it's been awhile since theodore has been on the blog,

so today it's all about my little red friend.

this is the sunrise that greeted me one morning last week....

sunrises and sunsets are some of our loveliest blessings aren't they?

love when i can catch him in motion like this...

he's naughty, but so stinking cute~look at the teeny little

ice chunks on his whiskers.

did i tell you how i felt so sorry for him and the birds one day

when it was bitterly cold, that i got a bushel basket and some old

sweat pants from the garage and put them on the deck-up on a lawn chair so if they

wanted a place to get in out of the cold they could hunker down in there?

i don't think any of them have used it- but heeeeey- i thought it was a 

good idea. (where do they sleep anyway?) i kind of worry about my little backyard friends.

theo resents all the other critters who'd like to share the birdseed,

including this pretty cardinal. if he could fly he'd go after them.

as it is he just chases them at high speed, leaping from branch to branch,

down on the deck, up on the furniture~ you get the picture.

he's really naughty, but i can't help but like him anyway. he entertains me 

on a daily basis.

that's the end of the backyard report for today,

ta ta,

beth

creativity is my drug~

so when the talented floral designer

ashley fox

(of ashleyfoxdesigns)

called and offered me the opportunity to

assist her at an editorial 

photo shoot last friday, i picked myself up

off the floor and said YES. 

the shoot was orchastrated by jody savage

(of jodysavagephotography,) and it went down at

the new rudy's event rentals in st. paul.

on the way to the shoot, ashley and i 

made a quick stop at a bridal shop to pick up

the $4000 vera wang bridal gown the model 

would be wearing.

(swoon)

ashley said she felt nervous even being

responsible for it on the drive to rudy's.

: )

ashley's car was loaded to the gills with gorgeous

florals, hand-dyed ribbons, antlers, candlesticks, candles,

tumbleweed and tools.

*oh and there was the old chicken feeder.

girlfriend carried it in thinking to herself

"hmm, wonder what we'll use that for".

there was a plan and it included a ton of different

areas needing to be staged and prettied up so we carried

everything in, ashley got set up and gave me some 

instructions and we got to work on the floral parts

while the stunning model was busy getting her hair

and makeup done off to my right and the planner 

and jody were starting to move furniture and set up

things in the shooting area.

then the "groom" called and said he was on his way to

the ER, so the girls scrambled to find another

handsome, available dude to fill in, in a tux.

mission was accomplished, and i regret i don't

have a single picture of the cute, polite~

artist that showed up and hung with us girls.

jody will be submitting her photography to some

big time publications and i can't wait to see if

this amazing day will be featured in something i can 

hold in my hands. jody shoots with film.

film!

i guess it's making a big comeback with the 

serious photography community.

who knew?

so, grab a glass of merlot (or at least put some lemon in 

your water~ this is too ethereal for just plain water) 

and enjoy an album of the beauty that little old me 

got to be a part of~ 

 *still pinching myself.

                                                                                                                       yes i played with some fun editing tools~

                                                                                               ms. ashley got to work on a centerpiece for the head table

     this gorgeous "thingy" inspired me so much that i stopped at a thrift shop that night and began to make a much smaller version of this for my daughter's wedding~

                                                                                                           ashley's lunch, an apple lays amongst her flowers

                                                  remember this face~ this fresh faced young beauty has already walked runways in paris~

                        the "vera" gets hung. this was my project.i got to design the arrangement for over the table. under all that                                                                                    eucalyptus is the chicken feeder- not even kidding! 

                                                                                                                                                            seriously~

                                                                                                                                 obsessed with this font

                                                                                                                do you think i ate one of these donuts?

                                                                                         this is the bridal bouquet that ashley designed... ohhhh

                                                                  we were way more tired at the end of the day than this picture shows.....

ashley, thank you for the opportunity to get a sneak peek behind the scenes of

what a photo shoot for a magazine looks like.

there was so much talent in that room that day. each artist quietly

doing what they do best and it all came together in

such a breathtaking way.

i was on a total sensory/beauty overload when i got home and

like i said, creativity is my drug, so i collapsed in my

big chair, had a glass of wine and marveled at 

what a lucky girl i am.

*so thankful they allowed me to take photos too 

and share them with all of you~

xo, beth

and yes, i sure did eat one of those powdered donuts.