On our Christmas journies we photographed the Paschke family. It was a true Norman Rockwell experience. Pictures in front of a beautiful tree, in a beautiful home, in a beautiful small town, with beautiful snow falling outside.

Then John took the family outside to build a snowman and play in the snow. I love the family dynamics in these pictures and think they belong in a outerwear catalogue!

Paschke's, thank you so much for inviting us into your home...here are our favorites from your session!

I have had the pleasure of meeting Ashley Fox this year. She is a fabulous floral designer and an even more fabulous person! The thing that has struck me over the time I have known her is her dedication to customer service.

Case in point, I was photographing a bouquet for her when she told me that the bride had loved these specific pods, but they would be out of season for her fall wedding. So unknown to the bride, Ashley bought a bunch of the pods months early and saved them for her bouquet. Now THAT is service!

Here is my interview of Ashley Fox Designs...

How would you describe yourself as a florist?

I am fun, resourceful, creative to a passion/illness, and I am highly dedicated to the customer. Floral Design, my art of choice.

You are really into fashion, how does that affect your floral designs?

Textures, colors and lines really inspire me. It doesn’t even have to be a wedding gown; it can be any cool dress I see in fashion magazine. If I see a photo that inspires me I will tear out the page and put it into my upright file titled “Inspiration” located on top of my desk to keep it on my mind. I use these images occasionally after I meet with a bride and something she said triggered my memory of one of those inspirational photos. I use this photo in our future conversations to help visualize ideas.

The line or texture of a bride’s dress informs me so much about the final design that I will create for her. The bride’s sense of style really comes through when I see the dress. Its all about the dress...

Where do you see floral trends going in weddings and events?

I wish brides wouldn’t be afraid to try a bigger bouquet with more space in between the flowers and greens. The trend has been tight bouquets with many, many flowers packed together. I am not talking about bigger as in a huge cascade of flowers, but more of a “just picked in the garden” sort of feel. I love romantic look of English roses, with jasmine vine. Of course, not all brides' styles lend themselves to a more open arrangement, but I think this idea is great because you don’t need so many flowers in a more open arrangement as you would in a compact one. Depending on flower choices you can end up with a less expensive bouquet!

Also, a fashion trend I would love to see come back…

I like the 1950’s look women are embracing lately. I would really like to see ladies wearing elegant and delicate vintage gloves at their weddings. The feet get so much attention these days when it comes to fashion, why not the hands? Vintage gloves really finish a look and many dress styles can be paired with them. I collect vintage gloves and the most I have ever paid was $12.00 for a pair in perfect condition. Gloves. I stand by my prediction.

Do you use any unusual flowers in your designs?

I love using things that I see growing in my garden or along side the road or in a meadow. Whether it is a small grass, berries or large dahlia. I pair those items with flowers from the wholesaler cooler and “Voila!” A bride receives something truly unique. I am really in love right now with the Blushing Bride Protea. White with a hint of pink. I used it in a bouquet I created for MN Bride Magazine Jan 2010 issue (shameless plug) along with some pinkish-red sedum flowers I had growing in the garden.

What is your favorite color scheme at the moment?

Is green too obvious? It’s always fresh looking and there are so many combinations whether it is a traditional, contemporary, vintage or a backyard style wedding. My favorite green item to use at the moment is the Brazillian fern. It is an unexpected, soft and chic way to make a bouquet really stand out.

I also think yellow will be popular in 2010…watch for it, consider it. Yellow = Happy! It doesn't have to be super bright, could be a muted yellow or tone on tone. A yellow flower bouquet I would love to do would be yellow Gina Lollobrigida English roses, fresia, feverfew, and mimosa; very different textures and all beautiful.

My [artistic, floral] mouth would water if a bride asked me to…design her bouquet using 1940-50’s glamour with a soft black, gold and bit o’ cream color palate. The flowers I would use in this arrangement would be Camel roses, black mini calla and cream Majolica spray roses. Yum. My advice to her would be: wear a fur stole or caplet with this look, hair up, and large, single flower in the hair. It doesn’t have to be a real one.

Also, Anything in the brown family. From the lightest cream and latte colors to deep rich browns, when all used together to create a tone on tone scheme it looks perfect (in photos too!) Also, any shade of brown can be paired with the palest pink to a striking cobalt blue.

