Tonight after work I picked up my buddy London and we went out to dinner downtown and caught up. Man, one thing I do miss about working in an office is seeing my coworkers every day. Not only did we need to catch up on each other's lives, but, you know, Mad Men and TV and office gossip etc etc etc.When I was picking her up, I drove around the newspaper to take in all of the construction. The buildings have been bought by the Vikings and are being torn down for the new stadium that's going up. This building here is the "new" Star Tribune building where online and advertising was housed when I first started working there in 2003. My how things change...For your internet share of the day, how about this heat map that shows musical preferences by region of the U.S.? Some things are right on, but I was surprised "Indie" wasn't bigger in the Twin Cities and "Metal" wasn't more popular in Texas... Just my two cents...
Today I had a wonderful visit with Therese. It was TWO HOURS LONG. She spent roughly one hour readjusting my left hip (aaahhhhhh) and the other hour loosening the kinks in my neck (aw yeah). Seriously, it was divine. And the birds up there? They were snacking away while I was being worked on. I love it that the yellow finches are back (and bright!), and I also love seeing the cardinals (that one's a female). This bird feeder is always full of such unique birds. Mine at home? It has lots of sparrows. Although I did catch one of these last week! And I almost dropped my coffee when I spotted it!The other reason the massage was great today is because it's Earth Day, which means it's been 11 years since we brought our sweet Memphis home as a young pup. I was thinking about (and missing) her a lot today, and days full of emotion are perfect for massage. Oh! And speaking of Earth Day, aren't we happy that this year it's 60 degrees and we can watch birds? Remember last year?For your internet share of the day, how about this article that says you are more ethical after drinking your coffee. See? Best addiction ever.
Remember last week when I had that awesome shoot in my new studio? Well I bought a ton of amazing props to entertain the little girls, and some of the props included these helium balloons! So before they lost all their helium, I thought we'd get Magda and a balloon bouquet (of sorts). She is, obviously, thrilled about it. At least she didn't try to eat them.For my internet share of the day, I'm sending you to Houndworthy, a european shop aimed at dog owners -- both stuff for dogs and dog people. I absolutely love the red leather collar for pups. Mmmmmm, so delicious.
Today, I thought we'd do omelettes because a) it's Easter and everyone loves a good breakfast today and b) because I particularly love any kind of breakfast for dinner.First, I must be honest and tell you that I make a great omelette only about 50 percent of the time (often mine turns into a very fancy scrambled egg). My man Jamie, however, makes a fantastic omelette every single time he tries, so this is really all about his tips and pointers. As well as his fabulous hand modeling. So! Let's get started.
First, what you'll need:What is required:• Three eggs (per large omelette -- we make a big one and share it with a side salad, if that helps you judge the size)• 1 Tbps butter• Salt and pepper to tasteOptional ingredients:• Chives• Cherry tomatoes• Mushrooms• Cheese of your choice• Sour cream• Anything else you like in your omelette. Sometimes I have leftover carmelized onions, and those are fantastic! Or bacon! Or peppers!
Now, I'm not gonna lie. A huge part of making our omelettes is our pan. It's a small pan with no hard corners (a smooth oval shape inside). My mom sent this to us one year (I am 99 percent sure it's an estate-sale find) but I've seen great non-stick options at TJ Maxx or Marshalls (my own mecca of kitchen supplies).
The first thing you want to do is chop up your optional ingredients. You really don't need a lot here -- I think we used 2 cherry tomatoes and about 2 tablespoons chives and maybe one mushroom. Also! This is when you begin heating your pan on very low heat (VERY LOW) and melt your butter. Make sure to spread it all over the bottom and the sides.
Next, crack your eggs and scramble them up.
Then pour them into the delicious melted butter in the pan. Mmmmm.... (See how low that heat is? LOW.)
Now this is the part that requires a bunch of patience that I don't really have and that my husband is the master of. While the egg is slowly cooking, you test the edges with a fork. When you find solid edges beginning to form, you slowly and gently lift them, and then tilt the pan so the uncooked egg seeps underneath your cooked edge. You do this on all sides of the omelette.
You can kind of see here the edges that were pulled up and where the egg slid under. Don't worry how it looks, this will cook the most evenly. Also, once this is done, add your seasoning.
Once the egg is starting to set (jiggle the pan and see if the liquid slides all around or if it's starting to congeal -- maybe 3-5 minutes) then you add your optional ingredients to half of the omelette, like so.
Ours up there is now covered in cheese, as all things should be. Next you take your fork and work around the edges to make sure the omelette is separating from the pan, and gently using two forks, flip the side with nothing on it over the side with the filling.
Like so. Also, using two forks is helpful here.
Let this cook for another minute, then using both forks, flip the omelette over. This is tricky business, but I'm confident you can do it.
Voila! Now you let it cook on this side for another minute or two.
And there you go! We slide the omelette onto a plate straight from the pan (no lifting it up! it will break!), trim off the weird edges for the dogs and then garnish with a little sour cream, chives and fresh tomato. Delish!For this entire omelette, it would be 481 calories. But that would be SUPER filling, so as I said, we often split it and share some fruit or salad on the side. Enjoy!Your internet share today is AMAZING art that is made with food. I guess this would be of interest to those of you who like to play with your food instead of cooking it. Fun!
This morning we all woke up early and headed over to Room & Board outlet to try and find a sofa (still no luck!). And when I say "we," I mean Jamie, my mother and I. Mom is in town visiting this week, and it's been so fun to have her here. And have I mentioned her soft spot for chocolate? Oh my, I am pretty sure she could survive for 100 more years on a desert island if given a steady supply of cigarettes, coffee and chocolate.Anyway! After our early trip this morning, we stopped off at Rustica so mom could get some breakfast. This up there is what she had. Beautiful, no?For your internet share of the day, how about the most gorgeous dental office I've ever seen?
Today I had a baby shoot with this little girl! She had the biggest, bluest eyes, and I don't know if you can tell from this angle, but she's a ginger! Such a sweet and smiley girl. I always have so much fun with this family -- I really am so fortunate to have such amazing clients.Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 60s in Minneapolis! This is big news! So to celebrate, your internet share of the day is this post on a bunch of retro campers for sale. Let's buy our favorite one and spend the summer roadtripping eh? Maybe after we win the lottery? DEAL!
Tonight I was shooting an assignment that involved teenagers at the museum. What I did not know was that there would be breakdancing. You guys! Do you know what a sucker I am for breakdancing? Do you know how much I watched "Breakin'" and "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo" when I was growing up? SUCH A FAN.Anyway! When I'm shooting on assignment for someone else, I really don't want to put any spoiler photos on my blog -- especially anything that the client might have wanted themselves. So I'm showing you THIS photo because it was a accidental shot as I was turning my camera, hence the crazy angle. I'm pretty sure nobody in their right mind would want this published, and it gives you an idea of the fun that was had.When the *actual* photos come out, I'll alert you then and you can see the real (good) images. What am I saying? There are no bad images of breakdancing.Oh! AND THE BEST PART? Guess what they were dancing to. JUST GUESS. It was Michael Jackson's Thriller. Yup. And I was getting paid to listen and watch the magic unfold. My job is awesome.For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to the Season Two trailer for Orange is the New Black. If you don't watch this show, you should skip this. If you do watch the show, enjoy!And, btw, those links to the Breakin' trailers up top are pure gold. It makes me miss the 80s. *sigh*