I really wanted to blog this photo yesterday (when it would have been the proper thing to do since that's when it was shot), but that would mess up my whole Mondays with Magda theme, which I know has a bit of a following -- hence the cheat today. ANYWAY, enough on that.This is Alexandra. She is a client friend. I love it when that happens -- when you go out on a shoot with a client and you're all giddy about how much fun it was and the things you learned, and then you look at the photos and they are full of fantastic memories of laughing and shenanigans. That's what photographing this lady is like -- Big Fun.This was my third shoot with her, and we squeezed it in at the last moment because she's packing up and moving to Los Angeles in a week! Woot! I only recently learned that she drives this adorable Beetle convertable, and I was super excited to shoot her zipping around the lakes in it. The photo just *feels* like summer, which I really love.I had two other options for fresh photos today. 1) Magda graduated from obedience class! But you saw her yesterday. 2) I have this awesome new bird feeder! And it's attracting all these birds! And they see me walk into the kitchen and they fly away! I've been trying to shoot them for a WEEK and they keep evading me. I will keep trying. Trust me.And for your internet share of the day, check out this amazing series of photos of this old man in Alaska raising sled dogs for the Iditarod! I loooooove them. More specifically, I love the contrast between the clean, white fur and the dirty, wrinkled and bearded man who is raising them. I also LOVE them in black and white. I would love to do a project like this.Also, if you hover your mouse on the right side of the image and click, it will flip to the next photo. In case you don't find that to be intuitive. Enjoy!

I'm not sure this photo does justice to the length of Mag's tongue, but trust me when I tell you that she's part Vizsla, part lab and part Gene Simmons. Like, I'm starting to wonder if she won't just grow into her paws, but maybe into her tongue as well? It's kinda crazy.Anyway! Today I took her to the dog park in the middle of the afternoon because I was trying to work and she kept tackling me in my desk chair trying to lick my armpits. Believe it or not, this can be difficult to work through. So off to the dog park we went. The good part about visiting the dog park at 2 pm on a Monday is that there were some little girls there with their 8-week-old golden retriever, and omg I could not handle that amount of cuteness. Sooooooo adorable and fluffy. The bad part about going to the dog park at 2 pm on a Monday is the weirdo in athletic shorts and no shirt (mustache, of course) with his huge dog (balls still in tact and very interested in Ms Mags, who kept sitting in his presence, throwing him shady looks) talking about how all the "international" people in Minnesota are afraid of his dog. Then he leans over to whisper that he means the Somalis. Thanks. I thought you meant the Norwegians. Anyway, that was awkward.So what else is up with the pup? Well, she's getting a lot bigger. So much bigger that we're looking at a new crate for her because I don't think Memphis' old haunt is big enough for Magda now. Also, she has started eating CDs. We have a ton of them in the basement (what? They're all on our computers now anyway... or most of them are...) and she keeps bringing them upstairs and carefully tearing them apart (even the ones in plastic cases!). I keep catching her and using a very stern voice to express that this is Bad Girl behavior. Now, when I'm upstairs, I can hear her tearing into one, and when I get downstairs she has hidden from me under the table.At least she feels guilty.Now I gotta figure out how to capitalize on that guilt to get what I want. (See? Being a dog parent IS just like being a "real" parent!)Drumroll please for the third day in a row that I remembered the internet share of the day! Pretty soon it'll be habit, people! Oh, but before I forget, I want to thank everyone who voted for me in vita.mn's "List of Lists." Shuttersmack was one of the top 10 blogs in the city! So that was a super fun surprise. Thanks, guys :) Now, since yesterday I shared the glamorous, romantic side of international travel with my Pinterest boards, today I'll share the tough reality that we sometimes face when travelling abroad. Brought to you by one of my favorite bloggers, Ms. Maggie. Read it here.

