Cressing Temple Barns.

J.Crew jumper: £3.50, charity shop. Jack Wills blouse: £4.50, charity shop. Oasis jeans: £27. Oasis chelsea boots: £41 (similar). Savannah Miller for Debenhams fedora. M&S bag: £43.

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans, said a dreamer that one time, and you're never really going to have much of a life if all you do is stick to small-town familiarity and keep on keeping on. In an effort to make the most of being near to most of my friends, I spent a lot of January working on making sure I managed to see everyone, meaning the impending Move Date creeped up on me. Among all the good stuff (read: pizza), I had the arduous task of heading to the doctor's in Braintree. Obviously no one enjoys a trip to the hospital (or if you do, enjoy getting that checked out), so I tend to bribe myself with a post-appointment trip to Freeport and buy everything in Hobbs. Unfortunately their tills weren't having any of it on this particular day, so without the adrenaline rush of bankruptcy we decided to get our thrills elsewhere and head to Cressing Temple for the first time.

In that awkward "oh god, country lanes" style of avoiding things, we'd never made the journey East of Braintree. Turns out, it's not as bad as we feared, and made it to Cressing (home to Jamie Oliver's dad, apparently #namedrop) in less than 10 minutes. And boy, weren't we glad we made it. I didn't expect much, but Cressing Temple Barns are beautiful. Two absolutely massive barns built in the 13th century seemingly plonked in the Essex countryside, and a walled garden to die for - who would've thought this was just a half hour drive from where we lived? Of course, a diversion isn't a day out without a trip to a Tiptree tea room, so we headed to The Barns for a couple of slices of toasted heaven.

It just goes without saying: take a little trip to somewhere new, 'cause you might just find a new favourite.

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You showed me there was something more to us.

The Kooples leather jacket. Topshop dress: £15. Hobbs boots: £40. Brit Stitch satchel. Catarzi fedora: £25 (now £12 in sale).

There are many, many shades of stubborn.

Generally considered to be a "bad" trait due to quite a lot of spoilt brat connotations, stubborn's got a bit of a bad rep. A good 75% of the time, it's well deserved, but that other 25% needs an apology. Several times over. Seeing as I'm doing this on my phone (why did I book an airbnb without wifi? Or why does an airbnb without wifi exist?) and need something wordy to fill my Sunday morning, let's try to create a magical scale of stubborn, which we may all refer back to in times or need/probably an argument.

0-25% - You're wrong, you know you're wrong, but like f you're going to admit it
Also called "when the penny drops". We've all be there, even Steven Hawking. Most commonly happens when in a state of severe stress/sleep deprivation/skim reading, or all three. It's tough, but maybe just admit at the time you know you're wrong, and take it out on them some other time ("oh, you've finished your drink? Sorry, I didn't notice when I bought this round").

26-50% - You're pretty sure this is the best idea of all time
Shout out to anyone who's ever found themselves trekking to town in the pouring rain as their friend's found the most amazing place for brunch, only for it to have stopped serving at 11.30. No, we don't care that it does the best compote this side of Brittany, or whether the place down the road's fry up is nearly as good, where is my stack of beautifully fluffy pancakes? I feel this may also apply to parents, god help you.

51-75% - You're doing this for their own good, you know
More often than not, this can be applied to some sadistic early alarm (no, I do NOT want to leave my bed today, hard as it is to believe), but is also relevant when people aim to help you face your fears in some ilk, or buy you running shoes cos they heard your new years resolution was to get fit. Very nice of you and all, but that was so January.

76%+ - You're right, you've got the facts to back you up, but nah
This is the adult equivalent of being patted on the head, and told to play with your toys. Bring it up to mid twenties, and it's when you're sat in a strategy meeting and you're pushing for something, but your line manager is being a mouthpiece for the execs; they know you're sense but "I'm big, you're small" and we WILL be doing this.

And then there's the one where there's the dress from topshop you've been after for months, reduced to £15, but definitely a size too small. You get it after Cheese-mas and you actually look like a roll of camembert, but wear it anyway. I'd gauge this around the 47% mark.

Brb, off to wander the cheese section of Booths (look but don't touch).

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Don't forget who you are.

Ribbed polo neck and denim pinafore dress: c/o Fat Face. Hobbs monk shoes: £69 (similar). Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Tatty Devine bunting necklace: made by myself!

Scheduling is the poor man's time travel (bear with me, it kinda makes sense). I'm sitting with a fresh brew writing this on a Thursday lunchtime, knowing it'll be published on Sunday morning, and you'll be reading this maybe that day or in 2019 or whenever. In the interval of 72 hours, I'll have packed my bags, decamped Essex in favour of Manchester*, probably had a minor panic attack on the train as it leaves Euston and thought of pancake day approx 93 times. So, as you read this I'll be fuming at how bloody cold the North is, when in reality I'm chilling listening to a bit of Radio 1. In the past. See? Sort of like time travel.

East London, in a roundabout way, has a similar feel. I'm not an eastender by any stretch of the imagination, but I am firmly rooted there in quite a few ways. Last week I met up with Kristabel and we headed to Pitfield Street's eponymous café for a coffee. As we sat looking across the street I kept thinking of how lots of time paths crossed along this street - obviously not whilst we were talking, because that's weird and a little bit rude. If I were to turn right, I'd end up pacing the well-worn track back to my old place of work, via the local, home to plenty of breakdowns and a fair few hurrahs. Turn left, however, and you'll work your way up to the church my grandparents were married in, their first home and the bakery my cousin still works in to this day. Of course, you'll all have a vested interest in going straight ahead and ending up at the Breakfast Club because their huevos rancheros is amazing and 100% #instagrammable. And there I was sat, wearing some clothes from the brand where I had my first job. One part funny, one part kinda reading into this 100 times too much.

