Creating the Dream Travel-Themed Home Office (Learn from My Experience!)

Created in collaboration with Photowall

Hey Owlets,

If you’ve caught up on my recent posts you’ll know about the stress of buying and renovating your first home (I’ll talk about it one day, when I’m less emotionally scarred). In recent years my hybrid freelancing and blogging career has grown in leaps and bounds, to the point that when looking for a house one of our non-negotiables was a second bedroom to use as an office. 

If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll know what’s coming. After living here for 3 months exactly as I write this, we still haven’t unpacked. I talked about what’s been going on in my long-overdue life update, but all you really need to know is that my office has become a dumping ground, and with two bank holiday weekends in a row we’ve decided now is the time to sort it. 

I was Bored so I Did a Home Makeover with Desenio

*Paid Partnership with Desenio*

Hey Owlets,

I don’t know about you, but after spending so much time indoors in the past year I’m a little bored of my surroundings. I’ve been staring at the same four walls every day and trying to get work done but feeling totally uninspired. I’m someone that thrives off of novelty - I love to be in a new environment, I love having lots of plans and things to do - so when the pandemic took that away I completely stalled and really struggled to find motivation.

Desenio: An Honest Review

Hey Owlets,

I am so excited to bring you this review today. If you’ve been anywhere on the homewares/fashion blogger internet circle then you’ve probably heard of Desenio. It feels as if they just popped up out of nowhere one day and every single blogger I followed had Desenio artwork in their homes. I can’t lie, I’m quite easily influenced if a blogger I really like is talking about something, and having seen so many people mention Desenio I desperately wanted some of their prints. At the time as a 15 year old girl with only pocket money in my bank it wasn’t a priority purchase but I still loved going through the website just because I enjoyed looking at pretty pieces. Fast forward almost a decade and, having just moved into my first home, I was so excited to finally be able to shop on Desenio and fill my walls with the beautiful artwork that I’d been staring at for years!

Ultimate Black Friday & Christmas Shopping Guide: My Top Picks

Hey Owlets,

I will freely admit, I'm not usually Black Friday obsessed despite being on the internet for the last four years to witness the hype. Having said that, something about being at home for almost the entirety of this year has resulted in somewhat of an addiction to online shopping so this year I am completely sold! I've been planning Christmas gifts since August out of sheer boredom, so I have a list of things ready to buy (both for myself and my family) so I can fully take advantage of the best deals. I've already done way too much research on this for myself so I thought I could justify the time I spent scrolling by sharing the best Black Friday deals with you. I imagine this blog post is going to be quite a long one so I've split them into categories, and I've tried to include something for every budget from high street to high end; if you're looking for the perfect present for yourself or your family then I've absolutely got you covered with this list!

Heads up: This post contains affiliate links and some paid-for content, but my opinions are my own as always!

What I Wish I'd Known Before Renting My First Flat

Hey Owlets,

In case you missed the news, I recently moved in with my boyfriend. It's actually the first time I've lived anywhere other than my family home so even though I was excited it was incredibly daunting. I am one of those people that will plan myself into oblivion. When we were moving in to our flat I had already calculated my share of the rent each month, allowed way over the top of what I estimated our bills to actually be, researched how much council tax was going to cost, budget for our furniture, busses to different areas of Bristol.... you name it, I'd probably already thought of it and put it in the spread sheet, yet somehow I still felt unprepared. As much as planning ahead can help, you'll never be prepared for absolutely everything and there will always be something that catches you off guard. I thought this could be a good opportunity for my younger readers to learn from some of the mistakes I've made, and if you're a more mature reader I'm hoping you might also be able to set me straight on some things that I've probably still forgotten!!

I Have Some News

Hey Owlets,

You may have noticed that for the last month or so I've been a little quiet - I know it was easier to blame lockdown but that's not the entirety of the story. If you follow me on Instagram you'll probably have noticed that I've spoken about working on a project that I can't talk about yet, and if I'm honest I'm a little concerned that I've overhyped it, but for me it's a huge deal and it's going to be quite a big part of my content going forward. So, the news... ( and no, I'm not pregnant or engaged before that enters your mind)

100 Days in Lockdown: Learning to Love the "In Between"

Hey Owlets,

I can't believe I'm even writing this but we've passed the 100 days in lockdown mark - given that the government said it would be for 3 weeks initially I think a lot of people weren't prepared for it to last this long. I realise that just sitting down and chatting isn't something I tend to do much of anymore, and because of this I've neglected my blog pretty badly over the last three months. In all honesty I've found it hard to think of anything to write because I'm not doing anything - at the start I still had loads of ideas of articles to write, loads of topics to cover & behind-the-scenes stories from trips to laugh about as I shared them with you, but when most days have blurred into one it's been hard to find the motivation to write. As well as this, my boyfriend has always worked really long hours so I was being a bit selfish by making the most of having every day together while my blog gathered dust.

