Christmas 25 Day Photo Challenge

Happy Saturday, December 1st!

Source: flickr.com via Ioanna on Pinterest

(I couldn't be happier as this is my favorite month.)

I stumbled upon this this morning which means you could totally jump on board too. I won't be posting to Flickr because, while I have an account, I've never browsed it enough to make my own uploads worthwhile. But I'm excited to document this Christmas with a simple 25-photo series.

What do you think? Are you in? If I'm really organized (I'm not), I'll post the photos to the blog.

Oh happy day!  December is here!!!


yours,
~jen

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look up

When we're sick, we head outside. Especially when it is autumn, 68 degrees, perfectly sunny without a cloud in the sky, and we have pleasant neighbors who come out to say high when our kid plays in their front yard. Here are a few instagrams from our last of three walks Tuesday. All within a block of our home. Nature eye candy.

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woodnote photography meets lady poppy

Welcome back. If you saw yesterday's post then you already know how fun Caroline & Jayden of Woodnote Photography can be. We were so pleased with our time with them and the edited photos they sent us (just part of the package!) we had to ask them to shoot our newborn/yearly family photos when Poppy arrived last March. They captured a visual sense of our family's character.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves...

 

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10 Photography Traps to Avoid

Thanks for reading our birth story yesterday! And for the sweet emails, texts, and comments about it, and the warnings! I'm so grateful! There's something about these stories that really bring people together, wouldn't you say?

It's official. The little guy has a double ear infection. Yesterday was filled with 104 and 105 temps. Poor poor little boy.

So I'm keeping things simple this week. Praying I don't go into labor until Ace heals up and I finish packing, haha.

Today, let me highlight a great post from one of my favorite blogs, A Beautiful Mess. She just won the Best DIY Blog award at the Apartment Therapy Homies.

Photography : 10 Things to Avoid

I've learned many of them through the past two years with my new camera, but I'm definitely still guilty of #2, 3, and 8 (even though I know better about #8). What about you?

icj,
~j

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fresh photo giveaway! : yours with kick

Morning, friends!

I hinted at this yesterday, but I finally get to announce it today! I'm teaming up with one of my favorite blogs, ohsweetjoy!, and along with a handful of others, I'm offering my very first from-me giveaway on her site. Which means that if you pop over there, you can enter, too!

Here's what you could win from thishawksnest:

The winner will receive a free 10-photo edit! 

This includes a personal consultation via email 

about your style (vintage, trendy, or bright, etc.), 

1 black-and-white and 1 color edited image for each of the 10, and 1 adjustment edit for up to 3 of the 10 submitted photos.

I've easily paid anywhere from $25 - $65 per photo for professional editing in the past. I'm entirely self-taught, so I'm eager to work with someone who is hands-on and excited about finally getting those photos up on the wall that just weren't making the cut before!

Head over to ohsweetjoy!  to enter later today. Hope one of you win it!

icj,

~j

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editing photos :: a sneak peek

Our wedding photographer did a fantastic job and really captured some great moments like this:

 and this:

and this (our friend toasting his laptop inserts into the best man's speech):

 and this:

Like most good wedding photographers in the digital age, she took thousands of photos. The company gave us a proofing disc of 511 photos and we had the choice to either choose some for their team to edit and then print, or we could purchase the unedited images with a credit included in the package.

I knew I wanted a lot of photos, and I really enjoy playing around with Photoshop and actions, so we went with the second option. And I've had very positive responses from people who've seen the edited photos.

Here's a great example, and yes, I'm using a photo of myself because I think these before-and-after photos are terribly embarrassing, and I'd hate to do that to someone else!

Better, right? My eyes are brighter, less wrinkly, looks like my make-up was still on, and then there's a softer, more 70's film glow to the whole image. Even my teeth look whiter and I didn't even adjust that!

Here's another example from our wedding:

This is a sneak peek into a couple opportunities for thishawksnest readers! Stay tuned this week for details...

On another note, I thought this was interesting whether or not your a parent. I found I needed the same thing even when I was engaged and then married. What do you think?

Happy Tuesday, friends!

icj,
~j

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pinterest

I bit. Big. This is the only social media thing I can't get enough of. I'm on facebook because it connects me to people I would otherwise not see. I'm on twitter because I'm told my generation should be, though I never actually tweet (heh heh). But Pinterest...now here's a social network for me.


The idea is simple, if you haven't already heard. You download the app so that on any page with photos, you can "pin" them to one of your boards. Great for keeping track of inspiration ideas!


I've recently limited myself to 8 boards, and I may cut that down to 7. Hope you enjoy!


http://pinterest.com/thishawksnest


icj,
~j

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new baby

Not prego yet, but when Cormac's next sibling comes along, I want to do this:

Source: thelensloves.com via Crystal on Pinterest

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instagram cupcakes

I've been really enjoying the iphone app instagram. This is a shot of the most delectible Easter butter-cream-whipped cupcakes Mom Shedd made. She also made a baby version--bite size and too good to eat in moderation!

icj,
~j

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etsy friday : surfs up

I have this vision of a beach-themed second story hallway. Why? I don't surf. True, I've grown up next to great beaches on Lake Michigan, which seems like the ocean when you're gazing out across the water (just ask J.Lo if you're unsure). Real sand. Real waves. And if you're stranded in the middle of it, you can still drink the water. Unlike those salty oceans. So there.

