I don't care how long this lasts, we have no future, we have no past.

T-Shirt: Collective. Shorts: £54, American Apparel. Cheap Monday sunglasses: c/o Surfdome. Anna boots: £76.50, Topshop. Ring: £1.25, vintage. Nail varnish: Heart of Gold, Topshop.

When it comes to buying anything over a fiver, I have a routine. It starts with lust: often a short-lived sensation, which finishes when I see the next must-have; if I leave the shop still remembering it exists, we're onto a winner. Then it's time to go back and ask myself if I really need it. More often than not, I tell myself it's necessary to further my existence, and head straight to the changing rooms. After inspecting from every angle, it's time to ask the internet if it's a good idea (come on, we all have), and after you group of enablers have told me that I need it too, it's off to the tills to hand over my weeping visa. That's what happened when it came to these shorts, and I haven't quite got round to shopper's remorse (the next stage). Soon enough, I was whipping out these Surfdome Cheap Monday sunglasses and my favourite white tee, and dragging my mum over to Writtle sunflowers to take some photos in their natural habitat. And, you know, to get some sunflowers. They're quite nice.

Apart from spending time among my flowery pals this week, I travelled up to Kendal for a long weekend to visit Clarity, and Sita popped over for the day too, - a true university reunion! We spent one of the days in Windermere, wandering along some rather steep hills to Beatrix Potter's house to explore where she'd written Peter Rabbit and, my favourite, the Tailor of Gloucester. Of course it would be my "sensible shoes" which ended up giving me a blister, but it was lovely to spend a while somewhere new and eat a lot of olives!

I did spend the entirety of my Lake District adventures in jeans, but in the spirit of this post (and cancelled Saturday night plans) I scoured the internet for some of my favourite patterned shorts, let me know if you find any more good'uns.

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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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