Chicago find

On our last day in Chicago (well the western suburbs where my family lives) we went to the gorgeous little village of Geneva, IL to eat brunch. It so happened that they were having a street craft fair. It was there that I found out about the wonderful photographer Amanda Murphy. Her work is both beautiful and fun. In fact I purchased a great print of a Mr. Potato Head holding a french fry titled "You want fries with that?" for my daughter's room. Her work is really stunning, full of movement and color and life. I highly recommend that you check out her galleries here!

I couldn't resist sharing

I saw this picture in Parenting magazine (don't judge me, I get a free subscription) and I had to share because it made me laugh out loud. We all have these days don't we - someone's crying/whining/etc. and you just can't take it anymore. We all know how this kid feels.

The picture was snapped by Ashley Brenner of Fairfax, VA and it was the winner in the Toddler group of Parenting's photo contest. I like pictures like this, real and funny. Go here to see more of the winners and finalists.

Image via Parenting

If you haven't already...

please check out 100 Abandoned Houses. Freelance photographer Kevin Bauman has been photographing Detroit's abandoned houses for over a decade, here's a quote from his website:

"The abandoned houses project began innocently enough roughly ten years ago. I actually began photographing abandonment in Detroit in the mid 90’s as a creative outlet, and as a way of satisfying my curiosity with the state of my home town. I had always found it to be amazing, depressing, and perplexing that a once great city could find itself in such great distress, all the while surrounded by such affluence.
Brush Park, on the outskirts of Detroit’s entertainment district was always an area of interest to me. For as long as I can remember the area, housing large houses and mansions, sat largely abandoned just a stones throw away from the Fox Theater, and not far from Wayne State University, the Masonic Theater, and even the central business district. How could an area that was obviously once a wealthy enclave in the city become an example of the downfall of American cities?"

His photographs are beautiful and sad (if you are like me and hate seeing once beautiful buildings crumble into ruin). Please check them out, all are available for purchase, he is offering each in a limited edition at a very reasonable price. A portion of the proceeds will benefit organizations like Habitat for Humanity and The Greening of Detroit. Great work Kevin!