THE LIST.

So back on New Year's Day 2013 I made a list. I first wrote about it here but seeing as my time was up earlier this month, I thought it was time to take a look at it again...

Some I haven't done, some are works in progress but on the whole I think I've done pretty well. A few I decided that I didn't want to do anymore (which I think is allowed..I made the list, I make the rules) and others just weren't possible and I didn't want to do half-heartedly. The reason I set myself these goals was to actually allow myself time to try some things I'd been wanting to do, challenge myself and have fun! Some I've loved and will keep doing, others have been less enjoyable and I probably will stop here. I've included the full list below if you fancy reading it. I've also linked any related blog posts and my thoughts about them. This is more for me to look back on so feel free to skim over all the detail!

I don't have any plans to start a new list specifically but I'm really glad that I did it. Lets just see what life after 25 holds.

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one. Start a blog  You're reading it! It's been going for over two years now and it's been one of my favourite things I've done on the list.

two. Visit America This one hasn't happened for various reasons but it is still something I want to do so will be ticked off sometime in the future. 

three. Graduate  Done!

four. Take more photos using my camera rather than my phone Again, this blog was a way for me to do this and document the past few years.

five. Have a dinner party I really enjoyed doing this one. As a child I loved it when my parents had dinner parties and I would love to keep this one up, especially when I have a bit more space for it.

six. Take up ballet again I completed a 10 week course to try and remember everything I learnt from ballet growing up. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up with classes this Autumn.

seven. Travel around Europe This has been another favourite of mine to do, I've loved taking advantage of the cities so close by and making the most of my days and weeks off. See blog posts Ireland. Italy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,  Brittany.  Amsterdam 1, 2, 3. Switzerland 1, 2, 3. Portugal.

eight. Make a quilt  Done!

nine. See Taylor Swift with my sisters We went back in February 2014.

ten. Read 25 books* see lists below

eleven. Watch 25 films* 

twelve. Knit a scarf as seen here.

thirteen. Write a poem

fourteen. Learn how to play a song on the piano

fifteen. Learn how I play the guitar a work in progress but I'm counting it 

sixteen. Have a herb garden I have had one..it died but will be renewed as soon as I have somewhere to keep it that has enough sunlight

seventeen. Get a pet This would be the one that I decided that I didn't want to do, even a short-term token goldfish. Maybe I'm just not a pet person and I'm totally fine with that.

eighteen. Run a mile without stopping I don't go running anymore but in the past few years I could quite easily manage a more than a mile.

nineteen. Make a video Another one I have really enjoyed doing. You can check them out here, hopefully more will be coming.

twenty. See a play I picked this one.

twenty one. Relearn my GCSE French

twenty two. Drink a whole cup of English tea one. whole. pot.

twenty three. Learn all the countries and capital cities in Europe and where they are

twenty four. Learn a letter from the bible off by heart
twenty five. Visit the Harry Potter studio tour and it was great.

BOOKS

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R.Tolkien
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
1984, George Orwell
The Catcher and the Rye, J. D. Salinger
The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Pilgrims Progress, John Bunyan
On the Road, Jack Kerouac
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
The Lord of the Flies, William Golding, 
The Diary of Anne Frank, Anne Frank
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
Animal Farm, George Orwell
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Goldem
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
Bleak House, Charles Dickens
The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, Mark Twain
Ghostwritten, David Mitchell
Saturday, Ian McEwan

FILMS
The Graduate
The Godfather
Pulp Fiction
Schindler’s List
Casacblanca
Saving Private Ryan
Cinema Paradiso
Braveheart
The Big Lebowski 
Trainspotting
A River Runs Through It
Roman Holiday
Psycho
6th Sense
Manhattan
Midnight in Paris
The Descendants
Silver Linings Playbook
Liberal Arts
Untouchable
Delicacy
Paris, Texas
The Shop Around the Corner
The Guardian
Top Hat

2014.

Happy New Year! 
I was going to say it's felt like a slow start to the year but in reality I think it's snuck up on me and I'm over a week late but I hope the start to this new year has been wonderful. Before getting started with 2015 I wanted to take a minute to look back on this last year. I am so thankful that I started this blog as it means I've documented a lot and can look back and see what an excellent year it's been. 

A little summary of what my year has been filled with according to my little blog...

Coffee 1. 2. 3.

Music 1. 2.

Places 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.  9.

Weddings 1. 2. 3. 4.

Baking 1. 2. 3. 

As for resolutions, I'm still working on this

You can check out the full list here, better get a move on!

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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

NOW AND THEN

Lucy and Nate over at We Resolve tagged me to do this Now & Then post. It has been really fun remembering what I was like 10 years ago and seeing what has changed....