I'm still trying to figure out how to spend my birthday money. I know I'm going to get something from this shop, elgarboart, but I need to carefully consider exactly what I want to bring home that will also please Hawk. I'm currently thinking of the 9 4x4 deal. Here are my nine: Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

icj,

~j

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it's all about your lens

Where are all the crazy-obsessed-parent posts including baby pictures? Well, Hawk and I agreed that I would rarely post a photo of our son online, and we are both opposed to anything but being tagged on Facebook. We're concerned about his privacy, our privacy, and keeping crazy people from hanging photos of our son in their dining rooms. (Hey, you never know).


I got a new camera for Christmas. It was the big gift from our parents, and I couldn't be more grateful. I requested it because I wanted to capture with quality every photo of our children (Cormac and those yet to be). As many of you know, I'm an amateur Photoshop gal, so I love messing around with filters, actions, etc. I'll post soon about the camera itself.


Here's one of our very limited public shots. Using the new camera, of course. I'm thinking I'll want to repeat this for each kiddo.

Happy Thursday!


icj,
~j

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a home makes a marriage

Thanks for hangin' in there with our month away!

In the almost-month I've been away from blogging, we've asked a few questions about why we blog and how blogging changes now that our little one is around. As I write, Hawk is holding him so I can get a few paragraphs out without withholding attention from our son. That in and of itself is a difference, eh?


And we began this blog after reflecting on how the work we do on/in the house mirrors lessons we learn about our marriage.I struggle with how personal and specific (two very different matters) we should be on the blog, but we keep coming back to our tagline: two newlyweds learn from their nest's needs what really makes a marriage. Pretty difficult to be impersonal when talking about marriage. 


So among the home tours I finagle from friends and neighbors, the decore inspiration images, the diys we accomplish or only hope to accomplish, giveaways, and more, we'll be drawing out more devote time for you. Or at the very least, letting that be the underlying theme behind each post.


Glad to be back!


icj
~j

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one of those Tuesdays

With Hawk away and Ace moving like a little kung fu fighter (seriously, I have to cover my stomach during most conversations so people don't think it's a remake of Alien), instead of a house, here's a baby.


Enjoy.

photo at the hands of DaveandCharlotte

icj,

~j

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woodnote photo shoot

It is just that time of year--busy busy busy. To think that at this time last year we were spending all our extra hours working on the house, Mom Hawk was here probably 15 hours a week (or more?) on various projects, and we were still trying to pick out red for the dining room. Now, we can't imagine how "un-us" that red would have become.


In celebration of the first year of our marriage, we decided to do a professional photo shoot. No, we're really not that narcissistic (I swear!), we just love looking at photos of our family members, and now with a baby on the way, we saw this as a great way to create memories our children and children's children can appreciate. When others have heard the idea, they love it!


So, the back story: we spent a number of months reviewing local photographers. After the wedding, this was the only wedding-like-thing that I was still rather obsessed with. And when we attended the Katie&Miles, we were so impressed by their photographers that I began to follow them (online---I'm not a stalker!). After months of scheduling and rescheduling, we finally worked in a date with the young couple of Woodnote Photography: Jayden & Caroline.

They were WAY too much fun, so flexible and accommodating, and gave us more time than we deserved (almost 4 hours!). Caroline is now blonde, and the same quirky attitude exuding from the photo above? All over them in real life. We had such a good time that when we left, Hawk and I said to each other, "We could hang out with them again." Cheers to a budding new friendship!

(It certainly helps that Jayden is a master mandolin player. No one understands Hawk properly who doesn't understand the allure of the mandolin. And no, he's holding a banjo in the photo above.)

Without further ado, here were our favorites of the favorites from the day...

All the stair shots were taken at Lake Park Bistro, a Bartolotta Restaurant and (I think) a part of Frederick Olmsted Law's Milwaukee project. He's the same guy who did Chicago's World's Fairh in 1892 and New York's Central Park. It's much more beautiful in spring and mid-summer, but it still makes a great photo here.

They shot this shot when we were really laughing. I had no idea I throw my body backwards like that.

I love this one. Hawk looks so serious. This is the look he gives me when he's really listening.

I think Caroline was making us laugh here--without trying (or maybe they're just that good!). We talked like crazy throughout the day, and they just kept shooting. We loved how there is a mix of focused shots with those taken when we weren't "trying".

Hawk's smile here is the best. Totally natural. Totally him.

And this is the one I picture our kids loving someday when we're too old to remember the story behind it.

Hawk's youngest sister, Lindsay, gave us Ace this plush, cozy rabbit. We couldn't resist bringing it in for a few shots, though they took the second shot with my hand on my belly in the event that future viewers were perplexed by its relevance.

We went down to the walking bridge under an iron railroad bridge above Milwaukee River (and near the infamous Lakefront Brewery). The wood is so beautiful both on the floor boards and railings.

And since this was no longer just an anniversary shoot but also a 6-month-pregnant shoot, we couldn't forget Ace!

We also picked up a few balloons. The wind was blowing so hard that most of them shoot straight north.

This one is particularly sweet visually:

Love this picture. Love it. Except for one thing. Pregnancy "grows a girl" in interesting places. Let's just say this is the "where's Waldo" picture of my new twins---they're just doing whatever they please. 

When I showed that one to Dad Hawk, he laughed so hard he teared up.
End the balloon segment on an even note (hee hee):

Then, we had a little baby-balloon fun...

And with the light fading, Caroline & Jayden took some crazy shots. I have no idea how they did this...

And, let's face it, I'm whipped...

Thank you for taking a look at the shoot. We hope you enjoyed it. And remember to check out Woodnote Photography for more. Even their background music is spectacular!

icj,

~j

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