ALL OF THE LIGHTS.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned" 

Isaiah 9v2

Here are a few (definitely not all, sorry) of the lights around Leeds this year. I love the magic of this time of year and the lights make it all the more special. The most special thing is what Christmas really represents - God sending Jesus into the world to save us and that is what I am most thankful for. I am also so thankful to be surrounded by amazing family, especially as last year I worked for part of Christmas.

I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow!

xxx

MY LEEDS/ HOLBECK.

Last week I went out into the winter sunshine to capture a few of the beautiful buildings I get to see every day. There are plenty more, a lot of them not so pretty but this is the place I have called home for over a year now. I moved into the area to join with some wonderful people to invest in those living here and share Jesus with them. It has taken a while to learn to love it and felt scary at times because this is where my plans end. Up until qualifying, I always had a next step of my plan but this is it for now and I don't know what is next... I have learnt so much this year about trusting God and what it means to live for him in the every day. I'm so thankful for all God is teaching me, the community around me and for finding a lot of beauty in this place. 

TODAY.

Today involved a lot of good food, getting festive, embracing the cold outside...followed by warming up inside and a whole lot of good people. Not picture... Christmas shopping (unsuccessful), baking (successful) and little Christmas party

x

 A FROSTY START TO THE MORNING.

 PANCAKES ARE ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA.

 THE WONDERFUL BELGRAVE WITH A CHRISTMAS EDITION OF THEIR MONTHLY STREET FEAST!

 THE HUGEST PORTION OF CHIPS I HAVE EVEN SEEN, THANKFULLY I HAD SOME HELP POLISHING THESE OFF!

 BUNTING AND LIGHTS ON THE ROOF TERRACE.

 OVERLOOKING THE CITY.

MY CHRISTMAS TREE!

SHEFFIELD LYCEUM.

Last week I spent a few hours in Sheffield to have a bit of quality time with my lovely friend Lucy. We moved from coffee, to lunch, to the ballet (Cinderella by Northern Ballet at the Lyceum Theatre) and enjoyed having time to talk and chill out. Despite the fact that our plans for the afternoon seemed to be shared with large groups of WI ladies it was a great way to spend a day off. 

The ballet had a Christmassy twist with snow and ice-skating and Sheffield was decked out with lights and trees galore so I feel perfectly comfortable to whole-heartedly embrace December and all it holds...not that I needed much convincing!

ZACHARY.

For the past seven years my big brother has been working towards becoming a registered stuntman....and he has officially made it! This past weekend, my immediate family (minus one, we missed you Tim) gathered together to celebrate and have our own little graduation.

I'm so proud of how hard he has worked and stuck to his dream despite obstacles. 

You are amazing Zach!

Here are two from Instagram..

LOVING THIS...

instagram feed, especially the October photos

radio station in the mornings

paint colour as now featured on my bedroom wall

food delivery company

video

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm spending it at my parents with my family and I am very excited about it, have fun whatever you're up to
xx

STARTING NOVEMBER IN STYLE.

This month kicked off with a trip to Oxford to visit my sister Asha along with another sister, Mia. The few days we were together for were really great and filled with long train journeys, exploring the city, country walks, keeping warm under blankets, a lot (but not too many) cookies and getting into the Christmas spirit! 

I am so grateful that this month has been and will be filled with family. Here are some photos of our time together.

THE PRETTIEST THATCHED COTTAGE.

AUTUMN, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

I LOVED THIS LITTLE POCKET OF COUNTRYSIDE.

EXPLORING THE COLLEGES.

AFTERNOON LIGHT.

MAKING CHRISTMAS DECORATION (WITH THE HELP OF YOUTUBE).

BONFIRE NIGHT! (UNFORTUNATELY WITHOUT THE BONFIRE...BUT THE FIREWORKS WERE WORTH IT).

TASTY HOT CHOCOLATES, TIMED PERFECTLY TO WATCH 'THE HOLIDAY'.

HAVING A REST.

WE FOUND SOME FRIENDS! THEY WERE MORE INTERESTED IN THEIR FOOD THAN US.

THREE.

Really loving all the Autumn colours right now and spending time reflecting on who God is. Here are three pictures in orange and green shades and three Psalms well worth a read over the weekend.

Have a great one!

xx

PSALM 34.

PSALM 145.

PSALM 62.

SUMMER MEMORIES.

Here we are in a new week and it is pretty chilly! The layers are piling on and my shopping list is consisting of blankets, thermals and all things cosy. However, todays post is a bit more summery....

Whilst in Brittany back in August, I filmed a few of our days and have finally got round to putting them together as a little video. I blogged about this trip before but I've enjoyed reliving it recently.


Brittany. from indiacarolinajoy on Vimeo.
Music - Bon Iver "Towers" a favourite song of mine.

Here are my photos from this trip.
Here is a link to my other posts with my other videos in them.
Here's to a great week!
xx

MY LEEDS/ A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE.

One evening last month, I spent a night at the theatre with a friend. Seeing a play is something I've been meaning to do for quite a while and it crosses another goal off my list. We saw The Crucible by Arthur Miller, put on by the West Yorkshire Playhouse. I had to read an Arthur Miller play when I was 16 as part of English Literature at school but didn't really know the story of The Crucible before. Although I've been lucky enough to see quite a few dance companies perform and multiple musicals this was one of a only a few plays I have made it to. It felt very 'grown-up', which I sometimes have to remind myself that I am, to see a serious play and it left me thinking a lot about injustice and human nature which you don't quite get in the same way from Wicked. Once I got past the idea that everyone was only going to talk at us, I really enjoyed trying something a little different. 

The staging was great and despite a few questionable American accents, it was all round pretty good though not the most heart-lifting story! This was the third time visiting the Playhouse and hopefully I'll be back soon.

THIS IS WHEN I AWKWARDLY SNUCK A PICTURE INSIDE THE THEATRE...

SKY.

I've always said how gorgeous the sky is in Leeds and often stop myself from taking yet another photo of it so instead I've embraced it! I decided to take a photo every day this past week to document the beautiful sky from my bedroom window.

 MONDAY.

  TUESDAY.

  WEDNESDAY.

  THURSDAY.

  FRIDAY.

  TODAY WAS TOO PRETTY TO POST JUST ONE!

Have a wonderful weekend!
xx