Megan + Houston

Our Newest Addition

2011-11-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

Atticus James Trueblood

Born November 21, 5:41 PM EST.

7 pounds 6 ounces.

21 and 3/4 inches.

Cutest thing in the whole world.

Mommy and baby are doing really well. Everyone is healthy and there is no possible way we could be any happier right now. Thanks to all those who gave us their love and support through everything. We can’t wait to show him off to you.

The Nursery.

2011-11-19T07:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I can technically call this a nursery. It's more like a couple of corners in our bedroom. As most of you know, Houston and I are living in NYC, where space is a valuable and limited luxury. We currently live in a cute little one bedroom, just shy of 800 sq. ft. It is hard to figure out how to squeeze another human int our little space. Luckily, he will be very small. What's harder is figuring out where to put his things. I think we have managed to fit it all in for now. We have a great little bassinet for his first few months, the challenge will come when we have to find space for a crib. We'll deal with that issue when it comes. For now, here are a couple pictures of our "nursery".

We love this bassinet. It belongs to Houston's boss, she was kind enough to let us borrow it. Isn't it beautiful? Speaking of beautiful, do you see that quilt? That was made by my very talented cousin, Adrienne. She even did some hand printing on some of the fabric. We absolutely love it.

This is our cute little Eames rocker. Well, not a real one, but who can tell the difference? Can't afford real Eames furniture. I wish! This knock off looks great, though. Anyway, on the rocker are some cute little friends. See the cute little monster on the right? That is "The Trueblood". He was designed and handmade by my cousin Brooke, who is also very talented and happens to be Adrienne's sister. We were lucky to get so many amazing homemade gifts. I have such talented friends and family.

Next to the rocker you can see the changing table/dresser. For a picture of that, scroll down a couple posts. You can see it's transformation.

More nesting.

2011-11-19T06:55:00.001-08:00

Most of my nesting energy in the past month has been put towards sewing projects. I have made a whole bunch of different things, some for my baby and some for friends who are having babies (I won't be posting those, cause I don't want my friends who are having babies to see them yet).

This first project is a play mat. I found the tutorial here, at the Purl Bee (this site is great and has a bunch of cute projects and free tutorials). I like the way it turned out, but I still have some finishing touches I need to add. Like, I haven't decided how I want to tie it together. The fabric I used doesn't have the same bold patterns as the tutorial, so I don't know if I want to stitch around the shapes like they did or just do a simple symmetrical tie. Any ideas?

This next project was a fun one. I have heard with little boys these really come in handy while changing diapers. Pee pee teepees. Need I say more?

This last project is one that I planned to finish as an anniversary gift for Houston back in July. It took me way too long to get this done. Luckily all this nesting energy has got me finishing all kinds of overdue projects.

I made Houston a sketchbook a couple years ago for Christmas, it had some amazing paper in it that we both love. Houston recently filled up all the pages of that sketchbook, so I wanted to get the same paper and make him a new one. It took me a while to track it down for a decent price, but I was finally able to at New York Central Art Supply. If you are an artist in NYC, visiting this store is a must. If you haven't been, you should go right now.

The Leather I used for the cover of this book was found by my friend, LeeAnn, at a thrift store. A pair of brand new soft leather pants. The original tag that was still on them had them priced for about $350, she paid $8. Then we cut them up and made books.

The paper I used for the inside cover is from a great old map that my dad let me take. I love the limited color on the map and I like that it makes the sketchbook feel more "manly".

I love making books, I wish it didn't take so much time, so I could do it more often. Although, I have recently found a way to speed up the process. I find books with interesting covers, cut those covers off and create my own text block to fit inside them. It cuts out so many steps. I have made a bunch of these and they make great sketchbooks and look really nice. I'll post one of those on here soon.

Nesting.

2011-11-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

So I have had a lot of projects going lately. Here is a little show and tell.

There is an awkward corner in our kitchen that was once a garbage shoot. Now it is painted shut and completely useless. We came up with a pretty good solution for it. Here it is before:

And here it is after our little make over:

We found some chalkboard paint and turned it into a chalkboard. It's really useful in the kitchen for making shopping lists or writing down recipes that I can see while I cook. We also gave our kitchen a new paint job. It's hard to tell, but it's a soft grey blue. It feels so bright and clean in there now. Our whole apartment was a dingy, yellowish, off-white color when we moved in. We are slowly getting around to each room.

