Barry had a record store.

Oasis stripy top: £18 (incl. staff discount). Vintage mom jeans. Oasis Camden chelsea boots: £40.80 (incl. staff discount). Brit Stitch half pint. Little Nell key necklace.

When you're a few lemsip down, have multiple packets of tissues on the go and you've had to save your make up due to a sneezing post-mascara scenario (am I the only one?), it's not time to start pulling on your fanciest frock. Instead, go for the most-worn and fail-safe combination in your wardrobe: stripes and denim. Hey, you may not be Françoise Hardy wearing stripes in, um, a bush, but it's a notable step up from pyjamas, so we all know who's winning here. Add in some brand new chelsea boots, nail varnish that feels a billion times brighter than you do and some layers very close to hand, and you've got yourself a leaving the house situation.

Due to rail replacement (can I have a "hell no"), my mum and I decided to head to Billericay so that I could avoid the seventies on wheels for one leg of my journey to Waterloo. Billericay, of Gavin and Stacey fame, is one of those towns I never seem to visit, despite the joy it can provide. I went relatively recently for dinner and drinks with friends, but it was the first time I'd seen the high street in daylight for years, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a record shop come café with Mayer Hawthorne posters and plenty of cake. We whiled away the afternoon with cups of tea and eavesdropping conversations ("...and that's when he pulled on his coat and left the courtroom!") before receiving a whatsapp saying everyone was similarly ill and it was perfectly ok to return home, put the PJs back on and tune in to Take Me Out.

Till next rail replacement, Billericay - see you next weekend.

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Underneath the eggshells.

Finally getting the Boots disposable camera developed that Clarity bought me last year.

Although I love how much my blog's photography has improved over the past few years, sometimes it doesn't hurt to get back to basics. When I first started blogging, I didn't have a digital camera (let alone a DSLR), so most of my posts were accompanied with photos from disposable cameras, and I've got a shoebox filled to the brim with printed-off photos on my windowsill. I know I say it all the time, but I will get back into the habit of carrying one around with me and share them here, as it's not all glossy HD shots and perfectly positioned flat lays, however pretty they look.

I hope you all had a lovely January, and here's to February getting off to a good start!

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Hello, my only one.

The Kooples leather jacket. A-line skirt: c/o Fashion Union. Oasis Lily knit: £3, via sample sale. Vintage bag: gift from Jazmine. Clarks loafers. Vintage tippet: £1, charity shop. Jana Reinhardt and Topshop rings.

It's pretty chilly out, isn't it? Where I live we had a grand two minutes of snow yesterday, but that doesn't mean the air was any kinder. With clear blue skies and the bitter winds which accompanied it, my mum and I headed out for a bite to eat and sat in a cosy sunbathed corner looking over rolling countryside. This does sound incredibly picturesque (it was, and the food was good), but that did mean wearing two coats to counter the length of the sparkly mini skirt and having flushed cheeks even in one of the rare moments I hadn't done anything embarrassing, I promise.

This week looks set to be a good'un. From dinner with work at Dishoom to a belated birthday bash with my babes at Sushi Samba (if only that started with a B too), I've got plenty of excuses to not let blue Monday get to me tomorrow, because if a formula is telling me I'm going to be sad, I'm going to try with all my might to make sure that it's the best day ever. Take that science.

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We go hideaway in daylight, we go undercover when under sun.

Topshop oxblood jumper: £36. Topshop tapestry skirt: £20. Zara navy coat: £30. Bally Swiss chelsea boots: £8, charity shop. Marks and Spencer floppy hat: £15. New Look faux leather backpack: £23. Barry M gelly nail varnish in Cardamom.

That's it - the first week back of 2015 is over! Resetting those body clocks back to pre-sunrise hours has meant a week consisting mainly of jeans and stripy tees (I've learned to never ever trust sartorial decisions made in the early hours), coffee and maybe a treat - or two! I hope yours got off to a happy, if slightly sleepy, start. Thanks for all your well-wishes on last week's post about my cold, it's so nearly gone right now, so things are already looking up, and making plans with friends for the next few months is definitely giving me an extra incentive to boil the kettle for another lemsip.

