The East-West Divide: East. #GigNics

Postcode warfare!

The North-South divide is a well-known concept in the UK; my halls of residence last year were a breeding ground for (faux!) rivalry between southern pansies and the grim northerners born and bred above this invisible line. However, this binary opposition is paralleled in the capital, just spun on its axis. Londoners are notoriously defensive of their city, and take sincere pride in their location. Although I currently spend most of my time in NW3, I was born in E11, so can barely show a true allegiance. This weekend I travelled along the London Overground to Haggerston for the Nando's GigNics. And ate lots of chips.

The email saying I'd got tickets served as a catalyst for an an almost incomprehensible stream of texts to my lahndahn lovely Sabby. Both big time fans of Nando's, we always go to the Euston branch when I'm headed to and from Liverpool, so we made the most of the peri-infused atmosphere by treating ourselves to some cocktails (I had a Peri Mary, Sabby a Caipirinha). We sat "chilling in East London sunshine" - my answer to the "sum up today in five words" question. Embarrassment, coming to a video near you soon! The line-up included a few favourites: some I'd never seen before, such as MistaJam, and ones I knew all too well - hello Ed Sheeran! (We'll leave the "I've sung karaoke with Rizzle Kicks" story for another time, as they fit somewhere in-between...) Of course, it wouldn't be a Nando's event without some chicken, so we queued up with some food vouchers we'd managed to procure. Unfortunately I couldn't get a burger - they'd sold out of veggie burgers, boo! - but the chips were very, very much appreciated. Haggerston was the most beautiful location, and in an area I've never had the chance to explore before. Hopefully, as I'm interning in EC2 this Summer, I'll be able to see more of what the East has to offer. Fingers crossed this rain subsides sometime soon! At least both ends of the spectrum agree that this weather is not suitable for summer, what happened to the sunshine?

xxx

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Take me back to dear old blighty

 

Sheer blouse: £13.50, Miss Selfridge. Pocket skirt: £2, American Apparel via ebay. Leather belt: 20p, charity shop.  Jacket: £22, Primark. Chelsea Boots: £60, Topshop. Bag: gift, Marks and Spencer. Bracelet: gift, H Samuels (one of the baby bracelets!). Sixpence pendant: stolen from mum. Red ribbon: 23p, market. Ring: £1.25, vintage. Lipstick: £1, shade 3, MUA @ Superdrug.

Happy jubilee!

I shan't pretend I've done anything vaguely patriotic (other than eat the delicious cupcake made by The Cake Shop in the last photo that I picked up from Aubin & Wills when browsing), but it's been nice to see so many flying the flag. I did indulge in this Cath Kidston pocket mirror, but otherwise I've been spending my money on making the most of what little time I have left in Liverpool before I return home for Summer. I did give the union flag a little reference in my outfit though. The white is in the form of a blouse I picked up in the Miss Selfridge sale, but, despite loving it, I normally reserve for going out as it's exceptionally sheer. The blue is the navy version of the American Apparel pocket skirt that everyone has (I have it in grey and a pale blue too). And the red is with some ribbon I picked up at the market, secured with a pin, which I covered with a sixpence my mum picked up at my village's summer fair last year. And then the wind decided it didn't like my beehive, but we'll ignore the rather windswept nature of these photos...

After much deliberation, I decided to create a facebook page for this blog. I've always put it off as I like to avoid the "so you take photos of yourself and put them on the internet?" question from my friends, but recently I've started to feel slightly more confident with the content I've been publishing. I would really love it if you could 'like' the page here, and a massive thank you to everyone who has so far!

I'm off to my flatmates from last year's house for movies with something a little patriotic (okay, I couldn't resist) and edible in my bag this evening. Hope you're enjoying the four day weekend, and keeping up with You Know You're British When.

xxx

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fiesta bombarda

Double U Dress (worn as top): American Apparel. Suede Skirt: £8, Oxfam. Paisley Bag: £8, Primark. Chelsea Boots: £60, Topshop. Sunglasses: £1, Primark. Necklace: £9, Elsie Belle. Rings: vintage, and c/o Rock 'n Rose. Lipstick: Cockney, MAC.

freeeeeeeeeeeedom!

The less said about yesterday's exam the better (we dissected it beyond belief in Cuthbert's over red velvet cupcakes, my hair still dripping from the walk there). But the day ended in true Liverpool style at the Cavern Club, watching the Merseyrail battle of the unsigned bands in association with bido lito, which Beach Skulls deservedly won, even if Carousel were my favourites.


