Lorna Cole

Although the heat can get a little exhausting, I’ve been trying to make the most of it by spending time outside. After a pretty dull and rainy June, I was really looking forward to summer days and we’ve definitely had our fair share of sun this past week!  Earlier in the week my sister and I visited my Grandparents and spent time with them for a bit which is always nice. My Nan is one of those typical Grandparents that always has snacks to offer and the ice creams she gave us were definitely appreciated in the heat!  A few days later we went for an early evening stroll and found ourselves exploring down various footpaths. Most of them led to a lot of trees and overgrown greenery but after following one path for a bit we found such an amazing view. This spot would be absolutely perfect for a picnic as long you don’t mind walking through a lot of long grass, the scenery is definitely worth it though! We also stopped at Costa and I tried the new Golden Caramel Iced Latte - would definitel

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

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

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!

To say 2020 has been a weird year would be an understatement, in fact, it's been pretty crappy and much worse for many people. I feel lucky to have been able to live with some normality when the world is so chaotic. However, the year seems to have gone ridiculously fast and this blog took a backseat. I definitely had writer's block too and didn't want to blog for the sake of it, however, after being away for a while I've missed it a lot! I enjoyed the social side of blogging as well as sharing bits of my life so am looking forward to getting back into it. I’ve still been posting regularly on my Creative Arts blog as part of my studying which definitely took up a lot of time! It's been a really interesting experience and I’ve learnt a lot. I’m actually making some decisions about my future studies which I’ll share on here at some point but I definitely have a better idea of what I’m really interested in! Obviously doing a course from home is pretty time consuming and

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

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 to find something ne

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 a while n

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

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 definitely pleased wh

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

I'm not one to make resolutions particularly but I do think it's quite useful to make some goals, though it doesn't necessarily have to be January!  →   Start a Creative Arts degree - This year I plan to begin studying with the OCA, this is part of the University for the Creative Arts but you can do it from home which will allow me to continue working as well! →  Work with more companies - I've had a couple companies reach out to me already this year so I'm really looking forward to working with more brands to create content. → Create a list of book ideas - Writing a book is on my bucket list and although it's not something I plan to do yet, I would like to think of some potential ideas and themes. → Guest posts - I've done a few guest posts previously and would like to do more to build up my portfolio. I'd also like to contribute to places like Buzzfeed since it's a platform I use frequently. → 4000 followers on Twitter - I'm al