a Christmas photo shoot

The little surprise that I’ve been hinting at over the last couple of weeks was a Christmas photo shoot with Cottages & Bungalows Magazine. It was sort of a bit covert, but I can finally let the cat out of the bag now.

They were here all day yesterday photographing some of the most festively decorated parts of the house.

You may have seen how I styled the mantel with some of my blue and white ginger jars. We usually have a family portrait above this mantel, but I wanted to create a different look for Cottages & Bungalows.

Here’s Bret, the photographer, working his magic and capturing just the right angle that features the Christmas tree and the living room mantel. And of course, we even had some milk and cookies for Santa in this shot!

Over the last 3-4 weeks, I’ve been mentally running myself ragged over styling the whole downstairs of my home for this magazine photoshoot. In fact the day before yesterday, I realized I was turning into a bit of a “blogzilla” after I experienced a couple of mini-meltdowns! AH!!

All I can say, is my husband’s relieved that it’s over, and the whole family is happy that the house looks the most festive it’s ever looked. We can now ease into Christmas gracefully… 😏

Kris, one of the editors took a silly picture of me in the dining room while we were prepping it for the next shot.

Here’s a little peek at the kitchen table. I wanted to create a sort of foresty, winter look for this table with lots of pine trees, snow and elegant brass details.

You may recognize the Joyeux Noel plates from my feature in Romantic Homes. They’ve become my all-time favorite Christmas pattern because they’re so versatile and fun. 

This pattern pairs nicely with so many different looks.

Here’s a preview of the family room mantle with our treasured portrait of great-grandmother Nelle. Copper accents and glittery details were used to play up the elegant nature of this portrait. I found the beaded garland and Michael’s, and we added extra greenery to soften the look.

As the sun was setting, we headed to the front porch for some dusky, glowy shots. The last picture of the night was in the backyard, featuring the shed, all decked out in candlelight. 

This is a quick capture of the shed from my phone, and I CAN'T wait to see the actual image taken by the amazing Bret!

We’ll have to wait about eleven months until the December 2019 issue of Cottages and Bunglows comes out, but hopefully we’ll see some proofs way before that!

I’ll share a few more of my behind-the-scenes looks

 in the next day or two. 

Check back soon!

xo xo

 fabiana