I started this dresser a few months ago. I'm happy with how it turned out. We were looking for something to keep all the baby stuff in and after lots and lots of searching on craigslist found this. I love all the detail and it's really sturdy. We were able to talk them down to $75, including free delivery, which was a big deal. It's not easy to move big furniture around the city.

Before:

After:

We gave it a new paint job and changed out the hardware. That beautiful quilt you see on top was made by my mom. Love it.

I have a few more projects, I just need to finish getting pictures of the finished products. The baby seems to be content hanging out inside of me (my due date was Nov. 14), so I'll have some time to kill until he decides to make an appearance.

More to come!

40 weeks!

2011-11-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well, technically we took this picture at 39 1/2 weeks, but that's close enough, right?

My due date is tomorrow, November 14th. My doctor, at each appointment for the past 3 weeks, told me she thought for sure I would deliver early. I wish I wouldn't have listened, cause I am going crazy with the whole waiting game. I was really hoping to have the baby this weekend, but so far, nothing exciting to report. I just hope he's not planning on staying put for another week, I think I would go crazy. There is a huge staircase in our neighborhood, 130 steps, maybe I'll try running up and down those to get things moving along. Houston and I are so ready to meet our little boy!

35 weeks down, 35 days to go.

2011-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am in full nesting mode, trying frantically to finish all the projects on my pre-baby to do list. I have a few things finished that I am pretty excited about, I will post pictures soon of those. Meanwhile I am staying extremely busy with lots of house guests, projects, doctors appointments and a whole lot of errands to get done in the next few weeks. My body is starting to give me a hard time, making me slower than I would hope to be, but with Houston's help I think everything will come together. We are so excited to meet our little boy! He'll be here in no time!

30 Weeks

2011-09-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Wow.

I mean seriously, wow.

Only ten weeks left! Isn't that crazy? Megan is just as cute and healthy as ever, and her pregnant belly just keeps getting rounder by the day. One of my favorite things is when she tries to bend down—she has to make a little grunting noise as all of the air gets forced out of her lungs. "Oof!" That little guy is taking up a lot of room!

We’re just trying to get things ready around the apartment. Megan is in big-time nesting mode. I need to get my act together and start checking things off of the honey-do list. We’re both so excited for our little one to show up and we just can’t wait to meet him.

So soon! Wow!

25 Weeks!

2011-08-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

That's right, only 15 more weeks to go! I can't believe how fast the time is going. I am feeling great right now. Our baby boy is healthy and getting very wiggly. Houston felt him for the first time over our Anniversary weekend in VT. It's so fun to have interaction with him. We are getting so excited!

Lazy Days in Vermont

2011-07-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated our third year anniversary! We had an amazing three days roaming the laid-back streets in and around Burlington, Vermont. Looking back on it, Megan and I really can’t remember a stressful moment! We sampled some delicious local fare, licked maple cree-mees (soft serve ice cream) to our hearts’ content, enjoyed a late night flick at the drive-in, and walked around scenic farmland with sheep and cows. It was really incredible.

The funny part was as soon as we landed back in New York, it was like someone switched off a light switch and we were back to our "Get-out-of-my-way-I-have-somewhere-to-be!" mode almost instantly. It was like our stress monsters—which had been so sad and lonely while we were away—had gone out of their way to greet us at our arrival gate because they missed us so much.

Awh, cheer up little stress monsters! You'll have plenty of time to hang out with us while we’re in the city. But don’t be surprised if you find us back in Vermont for another peaceful weekend sometime in the near future…

Some Exciting News

2011-06-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Thought you might like to know, we are expecting! Baby Trueblood is due Thanksgiving 2011. We couldn't be happier.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Artist Santiago Michalek

2010-11-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

So, we have some pretty awesome friends. One is Santiago Michalek, a fantastic painter based in Utah. Houston and Santiago used to play together in a band, but I don't think they ever got around to drawing or painting together, which is a real shame.

Santiago is pursuing a really brilliant marketing strategy. He's getting all of his friends to advertise for him, and in exchange, they have a crack at winning one of his paintings. So here we are, using our own blog to promote his work, because we really want one.

Take a look at his work on his website, visit his blog, and find out how you can win an original Michalek oil painting.

