Happy May! Each year I buy at least one lavender plant and each year I manage to kill at least one lavender plant. Last year it died off super early because we had so much rain and the poor plant got too much water. So this year I'm keeping my lavender inside in the new bathroom. First off, I have a fabulous window in there and second, it makes the bathroom smell great! If you love lavender like I do, you should get to Trader Joe's pronto where you can get a big plant like this for about seven bucks.For your internet share of the day, if you found $40,000 would you return it?
I got to take photos of this guy on Sunday celebrating his second birthday. Oh, how I love the messy cake photos!For your internet share of the day, how about these 
So it was 19 years ago today that I mustered all the courage I had to call up this guy right here and ask him on a date.You should know that I was raised in a household where "If a boy wants to talk to you, he'll call. Never call a boy. Ever." So this was a pretty big deal, but I was in college and I *really* liked this guy. And I was tired of waiting around to get asked out (patience is not exactly a virtue of mine). Luckily, he said yes, and we had dinner at a "fancy" Chinese restaurant that night before downing some Rolling Rock beers on a patio overlooking a Burger King. ROMANCE!But my point here is that sometimes you gotta take the risk. Look at how it paid off for me!? I scored the best husband on the planet all by completely disregarding my parents sage advice (sorry, Dad).And yes, today is also our 1 year anniversary of bringing Magda home. So I thought I'd share the photo below as well. Clearly she is just as nuts about her dad as I am.
For your internet share of the day, 
So tomorrow marks one full year that we've had Miss Magda up there. Can you believe it? Can you believe that a year ago she was trying to eat our faces off, scratching the hell out of our arms and clawing her way through the house? And now she's posing in a stupid hat while we throw confetti at her? Holy cow, has this girl grown up!When we first brought her home, there were more than a few moments of, "Oh shit, what have we done?!?" This dog did NOT calm down. Jamie and I were taking her for hour or two walks each morning AT FIVE THIRTY OR SIX A.M. The energy was astounding. And now? Now, she wakes 
For your internet share of the day, how about 
Hello 60-degree weekend! And happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! How about something easy and delicious today, eh? Something maybe someone ELSE could make for mom? Or something that takes 10 minutes to make from stuff already in your fridge?A few months back, Bon Appetit ran a piece on constructing the perfect salad (which I would link to except I just spent 20 minutes trying to find it online and HOLY COW MAKE THAT EASIER PLEASE CONDE NAST). I was inspired by their formula, which was basically greens + protein + fat, and decided to rummage through my cupboard or fridge and see what I could pull together right that moment.This salad is what I came up with, and I really love it. I also served it to a few guests who raved and raved about it, so even though it's SUPER simple, I thought I would share it with you. My favorite part is that I always seem to have these ingredients lying around and it requires zero planning and totally fills me up.
First, you'll need:• Some greens. I use about 1/2 bag (maybe a little less?) of baby mixed greens from the store. I buy it prewashed in a bag because I am lazy.• Some cucumber -- about as much as you see above... 6 slices or so.• Some salty nuts. I eyeball it, but I would guess 3-4 tablespoons. I prefer cashews, but I have also used macadamia nuts (yum!) or sunflower seeds.• Feta cheese -- again, probably 3-4 tablespoons or to taste• Avocado (of course). I dice up 1/2 and save the second half for tacos the next day.• White beans (about 1/4 cup)• OPTIONAL: If you want the salad to serve as a meal, you should add in some leftover rotisserie chicken.
Step one: Chop up the ingredients (cucumber and avocado and chicken if you're using it). This is a salad, not rocket science.
Step two: Put it all in a bowl and toss with your favorite dressing. My very favorite salad dressing on the planet is Paul Newman's balsamic vinaigrette (either light or regular). I know many people make their own delicious dressings, but this is my favorite. And pouring from a bottle is easy. Have I mentioned how lazy I am? I use 1.5 capfuls for this salad.
Voila! Toss and serve. For a side salad (half of this serving) it's 313 calories (which would fill you up for lunch). If you are starving after a long day at work and you eat the whole thing (oh c'mon, we've all been there), it's 626 calories.For your internet share, 
I got up early this morning for a family session (outside! in the warmth!) and man, thank god it's May and we can do this again, eh? This is Leo. I've been photographing him for a really long time, and I cannot tell you how fun it is to step in every year or so and see how these kids grow up! I met the family at Groundswell coffee (which was amazing, by the way and everyone should go there stat) and then we walked to a nearby park for some photos and shenanigans. A great start to the weekend!Also today we attended a dog birthday party (stop your judging -- it's super fun!) and then met up with a few friends at the new Hola Arepa restaurant in town. The food was really great (and holy cow, the drink menu looked amazing!), but the service still has a lot of kinks to work out. Give it a few weeks and then go try it!For your internet share of the day, I'm sending you to 
This morning I was photographing an agency downtown, and on the shot list provided it said "tiny people in plants." So there I am, casually wandering the office, looking into all the plants for tiny people (feeling a touch foolish) until I found them! How funny is this! And once I spotted the tiny people, I could see them throughout the office! On window ledges, office cubes, the coffee maker etc etc. Fun surprise, eh?Also, I need to share with you some of my work from this week. If you're a fan of Queens of the Stone Age, 
Today was a busy one, and I had two quick errands to run. While it was dark and cloudy all day, it didn't rain. Until I got in the car and was driving -- then the complete and utter downpour of cats and dogs began -- both trips! Not my luckiest of days when it came to transportation.But! Man, do I have an awesome internet share today. The Guardian has been running