helping out

per my post last night, if anyone is able to help there is a donation fund set up for the triplets. you can email  nicolezwerin(at)yahoo(dot)com for the address if you would like to send a check to nicole (the friend who requested the print), or a Paypal donation can be sent to her at that email. if you would like to donate some other way please email her. so far they have been able to raise $4300 for the babies and any other donations would be sincerely appreciated.


if you want to read more about meghan and see her adorable triplets you visit their blog at http://mbjmaybebaby.blogspot.com/.

sad, sad, sad

believe it or not, i am actually putting posts together about the missionary madness + wedding. coming soon.

until then... here's a sad story i just can't stop thinking about.

this week i got an email about doing a custom poster for someone whose friend had passed away kind of suddenly. it gets sadder. she left behind a husband and the cutest triplets that just had their first birthday a few weeks ago. this friend had been diagnosed with cancer five years before (three weeks after her wedding!) and had been battling it on and off. she wanted to do a print to hang in the nursery and remind the triplets of their brave and beautiful mom. the quote is christopher robin talking to winnie the pooh, and it sort of breaks my heart every time i read it.

cancer is the worst.

madness

in 6 days...
called a senator to get jen-fen back
welcomed her home with open arms
failed a religion test
strung a million feet of doilies
welcomed a brother to our crazy family (yay lara + bryce!)
cried happy tears
lit 200 candles
ate lots of waffles with lots of out-of-town family
listened to jeff give the sweetest farewell talk
cried
listened to jen bear an amazing testimony in spanish
cried again
hugged my little brother really tight
waved goodbye to him for two years.

it's been an amazinglystressfulfabulousoverwhelming week. i'll put pictures up. eventually.

dear argentina, please give my sister back.

i have four sisters.

one sister is getting married on friday.

another sister was supposed to come home from her mission today, but argentina is holding her hostage.

her original flight from buenos aires was cancelled late last night. when we found out she wouldn't be home this afternoon, it sort of felt like how the whos felt the morning they woke up and saw that the grinch had stolen christmas, (the part before they started singing). then the real fun news came this afternoon, two hours before her new flight was scheduled to leave.

she lost her passport.

no passport, no flight. which means she is still sitting in buenos aires when she is supposed to be COMING HOME. we've missed her, a lot.

and we really need her to be here for this wedding. everybody cross your fingers and say a prayer, ok? and if anyone knows anyone at the u.s. embassy in argentina, let them know that a really funny, pretty hermana who's still wearing a black name tag will be paying them a visit real early tomorrow and if they could ship her home asap it would be much appreciated.

three years

Michael and Sara from Ryan Hinman Films on Vimeo.

and it's been so awesome.


also, i loved our videographer. he is so fantastic and i would recommend him to everyone. you can check him out at ryanhinman.com

stream of consciousness

mike just leaned over and asked if i was going to write good things about him. and talk him up to my friends. the only thing i can think of is that this morning we had the worst goodbye kiss i can imagine. he didn't know that i had just brushed my teeth and i didn't know that he had been pounding sour patch kids. lets just say that it took less than a second for him to push me away and act like i had poisoned him - complete with convulsions. mint toothpaste + sour patch kids might be the worst combination in the world. anyways...

for the first time last week i read a class syllabus before actually going to class. so happy i did, because the first thing i read was that they weren't going to start taking attendance until september 7th. naturally, that meant yesterday was my first day of class. i knew we had a quiz on hinduism, and i forgot my book at home, so i let the internet be my guide during my lunch break. guess what, folks. wikipedia has not replaced actual textbooks - proved by the fat 20% i got on my quiz. kind of comforting that we still need textbooks, but problematic since i lost the book...

i'm doing my first official bridal fair this saturday. i'm a little nervous to talk to people and i haven't finished figuring out what my booth is going to look like, so my current plan of action is just to camp out under my table with my laptop and watch netflix. as long as i'm in the booth i don't owe them extra money for not showing up, and that's all that really matters, right?

commuter-ing

i still have posts about new york. technically, i still have posts about our fourth of july trip to boston... since i never did any. it seems kind of lame to put them up since i'm back home again, but they are just lurking half written in my posts folder and i think it would drive me crazy to delete them. so here we go.

