Okay, so not really but doesn't it look like it?

From the pictures I've seen, and from my mom who has been to Italy several times, this looks pretty darn close to the real thing. 

This is a museum in our city. It was originally a mansion belonging to one of the oil tycoons. Now, after being remodeled, it's one of the finest art/history museums in our area. 

We went to see an exhibition on Ancient Egypt, but I have no photos to prove we visited it, as no photography was allowed. Actually, that isn't quite true. Yes, no photography allowed, but I do have one picture of an ancient childrens' board game (I'm a rebel. Heh.). But I didn't really want to post something that was "illegal". 

I digress.

When we were finished admiring artifacts that were several thousand years old, we headed outside to the gardens - some of the most beautiful around. In these gardens, everything is exquisitely landscaped, immaculately groomed to absolute perfection. They're magnificent. 

But not only are they gorgeous, the gardens are also a photographer's dream. They're just what I needed when I was feeling down about my photos. A different setting, new things to capture...I suppose one of the reasons I felt so inadequate regarding my photography a few days ago was simply because I was bored with the settings I had. I know that seems a bit silly, but I really believe it's true. 

And for those who thought I was giving up photography - I could never, ever give up something so dear to me. Something so therapeutic, something so beautiful. I'm happy to say I'm "back in the saddle" for now...and I hope to never get out of it for a long, long time. 

-carlotta

PS The giveaway I spoke about a few days ago is still happening...I just have a few loose ends to tie up. 

1. 29 days. That's how long is left until our trip to Germany. I can hardly believe it...but I'm insanely excited.  The last 10 times we were over there, I wasn't really that interested in photography - but now? Half the reason I'm so excited is because of all the great photos I'll be able to take. I think I'm going to die from the anticipation. Eek!

2. car wash. I went through one for the first time a few days ago. Is that bad? I had a blast. What can I say...I'm entertained by the simplest things.

3. it's hot. It's really, really hot. It's so hot that the flowers wither within a few hours, you gasp from the oppressing heat, and it makes you super, super thankful you have a working a/c. I normally don't look forward to the fall, but this summer...I may be anticipating its coming just a bit.

4. spider webs and dew. I've seen pictures and heard of dew covered spider webs, but I'd never really seen them - until today. It was breathtaking. The fine, tiny threads of web laden with fat, perfect droplets of water. Gorgeous.

5. apples to apples. While we'd all played it before, we didn't own Apples to Apples until a few days ago. Jeremiah, MeMe, and I played the first game with the new set. There's an on going gag that the green cards you win describes you. The photo above is of all the green cards MeMe got...we were all cracking up! That's scented, annoying, sneaky, dumb, difficult, worthless, messy, useless, smelly, and slimy. It was seriously the funniest thing.

-carlotta

Yesterday I got my very own key for our house (finally! ;)). Since I'm babysitting more and more, and often coming back when no one is home, it seemed like the best idea. 

And you know me...everything is an opportunity for a photo shoot. So I threaded my key with some ribbon, hung it on my dresser, and snapped away. 

Then? Already girly pictures got edited to make them look even more whimsy. J'adore.

Now I'm off to a museum for the day...what do you have planned for this lovely Saturday?

-carlotta

This is...

(his "signature" move...niiice)

...my brother...

...at his...

...absolute finest.

He's silly, crazy, hyper at times, but he's my brother. While these pictures aren't the best, they show him. Jeremiah is the person I can tell everything (well, almost everything). He'll give me advice, although sometimes crazy advice, he laughs at my jokes no matter how corny they are. And I love him :)

Switching to a different topic, here's my Macro Friday shot. I'm sticking it in this post because I'm too lazy to write another one ;)

I love Oreos. You can look forward to more photos from this shoot, which I'll post sometime in the future :)

Also, you guys are awesome. I was reading through the comments on my last post (which just kept pouring in!), and y'all were so encouraging, so sweet. You nearly brought me to tears. I got email upon email from readers telling me not to give up, that it's only a phase. I want to thank y'all from the bottom of my heart. You mean so much to me! 

And while I'm on the topic of blogging, I reached 200 followers today! I've decided I'm going to have a giveaway to celebrate the occasion, so be on the look out for that.

Have a wonderful Friday!

-carlotta