We {Harte} Aly

I thought it was about time I got this blog back up and running, and what better way to do it than with a giveaway! If this is your first visit to my blog, hello! It's very nice to have you here, and I hope you'll pop back again. I promise to have posts more than once every 3 months!Living in Northern Ireland has its fair share of downsides (rain, grey skies and a minimal difference in seasons to name but a few), but over the past couple of years I have been more and more aware of the positives of living in this wee country. Obviously, we entered the Euros with the highest unbeaten rate in qualifiers, our landscape and countryside is beyond stunning, and we have an incredible amount of talented artists and creatives for all the size of us. Instagram, in particular, has introduced me to so many amazing and talented people. Folk like linesandcurrent, gatheredthreads and padhraic_mulholland to name but a small few.However, my own walls are pretty much sponsored by my amazing friend, Aly Harte, local artist, blogger and mumma to 3 beautiful boys. Aly's work is full of energy and passion and often highlights aspects of the everyday in a way you've never seen it before. These images are genuinely photos I took around my home earlier today - we really do love Aly's work!     All you have to do to enter is comment below telling me which of the prints you would like and where you would display it. Easy! And to up your chances of winning, pop over to my Instagram account, @jblifedocumented, for information on how to enter there as well.Good luck with your entries. I'll pick a winner on Friday 17 June and announce it on my Instagram account at around 9pm, so be sure to follow so you don't miss out!If you'd like to stay in touch and hear about new posts and random snippets from me, please do sign up for my newsletter which I hope to get kick started again towards the end of the month.   

lately in photos

I'm not one for resolutions, but each year I like to choose a word that I'm going to focus on and allow myself to be inspired by. This year my word is *achieve*. I thought I might as well set the bar high!There are so many things I hope to achieve this year, from doing an open sea swim to reading 50 books. But one thing I really want to achieve is more focus on my photography, both personally and professionally. I'd love to be able to do what I love full time and have myself a lovely creative little life (even with all the hard work that goes along with those sorts of dreams).So with that in mind, I've embarked on a bit of an Instagram journey. It's my all time favourite social media platform, so full of inspiring photos and lovely people and really just a jolly place to while away the hours! Through Instagram, I found the most beautiful feed from Emily Quinton, which led me to her website, Makelight, and her online courses. And then I enrolled in one to help me grow my business through the magic of Instagram! Look at me being all achieve-y!So to that end, I've begun a new gallery to tie in with my blog, client work and Facebook page. This week, I've spent some time working on my images to create the kind of gallery that I hope you and my clients would like to see. It's a bit of what my life looks like, what inspires me, things I find lovely and some images of my work. If you're on Instagram, I'd love you to come and have a look. You can find me @jblifedocumented. And if you're not, fear not! I've a few images from the last week to share with you here!It's been a week of books, cups of tea, walks and sitting by the fire. Obviously there's been a lot of other stuff but it doesn't look too pretty so I think it's better suited to not being photographed! I might even try and do this a bit more regularly, if having a nosey at my days wouldn't bore you to tears! The reading and a cup of something really does seem to be a recurring theme, doesn't it?! To which end, if you've any recommended reads to share with me I'd love to hear what they are. Just drop me a wee comment and I shall add them to my list for the year!