Last month while I was at Haven, so many of my blog friends said to me “I feel like I know you and your kids so well through your blog. Your personalities really shine through! Are you married? Is Chris real? Did you just make him up for the blog? Is your life nothing but lies?” OK, so those weren’t the exact questions, but it was clear to me that you all wanted to hear from Chris, the love of my life.
That’s me and the handsome model that plays my husband on this blog. Kidding- it’s Chris! (Photographed by the talented Eddie of Jalapeno Photography).
Chris is not so much a writer, so I provided him with some prompts to help him along, and I’ll be interjecting here and there.
1. Tell me a little bit about you- basic bio/info/personality/hobbies.
Chris: I grew up in Miami, FL and I’m the oldest of 3 children. I play golf.
Me: Chris and his little brother (who is ten years younger) are BFFs. He golfs, plays soccer, loves to watch sports, garden, cook, drink wine and craft beer, and haul furniture with me. He also loves blasting Journey and “In the Air Tonight” and singing loudly with me in the car. But he might not want me to tell you that.
2. How did you meet Cassie?
Chris: I met Cassie while she was still in college but I had graduated and was working for A&F. It was love at first sight for me but she took some convincing. So I instead tried to get her to come work for me at A&F. Eventually she picked up the vibe I was putting out and we started dating 6 months later.
Me: Vibe? WHAT VIBE?!?!?! (Sorry, hon, but you just didn’t have game). It took several of his friends telling me that they thought there was something there for me to even think about it. Once I did, I realized how much fun we could have together. His writing doesn’t portray how funny he actually is, and over 14 years later, we are still laughing with and at each other! And thankfully we survived A&F. Yikes.
3. What is your favorite project that Cassie has done? and LEAST favorite?
Chris: My favorite project that Cassie has completed is my daughters room. She has captured my daughter completely in that room. My least favorite project that Cassie has done was this green dresser that she did with this stencil. It was so heavy and not my favorite.
Me: That green dresser was awesome. It’s a good thing I get all the design say around here.
4. What do you love most about living with Cassie? LEAST?
Chris: Favorite thing about living with Cassie is how creative she is. She has easily transformed this house into something I definitely don’t have an eye for. She puts up with my lack of creativity and I’m pretty sure that she uses it to her advantage by asking me ?s to find out what not to do! What I like least has to be two things. First she is a middle of the tube toothpaste squeezer, bugs the crud out of me. Second, she loves to leave her shoes in front of the closet and bathroom sink. I almost always trip over them.
Me: Did you really have to list two things you liked least? Maybe this post wasn’t such a good idea. You were supposed to paint me in a positive light only.
5. Tell us about your kids. How is raising a girl different than raising a boy?
Chris: My kids are absolutely amazing. No one can ever be prepared to and begin to understand what it will mean to raise kids. Good news is that you get to learn how to do it on the job and they learn, too. To have both a boy and a girl provides its own challenges. I truly enjoy being able to coach my son’s soccer team and bond with him over superheroes, video games, sports etc. but the daddy’s girl mentality of having a daughter is unbelievable. Just the little things like sitting in front of her at an orioles game and her spending the first 20 minutes hugging me. A daughter finds a way into your heart like no one else.
Me: I have to agree here (I know, I know!). Seeing Chris be a mentor to our son, and seeing him wrapped all around Emmy’s little finger…. both are amazing!
6. Tell us something that might surprise us about Cassie.
Chris: Cassie is surprisingly a good dancer and really loves carrots. She might be part bunny!
Me: I am pretty sure he is making fun of me here. He always laughs at my dancing, but you can ask anyone who was at Haven…. it’s like liquid gold on the dance floor. And it is true about carrots- my hands actually have a slight orange tinge to them because I eat so many.
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Chris: If I could live anywhere in the world it would be in a beach house in Costa Rica. Actually any beach house would work.
Me: Ooooh, let’s move to Costa Rica!
8. Who wins the most arguments in your house? Who starts the most?
Chris: Cassie almost always starts the arguments and she always wins them as well. I swear she should have been a lawyer.
Me: It’s true. I start them, and I win them (probably because I don’t stop arguing until I win and Chris doesn’t want to hear it anymore). I am just proud to know that I am putting my English and Communication Major to work by creating persuasive arguments for my case, whatever that may be. I have no interest in being a lawyer though, sorry, Chris!
9. Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
Chris: In 15 years I hope that I am watching my daughter graduate college, my son will hopefully be dating someone wonderful and Cassie and I will be ready to start traveling again.
Me: Remember that time we traveled? Those were good times.
10. If you could have any job what would it be?
Chris: If I could have my dream job it would be a travel writer. Who wouldn’t want to travel the world and get paid to do it.
Me: Now this could be a fabulous Bustamante couple collaboration! Chris is much better with travel planning and guiding me so I don’t get lost. But I am better at the documentation and journaling aspect. I see a travel blog in our future. Or, I guess in 15 years.
11. Tell us something that will surprise us about you.
Chris: Something surprising about me. I don’t really have anything surprising about me. I’m an open book. I’m really just a nerd with a hot wife and two wonderful kids.
Me: Chris does all of our laundry and folds it, too. I can’t STAND doing laundry, but I used to do it. I would then catch Chris refolding his clothes that I had already folded, clearly not up to his standard; so I passed the laundry torch onto him. And truthfully, he’s got much more folding skill than I.
So there you have it! Hopefully now you feel like you know the whole family and hopefully you still like us.
(PS- I apologize for any wonky spacing in this post- I am having some wordpress spacing issues. GGRR.)