Lockdown Date Ideas

Hey Owlets,

Welcome to week 10 in lockdown - at this point it feels like I should be saying "in the Big Brother house". Since lockdown began I've been in a constant battle of slipping into a routine, that routine turning into a rut and doing everything I possibly can to break out of it. One of the toughest challenges has been adjusting from seeing Jack a few times a week when we both have busy jobs, to living in one room and being together 24/7 for 3 months. Before lockdown, on our days off we would try to have one rest day and one day where we do something nice together. Lockdown turned every day into a "do nothing day" whenever I wasn't working, so we wanted to find ways to do something different within the confines of the current situation. So, if you're struggling too then here's a few lockdown date ideas; I've tried to make them isolation-friendly, so if you're not living together you can still try some of these dates out, and of course these ideas are also great if you're single and want to treat yourself.

Working from Home: A Freelancer's Guide

Hey Owlets,

For the last two years I've been lucky to call The Owlet my job - as long as I have a camera, internet connection and laptop I can work anywhere in the world. At times it has it's drawbacks, but as the rest of the world has suddenly been thrown a taste of freelance life (all be-it without the sending shouty emails about not being paid & wondering how you'll pay for the weekly shopping!), we suddenly have the upper hand because we're so used to having to work from home. I know there are a lot of people struggling and I'm getting daily messages from you asking for advice, so whether you're starting a business from home or getting used to remote working, make sure you read to the end to have the most productive day possible.

Lockdown from the Perspective of a Travel Blogger

Hey Owlets,

At the beginning of 2020 I sat down to start planning out my year. It's something I've tentatively done before, but this year was going to be the big exciting one. I've been fortunate that in the last year my blog has really taken off and I've started being invited to some incredible trips which meant I actually needed to plan what I was doing, where I was going and when. 2020 was going to be an incredible year for me - I had some amazing collaborations lined up and it was looking like, after my first international press trip last July, I was going to be going on a few more this year to places I'd not had chance to visit before so I was going to be able to bring you some really unique content. Then Coronavirus happened.

In the blogging world people have switched from reviews and destination guides to articles on what to do at home and tips to help your mental health, which is great, but for someone who's completely and utterly travel obsessed, it's hard to write something that you don't get excited to talk about. The one massive taboo that seems to have been introduced, however, is that travel bloggers should absolutely under no circumstances talk about how the lockdown has affected them and their blog as a job, so guess what I'm doing?

My Work from Home Morning Routine

Hey Owlets,

Working from home is like Marmite - you either love it or you hate it. I've been self-employed for most of my working life, and while I have days where I'm sick of the same four walls, I love working from home and honestly wouldn't want to do anything else! It's true that there are lots of opportunities to get distracted (especially if you're self-employed as you're not necessarily accountable to anyone else).  Working from home does require a fair amount of self discipline, but through having a routine and building simple daily habits, you'll find staying on track a lot easier. I wanted to share my morning routine with you in the hopes that it'll give you some tips and tricks to make working from home easier and more productive. 

Virtual Cruise Experiences you Need to Try

Hey Owlets,

I know we're all getting fed up of being on lockdown, and everyday I'm getting a tweet from one of you saying that you should've been on a cruise today or you've had to cancel your holiday. While I can give you all the tips on working from home and looking after yourself during lockdown, I think we could all do with a bit of a break - enter virtual cruises. I've seen some amazing options - and some not so great ones - so here's a run down of my favourites.

Luxury Gift Guide: 2018

Hey Owlets,

Today I'm back with the final instalment in my gift guide series - if you've not already seen my advent calendar guide or my affordable Christmas gift guide then make sure you click through and have a read. But for now, here's my list of what to get anyone that you really want to spoil this year.

Affordable Gift Guide: 2018

Hey Owlets,

I have no idea where the last 11 months have gone, but it's Christmas gift guide season again! I've done things a little differently this time - I have an affordable gift guide, luxury gift guide and an advent calendar guide to share with you, with one product in each category because I'm not repeating the level of stress that I had last year! Today is the second of the three, which is my affordable gift guide. If you've not already seen my guide to alternative advent calendars, you can see that here. Now, I have lots of cool things to show you so I won't ramble on, time for the first gift!

