Author: Jake
Thursday night, I went to New Jersey. That isn’t really a big deal, in itself, since I go to NJ about 4 times per week on average. This time, though, it wasn’t just a run across the George Washington to Fort Lee. I actually took NJ Transit (above), and went to a little town near Newark. Deep Jersey. Snooki/Jerseylicious Jersey. Hahahah. I was there to shoot an interview with the famed tattoo artist Jun Cha, who I errantly reported earlier this week operates out of NJ. He is really a dude born and bred in So. Cal. trained by the likes of Mr. Cartoon. Anyway, here are a few of the shots from the interview:
The dude does traditional So Cal black and grey, in photo-realistic style. If I were ever to get a tattoo (which I never would), this is probably the dude that I would hit up.
Back to the matter at hand.. We are supposed to be blasted by Hurricane Earl on Friday. Hurricane season is the time of year that I suffer the pangs of being a poseur, past-prime surfer. Last time I checked the surf report it was like, double overhead at Coney Island. CONEY ISLAND! DOUBLE OVERHEAD! Can you imagine getting a barrel at Coney? This is the one time of year where you are more likely to die at Coney by being swallowed by the ocean, than by getting stabbed while waiting in line at the Wonder Wheel. We aren’t even talking the point at Montauk. There is going to be some serious Mark Foo stuff going on out at that end of the island, this weekend. Last time I surfed double overhead, I was a 19 year old resident of the aloha state. These days I am a landlubbing surfboardless Manhattanite. So depressing.
On a less depressing hurricane season note, I watched my University of Utah football team eek out a nail biting season opener against Pitt, on Thursday night. How awesome is college football? I seriously love it.
Just when I could really really use a three day weekend, Labor Day comes along. We have a banger lined up, too. Some items on the agenda include: Party for TH opening a new store in SoHo; Multiple PJ visits; hanging out in the country (Rural CT); a long training run with tight amigos (also in the country); watching the GP race at Misano; a dip in the pool; a fun editorial shoot; and, some barbecue. Have a fantastic weekend, peeps. And if you end up surfing Montauk this weekend, don’t tell me about it. Because I may accidentally punch you, out of pathetic jealousy.
Author: Jake
It is amazing how hard it is for me to get my haircut, seeing that I live with a stylist/barber extraordinaire. Anyway, after 2 or more weeks looking like Chewbacca and wearing hats on the weekends I was finally able to regain my clean-cut image. That, and several other things made last weekend a pretty good one.
We had a blast doing these shots of Reagy on the roof, for an eye wear co. I’m not sure if I will be able to use any of the shots from this set, but I liked how they came out. Reagan is such a cutie (and a good sport).
One more-
Reagan and I had Piper outside again on Sunday. This was probably our most lengthy outdoor excursion, so far. It was still a bit bright for Piper, but we had her in the shade, and she seemed to acclimatize after several minutes. Occasionally she would look up, only to look straight back at the ground and cover her eyes with both hands. So Cute. Reagan snapped a couple of shots of (pre-haircut) me and Piper hanging out.
Part of it is the white balance, but doesn’t Piper look like a zoned out little porcelain doll, below?
We capped off the weekend by watching one of my favorite sleep over movies from when I was a kid– Tron. I forgot how awesome/nerdy that movie is. What was even better, is that we watched it with a bunch of our friends while eating some super-delicious cookies.
Can you believe that this week is already September? I’m in denial.
Author: Reagan
Saturday:
We laid on the floor so I could put the mother in smother. (Tah-dah, monkey card! Isn’t it so cute? It’s also hairy.)
I read (and Piper kicked) a Bargain for Frances. Which is probably my top 5 favorite children’s books. Frances is pretty scrappy and she is always singing songs. You have to sing the songs while you read or it’s just not the full effect. Don’t piper’s feet look huge next to her scrawny legs?
Sunday:
We skipped church again to party with that pippy. It was worth it. I made some new headbands for her because she has been coming up with so many evil plans that her brain/head got too big for for her old ones.
I joke that we were on our way out to the pants store. I usually just put her in diaper covers when she isn’t wearing a dress, because shorts/pants fall off that skinny butt. Plus she’s got gams to die for. We’ve got our very own Edie Sedgwick on our hands. 
I really think Piper’s eyes are getting used to the natural sunshine. It was really bright outside, and she adjusted so quickly. Of course we were still in the shade, but she did great. I just love her. I squeezed her times a million.