*With the slight upheaval, there might be a bit of change here. I've got a few posts scheduled, but can't guarantee things will be running like clockwork in the next few weeks+, so please bear with me while I sort my life stuff out. I'll inevitably be tweeting and gramming, so see you there in the meantime!

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Look at what you just saw, this is what you live for.

Zara coat: £30 (old, similar). French Connection jumper: £21.50 (on sale, similar). Marks and Spencer cord skirt: £17.50 (on sale, similar). Oasis heeled boots: £17 (on sale, similar, court heel version).

When it comes to most things, I know what I want. I may be a bit iffy on the 'general life' scenario (job? where to live? what toppings to have on my pizza???), but Actual Things? Got it down. I've never really been one to wildly experiment with clothing, Blair Waldorf bright tights period excluded, and since the age of 16 I've slowly been building a wardrobe of classics that I've been wearing ever since - I've documented a lot of them here. Handily, this means that sales are my thing. Occasionally I'll get caught up in the thrill of bargains and I still haven't donated that red shift dress which doesn't suit my body shop to charity (luv u), but more often than not I'll get something I know I'll love forever for a fraction of the price. And, in my opinion, why pay more when you know you can get it for a little less and save the difference for cocktails and Oyster top-ups?

If you're looking for a list of sale shopping tips (praise be to someone who is more organised than me), then I'd 100% recommend heading to Megs' blog, but in slightly chaotic fashion, here are my things to look out for:

STYLE NAILED
You can have too much of a good thing. Just because your wardrobe is 90% Asos (guilty), doesn't mean you should rule out everywhere else. Instead of trawling through every. single. site. because we've all got Take Me Out to catch up on, just head to Love The Sales which keeps everything in order, so you can browse for whatever you're looking for across hundreds of brands. That perfect military coat will be yours, don't you worry.

A 'WEAR ME FOREVER' WHITE SHIRT
I seem to go through these like no one's business, but one that fits is the most important dress-up dress-down basic that you'll never stop wearing.

A BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER WINNER SKIRT
As documented above, I love me a good A-line skirt. I picked up this one in M&S on boxing day, and it's been popped (heh) on ever since. I like tucking in a turtle neck knit for the kind of ootd which'll suit most occasions with the right pair of shoes - even smart casual.

IT'S A COVER UP
Notice how it didn't actually get cold until well after the January sales had started? Retailers for some unknown reason don't seem to understand that no one's interested in buying their Spring things as soon as January rears its grey head, but it works in our favour as pretty much every single coat will be on sale just as the temperatures dip.

WELL HEELED
Your shoe wardrobe is probably about to hit new heights. If you're anything like me, it's a small miracle if your shoes last any longer than a season or two, so now's the best time to update your collection. Before diving in, just check what actually needs to be replaced (I needed a new pair of smart black boots, and had my eye on these Oasis babes for at least four months), and maybe, just maybe, treat yourself to a pair purely because they're pretty. Because shoes.

Post written in collaboration, but all magpie tendencies my own.

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Flat white.

Zara coat: £30 (similar). Oasis turtleneck top: £13.20. Marks & Spencer skirt: £17.50 (similar). Adidas Spezial: £27. Primark fedora: £7 (similar). Marks & Spencer bag: £43.

Flat White Soho, 17 Berwick Street, W1F 0PT

One a day. We all have our limits, and whether you apply it to apples or, as in my case, coffees, there's a reason you put these rules in place. I'll always be a tea girl at heart, but nothing starts the day wired right like a cup of the good stuff - just don't let me have any more than absolutely necessary else I'll be talking your head off all day. As I'm starting a new job soon (more on that later), I'll be missing out on my weekly free Starbucks, but it's giving me plenty of opportunities to find more independent, tax-paying establishments to get my caffeine from. When oop norf, it's super easy to find local cafés which are A+ at their specialities as they line every street outside of the main shopping concourse (check out Independent Liverpool, Birmingham and Sheffield for knowledgable insider tips from the people in the know), but when it comes to London every lunchtime starts with "shall we just go to Pret?". Thankfully, my pals at CitizenM got in touch and asked if I fancied trying out one of the coffee stops in their London city guide, and I was there quicker than you could say single shot latte.

I met up with photographer extraordinaire Amber (just look at her portfolio - the girl's got photography goals written all over her) for a catch up before I head off on my Northern adventures. On CitizenM's recommendation, we headed to Flat White on Berwick Street, just a little South of Oxford Street. While Amber opted for the place's eponymous drink, I went for a latte (yeah, yeah, leave it out) and we got some savoury treats to go with. I honestly couldn't fault the service, and the guys let us chat our hearts out for a good hour before we moved on (to Topshop, naturally). It's a nice little find, just far enough away from tacky souvenir shops to not be crowded, but close enough to the west end to make getting to your next meeting easy peasy.

Are you aware of any hidden gems I need to check out before I head off on my next adventure? I think I've got most of Shoreditch down, but would love to hear about any of your must-drinks!

CitizenM covered the costs of this lunch date, but all halloumi-decisions were my own.

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