I'm not wasting no more time.

Contrast collar dress: c/o Lavish Alice. Missguided boots (old). Little Nell stag necklace. Becca "Hotel California" lipgloss.

And that's my lesson learned: never take photos during a hurricane.

As I no longer work with bloggers and wouldn't dream of asking any of my colleagues to take outfit photos on our lunch breaks, it means I'm now just left with the weekend for getting my camera out. I go through phases with blogging. As Helen pointed out in her "truths about blogging" post, it's hardly surprising that sometimes I adore this little (and it is little, not that I'm complaining, it means the pressure's off!) blog, and at other times I truly despair with it. When I started out, a blog post would take me all of fifteen minutes, from winking into my webcam to wonkily uploading them into blogger. Over time, my focus has changed as things naturally do, and my like for taking photos ended up in investing in a DSLR with money I'd earned from a collaboration, and pushing myself to learn what things like ISO and aperture mean. I know that I'm not aesthetically your typical blogger and I truly don't mind that, instead focusing on the bit I find the most fun and rewarding.

I'm sure you've noticed that since I've been back in the UK things here have definitely become more lifestyle focussed, and that's a conscious effort to try and move this blog from personal style (there are only so many times I want to see my face in a day, so I can't imagine what it's like for you guys) to something more personal. So when I've spent a Sunday meeting up with friends and running errands in town, coming home to a flooded background and gale force winds means that I don't quite get what the standard of photos I aim for, and I am without the opportunity to try again. I did consider assigning these photos to the deep dark pit of my laptop, but sometimes it's nice to see that bloggers aren't just the result of three instagram filters and a good angle. I fully intend to photograph this again in better conditions, but I thought it might be of worth to share something that's not quite right because I'm not letting the effort of putting eyeshadow on my waterline go to waste.

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I heard the truth was built to bend.

Oasis floral denim dress: £5, via sample sale. Vintage bag: 50p. Clarks two tone sandals: c/o Cloggs. Little Nell key necklace. Ralph Lauren sunglasses. Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet: gift. Rotary watch: gift.

Another Saturday, another pub lunch (FYI, this time I went for a burger instead of fish and chips, and only realised that I hadn't photographed it when I was halfway through. Tough luck, pals). Yesterday we were told to make the most of the sunny weather as Bertha's due to have her stormy ways today, so we vowed to spend as much of the day outside as we possibly could. Sandals were a must, but I fancied a change after wearing my asos ones to death, and debuted my new Clarks ones from Cloggs. I like the patent toes on these ones, which make them slightly more transitional than my woven pair, and they look a lot, dare I say it?, classier to boot (clearly got chelsea boots on the brain, despite the weather...). I do need to wear them in, but Clarks shoes will always be comfy, so these two will be sticking around for a while.

Since I started at Oasis, I've found myself surrounded by pretty prints and girly cuts, and it seems to be slowly making its way into my wardrobe. Of course, a sample sale is going to help that along nicely, and this denim dress was the first thing I picked up when confronted with a car park full of rails - fate, amirite? I don't think it ever made its way into stores so I've picked out some similar styles below because I'm not that much of a tease, but I love the muted floral print of this one and the shape may even tempt me out of smock dress territory on special days.

Also, that penultimate photo features what looks like a rabbit in the tree bark. Yes. Yes it does.

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Crème de la crème.

Crème de la crème sweater: c/o WearAll. Jack Wills blouse: £4.50, via charity shop. Asos petite Ridley jeans: £30. Vintage Bally boots: £8, via charity shop (similar). Missguided fedora: £15. Rimmel lipstick. Mavala nail varnish.

As far as obscure Saturday activities go, heading to a quaint village set on the banks of the Blackwater estuary to watch a carnival of sorts has got to be up there, but the difference sure did make a welcome change from hurried walks between Liverpool Street and Old Street. So, one free Saturday morning we headed off to see what the Maldon Carnival was all about - via a Mr Whippy, of course! Minus the one Rio-themed group, this is a far cry from Notting Hill's annual effort, and instead focuses on what the local community's been up to recently, so cue cute dogs and rugby lads which isn't a bad thing in my eyes. Finish things off with a brie and bacon sandwich (my favourite, for the record), and it wasn't half a bad day for one we'd stumbled across when browsing through the local paper that morning.

In true foolish style, I decided to ignore the nice weather and wear my new crème de la crème sweater. I knew I had to pick it up the moment I saw it on Jennie (who's blog you need to check out now!), and I am purposefully going to ignore that the accents are the wrong way round because it's so perfect, and a darn sight cheaper than the Whistles one I adore. Let's just say, at least I'll be ready for when the temperatures suddenly drop.

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