Friday, October 16, 2009

Nest Shoot - Day Two & Three

Good evening!

Yesterday morning my alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and I was up and in the shower within minutes! Washing, blow drying and styling my hair is an hour and a half ordeal, and even though I knew they were sending a hair stylist, I wanted to make sure my hair was in good shape for her when she arrived.
Kevin got up around 6:30, and made a bee line to the litter box. He wanted to remove the "gift" that our cat left us during the night. Kevin's obsessed with keeping the litter box clean, and I have to admit, I am totally cool with his need for a good-smelling house. Of course it only took him about 45 minutes to get ready, so we were both good to go when Missy Crawford (wardrobe) and Cara Ramos (hair & makeup) knocked on our front door.

Missie currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, but spent many years in New York before meeting her Memphis-based husband and moving to the South. She was a tiny, extremely fit woman and with a big, infectious personality. She made us all laugh and feel comfortable, and everybody loved her.
Since we'll be featured in the Winter issue of The Nest, they sent a lot of big, cuddly sweaters and things that would layer together well. Missie called the sweaters "woobies", and it made me smile every time she said it. :-) There were lots of things to choose from, but she was dying to dig through our closets to see if we had anything that would work as well. I assured her she wouldn't find anything in them that could compete with the designer labels and bags full of J.Crew clothing they had sent from New York. But I guess she really wanted to see for herself, because at one point while Kevin and I were being photographed in the Dining Room, she went ahead and looked through my closet anyway. I came in the bedroom when we were done shooting and she said, "I thought you said you didn't have any clothes?!" She had a few of my tops and a couple pairs of my jeans laid out on our bed. She asked me to quickly try them on so she could see if they would work. Long story, short- at one point, (late in the day) David ended up shooting me in a shirt I bought at Walmart for $9.99! Meanwhile, the gorgeous, dangly earrings flown in from New York that I wore with it cost $136. :-)

Anywho...after Missie and David agreed on what my first outfit for the day should be, Kara quickly ushered me onto her makeup stool and got to work on waking up my face. Kara was a super friendly, tall, beautiful Brazilian girl. She sported a tight John Deere green colored v-neck sweater, and had her long shiny black hair pulled through a matching John Deere baseball cap. Kara currently lives in Atlanta, but was born and raised in Connecticut. These days she's mainly working as Lady Gaga's makeup artist, but she's worked for all kinds of celebs from Cindy Crawford to John Legend to Norah Jones. After about 60 seconds on her stool, I know why she's so popular with the stars. I kid you not, Kara made it look like I had been awake for hours and hours. What she did with those brushes and make up of hers was extraordinary!

After they were done with me, they went to work on Kevin. Missie and David were so happy with how my outfit looked on me, they pretty much based Kevin's entire first look on mine. I think he must have changed his clothes fifty times before they finally settled on a pair of dark blue J.Crew jeans, some navy-colored sneakers, and a sage-colored button down shirt layered on top of a t-shirt.
Then, before we were whisked off to our first set up, Kara evened out his skin tone by applying some bronzing powder to his face. She even darkened up his eyebrows a bit, just to make his eyes pop a little more. He said he felt like one of the "surrogates" in that new Bruce Willis movie. :-)

Shooting was tedious and time-consuming because everything has to be just right at all times. Lighting, wardrobe, makeup, furniture, accessories- you name it. Everything was accounted for and every time David stopped shooting to review his images, two or three people swarmed around us to straighten things, reapply makeup and hairspray, and adjust our clothing. At one point, when I was starting to feel a little woozy from not eating enough breakfast, Missie even swooped in with a plate full of chopped up fruit the folks at Panera Bread had delivered. I hid the plate in one of the shots, so I'll have to tell you where it is once our issue is out. :-) It was a fascinating process, and our muscles and joints are definitely feeling sore today because of it!

While our cat spent the entire day in Kevin's closet, our dog Maximus spent most of the day next door at our neighbors. David wanted him to be in a few shots though, so we brought him over and, surprisingly enough, he ended up having his own little personal photo shoot! We were so happy that he was calm and that he did so well. The crew joked that he was a little superstar. :-) I really hope one of his shots makes it into the magazine. He's such a huge part of our lives here at TLC, and it would be neat to have him immortalized on the pages of The Nest magazine!

