4.30.2013

TIKI TORREY TOUR


Day one of shooting; man I love a good photo shoot, ESPECIALLY when we are on location. This morning we had breakfast at the lodge where they passed out little lunch menus for you to circle your wants and they packed it up in a cute little paper sack. All of our shots today were outside, where the majority of the day the winds were 30 mph. Josphen was a master at the hair, redoing it after basically every shot, coating it in hairspray. The end of our day it was much calmer and the last four shots were taken with the ranch horse, Tiki. I held him still while the models were being switched out as well as moving him about to the different places in the field. My co-worker snapped this shot of me whilst leading ol' Tiki (he's twenty-eight-years-old you know) to another part of the fence.

Dinner tonight was probably the craziest experience of my life. It was a quaint little place up the road recommended by one of the lodge folk called The Patio - A Spaghetti Western Cafe (we were told they mainly served pizza). We walked in to a small room with what felt like six tables made from lawn furniture, with Christmas lights strewn from every corner (and in every corner), not to mention the numerous florescent lights and lamps, every one of which had some sort of colored film on the bulb. And the people: there was a one-man-band fiddler in the corner, three granola hippie women in another (one of them cradling a newborn), and right after we got there with our party of 15 a motorcycle gang of 20+ traipsed in and filled the rest of the room. It doesn't stop there, the motorcycle gang was from the south of Paris, France, here on a USA tour of national parks; even more random, both of our models spoke French and became quite chummy with the gang. It was definitely a night to remember.

4.29.2013

TORREY TOUR


Last night I packed my bags in preparation for a photo shoot trip today. I still had to go into work (and in an effort to remember everything I forgot the Google map I printed out) and get things done there before the big road trip. We started packing up my car around 3:30 (that's when I saw that my sweet best friend of a husband had driven my Google map out to me and left it in my car, along with a surprise note and box of Raisinets for the drive; sigh, love) with all of my passenger's things: Ashley, wardrobe and handbag stylist, Josphen, hair stylist extrodinare, and Dawn, the make-up genius. The drive to Torrey, UT was long, but scenic. When we arrived, it was quite picturesque: green fields for days filled with buffalo, surrounded by giant red cliffs, with a cluster of trees right smack in the middle. In the cluster of trees was The Lodge at Red River Ranch—our destination and accommodation. After getting settled, in we traveled up the road 'into town' to Cafe Diablo where I had the most amazing dish ever. Picture a sweet potato puree with perfectly placed beef tenderloin medallions topped with mango salsa housed under a tent of four cilantro waffle triangles. So many flavors that surprisingly made my mouth dance. Tomorrow we start shooting, and I cannot wait.

4.28.2013

FACTUAL


After church today, Tyler and I made our way over to my parents' house to work on the program for my grandpa's funeral. The mortuary provided a sheet for the family to fill out the night they came to retrieve the body. It feels as though this isn't real, but at the same time it feels like it happened so long ago. I learned some things I didn't know before about my grandpa and even the Duncan side of the family. The front of the of the program is a photo of my grandpa that captures his persona to a tee. The inside cover lists the above facts along with the pall bearers and an engagement photo of my grandparents with my grandpa's favorite scripture—something I learned. The facing page had a Salt Lake Temple watermark with the program listed out. The back is the best part… it listed all of his children and grandchildren with their spouses. So interesting to see a long list of all of the names and even the total stats: 9 children, 61 grandchildren, 164 great-grandchildren, 4 great-great-grandchildren—the coolest thing by far that I learned. Amazing that all that came from two people, right?

