Here are a bunch of questions that were asked about me and Jake. Again, there are some that I won’t be addressing, but hopefully you’ll find these interesting or something. This post ended up being very long.

Where are you from? Jake? What are your backgrounds?
I say I’m from East Tennessee (near Knoxville), because that was where I was born, and also where I lived most of my life, but I have also lived in Arlington Virginia, Pocatello Idaho, Southern Utah, Atlanta Georgia and New York.

Jake grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. He lived in Hawaii for a little while, and Sao Paulo, Brazil for a few years as well.

I’m English (my maiden name is Baker), and Jake is Danish. Don’t let his exotic skin and dark hair fool you.

What does Jake do?
Jake is an attorney! Funny right? He works in corporate/finance law at a firm in the Wall St area. Photography is a hobby that he has had for a long time, but only recently started getting paid jobs and shooting events. He works for a few blogs, Sojones, Highsnobiety and all the titelmedia blogs that send him to everything. You can find a lot of his photos at shotbyjake.com or his Shotbyjake fanpage on facebook.

You both look so tall, how tall are you and Jake?
We are tall! I’m 5’8” and Jake is 6’4” of goodness.

When did you become vegetarian and how did you make that decision?
I had grown up never really considering being vegetarian, but I didn’t really eat very much meat. The kids I used to nanny always asked me if I was a “vegenarian” (I don’t know what that is but it sounds gross)! One night Jake and I were at dinner with some friends and I was talking with one of them (who is Jewish) about being Kosher. It sounded so glamorous! I joked that I was going to start eating Kosher, and he pointed out that if I didn’t really eat much meat, then I should just become vegetarian instead since I was looking for a new fun project. I did that night! It was glamorous! I loved telling people “oh sorry, I don’t eat meat”, I felt so cool and unique until someone would ask me how long I had been vegetarian for and I would have to say “oh, ummmm, 2 weeks?”. Eventually I grew to realize that there are thousands of vegetarians in NY and I wasn’t that cool.

I actually didn’t miss meat at all. The only thing I miss even now is having a large variety of sandwiches to eat, since sandwiches are my favorite food. The switch was so easy, and it was one of those things where I eventually did believe in being vegetarian further than just to make Jake and his friends laugh hearing me tell someone at a party “no thanks” on the sliders. I actually feel like I’m helping do my part to lessen the consumption of meat. I don’t think meat is bad for you, but I DO believe people eat way too much of it, and the way animals are shot up with hormones is not appealing to me in any way. It’s been 5 years! If you are considering it, try it out for a month and I think you’ll be amazed at how easy it is.

Why did you move to NYC? Do you think you’ll stay?
I moved to NYC in January of 2005 because that was what I did before Piper Jane came around. I would get an idea in my head, and I’d do it. I had a huge fascination with New York for as long as I can remember. One day I thought about how awesome it would be to live here, so I did it. I moved here a month and a half after that idea, all by myself and without knowing a single person here. It was such an adventure. I miss my spontaneous early 20s. In the beginning I was a nanny just so that I could have a free place to live.

Jake moved here for law school in 2002.

I think we’ll stay for a while. We love it here! We love it a lot, in fact. But, if a great opportunity came up to move somewhere really rad, we’d definitely consider it. But I’d say we’re here for at least another 10ish yrs. I’m pretty sure I’d be happy here forever.

How did you and Jake meet?
Jake and I met only about a month after I moved here. I had become friends with a girl who knew him, but wasn’t really interested in meeting him because I had heard how many of her girl-friends had crushes on him. I never dated a player in my life, and that was exactly what he sounded like to me. It was funny because I later found out that the whole group of those girl-friends made a pact to not let me and Jake meet. Hahaha! Isn’t that the best? I guess they were right to be worried, because we ended up marrying each other’s a’s.

(above pic when we were just kids)

Back to the story. I guess Jake had heard a lot about me too, and wasn’t interested based on the rest of this group of girls. So when we did meet, we didn’t really talk very much. I was really surprised when he called me to hang out a few days later, but since I was new and didn’t really have any friends, I agreed! It was weird to get to know each other in real life and realize how wrong we both were about the other. We hung out every day and he was in love with me in like 5 minutes. Then we made out.

