Christmas Build Up Through The Lens

It is almost Christmas! The day that I am typing and posting this it is Christmas Eve. I have to be honest, I don't feel Christmassy at all, I can't really believe it is Christmas tomorrow!. This might be due to the fact that the Christmas holidays started so late this year and that I haven't had much of a Chrismassy build up to the 25th. Still, I am fairly excited about it being Christmas tomorrow and seeing people opening their presents and having nice food!

I didn't post nearly as much as I wanted to post this month, but because I have taken a few Christmassy photos these past 2 weeks I thought I would just share these on my blog!

// My gingerbread men phonecase is perfect for this time of year!// I bought these really cute mini stockings for decoration.// Here is a corner of my room that I like to call my Christmas corner!//

//Another christmassy shot of my room, I really like this part of my room, and this was the first year that I could decorate this part because I only got those shelves this year!// A shot of some chocolate can't not be included!// A cute shot of my tsum tsum collection surrounded by some Christmas lights.//

// I really like coffee and Starbucks but I don't buy Starbucks that often so it is quite special that I got two coffees from there in one week!// A shot of some Christmas lights in town.//

I also went iceskating twice this week after not having done that for years. I was pleasantly surprised that I could still iceskate! I didn't take my phone onto the ice, so I couldn't take any photos.

Thank you very much for reading!

I hope you all have a very happy Christmas if you celebrate it!


Love,

xoxo

Stocking Fillers // £10 or under £10 Gift guide

While I was doing some online Christmas shopping I saw so many cute things that I couldn't resist putting some of these cute gift ideas together for another Christmas Giftguide.

All these things cost £10 or less! So if you are still looking for some Christmas gifts maybe this post will be somewhat useful to you. This giftguide is also very suitable if you are looking for secret santa gifts!

There are of course so many under £10 and gifts useful as stocking fillers out there, so putting some gift ideas together is quite hard, but like my book gift guide these gift ideas represents the general idea if that makes sense.

1.  I saw these adorable dolphin keyrings and I couldn't resist putting them in this gift guide (and buying them!)
http://www.sassandbelle.co.uk/shop-by-product/bags-accessories/keyrings-travel-accessories/vintage-mini-whale-keyring/

2. If you are particularly struggling with finding good stocking filler gifts have a look on this site. On here I found these quirky Starwars torches, perfect for somebody who enjoys Starwars!
http://www.stocking-fillers.co.uk/fillers/under-10/star-wars-yoda-kaleidoscope

3. A notebook is in my books always a good gift! You can go for a very expensive notebook but of course there are also loads of very cheap notebooks out there! This particular one is from Sass and Belle
http://www.sassandbelle.co.uk/christmas/stocking-fillers-secret-santa-gifts/vintage-map-big-ideas-notebook/

4. This is something that I put on my own Christmas wishlist, this is a little Christmas giftset from Thisworks. It includes the mini deep sleep pillow spray and a mini deep sleep stress less aromatherapy roller. I have been wanting to try the deep sleep pillow spray for ages and I finally got round to asking for it for Christmas. If I find that it works well for me I will probably buy the full size. So if you know someone who has trouble sleeping sometimes, this is a very nice gift, also because it has lovely Chrismassy packaging!
http://www.thisworks.com/gifts/christmas-gifts-136/dream-team.html#sthash.Vm17rATK.dpbs

5. I think anyone with a phone would be happy with a phonecase! Again, this is one of these gifts that can be very expensive but also very cheap. This particular one is from Forever21
http://www.forever21.com/Product/Product.aspx?br=F21&category=ACC&productid=1000227646

6. A giftcard is always a good idea, especially when you are really stuck, and you don't have to worry about whether the person likes the present because he/she can just pick something out themselves. And it is often up to you how much money you want to put on the card. When they like coffee a Starbucks giftcard is obviously great.

7. A candle. There are so many scented candles out there at the moment. Candles are another one of those items that you can spend either loads or not that much money on. This particular Christmassy one is from George, Asda.
http://direct.asda.com/George-Home-Decorative-Jar-Candle---Golden-Vanilla/001708157,default,pd.html

8. Sass and Belle have various of these cute foldable shopping bags. These are so useful nowadays as you don't often get bags in shops anymore, so when you go shopping you can take one of these bags with you!
http://www.sassandbelle.co.uk/christmas/stocking-fillers-secret-santa-gifts/sheep-foldable-shopping-bag/

9. I peronally love tsums tsums so I added them to this gift guide! Tsums tsums are of course not everybody's cup of tea, but if you know someone who loves Disney, this could be a good gift, beware though once you have one you want to collect more! When you are really stuck for stocking fillers a soft toy is always a good option.

