Being able to travel again is something I'll never take for granted. Taking our family to the Amalfi Coast recently was such a great time - restorative, relaxing and full of beautiful scenery and great food.

As I'm pretty much allergic to baggage carousels, over the years I've got packing for travel in hand luggage down to a fine art. And as I always look for inspiration with my own capsule vacation wardrobe, I also like to share outfit ideas from my own edit.

For several years, the Covid pandemic has caused travel to grind to a halt globally and disrupted all our plans. And while it may not be completely over yet, most of us are now able to resume travel for both business and leisure. Never again will I complain about tasteless airport coffee!

Wonderful as it is to be allowed foreign holidays again, for a lot of people packing light or packing for a week away in hand luggage is a challenge.

Way back in March 2021, I did my last Life Lately post. Over a year later, and here I am again. 

Most of these posts tend to start with me marvelling at how fast life seems to be passing. That hasn't changed. But I definitely have.

Bills, bills, bills. You can't escape the cost of living crisis right now. Everywhere you turn, costs are spiralling, from fuel to the weekly food shop. So what's a beauty addict to do?

Luckily, drugstore beauty products have come a long way since I first started experimenting with makeup as a teen. Back then, the quality gap between 'counter brands' and those you could pick up at the supermarket or pharmacy was huge. You really did get what you paid for. 

That's ancient history now as the quality and range for formulations at accessible price points has boomed. In a lot of cases, drugstore products are as good as or even out perform high end. It's genuinely possible to get some great stuff without paying out loads.

Guess who has some new season loveliness to share? 

There’s been lots more sunshine lately, technicolour blossoms everywhere and it really feels like we’ve turned a corner into spring. My life has also had some new beginnings lately, so it felt like time to hit the reset button on my wardrobe too. 

This edit is workwear focused. After a long autumn and winter swathed in thermal tights and polo necks, I felt a bit lost about what to wear to the office and work events now the weather has warmed up. 

If you feel the same, hopefully this edit inspires you to make a change too.

I can't believe how little time I've had lately. My job seems to have expanded to fill every available minute during the day as well as bleeding into my evenings - restructuring the team has been intense and we're so short-staffed we just ricochet from one thing to another, with the weeks blurring by. 

Add to that the incredible amounts of lifemin and all the kids' activities and the weekend are just as busy. 

Sometimes it feels like there just isn't a minute to ourselves, and my blogging has really suffered. Still, here I am, typing away on a Sunday morning in bed to share some of my current favourites making this whirlwind a little brighter…