oh christmas tree

My mother in law arrives tonight, and so I've been trying to get the house ready at the last minute. Oh, we've had the tree up for more than a week now, but keeping all those needles picked up and such requires work! And yes, we always get a real tree. I would miss the scent too much to go artificial. And yes, my mother-in-law is Jewish, but we don't blink an eye at putting up holiday decor around the house.A few years back I stole the idea of musical sheets as chains for the tree from a local antique store -- it's now one of my favorite touches. And yeah, I also put feathers in my tree. I like the texture they add.And here is Magda, passed out asleep on this quiet, wintery day. And under the tree you can see one of the many oversized boxes that my parents have been sending. New grandparents are apparently unstoppable.For your internet share of the day, Jamie found this story about film retouching for actors and actresses. It is FASCINATING. I am here to tell you as a photographer, no one is ever happy with how they look. Not super models, not actresses, not the most beautiful person you can think of. We just pick ourselves apart. Anyway, this article proves it. Also? Next time you see some movie and wish you looked like actress X? Remember that she doesn't really look like that either. And she probably wishes she looked like Actress Y.