Lorna Cole

As I’ve not been doing Blogmas this year I thought I could do a roundup of the lead up to Christmas!  Secret Santa   I participated in a Bloggers Secret Santa again this year and we opened our presents last week. I was kindly given some really lovely gifts, I’m especially looking forward to trying the different masks as it’s something I often forget to buy! Also Lindt chocolate is always a winner!  I also really enjoyed buying the gifts, it’s so fun to wrap everything up and see them open it! Big thanks to Casey for organising it - you can see a roundup of it on her  Instagram! Decorating   I think the thing that really kicks off the season for me is decorating the tree as it instantly makesme feel Christmassy! I think we have a fairly simple tree, with a red, white and wooden theme, I kind of wish we could have a tree that was decorated for every season! Christmas Shopping   I said on my Instagram recent...

I am working with Paperless Post, who kindly gifted me some coins to use on their website. However, all opinions are my own of course! Paperless Post is a company that allows you to customise online stationery such as greeting cards, invitations and flyers. You can then send them via email to the recipients, using your Paperless Post coins. These can be purchased, however, there are also some free cards available and you receive 25 free coins when you sign up too!  I was really impressed by the different designs they have, they are actually partnered with fashion designers like Kate Spade, Kelly Wearstler and Oscar de la Renta.  As we’re quickly approaching the festive season I thought this was the perfect thing to try out as it’s so easy to send Christmas cards! You can choose a design and then you have the option to customise the text, backdrop and envelope. They also offer photo cards so you can add your own photos to make it even more unique! Here are a couple of...

As I don’t want to force a favourites post every month, I thought I’d just do a roundup of things I’ve been liking when I feel like it! As I’ve not posted as regularly I feel like I’ve got a good selection to share today! Travel   As I mentioned in my previous  post , I spent a week away in Northumberland at the end of summer. We were pretty lucky with the weather so managed to spend a couple of days at the beach and did a lot of walking just to spend time outside. We also visited a cove in Dunbar, Scotland that I’d spent a lot of time at whilst on holiday 10 years ago, it brought back a lot of memories! We also went swimming, played mini-golf a couple of times and just explored the surrounding areas. I was able to take a lot of photos because the views were so nice and it was definitely good to get away and visit somewhere new!  Netflix   I’m always watching things on Netflix, a lot of the time its things I love and re-watch but it’s also great t...

Well, it’s definitely been a while, in fact, this is the longest I’ve not posted on here! I wanted to come back with a post talking about what I’ve been up to and why I’ve not posted for a bit.  There isn’t a big reason, I think it’s mostly because I’ve been dedicating a lot of my time to my Creative Arts degree. I actually have to upload my work to a blog and since I’ve been trying to work consistently and maintain that, I ended up neglecting this one sadly!  Another contributing factor is the fact that I wasn’t feeling too inspired with new creative ideas for this blog and didn’t want to write for the sake of it. Also, we all need to take a break sometimes! So, what have I been up to recently? Well as I said, a lot of my time goes into studying. I feel pretty productive and so far it’s going well as I’m making a lot of progress. I’m actually really enjoying learning and developing my knowledge again!  Something I've been trying to improve for...

As of today, I've officially been blogging for 2 years which seems so strange to say! I feel like I've shared a fair amount but thought I would do a get to know me better post as it's a bit of fun!  Favourite film?  I can never seem to choose just one favourite but I'm pretty into mystery thriller type films - especially ones with a twist! For instance, I love things like Shutter Island and Inception, anything that keeps you guessing or has an ambiguous ending. I also enjoy a good comedy, one that springs to mind is Hot Fuzz as it also has that twist element.  What is my Zodiac sign and do I agree with it? Well, I was born on March 10th, making me a Pisces. I wouldn’t say I’m overly clued up about horoscopes and astrology, I do find it interesting though! In terms of me relating to the general description of a Pisces, there are some aspects that describe me well for sure. In particular, the creative, charismatic, intuitive and adaptable traits desc...

I feel like we could all use some tips to boost productivity now and again, I know I certainly could! I've tried to come up with a few things that I try to use to help me stay motivated and achieve the things I set out to do. - Work out what time of the day you work best, I find I'm actually more productive later in the day so I tend to set myself tasks that require more focus in the evening. Obviously, this isn't always possible but I would recommend you have a think about when you feel most productive! - Try making lists to keep track of the things you need to do but keep it basic, you don't want to spend all your time creating a perfect list and not actually complete any of the tasks on it! - Do you prefer to work in silence? With music? Or perhaps you just need some sort of low background noise, setting the best environment for you can really help you to stay productive for longer. For me, I like to listen to music in the background so always ma...

It's so weird that we're getting close to it being halfway through the year already and I know it's a little late but I do have a good variety of things to share so here are my monthly favourites for April!  Movie Like a lot of people, I recently went to see Avengers Endgame at the cinema. Technically I went on May 1st but as it was released in April and I didn't want to wait for my May favourites I thought I'd just put it in here! Anyway, I thought it was a really great film, I enjoyed Infinity War so was definitely intrigued to see how it panned out! Personally, the 3 hours went by pretty quickly and I liked the action you expect from a superhero film, alongside snippets of humour and of course the deeper story (no spoilers here). If you've not seen it then I'd recommend it for sure! Music I've been a fan of Bastille pretty much from the beginning and I'd probably say they're my favourite band so it's certainly not a new thin...

