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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I heard there was a secret chord.

Asos necklace dress: £36. French Connection heels: gift (old). Pandora bracelet. Topshop Really Ruby lipstick and Becca Hotel California lipgloss. Essie Lapiz of Luxury nail varnish.

As I drink out of the scouser ware mug I picked up when in the North West earlier this month, I can't help but think that a lot can happen in three weeks. I mean, I've had a few bruises develop and also lost an eyebrow brush (guess which of the two I think is more tragic), but my friend Beth got married and jetted off on honeymoon, returning a brand new lady. I think we both know which one of us has experienced more life-changing occurrences, but it was an honour to be invited up to the beautiful Chester to celebrate one of my Liverpool ladies tying the knot. We all went through pretty rough patches at university, (I'd recommend freshers watching Corrie's video, if you've got any sober time to spare!) and I'm honesty so happy that Beth found her mister during the course of it, and you couldn't hope for a happier and more beautiful bride - I think my jaw still aches from so much smiling in a short space of time.

I couldn't help but buy something special for the occasion, and this asos dress spoke to me through my screen at work inbetween the quips about parkas and that Taylor Swift song being played incessantly on the radio. Maybe it reveals all those meal deals I've been indulging in at lunch recently, but other than that I think it looks okay on, and I love the open back and little necklace detail meaning I didn't have to bother lugging any more stuff up with me - perfect! Now, I'm just off to celebrate being single with my pal Danielle then get myself to the gym and undo that packet of Kettle crisps.

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When the zeros line up on the twenty-four hour clock.

French Connection blouse: gift (similar here and here). Charity shop pencil skirt: £1.50. Christian Louboutin Nude heels: £75, via charity shop. Links of London necklace: gift. Rotary watch: gift. Chanel "Gabrielle" lipstick. Chanel "Dragon" nail varnish.

Charity shop lace blouse: 50p. American Apparel woven skirt: £33. Russell and Bromley flats: 50p, via ebay. Ralph Lauren sunglasses. Rotary watch: gift.

No, you didn't miss anything, these are just some of the photos I never got round to posting from my graduation. On Friday, it will be a year exactly since we threw our mortar boards into the clear blue sky, and what with all those in the year below sending snapchats and selfies my way, it seemed as relevant a time as ever to write a little throwback, of sorts. I always wonder whether these kind of posts are a little self-indulgent (the last one I wrote was waaay back in October), so feel free to scroll through the photos and move onto a prettier blog, of which I've listed plenty here, or hang around for a while, there might be some lols.

When I graduated, I was a little optimistic, which I can 100% guarantee is how the majority of undergraduates feel when they collect their degrees on stage. The usual things ran through my head about how I'd be employed within a month or so, be saving up to move out, and be livin' the dream in London. In short, I knew fuck all (technical term) about the reality of the job market, and found it pretty tough to come to terms with being one of the 2.51 million (May 2013, the month I left uni) out there who hadn't landed feet first in my chosen career. If you'd have told me that I'd be moving to Germany before the year was up I would have laughed plain in your face, and still to this day I'm a little surprised I did it, particularly considering I wasn't in the best frame of mind and physical condition to deal with the stress and upheaval of moving abroad. But, six months later, I came back with words like Katzenjammer under my belt and a whole load of new friends from all over the world.

Bumping back to reality was a bit of a bummer. Although it was rad to be within walking or train distance of everyone, it was frustrating to come back with no real idea, yet again, of what was about to happen. I completed two weeks of jury service, followed by two weeks interning at Cath Kidston's head office over in Shepherd's Bush, then four weeks at Oasis closer to home in Shoreditch, which has since been extended. Attempting to continue my social life (a what, now?) and not let this blog fall completely by the wayside (which I've come pretty close to many, many times in the past few months, and still wonder now whether perhaps getting eight hours sleep might be of more worth than replying to emails) has proved to be pretty tricky, particularly on an intern's budget, but that steadfast british resilience keeps seeing me through, and my need to be melodramatic quite clearly continues.

It's just a little funny to think of how much has changed in a year, since that landmark-to-me-moment. I've lived in two countries, been in five, met countless amounts of people, published 95 blog posts (including this one), and have 17 sitting in my drafts folder never to see the light of day, bought three stripy tops, been to four festivals, seen arctic monkeys three times, eaten a few litres of hummus, and got one job.

So yeah, sorry this #tbt isn't on a Thursday, but when have I ever done things by the book?

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I say, I'm sorry I won't do that happily.

Denim shirt: gift from Jazmine. Asos petite jeans: £28. French Connection bag: gift. Hunter boots: won in Char's giveaway. Rimmel lipstick.

As promised, here's day two of my Parklife shenanigans.

Sunday was much more chilled than the day before, namely due to the mainly sunny weather, and we rolled up to the festival site around 1, after having a good ol' fry up to keep us going. As we had to leave around 7 to head back to Manchester city centre, we missed Foals and Disclosure (I may have shed a figurative tear, I'll get another opportunity I'm sure), but were serenaded by London Grammar's kick ass lungs and man of the moment Sam Smith. No burger news to report this time, as I got a pasty from the station on the way home (keepin' things real), so I'll cut things short as I seemed to go on a bit about day one, and I've got post-festival blues.

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Love is blindness, I don't wanna see.

French Connection blouse: gift. American Apparel floral chiffon skirt: £15, via ebay. The Kooples leather jacket. Missguided heeled boots. Cheap Monday sunglasses. Marks and Spencer bowler bag: £43. Charity shop belt: 20p. Nail varnish: essie "Sunday Funday".

Photos by Stephanie.

When I'm in London during the summer, it's not unlikely that you'll find me in one of its many parks with a picnic and Pimm's, but it took me a good few months to journey up to Olympiapark, which I'm going to blame on the weather - I'm British, after all. As the stadium was built from a dent left by a bomb dropped during the war, this area of Munich has some pretty dramatic landscaping, and it was odd to be wandering round in the bright sun while there was still snow atop some of the hills surrounding us. After spending the day sitting by the lake with a beer, and then hiring a pedalo and seeing the views from the water, I quickly nabbed these photos (under Stephanie's "creative direction") before the sun went down. Here's hoping the weather behaves so that we can do this more often!

If you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed that yesterday Lauren and I went to Innsbruck, Austria (instead of Zurich, due to deciding to do things a little bit too last minute), which was so beautiful I can't even begin to describe. Or rather, I'm going to do a blog post on it, so don't want to chat too much now. I've had to head to the office to blog as for some reason my wifi at home's decided to go AWOL, but otherwise I've had a pretty good weekend so far, and I hope you're all enjoying the time off.

Don't forget to enter to win a pair of Michael Kors sunglasses!

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