Lorna Cole

I know this year was very different for everyone and some of your plans will have been completely ruined but I hope you were able to enjoy Christmas as best you can. Despite living in a tier 2 area, I spent Christmas at home with my immediate family which isn't much different from most years. We'd usually visit family in the days after but obviously haven't been able to this year, I'm lucky to have had a relatively normal Christmas though.  I've seen a lot of people feeling unsure about posting what they got for Christmas this year, but generally, it seems people want as much normality with content as possible. I'm also very grateful for the gifts I received!  I actually treated myself to a new laptop as my old one stopped working earlier in the year. Since I've just applied to new university courses it was definitely a worthwhile purchase and I put some money I recieved for Chrismas towards it!  Usually my grandparents will give me money so I can buy things...

We’re all going to be pros at finding things to entertain ourselves after this aren’t we! Being stuck inside feels very familiar, however, without the warm weather that accompanied the first lockdown. I thought I’d share some of the things I enjoyed doing and some ideas to pass the time over the next few weeks.  Get some fresh air  One activity I really enjoyed and valued during the first lockdown was getting out and going on regular walks around my town. When restrictions were eased more I also travelled to quieter beaches since I love being by the sea and find it so relaxing! It's definitely harder to get outside as much during the colder months but I've still made an effort and always feel better for it. Here are a few photos I've taken whilst out on walks this year! Watch anything and everything  The most obvious go-to activity is of course watching films or tv shows. I’ve spent my time watching all the cheesy Christmas films on Netflix recently and have no complaints...

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...

December is always a busy month and the one I look forward to most! So, I thought I should share some of the things I enjoyed over the month, which seemed to fly by! Experience  Now, of course, I had to mention Christmas as a whole since it is the thing that makes December my favourite time of the year! I enjoy the whole lead up to Christmas and spend most of my time watching Christmas films, listening to Christmas music and eating a lot of food! It’s also really lovely to see family and Christmas Day itself was amazing too. I was lucky to receive some brilliant gifts which you can check out here ! Film We finally went to see Mary Poppins Returns which completely lived up to my expectations, I'm a big Dinsey fan and new I had to watch this when they announced it. I loved the new story and thought Emily Blunt was absolutely perfect for the role, Lin-Manuel Miranda was also incredible! I also think that the nods to the original were really well done and it’s definitely a ...

Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, holiday or just a nice time if you don't celebrate anything! I know these posts aren't everyone's cup of tea but, I'm very grateful for everything and am not bragging at all, I just think it's interesting to see what people received. Also, I like to be able to document all the gifts I was given this year as something to look back on.    My main present this year was a Fujifilm Camera which I was so excited to open, I've been interested in photography for as long as I can remember and plan to start a Creative Arts Degree which will help me to develop my photography skills. It's also going to come in really handy for blogging too and I can't wait to start taking better photos for my posts! I've been meaning to get a new pair of shoes for a while now so this year I asked for some Nike trainers.  I wanted black ones since they go with pretty much anything and have a feeling this w...

Christmas Eve is often a very busy day and begins with the chaos of getting all the final bits ready for Christmas. We usually collect and deliver presents to different family members and do some last minute shopping for any food or essentials. My Mum then prepares some bits for Christmas Dinner and my evening usually kicks off with the annual trifle making. I’m not sure how many years I’ve been making one for me and my Dad but it’s at least 6+ so it’s become a tradition now! The evening is (hopefully) a bit more chilled out and we usually watch a Christmas film. This year’s pick is The Muppet's Christmas Carol! One of my favourite traditions is getting a few gifts to open on Christmas Eve. Most often, this consists of some new festive pyjamas which we usually put on straight away and have them for Christmas morning. I’ve had multiple designs over the years and this time I received this matching grey fairisle set which I really love! Luckily it’s not too thick as I hate getti...

 I was recently tagged in The Christmas A-Z Tag by the lovely Gemma, you can check out her post  here  or head over to her blog:  Hidden Little Gem . The purpose of this tag is to essentially share the things you love and associate with Christmas - using each letter of the alphabet of course! Finally, make sure you tag more bloggers to complete it as well. A -   Absolutely everything. I thought I'd start there because that encompasses it all and instantly covers how much I do love Christmas! B -  Buying the tree is something I always like to do because we usually get it at the start of December which really kicks off the festivities!  C -  Chocolate is definitely one of the best things about this time of the year, it's great always but you just have an excuse to eat so much more! My favourite has to be a Terry's Chocolate Orange! D -  Decorating the tree is another thing I enjoy because it instantly makes me feel so Christmass...

At last, it's finally my favourite month of the year! I'm going to attempt to do the 12 days of Blogmas this year and to begin I thought it would be nice to look back on the things I enjoyed over the last month. The posts will become much more festive after this for sure!  Homeware I love fairy lights in general but they are a total must have around this time of the year because they can really make anything look so much more festive! I also cannot wait to get our Christmas Tree so we can decorate that with all the lights too! Another thing that I love about the colder weather is the various hot drinks and creative flavours. I’ve recently enjoyed making cinnamon hot chocolate and of course, had to have it in a festive mug! I got this one last Christmas and it’s the perfect size when you want to have a cosy evening. Fashion I mean I'm not really sure if pyjamas count as fashion but hey! I'm obsessed with Christmassy pyjamas and I've collecte...