I am so glad Piper had a chance to think about life during our visit. I can tell she had a lot on her mind. I read somewhere that the farther you tilt your head, the deeper the thought. (note: I never read that) 
I love more than anything when those teeth stick out just enough. People ask if her eyes really sparkle or if it’s just in piptures. They totally sparkle. I asked her what her secret is and she gave me a look like “you wish, lady”.
Good weekend. So good. And tomorrow is Tuesday, so Booyah.
I just finished a veggie delight from subway and now I’m blobbing and listening to The Doors nice and loud-loud for a married lady who goes to bed at 10. I love The Doors.
I love my parents for placing me in my playpen and then proceeding to play any of the following music:
Bob Dylan
Pink Floyd
The Doors
The Beatles
Neil Young
Van Morrison
Jimi Hendrix
Bob Marley
and the eagles, whom I can actually only take in small doses. Neil Young too.
But thanks mom and dad for giving me a rockin’ playpen. I swear I remember it.
Author: Jake
Since Reagan and I both chose to have a lazy morning, instead of getting up really early and hitting the trail. We had to opt out of Governor’s Island, today. But we still had plenty of time to hang out with Piper. She had just woken up when we arrived. So she was in the mood to play, but not super smiley, yet. It takes her a few hours to warm up into chipper self, when she wakes up from a nap. Above, she is getting some good snuggle time with Reagan, and of course, the monkey card. Below, she is actively engaged in “A Bargain for Francis,” By kicking the page, as Reagan reads to her.
Author: Jake
In contrast to the past few weeks, this one has seemed to drag on FOREVER. But it will soon be a happy memory, being that today is Friday. It actually feels like I got the weekend started last night, since I covered two events that were both pretty fun. My favorite of the two, was the preview party for new Chrome store [above], which opens Saturday.
The weather is supposed to be awesome, this weekend. It should be ideal for our long runs on Saturday. In addition to running and visiting Piper, we have a few extra items of fun slated for the weekend. Tomorrow and Sunday is the Gatsby Festival at Governor’s Island. I’m hoping that we can make it down there for that. Also this weekend, is the second of only two MotoGP races that occur on American soil each year. The GP riders will be fighting it out at the brick yard. I have to admit though, with Rossi’s injury, and Stoner’s apparent ineptitude, It hasn’t been much fun to watch Lorenzo run away with the title this year. Just the same, it will be fun to watch Hayden and the other American riders go for broke on their home turf. I’m getting ahead of myself for a minute, but I am also very excited about Rossi’s new contract with Ducati. Sounds like a match made it heaven. Italy’s hero piloting Italy’s flagship.
I’m also excited because this is the last weekend in 2010 without college football. I’m sure that I have told this story before. But, here it is again. Once, several years ago, about this same time of year, I was feeling kind of bummed out because the summer was over. I was in college, living with my parents and dreading going back to class for fall semester. I was expressing my dismay to my mom one night and she told me “Jake, that is why God gave us college football. So we have something to look forward to.” Such a wise woman. Since I have never been a BYU or Notre Dame fan, I wasn’t used to hearing the words “God” and “Football” in the same sentence. But the way she contextualized it, I had to agree Ma B. Utah’s first game is next Thursday against Pitt. Getting ahead of myself again, I can’t wait to see how the U of U does next year as a member of the Pac10.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend!
Author: Reagan
This isn’t really our dog, but we luh-huv him. Bear is our friends’ dog, and we’ve been watching him since Friday while they are away with family. He has been the best dog slash guest. Having a dog is a big job, especially in the city, but Jake might eventually go for it….(when we are both ready, which we aren’t and probably wont be for a long tim) thanks to Bear’s good behavior.
Anyway, we’ve had a nice, cool, rainy week(end) here in NYC. We did a long run on Saturday, Jake ran 20 and I ran 16. It was breezey and perfect. It was the last day of Summer Streets, and it I loved changing up my route for my long run. Summer Streets means that every Saturday in August they close off Park Avenue from 72nd to the Brooklyn Bridge, so bikers and runners can be free and happy. This is the third year they’ve done it, and we’ve gone every year.
I’m getting anxious for fall with this beautiful weather, it’s my favorite and we have a great line-up for fall activities.
And here they are. Eh hemmm…
~Philadelphia half marathon next month
~Fashion week in NYC is a big, awesome deal
~Hartford half marathon (jake is running the full) in October
~Tennessee for a mini Baker family reunion
~Halloween! Wait til you see Pip. It’s a surprise.
