Dallas

Did I mention that Andrea Bocelli is AMAZING????? We went to his Dallas concert this past Saturday -- and were blown away by his voice! Also with Andrea were two wonderful singers, Eglise Gutierrez and Heather Headley. He has two more concert dates in the US, Madison Square Garden in NY, NY and Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

The majority of the concert consisted of songs from operas (Carmen, Traviata, Nabucco). Rick and I were both talking about how short the two hour concert seemed. It just proves that time flies when you're having fun! The concert ended with Time to Say Goodbye. He was gracious enough to satisfy the concert goers with several encores -- one of them, my favorite, The Prayer!!!

We stayed at the Sheraton downtown Dallas, where I took a photograph looking outside my window. I, of course, popped the puppy into Photoshop. Here's what the final looks like.



Oh, almost forgot my "brush-with-fame" moment (PS Rick said (with a huge sigh) "you're not going to blog about this, are you?). We were having dinner at the Palomino (great restaurant FYI) when we noticed Babe Laufenberg arriving (would you believe this was my second time being tables away from him????). They were seated two tables to my left. Then (OMG) Jason Garrett tried to squeeze by me, but being quite comfortable with the position of my chair, I declined to let him through. Not really, it just makes for a better story! After he saw that there wasn't enough room to squeeze by (that's why I'm going to the Y this morning), he went around the other way. Shucks!

I can hear you all saying -- that's a brush with fame? Sad to say, it's a yup for me.
I'm up here in Wichita Falls, Texas -- where the closest I get to fame is being in the Kay Yeager Coliseum during a concert. If you're not a Dallas Cowboy's fan, then you'll have zero appreciation for my story -- and I apologize.

If you're looking for a nice restaurant near Downtown, Dallas, click on today's title for more information on the Palomino restaurant.

Well, time to work off this weekend's overeating session.

Have a wonderful week!

Frances

City Hall, Philadelphia PA

Philly's City Hall is -- AMAZING. Every time you turn the corner or enter one of the many interior gateways, you are graced with beautiful architecture, laced with intricate stonework.

These are four of the pictures I took. Even the copper railing is beautiful.

I used Jen Shannon's Chocolate and White action and watermark border action. Click on the title of this post and check out her blog!

Philadelphia Part I

Hola and happy Sunday! Rick and I returned from a quick trip to Philadelphia, PA this Saturday. We actually stayed in Wilmington, DE but flew in and out of Philadelphia. Wow, is Philadelphia one neat city to visit. I wished we could have stayed a couple more days so that we could enjoy the city a little longer. The city is steeped in history. We spent Friday sightseeing (mainly walking) -- we started early and didn't stop until it got dark.

This is a shot of the Philadelphia skyline from Camden, New Jersey. Rick was kind enough to indulge me and make the short trip over the river, just so I could be in three states over four days (PA, DE, and NJ).

I'll be posting more pics over the next couple of days.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Love -- Frances

Really, last post of the day!

Waiting for Rick to finish up work (it's 6:10, do you know where your boyfriend is?????). He works so hard - and I am so proud of him! While waiting to go to dinner, I found this picture I took out the car window as we were leaving the Westin in Dallas. I thought it was interesting with all the angles and lines -- so staying with the TTV craze of the day -- added the frame, used some brushes, some filters, more contrast -- and we have the final "Blue Westin".

Have a wonderful evening! Frances

PS -- for family, Nick and Emily are moving into their new house, so hopefully I will have some pictures of their house to share with you!

Dallas

Mmmmmmm yummmy macaroni and cheese balls!

Cheesecake Factory

flags at red light

leaving AA Center after TSO

Outside the Westin

Rick treated me to a delayed holiday in Dallas this past weekend. Wow, what beautiful weather. It was 81 degrees on Saturday night. The Cotton Bowl guests were treated to terrific weather (sorry TT). We had a really fun but relaxing weekend with the Mavs (Mavs beat the 76'ers), the Trans Siberian Orchestra (TSO) http://www.trans-siberian.com/index-main.php and finally King Tut http://dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/View/Tut/ID_198987! One of the pics is from outside the Westin Hotel. I looked out and the sun was beaming down on the trees below - so I hurriedly grabbed my camera and took a picture. TSO was amazing! They had the best sound, light show, pyrotechnics - etc., that I've seen in a while. They even made snow!

I took another pic while waiting for the crowd to leave American Airlines Center parking garage. I was so thrilled to get the star burst on the lights. Check it out!!!

Another is a simple picture of flags that I took while we were at a red light. The last pics are from one of my favorite places to eat (there are about a hundred in Dallas that I love). I bet some of you are thinking -- what in the world did she take a picture of at the Cheesecake Factory http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/ . Well -- it is the most amazing (not low cal) junk food kind of appetizer you could ever want! My friend Jaclyn M told me about these -- and we've been hooked ever since. Are you sitting down? The four fried round things on the white plate are -- FRIED MACARONI AND CHEESE BALLS!!!!!! Who ever thunk that one up????? They are so fab -- if you haven't tried them (and you are not on a diet) -- you must do so (even though it sounds gross).

Well, it's back to the real world (and much cooler temps -- bbbbrrrrrr) -- and home now. Take care -- Frances

Colorado Sunset

Each year, Rick and I spend time in Lake City, Colorado. I spend most of my time playing with my camera, learning more Photoshop tricks, and some fly fishing (I catch more bushes then fish). Rick, however, is a serious fisher. He and his Uncle Dub, trek in some rough terrain to find pristine streams. Don't take me wrong, I do like to fly fish, I just hate snagging my fly and having to re-tie those itty-bitty flys on, time, after time, after time. It could drive a girl crazy. Maybe with more practice, I'll get either better at casting, or better at tying. This is a picture which was done in Photomatix. I combined 4 exposures into one and then played with it in Photomatix and Photoshop.

Bridge to nowhere

I was out scouting for some fall foliage -- and snapped this pic. I managed to make this a little dreamy through the magic of Photoshop.

My Favorite Photos

These are some of my favorite photos. The first picture are seed pods on a Cypress tree. Picture #2 is a street in my favorite town - Boston (Go Redsocks!). Picture #3 is a bridge in Boston.