A love letter Christmas.

River Island faux fur scarf: £28 (now £15, typical). Topshop jacket (old): £27. Luella dress (old): ebay. Over the knee boots: c/o Schuh.

It's happened again. Working in retail, we were finalising our Christmas campaign way back in June, and that Thing in the distance has suddenly clicked its fingers in my face, but instead of digits it was someone spilling mulled wine on my desk. Now it's somehow Christmas Eve, I've started making up for lost time on the mince pies (how gorgeous are these ones from Bettys?) after recovering from the Christmas party, and it'll all be festive cheer the moment it clocks 1 and we finish for the weekend.

Just a quick one from me today, as these wreath-filled photos might be a tad out of season if I wait until my normal Sunday to post, but all my love for the big day - hope you get out of it argument-free and have three times your GDA of roast potatoes! brb, eating five days worth of advent calendar chocolates.

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I want desire.

Luella blouse: ebay. Vintage suede skirt: £8, charity shop. Laura Ashley trench coat. Adidas Spezial: £29, Freeport Braintree. Rotary watch. Rimmel Kate Moss 08 lipstick.

It's always a bit weird to revisit things. I'm not talking an ex-boyfriend here (bye means bye, okay?), I'm talking places. I grew up in Woodford, which is best explained as 'on the east bit of the Central line', and, despite heading back to Loughton every six months to go to the dentist, I hadn't really been back since we upped sticks and headed way out 'so far past zone nine you can't even use an oyster card' in 2003. For the first time in over a decade, my mum and I popped back down the M11 to have a little wander along memory lane. It's a bit like heading back to a club you frequented in freshers week - things are a bit hazy, but you know where the toilet is and vaguely recognise that booth.

In case you're not aware (you probably aren't, half the people I live with now haven't heard of Redbridge, let alone know it's in the same county), if you look at London on Google maps and see the reservoirs just north of Central, I'm talking a little bit east of there. We started off the day in Highams Park, by far my favourite of all the places in that little bit of the London-Essex border. There aren't many places I can see myself settling down (this is what moving all over the place does to a girl...), but there is something about this area which gives me complete chilled out vibes, and I would definitely move in without a second thought were it not so bloody expensive to live there. London housing woes aside, we walked past my mum's first flat, through the Park, past my childhood home, and round Woodford Green back to the car. We then popped over to Loughton for dinner before heading up into Epping Forest a little to take these photos. Oh, wisteria, how I miss you already.

Are there any little pockets of London you love to re-visit? I'm always on the lookout for more places to fall in love with!

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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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I must admit I can't explain any of these thoughts racing through my brain.

Zara double-breasted navy coat: £30 (similar). Luella dress: old, ebay. Black leather brogues: c/o Dorothy Perkins. Marks and Spencer oxblood leather bag: £43. Christys fedora hat: £20, charity shop. Rimmel Kate Moss 107 lipstick.

Autumnal colours are back with a vengeance. I hadn't worn this navy coat since flying back from Munich (proved by finding 0,75 euros and a nail varnish in the pockets), but it certainly felt like pulling back on an old friend. We popped over to one of our favourite villages Writtle for a late lunch and a wander round the green and gift shops, and I couldn't resist borrowing this beautiful backdrop of black and white houses for some quick outfit photos.

These brogues appealed to my inner Chung fangirl the moment I saw them. As the first pair I've worn for about a year which haven't absolutely ripped my feet to shreds, these ones are definitely a winner, and they're in the sale right now. Fancy winning a whole year's worth of shoes from Dorothy Perkins? Just upload a photo of you wearing your DP shoes to instagram or twitter with the hashtag #MyDorothyMoment or #DPShoeSelfie for your chance to win - more information here. Because, let's be honest, even if you have hundreds of them lining the bottom of your wardrobe there's always space to squeeze an extra pair in there!

As it's the last day of November, I suppose it's about time I start turning my thoughts towards my birthday next Saturday... Other than the mandatory night out, my friends and I are planning a little getaway early next year. Do you have any suggestions for city breaks? We're deliberating between Paris and Dublin, but are open to suggestions. Answers on a postcard!

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Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same.

Urban Outfitters smock dress: £58. Laura Ashley trench coat. Dolcis pink loafers: c/o Brantano. Topshop lace trim socks: £3.50. Luella clutch bag: £67, via ebay. Rotary watch: gift. Brandy Melville "thug life" necklace: €6. Michael Kors sunglasses.

As I put this outfit on, it kind of felt like I was dressing as myself a few years ago. Considering I used to wear it all the time, it's surprising that this Urban Outfitters dress has only once made it into a blog post. When I received these dusky pink loafers in the post I immediately thought of this dress, and had a quick browse through Charlie's archives for a little bit of rainy day outfit inspiration - certainly beats the lazy jeans and stripy tee combination I was initially planning on, doesn't it?* My style has developed into something of a uniform recently, reflecting the early starts and late nights perhaps a little too much, perhaps. Appreciate the cheeky #tbt (...w) to my Chung lovin' days, and don't expect to see so much pink again for a long, long time.

Seeing as I haven't talked about ~life for a bit on here, I guess we're due a catch-up. I'm currently interning at Oasis (think social media, copywriting, creating online content, etc.), so please do tweet me your blog posts if you've worn their stuff and I'll get pinning! Other than that, it's been a bit quiet as I haven't planned any last minute trips to the other end of the country. Instead I've been meeting up with blogging babes Jazmine and Megan, as well as getting myself a little bit too acquainted with Winchester cocktails on a Saturday night. However, I did book hotels for my friend's hen party and wedding on Monday night, so I'm looking forward to exploring a few more northern cities at the end of the Summer. Until then, I'm staying in the South East, and I'm going to just have to deal with staying in one place for more than a few weeks at a time (send help).

*A result of me having lost my jeans. I'm going to have to admit my floordrobe's got a little out of hand...

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