Tonight I made a delicious dinner (which you'll get the recipe for on Sunday) and invited my buddy Nyberg over to share it with us. I also had her take some of the beer that's left in the fridge from when my dad visited (much less consumption around here these days), and so she's pouring my favorite summer brew up there (Shiner's Ruby Redbird). Yesterday I featured doughnuts and today it's beer! It's like I'm aiming this blog at Homer Simpson!Anyway, I'm also giving you a second image because while I was cooking said dinner, I got a new bird on the bird feeder! A WOODPECKER! A female hairy woodpecker to be exact (and yeah, that totally sounds dirty, right? But that's the official name, I swear). You can see one from a better angle here. This shot below was the best I could do while using the lenses that I had on hand for food photography. Aren't they pretty?And again today, I have a few internet shares for you. I'm heading out of town this weekend, so I figure it's ok to give you a lot now since you'll be left high and dry come Saturday :) First off, Jenny Lewis' new album is streaming over on NPR. I am soooo excited for this concert -- I adore her music.Second, have you seen this new train they've got over in Japan? FANCY. I would totally take that somewhere exotic.Third, how about a new trailer for a Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightly film set during WWII?? Yes. I am super geeked about that.

Does that look good or WHAT? That is the Pershing doughnut over at Bogart's that is only offered on special Tuesdays. It's a cinnamon and cardamom roll. It is phenomenal. I got to shoot this photo because I woke up at 1:45 AM today to get to the doughnut shop by 3 am so I could take photos of Bogart's making their doughnuts! I got to see the entire process, and man, was it fascinating! And delicious! And I think I need to brush my teeth again!But seriously, the staff over there is so kind and gracious and wonderful, and if you have to wake up at 1:45 am for a shoot? This is the one you want to do it for.Now, for your internet share of the day! It's straight out of biblical times! Did y'all hear about the mayfly swarm here in Minnesota? Go look at that photo. So many levels of ew.

Man, it's muggy and hot here today guys. The heat index was about 105, and as soon as I put the fan out, this guy settled in for the breeze. What a handsome guy.And because of the heat, Mags hasn't gotten in her walk which means she is constantly wanting to play tug of war. And that's about what we're up to over here besides processing and editing photos and meeting with clients.I have two internet shares today! The first is the real estate listing for Horst Rechelbacher's (he founded Aveda) condo that overlooks downtown Minneapolis -- it's going for a cool $8 million. I love perusing these kinds of listings... And the second is of this happy man on the dance floor. Who doesn't love seeing senior citizens get down?

Last week, the lovely Margaret gifted me with a spankin' new crock pot. For as much as I love to cook, I'm not really huge on kitchen gadgetry, so I'd never had one of these before. I was super excited about it because a) I can cook stuff in the summer without heating up the kitchen and b) I keep hearing how easy meals are and, as we've discussed before, I am supremely lazy when it comes to cooking.So the first thing I wanted to try out pulled bbq chicken sandwiches. I scoured the internet for some recipes and settled on this one (and then altered it).What you'll need:1/2 cup diced onion1.5 lbs chicken (I used bone-in breasts, but I have heard thighs work great as well)Red pepper flakes2/3 cup Dr. Pepper (yup you read that right)A bottle of your favorite bbq sauceBrownberry onion bunsSo! Are you ready for this? It's sooooo easy.First, dump the Dr. Pepper into the crock pot, put the chicken on top, then add 1 cup of the BBQ sauce, the diced onion and red pepper flakes to taste, then stir it all up.And turn the crock pot to low. And let it cook for 7 hours while you get on with your day.Right? I know! So easy!So after 7 hours, you use forks to peel the chicken off and it will shred pretty easily. Remove the bones, stir the chicken back in with the sauce and add about a cup more of the sauce from the bottle. And voila! Add it to the delicious toasted bun!Since we aren't big on cole slaw in our house, I served it with my apple and manchego salad, and that was THE BEST DECISION EVER. Here's that recipe again, if you need it...Oh! And the calories :) It's about 395 per sandwich. 

So... today was a bit of a recovery day after the wedding. In other words, I slept in, watched a bunch of really bad/wonderful television (several Twilight movies were on! Plus a Mission Impossible!) and then my buddy Courtnay came over and brought me Thai food for dinner and a ton of ice cream! And so we ate delicious ice cream and gossiped and watched the end of Twilight and just caught up and it was the most amazing girls night ever.So.... I didn't really take any photos today (which was a nice break) and instead thought I would show you another shot from yesterday. Holy cow do I love the neckline on that dress. And that bride's eyes? Not too bad either ;)For your internet share today, I always love reading about how color affects our moods and decisions. For instance, I've read that a green kitchen promotes healthier eating habits. And yes. We painted our kitchen green.

Today was incredible. It was my final wedding of 2014 as I decided not to book such special events in the month of August should I go into labor early. And man, was this an amazing and beautiful one to end on. This is Alex & Donny, and their day was spectacular in every sense of the word. But beyond just my adoration of this couple, it was also an amazingly fun day because I had a few friends at the ceremony and it was just a good time all around.And I had so much fun shooting today, that I couldn't choose just one image... so you get a second below. No internet share today -- I have to crash. Just sit back and enjoy the romance :) 

This photo is from yesterday, but I had to show you my dinner. I ate that whole damn thing. It's a footlong hotdog from Butcher and the Boar, and man, was it tasty. Now *that's* a hot dog, am I right?We met up with some dear friends last night around 8 pm and enjoyed dinner outside in the glorious summer weather we've been having, and I thought the hot dog option was a better choice than a steak. And I was right.Today has mostly been prep work for tomorrow's wedding, along with a field trip to the studio in Northeast Mpls to drop off last week's wedding photos. I'm breaking in a new crock pot today (!!!) and I thought taking Magda with me might be safer than leaving her at home with chicken slow cooking in deliciousness. Don't worry, you'll get the recipe soon enough. Anyway, the field trip seems to have worn out the vizsla as she came home and collapsed into sleep. Score.For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to this awesome tutorial on how to put on your daily makeup. And if you don't care about that sort of thing, check out these amazing print ad designs. My favorites are numbers 3, 7, 8, 15, 36, 53 and 100. What are yours?