4.27.2013

THE DAY AFTER


Tyler and I made our way to the temple this morning for our monthly attendance. We decided to do initiatory ordinances and boy was I a mess. I basically cried the whole time, thinking of how my grandpa was finally pain-free and reunited with his family again, thinking of how alone my grandma must feel and thinking of how grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Afterwards, we met up with Tyler's friend Bryan at IKEA for some bed shopping. Apparently, today only they were offering free meals at the cafe with a purchase of $150 or more—good thing Bryan needed a bed instead of a cutting board. After trying all of the beds and finding the perfect fit, we made our way to the cafe to try all of the food… seriously ALL of the food was sampled, as it was free. We parted ways with our purchases and full tummies thanks to IKEA. Tyler went into work for a bit while I went to my parents' house to wrap his birthday presents I've been keeping there. Tyler met me there later, soon after my dad had come home from my grandma's house. He stood in the kitchen and told us the tales of the last twenty-four hours: my grandpa passed away in the company of all nine of his children, some grandchildren and my lovely grandma; my grandma was exhausted, but didn't want to go to sleep because she didn't want to miss him passing; she told him over and over before and after his passing, 'Don't forget to come back to get me soon, like you promised.' My dad and his siblings agreed and asked me this evening to design the funeral program; I am honored.

4.26.2013

A PIECE OF ME

This morning I was woken up by a disheartening phone call—my dad called to tell me that my grandpa was in a coma. The word hit me like a punch to the chest; I couldn't breathe and immediately fell apart. Tyler held me for a bit while I cried it out, but I bucked up and got ready for the day. Work was a bit of a blur; it was obvious my head wasn't there. In the early afternoon I ended up slicing my thumb pretty bad while trimming some certificates I had printed. I ran to the kitchen for some quick first aid and went back to my desk putting pressure on my bloody thumb. Sydney, noticing I was quite frazzled, asked if I wanted to go somewhere for lunch. I wasn't hungry, but I went along for the ride. I broke down on the way and told her everything sobbing with frustration and sadness. My grandpa is very old and my Aunt Laurel said that this would be the best way for him to go, peacefully and painlessly, but it still is hard. Sydney took me for some much-appreciated bundt cake and we went back to work. She told me I should go home, but there were so many things I needed to finish up. By 3 pm, though, I was a mess: my dad had sent me an e-mail with an update on my grandpa and he attached a photo of my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandma gathered around my grandpa's hospice bed. His eyes were closed and he looked frail; he looked completely foreign to me. I lost it and immediately decided I was going to leave early after all. I came home and decided to post the pictures I had taken from our visit to my grandparents' home on Sunday to the Duncan family Facebook group. That night after Tyler had gotten home and we had had dinner my dad called—I was in the bathroom and had missed it by seconds. I called him back immediately, and with a solemn whisper my dad told me that my grandpa had passed away. I asked him how he was doing and with a short reply the conversation had ended. I walked into our hallway and it hit me—a flood of uncontrollable sobbing took over my body. Tyler ushered me to the couch to hold me for a second time as I lay there crying. Once the tears ended, we didn't want to go to bed. Around 11:30 we decided to go for a bit of a drive and ended up buying some comfort gelato at the grocery store. We came home and ate ice cream while watching comedies. It's hard to believe he is gone, but I know I will see him again. I think the hardest thing is knowing how heartbroken my grandma must be. This day was hard and exhausting and I'm glad that it is over.

4.25.2013

SO LONG


This morning I actually had time to straighten my hair (that's what happens when you work from home before a doctor's appointment and your internet is down). I can't believe how long it is getting—I was telling Tyler while we were getting ready that it is basically 'Eve length.' We called the doctor's office ahead of time to see how far behind they were running so we wouldn't waste time in the waiting room (they tend to do that) and it turned out they were so far behind they couldn't see anyone until the early afternoon. So I worked from home a bit more and then we made our way over to her office. The appointment ended with good news and a motivation to keep at the implementation of a healthy lifestyle. I finally made it into work by 3 and was home by 6. A bit of a scattered day, but a good one at that.

4.24.2013

PROUDLY


This is my wonderfully caring, incredibly selfless, extremely smart, stunningly handsome husband. Did you know that this guy is taking two Chemistry classes and two Chemistry labs (each of which has two different components), as well as a Nutrition class (phew)? Then let's add the billions of work hours he does in a week on top of that (okay, like 30—but still). We hardly see each other, but when we do, he constantly makes sure I am taken care of, even when I don't need a thing. Today he took a test—a gnarly one at that—and passed it with flying colors. I couldn't have more love and adoration for this man; I beam with glee that he is mine and I can't help but shout it to the world. He is even kind enough to let me take his picture (up close and personal) and post it here while I spout about his loveliness.

