​Hello!  I've been making the most of a slower work schedule recently and catching up on life and blog admin.  Life admin has involved more cupboard decluttering, a bit of selling on Vinted, organising our itinerary for 11 nights in Tuscany in September and ​generally trying to deal with the backlog on my to do list.  Blog admin meant that I was able to add new photos to my website, make sure all my discount codes are up to date and working and even record some new video to share on Instagram in the coming weeks.  Go me, I don't think I've felt this organised in months (years)!  The menopause overwhelm has been full on and I'm still not completely happy with my HRT dosage but more on that when it all finally gets sorted!  I'm a good example that one size doesn't fit all and that HRT needs to be continually tweaked to get it right.

​This post is all about my favourite outfits so far this summer.  I use the term summer carefully, I mean it's not exactly been summery has it!?  So much of my wardrobe hasn't been touched, I'm hoping some of my pretty sundresses might get worn when we go to Italy.  It is my husbands 60th birthday in a couple of weeks so I thought a special holiday was required, he's also been working very hard recently and in need of a break.  We went to Venice for his 50th and for his 60th, we are spending three nights in Florence, four nights near Lucca and then the final four nights in the Chianti region.

This blog post contains affiliate links.

The dress and trainer look is still going strong and I love it, this trend changed my whole outlook on wearing dresses, finally I could feel comfortable, do away with the formality of heels and now my dresses can be dressed up or down.  I love the casual vibe of a dress and trainer outfit.

For my daughters generation it is hard for them to imagine a time when trainers with dresses (or any other outfit) wasn't a wardrobe staple.  But for us Gen X's it was all so much more formal, high heels to the office, dresses were saved for special occasions and only those blessed with a taller, slimmer statue dared wear flats.  At 5'2" I just felt too frumpy, too short or too casual, and so it was that I'd wear a skirt, blouse and jacket or a suit with high heels (usually stilettos) to the office and for my regular lunchtime sojourn into the town centre.  How on earth my feet survived all day I will never know!  Although I do have the bunions to show for it, I couldn't do those lunchtime walks in heels now!

So I'm delighted the dress and trainers trend continues, take them away from me at your peril!  I'm always on the lookout for the best trainers to wear with my dresses from spring to autumn (I usually lean towards boots in the winter months).  

The athleisure trend has kept dresses and trainers as an everyday essential in (nearly) every woman's wardrobe, from the top designers to high street style, the white trainer remains a capsule wardrobe must have.  And we are utterly spoilt for choice, whatever your budget, there is a white trainer for you. 
​
Get £20 off your total order at SANS MATIN using my code MICHELLE15 (aff link).

I've just returned from a fabulous short break in the UK, me and my daughter took a gamble on the weather and travelled to the Isle of Wight for 3 nights. We were keen to avoid airport delays and flight cancellations when we only had a very short window of opportunity to get away.  The gamble paid off and we were blessed with amazing sunny weather.  And a bonus that it wasn't the heatwave the rest of the UK got, we had perfect temperatures of around 21 degrees and the most fabulous views of the beach and sea from our Airbnb apartment.

Packing for a UK break can present quite the dilemma, trying to cover all eventualities with unpredictable weather, from heatwave to rain, balmy days and cooler nights.  Of course the benefit of a UK break is that we often travel by car, which means we can throw extra layers in without cluttering up a suitcase.  I had a raincoat, a blanket, beach towels and a brolly just in case!  I tend to travel with everything but the kitchen sink!

The Isle of Wight was really fabulous, easy to access via Red Funnel Ferries from Southampton to Cowes and then a short drive to Totland Bay where we were staying.

Read on to get some inspiration on what to pack for a UK break from the Afibel summer collection ...

The Afibel summer sale has started!  ​Get up to 60% off selected lines (and free delivery if you spend over £50).

This is a sponsored blog post.