Looking Sharp (and sweaty) in Ses Salines' Cactus Botanical Garden.

Botanicactus

We may have had something of a heatwave this year in the UK, however as I look outside at the grey skies drizzling I'm turning my memories (and clearing out my iPhoto) to last year's trip to Mallorca, and its Botanical Garden serving as a shrine to cactus: Botanicactus (got a ring to it, hasn't it?).

On our last day in Spain, Clare, Laura, Kate and I headed to this sun-trap to have a browse of what our future gardens could be like if we inherited a few acres of land and global warming kept going. A wide expanse of land dedicated to cultivating as many species of cactus and Mediterranean plants as possible, this was definitely Clare's suggestion, and I'm glad we went - even if my face looks a little grumpy thanks to the sticky heat!

Botanicactus is a bit of a trek if you're staying in Palma, however it wasn't too long a drive from where we were staying in Ses Salines. If you've got plenty of time to spare when on your holiday, then I'd definitely recommend a visit, however you're more than welcome to come round my flat if you want to see a lot of cactus in a small space of time.

There aren't currently any holiday plans for me this year - bar mine and Laura's trip to Paris a few months back - as frankly I'm skint and probably ought to spend some time in the flat I've spent years saving for. However, there is a lot going on at home with the (very imminent!) arrival of Clare and Joe's little one, Harriet and David's new arrival and wedding next year then a trip to Ibiza for Em's wedding next June - probably for the best that this year's a quiet one. brb, putting the kettle on and locking my purse away.

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Not being up to date.

The Classics

Another Dublin throwback, while I sit here wearing several layers watching Sunday Brunch with rain gently (for once) falling outside. If there's something I love about the Irish city, it's its architecture. I love all the red brick in Manchester (I mean, I ought to, as I've just bought an exposed brick dream), but I am a massive sucker for Georgian architecture and its symmetry; handily, this is available by the bucketload in Dublin. We had a little wander around St Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, paid my dues at the Oscar Wilde House (sadly closed)

To complement the classic architecture, I wore my old classic combination of a wideleg culottes jumpsuit and a silk blouse. If you believe I planned this, then you're a sorry naïve fool, but I'm happy that the two so serendipitously combined. I'm still umm-ing and ahh-ing as to whether I can get away with wearing this to my Christmas party, whilst also wondering whether I should just go out and buy all the sequins: life is so darn hard. If you've seen anything standout, please do send me a link on twitter @rebeccacohen!

Other than the work christmas do, most of the festivities this year are currently pretty lowkey, taking place round people's houses or mine. Mince pies and christmas trees a'plenty, and maybe a bottle of mulled wine or five too. I've been spending a lot of time with Laura recently, which has been great, but looking forward to catching up with my girls when I'm back down South (including ones you know, like Jazmine and Kavita!). It's all been very go, go, go recently, but somehow I've managed to not make plans this weekend so I've been enjoying eating everything and can confirm I'm up to date with vlogmas - something I never thought I'd say, particularly when I'm still posting photos here from August...

I'm considering writing up a "year in review" style blog post before 2017's up as it's been a very busy one for me, so if I get another chance to have an hour or so typing up, expect to see that soon!

What I Wore.

Warehouse culottes jumpsuit. Warehouse silk blouse. Claudie Pierlot chelsea boots. Urban Outfitters bag.

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An englishman walks into a (temple) bar.

A long weekend in Temple Bar, Dublin.

I'm not even going to pretend these photos are recent, but here's a little snapshot of a weekend spent in Dublin a while back. I've been across to Dublin a few times now (you can see photos taken on a reliable disposable camera from my first trip here), but as Laura had never been we decided on a long weekend in Temple Bar. The less chat about the delayed flight the better, but the actual flight took no time at all.

If you've never been before, Temple Bar is the main touristy area of Dublin. Prepare yourself for plenty of pubs, souvenir shops and stag dos as you wander along the cobbled streets. I can definitely see some similarities with Manchester's Northern Quarter, but as Manc lacks the tourist-factor that Dublin's got the vibe is a lot more local. That said, when you're out everyone's very chatty and it's not hard to get to know people from all over when you're waiting to be served at a bar. 

On a slightly more up-to-the-minute note, things have been very busy up in these parts. Then again, when are they ever not? Since my last post, I've started a new job, moved house and invested in a lot of expensive skincare which have all been very stressful. Things are finally starting to calm down, and when they do I'll share a little more, but there's still a part of me that's thinking I'll jinx things by speaking out load (or typing on the internet) about it so I'm keeping kinda schtum about things for now. And somehow it's December, which means it's my birthday on Wednesday, so the perfect time for a little reflection and a chance to stand back and see how the last year has gone - something I know plenty of us don't make time to do.

What I'm Wearing.

