10 POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT WORKING FROM HOME

...because we all need a bit of extra positivity in our lives right now.

1. The extra hour in bed. Forget setting your alarm at 6AM every morning so you have enough time to look human, nowadays it’s all about hastily brushing your teeth and dragging a brush through your hair 5 minutes before you’re due to start work.

2. Being in charge of the radio. The battle of Radio 1 versus Smooth FM is over. If you want to listen to Disney classics for 8 hours straight then be my guest (see what I did there?)

3. Not having to queue for the microwave. Also also the kettle. And also the toilets. In fact..

4. Not having to use the staff toilets. Pretty self-explanatory this one.

5. Eating lunch on the sofa in front of the TV instead of at your desk. 1 hour lunch break = 3 episodes of friends. Coincidence? (hey, that’s joincidence with a C...)

6. Unlimited games of Candy Crush. Multi-tasking at its finest.

7. Not having to do a clothes wash at 9PM on a Sunday night. Because you were too hungover to do it earlier. Pyjamas > Office Clothes.

8. Sneaking off for a 10 minute “cuddle” with your furloughed S/O. *insert angel emoji here*

9. Logging off at 5PM and watching The Chase by 5:01. The worlds shortest commute.

10. Not having to share your biscuit stash with half of the office. Although thinking about it, this one’s not necessarily a good thing!

- Lorna x

FILM REVIEW: SPLIT

Split, like the title suggests, is centered around main character Kevin who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. James McAvoy's performance is phenomenal; splintered between playing nine year old "Hedwig", fashion designer "Barry", kidnapper "Dennis", *Miss* "Patricia", and of course "The Beast", McAvoy manages to invoke fear, laughter, and intrigue all whilst playing the same person.

The story-line is undoubtedly clever, its originality will have you thinking about the film long after you've left the cinema but it is also, paradoxically, its weakness. "The Beast", on which the entire premise of the film is based, is where Split finds its downfall; the ending in particular is utterly ridiculous and very nearly ruins the entire film. Split found its strength in a twisted story-line that was absurd yet still believable but the ending took Split from mystery and intrigue to eye-rolls and WTF's.

After kidnapping Kendall Jenner look-a-like Anya-Taylor Joy who plays protagonist Casey, stereotypical popular blonde Hayley Lu Richardson, and the token black girl Jessica Sula to be sacrificed to Kevin's soon-to-be 24th personality, the rest of the personalities attempt contacting psychologist Dr. Fletcher for help. Frustratingly, by the time the appointment rolls around, unfavourable personality Dennis takes the light and reassures the psychologist that everything is fine. However, on the eve of the birth of the 24th personality 'The Beast', Dr. Fletcher receives 21 emails, one from each of Kevin's personalities minus Dennis and Miss Patricia, so sets off to visit Kevin at home.

After discovering Kevin is holding the trio of girls captive, Dr. Fletcher attempts to set them free but is thwarted by Dennis who manifests into The Beast and alas, Dr. Fletcher meets her inevitable demise. The two girls whose names I can't remember and who add nothing to the film also end up dead. Skip forward the cat-and-mouse chase, and Casey is spared once The Beast notices her self-harm scars and denotes her 'pure'.

Purifying self-harm is a dangerous concept especially amongst Split's target demographic. In no way should self-harm be romanticised but by granting Casey 'special status' as a direct result of her abuse it is exactly what happened. Throughout the film we see flashbacks from a young Casey on a camping trip with her father and uncle and it's disappointingly predictable what is going to happen. The story-line makes for uncomfortable viewing that would have better been cut from the film. A more sensitive ending, especially in today's society where self-harm is rife, would have rendered the story-line entirely unnecessary to the plot of the film; a welcome alteration.

It's a total slap-in-the-face for victims of abuse to see Casey saved by her abuser. A strong young woman like Casey who not only survived her Uncle, but was surviving him still, should have been given the right to save herself. At its best the story-line was distasteful, and at its worst it was down-right disrespectful to victims of abuse or self-harm.

