I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.

Asos denim smock dress: £36. Zara double breasted coat: £30. Sparrow ring: c/o Jana Reinhardt. Topshop Anna boots: £76.50. Urban Outfitters panama hat: £26. M&S leather bowler bag: £43. Charity shop scarf: £1. Topshop "Really Ruby" lipstick: £7.20.

Photos by Carmen.

Munich's English Gardens are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Even in Winter, when the fountains are covered and, let's be honest, it's bloody freezing, they still look picturesque against the steely sky. Now that the christmas markets have vacated every free space (although I did find one hanging around at Isartor - did they not get the memo?), Munich's back to its much calmer self, and Carmen and I arranged to meet for coffee and discuss our christmas breaks. For the occasion I wore my favourite smock dress (which is now in the sale!), with my panama hat which nearly flew away when boarding at Stansted, and the cutest little sparrow ring from Jana Reinhardt, all in varying shades of blue, suitable for the wet weather.

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Doesn't it feel like Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Just a little hello how are ya on Christmas day as I listen to Happy Xmas War is Over (I'm still a little bit scouse, wherever in the world I am!), and reminisce back a week or two to being in the office with Carmen and Kavita and snapping photos in front of the christmas tree - even the Stylight christmas tree bleeds purple! I hope you've had a lovely time so far today with your loved ones and maybe opening a present or two accompanied by a flute of something bubbly. I'll inevitably be instagramming and tweeting throughout the day, but right now I'm about to slip into my christmas jumper and join in with the rest of the festivities - and with Toy Story 3 being on this afternoon, how could you have a bad time?

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If I go out on a limb and if I wait a little longer.

The Kooples leather jacket. Nancy dress (worn as top): c/o Boohoo. F+F black circle skirt: c/o Tesco. M&S leather bowling bag: £43. Topshop anna boots: £76.50.  Rotary watch: gift. Necklaces: gift, vintage, Elsie Belle. Topshop "really ruby" lipstick: £7.20.

Photos: Carmen

It wasn't until I started editing these photos and looking at them on my screen that I realised there was a slight (and completely unintentional) nod to the German flag from my mainly black outfit, with hints of red from my bag and lipstick, and amber from my hair. I've heard of an outfit being location appropriate, but this is taking it to a whole new level.

I've been here just shy of a month and a half, but I've settled in so well that flying back to England for Christmas today seems a little too ahead of schedule for my liking. Unfortunately I'll be missing my girl Kavita's last day tomorrow due to plane fares, but I'm looking forward to being home for Christmas dinners aplenty (at last count I've arranged three), catch ups over Costa coffee, and crisp London afternoons.

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In my mind, in my head, seeing all the words I've said.

Vintage M&S blouse: 50p, via charity shop. American Apparel corduroy circle skirt: £15, via ebay. Shearling wedge heels: €4, via Nachtflohmarkt. Topshop oversized blazer: £27. Tartan scarf: £8, via ebay. Rotary watch: gift. Marks and Spencer bowler bag: £43. Nails Inc "London": free with Coke in Boots - win!
Photos by Kavita

I'm a charity shop girl at heart, and although I can't say I love the process of rummaging through the rails, you can't really beat the feeling of finding a real treasure (I know I said I'd do a "best charity shop finds" post a while ago, and it's still in the works, moving house three times in so many months has its problems!). Unfortunately Munich doesn't seem to have anything other than an Oxfam bookshop that I've noticed, but when my friends mentioned a late-night flea market I knew I had to do a little bit of research. Coinciding with Sabby's visit last weekend, we popped along to the Nachtflohmarkt in possibly the weirdest area I've ever been in; the flea market was housed in a large hall nestled between about eight nightclubs. Once inside, we were met with a live band crooning brit pop hits and, um, blurred lines, and we browsed the many aisles for a good hour or so, with stalls selling everything from Smurfs vinyl to the coolest patchwork leather jacket, which I regret not buying. Although my friend came away with a fair amount of bargains, I only bought these boots for a mere €4 (about £3.40) after spending too long debating whether €15 was too much for a burgundy leather clutch bag and deciding to get it just after someone else had purchased it - typical! I've been on the hunt for a brown shearling coat after spying the Acne one a while ago, but I'm more than happy with these little ankle booties. Although, judging by these photos, perhaps my next investment should be a hairbrush!