Uniqlo culottes. Uniqlo jacket. Olivia Burton watch. Adidas Superstars.

Where I Went.

On the Gram.

Looks like exposed brick's a thing in places other than Manchester then 🔨 #ootd #outfit #misspapped #dublin #style

A post shared by Rebecca 😈 (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 9, 2017 at 2:01pm PDT

Because there just aren't enough burger photos on instagram 🍔🍔🍔 #bunsenburger #dublin #burger #food #Ireland #templebar

A post shared by Rebecca 😈 (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 3, 2017 at 10:24am PDT

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Life's a beach.

Mersea Island Beach Huts.

Whether you consider it the seaside or not ("it's a river!" "It sits on the estuary!"), I still count anywhere that's sandy and has beach huts as a trip to the beach. Obviously not your slightly warmer whip out a bikini and take some cliché snaps for the gram beach, but a take some mysteriously windswep photos by the pastel coloured Mersea Island beach huts beach instead. And I'm totally OK with that.

After seeing 500 (probs not an exaggeration either) photos of the Mersea Island beach huts on Louise's instagram, I suggested a day trip to the sorta-island, sorta-not with my mum, with the promise of a LOT of seafood. It was definitely one of those "why have we never been before?" trips, with good vibes as soon as we got over the causeway and parked up. We initially had a wander around the high street to look around the gift shops (fave) and buy some bread (also fave), before heading to the edge of the island for some food. We didn't manage to get a table at the Company Shed which we'd only heard good things about, however we were more than happy to end up at the West Mersea Oyster Bar. Obviously not the best place to go if you're not keen on seafood, but as someone who bloody loves the stuff we shared one of their platters so we could try a little bit of everything, and it comes highly recommended.

We quickly managed to take some outfit photos before the wind made me shout "abort", but I hope you enjoy these snaps and have a chuckle at my windswept expense.

What I'm Wearing.

Lacoste striped top. Missy Empire raw hem jeans (trust me, do not size up in these, hence the belt!). Cath Kidston red polka dot bag. Adidas superstars. Charity shop belt.

What's on the Gram.

Because who doesn't like to be beside the seaside? 🌊 #essex #merseaisland #sea #seaside #weekend

A post shared by Rebecca 😈 (@rebeccacohen_) on Jun 25, 2017 at 11:05am PDT

Spent yesterday at one of my favourite places. Wishing I was back there today 💕🌊✨

A post shared by Louise ✨ (@louiseeeeeeeee) on Jan 3, 2017 at 8:27am PST

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Wrap star.

Layering Gingham Wrap Dresses

This outfit has a lot going on. We're talking ruffles, a tie waist, studs, gingham, even a coffee cup from Foundation (although that's not really the fundamental part of the outfit, just a fundamental part of my day). The guys at boohoo popped a surprise dress in the post, so when I unwrapped it and saw something I probably wouldn't purchase from an ecom shot, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to work out how to wear gingham wrap dresses my way. It's really bloody short (for reference, I'm 5'4" and there's no way I could wear this without something on my lower half, so tall ladies probs ought to steer clear), so unearthed an old pair of black skinnies when I went home to Essex to layer underneath as a decency saving exercise. Add in my new current obsession (white boots, who knew?), and you've got yourself an extra monochrome outfit.

Other than the outfit, I've also got a lot going on IRL. And I'm not talking about how many episodes of Gossip Girl I've been binge watching in the last month, although it is quite impressive. I'm moving house and starting a new job on Monday. My stress levels are through the roof so apologies to anyone who's seen me in the last month, 'cause I've either been short-tempered or drunk (everyone has their own coping mechanisms, right?). They say those are two of the most stressful things you can do, so talking from experience I would definitely advise against doing both of them within four days of each other. But everything's starting to sort themselves out and, fingers crossed, things will all come up Cohen by the end of the year - we can hope!

What I'm Wearing.

Gingham wrap dress: c/o Boohoo. Oasis cropped jeans. Public Desire studded boots (sold out, similar here). Urban Outfitters bag.

What's on Insta.

🔘 Stud life @publicdesire 🔘 #publicdesire #pdbae #shoes #ootd #lotd #wiwt #outfits

A post shared by Rebecca 😈 (@rebeccacohen_) on Oct 8, 2017 at 3:31am PDT

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I didn't forget, I swear.

Throwback Sunday

You know that friend you meet up with and you sit there trying to work out how long it's been since you last saw them, and then you get that guilty "oh crap, it was a lot longer ago that I thought" moment? Well, I'd like to introduce you to some photos from mid-May, which I will gloriously throwback with just a mere five months later. Whoops.

