Cute but psycho.

Brandy Melville 'Cute but psycho' tee: £18. Vintage suede skirt: £8, via charity shop (similar). Zara velvet slippers: £9, via charity shop (similar). Karen Millen patent mini bag: £5, via sample sale. H Samuel and Pandora bracelets. Vintage and Forever 21 rings. Barry M "Road Rage" not-quick-dry-at-all nail varnish. Topshop "Really Ruby" lipstick.

As time passes, I like Maldon more and more. It's a pain to get to, provides dubious phone signal and the average age of its inhabitants is probably sixty, so I really don't see where the drawbacks lie. I did find it a little amusing when a brand took fifteen or so bloggers to an island just off its shores for a super-fancy event, as to me it has always been, and will always be, a place so far removed from "blogger life" - and the world in general, there's only one bus an hour - as it's possible to be. But there you go. This time we didn't head down to the river as is our usual way of spending the day there, and instead explored its bloody hills quaint backstreets, before heading to a café just behind M&S for a late lunch. Can't remember for the life of me what it's called, but it sits off the high street and serves a mean BLT.

There's not really much to say about this incredibly standard tee and no tights outfit, but I do have to give a special shout out to Jazmine who picked this tee up for me from Soho after I spotted it on Pinterest a while back, as Brandy Melville's online shop is appalling/does not have any stock. 'Cute but psycho' might not be the most PC turn of phrase, but after last night I will be acting with "abnormal or violent behaviour" towards my breakfast as soon as I drag myself downstairs.

I've popped links to old Maldon blog posts below (hello, second ever outfit post!), so you can have a tour of the town:

The Hythe | Promenade Park | Heybridge Basin | Beeleigh Road

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Polka dots and pretty houses.

Chinti and Parker polka dot shirt: £4.95 (!!), via charity shop (similar). Vintage leather jacket: £17.50. Asos petite Ridley jeans: £30. Oasis chelsea boots: £41 (now on sale). Primark hat: £7. Speech bubble necklace: c/o Tatty Devine. Topshop and H Samuel rings. Essie 'maximillian strasse her'. MAC 'Ravishing'.

It would seem that my mum and I have been tackling a 'places in Essex we've never been' list with much aplomb. A far cry from TOWIE (literally, we went in the opposite direction from Sugar Hut), we stumbled across enough pastel-coloured houses to rival Notting Hill, with significantly less tourists and plenty more opportunities for no-queuing-necessary afternoon tea. Castle Hedingham (the place, not the castle) is full of narrow winding streets working their way up and down, interspersed with plenty of ancient pubs and tea-rooms. Dreamy.

Onto one of my other recent finds: this shirt. I've been frequenting charity shops less than usual, but will still pop in if I happen to be in town for a reason other than to use the train station/go to the gym/be a bottle of wine down. I picked up this Chinti and Parka shirt for less than a fiver because I genuinely liked it, not realising till I got home that they retail for well over £100 - can I get a 'hell yeah'? And, of course, I couldn't not mention this amazing necklace team Tatty sent over to cheer up one very blue Monday, featuring my tweet in cold, shiny, hard plastic. It may not make the start of the week any easier, but it sure gives the guy at the station something to chuckle at as he prepares my 'large, for Monday' latte.

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'Cause I'm holding onto heaven.

Topshop scallop hem sheer blouse: gift. American Apparel sunflower shorts: £54. Cath Kidston leather polka dot bag: gift. Asos tan leather sandals: £25. H Samuel bracelet: gift.

Looking at these photos shortly after closing your window due to the chill is a bit of an odd contrast, isn't it? Here's hoping the sun comes back by the end of the week as forecast, as my pins are slowly but surely starting to resemble something other than milk bottles.

After work, my mum and I decided to go for a stroll through the park to make the most of not being on a train/in the office/it not raining. Despite having lived here for a good decade, I've never really wandered round Admiral's Park, having tended to stick to the bits nearer to town, and thus nearer to Topshop and M&S. For this particularly sunny occasion, I donned my sunflower shorts (again) and my now go-to bag from Cath Kidston, which the lovely team presented me with after my two weeks interning at their Head Office, and it's definitely come in handy over the past fortnight. I was unsure whether to post these photos as I'm well aware that I'm not the size 6 lithe fashion blogger that saturates and is most successful in the blogging world, but in the end I decided it would've been a complete waste of time taking and editing these photos to have even more self-confidence doubts, and it's hardly new to you if you've ever seen the front pages of rubbishy celebrity gossip magazines. So, enjoy the cellulite guys, I'm off to watch the cricket.

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