10. While I was looking around on the site full of stocking fillers I came across these rubber ducks with numbers on them, very random I know but they could be useful for children learning to count, or you could make up games using the ducks.
http://www.stocking-fillers.co.uk/fillers/under-10/counting-rubber-ducks

11. I love mugs and I think they will always make up a good present. Mugs with letters can make the present just that little more personal. These particular mugs are from Sass and Belle.
http://www.sassandbelle.co.uk/shop-by-product/kitchen-dining-accessories/tableware/bohemian-alphabet-letter-mug/

12. Last but not least, Chocolate! Chocolate is always a good gift to put in a stocking, or even to put under the tree!

And that is the end of a very random giftguide! You might have gotten some inspiration from this, who knows!

What is your favourite stocking filler?


Thank you very much for reading!


Love,

xoxo

Week in photos // December

Remember how I wanted to post a bit more on my blog this month? Yes me too.  I wanted to post this blog slightly earlier but oh well, things are pretty busy at the moment and I just couldn't get round to writing this post earlier! Hopefully I'll be able to do at least some mid-week posts this month!


Here are some snapshots showings the things I got up to this past week!

//In December we always visit a garden centre near us that goes all out when it's Christmas. We had some dinner here and then we went through the whole shop. Here are a few Christmassy snapshots of this trip.//

// One last snapshot from the garden centre.// This year's advent calendar.// I started burning this candle, it's the wild berry scented candle from George Home.//

// I started writing some flashcards, I find flashcards very useful when it comes to revision.// In the train I read a bit of Oliver Twist.// I couldn't help taking a picture of Emmerdale on the screen because that can't really be missing in a week in photos, as I watch that 5 evenings in a week!//


What did you get up to this week?


Thank you so much for reading!

p.s. Christmas is getting closer and closer!

xoxo

Book Related Gifts // Christmas Giftguide

I really want to post more blogposts this month, to kind of do my own Blogmas. I could never really attempt Blogmas because I simply do not have the time and if I would post everyday this month I would not have any ideas left for 2017!

In this post I'd like to share a few book related gift ideas with you. I love reading and I honestly think books, especially coffee table books make great Christmas gifts! Personally I would love to give and receive all these gifts!

As there are so many books and book related things out there, I picked out 10 gifts that basically represent the general idea.

1. There are quite a few books out there which are great for people who love creating writing. Maybe they are doing a course on it, or it is just a hobby, either way these kinds of books would be perfect for them. These books will often offer topics or certain situations to inspire people and get them thinking (What would a character do when they are in this kind of situation?) This particular book gives the reader 5 minute exercises which will really develop them as a writer and these excercises could help them when they are stuck for ideas!

The Five-Minute Writer by Marget Geraghty.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Minute-Writer-Exercise-inspiration-creative/dp/1845283392

2. There are many books on mindfulness out there and I would definitely call some of them coffee table books. If you know someone who could do with a bit of insight on how to relax and destress this book would make a perfect gift for them! I know I would happily receive books on this topic! :)

The Little Book of Midfulness by Dr Patrizia Collard

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Mindfulness-Minutes-Stress-ebook/dp/B00J3C4YTE

3. This is a perfect gift for book lovers that isn't a book! You can find many of these 'book' bags on the site that I will link below. Personally I absolutely love the classics bag range from Penguin and these are of course a well fitted gift for people who love to read classics!

https://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/collections/tote-bags

4. If you know someone who has an absolute favourite book, you might want to have a look whether there are different covers for that book. I know Penguin do some lovely covers for some of the classics. Books with gorgeous covers are perfect to put on display!

5. Moving on to another book related gift! Mugs! Who doesn't like a nice mug? On the Literary Gift Company site you can also find Penguin classics mug, but you can also find loads of other mugs related to books! You could make a cute little hamper including a mug, a book and maybe a pack of biscuits!

https://www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/collections/mugs-1

6. Ahhh coffee table books! I think they make an amazing gift. There are so many out there so I'm sure you will find the right one for someone. As an example I picked a book that I would love to receive and have a good look through. I think the photo on the cover says it all!

https://www.amazon.com/Destinations-Lifetime-Worlds-Amazing-Places/dp/1426215649

7. Another book that could class as a coffee table book, but also a book that could be very useful to someone is this book. There are so many books that will be useful to someone because of their hobby. This one in particular will make a good present for someone who loves drawing or wants to improve their drawing skills.

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/uk/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=5620449634649&category=BOOKS-STATIONERY-EU

8. 'Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival.' I've seen this book circling around the internet quite a lot recently.

Personally I am not mad keen on poetry but lately I have started to appreciate it a bit more and I have gotten more interested in it so I would love to get this book. If you know someone who is into poetry or maybe just getting into it this will probably make a very good gift!

