Meet Rafael. He has been a house guest of ours for the last few days, and he is SUCH a sweetie. Although no matter how sweet he may be, Memphis is still tellin' him who's boss. That's what she does. Ask Merlin. Pretty adorable boy, no? You should see the outtakes. Oh wait, you can (click here).
This morning I had an engagement shoot with Julie. Yes, Julie the friend that I adore and who makes me laugh like a madwoman. She's engaged to Mike here -- he's a pilot for the Marines. Badass, right? I hadn't spent that much time with the two of them as Mike's not in town a lot, but my oh my, these two are made for each other. The laughter and happiness kept me smiling all day long. And I'm not normally sappy like that.
Today has been amazing. Margaret and I hit the road for her first trip to Minnesota's North Shore. I took her to all my favorite spots (Russ Kendall's smoked fish, Vanilla Bean Cafe, The Anchor Bar), and we got a stellar room at Larsmont Cottages. Lake Superior was stunning, as usual.But you know what was different this time around? The serious amount of deer spottings. At dusk we saw FOURTEEN deer, making it sixteen total for the day. That's a lot of deer sightings in a few short hours. Anyway, this doe was not even the slightest bit nervous, and we got out of the car and walked up pretty close. I love her tongue in this shot.
Hey look! It's my buddy Tom!I must confess, I was a little rude to Tom today. I was setting up a quick photo shoot outside the office, and Tom's twitter avatar caught my eye. Now, I would not say this to just anyone -- only to my closest friends who I know I can be honest with. But I called Tom up and told him to meet me outside so I could snap a new avatar photo of him. I think I might have told him that his avatar "kinda sucked." I wasn't dissing his FACE. That looked fine -- but the photo he was using might have been taken in a dark bar with a phone -- and I like Tom too much to let him be represented like that.Anyway, he showed up and we had a good time taking a few updated shots. This is one of my favorites, probably because it's natural. I gave him a few to choose from, and I bet his fabulous fiance will weigh in as well. That lady has serious style.
Ooooh, here's my fuzzy little trouble maker. She ate my brand new 16G memory card earlier this week. I just bought it, and for those that don't know, these suckers cost about $140 or so a pop. So yeah, she's trouble. And I'm still angry, so I'm making her work it a little bit. Plus? I get to try out my new pocket wizards! For the non-photogs out there, pocket wizards are remotes for my flashes, which help to avoid weird, reflective dog eyes. Very Important. Anyway, I hadn't worked in my basement studio in awhile, and I have a super busy weekend ahead, so I thought I should get back in there.
This morning I had a three hour doctor appointment at the allergist. Yes, you read that right, it was THREE HOURS long. It was my first ever appointment at the allergist, and they pricked my skin something like 62 times to see what I was allergic to. One of the tests was dogs. Really? Do I need to be poked for that one? Cuz I'm pretty sure I would know by now if the creatures that end up in my bed 70 percent of most nights are causing difficulty in my breathing. Anyway, in case you weren't sure, I am NOT allergic to dogs. Rocket scientists, I tell you.Apparently I *am* allergic to certain molds and dust mites. But the real reason I went to the allergist was not to find out about my springtime runny nose, but rather to get an inhaler so I could start running. Ahem. Now I have one. So... um... we'll see how the running goes... just as soon as we get back down under 90 degrees. Also? Yes they used all of these needles. And? I *do* have photos of my arms all welted up. But I didn't think anyone wanted to see that, so I stuck with the needle image instead. (No pun intended.)
Tonight I got this fabulous summer meal cooked for me! How did I trick someone into THAT you might ask? Well, I stopped by my friends Brad and Candice's TOTALLY AMAZING house on my way home from work, and they threw together dinner on the grill. Remember how beautiful I told you their wedding was? Yeah. You should see their house. Like, I don't think I can ever invite these people over for fear of the amount of cleaning and, um, refinishing of hardwood floors, that it would take to make me feel worthy. I cannot state clearly enough that the level of taste these two possess is unbelievable and, let's be frank, enviable. I am fortunate to have such inspiring folks in my life.Oh, and their corn-on-the-cob is damn good as well. The secret? Citrus juice and chili powder.
I started the day on the North Shore with 
