Beauty is right in front of ya

Salt Circles -Stephanie Bartz Photography

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing."  
 Camille Pissarro

Fresh is Best

Locally delicious if you're a dog! This is my friend Stacy LaPoint and her sweet pooch Minnow. Minnow's the official taste tester for Fresh Is Best. ;)
Stacy's business is locally owned and operated and sold throughout the USA.
Get your dog a tasty and nutritious meal today AND support local.

How it became to be.....

President and Founder of Fresh Is Best - Natural Pet Food, Stacy LaPoint, started this company to achieve her goal of producing a quality, raw, grain-free, natural pet food and make it available to care-givers on virtually any budget. 

As an avid pet lover, Stacy began her interest in pet nutrition when her dog Jade, a 6 year old German Shepherd, was diagnosed with Addison's Disease (adrenal gland failure, auto-immune disorder) in March of 2000. It was that research, to help Jade live with the disease, that led her on a journey of changing her own way of thinking about pet nutrition, food, health and longevity.

Stacy started preparing dog food at home with several well-known authors' books on pet nutrition as her guides. That led to making food for the pets of several friends and family, whose interests were piqued when they saw the success of raw feeding. Word continued to spread and soon there was a waiting list of people wanting fresh food for their pets. She took on the help of a business partner and the consultation of an Animal Nutritionist.  With this support she was able to ensure that the accepted nutritional profiles for dogs and cats, as determined by the Association of Animal Feed Control Officials, were met or exceeded in each recipe and the company was poised to grow. 

Stacy named the company with her belief in mind that pets are our truest companions and are deserved of healthy fresh food for a healthy long life.  Now more than a decade later, Fresh Is Best continues to serve fresh whole food, in freeze dried form,  to dogs and cats all over the United States.  The company remains small by choice and still makes all their products in small batches in Milwaukee.  

http://www.freshisbest.com/

Hello *Cupcake*

These *cupcakes* were from my photo shoot with my friend Kris- http://heybartzie.blogspot.com/2014/03/kris-friend-chef-cupcakes-photo-fun.html
I became fascinated, for a few days so that may be too strong of a word, anywho they were the good old fashioned cupcakes you grew up with. Individuality wrapped. Kris and I unwrapped them and the area was instantly flooded with an sweet Eat One Now aroma. We did not eat any (for the record)!!!  
I almost ate one the next day but stopped myself after thinking about all the *ingredients* a.k.a chemicals that had made up such a sweet cake. After only 3 days these babies were like hockey pucks! I wouldn't judge if you ate one but I'd highly recommend the real deal instead.

K.I.S.S

Kris, friend, chef, cupcakes = photo fun

This is my incredibly talented friend Kris, who will soon be working at a new bakery in Shorewood- North Shore Boulangerie.
She needed a head shot  and I thought heck let's get playful and bought a 6 pack of Little Debbie cupcakes.
BTW- tempting as it was we did NOT eat one cupcake.
CONGRATS Kris! I can't wait to dine and dig in!

 http://onmilwaukee.com/dining/articles/northshoreboulangerie.html

Good Day Sunshine

“Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948);

Indian political and spiritual leader

"If you don't eat your pancakes, they'll eat you." Ryan Fitzpatrick

This is a tribute to my friend Ryan. He suddenly  passed away last week. It's funny, I didn't know Ryan and his wife Tilney for more then 2 years(?) but when I met them at a Buy Local event at MSOE ( they were my neighbors that day) we became fast friends. I remember  that was the highlight of my day, laughing and talking with them while time passed. I guess when people come into your life it doesn't really matter  for "how long" it's how much they touched your heart that matters most. I am deeply saddened and still a bit in shock. Ryan was a guy that  always ALWAYS made me laugh, a quick wit, creative, and a gentle and kind soul...... he will be greatly missed. 

This is such a good reminder.......
“As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.” -Unknown

All images are copyrighted under Man vs George and Stephanie Bartz Photography.