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

https://www.amazon.com/Milk-Honey-Rupi-Kaur/dp/144947425X

9. Is that another coffee table book? Yes! I came across this book in a gift guide this morning and I had to add it to my own one! This is a book full of words that have no direct translation in English. I absolutely love the cover and it has loads of drawings in it.

Lost in translation by Ella Frances Sanders

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Translation-Illustrated-Compendium-Untranslatable/dp/0224100807

10. Last but not least I thought I'd add a 'proper reading' book that isn't a classic. If you know what kind of genre a person is into it can be fairly easy to find a book that they will like. Even though I know it isn't always that easy especially when a person already has loads of books but maybe you can gift a person with a fairly new book. Another really nice idea is gift someone a book that you personally absolutely love! I put The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky in the collage as that book is one of my asbolute favourite books!

- Another gift idea is giving someone a book that's been made into a film and also give them the film on dvd! I think that would make a really nice set.

I really hope you found some inspiration for book related presents!

Thank you so much for reading!

Love,

xoxo

Hello December!

picture from: https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/551972498054776694/

It's the first of  December.....

Which means it is time to open advent calendars and watch vlogmas!

For me, November flew by very quickly, a lot quicker than October even though October only has one day more! I am very happy that it is December as I love Christmas and the countdown to Christmas.

I though I'd write a little post discussing a few things I'd like to do this December, basically my December goals if you will.

My main goal is to start feeling festive and preferably not at the end of the month but starting now.
To be really honest I am not really feeling that festive at the moment at all and I don't really know why, maybe it is because I haven't listened to Christmas music yet, In all honesty I have kind of put of listening to Christmas songs. I don't actually know when I usually start listening to Christmas music maybe I always wait until it's actually December. I do feel that is a good time to start because otherwise by the time it is Christmas all those Christmas songs will be coming out of my ears.

So listening to Christmas songs is a definite must and will put me into a festive mood!

Decorate my room: every year I decorate my room. I have a little Christmas tree that I put up. I love unboxing all the familiar decorations, I always forget what I have! We also decorate the rest of the house and put up a Christmas tree but decorating your own personal space has to best because you are the one deciding what you put where.

Wrap Christmas presents: wrapping Christmas presents is actually one of my absolute favourite things to do! We have bought some really cute wrapping paper this year so I can't wait to get started!

Buy presents: to be able to wrap presents you first need presents! I do have quite a few Christmas presents already but there are also quite a few presents that I still need to buy.

Relax: I have been getting really worked up about school and schoolwork lately and I really want to try to be a little less stressed this month. This is my absolute favourite time of year and I don't want to ruin it by feeling stressed. The Christmas holidays also start very late this year, so if I had to wait until the holidays started, to feel relaxed and festive I'd be feeling relaxed and festive for just 2 days or so before Christmas Eve and I'm not fancying that at all!

Write a 2016 related blogpost: I really want to write a cute blogpost in which I mention some of my favourite moments/things that happened in 2016. I do have to give myself plenty of time to write that blogpost though because if I have to write is last minute I'll forget to mention loads of things!

Read a few books over the Christmas holiday: recently I haven't had any time to read for pleasure even though there are so many books on my bookshelf that I am desperate to read! Hopefully I'll be able to read a few books that are top on my TBR list!

Have a lovely Christmas day: this is a obvious one I guess but I am hoping to have a lovely Christmas day and then I don't mean that I wish to get loads of presents, I mean to just have a lovely day with my family and eat loads of chocolate!


What are your goals for this month, let me know!

Thank you so much for reading!

xoxo

Personal: Weekly thoughts // November

                                          https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/262686590743066796/


Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a very good week and I hope you are ready to read a blogpost that is kind of all over the place.


I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about for today's post but I've decided to a quite personal post because after all, this is a little space on the internet where I can write about whatever I want. My blog is also for me personally a really nice way to look back on certain moments/mindsets in my life.

Let's get into some of my thoughts that were running through my head this week!

This week wasn't the easiest of weeks. I thought a lot about the future ( this isn't always a great thing to do as you might all know ). I thought about what I actually want to do with my life, what I want to do as a job and where I would like to spend (the rest of) my life.

I am doing a teacher training course at the moment, but I am not sure whether I want to be continue this course for the full 4 years because I have other aspirations that don't really go well together with this course. (Vague I know).

We have to make such important life choices ( what do we want to do as a job for a very long time?) at such a young age, and for must of us it is very hard, and we can make the wrong choice. For me personally I don't think I've made a bad choice as such, but I'm not sure I am ready for this course yet as I'm still very young. I'd really like to learn more and get more experiences first.

