Heatwaves and Snowstorms.

Montana is known for having strange temperature changes, and apparently the highest to the lowest in a one day period. This past week or so has definitely demonstrated that. Last week was hot! I'm talking 14/15/16 degrees (celsius - still can't get used to that american fahrenheit) most days, t shirt weather by Montana winter standards. It meant a directing class being taught outside which was so nice, we acted on the grass and bathed in the hot sunshine. It was glorious.

Montana Hall in the Sunshine. 

This week involved a trip to Ben's for chilled out catch ups, soup, quinoa stew and beer, a birthday celebration for Mia, excitement for the long weekend (Yay Presidents Day), catch ups with my favourite Norwegians, a drive up to Hyalite Canyon (where it was -5 and freezing with loads of snow) at night to start a bonfire and throw sparks around with steel wool for photography class, along with a 7 hour cinematography shoot where everything that could go wrong did go wrong (yay learning) and a lovely valentines day spent with S exploring Bozeman by bike, and sipping orange beer out of mason jars (so hipster) with Ben and Juliet. Also, there has been a ton of work, my first critique for portraiture, studio days and yoga in between it all. Also got myself a locker in the gym, meaning that every time I want to get to my climbing shoes I have to struggle to open the weird american non sensical combination lock.

The warm weather made for some nice sunset walks for S and I complete with ice cream cones that had us reminiscing about Plymouth summertime. Also, another attempt to go ice skating with Mia failed again, this time we tried to go indoors since its so warm outside there is no chance of that, but the rink was hosting a hockey tournament the whole of that day so we could go on the ice. Did get to watch some ice hockey though. 

I also hosted a movie night with the English girls, we watched zoolander, ate lots, had a bonfire, impersonated harry potter and toasted marshmallows as the snow came down. It was really nice to have some girl time in the house where I am vastly outnumbered by males.

Studio time with the class. 

Sunset walk with S.

Sunset walk. Reflection in the University Barn's window. (Yes-the university has its own barn.)

Pancakes!

Main Street.

Bonfire times!

Birthday Celebrations for M.

I think that's about it for now. Excited for adventures to come!

A fun little weekend.

Since leaving school a couple of years ago, I have found that weekends are not always what they were built up to be....

Sometimes, here at university, you have no plans or nobody materialises from their room until late in the day or everyone is visiting home or doing other things. 

But, this weekend, we have been making the most of having some much needed time off after a busy week and it has been lovely so thought I would share.

On Friday, we had a five hour lecture session of assessed group presentations where my friend and I accidentally wore matching outfits, which amused our coursemates greatly. Once the session ended, the weekend began :) 

Since it was one of my flatmate's birthdays and also valentine's day, we all dressed up and made ourselves look presentable, and headed out for dinner. On the way there, we were nearly blown away by the gale force winds that are so normal in this part of the country, at one point, my friend Jack had to hold on to me and anchor me down as we thought the wind might drag me away. We eventually arrived safe and sound and had a wonderful dinner with lots of yummy food and much dessert :) that makes me a happy girl! We kept joking that it looked like the 8 of us were on some sort of quadruple date as the restaurant was filled with couples out for valentines meals. We also managed to tag down a waiter to take a photo of us all, only after we had taught him how to use it did we realise that it was still set on self timer from some of our previous attempts - at least that awkward ten seconds made us laugh for the photo! 

We also sang Happy Birthday to my housemate, took silly photos of each other, attempted to use a chocolate fountain with class and laughed at each other a lot - I really do have a lot of love for these flatmates of mine :) 

Favourite boys right there -----^ love their silliness - it definitely helps to keep things light hearted around here :) 

-----^ this last photo of us makes me giggle, I think it shows all of our personalities really clearly :) it makes me smile about these people I have come to know :) 

After dinner, we headed home, en route, we passed a gig in a record store, played hopscotch and us, girls had to hold onto our skirts for fear of the strong winds getting the better of us! 

