Christmas Card Outtakes

This is our first year sending out Christmas cards together. Yes, I contemplated getting a friend of ours to take a nice photo of us and getting one of those seasonal borders added to it at Target and calling it a day. But, of course, being me, I decided I wanted to do something more exciting and unique.

Some of my favorite wedding pictures are the ones from the photobooth, a great way for attendees to get caught on film acting ridiculous. So I thought I’d try a photobooth-type setup for the first annual card. Took a few shots of me & the man, and sent it off to our friends at Atelier to print them up (they also did our wedding invites and programs!)

This was harder than anticipated. The first obstacle was trying to find a time during daylight hours (for the natural light) when both of us were home at the same time. Days are getting shorter and usually by the time Doug gets home from work it’s already dusk. Saturdays are too crazy for both of us so finally I roped him into Sunday after the Chiefs game. Which explains the wardrobe choice.  The second hard part was setting up the booth. Putting the tripod on the floor made it way too close to where we’d be sitting. So I ended up shortening the legs and putting it on the bed, which means every time I set the self timer and pushed the shutter, I had to run around the bed, try not to slip on the wood floor, sit and strike a pose in less than 10 seconds.

All in all, I’m pleased with the results but I think it was way too much work. Next time I’m roping a friend into helping no matter how lame they think we are for being all couple-y.

After all of that, who wants to see some outtakes? Outtakes, test shots, call them what you like, these two photos did NOT make the cut onto the final product. Note my eager assistant.

White Elephant Gift

Classy, yes?

This year we were invited to 3 white elephant parties.
Today we did shopping for 2 of them.

Would you enjoy receiving…

1. A bottle full of nails?
2. A 60-foot 1-to-2 person tow rope (think waterskiiing)?
3. A Tribute to Michael Jackson trilogy of DVDs?
4. Some anime posters?

What is the best white elephant gift you’ve given/received?

Holiday Wish List

No, I’m not asking you to buy me things. I mean, if you want to, by all means. These are just some things I have been digging lately and would (in my opinion) make a great gift for whoever.

1. French Bulldog bookends $55.99
This is too hilarious and too cute! As seen on design*sponge.

2. Z Gallerie Rangoon Lantern $25-$75
So beautiful and warm! These would look great in an unused fireplace.

3. Cafe Du Monde French Roast $5.88
A coworker of mine recently came back from the South with this delectable coffee. Best I’ve tasted in a long, long time. Mmmmmm… There simply aren’t words. And, the price is right!!!

4. Lomography Fisheye Camera $49.99
I have been dying for one of these for a while now and the price just dropped ten bucks ;) As the website says, using this fisheye lens automatically makes “whatever you are shooting look extra awesome.” I’m ALL for extra awesome.

5. Inception Blu-Ray/DVD $24.99
Yes, I would settle for the DVD but I have aspirations of someday owning a big TV and if ever a movie deserved to be watched in high-definition, THIS is the one.