~NYC marathon. I’m actually getting excited.
~Everything above is awesome and fun.
Back to our dog, here are a few pictures of the adorable Bear, and our Sunday evening walk with him.
And here is a really good one that Jake took of Bear when he was feeling model-y.
Author: Jake
When my alarm went off this morning, it was pouring outside. So, I didn’t get up and run. I only have 5 miles scheduled for today, so hopefully I will be able to sneak them in this evening. It looks like I’m going to have to have to get wet at some point this week, though. I just checked the forecast and apparently it is going to be raining until Thursday.
Yesterday evening shaped up nicely. We did a couple of videos for Reagan, then shot some stills (also for R’s hair blog) on the roof with umbrellas. Just when I had resigned to being a homebody for the day, I received a text from some of our friends to hang out at their place. We had a blast hanging out with them and eating some delicious food together. They live about a mile and a half up Broadway from us. Since we had the dog with us, we had to make the journey on foot. MTA doesn’t allow dogs, unless they are in a carrier. Plus, we learned the hard way that the little guy gets car-sick pretty easily. So, all three of us had a really fun night-walk through the park in the rain, on the way home.
Author: Jake
This has been a pretty strange weekend, for me. Not strange in a bad way, just different. I think that the rain today might have something to do with it. We had a huge day full of activities planned today, but as it stands, I have only made it outside today for three quick tasks. 1. Moving the car (when I shot the photo above); 2. taking our friends’ dog (below) for a walk (we are dogsitting, while they are out of town; and, 3. to do a quick and wet 4m. run. Other than that, I have been helping Reagan shoot another tutorial for her hair blog. Right now the battery is charging, so that we can do one more.
I suppose that I can take comfort in the fact that we had such a productive day yesterday. We had our long run in the morning, for which we incorporated the Summer Streets event. Summer Streets is when the City shuts down Park Ave to auto traffic, so that peds and bikes and ride all the way from 72nd St. to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a really cool run. Apparently the training is paying off, too, because Reagan and I both felt fine afterward.
We headed up to see Piper after grabbing some lunch. It was a cool visit, because one of our friends came with us, who was meeting Piper for the first time. We talked about Piper and how proud we were of her accomplishments, for about 4 hours straight, hahaha. It was one of those overzealous proud-parent moment, that ended up being a lot longer than a moment. We didn’t get any photos of her, this weekend. Actually, Reagan snapped some really cute ones on Friday that she will probably share. But I didn’t get any.
I hope that everyone else had a great weekend.
Someone is barbecuing in our alley. It smells delicious.
Author: Jake
^—closely studying her favorite monkey birthday card.
^—-being tickled
^—-goofing off outside. She enjoyed it much more today, since it was overcast, and she didn’t have sunscreen in her eyes.
Click through here, for a few more.
Author: Jake
Don’t you love those weeks where you are so busy that they just fly past and before you even realize it, they are over? I love those weeks (but I hate when that happens on vacation). I have been too busy to even shave (see above). The shot above is perfect evidence of why I should spend my time behind the camera, not in front of it, hahaha. A guy that I was working at an event with, on Wednesday night, grabbed my camera and snapped one of me. I have seriously never felt less attractive, than I have in the couple of weeks. My tan is faded, I need a haircut, my skin is breaking out and I have bags under my eyes. Not a great combo.
Jessica White (below), on the other hand, was looking fabulous, that night. Ms. White was hosting the runway show Wednesday night. Can you believe that everyone is already starting to ramp up for fall fashion week? It is kind of exciting, because I love fashion week. But, it is kind of depressing, since that means that summer is basically done.
I dropped by PS11, again today, for Highsnob and had another great chat with my favorite Brazilian artists. Below is a shot of the finished piece, with Otavio shooting hoops in the foreground.
Thursday night, it was raining, so I didn’t run. No running today either. 14 miles tomorrow, it should be interesting, after so much time off.
I’m definitely looking forward to spending some time with Piper this weekend. Reagan and I have some pretty fun stuff planned, too.
To wrap things up– Ang tipped me off to an error that was happening in IE browsers when she was trying to comment. So, thanks for helping me troubleshoot, Ang. Also, my apologies to the other thousands, actually probably millions (hahahahaha) of people who have been experiencing the same frustrating problem while attempting to comment.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend.
