Gonna walk right up to him, give him a great big kiss

Stucco stripe Songbird dress: Madewell, via Shopbop. Denim Jacket: £63, NW3 by Hobbs. Leather Bag: £3, vintage. Necklace: £9, elsie belle. Spotty sunglasses: £1, Primark. Leather and wood heels: £70, Marni x h+m. Lipstick: MAC Cockney. Bruised leg: c/o rum punch.

I think I have an inability to buy "normal" sunglasses. I tried these ones on when I met up with everyone a couple of weeks ago, and then creeped back a few day later to purchase them, they're a little Liv, no?

Typing up the details of what I'm wearing, I notice this outfit is probably one of the most expensive I've ever worn. I'm normally quite cheap with clothing, and was so proud when I managed to get my whole outfit for the year 13 charity ball for less than £30, but when it comes to "investment pieces" I guess it's okay to splurge a little. This dress is my new favourite. Clearly I've developed a new thing for stripes, and this fits right in. Quite a while ago I won Ines's giveaway, which entitled me to a $100 Shopbop gift voucher. This lead to spending hours (no exaggeration) on their website, before settling on the Songbird dress by Madewell, knowing that the likelihood of ever being able to purchase from them ever again would be very low. Madewell has always been one of those aspirational brands for me - look but don't touch! After their collaboration with Alexa Chung, and seeing Rhiannon pull off their looks perfectly, I didn't really want to pass up this chance. The rest, as they say, is history. A word of warning about Shopbop: although they have free shipping worldwide, don't forget about customs charges. Seriously.

I bought the jacket in Hobbs last week when they hosted an event for their customers that I'd seen advertised in store. I've never bought from them before either, but a lovely 20% discount definitely helped matters. It's nice to be able to just walk home with it immediately, instead of being hit with ridiculous postage fees. I don't think I'll ever be fully converted to online shopping; I much prefer the whole process of going through the rails and trying things on. Maybe that's just me? Still, I love wearing this as it says "NW3" on the buttons, and that's where I'll be living next week. I will be ridiculously upset when my friend moves from her flat there, but she is headed to Paris next year... It would be rude not to visit!

Until then, I will be eating soup, drinking tea (I've become accustomed to Sunshine Grey), and reading poetry - I can almost taste summer, or maybe I'm getting it confused with the tang of blueberries...

xxx

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There beneath the blue suburban skies

Peter pan collar blouse: £20; Luella via ebay. Necklace: £9, elsie belle. Belt: 20p, charity shop. Skirt: £30, American Apparel. Lipstick: Rouge No. 19, Chanel.

First photo from Kelli, and fourth from Frances. Fifth taken by the surprisingly patient Jade!

Always the last to a party! There's a pile of books towering ominously next to my left elbow, but I've just shoved a cardigan over it and am writing up this blog post instead. Model student.

Last Saturday, a group of rather well-dressed lay-deez met up to eat and drink and generally have a bit of a chat. I've always wondered why the North (perhaps Manchester ought to be excluded here) seems to get forgotten in regards to bloggers, so I thought it was about time somebody arranged something. I've been to a couple of meet-ups before, but it didn't stop me from getting nervous! I met Frances at Lime St, then headed off for a coffee with Jade in tow. Soon we were joined by Kelli and Laura, and had a little self-timer fun by John King's suitcase sculpture whilst waiting for Millie, Clare, Alex and Char to join us for the meal. We went to the Quarter, an independent restaurant just off Hope Street, and I had the Goats Cheese (predictable Cohen) Caprese pizza and some pink wine. Despite this being the first time I'd ever been there, I actually went again the night before last as our end-of-year celebration with a group of people from university - I'm becoming a right regular! After filling ourselves (literally) with delicious food, we headed off to the ever-reliable Font for cocktails.

It was truly wonderful to meet everyone, and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves as I know I did. It's comforting to know there are others nearby who will take photos of their food before they eat it (thanks to Alex for capturing this incredibly cliché moment!), and I think my huge grin in every single one of the photos serves as testament to this. And, as obvious as it may be, I reckon now is as good a time as ever to use a Beatles song for a title...

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Where there's a Wills, there's a way

Striped breton top: £30, Aubin and Wills. Suede skirt: £8, Oxfam. Black pumps: 50p, Russell and Bromley via ebay. Shoulder bag: £15, Oxfam. Necklaces: (from top) vintage, elsie belle, gift.

Don't let that carefree smile fool you, the last photo is c/o my camera's irritating ability to take photos just as someone asks whether it's okay for them to walk past. Cue dying inwardly, the perpetual story of my life.

I bought this top with my birthday money last December from the then recently opened Aubin and Wills along Church Alley. Hidden just off the high street, I'm always popping in to see what I can only dream of owning (oh, why must I spend my student loan on boring things like rent?). Perhaps I go in there a little bit too much as Carrie, the store manager, passed my details on to Lucy in their head office, and was invited to an event they hosted in-store last Friday. Two of my friends and I headed down to listen to the beautiful harmonies of Blue Rose Code and sample the swift brown fox topped cupcakes made by Cake Shop Liverpool (the one with the rad Beatles cakes in Central Station). I had a look at the new collection whilst the band were doing band things pre-performance, and amongst the classic cuts that Aubin and Wills are known for, there were beautiful floral prints, and a navy (favourite colour!) dandelion print playsuit, that would be perfect for telling the time in - don't deny it, everyone believed that the amount of puffs it took to clear a dandelion head equated to the nearest o' clock when they were young! However, the evening soon drew to a close, and we got rather soggy walking home - typical Liverpool. It's not very often that stores host events like this, and it was nice to just spend an evening pretending I don't have coursework due next week (gulp), and indulge in my love of stripes. Obviously. I'm determined to go to the Aubin Cinema in Shoreditch when I'm home this Summer; I feel like I only ever do the same things when I visit London, so do you have any recommendations?

Plus!! The blogger meet up took place on Saturday, and it was lovely to meet such wonderful people at long last. In the vague name of chronology I decided to post this first, what a whacky idea.

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