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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A day at the races - win Newbury Racing tickets and a John Lewis voucher!

Here's your ready-made excuse to dress up. I'm heading off to Newbury Racecourse with my BFF at the end of the month and the lovely lot there have offered you the chance to come along too. They'll even throw in a £30 John Lewis voucher (do. not. think. of. #ManOnTheMoon) to help add a little somethin' somethin' to your outfit. I've only ever been to the races once before, but really relished the opportunity to don a posh frock and dust my heels off. If you're anything like me, the days of getting dolled up for a night out are well and truly over, instead plucking for something a little more casual in order to ensure a evening dancing into the next day. Fancy the opportunity to treat yourself to some new shoes? Have a look at the widget below and try your luck.

One of those 'but I never win competitions' sorts? No fear. Use the cheeky code FUN15 for £5 off Premier or Grandstand admission on the Hennessey Gold Cup Day (28th November - same day I'm going!) when you purchase through this link or call up on 01635 40015. This means your save £ on tickets and gives you a little something extra to use at the bar instead. Excellent.

enter to win

Newbury Racing competition

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They can't love me like you.

Topshop knit (old, although this is pretty much the same). Oasis faux leather skirt. Karen Millen boots: £25, sample sale. Marks and Spencer bag (old). Necklace: c/o Happiness Boutique.

Going out with students for Halloween? Feeling a bit old? The best way to cure this malady is to make sure you spend the day where you lower the average age by quite a few decades. Battlesbridge is a little village in Essex, known for its antiques centre and weird sticky outy building, and OAPs can't get enough of it. The higgledy piggledy stalls are host to an odd array of anything you can think of, and I am rather a fan of the crap taxidermy you can find nestled in the back of a fair few stands. We came home empty handed this time, but I definitely had my eye on a few of the old bookshelves and cabinets, perfect for someone who's got plans and schemes for their room... 

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You think we look pretty good together.

Laura Ashley trench coat (old). Topshop print top: £24 (old). Vintage suede skirt: £8, charity shop. Bally bag: £9, vintage shop. Warehouse lace up flats: £29. Esie Belle necklace: £9.

There's just something about Oxford, isn't there? The city of dreaming spires is one that I don't visit all that frequently, but every trip leaves me feeling a little more relaxed and in love with this country. It may have its own tube (hoho), but this city is all about retaining its heritage and tradition, which comes as a nice break from fast-paced London's silicon roundabout, coremetrics, edialog and UAT. Of course, it did manage to tip it down for roughly 90% of our trip meaning that country air had a hint of raindrop to it (say hello to Yankee candle's new copywriter??), but in a ten minute break we managed to take advantage of smaller than usual crowds beneath the bridge of sighs. Oxford may be a far cry from Venice, but the eponymous (chicken? egg? Wiki'll tell you who came first, I'm sure) architecture is still pretty bloody beautiful, and it's almost enough to make me wish I'd tried a liiittle bit harder whilst revising for my A Levels and make it here to study full time.

As a hardcore His Dark Materials fan, we also headed up Carfax tower to experience Oxford from the rooftops. It might not have been a day for clambering across from building to building, but we definitely made the most of our trip among the spires. Spiral staircase aside (I'm writing this after a big bowl of pasta* - let's not think about all that twirling, unless it's spaghetti round a spoon of course), it's the best place to see the city from, and even better when the sun breaks through the seemingly impenetrable greys of a month's worth of rain in two days. We didn't head inside any of the colleges this time (remember when we bunked into Magdalen?), but from the little we could see from peeking in through the grand wooden doors there's plenty more to see inside. I mean, just look at the museum - and this is the new stuff!

*I'm currently oop norf and this post is scheduled, never quite managed to have pasta for breakfast. Yet.

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Good times, these are the good times.

Tie neck blouse: c/o Next. Oasis velvet trousers: borrowed, coming soon, sign up here. Boohoo suede heels (old, similar). Laura Ashley trench coat (old). Missguided fedora: £15. Rimmel Kate Moss 08 lipstick.

There are lots of things you can rely on. For example:

- The Weather. Going down to the water? Don't be an idiot and wear flared trousers, a hat liable to following the wind and your hair down matched with lipstick. And do not, by any means, photograph it - you should see the outtakes. Back in Maldon, I decided to wear a pair of trousers so long I had to hold them up through the pockets of my coat (#shortpeopleprobs, these are a sample and I'm pretty sure the real ones won't be this long) and everything else lying at the far end of the sensible spectrum.

- Childhood Glee. Making gifs is still one of my absolute favourite things to do. Look at it! The sea is moving! I made it go backwards!

- Tie Neck Blouses. Without doubt, they will make you feel like Blair Waldorf. Excuse me while I go find a headband and fish out my Gossip Girl boxset from the bottom of the pile.

- Next Day Delivery. Cinderella shall go to the ball. And she shall be wearing a brand new outfit, because an overflowing wardrobe does not an outfit make. Happily enough Next now offer next day delivery for a mere £3.99 (or free to store, music to the ears of "I'd rather spend it in Pret" me) if you order before midnight. So if you do lose any shoes on your night out, there'll be a new pair ready for you the morning after the night before. Have a peek at how the other girls have styled this blouse by checking the #nexttake12 hashtag.

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