martha is almost on the river in west chelsea. the commute wasn't too bad though. one block to the train, 5 stops to times square, transfer, 2 stops to 28th, and then walk 4 avenues. when i left in the morning i would hum to martha to martha to eat like a pig... strange? yes. and now i can't remember the words to the real rhyme. i usually read my scriptures on the way down and a novel on the way back. i finished a few books on my phone this way, and the strangest was dracula. kind of twisted. and super strange reading about men eating flies and sucking blood while you're riding the subway with some sketchy people...

the daily journey:

start in harlem - hop on the train - grab a seat - times square transfer - emerge from the subway - martha greeted me everyday. so thoughful, right? - a pretty church - chelsea school. cue to plug my nose because ten steps later it always smelled like sour milk - the highline... getting closer - a sliver of the building - hooray! made it! - the entrance.

poster giveaway!

this is my really talented friend from high school, rachael. she paints, knits, photographs and makes jewelry. today, she is giving away three of my prints. all you have to do is head on over to her blog and leave a comment.

keeping it close to home

we're back from new york! more updates on that later. things have been craaaaaaaaazy around here.
let's blame these two kids.

they got engaged last week and they are so perfect for each other. yay for lara and bryce! and we love to make weddings as insane as possible around here. i got married the week after jess got home from her mission. jess got married the weekend before jenny reported to the mtc for her mission. and now, jenny is coming home from argentina on the eleventh, lara is getting married on the fourteenth, and jeff is leaving on the nineteenth. that's what my parents get for having seven kids in ten years :)

bryce is great. he is super nice, funny, and fits into the criteria of living within 15 minutes of my parents house. see?

it's really amazing. and bonus points for angie since she grew up around the corner and we played american girls together when we were little. it must be something in the lindon/pg water...

moment of glory

yesterday, my face was on martha's blog. that's all.

studio tour

unfortunately, i'm not allowed to take any pictures of the studio space. there are new products and future magazine layouts everywhere and they don't really want premature internet debuts.

fortunately, an article came out today about working at martha. with photos! hooray!

and now, i will be your official tour guide.

the office takes up one and half floors of the starrett lehigh building in west chelsea. each floor is an entire city block. it's huge. and there are hundreds and hundreds of windows. everything is white, white, white. i have personally seen people walking around with white paint cans touching things up. they keep it pristine.

this is the only two story part of the offices. they have lunch vendors here, and there are usually lots of products set up for test displays.

this would be your typical row. i sit on such a row. the second seat in, on the left. on the verrrrry east side of the building. it's a hike in the mornings from the elevators.

this is gael towey's office. she's the chief creative officer/director/head honcho. it's only a couple rows down from where i sit. she's really nice. all the directors/editors/department heads have cool glass offices.

kevin sharkey's office. sort of amazing in person. the books! look at them!

a test kitchen. there are three total. i will severely miss the test kitchens and my close proximity to where they put the extra food.

the roof. it's the perfect spot to eat lunch. there are also three photo studios, the prop studio, the crafts room... loads of things. it's a really big place and it's pretty easy to wander. i really love this place.

by the time you read this, i will be in a sugar coma.

yesterday was one of those really great days. i'm close to finishing a lot of projects at work. i finally introduced mike to bottino, the place where most of my daily $20 stipend is going (sidenote: ang and i found a copycat of their delicious watermelon-strawberry lemonade and she posted the recipe here) mike and i hung out on the pier after work until we met up with klane and ang for some fire-cooked pizza at ovest. we walked the highline twice in one day (it's prettiest at sunset). and then. then we partook of a fabulous joke called a donut sandwich.

things quickly got out of control once we started ordering. first, they take a doughnut and slice it like a bagel. next, they have you pick 3 kinds of ice cream to stuff inside. 3?!?! we burst out laughing. each step after that we lost it again. now we add icing? bahahahaha. and as many toppings as we want? bahahahaha. we could barely stop laughing to tell them what to do next. there has to be some six year old kid in the back running the whole show, who else would have thought of this?

ang and i split one while the boys each got their own heart-attack inducing version. this is our masterpiece: cheescake, red velvet cake batter, and some other ridiculous flavor of ice cream topped with chocolate icing, rainbow sprinkles, crushed oreos, and mini m&ms for a nice touch of crunch.

mike's creation.