We weren't aware that a videographer from The Nest was coming to shoot footage of our day, so we were really surprised when a camera man named "Artem" came through our door. He explained that he would be shooting throughout the day, and that when we weren't needed by the photographer, we'd be shooting scenes with him in various areas of the house. I'm almost glad they didn't tell us he was coming, because it didn't give me time to be nervous and over think what I was going to say! I believe the video will be shown on TheNest.com at some point, so if you're interested in seeing the tour of our home and other behind-the-scenes footage, make sure to check out our video when it posts!

We didn't have much downtime throughout our twelve and a half hour "work" day, because someone always seemed to need us for something, but we did snap some behind-the-scenes shots ourselves (of things that we are allowed to show), and we'll be posting those here tomorrow so you can see too!

This morning the crew came back over and picked up all of their equipment, and we got to exchange good-byes. We'll never forget our experience with David, Alistair, Don, Missie, Kara, Olivier, Christina and Artem. It was truly a dream come true!

We also want to thank Jason and Sarah for watching Max on day one, and Eric and Jessica for watching Max on day two. We also want to thank Keith for loaning us an expensive, much-needed accessory for the living room set up, Shannon at Capitol Filmworks for hurriedly printing us some black and white images for the frames in our guest bedroom, Josette for loaning us an ironing board, Mary for sending us the perfect oil-rubbed bronze handle set for our front door, and Dunn's Florist for quickly special ordering the biggest bunch of hydrangea I've ever seen!
Last, but not least, thank you guys for rooting us on this past week. We definitely needed the encouragement, and your comments were comforting and inspiring as always. It was so much fun to be able to share our experience with you!

We never imagined anyone would make such a fuss over our little fixer upper, (especially in its current state!) and we feel so blessed that the folks at The Nest magazine are interested in sharing our story. We can hardly wait to get our issue in the mail in December!

For now, I'm off to bed to catch up on some much needed zzzz's!

Layla

PS...Our issue will be released around December 28th.
Also, for those who have asked, "The Nest" is a subscription-only magazine, and is not available in stores or on newsstands. "The Nest" is a division of "The Knot" magazine. To order a subscription, visit this link!

38 comments:

Staci said...

I was excited to see an update & can't wait to see the pics you post tomorrow! I'm so excited for you guys & for the feature on your home...it is WELL DESERVED! I'm laughing at your Walmart shirt with $100 + earrings! I'm going to be more confident when wearing a Walmart shirt from now on:)

Sarah said...

Glad to hear everything went well. I’m very excited to see photos from the shoot!

JR in Sweden said...

Whoa - I had no idea so much went into a home photo shoot! I figured the photographers just showed up and started taking pictures. Sounds like a really exciting few days for everybody. Congratulations on becoming even more famous!!

Anonymous said...

It sounds like a crazy but fun experience!

Anonymous said...

so happy for you guys! all the hard work & dedication to your little cottage [nest] is paying off in dividends! congrats on what sounds like was a wonderful experience. :)

continued blessings,
-Tracie

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

The excitement literally leaps off of your post, Layla! Days like that are so 'out of this world', it's a good thing you will have photos to look back on and remember all the details!!! I can't wait to see the layout and video!

We call the big, fluffy fleece pullovers, "woobies"! I'd never heard anyone else outside the family use the term. It made me chuckle!

Connie in Hartwood said...

How lovely it is of you to take time to blog after such an exhausting day. I am a long time follower (though this is my first comment) and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoy "spending time" at your place via this blog. Congratulations on your article in The Nest ... we all look forward to seeing the results.

Anna said...

how exciting for y'all to be featured in a magazine. I have an outside cat so I'm glad I don't have to deal with the kitty litter, you have a very nice husband to be taking care of all of that for you!

dmvoccola said...

I can hardly wait to see some photos! That said, your writing has painted some beautiful images in my mind of your awesome experience. It's so much fun to live vicariously through my blog friends.

Charis said...

Congratulations! It's so great to read about a dream coming true like this, 1st person - thanks for sharing it with us! You deserve it, your style is inspirational!

southerninspiration said...

Wow, what a memory! I guess you guys will TRULY appreciate the weekend after a few days of HARD work. It sounds so very fun, and I look forward to seeing you two and TLC in print!
Take care and enjoy your time off!

Suzanne

Unknown said...

So happy for y'all! I can't wait for the issue to come out : )

paige said...

so excited & can't wait to see!

Anne said...

Crazy and exciting! I can't wait to see the final product!

Amber said...

