So! This weekend I got back to work! And I'm not gonna lie, it felt good.I had a family shoot and some product shots to work on (which you can see a detail of above). The problem isn't really finding the time to take the photos (almost everything can be photographed on a night or weekend). The problem is finding time to process and edit the images. I don't get much quiet time at the computer these days, and hell, just keeping the spelling and grammar errors off the blog is enough work! So for now, I'm taking it slow (until I get some child care in place).But you guys, it was so much fun to be shooting again. It is so interesting how my viewpoint on maternity leave has changed. When I worked in newspapers I thought should I ever get pregnant I would take six months off because HOLY CRAP would that be nice. But being in a job that is, shall we say, good for the soul? It makes me WANT to get back to work and to get shooting again.Don't get me wrong, I'm not itching to hand off the kid to be raised by others. I still have guilt. But this? This is part of me, and I think it's super important not to lose sight of the things that make you who you are (kid or no kid).Now, for your internet share, look at these BEAUTIFUL quilts. Wait. Go click on it! I have not lost my mind! They are lovely, not what your grandmother's group put together! I am loving that quilts are coming back into fashion because I love the weight and the feel of a quilt in the winter.
I have mentioned before that since we came home with Ezra, we have made sure Magda got her usual time snuggling in bed.What I haven't mentioned is how her time in bed has changed. For some reason, she now prefers to sleep under the covers. And unlike this photo, she likes to sleep 100% under the covers. Preferably down by our feet. How she breathes is a mystery to me, but I will admit that our feet remain toasty on cold nights -- which is a perk.This weekend, after being up for an hour or so and then wandering into the bedroom to find my slippers, I spied this. It looks like she finally broke for air, but still stayed mostly covered. I thought you would enjoy it.Truly, so many people have asked how she is doing with Ezra around, and I'm here to tell you that, amazingly, she is fantastic. She has turned into such an wonderful dog, and when I think back to those other families who returned her as a puppy, I am just reminded that all anyone needs is love and support and consistency to turn things around. And training. There has been a LOT of training. But it all worked out, and I'm so glad we didn't give up on her.For your internet share of the day, check out 
The temperature dropped here in Minnesota this week, so I thought I'd whip out another one of my favorite soup recipes. This one is not Paleo friendly as it includes potatoes and cream, but it is super easy and a definite crowd pleaser, so I figured I should let you in on it.
First off, the ingredient list is pretty simple.• Two to three stalks of celery, chopped• 5-6 leeks, chopped• 1 stick of butter• 2 quarts chicken broth (only one is pictured above)• 4 medium potatoes• 1 large, yellow onion, diced• 1-2 cups cream (I use 1 cup half and half to cut back on calories)• salt and pepper to taste
So the first thing I do is chop up the leeks like so. As I'm chopping them, I throw them into my salad spinner which is filled with water. This lets them soak and clean while you work. While I love leeks, they can get a lot of dirt in them, and this is the best way I've found to clean them. Then after soaking, you can use the spinner as a colander and rinse them off.
After the leeks are cleaned, I melt the butter in the pot and then add the leeks, onion and celery. Cook this on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the leeks and onion soften and cook down a bit. My god, the kitchen will smell amazing.
While that's cooking, clean and chop up your potatoes. Feel free to skin your potatoes. I'm too lazy for that.
Once the onions and leeks have cooked down, add the potatoes. Um. It looks like this blogger might need a bigger pot.
But the bigger pot is dirty! So we'll split it into 2 pots...
Simmer the soup for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. At this point, add the seasoning and any soup that you want to freeze, you should separate (oh, like that second pot I had to use). Otherwise, add the cream (or half and half) to the pot and stir together to warm and mix. Now, at this point I use a potato masher and I mash the cooked potatoes and vegetables to make it creamier. If you had a handheld blender, that would work wonders as well. Once that's done, you can serve it!
