Christmas at home...

 

We were only home in Norfolk for 5 days... but it was amazing. I ate too much, laughed a lot and got lots of hugs. Perfect!

The last photo on my left is my favourite - my cheeky sister stuck out her tongue, Harry moved and I'm barely in the photo... haha, awesome!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

p.s. The last christmas giveaway is still open!

p.s. and its nearly 2012, have a calender :)

12 for 2012 - a Christmas freebie!

I was planning on doing a best of 2011 photos post, when I realised that I had a lot of favourite photos with different cameras, so instead of a long post of photos, I made a calender for you all!

You can download it here!

(It's quite big file so it may take a while)

I haven't really done anything free before, so I hope you love these photos as much as I do.


(This calendar is for personal use only, I retain all copyright of the images and content.)

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!! 

I'm overexcited already :) are you?

Gingerbread hot drinks and biscuits. I loveeee gingerbread!

 

The same desktop (and now phone)background I use every year and our first (perfect!) christmas card!

Putting up the tree listening to our one christmas record - Fairytale of New York!! Also perfect!
(we are working on getting more...)

The tree and my favourite christmas decoration, stacking Santas!

Ornaments! A grumpy pug, an angel from NYC, a yellow camera (I still love it Micaela!) and a lovely tree from a even lovelier best friend.

Christmas food!

 

Warm hats, on cold, glorious winter mornings. 

Counting down the days...

(and messing around with my phone haha) 

p.s. how fun are tilt shift affects on these apps... they are my new favourite thing!

Harry really likes to open presents... II

and we really like Harry!

p.s. See Harry really likes to open presents part I here :)

Eep, its Christmas Eve!

Are you ready for the big day?!

We are... we've visted the family, we've eaten takeaway and now we're watching christmas movies and blogging.... haha, well I am!

Merry Christmas everyone!! See you in a couple of days!!!

p..s the winner of the That Kate giveaway is Julie

(I'll contact you after christmas day Julie!)

Merry Christmas!!

I will be doing a quick post tomorrow

(the giveaway is still on remember...)

but I wanted to spend the time to say

Merry Christmas

to you all today and wish you all happy holidays...

I hope your Christmas is everything you want!

p.s. posting may be a bit sporadic over the next two weeks but I'll be around!

Oh my...

These are possibly some of the most beautiful illustrations I've seen on Etsy...

All illustrations by Jessica Durrant Illustration


Oh gosh....
I want them all!

All I want for christmas...

is a snowflake christmas sweater...

...or any of these pretties in my latest treasury too.

p.s. seriously, I've never had an amazing christmas cardi/jumper - have you?

Oh my...

I'm feeling festive!!
It's the first of December, there is alot of snow in Leeds and I think the tree is going to have to go up tonight - I don't think I can wait until Saturday.

and... I found these amazing cards from Illustrated Cards on Etsy to help with the festivities as well! I may have ended up buying quite a few... I'm keeping them to myself though, haha.

I can't even decide on which is my favourite, can you?

p.s Feeling christmasy? Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a little christmas love from Me and The Dizzy Pixie!

It's getting close to that time of year again...

{image by Ktelqueen}

Now thats its getting (much) colder, the decorations are starting to go up around Leeds and lists are being made... I'm getting excited!!

This time last year, I wrote a post about sending christmas cards and I have decided that I want to send cards out again this year (hurray)

So if anyone would like to receive a card from me then send an email to

rhiannelouise {at} gmail.com
before the 25th of November (a month before... see what I did there...) with your postal address,

and if you want my address as well, let me know!

Eep, I'm so excited, I love love love christmas

(expect alot of christmas related posts nearer the time!)

p.s. If you have my address already - we've moved!! So let me know if you want it again!

Oh and if you don't celebrate christmas but still want a card from me then let me know as well!

I love mail! (and swaps!)

This weekend was so exciting!! I received my gift swap parcel from Erika (who's blog I totally adore - I was so excited when I saw who had sent it!) and I have to admit it is the most perfect gift ever!!

Chocolate, autumn feet photo postcards, lipbalm and look at all the yellow! I am seriously smitten with the owl purse - I used it on Saturday straight away...

and the yellow flash lomography disposable camera! Eep! Just perfect - we took out it on Saturday night as well and then went for a walk along the canal on Sunday just so I could finish it off!

Erika added that you can also reuse the camera so I included the photo of it open for anyone as curious as I was to see inside (haha) I'm picking the photos up today, hurray!!

Thanks Erika for the amazing present and Carly for hosting such a great swap :D

(Now all I need to do is get round to finishing the photoswap...)

Eep, look what I got!

The best thing about Christmas is asking for presents you know that you wouldn't really want to spend the money on (what with being careful with money and all) so I asked for the Fuji Instax Mini and my parents got me one, yeay!

I love love love it, the pictures turn out really well (though I did mess up the settings on a couple of these, I hope you can't tell...) and they make fantastic presents, I gave the other half of the photos that I took away - one to my Nanna and the rest to friends.

And the best bit? I still have 90 photos left to take! Yeay!!!!

p.s. Check out Molly's amazing post on Diamond in the Rough - I was a bit late posting it, oops!

p.p.s. Kate is having a giveaway of her happy is the new black cards, they are amazing!

Merry Christmas!!

(My ornament from Micaela's swap sent by Anna! I love it!)

Yeay, it is finally the Christmas holidays! I'm so excited about getting to spend it with my family!!

I've decided to take a mini blog break over the holiday - I probably won't have the time to blog anyway but I definitely been feeling overwhelmed by everything this month and I think a break would do me and my little blog some good (though I may post occasionally - I doubt I'll be able to stop myself!)

