being in western PA, we have the delightful holiday of the 'first day of buck season'.  i know - are you kidding me?  anyway, i can't complain - i'm off work today!! and what a day - it's almost 70°F!  it's nuts - and i love it!!

well, the shelves are up, and i unearthed the hearth that was under the carpet in front of the fireplace.  when i forst bought the cottage house, i put a see-through ventless gas fireplace in - what a project!  then, i had the whole house plastered.  at that point, i was out of money.  i just had the whole house painted, and now it's time to decorate!

i guess i should take a few pictures to show you!  as soon as the fisheye gets here, i'll document the transformation.  even though my house is the tiniest one, on bed room cottage, i do have 10-foot ceilings, so it's tough to get a good shot.  AND i'm still working to make it look like a home!  i do have pictures of when i saw the house for the first time - but they are on film!  what a bummer that is now.

the house project continues to creep along.  today xander and i returned some things to lowe's and got more Christmas lights.  Brenda worked het magic at my house with cuttings from my holly trees and pines.  I have holly trees that are so big, no one will trim them!  they are afraid i'd sue them if anything happened to them. they are probably 100 years old, and worth my than my tiny house.  we also got more light switches and wall plates.

then we went to the shoe store - i've been thinking about these boots i saw weeks ago.  they were rather pricey, but i really needed boots.  they are merrell boots, for real 'outdoorsy' people - which i am not.  i mean i like the out doors and i love to walk and garden, but not camp.  i think these are for real camping.  anyway, i love them.

then we went to the grocery store and got gas and then to the carwash!  that was hillarious - scared xander half to death!  then the bank and home.  i cooked all afternoon and cleaned the kitchen and rearranged the cupboards.  i'm kind of like the guy in sleeping with the enemy - i like all the can lined up and the cupboards neat.  mean while, the rest of the house can be a disaster! 

now we are going to try to hange shelves.  the god father II is on - one of my faves!  and later i might try ot get a picture of the house in the dark.  it's unseasonably warm today. 

oh!  and i bought a new lens today - a 15mm fisheye.  i can't wait to get it.  i've always disliked the fisheye effect, but lately i want to try something new.  besides, it should be less 'fishy' in the digital 20d.

now to attack the shelves!

well, i spent a FORTUNE in pottery barn.  one room is starting to take shape - i'm ignoring the rest of the house.  i even put up a little pencil tree.  the dog proptly made a bed under it - he is too cute!

i must say the plaster walls of this house are a challenge.  no regular drill bits here!  the drapes are up - i'm still adjusting them.  silk! gorgeous.  since we meet with clients in this room, it needs to be functional, but it's still my house, so i want it to be my home, not a store.  the next thing is lighting!

it's friday and i took the day off from the 'real job'.  my biggest news is that i had ny whole house painted.  and now i mus ttry to get things back in order - or, more accurately, in order.  i dont' think thigs have ever been in order here.  since i bought my house, two years ago, i never eally moved in!  it's a 100 year old cottage, and needs a lot of work.  after i put a see-through fireplace in it, i  had at re-plastered, now painted.  i'd love to pur hard wood floors in, so i'm starting that next month. one room at a time, since it is so expensive!  the only problem is, i can't really move things in until that room is done.

the short of it is, my house is such a disaster, i dont' know where to start!  i guess i'm going to the kitchen now - where everything is piled so that it would be out of the way of the painters.  i changed all the outlets that i could, and now i need to get more switch plate covers and light fixtures.  and today i plan to get the window treatments for the room that we meet clients in.  then i should be out of money.

in the mean time, i'm trying to figure out the ipod - why is this so hard?????  my shuffle is so easy! plug it in and put the songs on.  the ipod photo is not working the same and i'm not sure why?  anyone have any ideas?  i got my sister an ipod and SHE even figured it out!  this is ridiculous!

well, i'm working on a LOT this weekend.  We are adding some great new surprises for all our couples and we hope to inspire others!  the newsletter should be ready by the end of the weekend - and it's got lots of exciting stuff in it!  This is my favorite pic from this last weekend.  I'll be shooting jewelry this weekend for a great new jewelry desginer: www.beaucouture.net

well, i guess it's time to start blogging again! we have been soooo busy - shooting and meeting with newly weds and to-be-weds!

we're including a couples session with our coverage, and we hope pittsburgh 'gets it'.  this is not a sit and take some good pictures thing.  it's a BLAST!  think GQ meets Vogue fashion shoot.  we've decided to really do what we like - push the envelope a little.  we are after fabulous, fresh images of our couples.  we'd love to do anniversary shoots with our couples and/or their parents! what fun!

more coming soon...