However, if you can look past crappy endings or if you're happy to leave the cinema 15 minutes early, then Split is definitely worth going to see even if it's just for McAvoy's performance as front-runner for everyone's favourite personality Hedwig who when combined with Kevin's other personalities, is Split's saving grace. If it wasn't for McAvoy's complete believability and his effortless transition from one personality to the next, Split would have fallen on its head and been as awful as its ending.

You'll enjoy this if you liked: Shutter Island, Gone Girl, Hide and Seek

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X

HOW TO BE HAPPY: 50 PIECES OF ADVICE AND THINGS THAT ARE WORTH REMEMBERING

1. Comparison is the thief of joy
2. Offer compliments to people as if they're going out of fashion
3. Social media isn't real life
4. The glass is half full
5. Your worth is not dependent on the number of likes you get
6. Learn to love yourself
7. There is a plan for you
8. Be grateful
9. Be humble
10. Spend time with your family while you can
11. Call instead of text every once in a while
12. Do unto others what you would have them do unto you
13. Your twenties are your selfish years
14. Travel while you are young and able
15. Empower women instead of trying to better them
16. Better to be the one who smiled than the one who didn't smile back
17. You can appreciate another woman's beauty without questioning your own
18. It's nice to be nice
19. Pay it forwards
20. Sacrifice your morning coffee run and give to the homeless every once in a while
21. Don't let jealousy control you
22. Be considerate
23. Understand you are not bulletproof
24. Cry if you need to
25. If you don't ask then the answer will always be no
26. Eat the damn cake
27. Sing, even if people tell you that you can't
28. Give thoughtful gifts instead of lavish ones
29. Calories are not for counting
30. Today's news is tomorrows fish and chips wrapping
31. Pray for others
32. Banish negativity from your life, if this means getting rid of certain people then so be it
33. Snooze the alarm
34. You can't hurry love
35. Find what you are good at
36. Don't self pity
37. Always bring an umbrella
38. Read the penguin joke
39. Pet people's dogs
40. Overthinking is the enemy
41. You are richer than you think you are
42. Enjoy where you are in life right now instead of rushing to be somewhere else
43. Don't wait around for someone else to buy you flowers, take control of your own happiness
44. Read
45. Don't shy away from physical contact
46.The grass is not always greener
47. Don't stress abut things you cannot control
48. Zero-Carb diets suck
49. Alan Rickman started his acting career aged 46, it's never too late
50. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind; kill them with kindness

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X

FOUR NEW MENTALITIES TO TRY IN THE NEW YEAR

As a nation, we are notoriously rubbish at keeping our New Year's Resolutions and most of us will have probably already broken our resolution(s) by February. This year, I'm not bothering with empty resolutions that I know I'll have no intention of keeping come the next time i'm hungover. Instead, i'm going to adopt four new mentalities in order to better myself, and make me a stronger and happier person. Intrigued? Come and chat with me...

Love Yourself 

Self-love is often considered to be narcissistic, obnoxious and arrogant. If you love yourself then you must be full of yourself right? Wrong! Self-love isn't about thinking you're the prettiest, or the smartest. It's about accepting your flaws and learning to love them too. In my opinion, more women (and men) should try and find a way to love themselves. Self-love and self-appreciation is something I find very hard to do and it stems from my constant need to compare myself to other women. Self-love and body-confidence come hand in hand and unfortunately, as a society we find it a hundred times easier to point out what we hate about ourselves, rather than what we love. At the end of the day your flaws make you who you are and there will only ever be one of you! It's time to embrace it.

Empower Women

Too many women go through life thinking that they're in competition with one and other. Really, we should be supporting women, rather than trying to better them; women face enough oppression in society at it is. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. These are my words to live by. Nothing good will come from insulting others, it only ever brings about negativity. Offer compliments to women as if they're going out of fashion. They take two seconds to give out and can genuinely make somebody's whole day. Don't let jealousy run your mouth or dictate your actions. It's nice to be nice to others. I don't understand women who will happily go through life being a bitch. How much nicer would the world be if all girls were like the ones we meet, drunk, in the toilet of a club? 