So hopefully come the New Year I should be refreshed, overexcited from too many sweets and surprises and ready to take on everything and anything!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas

and a Happy New Year

As an extra treat for Christmas you can enter a giveaway of one of my prints here - good luck!!

Oh and the winner of this weeks final christmas giveaway is: Shokoofeh

Well done, I'll email you my lovely!

Happy Holidays!

A fisheye Christmas...

These photos were all taken on my phone with the fisheye lens held in front of it - what do you think? Not amazing but still sooooo much fun :)

We started our Christmas celebrations last weekend watching some Carol Singers in Kirstall Abbey - it was the perfect location - just a shame none of us could feel our toes afterwards!

We then wandered about the Abbey for a bit drinking Mulled wine and taking photos (of course)

And then we had an amazing christmas dinner with our friends and we made Yule Log - I can happily admit that it was delicious!

I can not wait for the next few days!


p.s. Check out the latest featured blogger on Diamond in the Rough - I love her!

p.p.s. Don't forget about the last Christmas giveaway! The winner is announced tomorrow!

Things I've learnt from blogs this week...

It's one week until Christmas, I am so excited that this time next week
I will be at home in Norfolk, yeay!!

First up, the winner of this weeks giveaway from
Nioles beautiful shop With Love is
Marcela from The Joy of Enjoying!
Well done! Can you send me a email with your choice of earrings and address please?

And here's your links for this week - I am loving reading blogs at Christmas!

1. I love christmas inspiration!
2. Some perfect christmas polaroids
3. Cats+Snowmen= Teehee (Thanks Carly!)
4. Some pretty London ornaments.
5. Some delicious holiday treats.

Have a fantastic weekend - we're going to try to squeeze in as much Christmasy things as possible and of course take lots of fisheye photos, hurrah!!

Happy Friday (Thing's I've learnt...)

This week has gone by so fast but at least its the weekend, I have no plans other than curling up in lots of blankets and watching lots of Christmas movies

(many recommended by yourselves, yeay!)

First up - the winner of this weeks giveaway from Belens Boutique is Jenni

(who's favourite christmas film is Elf - which I will be watching on Sunday, yeay)

Well done Jenni - I'll send you an email!

A huge thank you to Belen who has added some beautiful things to her shop this week - you should check it out - especially this and this - so pretty!

So to feed my christmas excitement here are some christmasy links for you!

1. There are so many amazing gifts on etsy.
2. I am making one of these next year (well probably two)
3. I'm still not happy its so cold but Winter is pretty.
4. I love these christmas thrift finds!
5. Some lovely Christmas inspiration (I love the photo wreath!)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend - I'm really looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs - somehow my readers hit 1000+ again - oops!

Things I've learnt from blogs this week...

First thank you to everyone who's left a lovely comment on my last post - I thought about not posting it but I'm glad I did.

Secondly, we have a winner of the first christmas giveaway, yeay!!
The winner is Cassie!!
Well done Cassie! I'll send you an email! Check back on Monday for another great giveaway, I'm very excited :)

Here are some lovely links from this week - I'm trying not to make them all christmas ones but there are so many great posts about christmas around!

1. I love these moustaches!
2. I want to make these for christmas.
3. I love London at Christmas...
4. A tree of macaroons, yeay.
5. I want to make a list that looks like this
   (probably with the same things on it!)

I'm so glad its the weekend, I've been waiting forever for this one - all of the girls from Uni are coming for a christmas reunion, yeay! It should be really fun and I can't wait to see people!

I hope everyone has a great weeknd!

Blog loving!

I don't think I will ever get bored of blog love - it really is an amazing thing!

My first love today is Nicole and Hannah's new shop, with love!

Its so unbelievably pretty and you can buy some Rhianne's!!

I'm in love, how perfect are they? Yeay!

My second (never ending love) is for Diana from Our City Lights shop!

I honestly couldn't believe how many lovely things that she sent me, it felt like Christmas was early when I received my package in the post!

and how cute are the ribbons and envelope?

Diana is currently having a sale - so have a look around!
I'm almost tempted to buy more things myself :)

And finally a huge thank you to Amy for her beautiful christmas tree photo that I got in the post yesterday - it totally made my day after a particularly rubbish day at work!

I think it looks perfect on the mantle next to our christmasy candle!
(and the green on the right is a toy of Broby from Yo Gabba Gabba - we're obsessed!!)

p.s. Don't forget about my giveaway as well - it ends tomorrow!!

Christmas cards...

{image by Ktelqueen}

So two of my favourite blogging ladies Nina and Nicole have posted about sending christmas cards to their readers and after a mini debate in my head (what with most you lovelies not living in the UK) I decided that actually I would love to send christmas cards out too...

So if anyone would like to receive a card from me then send an email to

rhiannelouise {at} gmail.com
before the 20th of November with your postal address,

and if you want my address as well let me know!

Eep, I'm so excited, I love love love christmas

(expect alot of christmas related posts nearer the time!)

p.s. If you are in the photoswap and I already have your address I may jusy decide to send you a christmas card anyway :) I hope you don't mind...

Oh and if you don't celebrate christmas but still want a card from me then let me know as well!

Ornament Swap!

Yeay, another swap and again I am beyond excited!

The incredibly lovely Micaela from Dolce Vita is hosting a Christmas Ornament swap,

I love christmas, I love ornaments and I looove swaps!

To sign up, pop over here.

Oh and every person taking part will also be entered into a giveaway for a set of Diana's Library Themed christmas cards (swoon) and a set of Pride and Prejudice ornaments from Brookish. How amazing is that?

p.s. Evelyn, one of my favourite Holga photographers, is featured on Diamonds in the Rough today, eeeee!