Weekly Header Challenge -- Letting Go

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Letting Go

Chosen by me.

Although I had something specific in mind for this week's theme choice, I thought that it would be broad enough that my fellow Headbangers would be able to get creative with it.  Here is the image I chose to use in my header:

This was my wedding dress, from almost 28 years ago!  In my journey to a simpler life, I've been decluttering and getting rid of excess in our home.  One item I ran across when we "remodeled" our master bedroom closet was my wedding dress and veil.  I was okay with donating it to Goodwill, but wasn't completely sure until Fernando gave me two thumbs up.  It was time to Let Go and say goodbye to this physical item that was no longer serving a purpose in my life.

To help preserve my memories, I decided to do a little photo shoot my the dress and veil, and had planned on doing it at The Morton Arboretum a month ago.  I had the dress ready, my camera bag packed, but when Fernando and I arrived at the Arboretum, I discovered I left the dress at home, in a bag next to the front door.  Sigh.

Seeing that my theme was scheduled for this week, yesterday seemed like a good time to get this photo shoot taken care of.  *The queen of procrastinators has spoken.*

The only logistically available place yesterday was my back yard.  I figured--why not?  This venue was also more significant to me than the Arboretum; we've lived here for 17 years and I have a special place (under "construction") in the corner of the yard.  So, that's where I went.

It was breezy and cool, but I managed to get some pretty images of the dress and veil, plus some of the details--beading, lace, fabric.  A friend made this dress for me as a wedding gift, so it was important in more ways than one to capture the details.

I've told many friends, when they've had a hard time getting rid of something with memories attached, to take a picture of that item, then say goodbye.  Having photos helps preserve the memories, detaching them from the physical item and freeing me from the burden of excess stuff.  Thanks for helping me along this journey!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Evening Window Shopping | Paris Travel

Looking across the Seine River to Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame.

Our Silver Paris

Welcome to my Paris travel journal,

where I share our experiences of our special journey to Paris.

Please use these posts as a guide for your own travels

to this amazing and wonderful city!

Or simply read, and dream...

What do you do on a cold evening in Paris?  Well, the two of us went out and got ice cream.  Hey, we're Chicagoans, and 50-degree temperatures are nothing when it comes to ice cream.  I hope you're not tired of reading about us walking down to Ile St. Louis and Berthillon for glace!

Berthillon -- sorbets et glaces.

From Berthillon, we headed straight north, cross pont Louis Philippe, and onto rue du pont Louis Philippe in the 4th Arrondissement.  It was time for a different walk home, even with the cold.  This rather short rue was a delight, with lots of little shops and window displays all lit up for us to admire and linger over.  We loved finding a chocolatier, and oohing and aahing over the yummy delights.

Items on display in the window of a chocolatier along rue du Pont Louis Philippe.

You might want to study the above photo more closely.  Check out those dark and milk chocolate pieces with the orange flower on top.  Yep--they are shaped like cicadas.  Maybe it's a weird French thing; the chocolates we bought from another chocolatier were in the shape of fish.  I guess they like unusual designs.

More of the display at the chocolatier.

A lover of music, I lingered for a long time in front of this particular shop below.  They had instruments of all kinds--several I had never seen before--and old and new ones, too.  Neat, huh?

Looking into a music shop along the rue du Pont Louis Philippe.

I thought of my friend's daughter, Diana, when I saw this display at a papeterie (stationery shop).  Little books about birds and butterflies, letter openers, stationery, cards.  Delightful!

The window display at a papeterie.

In case you're wondering where Heaven is, we found it.  ;)

We found Heaven!  (It's a hand-made clothing store.)

I love the name of the street in the above image.  Here is what the street sign says:

allée des Justes

en hommage aux justes que sauverent

des juifs durant l'Occupation

Street of the Righteous

In homage to the righteous who saved

the Jews during the Occupation

Such a rich history, even in the names of the streets!

From rue du pont Louis Philippe, we walked til we hit rue de Rivoli, and turned right.  We stopped at an Armani store, mostly because Fernando noticed that there really is such a thing as European man bags.  (Whenever he carries my purse for me, he jokes to others that he has a European man bag.)  And, not only do they have them, they have Armani man bags.  :)  So I took a picture.

Even Armani makes European man bags. :)

In the tradition of totally confusing Paris streets, rue de Rivoli turned into rue Saint Antoine, and we soon recognized the column at place de la Bastille.  After a long exposure shot--along with a kiss--we turned and made the short walk home from there.

Night view of the column at place de la Bastille, taken from rue Saint Antoine.

 
Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 42

Project 2012 -- Week 42

October 14 - 20

Welcome to my Project 2012 weekly post!  This is my time to look back over the past week, 
choose seven favorite images I've taken, and share them here with you.  
If you have a project you're working on, please leave a comment 
so I can visit your blog and see what you're up to!

I had such a busy week last week, that I took a picture just here and there.  But then Saturday came--although it was gorgeous and sunny outside, it was raining shooting opportunities inside.  Raining--as in showers of images!  Showers--as in wedding showers.  Yes--just one, but it was one of the most fun wedding showers I've attended.  Plus, it was the sweetest wedding shower to photograph.  Bar none.  I'll share a few of those images at the end, then you'll have to wait--very patiently--to see the rest.  I'm so excited about them; they turned out beautifully.

I was headed out to the bank--I love when I get paid!--and saw these clouds right before I hopped in the car.  So of course, I ran inside and grabbed my camera for a shot.  The clouds looked even cooler about 15 minutes later; the ones in the middle looked like little wavy tornadoes.

[290] Triple cloud layer

Photographically speaking, you can definitely tell the difference between a bright, sunny day and an overcast one.  I took two pictures of Jacob's tree, which is beautiful in autumn, on two different days, in two different lighting conditions.  Here's a shot I captured on October 17, a cloudy, overcast day, at about 10:00 a.m.:

[291] Jacob's tree in autumn

And, here's a shot I captured a few days later, on the 20th, with a bright sunny sky, at about 9:00 a.m.:

[292] Jacob's tree in autumn II

I definitely like the first shot better; it's softer, and although the light is flat, I love the colors of the tree and the overall softness of the image.  I do like the second image; it is very contrast-y, but with bright colors, too.  In photography, light = everything!

I took another self-portrait last week, since I've been looking for styles that work for my body type.  And although I generally do not like pictures of me, the ones I've taken have been helpful as I'm trying to decide which articles of clothing to keep, and figure out which clothes look good.  I like this teal top, found at Goodwill for less than $4!

[293] Style in teal and black

Time for a shower!  This lovely young woman lived nearby for many years, then moved with her family to Georgia.  So many family and friends remained behind, that they decided to throw her a "northern shower" when she came back into town to work with a talented seamstress on her wedding dress.

[294] Wedding shower

The cake turned out beautifully, and the colors were perfect for an autumn shower.

[295] Celebrate!

[296] Cake flowers

I've personally known this young woman for many years, and it has been a privilege to watch her grow up and blossom into a beautiful, Godly bride!  I simply can't wait to attend her January wedding (woo-hoo--Georgia in January!) to witness her marriage and to celebrate with all her family and friends.  Oh, and to take as many pictures as possible for a remembrance of the special day!

Can't wait to see what you've been up to lately!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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