Trying Alternative Advent Calendars

Hey Owlets,

Today I have a different kind of guide for you - this was actually inspired by one of you emailing me to ask if I had any suggestions for alternatives as one of your children couldn't eat the chocolate, so thank you for the idea, it's a great one! I scoured the internet for the best and weirdest advent calendars I could find as well as trying my three favourites, so here we go!

5 Ways to get Cosy This Autumn

Hey Owlets,

I can't pretend anymore, it's definitely Autumn. So since I've been ignoring the darker nights and colder days for the last few weeks I'd thought we could talk about something to make the shift a bit easier. Literally the only good thing about Autumn is getting to curl up and feel warm and cosy so here's a few ways I'm going to be doing that with minimal effort.

Christmas Decorations on a Budget

 Hey Owlets,

I can't explain to you how excited I am for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why this year is different to many others, but for some reason I've been ready for the festive season since September. But do you know what wasn't ready? My bank balance. 

So, with that in mind I'm going to show you some ways to get your house super festive when you don't have much money. Just a tip, it involved the pound shop and A LOT of fairy lights.

For this year's decorations the pound shops have been AMAZING. They've really stepped up their game so are a great option when you're short on cash, and if you think about it creatively you can come up with something really unique.

I bought these icicle shapes made out of foam, a pack of warm white fairy lights and the "Santa's Washing Line" bunting from Poundland. I put the icicle foam on first, with the idea of putting the washing line on top, but then decided that it would feel more cosy with the lights underneath instead of on top; I just used sticky tape to attach everything to fireplace. In hindsight, it actually worked better putting the icicles on first as you could see where the fairy lights needed to sit so they stayed invisible.

Total Cost: £3

This year I've really turned my hand to DIY decorations, as it makes it so much cheaper. I saw Merry Christmas bunting at Bath Christmas Market but it was about £8, and although I loved it I couldn't justify spending that much. I bought a pack of felt letters from Poundworld and some ribbon, and then proceeded to stab holes in the felt using Adam's house key (we were in Costa, if you're wondering why I took the barbaric approach), then threaded this onto the ribbon to create my own garland.

Total Cost: £2

In case  you hadn't noticed, I'm absolutely obsessed with owls. Weirdly, despite being such a popular home decor choice, I couldn't find a single owl tree decoration apart from one in John Lewis for £8 that I didn't like the look of, or a simple felt one on Etsy for £4.50. My first thought when I saw it was "I could make that!" so I challenged myself to do just that.

I bought foam from Poundworld as I thought this would be more sturdy. I decided to buy glitter and normal to make it more interesting but if you wanted to keep it super cheap then just buy the normal pack. I didn't have to buy any ribbon as the red ribbon came with gold too. 

I freehanded half the shape of an owl onto a piece of paper, then folded this in half to cut it out, I then completely free handed the wing shape and eyes, but you can just draw a leaf shape and find something small and circular to draw around. For the beak I just cut the corners off of the yellow felt. Once you've got your template you can draw round it onto felt and cut it out. For a more professional look, cut out two lots of the body shape and glue these together leaving an opening at the top. I then slotted a ribbon loop into the gap, and glued the hole to seal it. Glue everything together then you can draw the eyes on with a biro.

Total Cost: £1

General Tips:

1. Think creatively about what you can find - one of my friends buys all her decorations in charity shops, meaning she gets more expensive decorations for very little money. If you go down the route of the pound shops, think about what you could combine to make something prettier.

2. Be prepared to DIY. If there's something you like but it's out of your price range then look at what it's made of. Is it something you could attempt yourself like the owls? Often you're paying for the seller's time, their rent, their household bills etc which is why simple things seem really expensive. While I like to support small businesses, when you're on a tight budget then just do it yourself.

3. Fairy Lights. Fairy Lights Everywhere. If you're useless at DIY and not at all creative then just go to the poundshop, buy as many fairy lights as you can afford (especially this year, as Poundland have a lot of different shapes on sale) and string them up wherever you have a space. Something about fairy lights screams Christmas and is probably the most simple way to make your home festive.

I hope this post has given you some inspiration to make your own homes festive but budget friendly. If you try anything out, I'd love to see photos so tweet me @theowletblog and if you have any ideas of how else I could make the house Christmas ready with no cash, please let me know in the comments below.

Love and (Festive!) Feathers, 

 The Owlet 💜 

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