This afternoon after work at vita.mn, I headed out to photograph a family for their holiday cards. Whenever I work with little kids, I bring a few toys and always bubbles. Man, that was a HIT with these two. The youngest here had some of the most precious and most deviant expressions as she aimed to swat the bubbles. Adorable. Also? We saw FIVE deer. FIVE. Have I mentioned how much I love Minnesota lately?

You guys, it is so dull around here that I feel I must apologize. It's been ages since you've had a good concert shot or anything other than my hired work -- but that's because work is all I really have time for right now. Well, that and my art show preparations (you ARE coming, aren't you??). Today was no different, except that it also included a big grocery store run for Thanksgiving dinner supplies. We're hosting this year, and I'm pretty excited about that! So between grocery store runs, Ikea runs, installing a new light fixture and reorganizing the basement, I got nothing to show you.Except for my little princess here. My new office has a big day bed in it, and you can bet this one has made herself at home. She's all cuddled in against all my new bedding. It's also nice to have up here because Jamie (whose feet you see there) can work with me in the same room.Our New Year's Resolution? Work less. We'll see how that goes!

Today I finally got to sleep in. It's been a few weeks since that has been possible, and I apologize to all my readers out there who are parents to small children and who may or may not be cursing me at this moment. But man, I needed it. And after rolling out of bed at 9:30 (nothing too obnoxious), I got dressed and strolled next door to my morning photo shoot. Man, I wish *all* photo shoots were just next door! So easy!Anyway, the neighbors and I drove over to Lake Harriet for a hike in the woods, and it was a blast. I kindof adore my neighborly 4-year-old who explained to me that we might not see any birds because "they have gone south for the winter. That's called... hmmm... they migrated." And then his dad asked if there were any other animals that migrate. "Yup. Humpback whales!"So he's an adorable genius. And he loves to be upside down, as you can see above.And after my shoot this morning I came home, ate lunch, and ... uh... took a 3 hour nap. Which explains why I'm staying in on this Saturday night to catch up on all the work that I slept through. But man, that was some delicious sleep right there.

How cute and bad-ass is this little lady? This is Alexandra, and she asked me to shoot a few photos of her this fall. You might know her from her blog over here. This shoot was a ton of fun today because a) she's a good soul and b) we decided we wanted to take photos in the cemetery, and we had heard rumors that wasn't allowed. So she donned all black and a leather jacket to get in character, and off we went to break some rules.You guys, I know I have gone on and on about how Lakewood Cemetery is my very favorite, but they just built this new mausoleum that we shot inside of and it is GORGEOUS. I was stunned by the beauty and the light and I am now wondering if I could possibly be lucky enough to sneak in there again for photos. Doubtful, but maybe I'll test the waters later. Man, what a stunning space. And if I can't take photos there, do you think they'd be offended if I started doing yoga there? Because you wanna talk about a peaceful spot...

Maaaaaaaan today was long but good. We had our winter fashion shoot out in the woods and (fingers crossed) I think (knock on wood) it might have gone really well. We'll see when the photos come in. And then after those nine hours, I had a panel discussion over at the U with their Fashion and Business group to talk about a career that incorporates so much creativity.One of the panelists spoke about how she was raised to believe that you could never make a career out of the arts or anything creative -- that she should get a much more "level-headed" degree, like communications, so she would be employable. And I would say that I, too, grew up with that same interpretation of life -- that if you were an artist for a living, you were "starving."Anyway, as she so elequently put it (and as I passionately agree), you can make money at anything if you are extremely passionate about your craft and you are a hard worker. AMEN. It takes so much time and patience and work, but getting there is pretty dang awesome. So go after your dreams, kids. It's well worth it.Oh yeah... you might want to know about the photos up there, eh? The turkeys were wild and they were hanging out near our dressing room all day long. Along with a BUCK. With ANTLERS. Working in the woods is fun!In the other photos, you'll see that we shot in scenic grasses, that our model had gorgeous eyes (stunning, really) and that we may or may not be featuring sparkly shoes. I loved the contradiction of sequined heels left in the woods. Too funny.

I left for work this morning at 9 am and I got home at 10 pm. And I hadn't shot a photo yet. So you get to see my new office chair! This is what Jamie got me for my anniversary gift this year, and I LOVE it. Not only is it super comfy, but it is damn fine looking as well.Now that my office is coming together, I am tempted to show you more photos... but I really want to wait until I at least have curtains up and maybe some artwork. So give me another week or so, and then you'll get to peek. For now though, all you get is my amazing chair.

That hand there? That's a belt buckle! How cool is that! So it looks like there's a hand comin' right out of yer pants! I think that is too funny. Sigh. And I just set it on top of that sparkly purse to make the photo more interesting -- they are not attached.So this was one of many, many, many items that was brought in today for a shoot for an upcoming issue of vita.mn. I can't talk much about it, but I will say that the issue will be full of ideas for people... in case they need them... for the month of December.After work, I met up with Nyberg for our monthly dinner at The Kenwood where I had the most delicious beet salad of my life. People, I have had a LOT of beet salads. This one? It took the cake.And after that I came home and some of my prints for my upcoming art show had arrived. Like this one! HOW COOL IS THAT? You want it don't you? Well then come to the show! And buy it for your sweetie!

Seriously, is he not the most handsome dog on the block? I mean, for real? This morning we woke up, and it was snowing! And we love the snow! So I took Merlin out into the yard to play for a bit and to snap some photos. And then we worked in the basement all day long. Except for the dentist. So yeah, I'm pretty excited for this new office to be finished.