I got up bright and early today to take photos of these two lovely sisters. We started at the park and worked through swings and slides and the woods and then came home for a bath. Look at those plush robes! Aren't they adorable?! A pretty fun way to kick off the weekend.The rest of the day was spent at the farmer's market, napping, at an art opening and visiting an old friend in her childhood home. So many fascinating stories! Overall, a super busy but fun Saturday.Hey, remember when I taught you guys how to make your hot dogs more fabulous last week? I AM SUCH A TREND SETTER (or something).

Absolutely delicious, that's what that is up there. That's "The Hendrick's" that you can get over at Five Watt coffee, ladies and gentlemen. And while it took a bit of time for me to work up the nerve to order something so unusual, HOLY COW was it amazing and refreshing. Just trust me. Seriously.Also! Today was the opening over at Bogart's Doughnuts, and they cracked their doors open at 6:30 am. And they were plum sold out of doughnuts by 9 am! Amazing! So I guess if I want that treat again, I'll have to get there early (even more glad I barged on in on Wednesday!).I have a few internet shares today! First, here's something I dream of lounging around the house in while eating bon bons.Second, I thought the advice from the first two ladies here was especially good and I will be referring to it often.And third, I think our society might be a touch too disposable. These photos are beautiful, but made me sad.

I know how you guys like my remodeling photos, so I thought I'd show you the progress on the guest bedroom today. This is the final room in the house that we have not touched (we've even improved the garage!). It's the last space that is exactly how the previous owners left it, and man is it crazy to think of all the work we've done.This blue carpet in that before photo up there? That's the carpet that was THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE when we moved in. The first night after we closed, we came over here in the dark and worked to tear it all out. And as soon as it was gone, the house felt like it belonged to us and not some strange grandparents.We left the carpet in the guest room because we thought we might want one of the bedrooms to have carpeting some day, and we weren't ready to decide on that. Hooo boy, was it good to get it out of there this week.Jamie also repainted the room, but he's saving the woodwork painting for after the floors are redone as we know the floor sander might bump/mess up any baseboard paint. We'll also add in some quarter round along the bottom there. Once that's done? It's furnishings and rugs etc etc. The fun part!We also need to have at least one of the windows re-calked / restored as it's very drafty. So if any of you know someone who does that kind of work, please let us know! The rest of the windows in the house are in good shape, and I don't want one or two new ones that don't match (just typing that sentence makes my eye twitch).I'll be sure to post more photos when we're done. And I know I still owe you basement photos! It's my own furnishing etc that's dragging as I'm bargain hunting  for the best deals. Please be patient  with me!For your internet share today, how about this new romantic comedy where Harry Potter falls in love? I cannot wait to see it!

So one of the plusses (and you could say  minuses) of having Jamie home with me every day is that he is constantly distracting me with fun things to do instead of work. My productivity is seriously in the toilet. But! Who knows how long this will last, and hey, it's spring. Let's have some fun.This morning, around 10:15, he comes bursting into my office and says, "Get dressed. Bogart's finally opened. We're going to get doughnuts!" There was a bit of protesting on my part (trying to eat healthy, trying to get work done, etc etc), but finally he swayed me (not too difficult, I admit) and we headed on over.The thing is, Bogart's isn't actually open yet! First, let me explain. We drive by this store front ALL THE TIME and for months it has had a "Bogart's Doughnut Co." sign out front, and we have been super curious. Then we realized earlier this week that this bakery was owned by one of our very favorite suppliers at the farmer's market! So then we got REALLY excited.And then today, on Twitter, Jamie saw that someone had gotten doughnuts there. What we didn't know was that it was a very soft opening, and the real opening isn't until Friday. But don't you worry. We barged right in and got our goods anyway.And today, our goods consisted of the nutella-filled brioche. I would also like to try the vanilla-bean buttercream filled brioche as well as the brown butter glazed doughnuts. Are you seeing now why we are excited? Anyway, more photos below. You should check it out on Friday! And for your internet share of the day, how about a really close-up look at the costuming of Downton Abby? I love Tom and Lorenzo's fashion takes on my favorite TV shows, and seeing the detailing of these outfits up close is remarkable. Make sure you read part 2 and 3 as well!