This is a hearty and rich soup that is perfect for cold, winter nights. And you know what else would be an amazing garnish on it? BACON. I was fresh out, so I used shoestring potatoes and parsley. Chives would have been good, too. This dish is 332 calories per bowl.For your internet share of the day, how about a recipe for 
Yum! This afternoon I packed up the kid and took him to happy hour with my dear friend Courtnay at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town, 
So, I've been having some wardrobe problems. Yeah, if you're a guy? You might want to skip today's entry.Anyway, all of my pre-pregnant pants were low rise. And while I can fit into them now (although it's not the prettiest scenario in all cases...), they all button very close to my incision, and when I sit down? Helloooo pain. So I don't really have any pants. Except for my yoga pants. And really, I can only wear those so many places.I need some pants that fit higher on my waist, but still look like 2014, which is quite the dilemma. But! As I was perusing all those fashion magazines a few weeks back, I noticed this crazy trend where ladies are now dressing up their SWEATPANTS. Seriously. This is a thing.And while it seems totally ridiculous, I was all, "Yes please I would like to wear sweatpants all day now." And? They fit higher on the waist. Hooray! So the hunt began.And 
This sweet boy has made a rapid turnaround. He must have overheard those tough conversations we were having. But this? This is great news.Today he met me at the door each time I came home with a big smile and a wagging tail. He repeatedly approached, kissed and snuggled the baby. His appetite is fierce. I just couldn't ask for more right now. Well... I could maybe ask that he stop kissing the baby while he's sleeping. Dude. LEAVE THE SLEEPING KID ALONE.For your internet share today, we're gonna link to 
I'm going to be honest here, I shot this photo last week. I was walking Ezra and Magda with some girl friends, and we stumbled upon a yard full of leaves, so they worked with me (and the handy help of a saltine cracker) to get this shot of my girl.But if I were shooting something today (which I don't really have the energy to do), I would be photographing Merlin. That boy was up sick again last night. Really, really sick. To where I was inquiring about... certain measures that could be done in our home this week.I couldn't sleep because after waking up to him being so ill, a) I was worried sick and b) I couldn't breathe through my nose because I'd been crying so hard. Oh. And c) I had a baby who wanted to be fed.So this morning was filled with lots of tears, lots of emails to vets and some of the planning that as a pet owner you never want to do.And then?Then we left Merlin outside today (in case of more illness) and he ran around the yard barking and wagging his tail and even trying to wrestle and play with Magda. Those are not the actions of a dog on his deathbed. So... now we are back to where we were.I tell you what, nothing is harder than when a dog nears his end. And yeah, you're probably about to get an onslaught of Merlin photos. Mags got the spotlight today because I had this photo in the can, but tomorrow? It's his day.
This is one of my very favorite breakfast meals -- but I can eat it for lunch and dinner as well. It's like the Paleo version of Sunday Brunch. Super filling and super delicious (and super easy). So here we go!
You'll need:• 1 red bell pepper, sliced• 1/2 lb browned breakfast sausage (you can used sliced links or ground -- I prefer ground)• 1 large sweet potato or yam, cubed• 1 small yellow onion, sliced• 1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced• Eggs (however many you want -- I use 1.5 per person)• 2 tbsp butter (to make the eggs) 
The first thing you do is brown your breakfast sausage in a large frying pan. Photos of raw meat are ugly, so I didn't snap any. You're welcome. While the meat is browning, bring some water to a boil for the sweet potatoes. You want to cook them until they are *almost* done, but not quite (8-10 minutes).
Once the meat is browned, remove it to a bowl/plate and drop in the sliced onions and red pepper to cook. No need for oil here -- the fat from the sausage is enough. Once these veggies start to soften (5 minutes or so), add the mushrooms. Cook this combo until the liquid from the mushrooms boils off, then add back the sausage and the sweet potatoes.
Warm all of these together to meld the flavors. While doing this, you should scramble your eggs. You can refer to 
Then serve it all up! I put the eggs on the bottom and then cover them in hash. Because this recipe is not the most colorful, I garnished it with sour cream and chives (because that makes everything prettier). My guest eating this seemed to love the addition, so knock yourselves out!
Yummmmm. This makes enough for about 6 helpings. Served with 1.5 scrambled eggs and without the sour cream, each serving is about 450 calories. For your internet share today, this one is for all you bakers. How does