Well, what a show that was.Last night I checked out Sweet Spirit at The Entry based solely on the fact that the lead singer's other band had such amazing reviews at SXSW. Not a bad decision AT ALL. If you want to see more smokin' photos, they are all up over here.There were fishnets, guitarists hanging from the rafters, musicians jumping into the crowd and so much dancing. And an appearance from Har Mar. Man, what a night.
OK, for your internet shares of the day:+ If you are super motivated and want to make cake inside of egg shells, this could be an awesome surprise for kids. I am too lazy. But knock yourselves out!+ Some fantastic ideas for food to drop off to new parents!+ Did you hear about the Prince block party to be held on the anniversary of his death? How about the KIDS PRINCE DANCE PARTY that weekend? You guys. We are so excited for this.+ Amazing comfort food from my favorite food blogger.
This week was so busy with life and shoots and dates and man, I forgot to take photos of like 90% of what I did. I'm just not used to whipping out my iPhone to shoot images, and frankly the more I do the more I want a fancy new phone with a better camera! But I regress.That first shot up there was from our date night last weekend. We love the food at Masu in Northeast, and I love the photography on the walls.
Then all day on Sunday and Monday I was shooting over at Juut Salon Spa for a big project I have going on with them. I, of course, in like 18 hours of being there, never even thought to take a photo with my phone. Thank God the fabulous Lucy picked up my phone and snapped this one for me.
This was just a nice sunrise one morning. The phone doesn't do the color justice.
The weather was pretty glorious this week, so one day we took Ezra for a wagon ride.
And speaking of the squirt, here he is enjoying another meal in the basement.
And here is the latest with our kitchen! It's starting to look like a real kitchen again! Right now we are waiting on the countertops (3+ weeks away) and then they can tile. Between now and then, we'll be putting hardware on the cabinets and painting. Also, that weird texture on the microwave is the sticker/protective thing. We just don't want to remove it until the painting is done.And now for some internet shares!+ 
Oh man, I think he will always be my favorite mayor.For the non-Twin Citizens out there, this is R.T. Rybak. He was Minneapolis' mayor from 2002-2013. Tonight, he served beers for an hour at my buddy Jaime's 
So, this is our kitchen today.To be honest, everything in the house is in a bit of disarray at the moment. My camera gear seems to be in the dining room, living room, studio closets and my office (which doesn't make packing up for a job complicated AT ALL). I keep finding dishes and recycling all over the house because we grab a can of La Croix from the fridge in the dining room, drink it in the living room or the bedroom, and then who wants to take it all the way to the basement to recycle? Not me, apparently. Also? The top of my dryer is covered in dirty dishes waiting to be washed in the laundry tub.In other words, things are out of control. And did I mention I have a head cold? What I would give to breathe through my nostrils again.But! Those pretty white cabinets are going in nicely, eh?I don't have many internet shares today, but here you go.+ 
Well, I'm still reeling from that amazing salon job that I've been on this week. And I am dying (DYING!) to show you some of the amazing and wonderful final images, but I can't do that until the salon can present them first. You know, rules.But in the meantime, I thought I could at least show you something that was out of focus since I am 99.9% sure the client won't want this. Look at that wave! And when it's in focus? That hair has some pink in it!You guys, this project was so much fun. And so much work. And I will be processing and retouching these images for a few weeks, but I cannot wait to dive right in.For your internet shares today:+ 
Hey guys! While I normally try to post my Monday blogs by around 10 am, today it's after 10 pm! So, apologies.I've been on an amazingly fun shoot with a local salon for the past two days, and I've been working my tail off. I've been shooting hair and nails and brows and extensions and hair color like mad. And it is just as much fun as it sounds!While I have shot thousands and thousands of photos (literally), the only one I know is not ever going to be used by the brand is this one because they don't want any technology in the images. So here you go! A sneak peek at an amazing manicure!No internet shares because I have been nowhere near the internet these past two days. I'll try to make up for it later this week!
This week has us all a bit out of sorts. A kitchen in the basement, unable to walk on the "real" kitchen's floor, a visit to a gun range, eating more meals out... etc etc etc.Seeing the kitchen torn apart has also messed a bit with Ezra's mood as his home base is in disarray. I suppose this sort of change affects everyone, but it is magnified with a 2-year-old. Now, that's not to say he's been bad or misbehaving! He just is a little more emotional than usual.The photo above was from our date night last week, where we dined at the newest spot in the Walker Art Museum before seeing Hidden Figures at the theater (you all were right! what a fun film!).
Saturday, we took Ezra to the garden center for a winters farmer market, and we were all mesmerized by the swimming koi.
This is our makeshift kitchen. It's actually working out quite well!
Who doesn't love dinosaur christmas tree pajamas?
Renting an AR15 for $5. I have thoughts about this.
And these are the gorgeous new floors. They still have one more coat of finish to be added, but I'm pretty happy about them so far!And now some internet shares of the day:+ 
Last night, myself and a group of girl friends went to the gun range.Yup.We were all having dinner a few months ago, and we were discussing politics (unsurprisingly). We were joking about our future commune (which we've been talking about for ... wow... more than a decade), and we hilariously realized that none of us could protect the commune. Sure, we could feed each other with no issues. But protection? Nah. None of us had ever fired a gun. And maybe we should learn how to do that.Let me be clear, none of us wants to start hunting (two of these friends are vegetarians!), but we figured the knowledge would be important.Also? It's a good thing we went! Did you know that if the safety is marked to "red" on the gun, it means the gun is ready to fire? Us silly liberals figured red meant, you know, "stop" -- meaning the safety was on. Just that lesson alone made the evening worthwhile!We were also very lucky that Sharon's daughter Jess, pictured above, teaches shooting at the range, and she was super patient with all of us. She showed us how the gun worked, taught us the best ways to aim and showed us how to load the gun. She was amazing.
My friend Coutnay came from work. Isn't she adorable in this outfit at the gun range? Ha!
She looks like a damn hot secret agent!
And here I am. My dad might have to get this one framed.
In the end, I'd say Jess was a great teacher! Look at how well we did!
We were going to head home after the shooting, but we all felt like we needed a drink after that experience. I think if we had been the only ones at the range, it would have been a fun, educational experience. I mean, it was that. But it also was pretty startling to see how cavalier some of the other patrons were with those weapons.I grew up with a father who collects guns and would often clean them next to me while we watch television. For my 18th birthday, he got me a membership to the NRA, so this culture is not new or "weird" to me. But I have always been taught to treat such weaponry with the utmost respect. And that is not how I saw others acting. And that is what made me so nervous and stressed out. And it is also what makes me glad I at least know how to fire a weapon now.Two quick internet shares today!+