This week, one of my clients brought her amazing dog, Milo, into the studio for photos with the family. How could I possibly resist snapping a few of this gentleman by himself? Such a gorgeous and well-behaved pup.Also? He reminds me so much of my mother-in-law's dog Rafie (whom we adore).And now for some internet shares of the day.+ I would make a terrible princess. No garlic? No voting? No thank you.+ Some of my clients were written up for their good deeds.+ I don't have the patience to ever attempt anything like this, but it sure is fun to look at.+ Oh, how I love these kitchen floors.

This weekend, after we recovered from the turkey feast, we put up our Christmas tree and hauled out a lot of the decorations.One of my favorites, as a child, and now one of Ezra's are these Swedish angel chimes. We love lighting the candles, watching it spin, and then the highlight for sure is blowing out the candles at the end.I'd love to hear about your favorite holiday traditions from when you were a kid! Please share them in the comments!And for your internet shares today:+ No wonder that as a kid growing up in Kansas, forests always seemed so magical to me.+ This book seems like a great gift for the ladies in your life.+ LA vs NYC. Secret: You can see one of Jamie's old apartments in this post. 

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite people on the planet gave birth to this sweet little girl. And the day after Thanksgiving, we went to visit her (and to snap photos!).Weirdly, I have four clients who are due with babies in the next three weeks! So I'll be showing you more babies soon, I bet.In the meantime, here are a few more of this adorable little lady. Enjoy! And now for your internet shares of the week:+ Beautiful photos in horrible locations. A true ad for photoshop if I've ever seen one.+ These panda photos made me laugh.+ I love advent calendars. But I'm lazy so I buy chocolate ones at Trader Joe's.

I don't know how many guests you all had for the long holiday weekend, but this was our only guest. His name is Boris (the tortoise), and he's from Ezra's preschool class. We cared for him all weekend.And what might that entail? A bath, a shell polish (really), some free time on the bathroom floor and lots of lettuce, tomatoes, apples and grapes. It was a fun change of pace, but I think we're ready to go back to Magda as our only pet.For your internet shares of the day:+ These pies are gorgeous.+ Maybe no is the right answer.+ A great guide on how to do... anything.

 Yesterday I had several dogs in the studio, and this guy, Henry, stole my heart. Just look at that cutie!I have more shots from today that I'll share later, but probably not for a while. I'm taking a few days off of blogging for the holiday, and I'll see you after the turkey, relaxation and time with your families.In the meantime, here are some internet shares for you.+ If you know me very well at all, you know this was made for me.+ Why has it taken so long to invent this butter knife?+ Kinda bummed I missed this in Norway.

To say I'm in the thick of family photos these days would be an understatement, but I can just now see the light at the end of the tunnel. And last week, I had an *amazing* session with one of my favorite families, and I wanted to share a few snaps.It was a great session because everyone was happy and well behaved and fun (a big deal when you have twin toddlers and a 5 year old!) and on top of that, I got to catch up with the parents (who I adore) and we saw wild deer running through fields. A pretty perfect shoot, if you ask me! More below. Enjoy! For your internet shares of the day:+ I love Magda a LOT. But this seems a bit too rich for my blood. (But I still want it.)+ NASA got some new photos of Jupiter last month. So dang pretty.+ A great holiday gift for the little girls in your life.+ How a thunderstorm looks in the distance.

Last month, we bit the bullet and bought the family a piano for Christmas. Yes, I know we were early, but the program we wanted to buy from (Keys 4/4 Kids, which is AMAZING and I cannot suggest enough) was moving further east and if we didn't purchase it in October, we would have lost out on free delivery.And we found a really cool mid-century modern piano in a design and finish that you don't see every day. So we did it! And it was delivered yesterday, and man are we excited.Jamie and I are hoping to start lessons in January, with Ezra following a few years later. I've always wanted to know how to play the piano, and I hear that learning new musical instruments after age 40 helps to fight off Alzheimer's, so let's get this party started!Today, I'm featuring some cool macro shots of the instrument. We are in the midst of redecorating our living room, and once that is complete, I'll do an overall shot. For now, you'll just have to settle on the gorgeousness of the insides of our newest family member.  For your internet shares of the day:+ If you, or someone you know, is sad this holiday season, this is a must read.+ College friends then and now, a photo essay.+ Airplanes from above. I'm not sure why this delights me so, but it does.+ Oprah came out with her "favorite things" list. Some pretty great gift ideas on there... 

Last night, I was over at Magers & Quinn (my favorite local book store that is not aimed specifically at children) for a book signing. But not just *any* book signing -- this book was written by my dear friend, Andrea. And I couldn't be more proud of her.Not only for spending 4 years researching and writing a book (!!!), but also for tackling sensitive issues like race and our city's not-so-great history with black musicians. She is bringing it all to the forefront in a time where we are (inexplicably) still be struggling with race in our nation.She read several (wonderful!) excerpts from the book, and then answered a bunch of questions from the audience. One important point was that she spent so much time interviewing subjects for the book because black history just isn't documented as well as white history, and she needed to get these very important interviews in while she could. Again, I am so dang proud of her.If you are a music fan, you should read this book. If you are a Prince fan, this is the backstory about how he came to be. I cannot wait to dive in and read it all myself. You can buy your own copy here.For your internet shares of the day:+ A reminder on how to build an amazing cheese plate. Relevant with holiday parties about to start up!+ I love these portraits celebrating black girls and their amazing natural hair.+ This dress might be nice for a holiday party. And it might be on sale next week (just sayin'...).