4.23.2013

I JUST WANNA DANCE


Since this week I am officially starting my new lifestyle NOT on Ideal Protein, today is day two of counting my calories like a fiend (using the MyFitnessPal app on my iPhone) and exercising every day. Yesterday was a brisk walk around the neighborhood and tonight was a crazy amount of Just Dance 3 packed into a 45-minute window. I 'Just Danced' all over our living room rug and by the end it was diagonal and halfway under our couch. I'd say that's a sure sign of a workout well done, wouldn't you?

4.22.2013

NATURE 'N STUFF


Happy Earth Day everyone! Over many-a thought processes this past week I have decided that all this strict dieting is not the answer. I need to dig deep and find the real solution to my weight loss. Don't get me wrong, Ideal Protein is an amazing diet with fast results, but it doesn't train me on changing my eating lifestyle to a healthy one. I want to eat real meals with my husband that we cooked together in the kitchen that we can confidently feed to our future children. So, starting today I am not going to concentrate so much on my weight, but more on how I feel—I want to feel healthy, strong and more accepting of my body type. I know this will be a bit of a slow process, but it will be so much better in the long run. Speaking of run, now that it is warmer, I am also going to get out more and be active.

4.21.2013

GOOD SPIRITS


This is my 93-year-old grandpa with his 92-year-old wife, my sweet sweet grandma. We made our way to their house today with my little sister and her fiancĂ©. My dad has been staying here for the weekend to help my grandma take care of my grandpa. Last week my grandpa went in for a biopsy after his past couple of months of kidney stones and liquid-filled lungs. They found out that he has cancer called lymphoplasmacydic lymphoma—cancer of the lymph system that is not agressive, but after much time attacks the bone marrow. The doctor said it was something my grandpa has probably had for years; they call it "old man's cancer." If my grandpa was younger they would treat it, but since he is so old they're just going to ride it out. It's a little bit weird to think that my grandpa is that old and one day won't be here. You could tell tonight that he was in a lot of pain, but his spirits were still as high as ever. In the photo he is talking to my cousin on the phone—he asked my grandpa how my grandma was doing (not knowing he was on speaker) and my grandpa calmly responded, "Oh she's just as mean as ever." I adore these two to bits!

4.20.2013

FULFILLED


Tyler and I had quite the busy day; it all started with a baptism in Syracuse for my mom's cousin's daughter (yeah, I'm that tight with my family). Then in the afternoon we came home for Tyler to go to work and I to go to Sydney's house to get some feedback on my new portfolio in preparation for that design internship. I then came home in the evening for a much needed grocery trip. Tyler and I have been in dire need of fresh food (well, all food for that matter). The left photo has been the state of our fridge for the past week and after our late night trip to our local grocer, the right photo is the current state of our fridge. I've gone super healthy and off of Ideal Protein starting next week. We'll see how it goes—I'm so excited to be eating fruit once again, but not so excited to try and fit more exercising into my schedule.  

4.19.2013

OVERBOARD


After a long week of photo shoot prep and actual shooting, today was pretty chill. There was an employee sale at work today and I may have gone just a tad bit crazy purchasing shells for Mother's Day, birthdays and myself (unfortunately, all that is pictured above is just for me—I may have a problem). Earlier this week I saw an ad on a blog that I follow requesting some design interns to join forces with her. I decided this week that I am going to go for it—what can it hurt? Especially because it is super flexible and can be just once a week if it works out that way. I am excited to have a bit more of a hands-on creative outlet (I can't believe how much I've missed it; that backdrop served more purposes than one for sure). I've been gathering portfolio pieces all week and trying to get a basic branding down for my future business. I can't believe how much my portfolio has grown just from working at Miche, and hopefully through this design internship, even more.