and then we ate it. we sat outside in bright green lawn chairs and stuffed our faces, much to the pleasure/surprise/disgust of everyone walking by.

decisions, decisions

i am in a pickle.

here's the situation: company A, that i think most of us know and love, would like to start selling my posters. (insert wild applause here). but... people won't know they are buying them from me anymore.  they would think they are buying them straight from company A. which might be a good thing. when customers find out i am a homeless college student i don't think it instills a lot of confidence.

so... do i sellout?

i love designing prints. i love that people actually buy them from me. i love that most clients tell me about their cat, and their weekend, and end up ordering more than once and say things like "hey girly!" when they email me.

but... it could be a really great business opportunity with a growing company too.

someone tell me what to do. i've been eating all afternoon and still can't make a decision. and the salt water taffy is almost gone (sorry ang!).

one of the reasons why my jeans are gettin real tight.

photos pilfered from ang.


we've found quite a few things we like about new york, but i think the one that holds the most sway in my little j. crew lovin heart is coco helado. it's most like an italian ice, and soooooo creamy. and it's only $1. plus, it's served with a kleenex! what more could you ever need? and those sneaky cart people park themselves at the entrance and exit of the closest subway station which means i have to try and resist it at least twice a day. my saving grace is that you have to pay cash, which i never have, since mike's official title in our relationship is "cash handler". he's self-appointed, as i'm sure you could guess.

walkin' on sunshine

this past week has been full of good things. reading my scriptures on the subway every day. getting the chance to email jenny back and forth for 45 minutes and talking about change, doubts, and testimony. (maybe i cried a little bit. at work.) walking by the test kitchen at the exact moment they wheeled out a very fat, delicious chocolate cake and "testing" a large piece. 

getting an email saying that since friday's temperature was going to be over 100 degrees everyone should take the day off and go to the beach. eating an ice cream bar for lunch and sitting on the pier reading pride and prejudice. getting to do some really beautiful wedding announcements. my family being awesome enough to handle the shipping/assembly aspects of both businesses while we've been here. coco helado for $1! mike. mike is always a good thing.

we've been better at prioritizing the important things this week and it has made such a difference in our day to day. i feel like skipping down the streets with rainbows trailing behind me. life's so much better when you choose to be happy.

catch me if you can

tuesday night. neil simon theater. catch me if you can. it was pretty funny and the music was catchy. the guy who plays agent hanratty "is money" (from mike). if you've seen the movie, it is essentially the same plot line, and without my glasses the main character looks and sounds just like leo. ang and i felt a little spoiled after sitting on the front row for memphis - it felt soooooooo far away sitting in the balcony - but it was definitely still worth it. and you can't beat student rush tickets for $28. my id card is worth it's weight in gold out here!

after the show we grabbed dinner at empanada mama. they are awesome and open 24 hours. next time i am definitely hitting up their dessert menu.

tim! the premiere is in 6 days. mark it on your calendar, folks.

adventures in marthaland

background: i usually leave for work at 9 and get in at 9:45. i also sit next to the creative director's assistant, paulie. she has a pretty insane job. think devil wears prada.

last friday paulie asked me to cover for her on monday morning since she would be at a doctor's appointment. she told me to be there at 8:45. no problem! cue monday morning. i woke up around 5:30 to work on posters/invitations. i went into the bathroom at 8:30 to get ready and started mentally going through what my deadlines would be for that day... and all of the sudden i looked in the mirror and dropped my brush. oh my gosh. i completely spaced the fact that i was supposed to be there in fifteen minutes. i ran to the subway station, rode downtown, and power walked/jogged the four avenues until i got to the building. it has been insanely hot and humid, and by the time i got there (thirty minutes late) i looked gross and was panicking. i rushed through the double doors after getting off the elevator and luckily looked up in time to stop myself from crashing my sweaty face right into martha. she said hello. i said hi. and then i squealed to myself once i was positive she was out of earshot.

she looks amazing in person. that woman has found the fountain of youth. she's 70!

new story.

