tea & vegan chocolate cupcakes

been busy with work and away from the blogs...again. i find that if i "take a break" from work to do a blog post, the next thing i know my entire day is gone {how does that happen? damn you, google reader and flickr!}. so, i am just avoiding them altogether. then, when i get home, the last thing i want to do is sit in front of the computer. i'd rather walk the dogs down to my favorite vegan restaurant, split a vegan wheat-free cupcake with my wife and drink peppermint tea.

ps. how cool is that processing patty did on the photo of me? it's an iphone app called camera bag.

other folks weddings: {p. david & todd}

p. david and todd are two of my best friends in the world and they were the officiants at our wedding, so it's appropriate that i feature them as my first {male} same-sex wedding! they are a true inspiration, they have been together for eighteen years and they have the most beautiful, loving marriage i have ever had the privilege to witness. they have actually been married three times {!!}: once in 1999 at the beautiful union station in los angeles, which todd is writing about; again in san francisco at city hall when it became legal {i was their witness}; and for a third time this past june before prop 8 was overturned. the third time they were also married at union station, but it was a very quick ceremony outside, with drinks at the bar after! {third time a charm?!} i asked todd to write about their first {main} wedding ceremony at union station, so take it away, todd:

{a first date}

{first wedding: december 1999, union station, los angeles}

{second wedding: february 2004, city hall, san francisco}

{third wedding: june 2008, union station, los angeles}

We got married on the 8th anniversary of our first date on 12/21/99 which makes 2009 the year of our 10th wedding anniversary and 18th year together.

A lot like your wedding, we didn't have a big budget so all of our best people and a few other amazing friends worked with us transforming the Fred Harvey Room at Union Station into a winter wonderland. We worked all day, all get gussied up, got married and then we were all stuffing trash bags in our formal wear at midnight. A true community effort!

P. David is a producer so he approached it like a one day shoot which was very effective. We also learned half way through to stop using the word "wedding" to vendors. When we were just having a big party the prices dropped drastically every time. Especially where the cake was concerned.

Important was to have best friends near. Only regret was that we were missing a few key friends (wink). {note from christina: i was unable to make their first wedding in 1999, but i went to the other two!}

My favorite part of the day (night, actually) was right after we were pronounced husbands for life. Everything looked a little sharper and warmer. Things have never looked the same since.

We DIYed pretty much everything. We rented tables, piano, plates, glasses. We did all the decorations, music, food, drink and had Ebersole-Hughes mugs made from an office supply place online as the momento. We had lots of help from friends.

One piece of advice: Stay in the moment. Stay focused on your spouse so you remember everything.

easy like sunday morning for your weekend...

one of our good friends, roddy, is on tour right now in europe with his band faith no more. i was IM'ing with him last night about how instantaneous the web is. he's in london and a few hours later, his entire family back here in LA had already seen the show. i know i'm dating myself a bit here, but that technology is pretty f*cking cool. he *just* played this show hours ago & not only is it already on youtube, but i actually watched the show live! {roddy is the handsome one on keyboards. he was patty's best man at the wedding. i'm going to feature roddy's wedding soon!}

we are going to see him play in paris on our one year wedding anniversary!!! that's going to be our honeymoon...more on that later...

{esb, even though you are "working" i know you're out there. this is for you. xox}

happy friday

happy friday, friends! here's a sneak peak at {one of} p. david & todd's wedding {s}, which i'm posting on monday! it's quite a story, be sure to tune in on monday...

have a great weekend, lovelies!

fanny steamboat waddles

introducing the newest member of our dog family: fanny steamboat waddles. she's 12 years old and weighs 28 pounds. she is going on a diet right now. we adopted her from gary her dog walker. gary has been walking her for the past three years, then on monday he went to pick her up and found her 85-year old mom had passed away. when gary asked her adult children if they would like the dog {then named annie}, they said: "we don't want IT. take IT to the pound."

gary brought her home and we adopted her the next day. she's very, very sweet and has a hard time walking due to her size. {we changed her name from annie to fanny because a really good friend of ours is named annie and it was too weird calling her annie!} she's a combination of oona and another favorite dog named winnie. yes, she's a senior and probably won't be with us too long, but she's a graceful lady who does NOT deserve to go to the pound.

she's going to live out her golden years in style and comfort with us.

{photo by patty}

same sex couple on us weekly contest

wow...i just found this on two chicks nest. very cool. go vote for them! and re-post. how great would it be if a same sex couple won?!?! from two chicks nest:

We, Matthew Ossenfort and Jeffrey Denke, have been selected as one of the top ten finalists in the US Weekly Dream Wedding contest. We are very excited!! Please help us make our dream wedding a reality!!

This is a great opportunity to further awareness and visibility regarding the need for marriage equality and help a happy gay couple's dream come true!

Voting begins TODAY and ends June 18th . Please take a moment to vote for us online at:

http://www.usmagazine.com/wedding/vote

Check the box next to our picture and then click “submit final vote” at the bottom.

As you know, presently, same sex marriage is not legally recognized in the state of New York. Casting a vote for Matthew and Jeffrey will not only help them achieve their dream wedding, but it will also further awareness regarding how important it is for every loving couple to have the right to get married. They will be featured in an article in this week’s US Magazine and with enough help and support from the community will have the opportunity to have their dream wedding!

“Our biggest obstacle was and remains the fact that it is not yet legal in New York for two people of the same gender to marry. This would in no way hinder us from going ahead with a ceremony. We are currently considering moving to CT where it would be legal. However, a lot of headway is being made to further same sex marriage in NY. In fact we are attending a Marriage Equality rally this weekend to help further the recognition regarding this need for legalization. “

Please pass this email along to help this couple make their dream a reality, and by spreading the word about the need for marriage equality.

Thank you all so much!

a tiny moment of relaxation...

twilight hour from our bedroom. 

away working...

sorry i've been absent again lately...i've been working. a lot. and in my line of work, it's hard to sit down in front of the computer. or if i do get to sit down, i don't want to look at the computer.

i do have some great weddings to show you...and news about our long-overdue honeymoon and news about another dog member of the family {yes, seriously}...so i'll be back soon...

{photo credit here.}