Family Circle Magazine

came for a visit this summer!!! It was truly a special day…Quite surreal and yet…QUITE REAL…the crew, which consisted of 4 people: Tina – the Family Circle Magazine Photo Director, Lynda – the Photo Prop Stylist, David – the Photographer and the Photo Assistant – Matthew . They ALL could not have been nicer, they were so great with the kids, respectful of our home, completely down to earth and friendly and by the end of the day…I felt as if I had made 4 new friends..

…but before I get too far ahead, let me take you back to the beginning of this journey….

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November 2012 – Young House Love features My Old Country House in a House Crash of my “Happy Casual Farmhouse”

JANUARY 31, 2013 – I get a email from a lovely young woman named Danielle at Family Circle Magazine (FCM) who had been following me since the YHL House Crash.  She wrote to ask me if I would be interested in them pitching my house for a future feature. I loved the lingo..”PITCH my house” and of course..I said “YES!”.. I told Danielle that we were smack dab in the middle of renovating all 3 bathrooms as well as finishing a update of our kitchen…but that I would LOVE for them to Pitch me. I sent regular photo updates and she continued to follow the blog. We kept in touch.

APRIL 14, 2013 – I wrote my KITCHEN MAKEOVER POST and sent an advance copy to Danielle at FCM. The next morning we exchanged emails and she emailed me back and asked if I could be by the phone in 5 minutes…the phone rang…

FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE (FCM) -” I am sitting here with my editor and we are in LOVE with your kitchen renovation!!! We would like your kitchen to be in a 6 page spread in our November issue.  It will involve an interview and a photo shoot which will take place in June. Are you interested?”

MOCH – “Of course!!!I just have to finish the floor!”

FCM – “Okay, so finish the floor and lets shoot in June!”

So planning and LOTS and LOTS of cleaning commenced. In the meantime, the date for PHOTO SHOOT was set for Wednesday June 19. The kids last day of school was June 12. and You may recall I painted the floor that week. I wanted it to be fresh and new for the shoot. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned and clean and finally….

JUNE 19 – THE SHOOT

FAMILY CIRCLE
NOVEMBER 2013
KITCHEN DÉCOR
DATE: Wednesday, June 19
CALL TIME: 9:00 AM
LOCATION
Lesli DeVito Residence

The crew arrived early on the morning of the 19th. Everyone was up, showered and dressed and we chuckled that we had all “gotten the wardrobe  call” and had worn our navy and white.

THE GIRLS..

THE GUYS….

In the days preceding the shoot…TATE was expressing a little bit of reluctance at being photographed, he had just had surgery on his broken nose, but he rallied and everyone got involved.

They took hundreds of photos. Hundreds. From all angles in the room, and with all configurations of our family. Unfortunately they were not able to use a photo of the whole family in the magazine article, but the photo of me and the kids is priceless!!!!

The kids LOVED it!

MY DINING ROOM WAS THE EQUIPMENT ROOM – They covered the windows with white cloth outside to f the light and lessen the distractions. They made miracles happen and bad things disappear!

The photos were taken in the kitchen and viewed in the dining room.

 I Loved David’s cool hat…and his sneakers….

I wish I had photos of the lovely lunch we shared, the 9 of us around our dining room table, photography equipment everywhere…and enjoying sandwiches from the Greenwood Market and talking about what everyone does when they are not taking pictures of my kitchen. The Family Circle staff displayed enormous curiosity about the kids and their busy lives, where we are traveling this summer..sports. I was touched at their genuine interest in the kids.

During some downtime when they were setting up a shoot, I took the opportunity to photograph Phoebe outdoors in the beautiful light…she looked so grown up and beautiful.

The Photographer and the stylist brought a number of things that they added to my kitchen decor. Tina had the cutest Marimekko tea towels and an adorable little tray that I fell in love with….

THE crew was here for about 7 hours. I must admit that I was a bit sad to see the day come to an end. It felt so wonderful having them all here.

But they left me with some treats to remember the special day by….

 The Red rimmed pitcher below is pottery made by HELEN LEVI.

You MUST check out her work HERE!!!  You cannot tell by this photo but the lower part has this sandy texture and the juxtaposition of the smooth red and the rough tan are gorgeous in person…and it is MINE all MINE …Thanks Lynda and Tina!!!!

Tina surprised me by giving me the Marimekko tray which I ADORE!!

The Family Circle photo shoot was an experience I will never forget. They day was so ENERGETIC and I felt so special. The crew were incredibly talented and it was apparent how much work goes into just one article, in a magazine issue  COMPRISED OF many…I have even more respect for the attention to detail they took and we hope to have them back one day to photograph the whole house!!!

THANK YOU FAMILY CIRCLE!!!

coming this week:

how I saved thousands on my kitchen makeover

Apartment Therapy hopefully!!!