"Word Salad"

My final assignment in my digital imaging class was a montage.  Each student received: a type of person, theme, and 2-3 items.  Since your words are luck of the draw you can imagine the excitement and apprehension this project created.  My type of person was "bourgeois" (meaning middle to upper class), My items I had to include were: "tree, retro hairstyle, and ascot."  Lastly my theme was "expectations."
The image you see is almost exactly what came to my mind the problem was finding models who would fit the part.   I couldn't wait to shoot! One Sunday, I looked over at some friends in church and "saw my picture."  I had to trouble shoot numerous times.  My lens kept fogging up.  I was shooting through the back doorway of my parents home in the cold while the fire heated the front end of the lens from across the room.  Motion blur was an issue; Also, having enough fill without changing my white balance from the warm amber look was difficult.
I had a couple images I really liked, but this one struck me.  I did some blurring in photoshop to the background and added some ornaments to my Christmas tree. Some would call it neurotic; I call it attention to detail.  I have learned it's the little things that matter most in life, as well as photography.  Merry Christmas!!!