Later on, we ran into some other friends of mine, did a little bit of dancing and I ended the night with a catch up with a housemate across the hall :) 

Saturday was a busy day! It was my first day volunteering for my course and chatting to prospective students about it and the university. It was a strange position to be in, as I was in their shoes not so long ago, feeling apprehensive and confused about the prospect of university. I was really against university and hated the idea of moving so far away and continuing to study, but after taking a gap year and doing some thinking, I decided to go because I found a course I believed I would like and luckily I do. My course is so brilliant for what I want to do and I actually really enjoy most parts of it. It was cool to get to tell other young people about it and also offer a bit of 

reassurance that university shouldn't be this terrifying thing that is full of unknown - it's actually pretty great :) 

I also witnessed a showdown from two of my lecturers who were fighting about which one of them was more of a man because one of them goes to sewing class, so they started limbering up and pretending to fight. It was very strange - arts lecturers are definitely unique you could say ;) 

After my stint was over, I met up with 3 of the guys who I'm friends with on my course for a debrief of the morning and a really funny walk around campus, I do love their craziness - it keeps things interesting - including one of them shouting about not wanting a free bag, and the other two trying to steal my lunch - how lovely :) 

I then headed back to my flat, which was clean for once thanks to the kindness of one of my flatmates parents, have spent the afternoon chilling out, doing a bit of work and headed into town as well! 

Tomorrow will involve a long photography walk with E, a roast dinner, a trip to the pub and a bit of organisation for the week :) 

Hope you are having a great weekend - how do you like to spend them? 

Stormy skies.

Well it has been a crazy week as far as weather goes. And yes, I do know that by writing this post and I am fulfilling the English stereotype of talking about the weather.

I don't think I really knew too much about bad weather until I lived in Devon. This week we have had storms and floods and 10m waves crashing against the shore.

The train line has fallen into the sea, our road became a lake (ducks started making a home on it), my room became a pool as water surged in from the roof and our little courtyard filled up once more as the rain and hail poured down in sheets. 

So now we are cut off from the rest of the country, I have been told it will take me AT LEAST 7 hours to get home and we have another week of this forecast ahead. At least it won't be as bad as the 9 hour journey W and I had to undertake from our respective Oxford/London to Plym on Monday/Tuesday - I left home at 4pm and we didn't get in until 1am, luckily we occupied each other with funny stories and silly games of marry, kiss, ditch. 

It's been a little crazy - I hope everyone has been staying safe and dry wherever you are! 

<3

Life Lately.

Life lately has been strange and wonderful and tiring and hard and full of new experiences. I can't believe I have been at university for nearly 6 weeks and how much things have changed but I am loving it (for the most part.)

I spend my days making films, taking photographs, listening to passionate people talk about how much they love creating art in class and trying to keep on top of everything. 

Nights are different, some nights will be spent dancing to 90s music surrounded by friends, others filled with laughter and movies, some spontaneous with a dip in the sea or a walk to see the sunset, others are work nights where we all stick our heads in our books and try to get things done. Sometimes there are water fights, or pranks or nerf gun wars and other times, I spent hours in the dark room developing films I have taken with a very patient friend. There have also been the very strange nights where we are stuck inside due to a burst pipe flooding our courtyard or the one time my flatmate and I spent the evening in A&E when he collapsed in the living room one afternoon (luckily he's fine now) - experiences like that really make me appreciate how much people have come to mean to me and how grateful I am about who I live with (for the most part hehe!) 

I am loving it for the most part and that is mostly thanks to the little family I now have here, being the 5 people that I live with, the 4 across the hall and the 3 upstairs. They are the best companions for adventures and fun nights and I love them for it. 

Special mention must go to the ones I am closest to for their friendship, support, comfort, hugs and giggles, I honestly don't what I would do without you, W, M, Z, G, L, E, A and S. 

But at the same time. I feel bad for not making more effort to make friends outside my block, I only know a handful of people on my course and although they are lovely, I only hang out with 2 of them out of class. Oops! 

Hopefully this will change as I am hoping to be more involved with things, now that freshers flu has passed and we are actually getting into the swing of things. 

