That right there was my valentine gift from Jamie! How rad are those office supplies!? He knows me so dang well. I cannot even begin to express the joy I take in cutting things or taping things right now. I am a total and complete geek about school supplies, and I will own it completely. Also? We have a $20 limit on our gifts, so he did very well indeed.For your internet share of the day, these photos from NASA blew my mind. Also, winter on the east coast has been way harsher than ours here in the frozen tundra this year. And Michael Kors made a winter coat that I covet. But really, what's new?

Today I met up with my good friend Katie to have lunch and talk about what's going on in her corner of the world. Her first son is due in about 6 weeks, and I wanted to see how she's feeling and such. Plus? I had a few hand-me-downs to unload! Katie used to be a magazine beauty and fashion editor and is now a freelance writer. To say she makes 8 months pregnant look glamorous is an understatement.The rest of the day was spent working on administrative business stuff (like, hello, I didn't realize I hadn't logged any of my mileage SINCE JULY). I guess time kinda got away from me on that one (ahem). But I also test drove some cars, which is always sorta fun. I've had my current CR-V since 2003, when I bought it brand new. It's been a wonderful car to me, but now that I'm hauling the kid around, I want something that is 100% reliable. Plus? Heated seats would sure be awesome since it's -10 outside as I write this.For your internet shares of the day, we all know a good moment between Jimmy Fallon and Prince melts my heart. Also, check out Tokyo in the fog. Super haunting!

This little girl is super adorable (usually). But I could not resist posting this photo of her face when her mom made her wear a flower on her head. Oh girl. I can relate.My own mother often tells me stories of how when I was young people thought I was a boy, so she scotch taped bows to my head. SCOTCH TAPE, PEOPLE. So I always feel for the baby girls when stuff is put on their heads... although at least there are non-tape methods these days. (And I should note that this rad mama was hesitant about the flower as well, but we tried it just to see what we'd get.)So this photo was shot last week. Today is Ezra's first day in daycare and I am catching up on MASSIVE amounts of work, which leaves very little time between jobs to actually take fresh photos. Which is why you're getting these instead (sorry).And! I'm including a cute photo of this babe below just to show you how cute she really is.Oh! And an internet share of the day! Did you read about how Minneapolis is so wonderful in The Atlantic? No? Here's an excerpt:

The Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area is richer by median household income than Pittsburgh or Salt Lake City (or New York, or Chicago, or Los Angeles). Among residents under 35, the Twin Cities place in the top 10 for highest college-graduation rate, highest median earnings, and lowest poverty rate, according to the most recent census figures. And yet, according to the Center for Housing Policy, low-income families can rent a home and commute to work more affordably in Minneapolis–St. Paul than in all but one other major metro area (Washington, D.C.). Perhaps most impressive, the Twin Cities have the highest employment rate for 18-to-34-year-olds in the country.

But you didn't need The Atlantic to tell you Minneapolis is awesome, because I tell you all the time :)

This week wasn't quite as busy because I've been sick with a cold, but we still had adventures playing with stacking cups, playing in the falling snow, eating oatmeal and pears (!!), meeting Dad for lunch and opening Valentine's Day gifts. I just want you all to know that it's not always smiles around these parts. But I still find him adorable. His eyes are getting more grey and a touch greener as well.Jamie made a brisket from a Bon Appetit recipe, and Magda was *extremely* interested in it.Ezra opened his first presents (he was too young at Christmas).And as expected, the tissue paper was his favorite part :) Magda enjoyed knocking over the stacking cups with her paws while Ezra did the same with his hands. It was adorable. So that was our week! And for your internet share of the day, how about this little piece of adorableness. 

Moments to myself these days are a bit few and far between. Wait. Let me clarify. Moments to myself in which I'm not working, catching up on emails or trying to keep the business going while on this maternity break (that ends on Tuesday) are few and far between.And this head cold? Man, could I ever use some time to myself. So Jamie got home from work today and I handed him The Spawn and went upstairs to soak in a warm bath. Oh you guys, I just don't do this enough! It was pure bliss.I would normally give you internet shares in this spot, but Jamie and I have a DATE tonight, and I want to go use this time to make myself fresh and pretty. If I can escape the house without dog/baby drool/spitup/hair on me tonight, it will be a modern miracle. Fingers crossed for such sexiness!

Today the temperature dropped back down to our normal February climate of single digits. I snapped this frost on the window of the garage, where frost seems to collect the most due to the cars heating and cooling out there.I think frost is so interesting because some parts remind me of soft bird feathers, but mostly it looks sharp and painful, like badly healed scars. When it gets super cold and it hurts to inhale, I imagine these little white knives are filling my lungs (doubtful). But nonetheless, it's quite pretty as well!For your internet share(s) today, I wanted to show you these awesome spy cams from the 50s!Or how about this super fun instagram feed from backstage at The Grammy's?No? That doesn't float your boat? How about knowing at what age you are older than the majority of people in the world? (Hint, I'm already there).Ok. Lastly, how about a new Cameron Crowe movie with Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone? See! Something for everyone!

I shot this image of Toby the Cat during one of my many sessions last Saturday. Isn't he beautiful? I love those green, green eyes. I am showing you this because a) I am still sick with a cold (which seems to be getting worse) and b) I'm trying to get as much done today as I can on the computer, and taking time to shoot just isn't working out.And I'm not sure what I would take a photo of today anyway... maybe all the supplies I got at Walgreens? Cough drops, nasal spray, breathe-right air strips, airborne vitamin supplements, tissues and regular vitamins? Yeah. I am feeling as sexy as all that sounds.But! To make up for an older photo and my lack of internet shares lately, I have lots to entertain you with!First, I love how artistic ariel photography can be. My favorite one here is the view of the US/Canada border.Second, Humans of New York just dropped the mic.Third, one of the benefits of us not getting much snow in Minnesota this year are the beautiful icy lakes that you can see right now. I wanna get in on some of this action!And fourth! As I'm trying to eat as much vitamin c as possible, I think you should bring me a batch of these grapefruit mojitos. To help heal me. Really. 

I realized last night that I had not included any photos of the dogs in my Monday at the Madhouse entry, and that made me so sad! So today, while I stayed in by the fire nursing a sore throat, I decided to spend Ezra's naptimes shooting pictures of the pups. I can't neglect my original kids, now can I?You can tell one of them is a much larger ham for the camera than the other. Unsurprisingly.