Today I was working on the computer and I came downstairs for some coffee to find this scene right here. Let me remind you that our dogs are not allowed on the couch without an invitation. That means that we lay their blanket down and then they know it's ok, or we are sitting on the couch and pat the cushions to invite them up. Clearly, they follow this rule completely, and obviously we are totally in charge around here.At least they are sharing, eh?Magda's been pretty happy this week because her long walks have returned, which helps her burn off the INSANE amount of energy that she possesses. Merlin is angry that we won't walk him longer than a few blocks, but he's limping after that, so we call it off and bring him back inside. Hopefully he regains his strength slowly this summer.For your internet share today, I'm sending you to the NASA site where they are letting the public vote on what the newest space suits will look like. I was SUPER excited when I first heard about this! Because, as we all know, I do love space stuff. But you guys? These are all pretty darn ugly.
It's supposed to get to SIXTY ONE DEGREES in Minneapolis today! So let's celebrate with greasy cheeseburgers, shall we?!? First off, I hate to disappoint, but these are not made on the grill. I just can't seem to get consistent results when cooking on a grill, so I still make mine indoors. But! I can still EAT it outdoors, eh?Second, I should tell you that I think these burgers taste WAY BETTER without the lettuce and tomato and with nothing but pickle on 'em. But, I'm not gonna lie, that photo wouldn't be as pretty. And we all know where my priorities lie... So build the burger the way you like, but at least TRY it without all the condiments, ok?
Ok! Let's begin. You'll need:• Ground beef. Mine are about 1/5 lb big (so I get 5-6 burgers per package of meat)• Vidalia onions. You want the sweet ones. And you want them sliced so thin you can see through them.• Butter (duh). About 1-2 tbsp• Buns! Do not get the plain kind. Get "potato sandwich rolls" or "onion buns." It makes a big difference.• Condiments. As I said, I like just pickles. But add what you like.• Salt• Garlic salt
First off, slice those onions and slice them as thin as you possibly can -- I try to make them transparent.
While slicing the onions, melt the butter in your frying pan. Then use an ice-cream scoop to scoop the meat into a clump on your pan. This seems weird, but it's a good method and your hands stay clean.
Generously sprinkle salt and garlic salt onto the meat ball.
Sprinkle a large amount of the onions on top of the ball. Try to balance a lot on the ball, but it's ok if some fall to the side.
Then, take a spatula and smoosh it all down into a burger patty like so. This way the onions are pushed into the meat where they will cook and make things tasty.
Like so. Cook this first side about 3 minutes or less. I usually wait for the "meat juice" to begin to collect on the top of the burger, but this only happens about 60% of the time, so I just eyeball it.
While that's cooking, toast your buns. You want to do this so the juice doesn't make your bun soggy.
When ready, flip the burger. Let it cook for 1 minute, and then add your cheese on top. Next, take a lid or bowl or metal pot (see my ghetto solution above) and put it over the burger for another minute or so to get the cheese all gooey.
Serve up the meat on your bun and spoon on the extra onions that you cooked. Mmmmmm.....
And there you go! Delicious burgers! Nom nom nom.These burgers are about 530 calories. Sorry folks, but I think it's better to know just how bad they are (and yet, SO GOOD).For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to 
This morning I got up and got ready for a photo shoot... that I would be IN and not SHOOTING. This makes me wildly uncomfortable because I *hate* having my photo taken (obviously, I prefer the other side of the lens), but we needed new head shots for Rivets and Roses, so there it is. Luckily for us, we had an AMAZING loft space (special thanks to the fabulous Liz and Josef for that) and we had the lovely 
This afternoon I was working on an upcoming Savory Sunday, and while I was waiting for the food to cook before adding this spinach, I decided to get out my macro lens and play a little. Look at the pretty texture in those spinach leaves! That macro lens is always so much fun!Besides cooking today (and answering tons and tons and tons of email), I also ordered myself a new camera. It's a point-and-shoot, and I want to test it out against my "beast" of a camera for carrying around during the day when I don't have a "real" shoot. I know a lot of you ask me often what kind of camera to buy, so I'll do a review on this one once I've played with it a few days, ok? (I won't get it until next week.)For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to this video where 
This guy turns 11 today. Yup, he goes all the way to 11!And yes, that's a bit of lipstick on his nose. Poor guy always has lipstick on his nose because his mama can't stop kissin' him.I really, really wanted to work on this shot more, getting both him and the cupcake in focus and a little light adjustment, but the poor guy was so uncomfortable sitting on his back legs that I just snapped what I could as fast as I could (I think we spent about 5 minutes on this).I cannot tell you how much I am itching to get my photo studio finished so I can play down there for real. Today they are finishing up the floors (in the studio, not the full basement) and next week they'll install the desk/table (it mounts to the wall). Then... I think.... it's done. Also! Next week I might have a laundry room again! How rad would THAT be!? Pretty rad, lemme tell you.For today's internet share, I'm sending you to this hilarious video of 
Are you tired of the farm? I'm sorry. I'm not. I have a few more photos after this that I want to show you, and then we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming (like the basement! and the dogs! and maybe some concerts!).That guy up there is named Hershey (but I kept calling him Chocolate all weekend... which I find perfectly acceptable since I knew all 8 kids' names and ages upon arrival). He was super sweet and loved to nuzzle the humans.
