I've got another dream lover.

Luella blouse: ebay. H+M palm print trousers: £15 (can't find them online, I'm afraid, but only bought them this month so should still be in-store!). Bally boots: £8, charity shop. Cheap Monday sunglasses. Rotary watch. Topshop Really Ruby lipstick.

It may not be blue sea and SPF 50, but I considered my trip to Cardiff to be a little holiday, so when better to whack out the palm prints? H+M is a store that I never seem to find anything in (being over a size 6 woes, etc.), but a meander through from Topshop to the gym ended up with me making a little purchase I don't regret in the slightest. In lesson two of Don't Rely On Boys To Take Your Photos, I've paired them with my favourite white shirt, but Luke has inspired me to wear them on Mondays weekends with a slouchy sweatshirt.

Saturday was much sunnier, so we headed into town for a wander round the shops. Cardiff is full of tiny, twisting Victorian arcades, and Gemma recommended I head into Spillers Records (she had me at oldest record shop in the world) before I resisted a whole lot of denim-skirt-shaped temptation in Urban Outfitters. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back, but do let me know if there any any places in the UK you'd recommend for a long weekend away - I'm fully intending to rinse my YP railcard for all it's worth before it expires.

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Torchwood.

Zara coat (old): £30. Vintage shirt: £2, charity shop. Warehouse denim skirt: £2, sample sale. Marks and Spencer bowling bag (old): £43. Bally chelsea boots: £8, charity shop. Rotary watch. Rimmel Kate Moss 08 lipstick.

Guess who was naïve? I headed over to Cardiff a couple of weeks back to watch the general election. I gave up around 4am (stellar effort, I maintain), yet the others made a night of it and didn't take all too kindly to me shoving a camera in their hands the next day, when the only thing they wanted to concentrate on was a pillow. Still, who could resist a backdrop like this? On a grey May afternoon Cardiff Bay was looking pretty spectacular, even if some of us weren't too keen to capture it.

On a more chronological note, I headed straight to Paddington from work and was in my friend's flat before everything kicked off, glass of Cava in hand, bottle of vodka in kitchen. You probably know what happened next, so we cheered things up the next morning by heading to Bill's on the way to the Doctor Who Experience. I found the latter pretty amusing, the ones on less sleep found it harrowing, but my fifteen year old whovian came to the fore and loved every bloody minute of it. That evening I headed into town while people recovered, and I met up with my main welsh babe Gem to explore what the capital had to offer. We headed off to a street food market for a catch up over meat, and would definitely recommend popping by for their words of wisdom.

Part two coming your way soon and, in the meantime, here's to making the most of the Bank Holiday!

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It all feels like gold to me.

Zara coat (old): £30. Oasis ripped jeans: £28. Petit Bateau marinière: €42.50. Karen Millen boots: £25, sample sale. Tartan scarf: £3, charity shop. Bag: gift from Jazmine. Becca Cosmetics 'Hotel California' lip gloss.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you may have noticed that I've spent the last few days in the Welsh capital, Cardiff. We popped over to visit my friend and drink to all things politics before getting home just gone nine last night, when I prioritised cooking pasta (I hadn't eaten for nine hours - that's pretty much a diet) rather than making sure a post was scheduled for today. So, apologies in advance if there are more mentions of the pug I saw at Cardiff Bay than chat about ripped jeans.

Leigh-on-Sea is one of my favourite places in Essex. When we were little, my brother and I knew it as the place we went to first before walking to Southend (photos of it here - my first "proper" outfit post!), claiming a cone of Rossi ice cream on the journey. It's not filled to the brim with clothes shops and bars, and it's distinctly lacking in sandy beaches, but it will always have a little place in my heart reserved for nostalgia, right next to sequinned dance costumes and the water fountains you could jump in at Victoria Park. My mum and I like to drive over there every few months for a browse of the gift shops, a walk along the seafront and some mandatory fish and chips - what could be more perfect?

Are there any places you always go back to, no matter how many years it's been? This isn't your classic "ask people a question at the end of your blog post, it'll drive engagement!!!" thing, I'm genuinely interested in which places people love, so please do comment with yours.

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I would send you roses.

Laura Ashley trench coat (old). COLLECTIVE t-shirt. Oasis floral shorts. Hobbs boots: £40, warehouse sale. Elsie Belle masquerade necklace: £9. Barry M gel nail varnish. "Apple blush" bouquet: c/o Appleyard London.

From one English Rose to another - it's not every day you get a flower delivery, so when a (rather large) box of flowers appeared in the post room two months too late for Valentine's there was a bit of a stir in the office. We all came to the same conclusion: these blooms are beautiful. I'm not personally one for roses, but this blush half-dozen caught my eye, and I couldn't wait for the lilies to properly open and fill my home with their signature scent (they're currently alive 'n' blooming in my kitchen, right now). With such a pretty posey, I couldn't resist getting the milk bottle legs out in my current favourite floral print shorts for a top to toe look that's accidentally "it's a girl!" appropriate.

Things have been more than a little overwhelming for me recently, so I'm planning to spend as much of this bank holiday weekend drunk relaxing before returning to work on Tuesday. I'll also be heading West after voting on Thursday to visit a friend, so if anyone has any Cardiff recommendations please do leave a comment below, or send me a much-appreciated tweet!

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So just chill 'til the next episode.

The Kooples leather jacket. Topshop 'tell someone who cares' tee: £22 (short sleeve version online). Vintage suede skirt: £8, charity shop (suck on THAT asos and topshop). Oasis chelsea boots: £41 (now on sale!). Rimmel Kate Moss 08 lipstick.

Photos by Jade.

It's when I'm sitting in bed, with a cup of tea nearly too cold to drink, without make-up on and with a grey "Spring" sky outside, that I'm glad I have a massive backlog of photos ready to go. So, the beady-eyed Instagram followers be thinking "but I thought you hadn't been to Liverpool for ages?" would be correct - this was over a month ago, but let's pass it off as a #TBS, leave the eyeliner far, far away, and save the PJ's of the day for another desperate outfit post.

I headed back to my university city on the first fair weather weekend of the year with two unnecessary coats in tow. First stop was Bill's with Jade, having a four hours too late breakfast which went down just like the treat it was. We then popped over to the Georgian quarter (fave 4eva) to snap these photos before I met up with my friends in the Quarter for a catch-up over crumble. We left the sweets behind as we headed into town to avoid the Harvey Nichols beauty bazaar get an outfit for the oncoming evening of green-lit bars and, I quote, "the dungeon". A lot of dancing later, we were waking up to a much-needed Moose before everyone went their own ways. Weekends in Liverpool are always fleeting, but that's just the perfect excuse to head back soon.

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