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Slumville sunrise.

Topshop oversized blazer: £27. Boohoo baseball tee: £10. Carven wool shorts: £69, via Cricket. Topshop anna boots: £76.50. London Retro soho glasses, via MyOptique. Rotary watch: gift. Marks and Spencer bowling bag: £43. Essie "Lapis of Luxury": £6.99. Necklaces: (from top) gift, vintage, and Elsie Belle.

It's dead handy working with bloggers. Nothing quite like asking "photos tomorrow?" as you head out at the end of the day, and know that it's not going to be frowned upon! Luckily I work with Carmen (who took these photos) and Kavita (stood waiting for us to go and get some olive bread, and boy is it worth waiting for), so we're the crazy ones standing outside without coats on while it snows, or, as is the case with this particular set of photos, stand in the cycle lane and have to hop out of the way every couple of minutes. Even if there was a slight risk of bruising, I'm happy with these photos as we somehow managed to procure a little bit of golden hour during our lunch break - it always seems better when I'm abroad!

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I don't know about you.

French Connection blouse: gift. American Apparel circle skirt: £15, via ebay. Topshop anna boots: £76.50. Rotary watch: gift. Charity shop belt: 20p. Essie "Lapis of Luxury": £6.99.

But I'm feeling 22!

On Tuesday I discovered that my friend Sabby had booked flights out to visit me (nothing like spontaneity, eh?), so I managed to book the afternoon off work for us to get the chance to explore Munich's christmas markets, drink glühwein, and generally celebrate being twenty-two! Last night we baked an amaretto cake (I would've gone for a classic victoria sponge, but self-raising flour is a purely British thing, apparently?), which the office promptly devoured today, along with my supervisor's dutch stroopwafeln as it's his birthday too!

We're currently wrapped up in so many layers it's gone past fashionable to michelin man to brave the snow, so wish us luck as we head out into the open! Hope you're all having an amazing day, and enjoying the (much, much warmer) British weather

xx

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Narcissus in a red dress.

Red drape shoulder dress: c/o LOVE. Nancy high neck dress (worn underneath): c/o Boohoo. The Kooples leather jacket. Topshop Anna buckle boots: £76.50. Charity shop belt: 20p. Rotary watch: gift. MAC Ravishing lipstick: £14.

Have you noticed something a little different about my blog? After a while (okay, a couple of years) of umm-ing and ahh-ing, I've finally purchased a domain for It's Cohen! Party poppers at the ready, right? Having that little .co.uk at the end of my name feels a little bit fancier than the ever-faithful blogspot, but it makes me feel slightly more professional, and it's going to be much quicker to scribble down at meet-ups! If you could update any links you may have, I would definitely appreciate it, although I'm hoping this won't prove too problematic if you follow me on bloglovin'. Fingers, toes, and hair (if I plait it) crossed that everything works out okay.

Now for something completely different. Although the Stylight offices are pretty cosy, it can't hurt to layer up a little, particularly when you've left your scarf at home. On this occasion, I added my now staple high-neck dress underneath my new scarlet LOVE number for a toasty ensemble. Maybe I'm getting into red after seeing every other person wearing a Bayern Munich scarf on the U-Bahn of a weekend, or maybe I'm getting fed up of burgundy. Maybe. We'll test that one out next week.

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The colder the night gets, the further she strays.

Topshop oversized blazer: £27. French Connection cream jumper: £21.50. Topshop brown leather skirt: £13.50. Topshop tan chelsea boots: £27. F+F cossack hat: £10. M&S leather bowling bag: £43. Rotary watch: gift. Charity shop fur scarf: 50p. MUA Lipstick shade 3: £1.

