Don't forget who you are.

Ribbed polo neck and denim pinafore dress: c/o Fat Face. Hobbs monk shoes: £69 (similar). Marks and Spencer bag: £43. Tatty Devine bunting necklace: made by myself!

Scheduling is the poor man's time travel (bear with me, it kinda makes sense). I'm sitting with a fresh brew writing this on a Thursday lunchtime, knowing it'll be published on Sunday morning, and you'll be reading this maybe that day or in 2019 or whenever. In the interval of 72 hours, I'll have packed my bags, decamped Essex in favour of Manchester*, probably had a minor panic attack on the train as it leaves Euston and thought of pancake day approx 93 times. So, as you read this I'll be fuming at how bloody cold the North is, when in reality I'm chilling listening to a bit of Radio 1. In the past. See? Sort of like time travel.

East London, in a roundabout way, has a similar feel. I'm not an eastender by any stretch of the imagination, but I am firmly rooted there in quite a few ways. Last week I met up with Kristabel and we headed to Pitfield Street's eponymous café for a coffee. As we sat looking across the street I kept thinking of how lots of time paths crossed along this street - obviously not whilst we were talking, because that's weird and a little bit rude. If I were to turn right, I'd end up pacing the well-worn track back to my old place of work, via the local, home to plenty of breakdowns and a fair few hurrahs. Turn left, however, and you'll work your way up to the church my grandparents were married in, their first home and the bakery my cousin still works in to this day. Of course, you'll all have a vested interest in going straight ahead and ending up at the Breakfast Club because their huevos rancheros is amazing and 100% #instagrammable. And there I was sat, wearing some clothes from the brand where I had my first job. One part funny, one part kinda reading into this 100 times too much.

*With the slight upheaval, there might be a bit of change here. I've got a few posts scheduled, but can't guarantee things will be running like clockwork in the next few weeks+, so please bear with me while I sort my life stuff out. I'll inevitably be tweeting and gramming, so see you there in the meantime!

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Look at what you just saw, this is what you live for.

Zara coat: £30 (old, similar). French Connection jumper: £21.50 (on sale, similar). Marks and Spencer cord skirt: £17.50 (on sale, similar). Oasis heeled boots: £17 (on sale, similar, court heel version).

When it comes to most things, I know what I want. I may be a bit iffy on the 'general life' scenario (job? where to live? what toppings to have on my pizza???), but Actual Things? Got it down. I've never really been one to wildly experiment with clothing, Blair Waldorf bright tights period excluded, and since the age of 16 I've slowly been building a wardrobe of classics that I've been wearing ever since - I've documented a lot of them here. Handily, this means that sales are my thing. Occasionally I'll get caught up in the thrill of bargains and I still haven't donated that red shift dress which doesn't suit my body shop to charity (luv u), but more often than not I'll get something I know I'll love forever for a fraction of the price. And, in my opinion, why pay more when you know you can get it for a little less and save the difference for cocktails and Oyster top-ups?

If you're looking for a list of sale shopping tips (praise be to someone who is more organised than me), then I'd 100% recommend heading to Megs' blog, but in slightly chaotic fashion, here are my things to look out for:

STYLE NAILED
You can have too much of a good thing. Just because your wardrobe is 90% Asos (guilty), doesn't mean you should rule out everywhere else. Instead of trawling through every. single. site. because we've all got Take Me Out to catch up on, just head to Love The Sales which keeps everything in order, so you can browse for whatever you're looking for across hundreds of brands. That perfect military coat will be yours, don't you worry.

A 'WEAR ME FOREVER' WHITE SHIRT
I seem to go through these like no one's business, but one that fits is the most important dress-up dress-down basic that you'll never stop wearing.

A BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER WINNER SKIRT
As documented above, I love me a good A-line skirt. I picked up this one in M&S on boxing day, and it's been popped (heh) on ever since. I like tucking in a turtle neck knit for the kind of ootd which'll suit most occasions with the right pair of shoes - even smart casual.

IT'S A COVER UP
Notice how it didn't actually get cold until well after the January sales had started? Retailers for some unknown reason don't seem to understand that no one's interested in buying their Spring things as soon as January rears its grey head, but it works in our favour as pretty much every single coat will be on sale just as the temperatures dip.

WELL HEELED
Your shoe wardrobe is probably about to hit new heights. If you're anything like me, it's a small miracle if your shoes last any longer than a season or two, so now's the best time to update your collection. Before diving in, just check what actually needs to be replaced (I needed a new pair of smart black boots, and had my eye on these Oasis babes for at least four months), and maybe, just maybe, treat yourself to a pair purely because they're pretty. Because shoes.

Post written in collaboration, but all magpie tendencies my own.

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