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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The bombed out church.

Oasis artisan fringed jumper: £27, with staff discount, now has 30% off! Oasis denim skirt: £5, sample sale. Laura Ashley trench coat (old). Adidas Spezial: £27.

Do you know how much is takes to not hum the first line of that Wombats song every time I pull into Liverpool station? A lot, I promise. I don't head up North as much as I'd like as it can be really bloody expensive, but a chilled train journey and knowing that I had the next week off set this trip up for success. The plan for this trip was to meet my university friends in Manchester, but I thought I'd pop up a day early in order to catch up with some scousers (one hardcore, one honorary) and have an overdue wander round the Mersey capital.

Within minutes of dropping my stuff off at an airbnb, I was being educated in pizza fries. I kid you not, I knew Jade knew her local delicacies, but these were on a whole other level. We spent our Friday evening catching up over a whole lot of good stuff at Portland Street 358 (as featured on Jade's instagram enough times to make me say "we've got to go" when she suggested anywhere else) before an Adele-fuelled trip back into town.

After a loooong sleep (surprising, considering I was right next to a bar who were hosting a terrible live band. Who needs earplugs when you've been working flat out, tho?), it was brunch and catch up time with the beaut Sade, who was also kind enough to take these photos for me outside the bombed out church. We, of course, went to the old faithful Leaf before heading our separate ways.

Have any of you guys visited Liverpool recently? Or, even better, live there? I'd love to get your tips for the best places to go (and I don't just mean Someplace, because I think I only need to try those absinthe cocktails once...)

PS, if anyone can help me work out how to make the tables in this post mobile responsive, hit a sista up.

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Let your body talk.

The Kooples leather jacket. Therapy monochrome dress: c/o House of Fraser. Adidas Spezial: £27.

Hello, is it sports luxe you're looking for? Even if it may seem like the person asking the question is spam call number 23 of the day (and it's only 10am), I think I might have just found the perfect way to dip my toe into a trend I've been avoiding just as much as the gym.

I've been living in my Spezials since nabbing them in an outlet store in Braintree Freeport, but I'd never really tapped into anything more sporty since. Much like my attitude to dating, there's not all that much point in wasting my time of something that's not going to work out until I find 'the one'. Thankfully, there's proof true love exists as I found this monochrome badboy on the House of Fraser site. It's a bit bodycon, it's a bit colour blocky, and it's a whole lotta need-this-in-my wardrobe perfect. It might not be something I pop on for a trip down the shops, but it definitely held up for a day of coffee, then afternoon tea, then cocktails in Shoreditch. Perfect first date, all things considered.

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I want desire.

Luella blouse: ebay. Vintage suede skirt: £8, charity shop. Laura Ashley trench coat. Adidas Spezial: £29, Freeport Braintree. Rotary watch. Rimmel Kate Moss 08 lipstick.

It's always a bit weird to revisit things. I'm not talking an ex-boyfriend here (bye means bye, okay?), I'm talking places. I grew up in Woodford, which is best explained as 'on the east bit of the Central line', and, despite heading back to Loughton every six months to go to the dentist, I hadn't really been back since we upped sticks and headed way out 'so far past zone nine you can't even use an oyster card' in 2003. For the first time in over a decade, my mum and I popped back down the M11 to have a little wander along memory lane. It's a bit like heading back to a club you frequented in freshers week - things are a bit hazy, but you know where the toilet is and vaguely recognise that booth.

In case you're not aware (you probably aren't, half the people I live with now haven't heard of Redbridge, let alone know it's in the same county), if you look at London on Google maps and see the reservoirs just north of Central, I'm talking a little bit east of there. We started off the day in Highams Park, by far my favourite of all the places in that little bit of the London-Essex border. There aren't many places I can see myself settling down (this is what moving all over the place does to a girl...), but there is something about this area which gives me complete chilled out vibes, and I would definitely move in without a second thought were it not so bloody expensive to live there. London housing woes aside, we walked past my mum's first flat, through the Park, past my childhood home, and round Woodford Green back to the car. We then popped over to Loughton for dinner before heading up into Epping Forest a little to take these photos. Oh, wisteria, how I miss you already.

Are there any little pockets of London you love to re-visit? I'm always on the lookout for more places to fall in love with!

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Blow a kiss, fire a gun.

Lacoste stripe top: £42, Freeport Braintree. Oasis black jeans: £27 with staff discount. Adidas Spezial: £29, Freeport Braintree. Vintage bag: gift from Jazmine.

When getting the train home with Jazmine a couple of months back, I full on laughed at her dungarees, beanie and New Balance combination, stating that East London had 'happened' to her. Looks like I'm might have to eat a very expensive (probably vegan and bespoke) hat - a pair of black skinnies which fit and a bargain retail therapy session which had three stripes later, I'd fit in pretty well at Shoreditch Grind. No fixie bike is on the horizon, but this is a whole lot more hipster than I ever imagined possible in my peter pan collar days (note: my next post is going to be a whole lot girlier, keep an eye on my Instagram on Thursday to see why).

This one's now off to consume a full english and pints of orange juice, but do let me know in the comments if there are any trends you've fallen foul of despite your better judgement - yep, that does include those cargo trousers with the weird strap hanging off them circa 2001.

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