How To Style | The Statement Coat

Remember me? After starting the year with such high hopes about regularly blogging, it gradually petered out until I ended up posting nothing all summer.... I was definitely stuck in a blogging rut, and couldn't think of any posts I was desperate to write. I think after exams, the last thing I wanted to do was write and concentrate, and I was barely home this summer (although I will never complain about how much travelling I've done).

I'm back feeling ready to write, photograph and get creative again which is the best feeling, and I think living in London during Autumn/Winter helps, because it's definitely my favourite time of the year to live here. We've got it all- overpriced artisanal coffees which taste like Christmas, huge parks to crunch through all the fallen, burnished, beautiful leaves, lights and magical evening walks along the Thames, and ALL the food markets.

After being in Norway for six months, I'm back in London and I have to say, I've missed it. My first proper week back has been a wonderful whirlwind, reminding me of how much I love this city. 

This statement coat has been worth every penny, taking me from Summer to Autumn with ease- instead of chucking it on top of dresses during balmy evenings, I'm toughening it up and cosying up in it as I match my Autumnal surroundings.

What I've Learnt From Studying Abroad

I know... it's been a while! The last few months have been a whirlwind of exams, making sure I'd seen everything I'd wanted to in Oslo before I left, moving back home, and adjusting to life back in Blighty. Towards the end of my time abroad I'd felt like I was ready to come back home, but I found coming back harder than I thought I would.

It takes a while to get used to somewhere, and by the time I left Oslo, I'd really carved out a life for myself. Strangely enough, moving back home felt like leaving behind normality and what had become my main life. It was weird losing my independence, leaving my new friends and returning to old ones, getting used to another lifestyle, and just generally returning to my old life as a very different person.

Initially, I was terrified of moving abroad and having to start over again, but now I was scared of going back to my old life, when I felt that I'd changed and grown so much. Living alone, in a strange new country, really makes you aware of who you are, and I've learnt so much. It's taking time, but I'm slowly adjusting back to my life here, with memories which I know will last a lifetime. 

5 Hours in Copenhagen

Spontaneity is the key to numerous incredible experiences. Saying yes on a whim can be one of the best decisions- who knows where it'll take you? This weekend it took me on a free trip to Copenhagen on an overnight ferry (I use the word ferry extremely loosely, it was more like a floating amusement centre) from Oslo and back again in time for uni work on Monday.

Or at least that was my intention. The final instalment in one of my favourite book trilogies came out, but reading is educational... right?

I wrote a post about my trip to Copenhagen last February, but daym seeing this beautiful city illuminated in sunshine rather than muted by heavy clouds has given me a whole new love for it.

Why Tallinn Is the Hidden Gem You Should Visit

When you think of a fairytale setting, images of towering spires, winding cobbled lanes, colourful little houses and a bustling vibrancy to the place probably come to mind, right? Well enter the old town of Tallinn, a place I fell in love with in all of, ooh, maybe ten minutes.

A Weekend Break in Helsinki

Slowly, this blog has been becoming more and more of a travel blog, and I can't say I'm too gutted about that! The Erasmus student scheme has just turned 30 years old, and it got me thinking how grateful I am to have been able to study in Oslo as part of it. It's opened up places, people, ways of thinking and travel opportunities I would never have had- this weekend I'm going on a free (yes, FREE!) trip to Copenhagen with the café I volunteer with, and if that's not excellent payment for a few shifts I don't know what is... 

But enough about Denmark, this post is all about Finland, with a little bit of Estonia thrown in for good measure! I went on a lil mini-break last week with a friend, as it was a part of Scandinavia we'd both wanted to visit for a while. I wasn't really sure what to expect, Helsinki is a bit like Oslo in the sense that it's often overlooked by it's cooler Scandi neighbours, Copenhagen and Stockholm, but I would have to say it's a hidden gem!

What To Do On A Weekend Break In Bologna

Bologna probably isn't somewhere that's particularly high on your list of must-see places, but after having spent a weekend there, I completely fell for this quaint, charming little city. On a spontaneous whim, my mum and I booked a girls weekend there last week, and were immediately hooked when we got there. It's not as well known as Florence, or iconic as Rome, but it's stunningly beautiful, interesting and so unspoilt and untoursity.

It has three nicknames- the 'fat', the 'learned', and the 'red'. The first for its delectable range of restaurants, trattorias and food markets; the second for the oldest university in the world located there; and the last for the beautiful terracotta buildings stretching across the city. Amazing food, fascinating culture and history, and stunning surroundings- what more could you want in a holiday destination?

5 Things I've Learned From Regularly Working Out

I know, I know, there's so many fitness posts out there and incredibly toned people which make you wonder how abs can even look like that, but this isn't one of those preachy 'let's all go eat kale' posts. Side note- I actually really kinda love kale now when its stir fried with olive oil and salt sorry not sorry.

Before this year, I was always pretty active, but never really committed to consistently exercise, it was more of a oh maybe I'll go to a yoga class this week. Since coming to Oslo and joining a gym which includes classes in my membership, I've been going at least 4 times a week, and now I can't imagine not working out regularly.

I'm never going to be one of those dreamy bikini goddesses (looking at you Emily Ratajkowski you absolute dreamboat)- when I was a child my mum took me to the Doctor to ask why my stomach was so rounded only to find out that's 'just my shape'... Yay for genetics!! But my aesthetic has gone from 'might occasionally eat a salad and walks around but obvs polishes off family size bags of minstrels' to 'could still eat a giant bag of M&Ms in one sitting but has some form of muscle definition'. And tbh I wouldn't have it any other way.