Stress on the kind of.

I don't care for the hassle, getting up ridiculously early (when we left Germany, I had to get up at 2:30am), the looong flights. Not to mention I'm a little scared of heights...and my biggest fear is crashing in the middle of the Atlanic and being the only survivor. Bobbing in the sea, not knowing what's underneath me, absolutely terrifies me.

But the view?





That I can handle. Definitely. I got a bit snap happy. I love this last one overlooking Lake Michigan (I think) -it felt like I was looking at a Google Earth map. It felt weird that I was actually that high and wasn't looking at a map.

But I'd still take having my two feet planted firmly on the ground over soaring seven miles above land any day.

Flying. Do you love it or hate it? Or are you somewhere in the middle? Do tell!

-carlotta

PS Some changes are coming to a blog near you very soon. That blog being this one, of course! ;)

I'm the first to admit I'm not exactly fall's biggest fan. I'm not the one who runs and greets the season with open arms and happy kisses.

No, I'm more of a summer girl. My favorite months are April, May, and June. I love the warmth, the freedom, the blossoming bright colors. I love going swimming and the carefree, leisurely days.



By the time Labor Day rolls around and marks the unofficial end of summer, I get sad. I dread the cold that's bound to visit soon (granted, it's Oklahoma cold, but it can get down into the single digits and we have lots of (dangerous) ice), the long days of school, the shorter days.

I was still of that opinion until about three days ago. When we arrived back from Germany, our yard was filled with colorful leaves, the warm toned mums were blooming. The temperature had cooled down to a downright cold nighttime temperature of fifty degrees, while during the day it stayed a beautiful seventy degrees - perfect weather for leaving the windows open 24/7.



Yesterday morning I awoke at five - still jetlagged - and crept outside around six thirty. Clad only in my pajamas and a blanket, I sat down on the front step. The cold cement froze my still-warm-from-bed toes and the deliciously cool air wrapped around me like a jump into an icy pool. While the rest of my family slept, the sun began its ascent into the sky. Its light made the clouds a faint rosy pink, warming the grey morning air. The birds chirped and the crickets (it was only in the fifties... ;)) hummed their lulling song.

I relished the beauty of it all. I had gotten so wound up in thinking that fall was just the gateway to the cold, short days of winter that I had forgotten how lovely it can be.

It was such a beautiful moment. I wanted to bottle it up.



Yes, the days are getting shorter. Yes, the cold is coming. Yes, the long days of school are upon (some) of us. Yes, summer is over.

But? After this little taste of fall, I've decided I'm going to embrace it. I'm going to embrace you, fall.

Because after all, fall is the season when you can wrap yourself in a cozy blanket and sit by the fire. It's the season when the air is filled with the rich aroma of flickering scented candles and warm pumpkin bread. It's the season when there's a holiday every month. It's the season when you can wear jeans, sweaters, and boots. It's the season when you don't melt after being outside for thirty seconds; instead the crisp air is refreshing. It's the season that paves the way to the joy of Christmas. It's the season when you can jump in big piles of crunchy leaves and go to the pumpkin patch.



See? I was able to find a lot more of what I like about fall than what I dislike about it. And I could go on even further.

I'm just going to embrace fall. And you know what? I think I'm falling in love with it.

What is your favorite season?

-carlotta

Remember when a bunch of you asked me questions a few days ago? Well, here are the answers! And man, are there a lot of them.

Note: I got the same questions from several people, so if you asked me a question, and I didn't answer it, it's because someone else asked the same question and I answered them :)

Was that confusing? Because it kind of confused me.

Oh well.

Let's get started!



Hailey asked, "What made you choose Nikon over Canon?", "What is your favorite color?", "What is the food in Paris like?", "What is your favorite book?", and "What is your favorite movie?".

To tell you the truth, pretty much the only thing that made me choose Nikon was the price. To get the Canon equivalent of my camera, it would have cost over one hundred dollars more. I'm head over heels in love with Nikon, though!

Is it bad to say that I don't have a favorite color? I love everything!

The food is Paris is the.best. Seriously. Their croissants are to DIE for. So buttery and flakey and wonderful...I could write a novel about their goodness.

My favorite book...man, that's hard. I'm kind of a book junky. One of my all time favorites, though, is Flygirl.
You can see more of my favorite books under my Blogger profile :)

Call me a geek, but I love Nancy Drew. Ha. Julie & Julia is a super cute movie too - and part of it takes place in Paris!

...

Lily Litten asked, "What is your favorite hymn?", "What is your favorite animal?", and "What got you into photography?"

My favorite hymn, hands down, is Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. It was written in the 1200s and is amazing. My favorite hymns are the super old ones :)

Can I reverse the question? I love all animals except for snakes. And mosquitoes. And rats. And cockroaches. Shudder.

To tell you the truth, I didn't really start getting into it until a little over two years ago. We were in Germany, and we had a family reunion. I saw everyone taking pictures and thought it would be fun to have my own camera. Not long afterwards, I bought a Casio point and shoot camera. After experimenting, I discovered that I had a passion for photography. I bought my DSLR in June of this year, and have continued to fall more in love with photography everyday.

...

