Your love washes over, like a tidal wave.

Shirt dress: c/o Boohoo. Hobbs boots: £40 (old). Metal bag: c/o Boohoo. Warehouse belt: about 75p (fill a bag sample sales are GOD, but not good for exact prices). Catarzi camel fedora: £25.

Hey look, it's not a LFW post! Don't get me wrong, I've spent weekends lost in car parks before (probably in Soho too, knowing what a night out on Greek Street's like) but I thought I'd leave Brewer Street carpark and the catwalks to the professionals for another season and spend my time at the seaside instead. When not in London...

As it's one of the last sunny weekends of the year, I thought I'd get the milk bottle legs out for one last jaunt in the sunshine. This dress might be on the short side, but everyone will have forgotten by the next time it's no tights weather (in June 2016), so I 100% went for it. I've not been feeling very 'me' recently when getting dressed each morning, but I love the cut of this one and will be wearing it without the belt and with the 120 deniers once Autumn properly shows up.

In a mild spate of ingenuity, there are a couple of new features (lol, let's be honest, I mean "fings wot arn't photos") I'm super sad excited about sharing with you. I'm looking to add a few more extra elements into posts because I finally taught myself how to make gifs and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. There's also a little map so you can see where these photos were taken and go explore yourself. Unless it's in my home, then you'll have to ask politely for an invitation to tea. I'll make sure there aren't hundreds because my 3G isn't unlimited and totally get it, but would love to know what you think of these new touches?

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Still she sits, young while the earth is old.

Ruskin wax jacket: c/o Barbour. Vintage floral blouse: 50p. Oasis Isabella jeans: £27. Bally boots: £8, charity shop. Primark fedora: £7.

"So, what are you doing with your day off?"

"I'm off to the place I wrote my dissertation about."

Average Friday, really.

When Jazmine asked if I could get some time off work for a day trip, I always knew it'd be something a little out of the ordinary. Rather than spend it together in our pyjamas (however appealing that may have been), we were up early, breakfasting/hot chocolating in Paddington in some seriously special prints: we'd been invited to the Cotswolds to learn all about Barbour's William Morris collection, and said yes in less time than I've spent deliberating over which meal deal sandwich to go for. Since that visit to the William Morris gallery in primary school, I've been rather partial to his oversized florals, so there was no way I was going to miss out on this one.

Kelmscott Manor was Morris' Summer home; a place away from London, a "heaven on earth", and where supposedly he witnessed that bird steal its strawberry. London definitely felt a lifetime away as we were given an incredibly insightful tour of the house and grounds (and lunch - priorities, obvs). I had a little moment when I noticed the facsimile of Morris and Burne-Jones' Canterbury Tales, a subject for much discussion in my dissertation. My topic of choice had been the distinction between art and literature for Rossetti and, in turn, Morris - it was about time I made the journey! TL;DR, Rossetti was all about the two together being an experience, and in their separation they lose much of the creator's meaning. The dissertation may now be printed and bound, but the love lives on, so if you're as much a Rossetti fangirl as me, you'll be pleased to see that his painting "Blue Silk Dress" takes pride of place. Jazz and I made sure to get some quick snaps in our beautiful Morris-print clothes before heading home (how beautiful does she look in her Acanthus shirt?), and I'm going to be wearing my jacket every time the grey clouds show, to brighten things up a little.

I don't often talk about the "perks" of being a blogger here, as I don't generally feel like I ought to draw attention to it (for fear of being found out as a fraud! I'm still amazed anyone thinks there's worth in me taking a few snaps of their products and posting them here, but there you go), but I really do want to say thank you to everyone at Barbour - and Jazz! - for having me along. I honestly had a wonderful day, and it meant so much to have a little more insight into a subject I've loved for such a long time. Start playing that Oscar speech music before I get too into this. Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend so far!

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I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.

Laura Ashley trench coat. Topshop scuba top: €15, via Oberpollinger. H&M palm print trousers: £15 (I've got my eye on this similar pair of culottes). Warehouse lace up flats: £29. Gemporia ring. Brandy Melville "thug life" necklace: €9.

When it rains, go somewhere muddy. Obviously. 

Last week I booked a couple of days off work and headed over to Oxford to catch up with family. All plans to have a charming break in glorious August sunshine were quickly nipped in the bud when glancing at BBC Breakfast's weather report, but in true brit style we went for it anyway - that's what umbrellas are for, right? After dropping our bags off, we headed to the Botanic Garden. More than just your usual scrub of grass, this garden housed everything from cannabis to pineapples - something for every palate. I, of course, couldn't help but get some snaps in the palm house as opportunities to match your outfit with your surroundings should never be given up.

It was also a little bit of a special place for me to visit, as it's home to 'Lyra's bench'. Growing up, my absolute favourite books were the His Dark Materials trilogy written by Philip Pullman, from which grew my fascination with this little Oxfordshire city. Anyone else spend a little too much time trying to work out which animal their dæmon would be? I may not have explored Oxford by rooftop like Lyra (although we did climb up Carfax tower), but I couldn't help but visit the little memorial to her and Will whilst we were there.

Time to dust off my old books, and get lost in a novel on the 6.47 tomorrow.

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