I met up with Julie today at Spyhouse for some catching up. I love that place. Great atmosphere, delicious food and a damn good soundtrack. Plus? Laughs with Julie is a great way to spend an afternoon.

So today, around 2 p.m. we remembered that it's Memphis' birthday. We are horrible parents. But at least we remembered, right? So today the princess is seven years old, and I do think she's starting to calm down just a *little.* Look at those eyes -- what a sweetie! (When she's not eating my artwork.)

Well, today was certainly a bit insane. First, I had oral surgery.

Then, a roofer had to come over and steam all the ice from our house.

Next, we headed out to First Avenue to see the Electric Fetus benefit show. And finally, we stopped in *very briefly* to catch ELnO, the famed local ELO cover band. Oh... and... my new camera arrived! Which is very exciting :)

This shot was some of the gear from the Fetus show at the Entry. I thought about using a performer, but hey, I did that yesterday. You can see more shots (including performers) right here. Except that last shot in the bunch isn't from First Ave. That's Jeff, whom we hung out with a ton at the Chizbacher wedding last summer, and whom we were quite fond of. And now that I've seen him in short shorts and that t-shirt! Playing with ELnO? What a guy. And yes. That's a wig. Oh, and I just realized you can't see the short shorts in the frame. You're just gonna have to trust me on that one.

Tonight we headed over to Eclipse records in St. Paul to throw some love at a few bands that were playing an in-store there. Some of the band members work with Jamie, and I finally got to meet Eric from Brains on Fire, who was also at the show. Eric was in elementary school when Jamie and I first kissed. Yeah. That doesn't make me feel old AT ALL. The photo above is of Janiene from Budian.

Lord, is it dull around here or what? Welcome to Minnesota in February. It should be getting a little busier in the next few weeks -- I promise. For today, though, you get to look at some of my decor. This is a screenprinted poster from the Raconteurs show a few years ago that Aesthetic Apparatus designed. I *love* this design team. If you have never poked around their site, you should. And if you live in Minneapolis, get on over to their headquarters on Saturday. They are having a scratch'n'dent sale and posters are going to be starting at FIVE BUCKS. You can't beat that with a stick.PS: That Raconteurs show kicked ass. It's in my top 10 of all time. Maybe even top 5.

Mmm... lunch. Margaret brought me in some homemade soup for lunch today. It was turnip-ginger soup with bacon bits. Deeeelish. I wish I had something more exciting to report, but today was full of work and meetings. Texas vacation can't come soon enough.

Look what I got in the mail today! Mom sent me a Brownie! I can't wait to get me some film and play with this baby. Maybe in the next week or so. But as excited as I am about taking photos with this beauty, do you know what I love most about it? Look at that typography!?! I love retro type. I'm a sucker like that.

I spent this afternoon over at my friend Michiela's as we celebrated Nan, Nancy and Courtnay's birthdays this month. We had an amazing lunch followed by these cupcakes from Sweets bakery. That one front and center is called a "breakfast cupcake" and the cake tasted like maple syrup and the frosting tasted like bacon. And that is, in fact, a piece of bacon used as garnish. I know it sounds gross, but we each tried it and thought it was surprisingly good. Who knew?