I bet that Juliet was just the icing on the cake.

Asos bardot top: £10. Dorothy Perkins floral midi skirt: via House of Fraser. The Kooples leather jacket. Vintage patent bag: 20p. Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop.

Southend is one of those places I tend to forget how much I love till I visit again. Although it offers a pretty good Monday night out, it's probably more famous for its pier, Adventure Island and Rossi's ice cream - nothing beats it! My mum and I popped over a couple of weekends ago on a whim and treated ourselves to a stroll along the estuary and, of course!, some fish and chips at the end of the day. There's nothing quite like a trip to the seaside to lift your spirits, and I just couldn't help but make the most of the day trip by taking some outfit photos, even if I do look rather windswept. Even though I'm no queen of the bardot neckline Dunya, I've found myself drawn to the shape quite a lot recently, and I snapped up this bargain top for a tenner on asos. Are you a fan of the trend?

Today has been considerably less cute, and I'm currently sat nursing a rather persistent hangover which even a trip to Nando's hasn't seemed to fix. I'm about to make my first cup of tea of the day to try and ward it off before settling down to catch up with blogs and youtube to round off the weekend - happy Sunday!

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And now I'm falling.

Mustard knit jumper: c/o Vero Moda. Vintage tartan skirt: £8. Bally chelsea boots: £8, via charity shop. Urban Outfitters hat: £12. Vintage patent bag: 20p. Essie Sunday Funday nail polish.

An article in the Metro about a new TV series called "Oh you pretty things" got me thinking (and, let's be honest that doesn't happen all that often when I'm up at 6.30) about how much music and fashion overlap. Apart from the incredibly worn band tees I've picked up from various gigs over the years acting like a little badge of honour, my influences are worn in a more subtle way, and a listen to a new band or an old favourite can often end up influencing my choice of outfit the next morning. I immediately associate Oasis with parkas, Babyshambles with fedoras, Florence with long, flowing dresses, and the Vaccines with bomber jackets. For some reason, this cosy little Vero Moda jumper paired with a tartan skirt and a centre parting makes me think of Haim and would be perfect for doing the Destiny's Child dance in, or maybe that's just me..? Now the aim's to look as good as Debbie Harry in a black slip dress and a slick of red lipstick!

Ironically enough, this weekend has actually involved dancing like we're in music videos (just not Anaconda) as I've spent it with friends in various bars over London and catching up on some of that precious thing I used to get quite a lot (you know, sleep). You may have noticed that I'm blogging less frequently than I used to, which comes as an unfortunate side effect of too busy to photograph anything, but you can find me on instagram and twitter for those inbetween days when you fancy a little splash of coco.

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I wasn't born last night.

Oasis parka: £20, via sample sale. Urban Outfitters stripy t-shirt: £22. American Apparel skirt: £33. F+F boots (since resigned to bin, too many nights out): £25. Cath Kidston weekend bag: gift.

For some reason, Leeds is one of the northern cities I'd never quite managed to explore, so when my favourite Yorkshire lass announced she was getting married, me and the rest of the uni girls booked our train tickets North for her hen party, packed some pretty frocks and arrived prepared to be drinking for the next twelve hours. We were correct in that assumption. It's been a while since I've had a session quite that long, but self-made long island iced teas followed by something of a nostalgia-fuelled reunion with baa bar (nothing on Liverpool's four walls of complete debauchery, of course) took their course and we somehow emerged unbroken - although the same clearly cannot be said for my shoes, illustrated above. After a rather long (we're talking hours here) breakfast Clarity and Georgia had to head home to dissertations and ice bucket challenges but Sita and I stuck around for a coffee and I sneakily managed to get some outfit photos which magically portray me hangover-free: god bless BB cream.

I thought it would only be appropriate to post these photos while I'm up in Chester celebrating the Coppenhalls' wedding, so here's to more northern adventures and significantly less morose mornings.

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We've got so good at pretending.

Dahlia stripy co-ord: £35. Clarks sandals: via Cloggs. Vintage saddle bag: won in Claire's giveaway. Emerald and white topaz ring: c/o Gemporia. Michael Kors Paige sunglasses.

