Photo shoot!

Okay, my dears, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get back into the swing of things, but here you have it: what kept me busy and happy last week was that Better Homes & Gardens was here to photograph our kitchen and bath!!!

I had such a great time..! And I can't say enough kind things about the team that came over to the house. Sandi, the field editor/stylist, was wonderful. She was funny, considerate, and has been doing this for some time, so she had an amazing ability to anticipate how the vignettes would look like on film (which, surprisingly to me, is quite different from how they might look in real life, both color- and composition-wise).

She was also incredibly patient with my constant questions and requests to move things or try this or that instead, and she even let me style a little (!!), which was not only incredibly generous of her, but also made me realize how much fun styling is...!

Brie, the photographer, was incredible - it was truly a gift to see my house come to life through her eyes. She is ridiculously talented and I encourage you to visit her site here. You will not be disappointed.

And then there was Mike, who helped Brie with everything from technical issues to (I kid you not) holding our ficus tree outside the window so that our neighbor's somewhat messy back porch would be hidden from view. He was, needless to say, indispensable.

I wish I had captured a shot of him holding up the tree..! Unfortunately, I didn't, but here are a few pictures I took that I hope you'll enjoy and will help give you a sense of what a chaotic scene it can be right outside the camera frame when you are doing a photo shoot...

The pretties - cake and raspberries on a beautiful stand, and gorgeous tulips in an ironstone pitcher (pay no attention to the surrounding madness).

The not so pretty chaos.

Lovely Brie at work, secretly wishing walls and kitchen islands would be more helpful and move out of the way so that she could do her job more easily.

Gear. Tons and tons of cool gear.

The camera resting on its tripod while things were being set up.

More contortions from poor Brie to get just the right shot.

Sandi inspecting the shot and making mental notes about which things would need to be moved one or two inches this way or that, and such.

Mike and Brie working on the camera's focus in a rather tight space (again, if the house's walls would be a bit more cooperative and flexible..!)

Highly technical gear - not to be confused with the Ikea Komplement basket.

Sandi, with Mike standing by, studying the shot, and getting ready to call it a day. And what a wonderful couple of days they were..!

If you guys (Sandi, Brie and Mike) happen to be reading this: I had the best time. The house felt a little bit empty after you left... Thank you for your generosity and the privilege of allowing me to watch you work. I feel like I learned a ton and I have renewed love and sense of commitment for design.

The magazine is called Kitchen & Bath Makeovers, a quarterly publication of Better Homes & Gardens. Sandi thought the kitchen would be featured in the Spring issue, perhaps on the cover (eeeeeeep!!) and the bath might be published in a later issue. I can't wait to see them in print!

(images: me)