Happy Autumn, guys! To celebrate, I took Ezra to one of the many amazing apple orchards there are around here. There were corn mazes and tractor rides and a petting zoo and apples to pick (obviously) and apple DONUTS and a train-themed playground and a hay bale mountain and wow is this kid paradise or WHAT?And the best part was that when we arrived there was no one in the admissions booth. Because I am a nerd, I waited for 5 minutes before just shrugging my shoulders and walking in for free. I didn't feel *that* bad about it though because due to Ezra's short legs and short attention span, we only saw about a third of the features. But we still had a blast.I was glad we could get out and do something fun this morning since I'm shooting a wedding all day tomorrow and the boys will be on their own adventure. But... I am pretty excited about this wedding, I must admit.So that's what we're up to this weekend! I hope you guys have fun things planned as well. Here are your internet shares!+ There are many, many, many reasons I'm not voting for the orange man, but this is at the top of the list.+ These are fantastic career tips. Truly.+ How to get dinner on the table every night after work.

It has been pretty dark and rainy here in Minnesota the past few days, and we Plesser girls are just fine with that. It means open windows, cool breezes, warm coffee, snuggling under blankets and listening to Jonsi while we work.I'm also taking some serious snuggle time with the vizsla lately because, in honest terms, Ezra is being a prick to her. The toddler has figured out that she is the only one in his life who is lower on the totem pole (or so he thinks), and he is bossing her around all the time, yelling at her and throwing things at her. She takes it well and just saunters off, but it is making *me* angry at this point. Which makes me love her more. Which makes him more jealous. Oh this raising a toddler is gonna be FUN isn't it?Anyway, while the boys are at work/school, we try to enjoy the peace as much as we can. That means I get caught up on work at the computer and Magda naps in Ezra's room, making sure to cover his things in her fur. Well played, my dear.For your internet shares:+ I am totally going to this movie. It might be the first Jennifer Lawrence film that I am excited for!+ This interview with Obama is long, but so, so good.+ A perfectly preserved shipwreck called the USS Terror. Yeah. There's gonna be a movie.+ The Strib's fall arts guide is out and Sigur Ros is coming and I didn't know and this rock I'm living under is larger than I thought.

How adorable is that schnoz? Today I had the sweetest 9-year-old in the studio, and this boy just stole my heart. His parents are having a baby in December, and they wanted photos for the  nursery (which, btw, is one of my favorite ideas!), and Ari here complied to his best ability. Isn't he adorable?Just a few internet shares today:+ White people! Step up.+ Did you know California has a wild horse problem?+ I like this art.

I was photographing some clients this weekend at this lake, and I loved the light and the bugs and the ripples on the water. I'm not sure what it is, but something about this light just says "end of summer" to me. You can just tell that autumn is only a few weeks off.Also? Besides this photo? How amazing are these crisp mornings we are having? Coffee tastes so much better, and holy smokes am I ready for this broken toe to heal up so I can tackle some long walks with Magda again.In the meantime, let's all enjoy the internet a little, shall we?+ I love this article on how the women in the White House banned together to ensure they were heard in meetings. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I have been in meetings and made a suggestion that was ignored, then brought up 5 minutes later by a man, who then got credit for the idea. The steam out of my ears, I tell you. So obviously, I liked how these ladies did this.+ While I have a hard time pairing down to an exact capsule wardrobe, it is a goal each season. This post inspired me for fall. + And speaking of fall, I would like to own this blanket.+ And here's something to eat in my favorite season.+ And for parents: An interesting idea on how to cut down on tantrums.

So Mondays at the Madhouse is officially over with, but of course I'll give you a few shots from the kid's birthday weekend.But first, I want to tell you about my new goal. Something I'm really trying to work on in my paid gigs is snapping a few photos that don't just document the time I have with clients, but that also capture what it feels like. Does that make sense? I think this is particularly important for family and wedding photos, and I think it takes the photos to a deeper level (not that I always succeed at this! Which is why it's a goal of mine). So my Monday goal is to now show you a photo from my weekend that capture the feeling of that moment for us. The images might be abstract or they might not -- it's a lofty goal, for sure, but I think this blog is a great place to experiment.So! This weekend, we celebrated Ezra's birthday on Friday, and Saturday morning Ezra woke up with a fever. And the fever climbed and climbed and peaked at 102.8 that day. There were a lot of "blankies" and "bunnies" and "wawa" and popsicles. And the photo above captured the feel of our weekend pretty well. It was sweet and snuggly, but also sad because no one wants to spend their birthday weekend like this.And because of the illness, we had to cancel the birthday party on Sunday. We didn't want anyone else getting sick. So below are just a few images from his actual birthday, which was a lot of fun. Above is the cake that I made for Ezra. Thank you Pinterest for the awesome idea.And because I thought you might want one more image of the kid's sweet face, here he is stuffing that cute face full of mac'n'cheese for his birthday lunch. Oh, how he loves mac'n'cheese.

I'm back at my desk*, finishing up photos from my baby sessions last week and digging into my shots for 3M from this week. There is a lot of time at the computer and a lot of podcast/music finding happening in the background.This past week was a bit of a whirlwind for me. I spent 35 hours behind the camera (Which is WAY more than normal, btw. Life as a photographer is about 20% shooting and 80% computer work), and then squeezed in minimal email correspondence and blogging at night after putting the spawn to sleep. Today is my first attempt at "catching up" on my email, photo processing, invoicing, project bids and, you know, laundry. Also? There were taxes due (whoo!). And I broke my pinky toe (ouch!). But on the up side, I purchased a ticket to New Orleans where I'm photographing a wedding in black and white in December. Seriously, pinch me! I am so excited for that.Needless to say, the internet shares are a bit few and far between today due to the workload. But here you go:+ I am loving this new album by Beach Slang.+ I want to read this book, "The Tetris Effect." Because that is still one of my favorite games ever.+ This list of 37 local foods that will ship world wide is fantastic. My go-tos are Salt Lick BBQ and Jeni's Ice Cream, but I am intrigued by lobster rolls from Maine...*Also please note this post was written on Thursday as I am NOT at my desk today, Friday, Sept 16, as that is Ezra's second birthday! So as you read this, I am probably eating pizza or playing with construction toys or something like that. Birthdays where actual birthing of babies is not involved are pretty great.

My amazing lighting assistant snapped this today while I was working on that red bow. The reason this photo pleased me so much is that you wouldn't think I would know much about making bows. But this is a pretty great skill that my mom taught me as a kid. She worked as a florist for a while, and so our holiday gifts were always wrapped so beautifully with large bows and all kinds of pretty details, and one year she taught me how to really work with ribbon.Anyway, today the crew was having a hard time with the bow for this wreath, so I volunteered, and it worked out great. You never know when your random life skills will come in handy (the finished bow looked a gazillion times better than it does above). Plus? I like seeing my hands at work on set. It makes me feel like I'm contributing.For your internet shares of the day:+ I loved this look from the streets of NYC during fashion week.+ This recipe seems perfect for fall, no?+ Scroll down to see invisible fish!

We're still on set all day over here, and man the props are good this time around. Look at those pretty flowers! Look at those spices! Look at that marble! This week has been a blast.And for your quick internet share of the day, I loved this story to tell over dinner with the family.