THANKFUL THURSDAY/ JULY.

Cutting it a bit close but here we are, what I've been thankful for this month...

one. My home.
two. Travel plans for the rest summer and some of autumn.
three. Seasons.
four. Excuses to celebrate! There have been quite a few this month and I am not complaining.

five. Great new films and cinema trips.
six. Pancakes.. all breakfast food in fact, I love it.
seven. This blog. Even if I don't manage to post very frequently, I like having my little space to share.

eight. Sisters and seeing them more.
nine. Sillyness. 

xx

ELLERIE&NATHAN.

Firstly sorry for the lack of posts last week.
Secondly I intended for this post to be a selection of photos from throughout this month as I felt like I had loads of random ones to share.... actually most turned out to be either of food or from this wedding! So here we are.

Towards the end if last week I travelled down to Kent to see a friend that I was at university with get married. It was a beautiful day, so sunny and lots of fun. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Bakewell!

X

AN ICE-CREAM VAN WAS VERY WELCOME AT THE RECEPTION.

METICULOUSLY DECORATED.

CONFETTI.

TABLE DETAILS.

THE LOVELY COUPLE.

TODAY.

This has been my life today...

 ORGANISING THIS HUGE PILE...WHICH HAS JUST BE REARRANGED RATHER THAN SORTED OUT. SO I WON'T BE TICKING THIS OF THE TO DO LIST YET!

 PACKING FOR A VERY EXCITING WEEKEND.

 PHONE CALLS AND FACETIME, LONG OVERDUE AND SO GOOD.

 FINALLY PICKED THIS UP AGAIN. A LOT MORE PRACTICE IS NEEDED BUT A FEW LITTLE APPS ARE VERY HELPFUL THANKFULLY.

 PRE-BEDTIME BAKING.

GOODNIGHT.

PS. I did actually leave the house today, ha! Also yesterday I managed to see 'boyhood' which I loved so try and see it if you can.

x

THOUGHTS.

The end of this month will mark a year since I started 'today'. . I wrote another post when I was starting out full of thoughts of how important it is to live in the now and trust God with what is happening day-to-day. This blog lets me see progress and is a documentation of part of my life, giving me a chance to assess and reflect on changes

In this past year there has been a lot of learning about who I am and who God is. Funnily enough I there is a lot more to know! 

Recently I've been thinking about the photos I take, videos I've made, little creative projects that I do and goals I've set myself like learning guitar and making a quilt still works in progress right now. I can compare, put myself down and I think I'm not as good as someone else and it's easy to let thoughts like this hold me back and make me reluctant to try new things or tell anyone I'm trying them. Despite how I can feel sometimes, I don't need approval or recognition of others. Equally, I don't want to put others down to make myself feel better but appreciate others talents and be inspired. The beauty is that no one else can do something the way I do and everyone sees things slightly differently. I believe that God made creativity part of my character and by exercising it I understand so much more of what He is like. I connect with him in a deeper way when I remember this.

I want to be brave and just try whatever the outcome. If it's rubbish it doesn't actually matter and often fear is worse that messing up. It's easy to build something up and put too much value in it. I very easily put rules or structure on myself but it's ok to get things wrong or change my mind. This is learning and like I said there is a whole lot more for me to do.

I want to be proactive, more assertive and sure of myself and how God has made me; unapologetic of who I am and through this hopefully will come more freedom to embrace new things, especially opportunities He sends my way. I can already see how trying to have this attitude is causing changes in me. Whether this is sharing more of myself and my opinions something I don't really do unless asked, getting my camera out in public or making decisions I feel are right that others might not agree with, God is making changes. 

Thanks for reading this blog, whether it's been for a long time or only recently. 
Have a wonderful rest of the weekend
xx

MY LEEDS/ LEEDS ART GALLERY.

The Art Gallery is right in the centre of Leeds so pretty hard to miss. It's inside an impressive building that also holds the city library and offers grand staircases and high ceilinged rooms. Mainly consisting of three or four large spaces it's perfect for popping in for an hour or so and somewhere quiet to sit and take time out. I've seen a range of photography, prints, paintings, sculpture, installments and occasionally film pieces tucked inside. I love paying this place a visit, especially for a bit of inspiration.

Seeing as I couldn't take any pictures inside, here are some of outside and of the tiled hall cafe which is worth a visit itself!

DAILY JUNE.

This past month over on Instagram I've been posting a photo everyday. It's something I've done before (about 6months ago) and although I use Instagram anyway, I tend set myself a monthly challenge when my feed is looking a bit empty. I do really love taking photos but sometimes I can feel uninspired, especially when weeks fill up with work. I really appreciate having photos to look back on whether it's of a specific time or just the sky, a building or food (80% of my photos!), and pushing myself to be observant in the everyday can't be a bad thing in my opinion.
I love this little summary of the past month, even if I did miss one day. Here's hoping that July is just as fun
x