4.18.2013

SCALING UP


I can't believe how good it looks, can you? Oh man, I am just so pleased! I rarely do things on a large scale ESPECIALLY without a projector. But this was completely free handed with the exception of some leaves we bought to give the general idea of where they would fit on the fabric. It turned out so well—thanks to my creative manager for her lovely concept and for Sydney's help on finding fabric and such. Day two of shooting and things were just as tight as yesterday. We actually went over our time with one of the models as we scurried to get all of the animated GIFs shot for the fall collection. Now the day is done and I will patiently wait until I see it in print, as that will be a long way out from now, yet so worth it.

4.17.2013

ON SET


Day one of shooting for the fall catalogue down and three more to go. Tomorrow will be another day of shooting in the studio and then the other two days will be shot on a location out in Torrey, Utah (wherever that is) at the end of the month. Catalogue season is upon us and I am tremendously excited because I really think this catalogue will be our best to date. We were quite pressed for time today, but we thankfully managed to fit everything in. The last half of the day was spent shooting our animated GIFs for our summer line (you can see the one I did last season here). Somehow I have become the animated GIF-er of the bunch and I'm quite pleased with it; it's a little time consuming, but so worth it. The shoot tomorrow will debut the hand-drawn backdrop Sydney and I worked on earlier in the week and I cannot wait to see it on film.

4.16.2013

WEIGHTLESS


So remember the day that Sydney and I trudged through the rain scouting for fabric to use for our studio shoot this week? Well we finally found the perfect linen today and bought the whole lot of it. The rest of the day at the office (and into the night) we spent drawing these leaf designs for the photo shoot backdrop on Thursday. It was so good to draw again—I really should do it more. I can't wait to see how it turns out on film.

WEIGH-IN RESULTS: +11.25; yeah. that's awesome. Between the hormone changes in that medicine I was taking added and other things that happened to my body this week, the combination has taken a sore toll on my weight loss goals/motivation.

4.15.2013

ADVICE ALL THE WAY FROM ITALY



My co-worker spent the last two weeks in Europe, traipsing from Rome to London and everywhere in between. She brought everyone a hazelnut chocolate all the way from Italy. I adored the navy and silver foil, but once I unwrapped it I found this lovely little piece of advice all the way from Italy (I also love that it's written in many different languages): "Lovers can live on kisses and water". SUCH an Italian thing to say, no? Oh, and the chocolate was delicious to boot.

4.14.2013

ON THE OTHER SIDE


My adorably pregnant cousin Alishia is graduating at the end of the month and needed a cap and gown to get the job done. Luckily, I saved mine (I'm not exactly sure why) and offered to lend it to her for the occasion. As a reward she invited us down for some yummy fajitas and strawberry shortcake with her husband (also named Tyler). She even had her brother and his wife over with their little boy Josh to indulge in all of the deliciousness. At the end of the night she had us all take a group photo—I snapped this one in between takes to remember the evening. Isn't their new home beautiful? Swoon those hardwood floors!

4.13.2013

THE WEEK IS GONE


Tyler and I woke up extra early this morning for his cousin's baptism in Lehi. We had to miss the funeral today because it was at the same time as the baptism. We came home—Tyler went in to work (again—one day he won't work on Saturdays) and I watched Netflix while doing house chores. He returned home and we finished the night in each other's company eating fundraiser cookies and watching Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (I am now and forever in love with that show).

4.12.2013

BUDDY BUDS


I gladly accepted the request to watch my nephews tonight while my sister and her husband went to the viewing for this little guy's grandpa, James Rich. We ate dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, sweet potato fries and apple slices while his little brother slept soundly in the other room. While we ate, we made up silly stories involving eyeball stores, monsters and bad guys. I love this little man so much—we always have so much fun together. I am glad that he has a mother and a father that will teach him that one day he will be reunited with his grandpa again. I know my sister, Sara and her husband, Bob are going to get through this—I love you guys so much!

4.11.2013

FREEBIES


This week has been a hefty one; Tyler has had a heavy load of stress, as have I. Due to that (and a little bit of laziness) we decided to have a night out with each other to forget our woes. The nice mailman gave us Wendy's coupons so we decided to walk there and get some cheap dinner. I led us astray by thinking it was in the wrong direction, but that just means we worked off more calories (right?). We eventually arrived to a very empty restaurant and this free large frosty due to an indecisive customer not wanting it anymore. Tyler had their Baconator and I had their new flatbread chicken sandwich. We were very satisfied and then walked it off taking the 'short way' home (also known as the regular way home). Loved the adventure, hated the new Wendy's branding.