9/11/2010

2010-09-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Living in New York City has proven to be an incredible experience. Everything is so different from what we know and feel familiar with. Life is more fast-paced, diversity is all around, and the opportunity to grow is everywhere.

One such opportunity presented itself to us today on the 9th anniversary of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center right here in the city. Megan and I, for the first time since moving here, took time just to walk around Ground Zero, remember, and reflect on that tragic event. Being there in person makes all of it seem very real; not just a picture on a TV screen, but something that directly impacted the lives of so many who cased the grounds along side us tonight.

The vastness of the site is staggering. In the dark, it is a massive, gaping void that punctures the New York skyline. A black hole among a cluster of stars. There is something so unsettling about it, so out of place, like the feeling of a phantom limb. It's a space you know that should be filled, but refuses to be covered up. It is a deafening silence that drowns out the passing cars and the subway trains; the tired feet and the nervous whispers; the mournful trumpet call and the muffled sobs of those nearby.

But after reflecting on the pain of the place, we also marveled at the miracle of the human spirit and its ability to cope, to move on. The area now seems just as busy as any other in the city. People learn to cope. We heal, somehow, and make due with what life has given us. The fear subsides, and although it still lingers—especially in the moments when we confront it—we make the choice to keep living our lives anyway. It's incredible, really, when you take the time to think about it.

I use "we" as though I was there when it happened. I was far away, safe and sound, watching events unfold on a television set from the comfort of a high school classroom. I didn't understand the full import of what was happening at the time. And admittedly, I still don't, and don't think I ever will. But tonight, standing in the dark near ground zero, I think I caught a glimmer, the smallest sliver, of what 9/11 truly cost, and what it means today.

So here are my thoughts. Let's mourn. Let's remember what happened, remember the pain and the suffering of a nation stricken with grief. Remember the fear we all felt after the towers fell. And after all of that, let's celebrate life. Let's go on living our lives the best we can and let's not let that fear stop us from doing good. Let's fill up those parking meters when we can; let's pick up some trash on the subway car; let's volunteer at a shelter or in a classroom; let's for once just listen to what others have to tell us instead of arguing our point; and let's let a customer purchase a large shake and split it into two smalls, one chocolate and one vanilla (this last one happened to us tonight at McDonald's).

And let's remember what this great nation is all about:

E pluribus, unum.

Houston's Birthday!

2010-09-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

So this post is a little late, but Houston had his 26th birthday on August 17th and we had such a fun day! When Houston and I celebrate, our favorite thing to do is to make no plans at all. We like to play it by ear and just do whatever we feel like. We have found that when we make plans, things often don't go as planned and then we are stressed out and that is no fun. So, when we finished at work we decided to go check out a store we had been hearing about called Uniqlo. This store is awesome, definitely a new favorite of ours. The store here in New York is apparently the only one in the states, so if you want to check it out come visit us and I will take you there. We did some shopping there and got Houston some new clothes, in which he looked very handsome. Then we decided to walk around and find a new restaurant where we could have dinner. We were in Soho, which is a great area for eating, shopping, exploring you name it. We love it down there. Anyway, we came across the cutest restaurant called Epistrophy; picture Anthropologie meets little Italian cafe. Beautiful. The atmosphere was so charming and the decor was fabulous. Also, I ordered some fantastic lasagna, which we ended up sharing because it was so yummy (Houston's chicken wasn't bad either). We loved this little place and we were glad we decided to be adventurous and find something new.

The inside of the restaurant. I love the exposed brick with the beautiful natural wood tables and the great windows.

Some of the decor.

Our cute little oil and vinegar.

Here was our dinner. I love those mismatched plates.

This was the check. I squealed when they brought it to us. Cutest check in the whole world.

After we ate we spent the rest of the night walking around Soho and stopping into any store that caught our eye. Mostly it was just nice to relax and talk and forget about everything else. We have so much fun together. I am so lucky. Love that man.

Happy Birthday Houston!

Anniversary and Other Fantastic Times

2010-08-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

So, though Megan and I celebrated our second anniversary of our marriage last month on the 18th, we're just getting around to posting about it right now. I think a month later is making progress though…we used to take at least four months to blog about something after it happened.

For our anniversary, since we're dirt poor and were, at the time, jobless, we decided to keep things on the DL. We spent the day doing exactly what we wanted, which was to say, not much of anything in particular! We enjoyed a picnic in Central Park, a free performance of Much Ado About Nothing at Battery Park, and then took the (free) ferry to Staten Island because we heard there were some great views. All in all, a great day. Super relaxing and slow-paced. Just the way we like it.

