Last Friday, I had a family shoot and when I looked out the window about 45 minutes before they were to arrive, this is what greeted me. Talk about making me happy! It was gorgeous!My new studio is in this building, but I shot this from across the street in the lovely park (which I will feature at another time). The restaurant below, Lurcat, has wonderful sliders and an amazing apple and cheese salad, but it doesn't open until 5, so we are rarely there. Maybe on some long workday in the future, but for now I prefer to leave the office early, enjoy dinner and bedtime with The Spawn, and then work late into the night after. Well, that's not really what I *prefer*, but that's what seems to happen.For your internet shares of the day:+ I have three great winter coats. So why can I not stop thinking about this one?+ Now that Ezra is talking more, there is so much laughter in the house. I loved this piece on conversations with kids.+ I want to make this soup asap. You had me at crispy, fried chickpeas.

Has the last month flown by or what?! I (Lucy), had such a wonderful, busy and exciting October. I got to travel to both Ely, MN and Toronto for a couple of different clients (and I *adore* traveling for work!), I shot my last wedding of the season, took a lovely vacation to the North Shore, and had a bunch of wonderful family and portrait sessions! I wanted to share a few shots from a particularly great one.Mandi was a model at a shoot that Leslie and I did for Juut Salon a few months ago, and I was thrilled when she reached out to schedule a portrait session. She also picked a wonderful location in St. Paul that had such great backdrops, the evening light was absolutely perfect, and she is just such a natural in front of the camera! So, without further ado:

Way back on Sunday, I got to photograph the Arcade Fire concert in town.This was the fifth time (that I can recall) seeing them, and as always their show was phenomenal. But this was the first time that I was allowed to photograph the band, and man was I excited!That said, their entire show is so visually stunning that capturing the first three songs from way back at the soundboard doesn't really do them justice. But here are a few of my favorite shots regardless. And here is my favorite album of theirs in case you need a soundtrack for your day. For your internet shares today:+ Amazing Halloween photos -- the garage door one stopped me in my tracks!+ If I find fifty bucks on the ground, I'll buy Ezra this amazing toy for Christmas.+ I was super excited to see Suburbicon, but the reviews have been dreadful. This poster, however? A+. 

Well, I certainly *meant* to blog yesterday! I took the photos and everything, but the day got away from me.I am under the gun for several tight deadlines this week and that with the kid and his two costumes and a school party and halloween candy and decorations and a photo studio to set up in the basement for the neighborhood... I was slammed! But I wouldn't want you to miss out on these cute costumes, so here they are a day late.Ezra went to school as Robin Hood and trick-or-treated as Spiderman. He had a ball and woke up this morning asking if it was Halloween again today, which was adorable until the tears came when we wouldn't let him eat candy for breakfast. Childhood brings on lots of feelings, but luckily he rebounded quickly.I only have two internet shares today:+ The first one is cats. I know! I'm such a dog person! So you have to trust me that these are good.+ The second is an article about choosing to be a single mom and then, um, falling for someone pretty quickly after. It made me think a lot about family and how life changes so quickly. I hope you enjoy it!

Please pardon this interruption where I use my daily blog post to sell you a fabulous dog mini-session. I try not to be so blatant about, you know, earning a living over here on the blog. But this is something I would love for you to be a part of.The new studio is finally open and ready for the masses, and I am dying to break it in with some adorable dogs. Plus? What an amazing holiday gift it would be to surprise a loved one with a canvas or framed studio image of their best friend, eh?I'm holding the sessions on Monday, November 20. I know Mondays can be tough to break out of the office for an hour or so, but this is the Monday before Thanksgiving! So if you don't work in retail or at a newspaper/magazine, it should work out! But if not, I do have a few evening spots as well, so please just let me know what works best for your day.Here is more information!

$150 gets you:• A 30 minute session for your dog• Photos taken in studio in front of a solid, professional backdrop• A minimum of five high resolution images electronically delivered that week• A private website where you can order prints, canvasses etc. 

 

Reserve your spot here.FAQsQ: Can we take photos with the family and the dog?A: No. Sorry! But the dog(s) are the main focus of this shoot. If we have extra time at the end and you want to jump in for one or two shots, we can try it. But I cannot guarantee we'll have time.Q: Can I bring two dogs?A: Yes, but then you need to order two sessions so we have time to get individual shots of the dogs and then shots of them together. Getting two dogs to sit next to each other and look at the camera is tough...Q: What if I want more than five shots?A: You're in luck! At the end of our shoot, I will show you all the images I captured, and you get to select the 5 you want. If you want more than 5, it's $10 per additional image. I'll have credit card payment available.Q: If the files are being delivered electronically, why do I need a site to order prints?A: You don't! You can have them printed wherever you want. But I'm still offering to set up the site so that if you want the best possible prints ever, you can use my vendor!

It's snowing today. All day long.These aren't the big, fluffy, snow-globe flakes, but instead the icy, small ones that blow like crazy in the freezing wind. No matter, I'm still enjoying it because it's not sticking and traffic was fine both in and out of the studio/shoot today.I snapped this image outside my studio building today. I love the white flakes, the dark shadows and the bright red sign. Have I mentioned how much I am loving the studio space? Well hold on tight because we finally got the couch of our dreams and we'll be blogging photos of the space soon.For your internet shares of the day:+ Beautiful libraries.+ Amazon, this is too much. Creepsville.+ I've been listening to the new Stars album today.

At last night's family shoot, I had my camera out and was testing for light when a falcon flew by at top speed and I snapped as fast as I could and it looks almost in focus! These are things that makes me super excited, so I had to share it.And for your internet shares of the day:+ I hate making pie crust but someone tried all the grocery store brands and rated them. Yay! Here you go!+ Keeping the romance alive. Did I mention Jamie and I had our 18th wedding anniversary this week? We will be doing this next summer.+ If I win the lottery, I will be buying this cozy blanket stat.

Lucy and I ordered the fanciest couch for our studio, and boy oh boy do we love it! You'll get to see the whole thing when we do a larger studio reveal, but for now I wanted to share a few pretty details. I cannot wait to show you everything else in this beautiful oasis we created.For your internet shares of the day:+ These bird portraits are SO, SO GOOD. Click into them to see more. Spend time -- you will smile, I promise.+ I had no idea that sailor tattoos had such wonderful meanings behind them.+ I have always adored the NY Times Style magazine covers. Here are a few highlights.+ The best article you'll read about Justin Timberlake performing at the Super Bowl.