TESTING, TESTING… IS THIS THING ON?!

Exactly what the title says... Is this thing on?

Wowee it's been a while hasn't it! Summer has been and gone in one almighty whirlwind and I'm sat at my brand new laptop (RIP 10 year old macbook) ready to crack on, at long last.

What a year it's been! There has been so much change for me and my family and I feel that I'm only just catching my breath with it all.
The beginning of the year brought the closure of my fashion brand which was bittersweet to say the least, but ultimately the best decision. Then back in June we packed up our beautiful home and moved house. The biggest decision for me since it was quite honestly my dream home, just sadly not the best location for the school catchment areas we were interested in. So, the decision was really taken out of our hands and after three months in our new home, I can whole heartedly say it was the best decision for us. I love our new home, it's the perfect family home and I know it has SO MUCH POTENTIAL(!!!) I only wish there wasn't so much work to be done. As is with most new homes, flaws tend to show up once you've moved in and unfortunately for us, that was very much the case and the cracks have slowly started to show, meaning there is A LOT more to be done than we originally expected, some of it urgently.
But hey ho, we'll get there eventually, and as I said, it has so much beautiful potential and I've been moodboarding and pinning CONSTANTLY and it's been a really gorgeous creative outlet for me this summer. Renovation videos, blogposts and of course Instagrams will absolutely be happening in the next month or so, so if that's your bag, please do stay tuned, and as always, thanks so much for bearing with me during this wobbly time.

Top- Zara (similar here, here & here), Skirt- c/o Boden, Shoes- Loewe c/o Selfridges, Scunchie- c/o & Other Stories, Bag- vintage Gucci via Vestiaire Collective

Today is September 4th which is a momentus occasion because it means we made it through our first 6 week holidays since we became parents. Albeit, a year earlier than most (damn it) but with moving house and consequently moving from an everyday nursery to a term time only pre-school, we've had 6, mostly glorious, but also chaotic 6 weeks off together.

I often hear fellow bloggers and creators talk about September and the whole "back to school" notion, applying also to them, women in their twenties and thirties, and to be honest, I've never understood it. September, since leaving the education system all those years ago, has just been like any other month for me. Until this year.

This morning we sent my very excited three year old daughter back to pre-school and aside from her explaining how her new school jacket was "not nice" it all went without a hitch and she was SO very excited to be back in her beautiful pre-school with the teachers she recognised and a whole host of new children to play with and get to know.
My girl thrives off of routine, just like I do, and she found these 6 weeks off a little challenging at times. She missed her friends and that time away from us being independent and learning, she loves to learn. We kept the summer packed full of adventures and so much fun, but we knew that she was missing that routine and independence that going to pre-school gives her. It was such a joy to have her walk into our bedroom this morning, looking, as she does every morning, like Stig of The Dump... Honestly what does she do in her sleep!? and proclaim "I'm so excited for pre-school", that made my mum heart very happy indeed.

And, like her, I needed my routine too. So here I am, first day of the new school term, treating my own work the way I would a school day. I've been at my laptop since shortly after dropping her off this morning, and I plan to stay here until just before pick up.
I feel this is my new "New year, new me" and I can now completely understand how September can have those "fresh start" qualities that I thought were strictly reserved for January,

It's been such a fun summer, a busy, chaotic and hectic one, with ups, downs and pretty rubbish weather, however we've been together. And, for the most part, I was forced to step away from work for days at a time. I missed working so, so very much, but I can't help but think this last six weeks were making up for the lack of maternity leave I was able to give myself and my two babies. This was pure bonding and family time and now, on September 4th after 6 lovely weeks together and having all come to terms with the big house move, I'm ready to take on this final quarter of 2024, to get back to work in a way that I haven't really done since before Gene was born and I'm really, REALLY excited about it.

So with that, I want to thank you for following along for all these years, for allowing me the time to be with my kiddos and I'm going to ask you to let me know what you'd like from me. Do you want general outfits, trend chat, wish lists and fashion musings? Do you want more family life and general thoughts such as this post today? Would you like to see more interiors from me and to document the entire home renovation? Please, please, please let me know. You guys are my motivators and I couldn't do this without you.

I'm also going to be starting a newsletter TODAY, so please do sign up here. This will be a short and snappy email in your inboxes, once a week, sharing a whole host of goodness. Home to more personal tid-bits along with wish lists and other news/recomendations I fancy sharing that week to those loyal subscribers, so please do hit subscribe if that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of.

Thank you and I lav you!

x M