I snapped this image this morning on my way to return the lovely tilt-shift lens that I rented for the weekend's wedding. The heat broke today, and the trees are all in bloom, and it's quite lovely around these parts (especially if you love overcast days like I do).But I'm not going to spend much time talking about the weather today. Today I'm going to talk about how blown away I have been in the past few weeks by the generosity of the people around me.I haven't mentioned this on the blog before because, well, I like to keep things upbeat and happy in this corner of the internet. And it's tough to know how much personal information to share out there on the world wide web. But last month, our household was a bit shaken up as my husband's company did a small reorganization and his position was eliminated. In a normal time, this would add stress to our lives, for sure. But in a year where I will be unable to work during my most profitable months due to the kiddo on the way (not to mention the costs of the aforementioned kiddo), this has been particularly stressful.Not only are we rethinking all of our plans because of this human being we'll be responsible for in a few months, but now we're also trying to do that while factoring in the many "what-ifs" that greet you with unemployment. And, if you know much about me at all, you know that I am pretty Type A and like to have a Plan in life, and having this many things up in the air has been... worrisome, to say the least. However! Before I get much further, let me assure you that the ensuing job hunt appears to be going well and we are hopeful and optimistic that things will end up in a fabulous place (hopefully sooner rather than later).But you guys. Oh, you guys. Instead of drowning in worries these past few weeks as expected, I have instead been overwhelmed and at a loss of words for the amount of help that our friends and family have thrown our way. From fifty seven gazillion adorable baby outfits that have been gifted/donated to our cause to the boxes and boxes and boxes of maternity clothes that both friends and clients have gifted me with (seriously, there is nothing I want to spend money on less right now than clothes that intentionally make me look like a whale), to massages and rocking chairs and diapers and blankets and college funds and a baby crib and strollers and high chairs and the list just goes on and on and on and on. And that's not even counting the career leads and introductions that have helped with the job hunt.I was thinking about everyone's generosity this afternoon, and I was just moved to tears. And yes. I know my hormones are nuts right now, but seriously! I knew I had an amazing support network, but this has just blown me away. And it is an amazing relief considering how costly all this kid crap is! And the best part is that my friends have THE MOST amazing taste and this stuff is all gorgeous! It also has reiterated to me that while my biological family is back in Kansas, I have a pretty strong "family" here in Minnesota as well.Anyway, I'm working on individual thank you notes, but I just needed to publicly say thank you to everyone who has thrown us some help in the last month. And to those of you who are going through tough times, hang in there and ask for what you need. The generosity of your loved ones will blow your mind. I promise.Deep breaths.Ok, so now back to normal, fun-filled programming. You love Mad Men, right? How about this look behind the scenes at the show's sets! So fabulous!

Yeah, she's warming up to the idea of playing in water. This year at the lake should be interesting!This puddle is usually found at the dog park after a rain, and this week it was there for a few days. The good news is that it makes Magda happy. The bad news is that many dogs pee in this puddle, so any playtime in the water requires an immediate bath upon returning home. The even worse news is that our genius dog loves to drink from this puddle EVEN THOUGH WE BRING HER FRESH WATER. So she's usually a touch sick the next day. Nothing too severe, but enough to gross us all out.I don't know about where you guys live, but where we are it is STICKY. It's like we had one week of glorious spring, and now it's summer. So we've been sleeping in the basement these past few nights (I know, I know, I owe you photos of that part of the room...), and that has been a wonderful option. Today we're installing our window a/c in the bedroom so that we can sleep up there when Jamie's mom comes in a few weeks. Also? I'd like to point out that normally we put in our air conditioners the week of my birthday -- about a month from now. So yeah, we were behind all spring due to our long winter, and now suddenly we're ahead.For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to this article that ran in Sunday's paper about the hidden moral code of dogs. It says dogs can sense inequality and injustice. I could have told them that without the study, but the article is still fascinating!

It's a holiday weekend! Let's celebrate my laziness and I'll teach you how to make decadent, heart-burn inducing delicious hot dogs! These will feel gourmet, when in fact they are far from it. But look at that up there! You know  you want to eat that!So, my heart-attack dogs are inspired by a wonderful dinner I had at Tilia that was almost this exact recipe. I must give credit where credit is due. So if you are too lazy to make these dogs, head over there and try theirs. You will not be disappointed.What you'll need:• Hot dogs. I like Hebrew National, but choose your favorite brand.• Buns. Please try the potato buns. They make a huge difference!• Mustard. I forgot to put in on the photo up there, but you'll need a little.• KFC coleslaw. Just go to KFC and pick some up. But! If you are like me and recently discovered that all the KFCs in the Twin Cities have closed (except for two on the opposite side of town), I found a recipe to make your own! And it's perfect! And it's easy! Here you go. I might make this for my Memorial Day bbq even. It's that easy.• Chili. If you have a chili recipe you love, use that! Believe it or not, I do not have a good chili recipe. I don't like a lot of beans or celery in my chili (I know, I know) and I don't have a crock pot, so it's just nothing I've really tried to master. You  know what I do in this case? I go to Wendy's and buy a large chili. I AM THE LAZIEST "COOK" ALIVE.• Radishes (they make it so pretty!)• Fresh herbs (I like chives, but I have also used parsley or cilantro)• Chips! I like cheese flavored chips for this one, but it's totally up to you.First step: Cook your dogs. I prefer to cook mine on the grill pan on the gas range so they are nice and even, but any method will work. You should also toast your bun if you're into that.Second step: Pile on the goods. See? Easiest recipe ever. I layer my dogs like this:• Dog in bun• One line of mustard• Chili• Coleslaw• Radishes• Herbs• ChipsAnd voila! Now go impress all your friends for the holiday. Oh, and I'm not doing a calorie count on this baby. Who wants to know THAT? NO ONE. If you are eating these hot dogs, you are cheating on your diet. And that's that.Now! On to spring cleaning. Do you guys clean your coffee grinder? Because this is the best way to do it. I promise.

Today I shot an Indian wedding in Des Moines, and man was it fascinating. There was henna! And a parade! And dancing in the street! And a HORSE! And then a big change of clothes! And then a really long ceremony! And then many, many toasts! And dinner! And dancing! And you guys? I am WIPED OUT. But it was a lovely day, and I cannot wait to show you more photos. After I get about 56 hours of sleep first.No internet share today -- too sleepy!