I'm a guest pinner for Etsy this week. Click here to read more and click here to follow along!

Jessie and Tyler are the design brains behind One Plus One, a Canada based design firm specializing in wedding invitation, letterpress, graphic design and web design. I'm always impressed with their impeccable design aesthetic and ideas. I think their portfolio says a lot about their relationship both working and personal because their ability to work and create such beautiful work together shines through with each piece they produce. You can read more about what they do here and on their blog (or soapbox as they call it)!

Thank you Jessie and Tyler for being a part of My Better Half!

JESSIE

1. Is the eternal optimist.

2. Thinks organically.

3. Popcorn is a staple in her diet.

TYLER

1. Loves comic books and always has.

2. Is a linear thinker. Spends his life planning how to get from A to B.

3. Will not be satisfied until he sees the world. All of it.

THIER STORY (as told by Jessie and Tyler)

We met while working towards our Graphic Design degrees. Surprise! We shared common friends, and after a mishap involving an exploding Coke can and a sketchbook, became interested in each other. The next 8 years saw us dating, buying an apartment, fixing a house, getting a cat, marrying, traveling to Europe and finally, starting a business.

Our happiness is obtained through simple pleasures. In summer we keep ourselves busy working on our yard, playing baseball, golfing, camping, swimming, fishing, reading, eating cheese, drinking wine, and looking for the perfect antique. We slow it down in our cold Manitoba winters, spending time listening to music, sipping tea, debating design, trying new restaurants, and most importantly, plotting our next adventure. 

Thank you Jessie and Tyler for being a part of My Better Half!

Photos by Pauline Boldt

It's amazing how fast time is flying! I hit 26 weeks today (photo is from last week) and I'm feeling so. much. better. I'm so grateful to friends who've been so compassionate and kind to listen to all my questions and concerns with an encouraging ear. As the weeks get closer and closer to her arrival, Cree and I start to realize just how much we don't know! Thank goodness we have nine whole months to prepare.

Any thing you wish you knew for your first baby? or any brands you loved, feel free to share. We're all ears! (We've only bought her a swimsuit, a toy duck and a stroller—ha! We've got a ways to go.)

Happy Friday! I'm excited to end the week with Jon and Nina Hans! Nina is an art director and designer. Jon is a songwriter and works at Ecclesia Hollywood. They both live in a beautiful mid-century modern loft in Los Angeles. Continue reading for more! Thanks Jon and Nina for being a part of My Better Half!

NINA
1. Paints her nails every two days. (That's 182 times a year!)
2. Grew up with a 15 foot waterfall in her backyard.
3. Got ran over by a golf cart.

JON
1. Was once rescued up by a black hawk helicopter.
2. Once attempted to fill the bathroom up with water when his mom wouldn't take him to the pool.
3. Grew up in Sentani, West Papua, Indonesia.

THEIR STORY (as told by Nina)
We met over 10 years ago in a coffee shop in Hawaii. Fast track five years, I ran into him when I first moved to Los Angeles and we became besties. For years we were just friends until one morning he took me surfing in Malibu and then to my favorite city for dinner, San Francisco! We held hands and fireworks happened. We dated for a couple years, and then broke up like all good couple do before they get married. He was making a record in Nashville when he realized he was in love with me. He had never been in love before, but knew it was a big deal, so big that you can't tell someone that over a text message or even on facetime. You have to say that in person. So he flew to LA that night, showed up on my porch, and confessed his love to me. We married (at sunrise!) in April of last year and are living happily every after.

Thank you Jon and Nina for being a part of My Better Half!
Photographs by Nina and Jon Hans

I'm so excited to start up My Better Half again and even more excited to have Michael and Leigh as our new featured couple. Michael is a talented photographer and musician. Leigh is a wonderful writer, designer/web developer, and the creator of the Synonym Journal (for sale here). Quite the pair. Michael blogs here and Leigh blogs here—where they both continue to post one inspiration after the other. They currently live and work in Austin, Texas.

Thank you Leigh and Michael for being a part of My Better Half!

LEIGH PATTERSON
1) Obsessed with ceramics, small wooden utensils and wabi-sabi.
2) Born and raised in a german-settled town in Texas that is home to the largest fresh-water water park in the USA and the oldest bakery in Texas.
3) Uses dijon mustard on most anything edible.

MICHAEL MULLER
1) Is semi-secretly obsessed with major league baseball.
2) Loves heavy metal and punk music despite being a member of a band that plays quiet, instrumental music.
3) Recently downloaded over 30GB of surf movies.

THEIR STORY (written by Michael)
We met at a concert (Bowerbirds & Megafaun) at the Mohawk in Austin, Texas, during the summer of 2009. Strangely, we had zero friends in common. One of our early dates involved camping out in a tent on a trampoline in Leigh's backyard while watching Twin Peaks (laptop and extension cord running out of her bedroom window into the tent). Shortly thereafter, Leigh got a job in NYC, and I moved up there as well. After two years, we left NYC and again became Texans. For now.

Thank you Leigh and Michael for being a part of My Better Half!
Photographs by Michael Muller

We're halfway there! Our little girl is growing and so is my tummy! (I'm actually 21 weeks tomorrow...I'm just slow to post.)

My sick days are coming less and less which I'm extra grateful for—I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself. Hooray! We've also started to feel baby girl's kicks! It's the sweetest feeling. I'm sure I look like a loon, but every time I feel her move, I stop everything and wait for her to kick again.  Cree took me to a Jazz club in Detroit for Valentines and she kicked through the whole set. Made the night even more special. Needless to say, Cree and I are pretty delighted with our baby girl.

We're having a girl! A sweet baby girl. While Cree and I sat watching her suck her thumb and cross her cute little ankles on screen for the first time, my heart felt so full—I could hardly speak. We love her already, and pray she continues to stay healthy and strong. (Both Cree and I were premature babies, so we often find ourselves whispering little reminders to "stay in there!")

We wanted to find out who we were having when it was just us two, so we had the ultrasound technician check boy or girl on our notecard (below), and we opened it at home. For some reason, we both felt like it was a little boy—not that we had a preference—and were tickled pink to find out we assumed wrong. Since then, we haven't stopped talking about peter-pan collars, daddy-daughter date nights and Jones family cuddles.

Photo by Amanda Jane Jones (and yes, we are totally channeling A Cup of Jo!)

Click below to see some cute ultrasound (little foot and profile) photos and our baby notecard...