviewing me. You have a really well curated space. The topics are totally on point and I'm interested in every article, which says a lot because I usually don't follow the link to blogs or sites these days, it takes too much time."
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"I'm grateful for my mother and look to her for guidance in many ways. My mom made me feel loved unconditionally, she was fun and thoughtful and goofy. Everything was an adventure. She drove a really old car and sometimes when we'd hop in, she'd say, 'Oh! I have no idea where this old car is taking us!' And we'd end up at the zoo or at the pumpkin patch. She just made everything fun and magical and she always wanted to make us feel supported and loved. She sacrificed a lot to be a mom and to devote so much time to my brothers and I, and I'll be forever grateful for her selfless service and love."
Amanda wears a hat from Una Mae's in Chicago.
- "The kisses and the giggles. It’s just her and I during the day, and we just giggle and giggle. We have so much fun together! I love taking her on adventures around our neighborhood—to the pool, the beach, the zoo, the duckpond... We’ve recently bought a bike seat for her and it’s a new favorite. She’ll even point at her helmet hanging on the door knob."
- "Yes! But not yet. I’m still learning how to manage one."
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