Rediscovering "Us"

It was one of those weird things... 

I had taken my laptop in to be repaired, 

and I just picked it up this afternoon. 

I don't know what sort of hoodoo voodoo 

the computer tech did, but he located a folder of photos 

that I haven't seen in almost 5 years. 

They are the story of us. 

Me and my husband. 

From our very first date, 

until our honeymoon, and a few stops in between. 

We've been married 8 years this Summer, 

and it hasn't been the easiest of paths. 

We've butted heads our fair share and then some, 

but rediscovering these photos reminds me 

of the really, honest-to-goodness, important stuff. 

I'm sharing these with you here... 

none of them are edited, in fact they all pre-date 

my career as a photographer, which didn't 

happen until late 2009. 

So here we are.The story of Anne and James. 

For better, for worse, 

in sickness and in health,

and you know the rest. 

:-)

The first date....St. Patrick's Day 2006. 

Dolores del Rio on The Riverwalk. 

Still the first date. Cheesy photo from Dave and Buster's.

From my trips to see him in the Rio Grande Valley....

And from his treks to see me 

in the Texas Hill Country....

Meeting other members 

of his clan, pre-engagement...

Meeting his oldest friends from The Valley. 

*****

And at the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville...

THE PROPOSAL!!!

All captured by his younger brother Andrew, 

who was in on the stealth plan.

And a post-proposal, celebratory dinner

with my husband's brother Andrew, ( my now brother-in-law ), 

and his lovely girlfriend Mary who became 

his bride 2 years later.

The bridal shower.

I don't think I've ever been this thin since!

Bridal shower loot and swag!

Hooray, I got the entire 

Antique White Mikasa china set!

And then the day arrived.

July 21, 2007.

Mr. and Mrs.

He put a ring on it.

Off to Hawaii for the honeymoon...

The one thing I most wanted to do, 

fly over an active volcano!

Bucket list...check!

Swing from inside a Banyan tree, 

just because I could.

Go native at a Luau...

{ please note: that armband "tat" was a pre-tat tat. It washed right off }

A view like no other,

Waikiki Beach.

And to just take a minute to realize... 

"holy cow, I'm married!!!"

And then below, a photo of us just a couple
of weeks back with me, my bro-in-law,
and the husband at the Houston House of Blues....

^ ^ ^
me + three dirty martinis later = not even recalling this photo. ;-)

The laughs, the fights, the tears, the unspeakable joy 

of finding your other half. 

Our faces pretty much say it all.

Thank you for sharing in 

our memories. 

Thank you for rediscovering us.

XOXO

Ad majorem Dei gloriam

Latin for "all for the glory of God."

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit 

and chat with me here...

Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

New from Carol Hicks Bolton....

I've been busy shooting the latest 

swoony goings-on at Gus Antiques & Wonders. 

I mean, how could it not be swoony? 

It's Carol Hicks Bolton, fer crying loud!!! 

So when I say busy, I mean "happily keeping myself 

occupied and out of trouble doing what I love busy." 

Which makes for a lousy blogger, but we've already 

established that I'm sort of a "blog only when you feel like it" blogger. 

Which isn't a bad thing. 

:-)

Here's the smallest of sneak peeks 

at what you can find at Gus...

And I will certainly be posting more soon! 

I did want the Bolton's to have a chance 

to get these photos up and running 

on their website before I shared them here. 

I'll also be sharing two photo shoots I did earlier this Spring and Summer. 

All I can say about those two is 

"Thank you Where Women Create and Where Women Cook!" 

Now....back to editing!

Carol Hicks Bolton Antiquites and Gus Antiques

Ad majorem Dei gloriam

Latin for "all for the glory of God."

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit 

and chat with me here...

Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

Thank You, Romantic Country Magazine!

I always love working with Fifi O' Neill 

at Romantic Country Magazine. 

And I love photographing all my good friends 

at Fredericksburg Trade Days. 

So it was a perfect marriage of beautiful creativity 

when Fifi wanted to publish a photo of Trade Days 

in RC's "Best of The Fleas" feature 

in the Fall issue!

Above is the photo that made the magazine, 

from Lori Allen of Lori Allen Designs. 

Her space is a complete oasis of beauty.

A few more photos from Lori's Trade Days space....

Although the top photo from Lori's space was the one

chosen for the issue, I wanted to include

others from the same shoot.

Below is my sweet friend Hollie.

Hollie Fairchild just opened a FAB shop  

here in Fredericksburg  called Farm Haus. 

It's the stuff vintage dreams are made of.

And below are the sweet sisters from ReDid.... 

 All these gals are located in Barn 0 at 

Fredericksburg Trade Days, 

and no matter the distance, you owe it 

to yourself to visit only one of the best 

little fleas anywhere!

Next few show dates:

August 14-16

September 18-20

October 16-18

355 Sunday Farms Road

Fredericksburg, TX 78624

And if you're in the area, 

give me a shout! I'd love to leet up 

with my blogger and Facebook buddies.

Ad majorem Dei gloriam

Latin for "all for the glory of God."

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit 

and chat with me here...

Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

The One-Eyed Pup

Her gait is much slower than it used to be. 

Climbing and going down the back steps takes her 

a whole lot longer than it once did. 

She lost her right eye in a scuffle with another pup 

a few years back.

And we noticed only recently when we were calling her, 

that she is beginning to go deaf. 

Yep.

Getting old ain't for sissies.