Photos by Carmen.

It's definitely getting festive in Munich. Snow falls, I'm using a horrendous amount of hand cream, and there are poinsettia in every shop window. Saturday was the day for our christmas party, and we got a coach from work to a location shrouded in secrecy. An hour and a half later, we were considerably closer to the Austrian border, and we pulled up to the view of snow-topped mountains in Schliersee. A wander round the christmas markets with glühwein in hand involved an inevitable photo opportunity (we were all wearing fur hats!), before heading on a boat out to a restaurant on an island in the middle of the lake for food and drink - who could complain? By the time we were all suitably wined and dined, we headed back to our coach for a trip even further east to a club which we stayed in till the early hours, and it was gone 8am before I collapsed into bed - cue one tired girl the next day (and today!).

Germany is such a beautiful country, but I can't help but get a little excited every time I see the "check in" reminder on my calendar, as there are certain home comforts a girl can't help but miss, even if that is mainly cheddar... This will be the first time I've spent my birthday in another country (it's this Friday, for all of you who may have forgotten ;) ), so it'll be odd not to get the usual caterpillar cake, but it's about time new traditions were made. And when they're in the setting of Marienplatz, I really don't think that's a problem!

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New heroines, new Marilyns.

Sequinned cage back playsuit: c/o boohoo. Black tuxedo jacket: c/o Closet clothing. Peperosa cut out boots: borrowed from Carmen.

Photos by Carmen.

If there's ever going to be a time for sequins, it's definitely during the festive period. For my twenty-first, I whipped out this snazzy little number, but for the Stylight christmas do I've decided to step it up a notch with this playsuit's cut-out detail on the back. Although it goes beautifully with this tuxedo jacket that I chose after my friend's horrified reaction when I admitted to not owning a black blazer, I think more than a little jacket will be necessary to battle the german elements at this time of year. Heading out for just twenty minutes to take these and Carmen's photos resulted in some very frozen hands which could only be fixed with a whole tub of potato soup, my most extreme soup stunt to date. If you fancy winning yourself a little sparkly something, boohoo are running a competition on instagram with the prize of a £500 wardrobe just for hashtagging your christmas style with #dressmas. If I win, it's safe to say that I'll be heading straight to the coat section...

PS, I'm currently looking into buying a domain for my blog (about bloody time!), so if you have any host recommendations please send them my way!

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With one hand you calm me, with one hand I'm steel.

Contrast collar dress: c/o Closet Clothing. The Kooples leather jacket. Rotary watch: gift. Choies checkered boots: Kavita's Topshop "really ruby" lipstick: £7.20.
Photos by Kavita.

Well, here you go, my first post hailing from Germany! Taken literally in front of where I work at Stylight HQ (seriously, everyone kept asking us when were going for lunch as they walked past to get their own), you might not be seeing Munich's most picturesque view, but it's the best lunchtime can offer! I keep trying to describe the city to my friends by comparing it to a British equivalent, but the closest I can get to is The City of London; it's affluent, with lots of business people and glass-fronted buildings, but there's the Altstadt (english: "old town") of archaic late Gothic buildings nestled right in the middle of it. I've hardly seen any of it other than the area immediately around where I work, but hopefully this weekend will involve me layering up and going exploring!

I've worked in an office before, so you would expect me to be better prepared for working in one again. You would be mistaken. I packed two leather skirts (yes, two) and a smock dress instead of anything vaguely acceptable, read: comfortable to sit at your desk in all day. Thankfully Closet got in touch just in time and speedily sent me out this Carven-esque dress of dreams. It would appear that I'm not completely over my collar phase, but I am 100% okay with it when dresses like this exist. Paired with a pair of borrowed shoes and my favourite lipstick, maybe it turns out that I can just about pull off workwear.

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