4.10.2013

ONE COOKIE, TWO COOKIE, THREE COOKIE, TRIPLED


Did you know that we love cookies to the moon and back? It's true! I 'liked' cookies before I dated Tyler, but once you're in his family, you're bound to become a cookie fanatic. My cousin made a plea on Facebook calling all cookie lovers to buy cookie dough from her daughter for a fundraiser (the children that sold enough dough got a lunch in a limo—she won… probably because of us). We bought two boxes and intended on saving them for this summer when I would be off this diet. Due to the unforeseen stressful week and such, we decided to break them out tonight. Oh. My. Goodness. They are delicious! I even went as far as saying that these taste better than the Girl Scout cookies we got last month. Moral of the story: we're going broke and getting fat due to cookies AND we're suckers for anyone fundraising with dough filled with chocolate chips. The End.

4.09.2013

CHARLY HOME


Well this was an interestingly stressful day. As a result of my creative director being far far away on the plains of Europe, I was put in charge of managing a photo shoot today for work. Uh, yeah, hard to believe that I, Brooke Lynch could pull off such a thing. We had a VERY late start due to our not-so-punctual film company, but I did it. It was quite stressful in the beginning, but with the help of our amazing photographer and my tremendously proactive co-workers on set, it came together. Recognize this lady model from our shoot today? Why yes, she is the famous Jack-Weyland-novel-to-movie actress who played Charly. And yes, she is still just as stunning as ever… even in person. (She touched my laptop!) After the shoot Sydney came to my house and we went crazy on the interwebs setting up this and that for our future businesses (separate businesses—we're not going into business together, yet).

Another thing to note tonight… my sister's father-in-law passed away last night from Lou Gehrig Disease. My mom texted me the news tonight; my sister and her family will be making their way out here for the funeral this weekend. Sad evening.

4.08.2013

CHEERS


Today was a bit overwhelming, but it ended well. Sydney and I ran to a million stores to find fabric for a studio shoot next week and boy oh boy good fabric sure is slim pickin's here in Utah—too bad we don't have a MOOD. All the while we ran our errands in the rain (so much for going running tonight). When Sydney dropped me off to my apartment I caught sight of a package on my doorstep and jumped for joy! I invited Sydney in for her very belated birthday present: a 'When In Doubt, Mumble' poster and as a lovely gift to myself the artist sent this 5x5 print for free. It is lovely—raven black paper with gold metallic all over. I think I shall hang it at my desk at my place of work, no?

4.07.2013

BIRTHDAY TIME


Earlier this week Tyler and I were brainstorming birthday card ideas for his sister Nicole (card-making is probably my new favorite creative outlet). One of the first things I found out about Nicole is that she has favorite times of the day—all these different number combinations that make her tickled pink (her favorite color I might add). Tyler came up with the brilliant plan to make a birthday card with all of her favorite times. We spent the night at Lynchland for enchiladas, present opening and cake. Happy  early birthday Nicole! (Times from left to right: 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, 12:12, 1:23, 12:34, 2:30, 9:11, 1:11, 7:11, 11:11 and on the inside 4:11—her birthday time.)

4.06.2013

REAPING


I woke up super early this morning—well, attempted to—in order to help my dear friend Stephanie move out of her parents' abandoned house to her new apartment. It rained all morning as we moved things from the house to the moving truck (all of her siblings were moving things out of the house too).  As people were saying yea or nay to various things I noticed this gigantic polished wood clock with embedded jade gems for the numbers. I proceeded to ask if it was a family heirloom… waited for the laughter and then asked if I could snatch it up if no one else wanted it. SCORE—it came home with me. Before it literally came home I met up with Tyler's mom to go shopping for Nicole's birthday bash tomorrow. The men went to the priesthood session of General Conference while we scoured the racks for clothes, accessories and shoes. SUCCESS—we found everything for Nicole in one store. After our shopping trip she treated me to some Cafe Rio while we caught up on all that has happened lately. Now that this baby is home, I realize its heavy, almost two-foot self will never hang in this apartment; its permanently fastened three-inch bolt would plow down our sheetrock like a vertical plantation being tilled for the season. It is so heavy, but so essential to our unofficial clock collection.