In all honesty, not that much has changed since, other than I wear a lot more bronzer because I look a lot like death in these photos. I also had to throw these jeans away as unfortunately skinny jeans and Laura's mini cooper do not a good match make. Otherwise, the last five months have been spent in equal amounts going to the gym and eating cheese, and having your standard mid-twenties crisis. You only need to scroll through Refinery29 for 10 minutes to find out that you're "not alone" and you're "doing just fine", but that's never going to stop a lil bit of doubt creeping in every once in a while. It's been a hard few months for me, with a lot going on. But, and here is your cheesy morale alert, there really is just something in paying attention to the little things and focusing on small bits that will see you through. Namely, not long until we can start talking about pigs in blankets - hurrah!

With all that in mind, this weekend is being spent with family, taking some much needed time out and heading back to Essex with white boots instead of white stilettos in my weekend bag. Might even burn a basic pumpkin scented candle, who know how crazy things will get?

What I Wore.

Primark leather jacket: £10. Arctic Monkeys top: £20. Oasis skinny jeans. Claudie Pierlot chelsea boots. Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Urban Outfitters sunglasses.

Where I went.

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Thigh high boots for autumn?

How to wear thigh high boots in autumn

Or rather, how I wear them.

It's definitely not groundbreaking to break the boots out when the temperatures drop, particularly when you've spent the last couple of years writing blog posts on how to wear thigh high boots every single way for work. However they're not generally a style I personally reach for that frequently, mainly down to my habit of picking up black ankle boots without ever thinking. However, working at Public Desire for over a year meant that when the babes at Tessuti sent over this beaut Ralph Lauren knit I knew exactly how to add a slightly more british spin on things. So I started with the boots.

I know that Stuart Weitzman and the posse of people wearing his boots are all out americana (yes, I'm talking about Gigi), but there's something a little more toned down about wearing thigh high boots with knitwear and chunky layers that I can get on board with. Teaming these faux suede grey boots with a vintage suede skirt in black may be a bit too matchy matchy for some, but I'm a fan of how the simple silhouettes work with the soft fabric. Add a classic leather biker jacket into the mix, and I'm totally on board. Basically, I'm all about a throw-on-without-thinking outfit, and this ticks every box - and it's not even jeans and a nice top, hurrah!

And I'm not even going to bother apologising for not blogging recently, as it's starting to become a very regular postscript on the bottom of every post. I'm still trying to work out where blogging fits in with my everyday life, which has changed a lot in the last year or so. There's still a place for it, but it's nowhere near a priority currently and I'm certainly not going to let it stress me out when I've got a lot happening for me offline. I hope you enjoy the intermittent blog posts regardless, and do let me know if you've got any ideas for working blogging into your everyday as I'm definitely all ears.

What I'm wearing

Ralph Lauren jumper: c/o Tessuti. Vintage suede skirt: £8, charity shop. The Kooples leather jacket. Schuh thigh high boots (similar).

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My current favourite outfit.

Pride

Is it just me, or has this week lasted a lifetime? Clocking out on Friday felt like a long time coming, and this three day weekend is very welcome indeed!

After a few glasses of prosecco and, um, a jaegerbomb on Friday night, waking up on Saturday morning was a pretty slow affair. After what felt like some v rusty cogs started moving again (aka I made myself a brew), I met up with Kate to check out the Manchester Pride parade in the surprisingly glorious sunshine. I'm not entirely sure how I missed it last year as it's bloody big enough, but there is something about watching everyone come together and just be happy that left me with a smile on my face. It was definitely a vibe.

Afterwards, we headed to Grub and I was overwhelmed with happiness (again, what a Saturday) with the food options available. I'd only been on the vegan day before, so went for new-to-me Press de Cuba's sandwich and we shared some Fat Annie's redneck fries, i.e. fries covered in bacon and cheese, all washed down with some local cider. It's safe to say that I was in a very happy place.

I asked Kate to snap some photos of what I was wearing, as it's been almost a year since this jumpsuit graced this little blog even though I wear it at least once a fortnight. I'm generally one for an occasion dress, but when I picked this up last year I quickly found myself converted to the jumpsuit cause, and am trying to work out how much I'd wear the pink option if I added that one to my wardrobe too... I've lost the belt tie to the depths of my wardrobe somewhere so wear it without, but the panelling is super flattering, and I love wearing it layered with both blouses as pictured here and turtle and polo neck tops too. I do feel like I'm stuck in something of a style rut, so it's nice to have something to fall back on that I love, and think it looks ok on too!

I'm not entirely sure where the rest of the weekend will take me personally, but I do hope all of you have a good one - whether it's planned or not!

What I Wore

Warehouse culottes jumpsuit (I'm also eyeing up the pink one). Warehouse silk shirt (sold out, but similar here). Claudie Pierlot studded chelsea boots (sold out, but similar here). Urban Outfitters sunglasses.

This is a collaborative post.

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