While you're thinking of a different world.

Vintage faux fur coat: borrowed from Sadie. Asos denim smock dress: £36. Cath Kidston foldaway weekend bag: gift. Topshop anna buckle boots: £76.50.

Photos by Sadie.

When travelling, I try to keep things as comfy as possible. I'm no Chung, who manages to skip off an eight hour flight with her fedora at the perfect angle, but think more along the lines of no make up and a roaring stomach - it ain't pretty. So imagine my absolute delight on hearing that I have a seven hour coach journey ahead of me, arriving at sunrise to a day of exploring a new city... Yep, there were a few grumbles that even the really cheap ticket couldn't quite quieten. On the promise of a walnut and apple muffin x caffeine mix, I managed to tidy myself up a little bit here for breakfast at Bullys Bakery (after the bulldog of its logo!), and with each sweep of my eyeliner things got a little better. Of course, a smock is the optimum travelling garb, even if it's a bit short, plus a faux fur coat is equivalent to wearing a pillow and, really, what more could you want?

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Tonight make it magnificent.

Cropped pale blue jumper: £10, Primark. Blouse: £13.50, Miss Selfridge (old). Joni jeans: £30, Topshop. Anna boots: £76.50, Topshop. Socks: Primark (part of pack). Holiday bag: gift, Cath Kidston. Lipstick: MAC Ravishing.

This time last week I was on a train (the novelty of that mode of transport wore of a long, long time ago) heading northwards to visit Claire, Gem, Maria, Sarah and Emma in Birmingham. I can't say I've explored the city too much in my many times visiting as I somehow always end up in Selfridges and the Mailbox, but what I have seen makes me want to find out more about the rest of it. The above photos were taken by Claire just outside the grounds of the cathedral, and I added the typical touristy photo of the town hall - you can't complain about its architecture at all! As I knew we'd be doing a fair amount of wandering around the city, I thought I'd wear a sensible outfit (for once), donning my trusted Topshop anna boots, joni jeans (which I'm actually less than impressed with regarding wear, has anyone else had issues with them once they've been washed?), a cheaper and purposefully less fluffy version of that Topshop jumper, and my "bag that everything fits in" which I've been using since I got it for my birthday nearly two years ago, perfect for carrying pyjamas, playsuits and, um, vodka.

We spent the day wandering round the town centre, before calling into GBK for burgers (come on, we are bloggers) and a catch up. Sadly Emma and Sarah had to leave us after the meal to do important grown-up things like sleep, but the rest of us returned to Snobs for a night of dancing on broken glass and requesting Blondie. Leaving the next morning (read: afternoon) was made substantially better with nachos and orange juice, and I didn't even have any annoying passengers on my train home! This weekend is being spent a little closer to home, as I've just spent the morning making triangular sandwiches ready for a DIY afternoon tea. Thug life, right?

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Break me on the thirty-seventh hour.

White tee: c/o COLLECTIVE. Leather skirt: £13.50, Topshop. Mug: gift (from my brother!), Cath Kidston.

For me, "home" means the Essex countryside. As far removed from TOWIE as feasibly possible (okay, about fifteen minutes drive from Sugar Hut, but we'll ignore that), I often find myself enjoying a good cuppa in the kitchen with whatever book I happen to reading at that moment in time; today's novella of choice happens to be The Great Gatsby. I do like the quiet of home, but I can't help but miss Liverpool's hustle and bustle more than a little bit. I'm looking forward to settling in again, i.e. cramming the heinous amount of clothes I've managed to build up over the past few months into my wardrobe, and catching up with friends I haven't seen for a few months. I hope the rest of you who are coming back from university are returning to homelife just as comfortably, and, if you need it, Yorkshire Tea's currently on offer in Morrison's, and everyone knows that it's the best one out there!

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Giveaway(!!)

This has been in the pipeworks for a while, it has to be said. A mixture of the unreliable postal service and being terribly busy this academic year has meant that lots of emails flicking back and forth have only just made it here.

A couple of months back I reached the one thousand follower mark. I'm not a big fan of the word (in my own english student way, I always think it ought to be renamed "readers"), but it honestly does mean a lot to me that anyone commits to having my little blog appear on their feeds. So, in true "I've just got my birthday money, let's do this" fashion, I've prepared not one but two thank you's for you jolly wonderful people.

prize one: spring/summer

Well, it wouldn't be a proper giveaway if it weren't themed, eh? Whenever I think of Summer, I think (read: dream) of travelling to exotic locations. I headed off to Cath Kidston to pick up a luggage tag and make-up bag, and Sunglasses Shop have kindly agreed to let the winner pick a pair of SXUC sunglasses - you've got to look after your peepers, after all.

prize two: autumn/winter

Who doesn't like to snuggle up under their duvet with a good pair of socks? I'm a sucker for Topshop's offerings, so got two frilly pairs in my favourite colours. My favourite online jewellery brand Elsie Belle (I'm sure you've seen me wearing my masquerade necklace, as I wear it all the time) have donated a teapot necklace and leaf bracelet, two things I associate with this time of the year.

to enter:

As this is a giveaway for readers, you must be following via either Google Friend Connect (that box on the left) or Bloglovin'.
Just leave a comment saying which prize you'd prefer, and like the relevant company on facebook (Sunglasses Shop and Elsie Belle)

For extra entries you can:
Follow me on twitter...
...tumblr...
and ...instagram
As well as liking on facebook.
You can also tweet something, linking back to this post and mentioning @rebeccacohen.

Whatever you do, just write it in a comment, and I'll add it to a spreadsheet, or something geeky. Extra point if you tell a really bad joke.

Open to international readers, and closes 6th February 2013.

I think that's got pretty much everything covered. All that I have left to say is good luck!

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