My sisters, Sarai and Riley, came to visit us shortly after for a couple of weeks. It was so much fun! They are a blast and we all had some good times: munched on some corn, had some pizza, and ate lots of cereal. We miss you guys already! Come back to us!

Also, since our last post, a major development: we both got jobs! But since it's a little embarrassing to mention where exactly we are working, we'll just drop a hint now and work our way up to it. Here's a hint: brown sugar cinnamon.

Until next post!

Rhode Island

2010-07-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Rosemary called me a couple weeks ago and invited me out to Newport, RI. She, Uncle Doug and Aunt Marti were spending a week there touring all the Mansions. These mansions (or summer cottages as the were referred to by their former owners) were incredible! Here are some pictures of them. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take any pictures of the interiors, so these will have to do.

First, Chatteau-sur-Mer (Chatteau by the sea). This French villa was built in 1852 for William Shepard Wetmore, one of the few who used his mansion in Newport year-round.

This amazing tree is in the front yard. It is a Weeping Beech, my favorite. Houston proposed to me under one of these. How romantic.

In this picture you can see where one of the branches forms a circle. These trees do all kinds of crazy things. Check one out if you ever get the chance, they are incredible.

Next, Marble House. "Summer Cottage" of William and Alva Vanderbilt. The couple only spent 3 short summers here! This place cost $11 million to build, $7 million of that was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble!

Alva Vanderbuilt just happens to be the woman who started the Women's Suffrage movement. Any of you that can remember the scene from Mary Poppins where Mrs. Banks is marching around the house singing "Votes for Women!", you have this woman to thank for it. We were fortunate enough to have Uncle Doug grace us with a daily performance of this song. It was wonderful waking up to him singing, "Though we adore men individually, we believe that as a group they're rather stupid..."

Finally, The Breakers. This Mansion was by far my favorite. The grandest and most beautiful of them all. This was a summer home to Cornelius Vanderbuilt II. This place is 65,000 sq. feet, has 70 bedrooms, 20 bathrooms and if someone were to build this sucker today, it would set them back approximately $150 million!

This is the children's "play house", it is adorable and complete with a full kitchen. I wouldn't mind living here myself.

We also did a beautiful sunset cruise.

Here is all of us steering the yacht.

And the sunset.

I couldn't leave this out of my post. This lovely shower curtain was definitely the highlight of our suite. Rosemary and I were lucky enough to get the room with this bathroom. Needless to say, Doug and Marti were very jealous.

I had such a great weekend with Rosemary, Doug and Marti. Thank you so much for inviting me out there! It was magical and I loved every minute! And thank you to my wonderful husband who let me go have a vacation, while he spent a lonely weekend in the city. You guys are the best!

Hark, a Post!

2010-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

What's this? An actual blog post from Megan and Houston? Could it be true?

It is true! We are posting once again! And for how long, who can say? Once or twice before we fall off the grid again? Maybe! But for now, you may relish in the fact that we are actually adding some real, substantial content.

NYC! We're actually here and we actually have an apartment. And what's more, it's not completely infested with cockroaches! It's actually a very nice place, and a bit more spacious than we were anticipating—but to put that into context, we were anticipating a 200 sq. ft. studio apartment with no windows and a shared bathroom. Well, not quite that bad, but we were anticipating less than what we got.

So here are some pictures to commemorate the occasion. Not the best photography in the world, but we kind of forgot to take pictures during the day, so the light wasn't great. Anyway, you get the picture. This is what our place is like.

We spend most of our days looking for jobs online, getting to know the neighborhood, looking for jobs, finding great deals for furniture on craigslist, looking for jobs, various errands, and looking for jobs. Oh, and we catch the occasional world cup game online, too (go USA!).

We're living very far north on Manhattan Island, in a place called Fort Washington, but since most don't know the place, we tell them we live in Inwood…or Washington Heights. See, we live right in between both, so we can tell people either. If we want to sound a little "financially secure", we say Inwood. If people are talking about the new smash-hit musical, The Heights, we tell them we live in Washington Heights—the neighborhood the musical is based on—so we can sound really hip.

For everyone else who doesn't live in New York, we just tell them we live in The Big Apple, and we think we sound pretty awesome.

