I've been treading water for your love.

Floral shorts: Topshop (old). Jenna blouse: gift, NW3 by Hobbs. Anna boots: £76.50, Topshop. Fedora: £14.99, Missguided. Sara bag: c/o Biba at House of Fraser. Glasses: London Retro at Sunglasses Shop.

Although Essex may now be known for Sugar Hut and vajazzles, I still associate it with the countryside. One of my favourite independent cafés The Lordship sits in the nearby village of Writtle, so when Jazmine came to visit we headed there for scones and a fair amount of tea, even if hot drinks don't seem to be quite weather appropriate. After we'd cleaned our plates, we headed down the road to the village green, only to be joined by rather a large flock of docks who were certainly big fans of the stale hovis one little girl was throwing haphazardly in their direction. We may not have had any food offerings with us, but we certainly tried to make friends, even if we may have interrupted the ducklings' afternoon nap!

As it was quite hot, I opted for my trusty Luella-style shorts that I bought from Topshop about five years ago, a fedora to deflect some of the rays, and my newest bag from House of Fraser's Biba collection. I've always known about Biba as my mum was a big fan of it when she was little (she describes it as like Topshop, but cooler as they only had one store so it was a big deal to save your money and get your clothes from it), so I think she may be stealing this from me whenever she gets the chance! I love the subtle embossing of the brand on the leather and the metal details. And it matches my watch, so four for you House of Fraser.

Speaking of the countryside, I'm heading to one a bit further north tomorrow, and am gracing Kendal for a few days. I've never been to the Lake District, so this is a first for me. I've been told to bring "sensible shoes", which could be interesting as I'm pretty sure I don't own any. Do let me know if you have any recommendations, although I know we're going to Beatrix Potter's house for sure.

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And midnight is coming and I wish that you were here.

Dress: £30, vintage. Shoes: 50p, Russell and Bromley via ebay. Bag: £4, vintage.

This dress was my first "proper" vintage item of clothing. It was actually featured in my first blog post, long reverted to a draft, as something I wore to the seaside for a mother's day outing over three years ago. I don't wear it too much, as generally my love for tomato pasta sauces and white clothing doesn't mix too well, but I thought my final (for now) trip to Liverpool was a big enough occasion to wrestle it out of my wardrobe. Paired with my favourite straw bag, and trusty black pumps, it was the perfect outfit for a wander round the shops and a trip to Byron. I kept the ketchup as far away as possible.

I've been having a think about my blog, and although I do like posting outfit photos and the occasional bit of film photography, I was wondering whether you would be interested in reading about my best charity shop finds, or something similar? Just an idea! Don't worry, I've got plenty more outfit photos ready. And the next one features ducks.

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Little illusion machine.

Blouse: gift, French Connection. Pencil skirt: £1.50, charity shop. Nude heels: £75, Christian Louboutin, via charity shop. Necklace: gift, Links of London. Watch: gift, Rotary. Lipstick: Gabrielle, Chanel. Nails: Dragon, Chanel.

You're now reading the blog of Rebecca Cohen, BA (Hons)! On Thursday I went to the robing room (yep) to collect this bad boy, and found myself sitting in the Philharmonic ready for my few seconds on stage to collect that little bit of paper that sums up three years of hard work. Sitting alongside some of the most talented people I know, the hall was filled with proud friends and family congratulating their gowned companions, and my hands were more than a little sore after about three hours of solid applause. After the ceremony had finished, without any literal slip ups which I'd been worrying about happening for months, my mum and I managed to grab a few outfit snaps on Abercromby Square - the location of the English offices, just outside the Sydney Jones Library. Of course my friends and I had to grab a couple of typical throwing our mortar boards in the air photos before splitting up to meet our families for food (I went to one of my favourite independent restaurants, The Quarter, for a vegetarian sharing board, and prawn and chorizo pasta). That evening we checked into a budget hotel (the less said about that the better) to prep for our last night out together as students. Suitable amounts of jägerbombs and egg fried rice later, we were ready to collapse. Groggy the next morning, it was sad to pack up all our belongings and wish each other a temporary goodbye, but it feels pretty darn fantastic to have graduated in such good company.

Best of luck to everyone else who's graduating (or has graduated!) in the next few weeks - congratulations!

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