I'm not dead & a failed photo shoot

It's been a while since I last posted.  I'm still here and I haven't forgotten about you, I just haven't had much to post.  We are stillllllll waiting for the electric company to come out to upgrade the transformer and get us powered up.  I called yesterday to follow up as tomorrow will make 2 full weeks since my inital request, but all I got was "You're on the list, there are still other people in front of you.  I cannot give you a definite timeframe."

Awesome.  One of the drawbacks to living in rural America is long waits on this type of thing, but I still think the pros outweigh the cons.

I attempted to take some engagement photos of our best couple friends.  I'm not exaggerating with use of the word attempt.  The groom to be, who is usually the most easy going person I know and doesn't comprehend the word shame, got all freaked out and embarrassed because we were shooting close to his house on a main road.  It didn't help that we began to get heckled by residents at the apartment building across the street.  Here's a few shots I managed to salvage somewhat with extensive post processing, but we're going to try again in 2 weeks when they are both off work.

 
Of course some good did come of this, I found some awesome places to shoot.  But when I say things when horribly wrong I meant it.  Between the hecklers and the groom rushing me, I didn't check my display to see if my settings were right.  I'm nowhere near good enough yet to know if my shots are right without checking.  I shot the first several on manual focus, thinking I was on auto.  Nothing but a blurred mess.  Then, something went horribly wrong when I set custom white balance and about half of what I took that day looked like this:

Yeah, getting the green out of these was fun, not.  Not long after this it started raining.

But, lessons learned that day:

Scout the location before the first time you take a "client."  Even though I did this for free, I could have saved us all some time if I'd done a practice run with Babe Jr, or even a cardboard cutout, ha!

Take anyone who's likely to be self conscious or get embarrassed to a more remote location, at least to start out.

Always bring a reflector.  Both of these lovelies have beautiful blue eyes, but he tends to photograph with heavy shadows over his.

Take a deep breath, and don't allow yourself to be rushed.

Try, try, and try again.

Furniture Jewelry

Designers frequently refer to hardware as jewelry for your furniture.  I ordered some new knobs and pulls for Babe Jr's chest and night stand.  I enjoy expressing my more glamorous feminine desires through decor in her room that aren't exactly appropriate for parts of the house we share with Mr. Backwoods.  I definitely think these fit the bill.

 I love both the current and previous sets, but Babe Jr wanted to change out most of the pink in her room.  The previous hardware were antique replica pink glass knobs and pulls.  Both sets came from ebay, a great resource for unique hardware at affordable prices.

A little progress

The men folk got our meter box hung and wiring ran last weekend.  I cannot express how grateful I am for awesome friends and neighbors.  There really is a different mentality in a small town, that's reason numero uno why we moved back here from suburbia.

 

The inspector came today and gave us the go ahead to have the electric company come out.  Another example of small town goodness:  He called while I was gone to take Babe Jr to school and went on to the house even though he hadn't confirmed I'd be there.  Then he called from my Dad's house to say we passed, placed the official "you passed" sticker on the box, and gave me directions to his house so I could drop a check off with his wife later.  That kind of trusting attitude is refreshing.

And here's a shot of the well as promised.  This is what a $2000.00 hole in the ground looks like.

This weekend's DIY work will involve digging ditches and running water lines from the well and to the septic tank.  Fun stuff, I tell ya.

It's Spring!

The past few days have been beautiful. I forced myself to get out of the house today and take some pics as things start to bloom.

I love lady bugs, even though they sneak in the house everywhere and ping against the light fixtures at night.  I imagine them with long batting eyelashes like something out of one of those animated kid flicks about bugs.  This is a fairly clean edit.

The next two have been "Ortonized."  I'm loving that effect right now.

Spring Craft

I've seen springy wreaths all over blogland (like this one) and I decided that it would be a fun inexpensive craft to try.  I had some scrapbook paper left over from projects I made while decorating my niece's bedroom and I picked up some ribbon and a small wicker wreath at the Dollar Tree. 

I tried to find the styrofoam wreath forms that all the other bloggers seem to be using, but my Walmart doesn't carry them and we don't have a dedicated craft store in my little town.  I decided I wanted to cover the wreath all in green flowers and I had a limited amount of paper that color, so the small one from Dollar Tree worked out.  The flowers are pretty easy, you cut paper spirals then sort of roll them up and glue into place.  Here's a really good tutorial.  I started out working on this solo but when Babe Jr asked to help I jumped on the offer.  The flowers are simple but time consuming.  I cut a bunch of spirals then she rolled them all up while I cooked dinner.  After dinner we broke out the glue gun. 

I like how it turned out, and not bad for a total investment of $2.00.  I love the Dollar Tree!  I couldn't find my clear wreath hanger, the brass one from Christmas looked gaudy, and I didn't want to put a nail in my brand new door, so I just tied the ribbon right on the door knocker.  Here's a  pull back, it matches my door mat, too.

Ignore the ugly railing, that's temporary until we get a real porch built - but at least I don't have to get a boost up to get in the door now.  Welcome back Spring!

I ♥ Mood Boards

I had a lot of fun playing with mood boards for the new house, but I didn't realize how helpful they would be in spousal relations.  We accomplished 2 decision making goals with compromise and the help of the living room mood board I posted here. 

#1 - Mr Backwoods actually participated in making a decor decision and gave the thumbs up on ordering this rug from www.overstock.com.  And yay, its on sale now!  Hoping it stays that way until next pay day.

#2 - After a considerable amount of internet research, I found some aesthetically pleasing recliners on toysrus.com of all places.  I know, really odd place to find furniture.  But in the section with nursery furniture, they have some nice chairs meant to provide a comfy place for nursing a baby.  Mr. Backwoods really liked them because they not only recline, but rock, glide, and swivel.  They have great reviews from tired moms and dad's who've apparently spent a lot of time sleeping in them as well as rocking and comforting.  I believe the mood board has convinced him that bigger is not necessarily better in this case.  We are undecided on color but leaning towards the chocolate. 

Mr. Backwoods wanted a shade closer to the couch, but I was afraid we'd miss the mark and end up with a clashy mess, and all that taupe would be awfully boring.  I liked this punchy shade of sage.

But, his tastes are considerably more conservative.  So, we're leaning in the direction of chocolate as a compromise.  I can always play up the brighter colors with pillows and accent pieces.

I've not yet made progress in the chandelier vs. ceiling fan battle for the master bedroom.  After the living room decision success, I'll keep scouring the web until I find a light fixture that convinces him to see my vision.

Panorama

Last week we learned how to merge photos in my photoshop class.  The homework was to merge photos of your own to make a panorama.  I snapped several shots from the front door of the house while I was waiting around for the well to be drilled earlier this week.  After uploading them to photoshop, waiting for the software to work its magic it, and cropping down so that the edges even, I got this:

You can click the photo to get a larger image.  The trees are still bare, and the bulldozer isn't the most attractive thing in the shot, but you get the idea.  I think I'll take one of these each season and frame a series at some point.