Though we're having a great time here, we miss you all a whole lot and want all of you to come out to visit us sometime soon. Not all at once, because we wouldn't be able to fit you, but one or two at a time would be awesome. And if you do all decide to come together, I'm sure you'll fit in great on the curb outside our apartment building, along with the ferrel cats and the blaring Dominican pop music from the pimped-out cars screaming down our narrow street.

Sou da Bahia Paintings

2009-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

A lot of you have been asking us to put up our paintings from our recent exhibit. Well here they are! Just click on this link to see Megan's and my paintings. Hurray!

BFA Final Project

2009-08-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been asking us when we're going to finish our final project for school. Well friends and family, the time has come! We've posted a link here on our blog to our project blog called Sou da Bahia. The project will start on Sept 17th and will stay up until September 29th. We hope you can all go see it! The opening reception is on Friday, September 18th from 7:30–9:30 pm. If you don't really care about the exhibit, at least come for the snacks.

One Year

2009-07-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? It's already been one year since we've been married! It's been so wonderful and we've had tons of adventures. But right now, it's breakfast time and Nibs is scratching at the computer screen as I type, trying to catch the letters.

More later...

¡España!

2009-05-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Megan and I just got back from a week in Spain and New York City. It was incredible! We traveled in the southern region of Spain, called Andalusia, to cities like Granada, Cordoba, and Seville. They were absolutely amazing! The weather was great, the food was splendid, and the sights were out of this world. We also got to see our friend, Brad Holland, in NYC, eat at our favorite restaurants, and visit some fantastic museums. It was an unforgettable experience that we were so happy to share together.

We learned a few things on our travels:

1. Always schedule more time than you think you need! We thought we had everything planned out nicely, but in the end, we ran from one awesome thing to the next, just trying to cram it all in. We saw tons of amazing things, but wish we could have stayed longer!

2. Do your research! We made a few purchases and plans based on rumors and faulty intuition. It ended up costing us time and money, both of which were in short supply. Luckily, we were able to avert some potential disasters by doing some last minute internet searches and talking with locals or experienced travelers. Don't skip out on the tourist books and maps: they may seem tacky or whatever, but they really are invaluable!

3. Wear comfy shoes. This sounds obvious, but when we say comfy, we mean really comfy. What we thought was suitable footwear turned out to be insufficient for the surprising distances we ended up walking. In the end, despite Megan's fastidious standards in fashion, even she contemplated the infamously ugly—but equally comfortable—Crocs for her next traveling shoe.

Now we're back in Provo and settled in (hopefully) for the spring and summer months. We have a lot of work to do to get our BFA final project ready by September, so we'll have plenty to do here! Boredom is never an issue for the Truebloods! Except maybe on airplanes....

Long Time, No Post

2009-01-13T13:46:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Well, needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway) it's been a really long time. A little over six months. That's half a year. Wow.

A lot has happened, and we want to tell you about it.

Stay tuned for more updates. We'll post a few pictures here to wet your appetites.

Tchau!

Adventures, excitement, etc.

2008-06-26T08:52:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures we've taken in NYC. We're trying really hard to practice our fake smiles and, gasp!, take pictures in spite of terrible lighting conditions. Enjoy!

Act II: The Waiting

2008-06-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw Houston, I remember him looking… interested. He carefully chose his seat next to me and glanced over occasionally. On our first day of painting he “conveniently” set up his easel next to me. For the next week or two, during class, he asked me about myself and told a few awkward jokes. I remember thinking, “this boy is really cute, but looks too young—maybe I should set him up with my little sister”.

On a Wednesday afternoon I went into my bedroom and noticed that I had missed a call. Guilt struck me. There was a church committee meeting I missed two days prior. The phone call must have been from Abby, who headed up the meeting. I called back and waited for an answer. I was surprised to hear a man's voice on the other end. "Who is this," I said, in a far-from-courteous tone. "This is Houston... from painting class.” He explained how he got my number from Mike, a mutual friend and student in the class. There was some small talk and then he asked about my plans for the coming Saturday. He asked me if I would be interested in going rock climbing. I said yes, agreeing to a date that had come quite unexpectedly.

He looked good when he picked me up. We doubled with his roommate Christian and a date. When we got to the rock climbing gym, we went off on our own and did some climbing and a lot of talking. Afterwards we went to Nicolitalia’s and had some pizza. By the end of the night I knew I really liked him.

