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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A great while ago the world begun, with hey, ho, the wind and the rain.

In England, it is tradition for universities to dedicate their Wednesday afternoons to sports. However, having managed to avoid every single lesson throughout sixth form (that Russian GCSE really did come in handy), I had no intention of embarrassing myself on AU night when starting in Liverpool. Instead, I went on a trip to the midlands with the English society for something slightly more cultural than a quad-vod from Slater's.


After winding our way down the M6, we finally arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon, home to more rain and as many Shakespeare-themed pubs as you can bite your thumb at. To avoid the rain (and a rumbling stomach) before the performance, Clarity, Bertie and I popped into Hobsons Patisserie for a sandwich and a cup of tea, not realising the sheer size of the meal! Fully content, and aware that we were still sitting there nearly half an hour after it'd closed, we went for a wander to Shakespeare's birthplace, where we could be princes of Norway to our hearts' content.


Yet the evening wore on, and we headed over to the instantly recognisable Globe for Twelfth Night: a comedy of mistaken identity, and yellow stockings. The World Shakespeare Festival started last month as part of the 2012 Olympics celebrations, and Stratford plays host to the Shipwreck Trilogy (the Comedy of Errors and The Tempest completing the trio). I'd really recommend going if the opportunity ever presents itself, they've got such a good reputation for a reason!


Fun Fact Fursday*: RSC stands for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but they're also my initials, guess my middle name?


xxx


*This is not going to become a regular feature, don't worry.


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