Lorna Cole

Well, my 22nd birthday wasn't quite the Taylor Swift style celebration I had in mind but I still did a few things to celebrate!   My sister's birthday is a little over a week before mine so on the weekend between we set up an afternoon tea style lunch. I've seen a lot of people sharing their Afternoon Tea/Bridgerton inspired spreads recently and thought it would be a nice way to celebrate. I'm very glad we decided to do before the weather turned as it rained all day on my actual birthday! We also played cards and a few board games which is always a great way to spend the evening in my opinion! If anyone is planning to set up their own afternoon tea then I know you can order hampers online which would make a great gift. Or like us, you can buy whatever you fancy! Here's a list of the things we had: scones jam clotted cream mini sausage rolls mini cheese & onion rolls strawberries raspberries chocolate cake coffee & walnut cake  biscuits pot of tea I was hopin...

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...

I love any sort of tag post but a festive one is even better. A big thank you to Anna-Alina for tagging me, you can check out her post here ! Christmas tree. Real or fake? Is a Christmas tree a must-have for winter holidays and creating the Christmas atmosphere or is it not necessary for you? I love going to pick out our Christmas tree each year, we usually get it around the start of December so it marks the official start of the Christmas season for me. I think fake trees can look great but I'd miss the smell of a real one! Holiday drinks. Coca Cola, eggnog or hot chocolate? Or maybe something different? What you drink on Christmas? Definitely hot chocolate, I tried Costa's Chocolate Orange one recently which was great! We always make hot chocolate on Christmas Eve whilst watching a Christmas film so it always makes me feel super festive. What are your own Christmas traditions? One tradition I enjoy is getting new pyjamas on Christmas eve and I also love playing board games du...

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 ...

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...

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...

This year I participated in a Secret Santa for bloggers which was organised by the lovely Casey. Despite a few hiccups, it was a lovely thing to be a part of because I was able to connect with so many new bloggers and we all have a great support system now! You can check out Casey's post here if you'd like to see what everyone else got too as she kindly provided links to all of our blogs! My gifts arrived quite a while ago, packaged in some really festive Christmas Pudding wrapping paper and I really had to resist the urge to open them, I always used to be one of those kids that would feel around and try to work out what a present was when I had to wait to open it, haha! My Secret Santa was Eloise who blogs over at The Longing Wanderer . She absolutely nailed my gifts and I couldn't be happier with them so I can't thank her enough! Firstly I opened two bath bombs which smelt amazing even before opening them, I quickly recognised that they were from Lush whic...

For all you stationery and homeware lovers, I've got a haul that you're going to enjoy today! I recently shared a competition that Old English Company were running and looking through their site made me so excited to get some bits of my own! I sort of wish I was redecorating or moving into a new house because their stuff would be so perfect for that, anyway let me share some of the bits that caught my eye! 'Notes' A5 Notebook For as long as I can remember I've been a hoarder of notebooks, mostly for my extensive list making! Since starting my blog I've used notebooks to plan blog post ideas quite a lot and I had started to come to the end of the one I'd been using so it was definitely time to get a new addition! It's great quality and I also really like the simplicity of the design too.  Grey and Gold Planner Being organised is something I'm always trying to improve, I would say I'm fairly good at it but hey if a planner can ...

I wouldn't say I'm massively into jewellery - you won't see me with an arm full of bracelets and I don't even have my ears pierced but I do have a few minimalistic bits that I love and enjoy wearing so I thought I'd share them with you today! Pandora Entwined Hearts Ring  This was a gift from my boyfriend on my 16th birthday and I have worn it every day since, in fact, I can't really imagine not wearing it now! We had only been together for 6 months and after being together for well over 3 years, it is definitely one of my most special pieces of jewellery. It is so subtle and simple that it can easily be dressed up or worn more casually which I absolutely love and I think the combination of the silver and gold is gorgeous. Check it out here . Pandora March Droplet Birthstone Ring Another birthday present, however, this one was from my Aunt and Uncle. They gave it to me on my 18th birthday so I've almost had it for a year now, I loved the idea ...

Happy New Year everybody! I can't believe it is 2018, the last year went so quickly! After having a break off around Christmas I am back and ready to start blogging again. Before I get into my plans for the year I thought I would share what I got for Christmas this year! Like everyone, I'm not bragging - I am very grateful for everything of course!! I've always enjoyed seeing the gifts people have received so here are a few of the things I got! One of my main presents and something I was really looking forward to opening is my new graphic tablet. I love getting creative and have been interested in developing my digital art skills for a while so this was the perfect gift for me. I got the Chuwi 12" tablet which is such a great size and runs on Windows or Android, the stylus has great pen pressure recognition and I've found it so easy to draw with. Maybe in the future, I'll share some of my work, once I've experimented with it more! Something else ...