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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