You could wait for a lifetime to spend your days in the sunshine.

Catarzi fedora hat: £25 (jeeze, they've really increased the price of these). Warehouse bardot dress: £24.  Oasis loafers: £4. Warehouse belt (I think, found it in my room one day). Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Scarf c/o Style by Portobello. 

Weekend museuming and sunshine.

As I sit here, having just uploaded the best. boomerang. ever. (if I do say so myself) looking at some very grey skies, it's making me chuckle to look at the above photos: what a difference a week makes! It wouldn't be a patriotic Great British Summer without discussing the clouds every two minutes, so I'm glad to see we can continue this tradition. Less chat about the Euros the better, however. 

Making the most of last week's sunshine, I headed along to meet Clare and Joe at the Imperial War Museum North to check out their newest exhibition: Fashion on the Ration. I hadn't been to IWM since 2003, so was well overdue a visit to the funny looking building on the other side of the river to the Lowry. It's a beautiful museum as it is (despite its subject matter), so would recommend a look round. But, if you're nearby, the Fashion on the Ration exhib is worth a look-in too, as it'll definitely make you feel #blessed after last night's asos splurge. Anyone else kinda want those undies made from a silk ex-army map? 

As I'd bought a weekend tram ticket, I asked on Twitter if anyone had any sunny Sunday recommendations for me, and Emma recommend heading to Sale before walking on to Didsbury. The one thing I've found since moving to Manchester and living a stone's throw from the city centre is that I'm constantly in the urban jungle, with little to no green space available. So, without much hesitation, I took up this suggestion, and got my weekly dose of the green stuff. Now, this comes with a warning: take suncream. Idiotic me prioritised ice cream (not really that sorry), and I'm still applying cocoa butter every day to make up for it. The walk along the Mersey to Didsbury was the perfect antidote to a long ol' week, and I think I've fallen a little in love with that part of Manchester. It's got a very village-y feel (think Wimbledon village, if you're trying to work out its vibe), and it sells parma ham paninis for £6.50.

If that's not got you sold, I made a mini-vlog of my Sunday here. Let me know if you liked it, cos I might start making these a weekly thing (when it's not raining).

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Double denim and all the frills.

Asos petite denim top: £25. Oasis Isabella jeans: £27. Adidas Spezial: £27.

Hands up if you're an old time reader round these parts? If you can remember back to my old "shove a point and shoot camera somewhere and hope for the best" time, then massive clicks to you for sticking about so long. Looking back at these photos and Manchester's intricate canal network reminds me of about three years ago during my second year at uni, when I used to wander around Liverpool and discovered the start of the Liverpool to Leeds canal route. If you'd ever told me back then that I'd end up living a little further along the route I would've raised an (untamed, forgive me) eyebrow and told you to jog on - funny how life has its little quirks, eh?

Back onto less just-had-a-coffee-and-this-is-life-now existential chat (yep, still heading to Costa to write every single blog post), hope you're all post-Easter egg coma survivor and thus eying up another. I'm heading home next week for food a TLSP gig and hospital appointment, so keep an eye on insta to check all the cute country places I'm off to, a right contrast to this super Manchester outfit (if I do say so myself). I don't feel homesick at all as I've felt like an adopted northerner ever since I got accustomed to Liverpool, but it'll be nice to head back for plenty of catch ups and a temperature a couple degrees higher than the crap we've got up here. So, see you soon London, and, in the meantime, send scarves.

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Cressing Temple Barns.

J.Crew jumper: £3.50, charity shop. Jack Wills blouse: £4.50, charity shop. Oasis jeans: £27. Oasis chelsea boots: £41 (similar). Savannah Miller for Debenhams fedora. M&S bag: £43.

Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans, said a dreamer that one time, and you're never really going to have much of a life if all you do is stick to small-town familiarity and keep on keeping on. In an effort to make the most of being near to most of my friends, I spent a lot of January working on making sure I managed to see everyone, meaning the impending Move Date creeped up on me. Among all the good stuff (read: pizza), I had the arduous task of heading to the doctor's in Braintree. Obviously no one enjoys a trip to the hospital (or if you do, enjoy getting that checked out), so I tend to bribe myself with a post-appointment trip to Freeport and buy everything in Hobbs. Unfortunately their tills weren't having any of it on this particular day, so without the adrenaline rush of bankruptcy we decided to get our thrills elsewhere and head to Cressing Temple for the first time.

In that awkward "oh god, country lanes" style of avoiding things, we'd never made the journey East of Braintree. Turns out, it's not as bad as we feared, and made it to Cressing (home to Jamie Oliver's dad, apparently #namedrop) in less than 10 minutes. And boy, weren't we glad we made it. I didn't expect much, but Cressing Temple Barns are beautiful. Two absolutely massive barns built in the 13th century seemingly plonked in the Essex countryside, and a walled garden to die for - who would've thought this was just a half hour drive from where we lived? Of course, a diversion isn't a day out without a trip to a Tiptree tea room, so we headed to The Barns for a couple of slices of toasted heaven.

It just goes without saying: take a little trip to somewhere new, 'cause you might just find a new favourite.

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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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Flat white.

Zara coat: £30 (similar). Oasis turtleneck top: £13.20. Marks & Spencer skirt: £17.50 (similar). Adidas Spezial: £27. Primark fedora: £7 (similar). Marks & Spencer bag: £43.

Flat White Soho, 17 Berwick Street, W1F 0PT

One a day. We all have our limits, and whether you apply it to apples or, as in my case, coffees, there's a reason you put these rules in place. I'll always be a tea girl at heart, but nothing starts the day wired right like a cup of the good stuff - just don't let me have any more than absolutely necessary else I'll be talking your head off all day. As I'm starting a new job soon (more on that later), I'll be missing out on my weekly free Starbucks, but it's giving me plenty of opportunities to find more independent, tax-paying establishments to get my caffeine from. When oop norf, it's super easy to find local cafés which are A+ at their specialities as they line every street outside of the main shopping concourse (check out Independent Liverpool, Birmingham and Sheffield for knowledgable insider tips from the people in the know), but when it comes to London every lunchtime starts with "shall we just go to Pret?". Thankfully, my pals at CitizenM got in touch and asked if I fancied trying out one of the coffee stops in their London city guide, and I was there quicker than you could say single shot latte.

I met up with photographer extraordinaire Amber (just look at her portfolio - the girl's got photography goals written all over her) for a catch up before I head off on my Northern adventures. On CitizenM's recommendation, we headed to Flat White on Berwick Street, just a little South of Oxford Street. While Amber opted for the place's eponymous drink, I went for a latte (yeah, yeah, leave it out) and we got some savoury treats to go with. I honestly couldn't fault the service, and the guys let us chat our hearts out for a good hour before we moved on (to Topshop, naturally). It's a nice little find, just far enough away from tacky souvenir shops to not be crowded, but close enough to the west end to make getting to your next meeting easy peasy.

Are you aware of any hidden gems I need to check out before I head off on my next adventure? I think I've got most of Shoreditch down, but would love to hear about any of your must-drinks!

CitizenM covered the costs of this lunch date, but all halloumi-decisions were my own.

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