Anonymous asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?", "What advice would you give to a fellow blogger/photographer?", "Do you actually read and follower other peoples' blogs? If so how many about?"

Nope, no boyfriend :)

My advice would be to not give up. It gets tough at times, and it might be easier to just throw in the towel. I've dealt with it many times. But you're not going to go anywhere if you don't persevere :)

Yep, I read and follow other peoples' blogs! I'd say..around forty or so.

...

Naomi asked, "What's your favorite camera lens or one you use the most?"

Okay. Confession time. I only own one lens at the moment, the 18-55mm. But, I'm looking at getting the 55-200mm telephoto lens...I've heard great things about it, and I would really like to have more of a zoom range.
Do y'all have any lens suggestions?
...



Corina asked, "How much German can you speak/understand?"

I speak fluent German, but I can understand better than speak. I can carry on a conversation, but it's a little harder for me to express myself.

...

Abby asked, "What was your first camera?" and "How did you get to be such a popular blogger?"

A Tweety Bird film camera when I was five. Ha.

Aww, you make me blush. I'm not that popular! It still amazes me that people actually want to read what I write :) Like I said to Anonymous, perseverance is key. One of the main things that made my blog grow was regularly commenting on other blogs. No one is going to come to your blog if they don't know you're out there!

...

Abigail asked, "What denomination is your church?", "What your new hairdo like?", "On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate MckMama's blog?", and "On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate The Pioneer Woman's blog?"

We're LCMS Lutheran.

My new hair...gosh, I'm so sorry it's taken so long. It's pretty much the same as before, just about two inches shorter.

See? Nothing dramatic. Although, the length is really like on the right. I have a bad habit of tilting my head... ;) I tried (and failed) to find an adequate before picture, though. So this'll have to do.

I would give MckMama's blog a 9 or so...and The Pioneer Woman as well.

...

Libby asked, "What would you like do as a career?", "Do you enjoy school? What lessons do you like best?", "Do you cook? Do you prefer baking?", "What is your opinion on housework?", and "How long do you spend composing blog posts?"

I'd love to be a photographer. And a blogger ;)

School is okay, but it's not my favorite either. I dislike science, but I love biology this year. I'm taking an online course with Veritas Press, and my teacher is amazing. It helps to have amazing classmates too.


I do cook at times, but I generally bake, as that's the only way we can get sweet treats at our house ;) I just hate, hate, hate cleaning up the kitchen. Errgg.

My opinion on housework...I'm going to get a maid when I get older. Ha.

I spend about an hour, give or take, per blog post. I have been known to crank one out in fifteen minutes, though.

...

Mackenzie asked, "What is on your photography wishlist?", "What is your favorite Bible verse?", and "What are five pieces of advice for a fellow blogger and photographer?"

Hmm, I'm pretty content with what I have now. But if I had an unlimited amount of money to spend, I'd love a macro lens, a really nice telephoto lens, and an awesome camera bag (I love this one, this one, and this one). Oh, and Lightroom 3 :)

My favorite Bible verse is Romans 8:38-39. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This also happens to be my confirmation verse. :)

My five pieces of advice:
1. Like I mentioned before, don't give up, no matter how hard it gets.
2. Look at other photography blogs. Find photos you really like, and study them to try to figure out why you like them. Then try to recreate the pose/effect/look.
3. Ask for feedback. Constructive criticism is your friend.
4. While photos are beautiful, they get boring without text. Add a caption, explain what you were feeling when you took the photo, share a funny story, etc.
5. If you post a lot of pictures, make sure you have a fairly simple blog layout. I chose white for my background, since it showcases the photos and nothing distracts from them.

...

Bethany asked, "What is your favorite subject to photograph?", "Now that you've gone to Paris, what other country/place would you like to visit next?", "If you were asked to write a speech, what would you write about?", "Something that extremely annoys you - what is it?", "Are you shy or outgoing?", "Chocolate or vanilla?", and "Favorite season?"

I like to photography everything. If you haven't already noticed. Ahem. ;)

I'd love to go to Italy.

Hmm...I don't know. I'd probably write about photography. Or Paris. Or something.

 I can't stand apostrophe misuse. I know I've ranted about this before, but it bugs me to no end when people mean to write something in the plural (say, shoes) and think they have to add an apostrophe (shoe's). You would only add the apostrophe if you meant to say "of shoes" (shoe's laces). Okay, stepping off my grammar soap box.

I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not extremely outgoing, but I'm not super shy either.

Definitely chocolate.

I love the end of spring. May. You have the whole summer ahead of you, it's warm, everything is so pretty...ahh I adore it. But there's something to like about every season :)

...

Ashley Sisk asked, "Why did you start blogging?", "What do you hope to accomplish before your sixteenth birthday?", and "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I started blogging because my mom had a blog. She has since stopped, but I just thought it would be fun. And fun it is!

Man, that's a tough question. I'd love to surprise visit a friend that lives far away. I'd love to see more of the world. I'd love to be an intern to a photographer.

As I said before, being a photographer and a full time blogger would be amazing. But I doubt the full time blogger thing would really happen...

...

Laura asked, "How did you get the money for your camera?"

