At last it’s holiday time in the midlifechic house. As usual my list of things to do is so long that I keep sitting down with a cup of tea and wishing we weren’t going but I don’t really mean it. Of course it hasn’t helped that the younger boys have been floored with a stomach bug which means I’m running on very little sleep. I think it’s been a karmic response to last week’s wanting to feel needed again. Be careful what you wish for they say, it’s been like having tiny ones again. Isn’t it amazing how you forget just how exhausting the having to wake up every 2 hours and be a kind, soothing person is. I have this slightly dizzy feeling of gritty-eyed other worldliness. I remember it well… I don’t miss it any more! Anyway juxtaposed with buckets and bedding in varying states of array we have suitcases ready for chic holiday packing. They WILL all be better by tomorrow and ready to go!
A quick bit about where we’re heading first to put the clothes into context. Last September, as the bills started coming in for all the building work we had done last year it didn’t look as though we’d be having a 2014 holiday. However I was determined to find a way round it and remembered that we had accrued some air miles over the years from trips to Moscow to see a Russian client that we had until a little while ago (when Russians seemed to lose interest in using UK agencies – you can draw your own conclusions). It transpired that we had enough for Mr MC and me to go BA first class to New York…or… for the five of us to go to Malaga. Guess which way the decision fell.
So I am (honestly) thrilled to be going to stay in the hills near Competa even though as it turns out, a summer at home in this weather wouldn’t have been too bad. Now I truly admire the bloggers who have been displaying their holiday wardrobes based on a series of grey and white or navy and tan neutrals with a ‘splash’ of colour. I have spent ages pouring over their composite shots thinking I would replicate them but when it came down to it I knew I couldn’t do it. I love colour too much and I would be bored after 2 days. Here is my final selection – it looks a bit of a riot but I have loads of outfit choices and don’t have to plan them in advance.
From left to right:
- Wal-G jumpsuit for evenings
- Striped Gap maxi dress – day or evening depending on accessories
- Black White Company dress for evenings – past season
- Boden Serrana sandals – just too good an offer to resist in the sale
- 3 x Boden strappy jersey dresses – past season
- Cotton sundress – bought in Ibiza – past season
- 5 pairs of shorts (when you have boys you spend a lot of time grubbing around in shorts)
- Denim cut offs – made from an old pair of Hobbs jeans
- Boden bistro shorts in riviera and navy
- Boden chino shorts in white and pink
- Great plains white boho t-shirt – past season
- Johnny B navy broderie top – past season
- Boden bright blue jewelled top – past season
- Red Mango silky halter top
- Zara white halterneck t-shirt – past season
- Grey Superdry t-shirt
- Pink paisley FatFace cami – past season
- White Sainsbury’s Tu cami
- Boden silver pointed slingbacks
- Zara gold sandals
Over the years, we’ve found that the best way for us to achieve family harmony is to have a quiet villa with its own pool, wi-fi and satellite channels. We spend a lot of time relaxing in our own different ways and I’ll be outside with my nose buried in my kindle. I’m trying not to focus too much on tanning this year (I love having a tan but am aware that I need to delay the wrinkles as much as poss now). In terms of swimwear, I don’t really have any qualms about wearing a bikini even if it is in public – I’ll never see any of those people again so who cares. However I have packed a one piece that I bought a couple of years ago in case I suddenly feel modest. It seems unlikely as it still has its swing tags in but who knows, I may decide on a Bardot moment if we hit Marbs for the day!
Left to right
- Joules pink kaftan – past season
- Boden pink bikini – past season
- Turquoise & brown kaftan – past season (local boutique)
- Pour Moi turquoise bikini – past season
- Ebay white broderie kaftan
- ASOS grey & lime polka dot swimsuit – past season
- Hat – Next
- Khaki Accessorize bikini (my favourite) – past season
- Khaki and gold snake print M&S sarong – past season
- Silver and gold havaianas
- Silver Next straw beach bag
One revelation to share with you from all of this planning and thinking – most years I have taken far too many shoes and always put a note in my suitcase to remind myself not to do it next time. This year I’ve solved it by choosing metallic shoes that go with any outfit, it makes it so simple. I’ve also forced myself to leave heels at home because I never wear them, they’re uncomfortable in the heat and roads and paths are so often dusty and uneven that they just aren’t worth the hassle.
So hopefully it will be all excitement here tomorrow when the boys and I make the most of our free connecting flights and fly down to Heathrow for a night in London. This gives Mr MC 24 hours of peace and quiet to finish his work (I’m really hoping he doesn’t have to bring it with him this year) and brief our friends who are coming to house/cat sit with their two little girls – I hope they bring some of their own girl toys. We’ll then meet him the following evening in time to catch our red eye flight from Gatwick (nothing’s ever truly free is it – you don’t seem to be able to get air miles flights at decent times). We’ll then have a few hours sleep in a hotel in Malaga before we can check into our villa. It will be an adventure. I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to blog or not, apparently the wi-fi is unreliable and I will be in fierce competition for bandwidth. However, midlifechic is ready to launch on Instagram for an experimental 2 weeks so please join me there and see what I pull together – I’ve used it for my real job but not for the blog until now. Let’s see how it goes. Until them I’m off to do some mopping – hopefully it’s just brows this time!
Hasta la vista!
