So, so, so...

...pretty.

Questions about US

I never do this crap, but this one is cute and allows me to gush about my LOVE, so here goes:

What are your middle names?
My middle name is Anne, Haigen’s is Gregory. Both are disastrously boring, and while I try to dress “Anne” up like a six-year-old pageant queen by adding the pathetic, “with an e” after it, Haigen takes his middle name very seriously. It is often represented in initial form at the bottom of emails, love notes, or on business cards, and that it’s his father’s first name has led us to bicker about hypothetical future children’s monikers on numerous occasions.

How long have you been together?
Just a shade under 2.5 years.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We met in December of 2004, and shortly thereafter commenced roughly two years of very public, vocal distaste for him (long story). In August of 2006 I had an actual conversation with the poor man I’d been defaming, and became irrevocably addicted.

Who asked whom out?
He asked me if I’d meet him for coffee and after several attempts I finally agreed.

How old are each of you?
I’m 27, he’s 33. When he talks about the fraternity days of drinking to the point of bed-wetting and passing out while standing, I say a little whisper of thanks to whoever made sure I was separated from that guy by six years and the better part of his twenties.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Haigen’s. They both live here, while my older sister lives in Sacramento and the wee Heed lives in Chicago.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Monday at lunch when he wanted to talk about whether or not our hypothetical future children would be vegetarians.

Did you go to the same school?
We went to the same high school and the same college. Again, thank you universe for the six years of separation.

Are you from the same home town?
Nope. Haigen’s a Utah boy, and I was born in Cork, Ireland.

Who is smarter?
Haigen. Hands down. He’d disagree with that, which is one of the very few things he’s been mistaken about since I met him. The only other item being that he thinks I have a nice ass. It’s a travesty, people, this posterior of mine. A travesty.

Who is the most sensitive?
Haigen.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Red Iguana. They have a camarones verde special sometimes that BLOWS MY MIND. I could eat it for every meal for the rest of my life, as long as I could have the Fresh Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice from Thai Garden for dessert. Yum.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
The Czech Republic,

Who has the craziest exes?
I would say me.

Who has the worst temper?
Neither of us really have much of a temper. Although, when I was married there was one fleeting moment when I understood why, in some cases, homicide is worth the jail time.

I don’t think he’s ever been that mad.

Who does the cooking?
It’s 50/50. Neither of us are very good. Cooking = opening a can of Ranch Style Beans.

Who is the neat-freak?
Haigen. I’m neat, but I have a serious mental block that makes me virtually incapable of putting my clothes away. Also, the man is Johnny on the Spot with the dishes. He has the dishwasher unloaded and loaded up again before I even have time to know either of the chores need to be accomplished.

Who is more stubborn?
Me. I have this mental defect where most of my actions are determined by spite. Don’t want me to cut my hair? I’m buzzing it. Like red heads and brunettes? Say hello to my new blond highlights.

Who hogs the bed?
Bologna Head, Lydia, and Ponj (our dog and two of our three cats)

Who wakes up earlier?
Haigen. I’m bottomlessly jealous of his go get ‘em attitude in the morning. Even if I wake up early and can’t go back to sleep, I will lay in bed until I absolutely have to get up. Meanwhile Haigen has done the dishes, scooped the litter, taken out the garbage, showered, and is leaving AN HOUR EARLY for work. Oh, and probably cured cancer.

Where was your first date?
The jackass Starbucks. So named because we were acting like giddy fourteen year old jackasses the first dozen or so times we met there. Oh, and I suppose I should point out that technically these were “non dates”. I wouldn’t agree to “date” him until about a month of non-dating.

Who is more jealous?
Haigen’s only been jealous once, whereas I get jealous of anything he’s paying attention to that’s not me. I don’t care about other girls, but Monopoly on the iPhone can go fuck itself.

How long did it take to get serious?
It took Haigen about thirty seconds, but I was very cerebral about our whole dating process. I once told him that you couldn’t really know if you loved someone until you’d been with that person for over a year, whereas he loved me long before our first kiss.

