Queen Susan the Gentle // photoshoot

In this post  I asked you to guess which character I portrayed at my friends Literary Ball (English Country Dancing). . .yes, I was Susan from Narnia, wearing a "mock" version of the Archery Dress.  Nooo, the movie dress isn't made with satin fabric, and of course a few minor details are "missing". However! I LOVE my gown (which a friend of a friend made for me.) Normally I like to make my own messes - I mean dresses - for Balls, but felt I lacked the experience, and *definitely*  the time to dabble with the project. Funds were limited, (go figure,) but even sooo . . .like I said, the dress is magnifique. . .simply because it is oh-so feminine.

 If I could wear a medieval-style gown each and every day I more then happily would. I'd spend endless  hours in open, flowered-sprinkled fields; drinking in the sun, wishing the earth always sang of spring, feeling a gentle breeze on my cheek - loving life and the Lord's beautiful creation.

My bestest friend and lovely sister Anna  recently bought a beauteous camera  that she is getting rather incredible at using. She has been *wanting* to use it. . .constantly. Perfect timing for the photo-shoot I've been scheming up! I can now proudly check  "Susan photo-shoot" off of my need-to-be-posted list. Could this mean Michaela ceases at last to be a procrastinator? I only wish. :P 

First we headed to the backyard. We have a lovely "wooded" area that is very nice for pictures. . .but something was missing. This is when we opted for one of our local parks - a favorite place of our family, and just gorgeous with its "lake of shining waters", country air, and foresty paths that open into little grotto's of dead fir trees. Footsteps are whispered away when one melts from the bustling park onto a carpet of needles so thick and soft it is possible to walk without shoes. The outside world vanishes under a canopy of semi-gloom. . .it isn't difficult to imagine small men in pointed caps peeking through the brittle branches . 

"It was when I was happiest that I longed most...The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing...to find the place where all the beauty came from."  — C.S. Lewis

It is just magical. A Susan-inspired dress, talented budding-photographer sister, and Picnik bring to life all the emotions of the day. It was perfectly overcast, slightly chilly, the lake was slivery, and I felt in an extra-exuberant mood. Be grateful that I chose to leave some of the photos out. Like the one of me running full force up a hill, right into the mouth of the camera (while my mouth gaped open.) Would have ruined the "Susan-ish" feel, you know. These pics are a testament to the fact that I am capable of being mature. :P

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." — C.S. Lewis

Susan, little men in caps, shining waters and whatnot aside, the photographer and I needed *one* picture together. . . this was the result. No, I didn't just post that on my blog. You didn't see it, k? 

"To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. . .Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. May your wisdom grace us until the stars rain down from the heavens."  

— C.S. Lewis  (somehow that line seems dreadfully misplaced. ;) )