It feels like forever ago (crikey) that I was doing my Art A Level, but four years on and I'm still as much of a fine art fangirl as I ever was, so when a trip to the scenes of John Constable's art works was suggested I grabbed it with both hands, and made sure that there'd be cake somewhere along the way. There's a National Trust spot at Flatford Mill which is where John Constable grew up and honed his skills before becoming a member of the Royal Academy, and after your walks around the area lapping up those Suffolk views there's a tea room (cake) and gift shop (cider) for you to while away an afternoon in. We skipped the aforementioned tearoom upon seeing the queue in favour of the Essex Rose in nearby village Dedham because neither could we pass up an opportunity to try another Tiptree tearoom nor be away from our beloved Essex for too much time in one go. You may have seen my instagram of the pastel coloured buildings, but if you missed it just know that Dedham is the prettiest little village around, and I'll definitely be bombing back up the A12 sometime soon.

For our little country excursion, I decided to debut my first ever co-ord and I have to say I'm rather taken by the trend. I picked up this stripy co-ord in the Dahlia sample sale (although I'd argue that it was just a sale with a few random bits and bobs on an extra rail, but never mind), and I'd like to think it looks okay on, even if the top's a little long #shortgirlproblems. After this small victory of trying something new and it working, I've been on the hunt for my next matchy matchy set. Despite being overwhelmed with the new season stuff at Oasis (you guys are gonna love it), right now Ark have got a load of co ords new-in that are really catching my eye, and I'm planning to pick up this top and bottoms set in store when I pop up to Liverpool next weekend. Because if I can get something that suits me and I feel happy in, it's totally fine to buy an entire wardrobe of them, right?

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'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need.

Vintage Levi's denim jacket: mum's. Alice and Olivia top: c/o Harvey Nichols. Zara blue pleather skirt: €30. Missguided boots (old).

The best thing about being back in London has to be that it's just so easy to meet up with everyone. My (nerdily colour coded and religiously updated) calendar has been full with dinners and drinks with everyone I'd neglected whilst in Munich, and it sure is lovely to know that your friends are, at most, a 45 minute tube journey away instead of a long way past passport control. These photos were taken on Wednesday when I met up with my Munich ladies for Nando's and wine in an area of North West London I'd never previously explored, AKA the day I realised just how many stops there are on the Overground, but am sure I'll learn the twists and turns of soon enough.

In less London-centric news, I'm currently in Leeds! Oop Norf for Miss Hall's - not that I can call her that for much longer! - hen party, I'll be sure to get a quick guide of the Yorkshire town's best (read: funnest, and surely not the classiest) nightlife. I'll try to squeeze in some outfit photos, but the chief bridesmaid's packed the itinerary to bursting so I can't make any promises. Do let me know if you've got any Leeds recommendations as I've got a couple of hours to kill at the end of the day due to pesky bank holiday weekend trainline maintenance, so would love to know of any hidden gems or if you'd like to join me for a much needed coffee come mid-afternoon!

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I'm not wasting no more time.

Contrast collar dress: c/o Lavish Alice. Missguided boots (old). Little Nell stag necklace. Becca "Hotel California" lipgloss.

And that's my lesson learned: never take photos during a hurricane.

As I no longer work with bloggers and wouldn't dream of asking any of my colleagues to take outfit photos on our lunch breaks, it means I'm now just left with the weekend for getting my camera out. I go through phases with blogging. As Helen pointed out in her "truths about blogging" post, it's hardly surprising that sometimes I adore this little (and it is little, not that I'm complaining, it means the pressure's off!) blog, and at other times I truly despair with it. When I started out, a blog post would take me all of fifteen minutes, from winking into my webcam to wonkily uploading them into blogger. Over time, my focus has changed as things naturally do, and my like for taking photos ended up in investing in a DSLR with money I'd earned from a collaboration, and pushing myself to learn what things like ISO and aperture mean. I know that I'm not aesthetically your typical blogger and I truly don't mind that, instead focusing on the bit I find the most fun and rewarding.

I'm sure you've noticed that since I've been back in the UK things here have definitely become more lifestyle focussed, and that's a conscious effort to try and move this blog from personal style (there are only so many times I want to see my face in a day, so I can't imagine what it's like for you guys) to something more personal. So when I've spent a Sunday meeting up with friends and running errands in town, coming home to a flooded background and gale force winds means that I don't quite get what the standard of photos I aim for, and I am without the opportunity to try again. I did consider assigning these photos to the deep dark pit of my laptop, but sometimes it's nice to see that bloggers aren't just the result of three instagram filters and a good angle. I fully intend to photograph this again in better conditions, but I thought it might be of worth to share something that's not quite right because I'm not letting the effort of putting eyeshadow on my waterline go to waste.

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