I went to Barbados a few weeks after we started hanging out. I was gone for a week and a half with no phone/email and we missed each other a lot. I came back and turned on my phone to find a few random texts he had sent to me throughout my vacation, I felt so mushy that he had been thinking about me while I was away. Then Jake asked me to be his girlfriend in maybe not those words.

(above, more of when we were just kids)

What do you mean you “got married by Elvis”?
Jake and I got married in Vegas. We had been dating for 2 years and had attempted to plan a wedding. Without too many boring details, the engagement and wedding planning just wasn’t working out. After a while, We told our families that we were getting married in one week in Las Vegas and that they were welcome to come. I was half expecting my family to be all “uh uh sister, you’re on your own, and we are really pissed off at you by the way.”, but they were all there (even if my mom was mildly horrified). We opted to save ourselves a few hundred bucks and not have Elvis marry us, but a bleached blond woman with silver teeth and black re-growth DID do the marrying. It was the same place where Nikki Hilton got married, swanky, eh? It was very cheesy, and I mean sickeningly cheesy, but it was also a lot of fun. Walking through the casino to our hotel room in our wedding clothes was amazing. Cheering, whistling, clapping, fist pumping…..it was the best. THE BEST!

The downside? The pictures are the grossest pictures I have ever seen in my life. I’ll post some and you will all pee.

(photo removed because jake wasn’t very happy about it being available on the interwebs. which I can definitely understand)

How do you have time for everything you do?
Oh man, I don’t have time. I get up really early to do my long training runs before work, then I work really long hours at the salon, then most days I work on private clients/shoots when I leave the salon and on weekends and I’m also wifing (somewhat) and mothering (somewhat). On fridays I have to be at the laundromat when the doors open at 7 or else my entire day is completely messed up. Between booking it up to see Piper Jane, doing the grocery shopping (which I do up in westchester), coming back to the city and rushing straight to my Friday client’s apartment for a blow dry, I really don’t even sit until usually 5 or 6. I mean, I sit with Piper, but how relaxing is wrestling a mini aligator? I always try to cut something out to make my life a little less busy, but there isn’t anything that I want/can get rid of, so I just try to make the best of it! Sometimes I scream and cry and take a day off, and then I’m refreshed to pick it all back up again. I really don’t know how my life could be any busier.

How did you get into running? How do you: work out? Train for a marathon?
Running was my first love. Well, it ties with Elvis as my first love. I have always loved it, even when it is so hard and I am completely forcing myself to get through that run, I still love it. It hurts, but to push past so much pain is the best feeling ever.

So I have been running my whole life. My parents were runners and used to bring me with them. It started out with them picking me up near the end of their run, and me just running the last mile or two with them. My dad signed me up for a 5k when I was just 7, and I felt so important running a race with him. I then started running in a women’s 5k called “run for the rose” every year, and I did cross country in high school. I wouldn’t have ever had the idea to run a marathon if I hadn’t gone to see my dad run 5 of them as a child.

I have used Hal Higdon’s training program twice, but this time I’m using my Nike plus profile. So far, I like it a lot.

(below, Jake with me at my first marathon when I was 22. Jake just came to watch and wasn’t a runner at all. After I finished he said “I think I’ll run a marathon”..and I laughed because I never thought he’d do it. Now he’s done 5.)

I lift weights every other day. I only use 5 lbs and work up repetitions, but I never go up on the weights. I really only do upper body because I don’t want to be sore for my runs, but I always feel like I should add squats or lunges. It’s important to build muscle with weight training, because it will continue to burn calories even when you are resting. And running doesn’t build muscle. Oh yeah, I also hold a blow dryer above my head for several hours a day.

Jake and I learned a lot after he had a knee injury and went to Physical Therapy several times a week. I’ve been pretty lucky to avoid injuries, but I have had tendinitis and shin splints.