Stop Comparing Yourself to Other Women

This is something that i'm always trying to stop doing but living in such a social-media focussed society makes it hard work. I even had to temporarily disable my Instagram for a few weeks after cyber stalking myself into a pit of depression. When i'm scrolling through my feed and come across a gorgeous girly, all I can think about is how my eyes aren't as green as hers, or my lips aren't as big as hers, or how my figure is never going to look like that and it's such an unhealthy way of living! You can admire another woman's beauty without questioning your own. Nobody is perfect and everybody has flaws. Even if you can't see them, know that they're still there. This links back to what I was saying earlier about learning to accept and love who you are and it's super important to do so. Not only that but you should never compare yourself to someone you've only ever seen on an app. Social media offers us a tiny view into each others lives but the window is often rose-tinted and distorted. 

Positivity Only 

Surround yourself with good people and good vibes that radiate warmth and positivity and watch your whole mentality adjust accordingly. Banish all negativity from your life and if this means getting rid of certain people then so be it. Don't underestimate the power of the block button, negative people can have a draining effect on you and after a while it becomes exhausting! It's difficult to be completely positive all the time, we're only human after all and the world is fond of dealing us a bad hand every now and then. The key is that you never stop trying. Sometimes it's easier to hate the world and i'd be lying if I said I wasn't guilty of thinking everything is against me. But the most unhappy people are often the most negative too. 

So there we have it. Four new mentalities to try to employ in the New Year. 

For me, 2017 is going to be the year of doing less. Stressing less, caring about what people think less, eating less, worrying less, crying less... What about you? What are your New Year's Resolutions? Please leave a comment and share them with me, i'd love to know! 

Happy New Year Everyone. 

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X

10 REASONS WHY BRIDGET JONES' LIFE MIGHT BE BETTER THAN YOURS (AND IS DEFINITELY BETTER THAN MINE)

1. She has a job 

Always a plus. It took me approximately 89 rejection emails including one from Bowlplex before Victoria's Secret finally welcomed me into their pretty lives.

2. And her boss looks like Hugh Grant 

Self-explanatory this one. Hugh. Grant. 

3. She shags her boss who looks like Hugh Grant

Ditto

4. She quits said job (because she isn't trapped by fear) and EASILY gets a new job in TELEVISION nonetheless.

That would just never happen in real life.

5. She has her own apartment (albeit one with a hole in the wall) in London

So she spends Christmas at home with her parents, BIG DEAL BRIDGET! Some of us (ahem, me) have had to move from a wonderfully weird uni house to back home with the rents. Say goodbye to grown-up sleepovers and cooking pizza at 4 AM (sob) and say hello to curfews, "are you going to stay in bed all day"'s and interrogations every time you leave the house.

6. She has a long term relationship with a HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER who looks like Colin Firth 

First of all, a long-term relationship; How do I get one of those? And secondly, Human. Rights. Lawyer. A quick google search revealed some lawyers working for high-end firms can earn upwards of TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND GRAND A YEAR.

7. She can afford to go to Thailand with her best friend (drug-trafficking-misunderstanding aside, what a fabulous holiday)

If you read my Ultimate Life Goals list (see that here!) then you'll know that I am absolutely desperate to travel and Thailand is the ultimate cliche traveler's paradise. Think nature, novelty and something else beginning with N. And also elephants.

8. Hugh Grant and Colin Firth have an actual fisticuffs at dawn fight over her 

Seriously Bridget. You have two guys literally fighting over you.

9. She weighs less than 9 and a half stone

Even though she eats practically a block of cheese every week.

10. Shaz and Jude are always there for her, and usually with wine. 

Because best friends who aren't always with their boyfriends? Want! And Wine? Need!

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X

11 OF THE WORST THINGS ABOUT A GIRLS HOLIDAY

I'm currently curled up in a burrito of blankets trying not to let the jealousy get the better of me and catapult me into a world of miserable moodiness.

My dramatics are actually quite reasonable and entirely justified because I'm not going to Ibiza this year and I'm heartbroken about it.

I miss Ocean Beach, I miss West-End, I miss Ushuiaia, I miss everything!

Except the pints of Sketamine. I really don't miss the Sketamine.

Anyway, I've made a list of things that explain why, actually, HOLIDAYS SUCK, and you're better off being in Britain anyway...

1. Nostalgic Music. You're in the car driving somewhere; the radio's playing, the wind is in your hair and all of a sudden that Magaluf 2012 classic is blasting and you absolutely were not prepared. Cue the reminiscing and the tears. 