In our typical Saturday fashion (i.e. grab a map, point, go), I spent my day in Maldon. With its high street of tea rooms and charity shops, there's no better place to while away an afternoon, before taking shelter from the biting winds in a cosy pub overlooking the river Blackwater. It was as different a day as possible to my last blog post there, but I managed to hold onto my hat and see in the weekend with the golden hour.

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When you know you ain't getting any younger.

Primark check coat: £30. Topshop scallop collar blouse: gift. Warehouse denim skirt: £2, sample sale. Bally chelsea boots: £8, charity shop. Marks and Spencer leather bag: £43. Hobbs leather bracelet: £20. MAC "ravishing" lipstick. Barry M "Paprika" gelly nail varnish.

Hello, 2015!

My New Year's Eve was spent at Harry's in London with Jazmine and the Jetts (it's a boyband waiting to happen) and a playlist so carefully curated with 90% of Bowie's back catalogue that we almost forgot to keep an eye on the clock for midnight. After the last few years' efforts, this laid-back approach to seeing in the new year was a welcome change - even if it did mean I didn't get McNuggets on the way home. A few days later it would appear my body's finally decided to let the cold that started over Christmas take a proper hold*, and I'm sipping a lemsip with every full stop. *slurp* So instead of heading to the gym, I'm planning to spend the day in bed with endless cups of tea and catching up on blogs new and old (leave your links in a comment below!) - I'm not sure what happened to that healthy fresh start, but I do kind of like it! Sniffles excluded, obviously.

* These photos were obviously not taken today, where I am currently sporting a rather fetching pyjama set and dressing gown combination - #ootd come at me. 

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All my little plans and schemes.

Tell Someone Who Cares tee: £24, Topshop.

Oh 2014, where to start! There were fireworks from the beginning (literally, I rolled in the new year at Marienplatz, before rolling in early that morning), and all the way through these past twelve months it's been pretty non-stop. From Munich to London via Berlin, Innsbruck, Zurich and Liverpool, a lot has happened - and I didn't end up metaphorically all over the place, hooray! I can safely say that I have never felt so comfortable in my own skin: I feel like I'm surrounded by the most supportive people I could wish for at home and have plenty more friends around the world (I'm talking about you Liverpool and Stylight lots!) having left most of my negative influences in 2013, I've a newfound confidence in my own abilities and I'm, simply, happy.

It would be silly, not to mention a lie, to say that absolutely everything is peachy; I've got a lot of things to work on in 2015 (yes Sarah, my organisation is one!) and I still occasionally find myself dropping into sad little places, but this is becoming less frequent and I'm getting much better at taking my emotions into my own control. If there's one resolution I plan to stick to, this year I'm determined to be less hard on myself. Whether it's just deciding to leave my inbox one night a week or going on a little blog break once in a while, I think it's about time I let myself relax a little - and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

So here's to a happy and healthy 2015 - keep it sassy!

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Despair in the departure lounge.

Oasis roll neck jumper: £38. Catherine Kelly for Oasis skirt: £40. Missguided heeled boots (old). Primark check coat: £30. Faux fur tippet: £1, charity shop. Vintage bag: gift from Jazmine.

Anyone who spends an extended period of time in my company will know to what extent I hate public transport. Whether it's the trains I use on a daily basis, flyin' solo to Munich or the God-forsaken carcasses that First Buses use to provide their "service", I don't generally find myself getting along with public transport any more than simply getting on it (just about). The one exception to the rule is Bessie the Bus. When I first started at Oasis there was a buzz in the Marketing department which soon manifested itself with four wheels and a pink roof outside our office. A peek inside reveals fur coats hung from under the stairs, socks in saucepans and a pale pink fridge full of knitwear - beats the 42 into town any day. Of course, as Bessie is a bus, she's able to visit anywhere she fancies, so when she headed to Basildon I popped along to see how she was doing on her journey as the token Essex contingent in the Oasis crew. She's currently in Braintree, Essex, but want to see whether Bessie's heading your way? Check her timetable here!

I'm still umm-ing and ahh-ing as to whether to post an end of 2014 roundup here on Wednesday (does anyone really need to know anecdotes about that time I came home from a night out with a cricket medal or how I spent Valentine's doing the cha cha cha with an Austrian at Atomic at 5am? I think not.), but let me know if you'd like a little something. If not, I hope you had a wonderful 2014, and here's to making 2015 a year of wishes coming true.

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