I am traveling to Des Moines tomorrow for a pretty spectacular wedding, and I rented this tilt-shift lens to take with me. I always love the magic that this lens creates, but it costs more than my mortgage payment, so I do not own one. I just rent them for weddings sometimes when I want to feel fancy.Anyway! I hadn't used one in about 3 years, so I decided to head down to the lake and practice with it tonight. It's manual focus, and getting the right parts of the photo sharp can be tricky if you're not well-versed in it. So wish me luck tomorrow! (Don't worry! I practiced a lot!)Also, I leave bright and early and I'll be shooting late. This is potentially the longest day of my summer in terms of shooting hours, and I'm going to try to blog when I return to the hotel, but there is a chance I will collapse into bed instead. So if the blog is tardy tomorrow, please understand it's just due to exhaustion and I'll catch you up on Sunday.For your internet share today, these hoards of sea turtles coming ashore to nest remind me of an alien invasion. Right?
What a beautiful day. Man, it's been sunny and in the 60s this week, and holy moly is that a welcome change. Tonight Jamie and I packed up a picnic and took Magda down to the lake to have dinner near the water. It was lovely. We've been walking around the lake a bit lately, and we've been following a family of geese that have been living on the western shore. Tonight I saw them all hop into the water, and I had to snap a photo. Pretty cute, no?For your internet share of the day, how about 
Tonight I had a few friends over for hot dogs. Normally, I do something a touch more high-end for my guests, but I assure you that these were FANCY hot dogs, which you can read about on the blog on Sunday.My man had a marketing event tonight and I wasn't about to make these amazing hot dogs and then sit at home alone, all knocked up and eating delicious junk food (see me and my restraint?!?). So I invited my favorite junk-food expert friends over instead. :)And one of them is Stacy, and this is her baby Fitz. 
Today was pretty standard -- lots of desk work, a little dog walking and a simple appointment. But around mid-afternoon I went down to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. I told Jamie I'd be right with him after I got my cup and he responded, "Oh... I killed the coffee..." to which I paused, then said, "That's ok. You can take me to Five Watt and buy me one instead!"See? Win-win. :)What is 
Sometimes I get so excited about teaching Magda new tricks and poses (and attempting to wear her out) that I forget to give you guys updates on Merlin, aka, the best dog on the entire planet.He has been doing great. As he gets older, his walks are shorter and there's a lot more mosy-ing and sniffing around and much less running and barking, but his spirits are high and he's eating all of his food and he greets us with a wagging tail at the door when we return home. We really can't ask for much more of this old man.Now that it's spring, he's a bit more interested in the open windows and new scents, but not quite like he used to be. He recently started a true pain medication to supplement his acupuncture, and it seems to have him a bit more comfortable -- especially on warm days (the cold really bothers his joints).Anyway! Today I thought we should try him out with props in the studio, and as expected, he was a total star. He just sat there patiently while we put more and more props on him and shot more and more photos. I think this took about 5 minutes. The tricky part about shooting Merlin is that he doesn't give me a lot of expressions like Memphis or Magda, but on the flip side he stays super still and is amazingly patient. Seriously people. Collies are the best.For your internet share of the day, I'm gonna show you 
Another salad! I know I'm bombarding you with them, but it's finally warm out and it's so great to have these big salads for dinner -- especially when, like this one, they make enough to work all week long as leftovers.I got this recipe from Martha Stewart a few years back, and here it is with my alterations. Also! She makes it with a mayonnaise, which I think would make it even better. But my man hates mayo with a passion, so we leave that part out. If I were you, I would try it that way first though :)This salad is great on its own (and totally paleo friendly!) but you can also eat it in tortillas or pita for sandwiches, or you can add about 1/2 lb cooked pasta to the mix for an even heartier salad (which is divine as well). 
OK! Let's get started. This salad is more complicated than last week, so stick with me on the ingredient list. the good news? You basically chop and mix, so it's another fantastic recipe to make the partner/kids pitch in on (if only dogs could chop...).What you'll need:• 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced• 1 cup diced pickles (Claussen dills are our favorites)• 1 shallot, thinly sliced• 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon• 2 tbsp mayo (optional)• 1/2 cucumber, diced• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered• 1/2 cup slivered almondsFOR THE DRESSING• 1 tbsp dijon mustard• 2 tbsp honey• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar (I used red since my white expired, um, 8 mos. ago -- oops!)• 1/2 cup olive oil
OK, here we go. First? Chop up all the salad ingredients (chicken, pickles, celery, shallot, tomatoes, cucumber, tarragon). I put all this in a bowl and stir it up with the almonds so the flavors mingle with the tarragon while I make the dressing. If you are using mayo, add that in here as well.
In a smaller bowl, mix the dressing ingredients (honey, mustard, oil, vinegar). You can whisk it with a fork, or put it all in a jar and shake it up, if you prefer lighter dressing and want to save some for later.
Stir the dressing into the bowl with the other goodies. Toss and serve! It should be noted here that I *always* make my salads in a bowl that seems WAY too big for them. This gives you more room for tossing and ensuring that all the ingredients are evenly coated. Salt and pepper to taste.
Voila! So dang tasty. I know it's a lot of chopping, but man is it good and you can eat it so many ways. For a serving a little larger than the one above (without the tortillas or the mayo) the salad is 339 calories per serving. This makes about 8-10 servings.
And for dessert, how about this 
What a day! Today was our neighborhood garage sale day, which meant there were about 100 garage sales within about 2 miles of our house. Which meant it was time to shop for the kid.And we scored: NOTHING. Not a damn thing. Now, let me be clear, had we not already scored an amazing crib and stroller from our AMAZING friends, these items would have been purchased as there was some really great options out there at the crack of dawn. But other than that? I am pretty sure that garage sales are just people putting on display their history of bad choices. And the last thing I want is your stained rug or stained used coffee mugs (ew).So after about 3-4 hours of THAT, we stopped off downtown and comforted ourselves with some brats from the local butcher as we watched a live brass band play in the street. That? That's much more my speed.Then later tonight I had a shoot with a family near the lakes, and look what we spied during the session!? This doe up here! Cutie. And so unafraid of the kids!Tonight we are pondering hitting up Art-a-Whirl (an amazing city celebration of artists, live music and beer), but I have to admit that after this morning's energy suck, we may not make it...For your internet share today, I'm sending you to 
This kid ATTACKS his pizza. Isn't it hilarious? This is Eero, who turned three this week! Now that he's all grown up, he's loaning us a bunch of his things for Kid Plesser, and after dropping a bunch of it off at the house we all stopped in at Hello Pizza for dinner. When you ask Eero what his favorite food is, he tells you clearly, it's Mozzarella. Smart kid. And cute to boot.For your internet share today, did you know that the physical composition of your tears changes depending on if they are sad tears or onion tears or tears of laughter?