LAUZERTE.

Even though summer is pretty much a distant memory right now, I still have some final photos to share!

During our time in France we took a morning out to Lauzerte, a medieval town about twenty minutes from where we were staying. It was pretty deserted so we were able to wander the street undisturbed. This was one of the few ventures we made and it was well worth the trip. 

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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

SEPTEMBER'S FLOWERS.

This month's flowers were a birthday gift from my youngest siblings, thanks guys!

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FRANCE.

I'm back!

Took a little break there without meaning too but here are a couple of photos from my trip to France at the end of last month. We had a wonderful time doing not very much at all except lying in the sun, eating great food, celebrating a birthday and for me in particular reading, reading, reading but more on that soon. 

France is just gorgeous so expect a lot of pretty buildings and skies, my specialties.

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MR & MRS LEWIS.

Last weekend two of my lovely friends got married! They asked me to make a little video of the day which I was honoured (and nervous) to do. I've made a couple of little films here and there just for fun and for me to be able to look back on a few fun days or weeks I've had. This felt like a big deal seeing as it wasn't just for me but for one of the biggest days ever for these two and I knew there would be more people watching it then usual but...it was actually great! After I got over this, I enjoyed myself especially seeing as I got to play professional with my super talented best friend who was actually photographing the wedding. I loved looking back over all of the footage when editing this together and being able to see all the moments that may have been forgotten. 

Matt and Hannah, thanks for letting me be a part of this day. It really was as fun as it looked and I could have made this video a whole lot longer! Praying for the best start to your marriage and I'm so excited that you're staying so close by.

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Music - Avalanche City/Love, Love, Love chosen by the bride and groom.

AUGUST'S FLOWERS.

This month I picked up some Lisianthus. I love how tall and elegant these stems are and how cool the twisted petals are before they open! It still brightens up my week every month when I buy a new bunch for fresh flowers.

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PORTUGAL.

I got back to a slightly chilly and rainy Leeds late on Wednesday after a beautiful five days in a small town called Estoril, half an hour from Lisbon. I managed to squeeze this little trip in around work so this next week is pretty packed but I'm so glad I went. I went with two of my friends, Kate and Faye, and our little holiday was split between the beach and the city and filled with sunbathing, reading, delicious food and a little bit of sight-seeing. This was my first time in Portugal, it was really lovely and I'd happily explore it some more! There was so much to do and just not enough time. Some essentials that made the trip so easy and I'm glad I took with me were the lonely planet pocket guide, my giant sunhat that kept my forehead free from sunburn (a recurrent problem for some reason), my kindle and Birkenstocks.

I've included a few a lot of photos below that I managed to capture. I decided not to take my camera to the beach so most of these pictures are from our days in the city and our evenings. I took some other photos over on instagram see here and had a few more lined up to post until I lost my phone (!) so these will just have to do.

Hope you've had a great week

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PASTEL HOUSES IN ESTORIL.

EVENING LIGHT AND BEACH UMBRELLAS.

THESE TWO, THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL TIME!

ADMIRING THE PALM TREES AND SUNSET THE FIRST EVENING.

LISBON, PRAÇA LUÍS DE CAMÕES.

UNDER THE BRIDGE.

 FINDING SOME SHADE IN JARDIM DE SÃO PEDRO DE ALCÂNTARA AFTER CLIMBING A MASSIVE HILL.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP!

RIDING THE CALÇADA DE GLORIA. ALSO KNOWN AS THE SHORTEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE TRAM RIDE EVER.

RAINBOW CITY.

SOLE PESCA, TINNED FISH TAPAS IN AN OLD FISHING TACKLE SHOP...THEY REALLY WENT TO TOWN ON THE THEME.

 MUCH TASTIER THAN IT SOUNDED.

 OUR LAST EVENING IN THE CITY AT GOLDEN HOUR.

 THE BEST COURTYARD AT SANTO ANTONIO DE ALFAMA.

EXPLORING THE MUSEU COLEÇÂO BERARDO WHICH WAS HUGE AND PACKED FULL OF SCULPTURE, PAINTINGS AND INSTALLATIONS, WISH WE COULD HAVE STAYED LONGER.

 THE WALK HOME FROM THE BEACH.

 REFLECTIONS AND BLURRY BOATS.

 GOODNIGHT PORTUGAL.