Lorna Cole

I'm not really sure how we're already halfway through the year but here we are! I thought I'd take a look at the plans/goals I wrote in January and have a think about the latter half of 2021. You can read my initial 2021 goals and plans post here ! Goals & Plans I set in January The first goal I shared was to choose a university course and I'm pleased to say I did that and am now really looking forward to starting at The University of Brighton to study Media Studies in September! Going on from this, are the ongoing university preparations but things have definitely progressed! I've sorted my student finance loan and applied for accommodation which I'm currently waiting to hear back about and have got a few things that I'll be taking with me. I'm glad I joined a few university group chats with others starting at Brighton, it's been great getting to know people and it's nice knowing I've connected with some people before moving somewhere ne

I've been seeing people post 'photo dumps' on Instagram a lot recently and since I take a lot of photos, I thought why not share some of them on here! Also, this means I can write a bit more about them as well, I don't think anyone wants to read a blog post as an Instagram caption! Sunsets are one of my favourite things to see and also photograph. I've found that my iPhone often can't quite capture the colours so recently I took out my camera whilst on an evening walk. All of these photos were taken on the same day and from a few different points along a field near my house! The sky was pretty cloudy but I really think it added to the photos, it was definitely a moodier sunset in comparison to the lighter pink hues below. Although I'm writing this on a very grey and rainy day, we have had some sunny days and I made the most of them by getting outside and going for walks. What's not shown in the photos above is the state of my shoes after I found myself w

At the beginning of 2021, I started using Notion and I wish I'd done sooner! It's a productivity/planning/organisation tool but can be used to store any information - from study notes to meal plans to finances and lists for pretty much anything you need. There are loads of tutorials on YouTube to help set up your Notion which I definitely used for inspiration, as well as tips and ideas on TikTok, These videos from Unjaded Jade , Twirling Pages , Om & The City helped me particularly! I've also added some quick videos of my Notion pages at the bottom of this post if you want to see what it looks like in use. This post isn't an ad but as you'll see pretty quickly, I'm a fan of Notion so far! App & Quick Notes Notion also has an app that is compatible with iOS 14 - this makes it even easier to access any daily to-do lists or whatever content you want to access quickly. I have a widget that takes me to my Notion homepage, it has links to any of my pages so I

I'm writing this just as it's been announced that we are back in lockdown (as was expected!) Knowing this, setting goals, or making plans for the upcoming year may seem pretty pointless and I fully get why people won't bother this year. For me, it's a way to be somewhat productive, something that boosts my mood if  I've been feeling uninspired. I'm not making any huge goals this year, many are short term things that should be relatively easy to achieve. I'll revisit them later in the year and make additional ones if necessary! Choose a university course My main goal for 2021 is to start a new university degree. If you've read any of my previous posts, you might know I was studying with the OCA and doing a Creative Arts course. Since completing (and passing!) the first course, I realised I want to focus on a more specific avenue, rather than creative arts as a whole. Another reason I want to change courses is so that I'm able to move to a new location

You don’t have to wait for a new year to make better decisions, habits or goals but I think it does motivate people to reflect on what they want to do over the next 12 months.  After the Christmas period and when no one really knows what day it is, it can often be a relief when January rolls around! It’s an opportunity to get back into a routine and be a bit more organised again. I took some time to have a think about my goals and plans for 2020 so thought I’d share them here! Creative Arts degree  In late April 2019, I started studying for a Creative Arts open degree (you can read more about it here). I’ve made a lot of progress and am really getting into it now. Obviously studying is something that is a priority and I want to dedicate a lot of time to over the next year so I can continue learning and working my way through the degree. I’ve enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to the upcoming stages!  Regular exercise  Of course, I w

I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas, however you celebrate! If you don’t then hopefully you had a good holiday break! I thought I’d share some of the things I kindly received this year as I always enjoy reading these sorts of posts.  An iPhone 11 was my main gift this year, though I basically treated myself to it haha! I previously had an iPhone 7 which served me well but wanted a bit of an upgrade. I use my phone constantly for socialising, blogging, coursework, photos and entertainment so think it’s a worthwhile buy and I’m really pleased with it so far!  I also got a keyboard for my graphic tablet as I was having problems with my laptop so now I can do all my work on my tablet. It’s pretty useful as it clips in and basically turns it into a laptop but you can still use the touchscreen and pen as well.  One thing I’m always trying to improve is my health and fitness, something I want to work on a lot in 2020! To potentially help and motivate me I asked for

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'

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 Love Isla