2. The flight home. "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". If the flight there is a whirlwind of excitement and enthusiastic clapping at touch-down courtesy of one too many vodka's, then the flight home is always the opposite. Think the dreaded Rushkinoff Cough, inhumane contortions of the body until you (hopefully) doze off, turbulence. The dream is officially over.

3. Bad Weather. Over-cast skies, rain and tropical storms. NO FAIR. 

4. The Sea. It's an unwritten rule that you HAVE to frollick in the Mediterranean because it's pretty, it's blue and it's warm; all the things the Atlantic/Pacific(??) is not. However the sea is still the sea and regardless of which sea you're splashing around in and the dreaded "SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED MY FOOT" still exists. Also jellyfish. And also sharks.

5. Hotel security. I get it, security are there for a reason; they keep the hotel safe but MY GOD what a pain in the arse they are when you've just got off with the fit lad from London and want to give him "a tour of your room" and maybe "make him a coffee". 

6. People who are more tanned than you. Can you not. 

7. Foreign supermakets. Why do they not sell squash??? 

8. Having no eyebrows, no eyelashes and suspiciously sticky leftover hair from the night before. And then bumping into a group of fit lads from Ireland. 

9. Unreliable wi-fi. If you need to keep up to date with your not-my-boyfriend-boyfriend's activity on social media, it's literally infuriating. Plus, holiday law dictates a 'hot-dogs or legs' upload to Instagram is mandatory.

10. Hangovers. Torn between taking it easy for a night out of fear you might actually die if you consume any more alcohol and YOLO.

11. Diarrhoea. Gross but it happens. 

12. The back-to-work-monday feeling. Gone are the lie in's and mojito's by the pool. Say goodbye to getting appropriately smashed every night and dancing until the early AM. No longer will you sizzle in the sun, determined to get a tan just to ensure your friends back home are even more jealous. Instead say hello to 7 AM alarm sets, dont-forget-your-umbrella-because-it's-going-to-rain's, and boring trips to the pub where you'll sip on a glass of chardonnay despearate to be downing pints of Vodka Red Bull at Linekers again. 

... I still miss Ibiza.

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X

MAKING A COMEBACK; THE DENIM MINI SKIRT

When I think of denim mini skirts, my mind immediately flashes back to the nineties-slash-noughties era, Tammy Girl, and Ashley Tisdale.

Ashley Tisdale circa 2000 is the gift that keeps on giving BTW (see proof here).

The denim mini skirt of 2016 however, means something totally different.

Courtesy of the 'it' girls of the moment and their uncanny ability to turn anything nineties into something effortlessly cool (chokers, slip dresses, backpacks, dungarees, bandannas, etc.), the denim mini is just another one of the 90s classics making a comeback to add to the list.

Think style, off-duty supermodel, and everyone from Kim Kardashian to Olivia Palmero because that's who's wearing the denim mini skirt this time around. Everyone.

The denim mini has been making a slow and steady comeback since spring, when Alexa Chung designed the A-Line Kety skirt for AG, and now that Mother Nature is (occasionally, finally) blessing us with sunshine, the time has come for the denim mini to take center stage.

Perfect for showing off tanned and toned legs (nope, me neither),  the denim mini skirt is super versatile and is as necessary an item in your wardrobe as your favourite skinny jeans...

Alessandra Ambrossio

Bella Hadid

Emma Roberts

Hailey Baldwin

Jamie Chung

Ashley Benson

Kendall Jenner

Also Kendall Jenner

Er, Kendall Jenner

Kim Kardashian

Kylie Jenner

Lucy Watson

Selena Gomez

A skirt with a frayed or distressed hem paired with black ankle boots and a casual tee or sweatshirt is the perfect go-to outfit for just about anything. Alternatively, dress your mini up with a pair of heeled lace-ups and a blouse a la Selena. Wear your skirt with a halterneck like Kylie and Kendall or a choker for serious 90s vibes or keep things modern and wear with an an oversized jacket or flannel shirt like Ashley Benson. Like I said, super versatile...

L - R | asos

L - R | topshop

- LOVE FROM LORNA, X