Today I thought I would entertain Magda with bubbles. And just like any kid, she just couldn't wait to pop them. There would be no sitting, staying or holding still while these Creatures of Evil floated around her, so finally I just embraced it and shot what I could. Admittedly, this shoot would have gone a lot better had I had my trusty assistant to help with food etc. But he started his first day at his new job today, and believe it or not, working as a director of internet marketing strategy at a large company tends to pay more than working as a lowly Shuttersmack photo assistant. Although, working with Magda and me might be more fun. Just saying.Below are a few more outtakes. The last one isn't tack sharp, but my word did she get angry! Too funny!

Today we're going to learn how to make authentic Mexican tacos. How do I know they are authentic? Because I stole this recipe from the bartenders who kept making them for us when we were in Mexico. They were so good that we had to have the recipe! I will say, however, that they taste even better when you are eating them with sand between your toes watching the ocean.Anyway, besides being delicious they are super easy and we live on these in the summer. So here you go!You'll need (for four tacos):• 4 small flour tortillas (1 per taco)• 1.5 chicken breasts pulled off the bird and hand torn (we just buy rotisserie)• 1 can black beans. Buy the Kuner's with Cumin and Spice. Trust me. And don't drain the can! Put all that juice in!• 1/4 large onion, sliced• 4 tbsp olive oil (or butter, but the tortillas cook better in the olive oil)• 1 avocado• salsa of your choice (to taste)• cilantro• fresh lime juiceStart by browning the tortillas in 2 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter if you don't have olive oil on hand). Just heat the fat and then brown each side for a few minutes. Dry them off between paper towels to remove excess grease. Then set aside.While the tortillas are browning, slice up your onion. After removing the last tortilla, you'll add the rest of the olive oil or butter to the pan and begin cooking the onions until they soften.Once the onions are soft, add in the black beans. When I shot this, we accidentally drained them first. DON'T DO THAT! You want that juice. It makes them better! You'll want to warm the beans with the onions for 2-3 minutes and then use a potato masher to mash them all up, combining the flavors.Once the beans and onion are all mushed up (technical term), add in the chicken and stir it all together. If you want to add any additional seasoning (I add a dash of cumin or garlic salt -- you might want cayenne pepper or something to add a kick), this is the time to do that.Keeping the filling mixture on a very low heat, pull out a delicious tortilla and mash 1/4 of an avocado onto 1/2 of the tortilla (like above).Then scoop on some filling from the pan, spoon on some salsa, add a little fresh cilantro and sprinkle with fresh lime juice.Voila! And you have delicious Mexican tacos! These are pretty darn filling, so I'd start with making one per person, but I'm sure after a night of cervezas, two would be no issue.Now for the down side. Each taco has 508 calories. So yeah, maybe stick to one?For your internet share of the day, how about this recipe for home made Churros? And chocolate dipping sauce? Mmmmmm.....

Last night I got to photograph this beauty! Her name is Gracie, and she's a 9-year-old Golden Retriever (obviously). Isn't it amazing how happy and vibrant she looks? Whenever I think of Goldens this age, I'm reminded of my darling Memphis, and seeing Gracie so jubilant and healthy was a real treat for me. Plus? I love it when dogs are so visibly happy!And not only was this girl sweet and obedient, but she got on swimmingly with her brother, who is a CAT! And who also posed for the camera! What a fun group of clients :)I realize I keep blogging about the day before, but I love showing you guys how fun my clients are, and I also love blogging before my evening shoots so that I can have dinner and a few hours with Jamie before collapsing into bed for the night. I'll try to get back to an actual daily photo later this week -- I promise.For your internet share of the day, how about this video full of little-known Star Wars facts. I knew a bunch of these (geek alert), but some were new to even me! Enjoy!

How adorable is this little girl!?! I had a super fun shoot with her and her parents in the studio yesterday, and man, we had a BLAST! I never knew how much fun these studio shoots could be!It's Friday and I have a fun shoot with a dog and a cat tonight, so I'mma check out early. For your internet share today, here is a post from Humans of New York that tore at my heart a little. No matter your circumstances, hard work pays off.

