Tonight we drove out to the airport to pick up a bunch of Euros. Not because we are going to Europe soon (sadly), but because we know an amazing kid who graduates from high school this weekend and is crossing the Atlantic on Monday for her first trip abroad. How fun will THAT be? Don't get me wrong, I love my life completely... but to go back and have all of that adventure in front of you again? That would be kinda cool. Then again, you'd have all those "romance drama woes" ahead of you as well, so I'll stick with where I am thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, I wanted to get this kiddo some cash to take on the trip, but I thought it would be more fun if the money were actual Euros instead of US dollars that her parents made her put in the bank for college. And I hope she doesn't read this blog before her party tomorrow and get a spoiler on the present. I'm kinda banking on her being out with her friends all night tonight celebrating... (ah, youth).

Well, today was my last fashion shoot at vita.mn. That's a tough one to swallow.

These shoots have been the hardest thing I've done in this job -- the thing I've learned the most from, the thing I'm most proud of, and the hardest to say goodbye to (next to my concert-photography access, that is). I can remember my first one in 2007 and I had no idea what I was doing -- just faking it. Now? Now I have an idea. A very strong idea (and opinions). Each shoot requires so much research and learning and inspiration ... it's the one area where I can still see myself growing, and that is awesome.

I would never want to work in the fashion industry full time, but man these quarterly shoots have been an amazingly fun challenge. And I have worked with some of the BEST people ever. This is the stuff I will really, really miss.

The issue drops in 2 weeks, so you can look for it then. I hope you like it as much as I do. And if you need a freelance art director to help you out with an awesome fashion shoot? Give me a call. I'd love to help.

It's tough to plan a shoot around shorts and swimwear when it's been raining for a week. But yeah, I'm still havin' fun doing it! Random bit of information: Did you know when you order a toilet online, it arrives in two pieces? In huge boxes that fill the entire living room? Wow am I excited to get that up in the bathroom where it belongs. About a week left on the remodel, kids!

Tonight I took Magda for a walk after work. It's a good way to get her to settle in for the night, and it's a good way for me to clear my head... usually. Tonight's stroll was a bit more tortuous though in the sense that she wanted to stop and smell EVERYTHING. I have never had any sort of hound dog before and wow... does all this smelling require patience. It's as if our excursion was a hunt for a serial killer.And I wasn't in the mood to be on the hunt. I simply wanted to examine my neighbor's yards. I love this time of year when I can see what people have planted and what's about to bloom. As you can imagine, the neighborhood is full of hostas. I'm not a big fan of this plant, but I do like the particular species above. Great color, and I love the texture of the leaves.

When people ask me what I like to have for Memorial Day dinner, my answer is usually: Hot dogs... with fried onions, kraut and mustard, and maybe some bbq potato chips on the side. It is rare that it is so cold on this holiday that Jamie and I look at each other at 2 pm and decide we're going to roast some poultry and winter veggies to serve with gravy (duh) for Memorial day. But you know what? It tasted delicious as we sipped wine and sat by the roaring fire like it was November.This holiday weekend rained and stayed below 60 all three days. Since we don't have heat (due to the bathroom remodel), we sat by the fire, napped under heavy wool blankets, and pretty much stayed in. And it was kinda wonderful.That said, I'd be pretty thrilled if the rain cleared up this week and we got some good old fashioned sunshine. Especially on Thursday when I have a pretty spectacular shoot planned OUT DOORS. Fingers crossed for that one...

We took Magda back to the dog park today, and not only did the girl run her little heart out and play tug of war for a good 15 minutes straight, but the poor thing was violated by a dog named Poochie. So we thought maybe a bath would be good after all that... excitement. Man, she still hates the bath, but I love how pathetic wet dogs look, so of course I had to take her photo. Bad mom... I know.The rest of the day was spent cleaning this filthy house and getting work done for clients. This morning I was feeling completely overwhelmed by how disorganized everything seemed. My computer hard drives were all full, my cell phone was too full for Instagram images (the horror!), I didn't have any clean clothes and I couldn't find my shoes. I realize these are all small problems, but all at once it can make you insane. So the full day was spent cleaning and organizing (not very photogenic) and then taking the dog to the park (and then the bath). So here's your image of the day.Now have you watched last night's Mad Men yet? HOP TO IT. That episode is gold.

How 'bout that? So this is where we are on the bathroom. We started four weeks ago this Tuesday, and our contractor estimates we'll be finished one week from this Tuesday. I am knocking on wood as I say this, but stunningly, that is right on schedule. Should this contractor get the job done on time and on budget, I will shout his name and contact information from the rooftops. But for now, I am still skeptical because I've only heard horror stories. Fingers crossed though, eh?As you can see, the room is bigger than before (when it ended at the edge of the window there). We've also got heated tile floors installed (but not grouted yet). The tub and plumbing is in, as are the walls. Next week should be the fun week as the fixtures will come in (as well as the vanity and the toilet) and the shower will be tiled (yay!!) and we'll have a new toilet and ceiling fan. Oh! And the walls will be painted! It's all very exciting. But you can bet having a working shower at our disposal is at the very top of that list.

Oh dear sweet Jesus, thank God it's finally the holiday weekend. This workweek was LONG and exhausting and I am ready to nest and settle in for a few days. But first we needed our daily dose of wearing out the puppy.We decided to meet some friends at the dog park (Dave and Lesley) because they adopted a puppy a few months back and, unsurprisingly, wanted to wear her out as well. Their pup is an 8-month old named Millicent (Millie) and you can see Magda and her going at it in this image. So when all of you say to me, "Oh Magda looks so sweet! I'm sure she's just a snuggler!" remember this photo. Because if she doesn't get enough exercise, this is what we wake up to in the morning. Straight out of a horror movie.Also, I know there's a lot of dog on this blog right now. Things will settle into normalcy soon, but right now I feel like she's growing before my eyes and I'm trying to really capture her puppyhood. But in the next few days, I'll give you a peek into the bathroom, because holy moly am I excited for how that is going.