I am also feeling grateful to live in a city by the sea where I can walk down the road and be sat on the shore within ten minutes, listening to the waves roll across the shore and feel the worries go away a little. 

I'm not even sure where I'm going with this post - just trying to jot down some memories before they fade because I'm loving this stage although its difficult and tiring and very strange, I think I'll stay.

Video: July 2013.

July was awesome, full of summer sunsets, outdoor swimming, visits from faraway friends, lazy hazy days, dancing, picnics in the park, running through fields, being touristy in my own city, reuniting with old friends, giggling fits, my sister's graduation, a day trip to Brighton, a gig or two, many bike rides and lots of good fun with friends. 

A few favourites this month: 

Music: The Kings Parade

         Kimberly Anne

Books: 'Before I met you' - Lisa Jewell

'N-W' - Zadie Smith

I'll miss you, July.

<3

#20 of the 30 Day Snap | Neighborhood Antics.

Read more about the series here and here.

Day 20. 

so this is what happens in our neighborhood, note the bird behind me! 

<3

#14 of the 30 Day Snap | London Skyline and best friends.

Read more about the series here and here.

Day 14.

Yesterday was so wonderful, we spent the afternoon in Greenwich, climbing up the hill to the top of the park to see the view of the London Skyline, it's amazing how far you can see, notable sights being: the Olympic stadium, the cable cars, the shard, St Paul's Cathedral and Canary wharf. It was so sunny and warm, we nibbled on strawberries and old fashioned sweets and chatted up a storm. I love these girls, it's so nice that we can just pick up where we left off even if we are apart for ages.  

What is your favourite way to spend a sunny afternoon with friends?

<3

#4 of the 30 Day Snap | Lazy Cat.

Read more about the series here and here.

Day 4. 

Today was a beautiful sunny day which meant a day with a best friend, a picnic in the garden complete with homemade guacamole, a bit of sunbathing with the cats, cycling all over the place, not wearing socks (this is an achievement in England), a photography exhibition in the town next to where I live and a quick stop for iced lemonade. A perfect summery day. 

This is Midnight, my companion since I was 5 and one of our two cats sunbathing on the picnic rug in the garden. I chose this picture for today as it kinda summed up our mood, just wanting to laze about in the sunshine, making the most of the good weather and being able to sit outside.

Are you joining in with the 30 day snap? If so, let me know, would love to follow along with you!

<3

#2 of the 30 Day Snap | Cafe from Above.

Read more about the series here and here

But, now on to Day 2. I was in Cardiff visiting one of my best school friends who is at university there and it was a lot fun. We had a lazy morning, delicious sandwiches at one of the top 50 cafes in the UK, did a sneaky bit of shopping, drunk quite a bit of tea and explored the bay where Dr Who is filmed. It was pretty cool and lovely to spend time with my friend.

I chose this photo of the cafe we went to, as I like the perspective from the balcony and the way everything is aligned.

The Cafe is called 'The Plan' and is in the arcades in the centre of town, I highly recommend it. It is cosy and quaint yet light and airy and the food is mouth watering and delicious. The service was great too and we loved how big our pot of tea was.

<3

Life Lately....

Across from L - R: ITALY: travelling across Italy with multiple suitcases and a guitar on my back,
a last afternoon with my friends in Cremona,
 ENGLAND: tea, reunited with my cats, beautiful spring sunset,
a cool design on the outside of the tube, Grandma and Grandad,
Richmond park with Danielle, delicious homemade salad,
spring blossoms at the park, Me at the top of a high ropes course for guides,
 tea on a early morning volunteering mission in the Chilterns.

The last two weeks have been strange as I made the decision to move back home to London from Italy. It had been a long time coming and the bad (my job) had begun to overrule the good (my friends, travel etc.), which was a shame, since the good was so awesome! I don't regret the decision, but I do wish there had been another way to stay a little bit longer.

Adapting has been strange, and it has taken me a little while to feel normal again. But I'm happy to be back, seeing friends and family, stroking cats, and making videos. Plus, I have the added bonus of knowing that I have a place at university to start in September doing the course that I want to! Life is Good and I'm excited for my friends to be home for the summer soon!