4.05.2013

COUNTING DOWN


Stephanie and I had plans to go to a book sale (my very favorite) after work at the Whitmore Library. Unfortunately, it closed an hour before the library closed so we were too late—phooey. We went back to her house to prep for her big move tomorrow: unloading cabinets and drawers, hauling furniture all into one room and packing up bedroom things and such. We then made a short trip to H&M (due to a not so lovely jean-splitting incident of mine) and IKEA (Stephanie wanted to go coffee table shopping). Tonight, I helped Tyler make a paper chain counting down the hours he has left at his job. Can you tell how excited he is to get out of there? Probably not by this picture—he's so focused—but because of the fact pictured above. (Do you recognize those links in the paper chain?)

4.04.2013

SLIT


I felt well enough to go into work, only to receive a disconcerting text from Tyler in the early afternoon. Through a series of unfortunate events, our prospective new job fell through. Tyler told me the news today and we both had mixed feelings. After work I called him and we talked it out; it's probably for the best. It was a good opportunity, but without it, the pace of our lives will be much more manageable. Before going home, I stopped off at my parents' house to check on all of the presents I've been having delivered there for Tyler's upcoming birthday (it's on May 1, but I want to be extra prepared this year). I opened every package to make sure only the best had been sent for my man. I then came home to him and we took a long walk to talk out our next step together. Even though this job fell through, we really feel like it's the right thing. Now that it's out of the picture it was back to the drawing board on what needs to be done next; I can't wait to continue to build my life with this guy. Man, did I score, or what?!

4.03.2013

CHUNKIN' IT


Again with the nausea this morning, resulting in me staying home from work altogether. Tyler woke up extremely late as well from staying up all night finishing his homework. I tried to get some work done, but my body and my internet wouldn't have it, so my day was filled with Netflix and resting. Tyler came home to make himself some dinner and found multiple bags of rotten produce. Oh rotting tomato, how perfectly you sum up this day. We both end this day with the mentality that we are kind of, as we like to call it, 'chunking it' as of late. Tomorrow we will do better, be better and… look better.

4.02.2013

CAVED IN


Our week has only gotten worse with the closing of this day. Tyler's work is crazy and his homework is only piling up more and more. I felt extremely queasy this morning (dumb medicine) and made my way into work terribly late. Since I was so late I had to stay even later to make up, thus missing my weigh-in (not like it would have been that successful after all the horrendous cheating I've been doing…oops). I got home to our dark cave of an apartment; it's only lit up like this for about a half hour from the sun going down and then it's back to black with our only light source being lamps. We really need a screen door.

4.01.2013

FOOL ME ONCE


Tyler and I both had nightmares last night and work was equally unpleasant. We got home to each other and decided to make our way to our favorite restaurant: Applebee's. We had a gift card, and since we've had such great luck before, we knew it would be a meal to remember. We were greeted by a strapping young lad and an even more dapper server. We asked for drinks and he obliged to our request. Next came the appetizers; they made the appropriate changes so that we could have the starters we wanted. Then came our piping hot entrees; my fries were perfectly cooked and Tyler's garlic mashed potatoes could not be beat. The check was had and we left feeling satisfied and knew we would be back in the near future. The end.

APRIL FOOLS! Everything but the first sentence is a lie: our greeter was scary looking; our server would not budge for any of our requests; they only carried Pepsi products; they wouldn't switch out sliders for onion rings; my fries tasted like cardboard; and Tyler's potatoes were watery. We're being a little dramatic and I guess it wasn't that bad, but if we hadn't had a gift card we certainly would have gone somewhere else—the end.

Side Note: We're scheduled to meet with Tyler's aunt and uncle on Thursday to hash out all of the details of our soon to be new job. WOOT!