Who eats more?
Haigen. I eat more frequently, but he kicks my ass when it comes to quantity.

Who does the laundry?
50/50.

Who's better with the computer?
If it were up to me I’d be calculating bills on an abacus and using a WWII era typewriter and messenger pigeons for correspondence. He has our entire house wirelessly connected to iTunes, my music library stored on an external hard drive so my computer doesn’t explode, and is the sole reason I update my computer.

Who drives when you are together?
Haigen. I drive 70ish miles every day, so Lisa no drivey.

By completing this I just realized that Haigen WAY gets the short end of the stick in this relationship.

Easy like Sunday mornin'

What the f@#k, you guys!???!??!

Ok, this is getting out of hand!

A few days ago, Sunday to be exact, the bf and I stopped by Nordstrom because he had a $20 gift certificate burning a hole in his pocket. As he milled manically around The Rail, I abandoned him for greener pastures a.k.a. the shoe department.

Nordstrom, lately you have been seriously failing me with the shoe selection, but on this day, oh this glorious Sunday, there was one pair that made me all warm in the inner ear with fantasies of Paris Fashion Week and pencil thin cigarette pants.

But alas, I had to resist the lure of their siren song, and our love affair remained unconsummated - I never even tried them on.

Until tonight.

Because tonight after work my love took a detour on the way home, stopped by Nordstrom, and bought the exact pair I had been coveting in JUST THE RIGHT SIZE.

Here they are on my dining room floor:


Because they're mine.

For no reason.

Just because he knew I loved them.

Inspiration

Ever since catching a glimpse of the Proenza pre-show for fall/winter 2009 on Le Fashion I have been COMPLETELY OBSESSED with it.

Here are the few select pieces compiled by the savvy Le Fashion peeps:



And here is what I'm wearing today:

(t-shirts: GAP Body and RVCA, sweatshirt: MAG by MAGASCHONI, skirt and tights: American Apparel, and REPORT boots)

It's not nearly the same... but it will have to do!

It's a three post day!!

This weekend I ordered 2.5 ounces of face cream for just a shade over $100.

I.

KNOW!

Trust me. I know.

I have never done anything like this before, but CATE BLANCHETT uses it, you guys!

Cate Blanchett.

What is this miracle elixir, you ask? It's called SK-II and is derived from Saki. Apparently, the old Japanese people who worked at a certain stage of the fermentation process would age, but their hands stayed remarkably youthful so some scientific masterminds looked into it and developed this asininely decadent skin care line available only at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales.

Since I live is Salt Lake City, which, let's face it, may as well be somewhere in the Ozarks, I got mine on Amazon.com.

Here's the item I purchased:

(I agree: for just over $40/oz. the packaging should be made of diamonds and rainbow dust, but I'm willing to let that part slide.)

I'll keep you posted on whether my skin somehow returns to its pre-pubescent luster, or I decline into a state of reclusive hermitude and societal despair at being taken for a serious ride.

For an extremely convincing video testimonial starring Ms. Blanchett herself, click here.

An experiment

So... I think I'm going to try and get an unpaid apprenticeship at a taxidermist.

Just one day a week.

Maybe Saturdays.

YOU GUYS!!

Not only is my love an incredibly handsome, sweet, thoughtful, random sender of flowers who is obsessive-compulsive about DOING THE DISHES and WARRANTIES, he's also an extraordinarily gifted photographer who has been accepted into his FIRST PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW!!

I should probably mention that this show? It's the first and only show he's ever even submitted to.

Let's briefly stop a moment and calculate those stats:
Total shows applied to: 1
Total shows accepted to: 1

I have no idea how I landed such a stunning specimen of a man, and how I somehow bamboozled him into loving me, but I'm not complaining.

Here are the photos that got in:

Burger Corral

California Tire


Joe's Diesel


G Ride

These stunning works of photographic genius will be on display at Saans Gallery from February 20, 2009 to March 18, 2009.

For more info, go here.