What is your ideal client?

Someone like my mom, she likes everything I do. =)

Joking aside, my ideal client is someone who has come to the first consultation to decide if she and I mesh well together. A bride will work almost a whole year with their designer of choice. She should make sure she feels comfortable with that designer.

What piece of advice you wish everyone knew about choosing flowers for their wedding or event?

Choose quality over quantity, less is more and always use an abundance of candles.

Check out Ashley Fox's website www.ashleyfoxdesigns.com where she has more beautiful images of her work, as well as her own blog!

I am officially in the Christmas spirit. There is nothing like walking through Rice Park with all of the twinkling lights, hearing the crunch of snow under your feet, and seeing the friendly smile of the Ordway doorman, complete with top hat.

The Ordway Circle of Stars is the volunteer organization that helps school children experience the wonder of theater. Once a year, they hold a gala that brings the who's who of the Twin Cities out for a night of fine food, socializing, and a show. Tonight was no exception.

The highlights of tonight's gala were a silent auction full of fabulous items, R.F. Moeller's jewelry room with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jems for viewing (and yes, trying on!), and savory food provided by The St. Paul Hotel. All of the festivities were followed by an exclusive viewing of Beauty and the Beast, and a dinner with the cast.

Here are a few images of the decor and food. It was so lovely!

Tonight, Muddy Paws Cheesecake had their 17th annual Toy Drive, Cheesecake Tasting and Holiday Bazaar. This event is thrown each year for STEP, and gets such a great crowd. There were many delectable items to taste...lavender ginger shortbread, candy cane cheesecake and plum amaretto butter were my favorites =)

Definitely make sure to have this event on the calendar for next year! A lot of the artisan pieces were at a huge discount and there were some truly unique and amazing gifts.

Please make sure to become a fan of Muddy Paws Cheesecake on facebook! They do such wonderful things for the community and make the world a better place with their amazing cheesecake =)

Tonight, I had a fantastic pregnancy session. Sarah and Ben are both creative people, and had a ton of ideas for these portraits. Ben even brought his old matchbox cars for some shots of him playing with his future baby boy!

This session was a piece of cake, I just asked them to stand next to each other and they were both beaming and smiling like crazy. Having a baby will do that to you =)

Sarah and Ben, thank you so much for letting me document this lovely time in your lives! Here are my favorite images.

Have you been seeing teachers more than usual lately? School districts who haven’t settled on a contract with their teachers may be feeling a little heat. If teachers want to negotiate, they need support. To get support, you need to get the word out. To most people, teachers on strike waving signs around is what stands out - it gets A LOT of attention from TV stations and usually forces districts to settle quickly. But that’s usually a last resort and I would wager that most teachers want to avoid going that far. I’ve been seeing and hearing of smaller steps from teachers that help put pressure on school board members to hopefully curtail extreme measures.

Take the Edina picketers in these images as an example. They weren’t on strike – in fact, far from it. These photos were taken after school on the teachers’ own time. There they were - perched at the corner of 50th and France in the heart of Edina, waving signs and handing out flyers while battling the cold and wind. Over two days around 50 teachers (maybe more) braved the weather and even had smiles on their faces. Many horns were honked in support, and it was good to see the amount of positive response the teachers received.

Edina Schools are an exception to many rules and are known for their dedicated teachers, however, there are certain facts that many peopld don't know. I learned that Edina Public Schools consistently rank very high in Minnesota (often #1) and other national measures (Newsweek, Family Circle, others), yet teacher pay doesn’t match that. These teachers rank number 28 in pay in the state. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if their efforts change that.

If you’re interested in supporting your local teachers, first find out if they’ve already settled their contract (no need to help then). If not, ask what you can do. Teachers, as a whole, are selfless people, yet sometimes, they need our support. Be active in your child’s education!

Evie had her portrait session today. We decided on a lifestyle shoot, so I went to her house and followed her around while she showed me her room, played guitar, read a book, and played with her hobbie horse.

Evie is a bundle of energy and loves to play hide and seek. On the promise of a special treat afterwards, she was also enticed to sit still for a while to get some sweet portraits to accompany the action shots.

What a fun afternoon! Here are a few of my favorites from the session.