It's a Wonderful Life

If someone had told me five years ago 

that I would be living the life I am now,

I never would have believed them.

Nope.

Since my very young adulthood,

I had dreamed of a place not too far away.

Just 22 miles down the road, to be exact.

In my youth, I visited Fredericksburg, Texas
as often as I could.

Oh, how I delighted in spending an afternoon

taking in all the beautiful
Homestead family of shops...

Idle Hours, Room No. 5, American Higgedy Piggledy...

and of course, the Grande Dame herself,

the flagship store where dreams came true

and beautiful couches such as my Babette were birthed.

The original Homestead.

I adored the quiet little neighborhoods,

row after row of historic Sunday houses,

a place where time had seemingly stood still,

held her collective breath and said,

"this is good. this is right. this  we shall save and preserve."

And then three years ago,

as though it were foretold, and without question  my

Hill Country birthright, we did it.

I did it.

My dream came true, and I moved to

Fredericksburg, Texas.

I brought my love of all things vintage,

and of course, my love of photography with me.

I began to make many new friends,

many of them amazingly gifted shopkeepers and artists,

kindred spirits who allowed me into their shops,

their homes and their lives.

They allowed me to capture the loveliness

of what they have painstakingly created 

and document it in the pages of magazines,

and here on my blog.

And they have, almost without exception,

become very, very good friends.

How blessed am I, I ask you?

One new friend inviting me into her shop and her life

is the proprietor of the darling new Farmhouse Boutique

here in the 'burg. I'm doing a photo shoot at her fantastic shop

this week, and I am thrilled to once again share the riches of

my new hometown with the world at large.

"Gilded Girl."

Oh, how I love this necklace!

Purchased at a dreamy local shop, Timeless Menagerie.

The shop owner has become a good friend,

and has been kind enough to hire me several times now

to photograph her store for print ads and her website.

Yep, I'm pretty lucky.

Being a Texan predisposes one to sometimes

obnoxious displays of boasting,

but I really do feel that I'm living in God's country.

But more importantly, in His will.

I'm right where I'm supposed to be, doing just what

He would have me doing.

This.

I get to see beauty such as this  every single day!

I've truly hit the geographical jackpot
and the location lottery.

And all these many years later,

I still turn into a geeky fangirl when I open up

a local magazine and see this....

A print ad for Carol Bolton's store,

which I have photographed countless times,

and there's my photo of darling Carol right there,

dead center.

Once my idol, now my sister. I love that lady so much.

I love my life.

My home.

The gifts and opportunities I've been given.

I am grateful.

It really is a wonderful life.

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit me here...

Anne Lorys Photography

every photo in this post taken

with an iPhone 4S

and thank you to Ivy and Elephants
for selecting me to be featured last week
for their "What's It Wednesday" Feature!



linking with
french country cottage
common ground
savvy southern style
ivy and elephants
the brambleberry cottage
my uncommon slice of suburbia