When is a dress more than a dress? 

I ask, because this polka-dot Zara number has been taking the world by storm. Not only is it plastered all over your Instafeed and every single style blog out there, now it even has a day in it's honour designed to empower women.

So what exactly is it about this piece that captures the collective imagination so well?

Modest to the point it could be accused of being sack-like, the dress is so popular that it even has a dedicated Instagram account. It has universal appeal because it suits so many occasions, from a summer barbecue to officewear, to a night out.

I’m definitely repeating myself here, as I seem to say it every single time I pen one of these life updates, but time really has been spinning away on fast forward.

Already this rather patchy and disappointing summer seems to be mellowing into the slide to autumn (I had to put a cardigan on in the house last night. And so it begins…). There have been some big shifts going on in the background since my last update, and some of it already feels quite far away.

But we still have our family holiday coming up in a couple of weeks to look forward to, so the summer isn’t quite over yet.

When you think of a luxury home, what do you picture? A period property renovated with the finest materials? A striking new build with acres of gleaming glass?

You’re probably picturing a luxurious bathroom with marble flooring, a rainforest shower and a freestanding bath. A king size bed draped with throws and pillows in front of a Juliette balcony. Or a pristine kitchen with acres of spotless quartz worktops. What you’re probably not picturing in this dream home is children.

Revolution Beauty has been one of my favourite affordable makeup brands right back from when they first launched.

I’ve had my issues in the past with their customer service, but one thing which has always remained constant is the brilliant quality of their products. They move quickly to respond to trends and have also developed standout flagship products of their own, like the Conceal & Define range.

Most recently, they’ve ventured into skincare, and have also been going strong with the launch of a more premium line, Revolution Pro. It was this which drew me to place an order, having heard really good things about the Pro line setting powder, specifically for use in battling my under eye area, which takes a lot of careful concealing on a daily basis. I made an order of some of the new products and a couple of sale items that I caught my eye.

What a week. My life has been as up and down as the crazy weather at the moment - one minute brilliant sunshine, the next torrential downpours - so I was glad to finally reach the weekend just gone.

Certain things have been going really well - like my Fast 800 pre-holiday plan, which I’ve been bossing - while other, like settling back into my job, haven’t been as easy.

And what do you need in such turbulent times? A good old natter with friends. So I was excited to be heading out for tapas, wine and a major debrief with some of my lovelies. Even though this involved breaking my winning diet streak by inhaling churros, I’m still not sorry one bit. It was good for the soul!

And if you can ignore churros with salted caramel sauce, you’re basically a robot anyway.

All the cliches about time flying are true.

It feels like I’ve gone from shuffling into the induction ward at the hospital at two weeks overdue to have my daughter to celebrating her first birthday in the blink of an eye. Ever since the arrival of both my children, life seems to have been stuck on fast forward. Our days are crazy busy, but so full of joy.

The fact is, I never really longed to be a mother. I never felt broody. I never wanted to hold babies when they were brought into the office by colleagues who had become new mothers. And yet, having my son Theo and his much-wished for younger sister Romilly has been the best experience of my life.

And so we celebrate together - for Romilly hitting her milestone first birthday, but also for us as a family, finding our new shape and our strength together.

I'm going to throw it out there, I actually love packing. It might be an illness.

Something about the enforced restriction of trying to fit everything into a carry on - I almost never check a bag, because who wants to hang around an airport for longer than strictly necessary? The challenge of trying to bring everything you need and edit down your wardrobe. It's all sort of appealing.

The Internet is awash with checklists and packing videos (looove a bit of packing porn!) but surprisingly, there isn't all that much about packing for a business trip as a woman. I'm all about keeping it simple and travelling light, so when I need to travel for business I plan out what to take meticulously.

The real key is to take a good look at two things before you fly - the itinerary and the weather. These will dictate what you need to take in order to be comfortable and on point, whatever you'll be doing. Then aim to pick pieces within one colour palette that can be combined together in different ways.

Go for trusted, versatile basics that work hard for you - remember that simplicity is always in style. Packing for business travel doesn't need to be a headache.