Today one of my coworkers turned 50, and my buddy London made this cake for the occasion. It's called a hazelnut crunch cake with honeyed kumquats. So I have now eaten kumquats! And man, if you want to try them? Try them in this cake! Slices of heaven, I am telling you. That frosting? It has mascarpone and brandy in it. Man, oh man. That was one of the best cakes I have ever had.Not much else has been happening around here. Work, home, sleep, work, exercise, home, sleep. So boring! But this weekend should get a little more interesting. You know, with my SECOND FAVORITE HOLIDAY and all (Halloween will always be first).
I'm tempted to write a whiny post about how long my day was and how much holiday weeks kick my ass at the paper. But whatever, it's a job and I'm gonna shut my trap. Lots of people are way worse off than I am, and overall I have a pretty amazing gig. But I *will* say that when I finally escaped after twelve long hours under fluorescent lights dreaming of snuggling in on the couch with a glass of wine and my man, my car had a thick coating of ice all over it, and I couldn't leave. I didn't wear gloves today (silly me), so you get a photo of the ice coating my windows that I shot while patiently waiting for the heater to melt it all away.*Written as I snuggle on the couch with my man. See? It all works out.
There was a big ice storm in town last night (330 car accidents!), and today when we finally left the house around 3 pm, I saw these ice stalagmites under the gutters. I've never seen these before -- only icicles. We ran out to the grocery store to pick up supplies for Thanksgiving and the rest of the day was spent working on freelance projects, reading in front of the fire and cooking a big dinner. A wonderful Sunday, indeed.
This afternoon it was freezing out. Well... I guess in February, 20 degrees will feel balmy. But today it felt numb. Anyway, this lovely subject was a total trooper, and managed to stay looking warm and relaxed while I snapped head shots for her. She wants to get into modeling, but needed some pro shots done to send off to the agencies. Let's play a game. How old do you think she is? The thing I love about her look is she can look as young as her own age, or possibly pass for someone who is 20 (especially with a little makeup). Did I give too much away? She's in the eighth grade. What a beauty, eh? And totally relaxed in front of the camera.
Today was our holiday fashion shoot for vita.mn. It started with me getting a traffic ticket (NO. NOT FOR SPEEDING, DAD.) and was filled with... let's say a few unexpected challenges. My ticket was for turning right on a red light. Yes, I stopped, but I missed the sign that said no turn on red. And now I owe the city of St. Paul $131. Grrrr.But! The clothes, models and crew were absolutely amazing, and if you have to work a 50 hour week, this is a damn good way to do it. I'm super excited to see the final photos come in next week. Tonight we pondered going out, but instead filled large glasses with red wine, turned on the KU basketball game, and settled in for the evening. Boring. Yet so enjoyable.
There is something about late fall and winter that makes me break out the vinyl. Maybe it's just more time lounging around inside, or maybe it's the warm sound of the crackling needle while I read. Either way, I dig it so much more when the days grow shorter.This week has been a really good one for me. I've already worked 42 hours, and I have about 8 more hours to go and two freelance projects to plow through before the weekend ends. But even that isn't dampening my mood. You know why? Several reasons. One, that four day weekend is just on the horizon. Two, I learned this week that I'll be working part time come 2011, giving me more time to focus on my photo business. And that is some pretty rad news, wouldn't you say?
Look what came in the mail today! I have coveted these posters for awhile. We all know I'm a huge sucker for screen printed posters, but I really love these. They are adorable drawings of monsters! I bought all four (because I'm a sucker), and they include The Yeti, The Lochness Monster, The Sasquatch and The Kracken. Aren't you jealous? Well go get your own 
On Saturday, after our family photo, Memphis tried to escape the backyard by running into the slippery driveway. When she returned, she was mildly limping. We kept an eye on her, but last night she hopped off of a bed, and she must have re-injured her leg because her limping grew out of control and she couldn't put any weight on her front paw.So this morning we made a vet appointment, and according to the good doctor, our girl has sprained her armpit. Wait, Jamie says I'm being too harsh. She sprained her shoulder. The inside of her shoulder where her arm meets her chest (like I said, her armpit). There's nothing they can really do except we're supposed to keep her calm and not let her rough house. But they *did* give her pain killers ... Doggy morphine! So that's been entertaining.