Lorna Cole

This is a post I've been really looking forward to and it's something a little different for my blog! Interior design and home decor interested me even when I was much younger, I used to collect paint swatches and have planned out the decoration of my future home many times! I knew Resourceful Living by Lisa Dawson would be right up my street so I was excited to read it! A big thank you to Octopus Books, Kyle Books and Anne from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of the blog tour and for my copy of the book. Description  It's often thought that restyling your space comes with a hefty price tag and unavoidable waste. But in Resourceful Living , award-winning interiors blogger Lisa Dawson shows how, with a little creativity, you can revamp your home with existing pieces, vintage finds and key purchases.  The clever ideas in this beautiful book cover:  - The most important ways we use our homes, from eating to sleeping, living and working.  - The Basics of...

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...

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 tagged in the A-Z Alphabetical Advice Tag by Erin who blogs over at The Life of Erin , definitely go check her out and you can read her post here ! Since I'm no pro at giving advice, I thought I'd tailor it more towards self-care tips and advice, it was pretty difficult to think of something starting with each letter (mainly X) but I've given it a go! A Acknowledge that you need to take some time to focus on yourself and to make self-care a priority. B Balance is key. You can't give up all responsibilities but it's important that you give yourself time to enjoy yourself, to spend time with people and relax, as well as the normal routine things. C Create. Whether it's art, a new post, some food or just simply creating an environment you can relax in. D Don't put pressure on yourself to always be on top form, everyone has days that aren't as productive. E Eat whatever makes you feel good. If...

Since the academic year has recently started I thought I'd do a quick post to share some tips that I used or wish I knew at the time! I often found myself feeling pretty prepared and motivated at the start of the year but hopefully, some of these will help that to continue all year round, or more at least! Attitude and Behaviour >  Put in the effort now - when you get further into the year you'll thank yourself for putting in the time to learn everything properly, especially when it comes to revision as you'll already have materials to look back at. > Mistakes are good - it can be disheartening when you make mistakes or don't get the feedback you hoped for but learning from them is a really productive and useful way to help improve. > Strengths and Weaknesses - everyone has things they are better at and things they may struggle with, finding that out now and setting time aside to focus on the things you find harder will help reduce stress. You could als...