Then came the waiting.

We saw each other frequently. I was uncharacteristically persistent. The more we hung out, the more anxious I was for him to initiate the first move. I did embarrassing things like leave my hand open right next to his and sit really close, but to my dismay, no response. This went on for two months. We had been on several dates and I began to worry. Maybe this guy would never make a move. A few times I noticed what I thought to be an attempt to put his arm around me, but none of these attempts were successful. I think his arm sort of touched my head once.

One night when he dropped me off, I was thinking I would be lucky to get a substantial hug. He gave me an awkward half-hug and told me he had had a good time. He wished me a good night and hesitated. He turned to leave, but only made it a couple steps before turning back around. He told me he really enjoyed spending time with me and he liked me a lot. He told me the reasons he liked me. I told him I felt the same way. It was then that he finally kissed me.

They say the best spice is hunger.

I can remember thinking, “That was a really good kiss.” I can also remember thinking, “What took you so long!” But finally he did and it was wonderful.

Then, ironically, he got a terrible sore throat and we didn’t kiss again for another two weeks…

New York City

2008-06-15T21:35:00.001-07:00

Megan and I have been in NYC for about two weeks now for our illustration internship. Here's what's going down.

We left from the SLC airport at around 11:00 PM. A red eye. We didn't sleep. Then we arrived in New York at around 5:00 AM. We had to haul all of our luggage (a month's worth for both of us) onto the subway and take it to my apartment.

My apartment (called "g. crew") is actually pretty nice. Cool roommates, pretty clean, very cheap. All in all, a good deal. Megan's . . . not so much. We got to her place after a while. It's on the east side; mine is on the west side. It takes forever to get there, as there's no line that goes directly across. We do find a bus, but it takes 40 minutes, at least. The apartment? Cockroaches. Dirty. Hot. Kind of expensive. Megan has a hard time sleeping at night. I'm sure I would, too.

It takes us almost a week and a half to meet up with out internship provider, Brad Holland. He's been busy in Washington D.C. trying to fight off a deplorable copyright amendment bill. He's very courteous and very nice, but very busy. We're doing a lot of scanning, sorting, archiving, and copying. You know, the typical intern stuff. So far though, it's been great to see his work and just be in the atmosphere.

Aside from all that, we've done a lot of shopping, visiting museums, and eating the most delicious pizza we've ever had. We're exhausted at the end of each day, but it's definitely fun. All except the cockroaches.

Act I: Boy Meets Girl

2008-05-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

This begins the unfolding of events that led to our eventual betrothal. I write them as best I remember them, although they may not be exactly how they happened.

It was the beginning of spring term and I had signed up for a landscape painting class. And we all know the first thing you do when you find yourself in a new classroom. You look around. And I don't just mean look around, I mean you look around. You look for cute girls. That's just what you do, if you're a single guy. And that's what I did.

But sometimes you're disappointed. And I was, at first. We met in the figure drawing room in the HFAC. I looked around and didn't see anyone that piqued my interest. Bethanne Anderson, the teacher, began the introduction and roll call, in her usual bubbly manner. She checked off the names. Then she told us we were going to look at some landscape paintings in the MOA (BYU's Museum of Art). She said that Megan would be joining us there.

A glimmer of hope.

As we're examining the paintings, I get tired and decide to sit down. This is when she walks in. I see the most gorgeous pair of eyes on any woman I have ever seen. Exaggeration? No. She has this long hair with these cute bangs that make her look really modern and classy. She's wearing an outfit that says she knows good style. I think, "bingo."

But there's something else. Megan, when she comes into the room, has this distinct aura of "coolness." She is so confident and cool that it throws me off a little. I hear her talk about a favorite artsist, Alphonse Mucha. I awkwardly interject and try to show her I'm into Mucha, too. "I saw his museum in Prague," I boast. As I'm doing this, I feel very much like a middle school kid trying to ask out the high school prom queen. She nods and smiles, very politely.

"This isn't starting off so well for me," I think.

It's been a while . . .

2008-05-21T07:23:00.001-07:00

Well, as you can see, it's been a long time since our last post. It's been crazy. We've been so busy, it's been hard to find time to do anything fun.