Still, that's so yesterday. Today the sun is beating down, and the olympic flame is passing through town. To celebrate the start of summer and the "jubilympics", bido are helping to host Fiesta Bombarda at the bombed out church. It seems like half my university are heading down, so it's set to be rad. Starting at four (I am aware it's gone five, ahem), there could be some sartorial difficulties, however I personally find it pretty easy to change from day to night as the only difference is a lack of tights. I do love a pair of 120 denier, but even I can't deal with them in this sunshine and have had the milk bottles out for a good couple of weeks. I thought I'd give a slight patriotic nod to what is, essentially, a conical candle with a red top, but I'm hoping it'll be suitable from six till sunrise. I'm two thirds of the way through my degree - I have to make the most of student life while I can! Good luck to all those still stuck in exam halls. Just remember: keep calm and carry on.


xxx

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When I buy my mansion, I'll invite the world to stay

Michelle dress: c/o Motel. Black pumps: 50p, Russell and Bromley via ebay. Bag: £3, charity shop. Skull bracelet: £11, Made via ebay. Sunglasses: £1, Primark.


I always feel drawn to the canal in beautiful weather, and, seeing as I wasn't stuck for three hours in what is essentially a greenhouse writing about Renaissance literature, I thought I'd take another wander down to photograph what came through my letter box the other day. This dress is part of Motel's "French Riviera" collection, but I'm choosing to transfer its nationality across the Channel, in preparation for next week's jubilee - aka Pimm's drinking festival. I'm not one for bodycon at all, so it was a big thing for me to wear this for a whole day. Everyone has their body hangups; my biggest one is my stomach, and this dress is pretty unforgiving on that front. Yet, with the help of the stretchy material (and some pants Bridget Jones would be proud of) I think I've just about got away with it. Still, some of the photos do make me want to overcome my massive gym phobia.


My last exam is on Thursday (uh oh), and then I've a few days to appreciate sunny Liverpool before I'm back to Essex for the Summer, and get to see all the lovely faces I've missed for the past few months. However much I love Liverpool, I know I'm still an Essex Girl! Even if I haven't been to Sugar Hut, which I believe my friends intend to change at some point...


xxx

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I'll let you say I love you when I know I'll never say it back

1. train-induced delirium twenty minutes in | only leather allowed at the Roxy
2. being cute in the Diner, Ganton Street
3. New career path | Essex jam!!
4. Waitrose's jubilee-themed cupcakes at Canary Wharf (£2 for a pot of tea and cake!)
5. belle | ufo light lovin'
6. Hampstead! Check out the guy on the right.


Although this post is about my travels to the smokey capital, I wrote a guest post for Lauren about Liverpool. She has a beautiful blog and enviable sewing skills, so please do have a read!

On Tuesday I headed dahn sarf to stay with my friend Sabby (again). In the midst of our exams, plenty of time was spent in Costa, me with my head stuck hopefully not prophetically in "The Unfortunate Traveller", Sabby memorising cases for her final law exam. But, of course, the books were soon forgotten in favour of trips to the Lock Tavern in Camden and the Roxy (cheap) and Salvador and Amanda's (expensive) in Soho. On Thursday night we went for a celebratory* meal at the Diner, just off Carnaby Street, after hearing everyone's recommendations. I had the mushroom burger, whereas Sabby opted for a BBQ one, and it got a big thumbs up from the both of us, as we ate every crumb. A quick shout out to the barman Stevie and his good taste in shots. On Friday, I met up with Jazzy to go to Beyond Retro, their tenth birthday 50% sale prompting me to buy my first ever playsuit and a tartan skirt. Oh purse, I am so sorry. It's always a bit of a whirlwind trip, and there's never a boring moment - I can't wait till I can explore London with my legitimately earned millions. Sure...


*The reason for my trip was an interview for an internship this Summer. I obviously got lost when I emerged from Old Street, but thankfully this didn't reflect too badly on me, and I got the placement. I'm not exactly superstitious, but I didn't want to say too much just in case. I'm so relieved, and am ridiculously happy. If you follow me on twitter, I apologise for my sometimes exasperated tweets in regards to my future, but if you just keep trying then things will start to look up for you.

xxx

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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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