I worked :) Mainly through babysitting, but I work for the music director at church once a week, and people asked me to do various odd jobs for which I got paid.



...

Alyssa asked, "How many other countries have you visited?", "What's your favorite book in the Bible?", and "Who is your favorite music artist?"

I've visited six. America (obviously), Germany, France, England, Holland, and Austria. I've also been in Canada and Greenland, if you count flying over countries ;)

I know this isn't one book, but the Gospels are my favorites. Acts and Romans are wonderful books as well.

I love Taylor Swift. And Jack Johnson. But lately I've just been liking one or two songs from an artist...

...

Abigail asked, "What attracts you to Paris?", "Who is your favorite singer and actor?", and "What is your favorite aspect of Germany and Paris?"

I really don't know why I like Paris so much. I've loved it for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's because it's so beautiful, or that it's so rich in history, but I adore it.

I answered my favorite singer above, but I don't have a favorite actor. Is that bad? ;)

I love how small and close everything is in Germany and Paris...all of Europe, actually. And I love how old everything is.

...

Kiki asked, "Do you know any French?"

Nope! Well, except for merci, oui, pardon, etc. I fail at French. But then again, I've never taken any classes...

...

Erin asked, "Where did you get your camera and was it more than $150?" and "How long does it take to upload photos?"

My camera cost about $400, but I bought it Nikon refurbished at Adorama. New it costs around $600.

I resize my photos and upload them using Flickr...for about eight or so photos it generally takes around forty five seconds.

...

Libby asked, "What is your favorite song?"

Seriously? One song? I don't think I can answer that! ;) I'll go with All the Right Moves by OneRepublic, but my favorite song changes very frequently.

...

Briony Katie asked, "If you had a choice, what ice cream would you choose? Cream 'n' cookies or berry?", "What is your middle name?", "What are your two older siblings names?", and "Vintage or modern?"

Cream 'n' cookies.

My middle name is Cisternas - it's an old family name. My grandma on my dad's side is Chilean and apparently the Cisternases were a powerful family in Chile...

Alina and Amanda. I know Alina reads my blog sometimes...hi Alina! :)

Both. I fondly call my style (both in fashion and decorating) "vintage modern".

...

BB. asked, "How many pets do you own?", "On a level of 1-10, how vain are you?", "Do you play an instrument?", and "Other than photography, what is one of your hobbies?"

We have three - a cat, Patches, our black Lab, Sarge, and a fish that doesn't have a name. It's MeMe's. ;)

I'm guessing that one is the least vain and ten is the most? I'll say somewhere between a four and a five. It's not like I don't care what I look like, because I do, or never look at a mirror - I admit I do study my reflection at times - but I don't obsess over my appearance. Interesting question :)

I play the piano.

Well, blogging is definitely a hobby. But that's probably obvious. I love reading. There's nothing better than curling up with a good book. I like decorating rooms too...I'm actually in the process of changing the look of my room. Nothing major, just a few changes. I like it so far.

...

Ann asked, "How much time per day do you spend on your blog and reading blogs?"

Too much. I've been cutting back more recently, though...my trip to Europe made me realize that there's more to life than blogging :)

...

India... asked, "How do you think of things to post about?"

I will admit, there are times when I have absolutely no ideas for a post. I've found I can often base a post off of a few photos that I've taken.

...

Kaley Grace asked, "Do you like chick flicks?", "What's your favorite type of music?", "If there was one thing you could be good at, what would it be?", "Do you have a few close friends or a lot of general friends?" and "Dating or courtship?"

I do love me a good chick flick.

I like pretty much all genres of music except for heavy metal and rap. Though country music is my weakness...I blame it on being born and living most of my life in Texas ;)

I would love to be better at sports. It's seriously not even funny how bad I am...

A few close friends.

I haven't really ever given this topic a whole lot of thought. What do y'all think?

...

Mandy asked, "What pet peeves do you have when it comes to blogging and photography?" and "Have you bumped into/met someone that is a follower (and not a real life friend) of your blog?"

One of my blogging pet peeves is when people don't bother to spell check. Or when they have a reaalllyy messy design. As for photography, definitely flash. I can't stand it when people use flash when they don't need it!

Nope, I've never run into a reader. That would be very cool, though!

...

Have Faith In Me asked, "When did you become a Christian?"

I'm Lutheran, so we believe that a person becomes a Christian when they are baptized. So I became a Christian at two and a half months.



Whew! I think I got everything! Let me know if I missed anything...kudos to you if you read the whole thing. :)

-carlotta

I really wanted to call this video a "film" but since it consists of pictures and music, I don't think it fills the criteria of a film. Bummer. I like the word film. Film, film, film. 

A few of these photos I've already shared, but there are some that y'all haven't seen yet. I figured this was the best way to showcase them without taking up a ton of room. Plus, it'll be nice for me to watch in the years to come and remember my time in Paris.

What do you think?

We're home! Sorry. Forgot to mention that. It definitely feels weird to be back after so long away, but it feels nice too. Traveling is such a blast. I had an amazing time away - I didn't want to leave at all. But now that I'm home, it feels so right.

Happy Saturday!

-carlotta