grudgingly posting...

all these un-edited pictures! i've been using the free trial (over and over again) of Adobe Lightroom, and it's once again ran out on me. so, these pictures will unfortunately be un-edited...i was telling brad last night that putting a photo on my website that's not edited is comparable to me going outside naked. seriously. and he said, 'what's wrong with THAT?'

KIDDING! he didn't say that. he's always completely respectful, and never makes dirty, wrong jokes EVER. right, brad? ;) (okay, i'll quit. he really is not like that. he is the greatest.)

anyway. i have about a bajillion pictures to post, and i'll try to get them in order here of how things occurred. i'm not joking, my life has been so ridiculously crazy for the last month and a half. it's finally slowing down and i'm so, so thankful for that. oh, and i forgot to mention, i am coming home in FOUR months from yesterday! yes, i love it here. but that doesn't mean i don't miss home. quite the contrary.

SO. first order of business, a few weeks ago my Texas chica in Paris, Connie, came to visit me. to her i owe my decision to purchase my amazing Canon dSLR camera, and to spend lots and lots of time taking photo after photo after photo....this is what we do when we're together. take lots and lots of pictures. let me illustrate -

meet connie -

this is her Ralph Lauren shot - i told her she looks like an ad model here

this is Steninge Slött - you know Marie Antoinette? if you recall from the movie, she had an affair with a Swedish man. this is his home that we visited -


a statue of a woman in the facade of the house

from the entryway. i love shots like these...notice the star on the urn/vase and in the top of the house? that was the family crest.

this 'palace' was ridiculously old...i believe from the 1700's. connie's better with the history :)

we had a 'photo shoot' in front of this great old barn

one of my better manual shots - this is connie's expertise. she tutors me.

she's a pretty girl :)

this post literally took almost an hour and a half! i swear, sometimes posting these pictures can take way too long. due to that, i'm wiped. but i do have more pictures coming of my visit with my dad and my sister, AND France. hopefully those will come sooner than later ;)