She's about 12 years old, which makes her 

and old lady in Husky years. 

But her heart? 

Her precious, sweet, generous heart 

is as young and full of love as it ever was. 

Have you seen the bumper sticker or magnet 

which says 

"Lord, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am." 

That pretty much sums it up.

All she has ever asked for is food and love. 

And she has given us so, so much more in return. 

My heart is going to break in a thousand different ways 

after she leaves this earthly plane. 

I've never known such unconditional and unselfish love 

as I have received from this old gal.

Always smiling, always happy to see me, 

always winking at me with that one beautiful blue eye.... 

Thank you for sharing your life with us, Belle.  

And I hope with my whole heart that  

I've always been the sort of person  

that you think I am.  

Ad majorem Dei gloriam

Latin for ""all for the glory of God."

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit 

and chat with me here...

Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

linking with

french country cottage

shabby art boutique

Thank you Where Women Create!

A great big Texas thank you to 

Jo Packham and Brandy Shay of the Where Women Create 

family of magazines, and of course, 

huge thanks to Jill Thompson Elliott 

of Haberdashery Boutique 

here in Fredericksburg, Texas. 

These lovely gals were my 

collaborators and partners-in-crime for 

the just published Summer issue of 

Where Women Create Business magazine. 

Jill shared her story of how she built 

her successful business and created a 

stylish, cutting-edge source of timeless 

style and fashion for not only us Texans, 

but the many women around the world who 

shop with Jill via her Facebook business page. 

I thoroughly enjoyed photographing this feature, 

and it delights me that Jill has been recognized 

for the smart and savvy businesswoman she truly is. 

And not only that, but she's one of the sweetest 

gals I know. I'm proud to call her my friend.

And I'm also super proud that my photo of 

the beautiful Jill made the cover!

I hope you will pick up the Summer 2015 issue 

of Where Women Create Business, 

and I also hope you'll drop by the 

Haberdashery Boutique Facebook Page. 

Thank you for allowing me to share 

my projects with all of you... 

I know I'm pretty much a VERY 

infrequent blogger these days, 

but only because I'm out doing fun things 

like this magazine shoot! 

Take care!

Ad majorem Dei gloriam

Latin for ""all for the glory of God."

This is a comment-free blog

but please come visit 

and chat with me here...

Anne Lorys Photography on Facebook

linking with

my romantic home

knick of time

elizabeth and co

The Hood

Locals call it da 'Burg, 

Fritztown, Fredtown, Fred, 

and any other number of assorted endearments. 

I just call it home.

Ever since I can remember, 

I wanted to live here. 

Right here, where I am right now. 

Even before I was a blogger or a photographer, 

my inner artist's heart always felt called 

to the town of schnitzel and wineries,

of countless B&Bs and all things peach, 

 and street after street of the 

loveliest historical homes 

I've ever seen. 

And then in 2010, it happened. 

It actually happened! 

We secured our own little piece of da 'Burg, 

and all was well with my heart. 

I've made countless friends here, 

kindred spirits that while I knew existed, 

I scarcely realized just how close they were, 

geographically speaking.

There's really nothing like that feeling of coming home. 

Not just a house or a city, but home. 

A place where you feel that somehow, 

if you are the sort to believe in past lives, 

you spent at least one or more lifetimes in this welcoming place.

You see that photo above?

Taken on one of my multiple weekly visits to only 

the best and friendliest coffee shop you'll ever find, Java Ranch. 

Owned and operated by Gordon and Vikki King.... 

All the baristas are my friends,they know what I want 

and how I want it before I even step up to the counter. 

It sounds corny, but it's like the old theme song to "Cheers"...

it's where everybody knows your name. 

My name.

{ photo by Thomas Adams }

And the photo above...

Ahhh yes I remember that day well. 

It was a monthly visit to the best flea in the world 

{ lots of "bests" here, ya know? },

Fredericksburg Trade Days.

As I am wont to do, I approach any and all canines 

with a pet and a scratch and the requisite baby talk  

all pooches deserve.

This fella, while appearing a bit daunting on first sight, 

was just a sweet little guy who humored me while 

I made a little small talk....all the while making sure 

that he held on that monkey with a death grip. 

After all, a guy never knows when some strange chick 

is gonna abscond with his favorite snuggle toy.

I think it all comes down to this. 

I was a nomad throughout my formative years. 

My childhood and teen years were spent moving 

from State to State, school to school, 

Nothing was ever permanent, not as long as the 

old man couldn't get his crap together long enough 

to hold down a permanent job and provide 

his family, me and my mother, with some semblance 

of a safe and secure environment.

A home. A real home.

We never owned a home,we were always renters. 

I could drone on for hours about 

how I lost big in the father lottery, 

but that's not the point. 

My point is that right here, right now, 

in Fredericksburg, Texas, I feel a sense of home. 

It's an unmistakable gut instinct 

that in my many years on this planet, 

 I am exactly where the Almighty wants me. 

And to a girl who always felt the sand shift beneath

 her feet, that's something. 

There has been some talk about us moving again recently. 

Nothing definite, but just a reassessment of whether or not 

financial issues will make it feasible to remain in our current home. 

And while this would break my heart, 

that would be nothing compared to the 

crushing loss I would feel if we had to leave this community. 

They are more than neighbors and friends now,

they are my family and my home. 

So place me in a shanty on the edge of town, 

or find me an old RV with a comfy cot. 

Either way, I'm not budging.