Where did you get your sense of style?
I don’t know, my brain? I’m flattered to have been asked this question, seriously. I love clothes, I love getting dressed and I love being myself. Maybe that is where it comes from…

The fashion in NYC is so amazing. Every day I’m in awe by at least one person’s way of putting together an outfit….good and bad! But the people here, they are just so creative and unique. It just helps you be fearless with your own style. I am fearless and wear exactly what I want, no matter if I think someone else will like it or not. I am only out to please myself. Same with Jake. That is why he wears his hat sideways and doesn’t care that the rest of us are laughing at him, hehe.

I know this might sound silly, but it is so important for me to raise my children as individuals. Maybe the most important, I just don’t want them ever living their life pining for approval from others. It’s too unfullilling. If my sons want to wear black nail polish to express themselves, I will buy it and apply it. Maybe that sounds crazy, so what?

What is your favorite movie?
Oh man, I could never choose one. I love Amelie, Harold and Maude, The Royal Tennembaums, Raising Arizona, Dirty Dancing, Muriel’s Wedding, About a Boy, Sixteen Candles, Pulp Fiction (but don’t tell my grandma)..I guess I have a lot of favorite movies because I could go on for an hour.

How do you handle negative comments?
I rarely get them. People for the most part are very loving and sweet to our family. Almost so much that I might get a big ego because of how encouraging and complimentary people are. I really appreciate it. I’d say instead of negative comments, I get insensitive comments or questions. I handle it by complaining to Jake and letting him reassure me that it wasn’t intentionally insensitive. Then I feel better. I just need an occasional pep talk, and Jake’s full name is Jacob Thomas Peptalk breinholt.

What is your favorite band?
Well, we all know that Weezer is my favorite band. I also really love the Cardigans, Vampire Weekend, Bob Dylan, Bebel Gilberto, Lady Gaga, Feist, Elvis, Stereolab and I guess my music is like my movies. All I know is that I could listen to Weezeer and the Cardigans every day for the rest of my life and never tire of them.

What’s an average non-pip day?
I wake up super early. I get it from my dad. I have an alarm set, but it rarely goes off when I’m still asleep. I usually wake up at 6am in the summer, go for a run and eat Cinnamon Life cereal. Or I make an egg, cheese and morning star faux sausage patty on a piece of toast. I watch whatever I have dvr’d from the week and lift weights until it’s time to get ready for work. I love Big Brother, 30 Rock, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Gossip Girl. I know that I’m too old to like Gossip Girl.

I take the subway to work, and when I’m not busy with a client I go and get a tea and wander around. I sit on a bench, read a book or New York Magazine and catch up on emails. August is a pretty slow time of year for the salon, so this is all stuff I’ve been doing lately. Half the days I have private clients after work who have made deals with me. I have cut back on accepting new private clients, because it takes up so much of my time, but a few of them really make it especially worth it for me. And I really do enjoy it. We’ve become very close.

Sometimes Jake will meet me after work and we’ll go out. We have a few little favorite places near my salon. We are comfort food eaters, and tend to do a lot of pubs, southern diners and BBQ joints when we go out. There are also three movie theaters within walking distance from my salon, so occasionally we’ll go to a movie. PS a movie costs $12.50 in NYC.

It’s pretty rare that we are both at home for dinner, but when we are, I usually cook. We eat a ton of burritos because we always have loads of fresh veggies in our fridge, and an abundance of cheese just in case I want to cook something weird. Plus, Jake is not vegetarian, and burritos (as well as tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas) are very easy to make both veg and non veg. If we order in, we usually go with Sushi, Thai or Indian. This has got to be boring.

I think that sums it up, basically everything you ever wanted to know about me and Jake. Oh yeah, I am very loyal to Revlon lipsticks. It is comparable to M.A.C. lipsticks. Fire and Ice and Strawberry Suede are my favorite colors. They also have a pale pink that I love, but forgot the name of.

*next questions post is going to be answering more serious questions about Piper and how we have dealt with her situation. it should be a good one!