Update: 08/01/13

Hello lovely people!
This is just a little update on my life as I feel like I haven't posted anything in a while. I thought it would be nice tell you about what I've been up to in the past week or so - it's been quite a good one! :) 

I started school on the 2nd which was ridiculously early and unfair considering most of the rest of country go back at least a week later, and immediately, all the relaxed-feelings and calmness melted away, replaced by stress and exhaustion. But to be honest, despite the constant stress due to the upcoming mock exams I have soon, I don't really mind school or the workload and the holidays were getting a tad boring/too unproductive!

On Friday, I got to speak to the mother of one of my friends about a career I'm considering going into when I leave school in a couple years. It was so useful, but has left me even more unsure and confused about the job as I was before! It definitely helped though. 

Then on Friday evening, I went to another friends house for dinner with a group of other friends. It was so lovely and I was pleasantly surprised with my friend's cooking skills - the food was brilliant! He cooked goats cheese and roasted tomatoes on toasted bread for starter, chorizo and cheesey pasta for main, and banoffee pie for desert (however, I was too drunk on cider and wine to have any room for desert - how classy! :S ). Overall, it was an unbelievably fun night! I love just hanging out with a group of really close friends, completely relaxed and content in each other's company. 
Howeverrrrr, 'events'... occured, and I must admit I did leave more confused than I came, and since then I've been feeling a mixture of irritation, confusion, but also insane happiness about certain 'things'. 

Saturday afternoon, I went with one of my best friend's, Emily, to Somerset House in London to look at Tim Walker's exhibiton 'Story Teller', which was absolutely incredible and I adored more than any exhibition I have ever been to before! I've completely fallen in love with his work, and haven't been able to stop thinking about some of his pieces since. It was truly beautiful. Me and Emily spent a couple of hours wondering around and staring at the hot guys skating around on the ice rink, then went sales shopping at the Topshop nearby! 

they serve delicious hot chocolate! 

gorgeous architecture 

this is a picture of the ice rink that I edited - I really like it, especially the purple hues at the top and defined white scratches from the skates!

Some family friends came round for dinner on Saturday evening, and I had a lovely, long, girly chat with the daughter who's a few years younger than me, but unbelievably mature!

Sunday was an unproductive day, I got very little work done and spent most of the time watching movies online, but it was rather nice to have a bit of a rest (which I obviously definitely needed after being back at school for 2 days!). 

I got the result for my art AS Level mock today - I got an A (the highest grade), which I am unbelievably pleased about, as it's nice to know that all the time I spent on it and effort I put into it payed off!

I must admit, this probably isn't a very interesting post for the majority of you, but I thought I would share it, just in case anyone was interested!

Lots of love, 

Ellay xxx 

Spontaneity + travelling

Do you ever feel like packing up your camera, a notebook and some tasty snacks and escaping for the day? Or dragging a friend along with you to a remote beach in a not-too-near place, or a forest, or empty field, just to get away from the normal routine of life?

I love spontaneity with all my heart. I’m all for impulsiveness and sudden plans. As much as I love the anticipation of an exciting event, or to buy something, or see someone, etc. I’m an extremely impatient person and I much prefer doing things then and there. Recently, with school looming in the not-so-distant/not-distant-enough future and the thought of the boring repetitiveness of life in the New Year, I’ve had a craving to travel,  go somewhere new or do something unpredictable. I live in the south of England and with easy access to many different trains and buses, I find it quite difficult to resist hopping on one and getting off somewhere I’ve never been and exploring. However, despite this strong hunger for ‘newness’ and exploration, I don’t think I’m brave enough just yet to face the world (or rather, a little city/village nearby) on my own. And annoyingly, with this fear of independence, comes having to make plans with a friend that I’ve managed to convince to join me, meaning that I have to wait.
I don’t like waiting.

Brighton and Paris have been on my mind a lot recently. I would happily call them two of my favourite cities (is Brighton a city?) that I’ve visited and I’ve been longing for the touristy, beachy, fish-and-chippy feel of Brighton, and the elegant and classy atmosphere of Paris for a while now.

I’ve only been to Brighton twice and Paris once, but I knew instantly when I visited them that they were going to be places that I repetitively return to during my life, and of which lots of memories will be created around. I would say I have quite a reliable gut-feeling, in that when I feel like something is a bit dodgy/something bad is going to happen/something amazing is going to happen/etc., it usually does. I had a really strong gut-feeling when I visited both of these places that I was going to fall in love with them, and I have. 

the rather beautiful ruins of an old pier that burnt down years ago in Brighton 

 birdies on Brighton pier!

the pier - it's sooo beautiful. 

France...

 Pariiiiiiiiiis

 a view from one of the tall buildings in Paris :P (can't quite remember which - probably the Eiffel Tower)

 another stunning view

I also have an unbelievable amount of love for Iceland. It's probably one of the most stunning countries that I have ever visited, and I’ve been incredibly lucky enough to have travelled quite a lot with my family and seen many cities and sites. But Iceland was one of the countries that completely took my breath away, literally. It is visually beautiful, the people are so kind and the general ambiance of the country is just so peaceful and serene.

I went with my school on a geography trip to Iceland last October (2011) and some of the scenery that I saw will be some that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

Strokkur Geysir

lava field covered in mossy plants (it's bouncy when you walk on it!)

Glymur waterfall

Svartifoss waterfall - my favourite

a glacier and some snow-topped mountains

we saw so many vibrant rainbows!

(If anyone would like to see more pictures or know anything more about my trip/recommendations for places to go for any reason, let me know! :) ) 

Have you visited anywhere that you felt a special connection to and felt inspired by?

Lotsa love,

Ellay xxx