How fun! Thanks for sharing about the behind the scenes--it's kind of comforting to know how much work goes into making magazine pics look so good! :)

Unknown said...

I'm so excited for you guys!! I've been checking back often, even more than usual :), hoping for an update. Sounds like a it was a "dream come true" kinda day!

Unknown said...

Congrats Layla and Kevin and Max too! You guys are so talented and deserving of this exposure. I am so excited for you and the LC. Just don't forget your "little friends" when you get famous! I mean, MORE famous! :) Have a great relaxing weekend.

rachel blazer said...

how fun! thanks for filling us in on the details... i've always wondered about the behind the scenes in my favorite magazines! maybe someday... but right now we're just trying to get the walls painted & toilets installed! it's craziness at our Perfectly Imperfect house!
happy weekend-
rachel

Anonymous said...

wow! so hollywood! i love it! what fun! i cant wait to see your pictures! and of course, the magazine spread! i am loving the walmart shirt thing! now i feel better in my walmart shirt! thanks!

Anonymous said...

Bravo! So glad you two have been part of such a wonderful experience. I can't wait to see the Winter issue--I had to subscribe just to. Can't get enough TLC! Now, get some rest this weekend. :)

Laura Lynn said...

Sounds exciting! Can't wait to see the photos!

Kim Klassen said...

how exciting! what an inspiring story you have!! you must be completely exhausted though. i can't wait to see you in the pages of the magazine!

thank you for sharing your story... kim

Teresa said...

Wonderfully exciting- you guys deserve all the attention- you have been an inspiration to me.
Fun to see more =)
Happy Day

carolyn said...

Love your minute by minute- I can feel the excitement in your "voice"!!

Can't wait to see the shots you took & the final spread.

Hope you were able to sleep in and have a relaxing day planned-

Lynn Kellan said...

I can't wait to buy the winter issue of The Nest and see the shoot!!

Aura said...

Please send Kevin over to my house, my cats leave LOTS of treats that I'm not as enthusiastic about cleaning up. I can't wait to see the issue!!

lindsey said...

as exhausting as that sounds, that must have been so much fun! so pampered and desired and, well, famous! i can't wait to see the issue when it comes out...

lindsey said...

ahh! that sounds like so much fun! well, exhausting, too, but to be pampered and photographed all day, and all your hard work appreciated and showcased - it must have been so rewarding. can't wait for your issue to come out!

AnNicole@Our Suburban Cottage said...

I'm am so happy for you. You are seriously such an inspiration, girl. I love that you followed your bliss with your whole heart and mind focused on your goal and you're having success after success. Truly - you're an inspiration. Double fist pound to the chest :).

Unknown said...

hi! thanks for the update and thanks for being an amazing couple to shoot! we were all hoping for the updates in nyc :)
talk to you next week. thanks for everything!
krissy (from the nest)

KellyMellyBoBellyBananaFanna said...

Awww, sounds like you guys had a lot of fun! So interesting to hear how it went down behind the scenes. (By the way, the Walmart shirt with the expensive earrings cracked me up -- bc I pull that stuff all the time!)

Kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com

Grace @ Ruby Moon Designs said...

I can't wait to see the pics that y'all took! I'm sure the whole deal was so surreal! It was fun to have an inside "look" into what goes on behind the scenes of a magazine photo shoot. Sounds like a blast...but tiring and a lot of work too!

Tricia said...

What a perfectly wonderful reason to be sore and tired at the end of a long day.
I'm so excited to see the photo spread.

XO*Tricia

Wendy said...

It all sounds like so much fun! I'm so excited for you both and can't wait to see the finished article!!!

Lori said...

Oh my goodness ~ it all sounds so exciting and Hollywood! I hope your baby makes it into a shot, that would be too cool. I cannot wait to see your pictures and will keep an eye on their website the end of the year so I can look for you!

Sindy said...

Wait! Wait! Wait! Kevin has a gold record!!!!????? WOW!! :)

Layla, you guys are just incredible! And thank you for sharing your lives with sooooo many of us. Can't wait to see the winter issue of NEST!

Blessings,
Sindy

Lasko's said...

love your blog! i have a similar front door knob by baldwin...in order to make it face outward i had to rotate the latch...it was easy all i did was pull out and rotate...not sure if that was your problem but feel free to email me if you have any questions...
christinelasko@yahoo.com

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Oh Man....I think I need a nap!

What a good job you doid making us feel right there!