on tuesday paulie suddenly stood up and said "come with me. now". i started to ask why, but she said "just come!" so i got up and jogged to catch up with her. and the strangest thing happened. first, we were walking with just a few people. within thirty seconds, tons of people were streaming out of their rows, all headed toward the reception area, and walking faster and faster the more people they saw. and then i saw the reason. on the receptionist's desk was a bucket filled with mini zucchini's from martha's garden. all of the sudden, looking at all those people, i needed that zucchini. we fought for a place in line and managed to get some of the last ones. i felt like holding it high above my head and doing a victory lap around all the other people that read the email fifteen seconds too late. ha! i got a martha zucchini! it kind of feels like winning the lottery.

see? baby zucchini. i'm keeping it forever. she brings in eggs a lot too. but i have yet to figure out a way to get those home on the subway.

beach day + hp7 numero dos

we went to the beach again last saturday. the first time we headed out i braced myself for a gross and grungy beach filled with trash and body odor and maybe even rats scurrying across the sand. not sure why my mind heard beach and automatically thought subway. sometimes having an overactive imagination pays off. my expectations are usually so wacky that i'm always excited about the reality.

after a relaxing afternoon full of salt water taffy, sleeping, and swimming we headed back to partake of harry potter's magical mania. it was a bittersweet feeling watching the concluding piece. i love that our generation grew up with harry, ron, and hermione. and i love that j.k. rowling made millions of kids fall in love with reading and she should also be applauded for writing a series that gets better with each book, not worse. although, as much i love the movies, that epilogue was pitiful and hilarious. books will always be better. we finished the night with dinner at land, which finally satisfied my thai food cravings. it was a successful saturday!

date night

on thursday night mike met me in chelsea after work and we wandered over to the west village to find some food. we finally settled on pinto, a little thai place that looked good. we are on a constant quest to find something that beats thai drift. we've tried so many places, and some of them are close rivals but nothing has bested it yet. this place was pretty delicious, but it was more fusion food. i had the lamb massaman and mike had... i don't remember but the sauce was scrumptious.

afterwards we meandered through the streets and talked and people watched until my second stomach (the dessert one) began desperately craving sugar.
mmmmm... triple chocolate mousse.

we decided that we need to spend more time together. we're canceling our netflix account (1. because mike is irate they are almost doubling the price and 2. because we need to get out more and stay in less). i had a new idea for a project that he is going to help me out with. mike is the perfect sounding board for the millions of things i feel like i need an opinion on. it must be exhausting listening to me talk all the time. maybe i should go on a speech diet. hmmm....

we interrupt this blogging absence...

for some exciting news. my little brother jeff received his mission call tonight. we got to be with the familia via facetime (yay steve jobs! uniting families!) as he opened his call to the budapest, hungary mission. jeff is the golden child in our family. everybody loves jeff. and you know why? because if you text him and say that you can't remember how to turn the tv on even if he just showed you how two days ago you will hear him get up from his chair on the second floor and come bounding down the stairs to turn it on for you - again. and he will even give you one of his cookies. he's that kind of person. and here's the best part about the day he's reporting to the mtc...

(last march at jess's wedding, just a few days before jenny left on her mission)

on october 18th everyone gets to be reunited for a whole 24 hours! let the fiesta planning begin. there are no definite plans yet, but i think it will be a laser tag/ihop/arcade gaming affair. (and if anyone knows anything about hungary, do share. but only if it will not make my mother worry anymore than she already is).

this one time, martha totally walked past my desk.

and... that's the whole story. but she is having lunch with all the interns next month so i'm preparing daily with flash cards. i'm already making a list of questions i should ask... mostly i really want to know who actually updates her facebook account and twitter. does martha even know her own login? and i'm counting on the girl who asked the vp of merchandising last week so what's going to happen when martha dies? to deliver another bombshell question at the lunch. i can only imagine what she's going to come up with.

on saturday the weather was so beautiful. we packed a picnic lunch for the park and watched a co-ed softball game. i would try to explain how entertaining watching the game was, but i think co-ed softball explains it all. after, the boys played catch and ang and i headed over to the met to see the alexander mcqueen exhibit with her friend joanna. we knew it was going to be crowded, but we ended up waiting in line for almost two hours to get in. they don't allow pictures (and they are serious about it too. i almost saw a man get tackled. not kidding) but here's a little snippet of what we saw (all stolen from the mysterious workings of the internet).

it was kind of amazing. the shoes were insane. by the end, all i could think of was project runway. come soon july 28th? please?