Everything else has taken a backseat lately as I recently started a course with the OCA, I knew I wanted to get a degree but had no clue what and didn’t want to rush into something after school. I’d always planned to something based around creativity but could never decide on a certain aspect. The Creative Arts degree that the OCA offers allows you to study a range of topics, to begin with (Contemporary Art, Creative Writing, Visual Communications, Photography, Textiles) and then you choose 2 of these to develop further. This is perfect for me as I’ll be able to explore the different avenues and can make a better-informed choice on what I’m more interested in. Right now, I think I’ll choose writing and photography since I enjoy them both and think they could be pretty useful in terms of the potential careers I’d be interested in - another positive being the fact that hopefully, this will open up new job opportunities too. So what is the OCA? Well, the Open College of the Arts is...

Well, March is always a busy month for me, with multiple birthdays that our family celebrate and I always find that I have more plans in general. Perhaps it's due to the start of spring and whenever there is the first glimpse of some nicer weather, people tend to get out more! Nonetheless, I thought I'd share some things I've enjoyed throughout the month. Spring Time  We've had a few sunny days recently which tends to mean I go out more and despite not going to a garden centre for a least a few years, I've been to 4 in the last two weeks for various reasons. The first two times were just quick visits and then on Mother's Day we went to Porton Garden, Aquatics and Pets Centre and I did enjoy looking at the various animals, especially all the turtles as they're my favourite animal! We then went on to Wilton House Garden Centre as my Mum wanted to buy some different plants, I also decided that I definitely want to grow multiple fruits when I have my...

Since I recently turned 20, I feel like a know a fair amount about the sort of person I am now... though I definitely don't have my life figured out by any means! I also find posts that allow you to find more about the blogger interesting so thought I'd share 20 things about me here. I love exploring and travelling - Whether it's a completely different country or even just a new place within somewhere I'm already familiar with, I want to visit as many different places as I can! Learning has always been something I've enjoyed - I actually really liked school but besides that, I just like to learn and expand my knowledge as much as possible. I'm generally a pretty calm and chilled person - Most of the time I'm a very laid back person and don't get easily stressed or angry. I'm a hard worker but also equally good at procrastinating - I always work hard at whatever I do but I would probably get it done much quicker if I didn't procrastinate...

On Sunday it was my 20th birthday and it feels pretty weird to not be a teenager anymore, I'll admit (though in reality, I feel no different) but I had a lovely day and thought I'd share some of the gifts I kindly received! Globe Necklace I've had my eye on one of these for the longest time now, I'm pretty sure I even tweeted about it a while ago and I've definitely liked a lot of photos on Instagram! Unfortunately, I'm not sure which brand this is from but there are so many great places that sell them and you usually choose from gold, silver or rose gold. I really like the design and since I have such an interest in travelling, I thought it was perfect.  Jumper I've been meaning to buy a more boxy style jumper for a while now as I really like the cut of them and this particular one from Topshop is also an off the shoulder which I think can really add interest to an outfit. Grey is one of my favourite colours to wear too so I know it...

So January took forever but I blinked and February was basically over! Although I’m pretty glad about that as March is my birthday month so it’s always one I look forward to! However, before I start thinking about that I thought I’d go through some things I enjoyed throughout the last month. Beauty  I was recently sent a couple of product samples which were a lovely thing to receive in the post! The first being a Rituals Shower Oil which has a really calming scent and I'm looking forward to using it. Also, I was gifted two small perfume samples - the Black Opium Intense from Yves Saint Laurent and the Yes I Am from Cacharel. I always like to try out new fragrances and am really pleased to have been given these samples! Weather  We’ve had some pretty interesting weather recently, firstly with the snow that we had at the start of the month. I really love the cold weather and was looking forward to taking some snowy photos with my camera so was d...

Like me, everyone has times when it can be difficult to find the inspiration to write new blog posts. I feel like it’s easier to come up with ideas at certain times of the year but it can be frustrating when you can’t seem to write something that you’re happy with. I thought I’d share a few things that I try when writer's block hits me! → Pinterest - A classic go to for inspiration for pretty much everything, why not keep a board full of different ideas that you can come back to when you're feeling a bit stuck for fresh ideas. → Lists & Mind maps - Try making lists or if that’s not your thing then perhaps a mind map may help. I like to write down the things I enjoy and am interested in and often that can give me a burst of inspiration for some posts.  → Read other blogs - This is one of the best ways to get some inspiration for the content that's already out there. I'd recommend participating in blog chats as they're a great way to talk with and su...

I was recently lucky enough to be gifted a necklace from Statement Made Jewellery as part of their 2019 blogger programme, I'm really hoping to connect with more brands this year so I'm very glad to have this opportunity!  Statement Made Jewellery is owned by Steph, a qualified gemmologist and you can read more about how it all began here . I always enjoy discovering new jewellery brands and after checking out their website, I saw that they have some really unique and lovely pieces - including necklaces, bracelets, anklets and rings.  I was asked if the product they sent me could be a surprise which I was definitely up for as I don't tend to get many surprises really! Yesterday a parcel arrived containing a small pouch which was printed with their logo, as well as a certificate of authenticity and care instructions. I'd been looking forward to seeing which piece of jewellery I'd received and was very pleased with the result as I was given a gold necklace wi...

Well, once again January has lasted twice as long as every other month does (seriously though, why does it always feel like that?) Anyway, I thought I'd share the things I've enjoyed during the start of 2019.  Creativity  After receiving a new camera for Christmas, I've enjoyed taking photos whenever I can. I definitely need to get out and about to test it properly but it's been great just experimenting! I'm really hoping that we get some good snow because I'd love to get some great photos of that, I always think it looks so pretty! However, if all else fails, you can always count on a good sunset for a perfect photo opportunity.  Food I feel like I have to mention all leftover snacks from Christmas firstly as it's always a good day when you remember you've got a whole chocolate orange to eat still. I also am a big fan of fudge in general and hadn't had any for ages so was pleased when my mum picked up some of the Rydale Farm G...