Listening to: Clouds by Zach Sobiech
Such an inspring and heartbreaking story but take the time to watch, it will make you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDC97j6lfyc - the song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjKgV65fpo - the documentary

<3

Making me smile this week....

This week, I have gone back to Italy after spending three weeks at home with family and friends for Christmas/New Year, it's a bit of a change, and I wasn't really looking forward to coming back (because home is where its at) so am making a conscious effort to note down the little things that are making me happy in order to appreciate things more.

the view at sunset from my host family's terrace.

1. Seeing the sunrise on the way to the airport in England.
2. Being greeted with grande abbraccio's (big hugs) and Peccatino's (little kisses)  from my two little Italian boys - excuse my Italian spelling. And also the happy greetings from my host parents.

the boys and I in the autumn.

3. Riding my bike again, gosh I do love my bike here! (and yes, there is a little seat for a 'bambino' on the back!)

my Italian bike. 

4.Making a friend in the English section of the Italian bookshop, we chatted about books and agreed to meet  up for chats and coffee in the near future - yay! Plus, she was an au pair in Ireland a few years ago so speaks perfect english and knows how it feels to be an au pair and was just genuinely lovely.
5. The fact that my camera does Bokeh (blurry light effects) - so exciting + trying it out all the time.

6. Editing the wedding video I filmed a few weeks back, I'm so excited to share it with the happy couple and hear what they think.

a still from the wedding video.

7. Wearing flowers in my hair every day, I love it, it always makes me feel cheerier. Except when my dad commented: 'I think you have a leaf stuck in your hair." - oh Papi

flowers in the hair. 

8. The market, happens twice a week in this city and is so easy and close and they have fresh delicious fruit + bright flowers and sell everything imaginable that you might need.

The bi-weekly flower market in the main square (maybe I can find some for my hair here?)

9. The prospect of one of my best (+craziest) friends coming to visit and/or coming to Italy for adventure travels together! Yayayayayayay!
10. Listening to a lot of Lucy Rose, her voice is so gorgeous, go check out her music, pronto! I suggest: 'bikes', 'Middle of the bed' and 'Shiver' - they are my personal favourites.

I just need to remind myself that I am very lucky to be living in an Italian city and travelling around such a beautiful country + staying with a lovely host family. Being away from home is difficult, but it isn't forever and I need to enjoy myself and go on adventures and learn Italian all while looking after the sweetest of boys. I've got it pretty good, I do believe.

what made you happy this week?

Ellie xx

The most wonderful time of year....

Christmas is my favourite: family time, Christmas music, festive head wear, lots of games and so much food and it is always so much fun!
This year was extra special, after living away from home for the first time and getting to come back and be swept away in the festive spirit! It is so nice to be back with family and friends and to spend time with them.

The past week has been so wonderful:

Wednesday: Woke up in my own comfy bed happy to be home, with a cat by my side, hung out with my sister (Lula) in the morning and then reunited with my one of my best friends in the afternoon, we did some Christmas shopping, had hysterics about talking key rings and caught up, in the evening, Lula and I decorated the 'tree of horrors' (as is tradition) while listening to festive music, and decided to rename it the 'leaning tower of horrors' due to the awkward way it stands on an angle.

the tree of horrors in all its glory.

Thursday: Was very rainy, met up with Lici and Darina and we braved Winter Wonderland, on the hunt for chocolate fruit and a sunset over the serpentine, but we ended up in EAT before strolling all the way to south ken, stopping to browse in Harrods and gaze in awe at pretty Disney-themed window displays, drool in bakeries and take silly photos!

Winter Wonderland adventures with Lici and Dari, + chocolate strawberries

Friday: A late lazy start, followed by meeting Eilean at Embankment and going for a five mile wander through Central London stopping for juice and brownies at Borough market, and to watch the skaters at the tower of London, admire Christmas lights, attempt to take bokeh-ey photos all the while as we caught up on our month apart! Then we headed back to hers for chicken goujons (our favourite), ukelele playing and bridget jones which made a giggle. We stayed up chatting until 2, giggling about our amazing ability to make every taylor swift song somehow relate to cheese.

our walk, from embankment to tower bridge along with London lights, delicious juice and
somerset house stop off. All with Eilean.

