A Short Tour of Our Apartment

More than a few people have been clamoring to know what our apartment looks like, so we took a few moments out today to snap some photos. It's still a bit of a work in progress, and Benner is obsessed with moving the furniture, but this is our home and we love it. Enjoy the nickel photo tour, and give us decorating tips if you have any.


Book shelf right near the front door.


Dining room.


A view of the kitchen from the dining room.


Our fridge magnets and the free Catholic calendar our friend gave us.


Our living room.


Reverse living room view.


Hallway.


Monkeys on the bed.


Benner's corner office with a view (also the bedroom).


Behind those giant sliding mirrors is a giant closet.


And here is the view from our front door.

Skyping with Jen and Rob

Oh, technology. Is there anything you can't do? No, there is not. Technology can do anything, except maybe teleportation. But really, if you're sitting around and withholding thanks and praise from technology because it has not bestowed teleportation upon you yet, then you must realign your priorities, friend.

Anyways, we have been meaning to Skype with Jen and Rob for a long time. (Skype, if you don't know, is a free service that allows you to make free phone or video calls to anyone else, as long as you both have a microphone and/or web cam.) It was fun to feel like we were actually talking to them in person.


We got to catch up, and they even walked their laptop around their house to get a quick glimpse of their baby boy Aiden, whom we love just as much as them.

It also allowed Rhianwen and I to practice extremely rudimentary puppetry skills, as we involved tiny animal friends in the conversation.


In my hand, you'll notice, is a Care Bear riding a tiny elephant. That elephant is now serving a very vital purpose on my desk:


He holds my wedding ring.

But back to the topic at hand, we love and miss Jen and Rob the end.

PS Everyone should click here to go download Skype, and then we can all talk! Yay!

Sarah and Steve Leave Town :(

One of the better parts of living in LA has been being in close proximity to Sarah and Steve. Rhianwen hasn't lived on the same coast as her big sister since, well, I dunno. She was 11 or something. Sarah graduated from Drexel and high-tailed it to UC Berkley for grad school, and as a result the sisters have only seen each other sporadically over the last so many years.

So when we arrived in LA, we decided to stay on Sarah and Steve's floor for three weeks to make up for all the lost time! WEE!

Also, they were helping us out until we got an apartment, and it was a blessing of which the value cannot be overestimated. Without them, our move out here would not have been possible.

So seeing them pack up and head back to San Francisco this past weekend was bittersweet. We know that it's the best thing for them, career-wise. But watching dearly beloved people move hours away after years of yearning to be close is hard. Thank God they're only a (relatively) short drive north on the 5.

Anyways, Rhianwen and I helped them pack up, and these are some photos.


Notice my wonderful hat made out of newsprint. At one point I had a bubble wrap cape, but that was not caught on camera.


They purchased that root beer because they know we love it! They love us! Aww!


Sniff... please move back, guys!

Mama Gwenyth Visits!

Rhianwen's mom Gwenyth came out for a visit last week. We felt bad that we had jobs and other responsibilities to tend to while she just kind of hung around our neighborhood but Gwenyth, ever the good sport, made the most of it. She even got to help Sarah and Steve pack up their apartment for their move back to San Francisco.



Here we are eating breakfast on Saturday morning, and later the girls got pedicures. This coincidentally was the same morning Sarah and Steve were leaving town. (More on them later.)

After Sarah and Steve left, we surprised Gwenyth with tickets to see the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, which is one of the most gorgeous music venues we've ever been to. They were playing a special program of Warner Bros. classics, with orchestral pieces taken from classic movies. The orchestra played them in time with film clips that were projected onto big screens. It was very fun, and we even added a few titles to our Netflix queue because of it.

These pictures don't really do it justice, but we'll give it a shot.




That last one is of an escalator, which we thought looked cool at the time but maybe isn't so cool now. You be the judge.

Gwenyth got to also visit Rhianwen at work, and they had lunch on the Warner Bros. lot. Here they are in front of Ellen's new studio:



What you don't see on the top of that marquee is "THE JONAS BROTHERS"!!! OMG THE JONAS BROTHERS OMG!!!

I haven't even been invited to the lot yet, by the way. So Gwenyth, if you're reading this, Rhianwen loves you more than me. You should feel special.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Gwenyth as she had an important work conference in Las Vegas to go to. Which made us sad.


We love you Gwenyth!!! Please come back!

Oh yeah... a quick update for you

I got a job as a production assistant on "King of the Hill."

It's awesome and, funnily enough, I got the job on our anniversary. A little two-year anniversary gift from God, I guess (the two year anniversary is the Cotton Anniversary, and there is a major character on the show named Cotton...). Basically, a friend ran into a friend randomly and asked if she knew of any jobs. She said, "I need someone this Thursday." A phone call and an email later, and I had the job. Two days later, I was sitting in on my first table read of a script for an Emmy award-winning series. Not a bad series of events.

What a blessing it has been to not only get work, but to work on a show that I actually like. Everyone is nice, the environment is laid back and I get to talk to the people who are in the positions I want to be in.

The only downside is the job security: there isn't much. But God will provide, right gang?

Two Years of Wonderfulness

Last week, on August 26, Rhianwen and I celebrated two wonderful years of marriage. It's really hard to believe that it's been that long. It alternatively feels longer or shorter, depending on the day really. But all in all, it's been amazing sharing a life with Rhianwen for the past nearly 800 days.

We've been through so many changes, and the fact that I have her as a constant keeps me sane. She knows how to love me, and take care of me, and I thank God everyday that he gave me a wife that knows how to manage a budget (just as I'm sure she's thankful God sent her a husband that can cook). I'm so thankful that Rhianwen knows how to make me laugh, and indulges me in all the nicknames I've given her (we're up to about 200 now). Even in our worst moments, when we argue about things that don't even matter, I can't help but love her with all my heart for her determination and intelligence.

We are perfectly suited for each other, and as we've grown together for the past two years, it has only made me look forward to the next 80.

So, anyways, back to the celebration. Rhi put on a cute little dress that I love and I wore a tuxedo shirt (to commemorate the wedding). I made a fancy pants meal of fillet Mignon with a delicious sauce (Rhianwen said she would put it on cereal, she loved it so much), mashed potatoes and asparagus. Rhianwen, bless her heart, took every single photo of us together in existence and made a collage out of them. I cried just a little. (Does that make me more or less of a man? Discuss.)

Then we drank champagne and slow danced to "As Time Goes By" for hours.


It was a perfect night to kick off the next 80 years.