We have this new toy thing in our house that Ezra is loving now that his eyes are developed enough and he can reach and grab onto things. It is adorable to watch him play on it. If you must see this play mat in color, you can click here. I am continually appalled at how hideous kids' toys are (especially the color palettes), and so I will only be showing this item on my blog in black and white.I should also mention here that my dear friend Stacy gifted us this item, and Ezra's love of this and watching him learn to play with it makes me adore this gift despite it's clashing with my gray and yellow nursery. So! Moral of the story is if you have a baby, get one of these. They are rad. And they distract said child for about 40 minutes! Win! (And listen to your friend Stacy.)Ok, moving on!So dangling from these beams are things like rattles and stuffed animals. Today, Magda took notice and was, uh, extremely interested in the toy. I kept telling her to "leave it," and she totally minded (GOOD GIRL). Then she let out a deep sigh and laid down like the photo above."Oh! How cute!" I thought. "She's snuggling with Ezra!" Ah, no. It took me about 5 minutes before I realized she actually was nuzzling his socks hoping they would wriggle off (which, in fairness to the dog, happens all the time). But I couldn't have her doing that because I was afraid she would nip at the sock like a toy and inadvertently hurt Ez. So she got locked out of the nursery and she spent the next 40 minutes with her paws under the door singing and whining to come back in. Heartbreaking, I tell you.I am so excited for this kid to get larger and old enough to play with Mags. When the two of them can wear each other out? Then, my friends, I will declare victory. (What do you think? Six years away?)For your internet share of the day, the New York Times released their favorite books of 2014. That first one sounds pretty rad to me! Anyone read it?
This is Hurley and I think he looks like a stuffed animal he's so cute! Not like a taxidermy stuffed animal (gross), but like a Gund! Sooo handsome.I was lucky enough to photograph Hurley and his family this weekend, and I was processing their photos today between feedings and diaper changes and photo shoots and phone calls and... yeah. Things are busy over here. To say the least.And if that sounds busy, think about this weekend when I'll have four dogs and a CAT coming to Shuttersmack HQ for holiday portraits! Not all together though! (Thank goodness! -- That would probably be too much for even ME to handle!)For your internet share of the day, I am pretty engrossed in the 
This is one of my favorite views -- it's from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Nyberg and I took Ezra to the museum today while we took in the recent exhibit on Italian fashion through the ages. It was so lovely! And it snowed like a snow globe and was wonderful. Tomorrow it's back to work, but today? Today was fantastic.For your internet share, I loved 
Today this sweetie is two years old. Man, oh, man -- the difference a few years can make!I love it when she sleeps with all her paws in a pile like that. Just adorable. I'm gonna be honest and tell you that I had high hopes of photographing her with cupcakes and candles and the whole shebang 
As promised, today I'm going to show you how I make the best green beans ever.I started this recipe for Thanksgiving one year when I (gasp!) opted to give up on the cream-o-mushroom soup variety of Thanksgiving vegetables. I needed something that felt a little lighter, but was still amazingly delicious, and this totally fits the bill.However, I realize many of you have your own traditional green bean recipes for Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd share these after. Just try them on a weeknight and I promise, you'll want more later. Sooooo delicious.
What you'll need:• one small yellow onion• one cup of sliced/slivered almonds• two cloves garlic, minced• two tbsp olive oil• 1/2 of a produce section plastic bag full of green beans. Yeah, that's my measurement. Sorry.• A hunk of your very favorite bleu cheese (mine is Northern Lights -- I love local stuff)
First, slice the onion like so and mince up your garlic.
Then, after warming the olive oil in your pan on medium heat, add in the onions and garlic and heat until soft and starting to brown. I believe around 5 minutes will do the trick.
Once the onions are soft, add in your freshly washed green beans and then enjoy the steam that comes out of the pan.
Cook this mixture for about 3 minutes, and then add in the almonds. Continue to cook until the green beans are the right consistency for you (I prefer mine a bit al dente).Once you are done cooking the beans, plate the mixture either onto individual plates or onto a platter, and then sprinkle with crumbles of your bleu cheese.
Voila! Soooo tasty! And this clocks in at about 200 calories per serving (140 without the cheese).For your internet share today, how about 
So this is Merlin up on the velvet sofa. You can only imagine the battles against dog hair that are happening in our house these days. It is so bad, in fact, that one of our few Black Friday purchases (online only! I'm not going out in that madness!) was a new Dyson vacuum cleaner because the old one is finally giving into the battle against collie fur.Why is it so bad now, you ask? Well, it appears that Merlin in his old age, much like many elderly men, is gaining fur on the inside of his ears, and losing it everywhere else. He's not balding (I don't even think that's possible), but there is some definite thinning going on. And the resulting lost fur is EVERYWHERE.So why on earth would we let him on the velvet sofa? Because it has been months since he has asked to be on the couch. His rear legs are hurting him so much that he can barely climb the 5 stairs to come in and out of the house right now. The fact that he wanted on the sofa today brought us great joy (and we attribute this added strength to the turkey broth on his dinner last night). Of *course* we let this old love up on the couch. This guy? He gets anything he wants these days.For your internet share of the day, I'm showing you the most awesome gift you could get a pregnant friend! Well, besides time with a post-partum doula. Or free babysitting. Or a massage. Ok, nevermind. Don't get this as a gift. Just go 
Today was perfect. I didn't awake until 9:40 or so (thank you so much my sweet husband for stealing the baby away so I could sleep in), then I took a brisk walk and spent the rest of the day snuggling with Ezra and Jamie and Merlin and Magda while watching Kansas basketball and popping into the kitchen to prepare our meal.I am so grateful for my life right now. I am particularly thankful for my amazing husband, my son and his fantastic eating and sleeping habits, and the fact that I get to take photos for a living. It is so wonderful to have a "job" where I get to make people happy by following my own passion. I wish more people could experience this kind of "work."The photo above is of my green bean recipe that I serve at Thanksgiving. This is always my favorite food of the day, and this year was no exception. I even like it better than the pie. I took photos of the preparation today and will be sharing the recipe on Sunday, so make sure you come back for that.No internet share today -- I want to get off the computer and back to my family. You should do the same. 
I had these two in the studio this week, and I adored their excitement over fake snow. Man, to have that much enthusiasm and carefree fun, eh? Or to have that much energy! I long for the days...For your internet share today, you get a