I don't know what they're telling you but I know we can turn this around.

Jumper: £21.50, French Connection. Joni jeans: £32.40, Topshop. Trench coat: Laura Ashley. Cossack hat: £10, F+F. Bowler bag: £43, Marks and Spencer. Wedges: c/o Shoe Zone. Necklace: Grace Face Boutique. Lipstick: MAC Ravishing. Nails: Nails Inc "The Thames".

I don't know why I was so excited to take these photos; they're the most cliché autumnal images you can find on the internet (yep, spot the classic "hold a leaf in front of your face" shot), but we keep going back to them for a reason! The park in town, only a few yards away from here, was the most obvious place for my mum and I to head to take them, and not just because it's only a stone's throw from M&S. The place I normally associate with picnics and school lunchtimes (which once included sitting on a bench and consuming an entire tub of Ben and Jerry's with a friend. In October.), is currently home to rust-coloured leafy avenues. It's not quite freezing point yet, so I wore a surprisingly non-itchy jumper over skinny jeans, with a trench coat, comfy wedge-heels and a hat that's far, far too big for my head - but it's fluffy, which makes it okay.

In the course of writing this, I think I've received four Paul Hollywood-based snapchats after last night and made my way through three mugs of tea. So it's time to stop procrastinating and putting off important things and get down to serious phone calls and emails - moving country is hard. I'm also planning to head to the AX Paris party tomorrow night, so let me know if you'll be there, and I won't be that weirdo sitting in the corner on her own!

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The system might fail you, but don't fail yourself.

Verity velvet smock dress: c/o Boohoo. Leather jacket: The Kooples. Leather bowling bag: £43, Marks and Spencer. Anna boots: Topshop (old). Watch: gift, Rotary. Necklace: vintage. Polkadot tights: free, American Apparel. Lipstick: Topshop "Really Ruby". Nails: Deborah Lipmann "Razzle Dazzle" on Natural Collection "Black Cherry".

I am forever moaning about my lack of goth phase. I tried to convince myself that I was a scene kid in year ten, but realistically I went as far as neon eyeshadow and that was it (fortunately). Recently however I find myself being drawn to black clothing, and it doesn't look like this chapter is ending any time soon, particularly when Hallowe'en is only a couple of weeks away. That, or I'm spending too much time reading Camilla's blog, you pick. Last August I went along to boohoo's christmas preview and I've somehow only just got around to spending the voucher that I was kindly treated to on the day. I'm not the world's biggest fan of online shopping as I rarely know what I want specifically and find the pages of stock overwhelming (give me a rail to sift through any day!), so I narrowed things down to a much more manageable "black velvet" selection and came up trumps with this bad boy. Add a leather jacket, my new day bag (which my camera fits in, can I get a hell yeah?), and a slick of red lipstick on an abnormally good make-up day and I was ready to face the world, even if it were a only a trip to town with Danielle for wetherspoons burgers and window shopping - it's the small things.

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Tonight make it magnificent.

Cropped pale blue jumper: £10, Primark. Blouse: £13.50, Miss Selfridge (old). Joni jeans: £30, Topshop. Anna boots: £76.50, Topshop. Socks: Primark (part of pack). Holiday bag: gift, Cath Kidston. Lipstick: MAC Ravishing.

This time last week I was on a train (the novelty of that mode of transport wore of a long, long time ago) heading northwards to visit Claire, Gem, Maria, Sarah and Emma in Birmingham. I can't say I've explored the city too much in my many times visiting as I somehow always end up in Selfridges and the Mailbox, but what I have seen makes me want to find out more about the rest of it. The above photos were taken by Claire just outside the grounds of the cathedral, and I added the typical touristy photo of the town hall - you can't complain about its architecture at all! As I knew we'd be doing a fair amount of wandering around the city, I thought I'd wear a sensible outfit (for once), donning my trusted Topshop anna boots, joni jeans (which I'm actually less than impressed with regarding wear, has anyone else had issues with them once they've been washed?), a cheaper and purposefully less fluffy version of that Topshop jumper, and my "bag that everything fits in" which I've been using since I got it for my birthday nearly two years ago, perfect for carrying pyjamas, playsuits and, um, vodka.

We spent the day wandering round the town centre, before calling into GBK for burgers (come on, we are bloggers) and a catch up. Sadly Emma and Sarah had to leave us after the meal to do important grown-up things like sleep, but the rest of us returned to Snobs for a night of dancing on broken glass and requesting Blondie. Leaving the next morning (read: afternoon) was made substantially better with nachos and orange juice, and I didn't even have any annoying passengers on my train home! This weekend is being spent a little closer to home, as I've just spent the morning making triangular sandwiches ready for a DIY afternoon tea. Thug life, right?

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