These are the youngest baby goats (the light ones) meeting some of the other babies in the nursery section of the barn. ADORABLE.
And this is the youngest human (Pia) meeting one of the baby goats!
And did you really think I could escape a farm without getting you at least one dog photo!? This is Charlotte. She's a Saint Bernard and she loves to hunt skunks.And how about some amazing dog portraits for your internet share of the day? Because clearly, we aren't getting enough animals around here. 
Isn't she cute? This is Claire. She's 3, and she's adorable. Look how big that baby goat is in her arms!And yes, I'm still posting photos from the farm last weekend. Today I had a gazillion emails to get to along with meetings and a few quick errands. So I left my camera packed away, figuring I could share more fun shots from my trip. Little did I know that today I was going to get to see two friends and their brand-new babies! And I didn't have my camera! That will teach me, eh?Anyway, here are some more shots from this weekend. I'll keep peppering them in through the week, as they are far more interesting than the snow and ice that surround me here in Minnesota.
This is my friend Jenny carrying the hours-old babies (and pulling their mama) from the regular barn over to the nursing barn at about 7 in the morning that day that I found them.
And this is Stinky! He's the dad to all these babies. Apparently that beard is just as potent as it looks.
Note: I wrote this blog post on Sunday night because I will be in the car for at least 12 hours on Monday hauling butt back to Minnesota. Sorry for the "delayed" post, but these photos were too fun to skip.This was my alarm clock this morning! Actually, the sun woke me up as it peeked over the horizon, and this guy's call came shortly after.I threw on some layers and headed out to get photos of the horses in the field during sunrise -- after all, you don't get a shot like that very often. But when I got to the field, all of the horses began trotting toward the barn because I suppose they thought I was there to feed them breakfast (fat chance).As I followed them to the barn, I spotted this little guy in there. Not in the nursery with the other baby goats, but in the main area.
Cutie, right!? At first, I thought he had slipped through the gate past his mama, but then I realized the last goat (who was pregnant last night) was standing next to him. And then I realized I could hear a baby goat crying in the barn, and this guy's mouth was shut.
So I slowly entered the barn to see she had twins! Cuties, right!?I ran back up to the house to grab Jenny (my friend who is in charge of all this chaos), and I hoped I wouldn't have to wake her (still sunrise, after all). Ha!When I walked into the kitchen, the kids were finishing up strawberry-rhubarb scones that Jen had made from scratch earlier that morning. Does she even sleep? I'm really not sure.I told her about the babies and she threw on some jeans and she and her eldest daughter and I ran back out there. She needed to give the babies some medicine and get the placenta out of the barn before someone ate it. I really wanted that photo of her carrying the placenta in the pitchfork exiting the barn, but no one deserves to have their photo taken that early in the morning even if they are carrying a placenta with a pitchfork, so I skipped it (sorry!).After moving the new babies and their mama over to the nursery, Jenny milked the goats and then fed the horses and chickens.By 8:30, all eight kids were fed, dressed for church (with matching shoes and socks!) and they were loading up the van to head into town.I was heading back to bed because I am now realizing I am the laziest sloth on the planet. But whatever, I was beat! I'll be the heathen who goes back to bed thankyouverymuch.
After church, Jenny made brunch for the family (egg sandwiches on croissants) and I had to shoot a photo of William here. This kid eats CONSTANTLY. I have no idea where it all goes, but he is hungry all the time. And you guys? The amount of planning that goes into cooking for a family of 10 (plus her mom next door and her pesky photographer house guest) and the AMOUNT OF FOOD that is consumed is INSANE. At least her kids help with cleanup and the dishes.I am blown away by this lifestyle and how well this family works together, and I am so happy I made the trip to witness the wonder.