For the 2 to 3 people reading this post and wondering what I plan on doing at this moment in time, I'm going to try my hardest to pass all my exams, this will enable me to finish this first year, and go on to do some things I really want to do.

I am aware of how unorganized and probably very vague this post was. It was just nice for me to write some of my thoughts down :)
Please feel free to leave any comments regarding this subject down below!

Thank you very much for reading!

xoxo

Personal: What i have been loving // October

Hello everyone!

I really wanted to write a post where i look back on the past month and tell you guys what i have been loving/enjoying or what has been making me happy. I guess these post are going to be a kind of monthly favourites.
October is normally my favourite month but this year it seemed to drag on a bit but nevertheless there were definitly some things that made me happy this month. I hope you are ready for a lot of rambling and coming across quite a few sentences in brackets.  Enjoy! :)

Music// James Arthur's album Back From The Edge came out at the end of October, but I am still going to include it in this post because I have been listening to it non-stop, especially the last few days of October just after the album came out. I love his style and i can honestly say I love all the songs on the album. Then again after the amazing song Say You Won't Let Go, could we really expect anything else?

I am a massive fan of Little Mix ( I am most definitely a Little Mixer ) and the girls released their single 'Shout Out To My Ex' this month, I am pretty sure most of you will have heard the song and it is an absolute jam right? So that song has also been on repeat this month.

Books// I only managed to finish one book this month, at that was a book that I actually had to finish because it was for school. I read Black Swan Green by David Mitchell. I did really enjoy this novel as it was a coming of age story, which I tend to really enjoy. So even though it was a book i had to read for school, it was definitely one of those books that i would read for pure enjoyment. The book is about a 13-year-old boy living in an English village and how he matures and develops better relationships with his family members over the course of a year.

My birthday//  I am slightly ashamed of the fact that I wrote this bit after I finished the whole blogpost, but i kind of forgot it was my birthday this month? I did have a nice day and I got some lovely presents and had some very nice food. I turned 19 and whenever i say that (or type in this case) i feel very old.

Trips away// I would literally forget to mention this even though I took the photo above during this little trip away. Me and my parents went to Canterbury for two nights this month it was kind of a birthday shopping trip, even though it is obviously not on our doorstep. I bought quite a lot (oops) and had a lovely time!

My next favourite is probably a bit of a strange one but probably my most favourite favourite!

Super Soap Week // This month has been crazy when it comes to soaps. I have been watching hollyoaks and coronation street for a while now, and i occasionally watched Emmerdale. I did follow the storyline of two of (if not)  the most popular characters on Emmerdale (Robert and Aaron) but I didn't watch the show every weekday. But that all changed didn't it? I knew exciting things were coming up on the soap and I think I started watching it every night somewhere at the beginning of September. Then Super Soap Week happened ( 17-21 of October) and i am honestly so glad that I watched that week. It was absolutely amazing and not to mention very gripping. Needless to say I am now absolutely obsessed with Emmerdale (I would probably say it is my favourite out of the three I watch) and now i watch it every night.

Social Media // This is probaly also a bit of  a weird favourite, don't worry i haven't just discovered social media! But I could probably say that I have re-discovered certain social media websites. All this has also to do with Emmerdale. I have followed many 'fanaccounts' on twitter and on tumblr and would definitely consider myself to be part of that fandom. I have definitely spent half the month on tumblr and espically twitter which sounds sad but has in fact made me incredibly happy!

(I am aware of the fact that for you readers that don't watch Emmerdale the last part has made no sense at all, i'm really sorry I just really love my soaps) :)


What made you happy in the month October? Let me know!

Thank you very much for reading!

xoxo

My first post; who is behind this blog?

Hello everyone!
This is my first post on this blog, so i think this is the perfect time to tell you who i am.

I have had a blog before but i stopped posting because i just didn't really know what else to post on there anymore. This was probably because it was a more beauty related blog and that just wasn't me anymore.

So what is this blog about then you might ask

I don't really know the precise answer to that question, but what i do know is that i will  be posting about stuff that i love.

So who am I?

My name is Mary-Frances, but loads of people know me as Mo. I am 19 years old and i live in the Netherlands. Why do i write in English? Mainly because i read ( books, blogs) and watch/listen (tv and youtube) more in English than in Dutch. Secondly I am studying to become an English teacher so all of this is good practice. Last but definitely not least i am half English and i love the English language and Great Britain a lot. All in all it makes a lot more sense to me to blog in English. :)

What do i love?

I love reading, singing, listening to music, watching youtube and scrolling through social media. But mostly you will probably find me watching soaps. Emmerdale is my absolute favourite soap with Hollyoaks being a close second. Not to forget i love drinking tea!


I hope you enjoy my blog!

Thank you for reading,

xoxo