Holy crap, look who finally made it out to another rock show!? It has been almost a MONTH since I saw a live show (the horror), and it was great to get back at it tonight with Savages at the Triple Rock. These ladies are all about the rock'n'roll, and they were a blast live. I don't think you'll catch me listening to their album around the house, but I'd love to shoot them performing any time I can. Such stage presence! And holy cow, that drummer is phenomenal!But before we wandered out to the club like our former selves, Jamie and I had a wonderful Sunday that included brunch at Lucia's (why don't we do this more?!) and then shopping at Magers & Quinn, where I loaded up on all kinds of books for the cabin. I bought four books, my dad just sent me one and Nyberg has loaned me four. I am doubting I will get through nine books next week, but the idea of it is thrilling!And since I'm itching for some time in the woods, I thought today's internet find of the day (two days in a row, my friends!!) would be my travel inspired board over on Pinterest. I post lovely travel pictures that I find around the internet here, and then I make trips based on these images. As you can see, Budapest and Prague were both on the board (check and check). I think Montreal might be up next, but one never knows... Where do you guys dream of travelling? And do you save photos like I do?

Man, today was BUSY! I started off by meeting the family of this little guy before 7 a.m. for a shoot. They were great, if not a touch sleepy (oh wait, that was me), and afterward I raced from the southern suburbs to Northeast Minneapolis to drop off wedding photos before speeding home with intentions of zipping back out for errands but instead squeezing in a short nap. Because then I had another shoot at 2 pm that may or may not have involved dogs and pizza and then another shoot tonight at 7 with a different canine. I've had a bunch of pup sessions this week that are not for clients, but rather for an upcoming project that I can fill you in on later, and they have been super fun, and I'm thrilled to get paid for them, but man I'm gettin' tired! Good thing I have a week at the lake around the corner, eh?It is crazy to me how much work has come my way since I left the paper. I'm not sure why, but it never occurred to me that once word got out that I actually left (and that I might have more time on my plate) more people began thinking of me for jobs. That saying about one door closing and a window (or seven) opening has been pretty right on the money this month. And I couldn't be happier about it!For your internet share of the day (WHOA! Look who finally remembered THAT little feature!) I am giving you these super cool portraits that are made out of the Nike logo. I love it when brands have fun with themselves. This is super cool!

This morning it was so sticky and gross when Magda woke us up at 5:30 am for her walk. Yeah, good times. But by 11, the breeze had kicked up, and it had finally cooled off with the humidity gone. So I dragged Magda out to lunch with me and the Strib girls as we ate delicious fish tacos by Minnehaha Falls. This here is Ellis, Catherine's son who weighs 10 pounds less than Mags! Watching him eat this ice cream in the hot sun was priceless. It dripped all down his arm, all down his shirt, all down his pants and even onto the rocks and sidewalk (which my pup was ever-grateful for). He was pretty delighted at how eager Magda was to clean him up though (as was she).

Man-oh-man, it is too dang hot to cook! So I made us antipasta platters for dinner tonight, and we gobbled it up before taking the Vizsla to the brand new dog park in the neighborhood. Before you get all up in my grill for taking her when it's this hot out, let me tell you that at 5 pm, I was trying to finish some work at my desk, and the puppy runs up to me and starts biting the side of my butt through the chair. She is literally a pain in my ass!So yeah, we took her to the park -- and when we arrived we were the only ones there. And she had so much energy that she began sprinting in a giant figure eight, kicking up dust and barking with joy. What a nutjob.Also, I posted the full blog take on the wedding I shot on Sunday, which you can see over here. Enjoy!

Oh my lord, a CAT! On Shuttersmack! Haha, this usually means that I have visited the lovely Sopheava, and yes, that is the case today as well. Indigo up there is her furball, and he is such a ... cat. You are constantly being judged by this one (he's probably even judging you through this here computer screen). But still a cutie!I was visiting Miss Margaret this evening in her shiny, new (and bright) (and amazing) apartment for dinner and a meeting on our super-secret project. Ok, whatever, it's not that secret. She is totally helping me to make my Shuttersmack site a prettier, cleaner, more organized space. And I cannot wait to show you when we're all said and done! You're gonna love it, I promise.And I almost forgot! I was interviewed by a local blog in town today! If you want to read all about my twitter habits and things that give me nightmares, you can do so right here. Enjoy!