Today was a cool, crisp and brisk day for June (high of 66!) and I snapped this image of Lake Calhoun as I was returning from some errands to buy studio props (one of my favorite parts of this job).But don't let the damp weather fool you, today was a great day! Lots of work got done, I scored a new client that I'm super happy about and I spent an extra hour in bed in the dark morning hours snuggling with the collie. So overall, a wonderful day.For your internet share, how about this before and after on a closet makeover? I always love seeing how people organize their closets, which is especially key when you live in an older home like I do. Enjoy!

Oh hi there! So since I posted the photos of Bogart's Doughnuts a few weeks back, we now have strict instructions from out-of-town guests that they want these special treats. And with perfectly good reason! But what I haven't mentioned on the blog is that since they opened, the shop has sold out of product each morning by 10 am at the latest. Today I asked, and they told me they make about 1500-1700 doughnuts each day. Wow!So Jamie and I got up bright and early today and ran over to pick up one of each of their offerings (there are five to choose from) to bring back home to his mom for breakfast. There was no line when we arrived at 7:30 (yay!) and they hadn't sold out of anything yet, so we were thrilled.We then came home and cut them all up into bite-sized pieces so we could each sample the flavors. Here are my rankings:1. Brown Butter Glazed Holy crap, this salty/sweet glaze is phenomenal and I love, love, love the texture of the basic glaze donut. It reminded me of the famous Joe's Donuts from Lawrence, KS that used to be served up hot from the oven after Kansas basketball games. But these were *better*. If you ever had those, you know what a big deal this is.2. Regular Glazed I know! So many amazing flavors, but again I just really loved the texture and the consistency. Plus, they were the perfect amount of sweet. It should also be noted that Jamie would swap my number one and two. I stand by my choices, however.3. Vanilla Bean Cream Filled This was a close tie with the regular glazed for me. The cream is not too sweet and it's light and fluffy -- really, truly delicious.4. Nutella Filled These are, of course, divine, but I wanted more Nutella (DUH!) and frankly, I think the vanilla cream is better (blasphemy!)5. Chocolate Cake Still very good, like, better than Dunkin, but nothing compared to those above.Aaaand, now I will try to finish up work early so that I can get in a little exercise because I feel like a total glutton for eating all that sugar! For your internet share today, how about a chimp playing with a baby tiger? Eh, eh? ABOUT THE CUTEST THING EVER. I love how chimps look so human when interacting like this!

I shot this last night while seeing Eagulls perform over at the Entry with a bunch of friends. It was a fun show, especially for a Monday night, but kids? I'm gettin' old. By the time I got home, I was completely wiped out! Pretty soon I'll be complaining about my arthritis and reading the obituaries daily!Anyway, today was absolutely lovely here in Minneapolis. It was 77 degrees and sunny and I was so happy that my mother-in-law could visit during some nice weather (she usually visits in December). This is truly the Minnesota that I love. And I spent the day mostly at the computer processing images and answering email. TOTAL FAIL. Also, due to all this computer time, I wasn't able to snap a decent photo for the blog today, which is why I'm showing you one from last night instead. And if you'd like to see the full take of images, they are up over here.For your internet share of the day, I credit my husband for finding the Instagram feed for the TSA. This is awesome! All kinds of weird weapons and such that they've confiscated. Stunningly, the TAPE they took from me in Mexico or the HAND SOAP in Wichita were not photographed. Clearly those were just as dangerous as the items here (check out that fake lipstick!).

This little pup was a bit fed up today. You see, she was at the dog sitters all weekend while we were in Chicago. and she ran and played and ran and played and ran and played. And all day yesterday, after returning home, it was nothing but sleep. And all night? Sleep. And all morning? Sleep.But then.Then, this afternoon, the doorbell was ringing and strangers were here a LOT. Why, you ask? Because Jamie and I are purging a ton of crap from the house to make room for a new person, and we're giving away / selling a bunch of it. So people were coming by today to get their goods, and Magda was stuck inside not greeting strangers.And on top of that? Merlin was outside with them all. Oh, life is so unfair. So I tried to distract her by taking photos, and this was the best I could get. This was her writhing around, talking and moaning (literally) about being stuck indoors with no strangers to greet.I kept trying to tell her that her grandma Plesser is arriving tonight, and she's about to get some serious love and spoiling, but I don't think she got it. She will soon enough, however. :)For your internet share today, how about looking at these actors next to their body doubles? FASCINATING.