Something I've wanted to do for a while is to go to a pick your own farm. I didn't get a chance to go in the summer but we decided to check out the Ansty Farm for my Mum's birthday just to have a wander around and see what was left. The Ansty PYO and Farm Shop is only 10 minutes down the road from us and I really don't know why we've not been before! As it's October I knew there wouldn't be a massive choice of things to pick, however, the main thing I wanted to find were raspberries and luckily there were still some about. Due to the recent bad weather, the people working there weren't sure if there would be much to pick but after having a walk around we actually managed to find some really nice raspberries. We also were able to get some golden raspberries, which I'd never had before but was definitely intrigued. It was quite strange to see yellow raspberries but they tasted pretty similar to the usual ones and I'm surprised you don'...

I just recently came back from spending a week in Belgium with my family. I'd only visited Belgium on a school trip before so was really looking forward to exploring it a bit more. We stayed in a cottage on the Flemish Coast - in between Middelkerke and Westende. Our accommodation was lovely, especially the garden and I also had a cute little bedroom in the roof! The first few days were fairly relaxed and spent exploring the area, It was lovely to be only a 5-minute walk from the beach and to be walking distance from the two towns. I really enjoyed spending lots of time outside and just appreciating the views of the beach, especially in the evening as I took some gorgeous photos! We also went swimming in the pool, it was freezing but very refreshing and definitely made me want to swim more regularly. I wasn't expecting the weather to be amazing but it was fairly sunny and warm for most of the week, however, we actually went bowling and played crazy golf when the weat...

Turns out we're in August already, I'm not sure where this year has gone but here we are. A few days ago I watched the trailer for the new series of The Great British Bake Off which I definitely associate with Autumn. Seems like we're well on our way to the end of the year already! Anyway, before I get ahead of myself here are a few things that I enjoyed through July. Experience I saw quite a lot of different family members this month, we went to a christening and then spent some relatives on my Mum's side - she has a huge family who are fairly spread out and I hadn't seen a lot of them for quite a few years so it was nice to see some familiar faces! Towards the end of the month, my Uncle and younger cousins - Rudi and Aya visited. He is 3 and she is about 6 months now, I hadn't seen them since March so it was amazing to see how much they had both grown, he is quite the joker and she has just changed completely since she was so tiny last time we saw ...

Yes we are approaching the end of July but I'm taking it back a month and sharing things I enjoyed over June. I took a break from blogging for various reasons but I want to get back on track and hate the thought of missing out a monthly favourites post so here we are!  Creativity  As I've previously mentioned on here, I've been experimenting with typography and calligraphy since it is something I find so intriguing. I've spent a lot of time using my graphics tablet to practice but over June I wanted to try out some more freehand stuff. I do have some brush pens but I've mostly been using some felt tips that I got in  Ikea  a while back, trying to keep it as simple as possible! It can be really frustrating and there are so many other styles I want to try out but it can actually be pretty relaxing if you just spend some time trying things out! TV Now I know there are a lot of mixed opinions about this but yes I have been sucked into the ...

After January dragging on forever, February literally seemed to fly by! I'm pretty glad though as March is my birthday month, so mad that I'll be 19 soon! Anyway, despite it being a short month I've still got some favourites to share! Experience - So I had to start by talking about how lovely it was to meet my new baby cousin, Aya earlier this month! She was born on the 3rd of February so my family and I went up to Bristol to go see her and oh my, she was so tiny and adorable! It was also lovely to catch up with my Uncle, Auntie and Aya's big brother who has just turned 3. He is at that really funny, cheeky stage and was obsessed with playing with my hair which involved spreading it across my face so it looked liked a 'spiderweb'! Music - I've recently loved listening to Dua Lipa, especially whilst walking to and from work. Her music has that really refreshing sound, definitely been a good year for her, hasn't it! If you haven't listened to any...

I'm desperately trying to hold on to every last bit of Christmas so here are some of the things I loved throughout December and the festive period! I swear it goes by quicker every year?! Beauty - Now I'm stripping it back to basics here as this month I have been so thankful for my trusty Vaseline lip balms. Now they aren't a new favourite by any means but in the colder months when your lips tend to be drier, a good lip balm is essential and Vaseline is my go to! I love all the scents but I tend to use the Aloe Vera and Rosy Lips most often, I've always got one of them close to hand! Another thing that is always needed during the winter months is hand cream, the Nivia Express Hydration hand cream is great for day to day use, I also have a Ted Baker one that I like as it smells amazing! T.V/Movies - Moving on to what I've enjoyed watching this year, and I have to say that of course I did spend most of December watching Christmas movies (Elf is my fave) but ...