Well, what a month. The last, extremely brief golden flare of summer came and went, and we’ve now slipped into a chilly grey autumn full of torrential downpours.

Despite the gloom, this time of year always feels quite energising for me. It's usually a time I refocus on my personal goals and there’s something quite optimistic about it, in spite of the darker evenings.

Usually, it's this time of year that I make big changes to my life - getting married, moving house or jobs, getting pregnant - they’ve all happened at this time of year for me. At the moment, there’s way too much on our plates as it is though!

Here’s what we’ve been up to lately…

The seasons are on the shift. The nights are drawing in, the leaves are going out in a blaze of glory and the mercury is well and truly dropping. I may not have studied for years, but I still get that back to school feeling every autumn.

Thinking back, its always this time of year that I’ve made huge shifts in my life as if by instinct – moving house, starting new jobs, getting married or pregnant. This season feels like the most transformative and full of change for me.

You’re coming down from the summer high, the winter festivities are still ages away, and things can feel a little low energy and lacklustre. So it’s the perfect time to reinvigorate by setting some new goals and planning ahead.

I’m not the only one who gets a kick out of autumn goals. Data from Pinterest shows that goal-related and personal development searches rise at this time of year.

It makes way more sense to set resolutions now than it does in January, when you have an uphill struggle against the cold, wet, miserable conditions and are all out of routine from the Christmas break.

Why not start to work on things now, when conditions are much more set up to help you succeed?

Quite often, my favourite looks are the simple, clean, classic ones. They are certainly what I feel the most comfortable in, and feeling comfortable, as we all know, is the secret sauce to looking and feeling good.

Easy breezy is my motto when it comes to vacation style. Life is so crazy busy at home that when I’m away, I prefer to give my brain a rest, and that includes matching separates!

One pieces come into their own for the chuck-on-and-forget factor, and I plan every outfit in advance so that I don’t even have to think about what shoes to put with it. Laziness can be chic occasionally, right?

One of the major things we wanted to tick off on our Italian escape was a visit to Florence, a city that has long fascinated us with its staggering cultural and economic legacy.

I was so excited to tread in the footsteps of the Medici and immerse myself in the history and the artistic heritage of this beautiful place

I've been trying to deny it for weeks, but it's definitely autumn now.

Normally, I'm a fan of the season - the chance to wear coat jumpers, scarves, and ankle boots, the leaves falling and those chilly golden mornings that can be beautiful. This year I feel like summer never really got going, so it's been harder to let it go.

One thing that has been cheering me up though is receiving my next FabFitFun box. This American import is a seasonal subscription box filled with a range of beauty and lifestyle goodies.

The FFF Summer Edition was the first box you could get your hands on as a UK subscriber, and although I had a bit of a mixed experience, I decided to hold on and get the Autumn box. And I'm so glad I did!

Here's a peek at the goodies inside…

One of the things I love most about Italy is that there's so much to do - places are relatively close together.

From where we were staying we could easily reach Florence, Siena, Pisa and Livorno. So we decided that a trip to the beach was a must-do, and there were plenty within an hour's drive from the villa.

We chose Marina Di Pisa, a picturesque little seaside town with a white pebbled beach that would be sheltered, safe swimming for the kids and set off.

If there's one thing I know for sure about my approach to style, it's that I'm totally a bag lady.

Bags - and their contents - always fascintate me. There's no aspect of fashion as guaranteed to get me obsessed.

Over the years, I've learnt that a well made accessory gives me a huge amount of pleasure. And although I still find the odd irresistible bargain, these days I prefer to save up for something that will really last. The first job I had with a bonus, I spent it on a Mulberry Alexa and my collection has just gone from there.

Italian style is all about maximalism and excess, so when in Rome (or Tuscany...) what better place to flirt with a new style?

I'm normally more of a fan of sleek shapes, clean lines and smooth cuts, but I decided to experiment with a new style phenomenon on my holidays - the slutty maxi dress. Oh yes.

Apparently the answer to many summer woes, this style of dress combines a loose, tent like shape with cut-outs, a plunging neckline or a high slit to mitigate the modesty of swathes of fabric - and I'll admit its a formula that I like.

There's nothing better than being covered up while flashing an unlikely erogenous zone (see: shoulder cut-outs) for the ultimate in low-effort, high-impact style.

And who doesn't want that combination on holiday, when the most important agenda should be sipping an Aperol Spritz in the sunshine?

Ciao, bellas!

As I write this, I'm suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from our stunning Italian getaway, which was filled with so much of the stuff which makes a holiday great - delicious food, beautiful scenery, golden sunshine, discovering new places and culture, and spending time together as a family.

Landing back into a distinctly autumnal UK has been a shock, and we all feel like we've been away for months. Italy is a hugely special place to us and somewhere that we return to time and again. Blame the gelato!

Holidays give us all a chance to relax the usual rules in many ways, and that includes experimenting with style and wearing things that we either wouldn't be bold enough to at home or that the weather never quite gets good enough for...

A couple of years ago, when I went to Lake Garda, I shared a post each day of the outfits I wore, and I'm planning to do the same again. So here we go with day one of my holiday style diary.





Travelling is an area of style that I find hugely interesting - the challenge of finding a look that is both stylish and comfortable. I'm not sure I've ever really nailed it, but God loves a trier!

A taxi ride, a two hour flight and a hour's drive in the rental car from the airport to our holiday villa, with a baby and a pre-schooler in tow means that comfort and practicality have to be the top of the agenda, as well as finding something which works for both the English and Italian climates.

Silk trousers are usually my comfy-but-chic travel secret, but this time I opted for these loose fit sand coloured trousers. I sized up thinking they'd be small but they were actually a bit too big. I paired them with a navy cami top - the details on this one, such as the large buttons and square cut neckline with thick straps really sold it to me.

On the UK side of the journey, where it was colder, I chose this patterned jacket to slip over the top - its soft and easy to roll up and slide in your bag when you hit hotter shores. The silhouette is quite tailored and formal, which I liked paired with the looser trouser shape, but the pattern gives it more of an off-duty feel.

On my feet, I like to wear something I can slip on and off super quickly, and these nude coloured jelly flats were ideal - easy to kick on and off and very low-key. I've had them for years but they're such a useful shoe.

A large, lightweight scarf is something I'm never without when I travel - it comes in handy when the temperature drops mid-flight, and also provides an airy layer to keep the sun off your shoulders or use as a makeshift blanket or pool cover-up on holiday.

I love the embroidery on this one, which you can't see very well in the pictures. It looks like an abstract or a floral from far away, but close up you can see its actually ants. I'm not a huge fan of creepy-crawlies in real life but I do love accessories with insects for some reason.

This was also the case with my headband, which is a navy, red and gold striped satin with a bee print. I am totally loving the return of alice bands at the moment and expanding my collection all the time.

The Le Pliage tote is one of the most practical, chic and versatile bags I own and nearly always acts as my travel companion - it works as well for city sightseein and shopping and it does for a day at the beach or cabin baggage and holds a tonne of stuff.

Our first day was mainly about reaching the destination and then relaxing, unpacking and discovering the villa - and Theo had to join in with some of my outfit shots, of course.