After our housing falling through for our New York internship, we were frantically searching for new places to stay. Thankfully, two very affordable locations were found, so we're good on that front . . . for now. Because of the change in housing, we had to shift our whole trip one week later, so we'll be in NYC from June 3 to June 30.

And as if planning a wedding weren't work enough, we're also planning for a trip to Brazil in August for a grant-funded art project, where we'll be learning about Bahian art (a region in Brazil) and gathering photographic reference for a series of paintings to be made later as our BFA senior projects! Our whole experience will be documented by our friends, Christian Jensen and Nick Stentzel, as a documentary film for Christian's senior capstone project. It's a lot of work, and I have to give props to Christian for really heading it up and making things happen.

Megan and I just got our engagement shots the other day. Once again, Claire did a fantastic job. The photos are awesome. By the way, Claire is getting married soon, too! Andy Buys, my ex-roommate, is the lucky man, and I have to remind them often that it was my uncanny matchmaking that brought them together. Kind of.

"Up next . . . an unparalleled story of love and romance. Two artists meet in a plein aire painting class. One is a boy, the other, a girl. You know the rest." (Now say that in your head with the voice of Ira Glass; it makes more sense).

Megan's Ring

2008-04-03T07:21:00.001-07:00

OK, so Megan and I went to get her ring resized and appraised at Losee Jewelers the other day. Last Tuesday, actually. I had checked around town and they seemed to be the most reasonably priced and most importantly, they could get it done in a couple of days instead of weeks. Great. They're even close to my duplex.

We gave them the ring on Tuesday and were told that we would have it back by Friday at the very latest. Friday rolled around and they weren't done. Monday, still not done. Tuesday, they were done but it was a whole size and a half too small! We had to take it back that day and finally got it back yesterday, correctly sized, secured, and shining.

The ring looks amazing. It's shining like the dickens and fits perfectly. Now if we could just get a discount for all the hassle we had to go through to get it back . . . .

C.M. Photography

2008-04-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

A good friend of ours and a great photographer, Claire, will be taking our engagement photos. Last week, she took some amazing bridal photos of Megan for one of her class projects. Check out the link to see her other work.

Megan looks so gorgeous, really. I love these pictures.

Registry Adventure

2008-03-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Megan and I made the rounds yesterday to various stores to register for our wedding gifts. I have to say, personally, that asking for all of this stuff makes me feel greedy and covetous. I told this to a friend, M. Scott, who assured me I needn't feel so, and others who have been through this tell me that it's completely normal. The general advice seems to be that we'll need every ounce of help we can get. I'm not one to disagree with experience.

It was fun . . . for the first ten minutes. Then things started getting overwhelming. So much stuff, so much money, so many choices! I have a tendency to over-analyze options, and it took some effort to not spend all day cross-examining every last utensil. By the end we were grabbing about anything that looked good and scanning it without much thought. We left Macy's right before they were about to close. Afterwards we got a huge plate of spaghetti marinara at the Old Spaghetti Factory (their spaghetti noodles are the only thing worth eating there--they're delicious) and watched Stardust at my place (which is a lot of fun).

Today we finished most of it online. It gave us a bit more time to pour over the details. We're about done; we still have some sheets and stuff to find, but we're going to do that in person instead of online. You can click on the registry links here at the blog to go strait to our lists (for your gifting convenience).

Now I'm feeling terrible for complaining about registering for gifts. When our parents got married, all they had "was a chair, and a bed, and that was it! And one fork! And uphill both ways . . . !"

2008-03-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

I told a few of you I would send you a picture of my ring, so I thought it would be easier to just post it on our blog. To give you some background, this ring is an antique from the 1920's. The diamond and the band are original. The detail on the band is hand carved. It is exactly what I wanted, it's beautiful. If you haven't had a chance to see it in person, make sure, next time you see me, to check it out. It's worth a look, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Easter Weekend

2008-03-24T23:26:00.000-07:00

Houston and I spent Easter weekend in St. George hanging out with the family, relaxing and doing a bit of wedding planning here and there. Here are some pictures from the trip.

Wedding blog up!

2008-03-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Hi folks!

I guess this is kind of "the thing" nowadays: have a website or something to show all the friends and family all the juicy news and history. So here we are. We'll post some other stuff up soon, like pictures, stories, and news. Keep checking back for more updates.

Also, if you have any requests, just post a comment and we'll try to accommodate. Thanks!