Saturday: Woke up at Eilean's house and we didn't manage to get out of bed until 11, when we finally got our act together, I headed to the station (oh, how convenient it is to have the tube, except when the destination of the train changes three times in one journey - make up your mind!) and met my auntie to do some last minute (but much needed) Christmas shopping, then we went to her house, for cousinly catch ups and gingerbread cookies. Then, our household had a Strictly finale party with all our neighbours and a projector, which involved made-up songs about turkey and crackers, various people dressing up as Santa Claus, a bit of glitz and lots of dancing, I love the Crescent Crew :)

Strictly party with the crescent. 

Sunday: (Christmas Eve Eve): More fun with the Crescent Crew (our neighbours/like family), first a trip to the park, scaring all of the passers-by with our festive singing and Kayleigh's echo from the trees, and then filming a sequel of sorts to our silent movie, which I am so excited to finish editing! It was so much fun and we had lots of giggles.
EDIT: Here is the finished film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpA-TLKKF7g

Our dance party at the end of the silent film! 

Monday (Christmas Eve): Always a busy day! Spent the morning wrapping other people's presents in a shopping centre for a wonderful charity with Lula, and then watching Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger in the afternoon with Mama, Tom and Jenny, which was very funny, though we got more hysterical when we got stranded on the side of the road not knowing where Jenny and the car were.... The rest of the evening was spent wrapping presents and preparing for the big day :)

Tuesday (Christmas Day): Our Family woke up at around 9 and we all sat around, giving gifts and opening presents together with the cats, then after eating chocolate for breakfast (tradition), we all got dressed and started preparing the food and clearing up the house (I was on parsnip duty), and then went over to our neighbours house for drinks and festivity, we chatted and ate and drank and mama managed to tip a plate of dips face down on the floor which caused widespread hilarity/mess. I love the neighbours so much! After  having my hair curled by K and C, I went back to our house and our family started arriving, we all sat around chatting and singing for hours, didn't finish Christmas lunch until about 6 when we started at 2.30pm, had a delicious dinner, ate so much, had an hour long conversation about male pattern baldness (don't ask), did the mobot in sync, played cards, gave gifts (and received some beautiful things) and just enjoyed each other's company! I love Christmas Day, after Doctor who and a sad episode of Call the Midwife and a cold walk around the neighbourhood, the extended family headed home and Mama and I watched Nativity! and laughed our faces off! Christmas to me, is about family and it was so lovely to see everyone and spend the day with all of us together just being jolly and festive :)

Christmas Day Collage.

Wednesday (Boxing Day): Boxing is always like a second Christmas Day to our family as we usually have the other side of the family around which is always fun. This year, we had my Grandad and his wife of 4 months Lauraine, who has been like family for a few years but they finally tied the knot in August. They arrived at about 12 with their two terriers in tow (who scared one of our cats into hiding) and we all caught up (as I hadn't seen them since September) and had roast beef and yorkshire puddings for lunch which was delicious, then we all sat around chatting in the living room, listening to Christmas carols and chatting. When they decided to start the drive back to Suffolk, they offered to drop me at my Aunt's house where the rest of the family were having the annual Christmas game night, so I went there for musical chairs (family tradition), Mister Hit, Wink Murder, Antler Hoop-la (best most hilarious game ever) and the 'tray' games. My Grandma was reduced to tears of laughter quite a few times, we all got hysterical and ate dessert and played games, and then G + G dropped me home in time to watch the new series of MIRANDA (oh how I love that show!)

Boxing Day Collage.

Out Antler hats and musical chairs. 

It has been the most brilliant and wonderful Christmas, I think going away has made me appreciate home so much more!
Hope that anyone reading this had a very Merry Christmas :)

Love Ellie x