My hard drive has stopped working so I couldn't share any old photos.
now: 2014, twenty three     then: 2004, thirteen

CRUSHING ON

now: John Krasinkski, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

then: Ryan Gosling, Johnny Depp

WATCHING

now: Grey's Anatomy, Bones, New Girl

then: Blue Peter, Pop Idol, Cribs

LISTENING TO

now: Johnny Flynn, Taylor Swift, James Vincent McMorrow, this soundtrack

then: McFly, Probably NOW! 56, Avril Lavinge

READING

now: my 25 before 25 list

then: Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, the Georgia Nicolson series

STYLE

now: aiming for classic and simple still working on this!

then: flared jeans, long bead necklaces, logo tshirts

HAIR

now: light brown, shoulder length, natural waves

then: poorly straightened stripy blonde highlights (unfortunately!)

ATTITUDE, DREAMS & LIFE PLAN

now: trying to live in the present and appreciate today, focus on Jesus and love others, some day a family and explore the world more

then: be a costume or set designer, finish school, get married, have babies 

I have a week of work now so I'm very much looking forward to sleeping in and spending time with some lovely people. Hope you have a great weekend!

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THANKFUL THURSDAY/ JANUARY.

A few things I'm thankful for so far this month.

one my mum. She's the best and tomorrow is her birthday!
two new starts, this year is going to be packed full of so many great things

three sleep, extra thankful I can fall asleep easily as these past few weeks have been busy four Leeds, I really love this city
five friends who come to stay at a moments notice and make my house feel more like home 
six my landlord fixing all the things I have no idea how to
seven my hot water bottle
eight sisters
nine love film helping me to finally see some films that I've been meaning to watch for ages

TODAY.

I am a graduate!

After three years of University and starting the real world of work I got to celebrate with friends and my parents. It was such a fun day, I literally had the best time despite the rain and the cold.

There were a few times when I wasn't sure if I would get through all the assignments and it was a LOT of work but I did it. I'm so beyond thankful for the friends I have made, the support and love I have received from everyone close to me, and for the past three and a half years spent in Leeds. This feels like quite an achievement.

God has taught me so much through this and it's exciting (and scary) to see what's next...

Photos from my lovely friend Ellerie.

THANKFUL THURSDAY/ NOVEMBER.

one new socks

two my new house. Not fully moved in but so happy to have found somewhere to make mine
three health! I've been a bit unwell these past few days and it's massively made me appreciate how infrequently this happens
four films (and having time to watch them!)

five trains
six new tv series
seven my big brother
eight my walk to work. I feel like I haven't had a chance to get out of the house apart from my walk to and from work so being able to be outside it has been greatly appreciated 
nine thoughtful loving friends (and my near constant stream of letters and parcels!)

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THANKFUL THURSDAY.

I've decided to start a regular post as a way of remembering the ways in which I am thankful. This is partly inspired by some friends of mine and by similar posts on other blogs. Lauren, I promise I'm not copying your posts - we obviously think too similarly, ha! 

It's easy to focus on the things haven't gone to plan and forget about all the good things that are happening to me everyday. This has been especially true these past few weeks but I hope that by making myself stop to acknowledging and appreciate things to be thankful for, I will be quicker to appreciate, more grateful and slower to complain. 

I don't intend this to be a fancy or exciting list but more of an exercise to help me to actively consider each week how blessed I am and something to look back on if I forget.

one the most welcoming and generous friends 

two my job

three fresh air

four slippers

five mobile phones, laptops, letters - so many ways to keep in touch

six freedom

seven books and having time to read them

eight new tv series starting again

nine unending grace and forgiveness

I hope you feel encouraged to appreciate the little (and big) things going on with you right now

x

AUTUMN.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love autumn and it has definitely arrived!

My very talented big sister blogged some gorgeous photos recently of the changing trees and it just reminded me of how every year I am blown away by how beautiful this season is. It never gets old. 

Seeing as I haven't had the chance so far to do or document any autumnal things yet this year I decided to have a look back at some of my old photos from the last few years...

Just a few things that I'm looking forward to,

Watching films whilst snuggled up inside. You've Got Mail and Dan in Real Life are my go to.
Cooking pies, soups, bread.
Wearing layers. Jumpers and boots. Weirdly there hasn't been that chill in the air yet and I miss it.
Going outside to enjoy the colours in the trees and the sky.
Listening to live music. It seems to happen about this time each year.Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit in a week! 
Traveling to visit friends around the country.
Celebrating bonfire night and the anticipation for Christmas!
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