At last, we’ve nearly arrived at High Summer which for many is the chance to step aside from the treadmill or at least set it at a slower pace. This is the last week of grind in our house. The youngest is already on holiday and the middle son breaks up on Friday. I have my final few days of working in London for a while and so I will be able to catch my breath at last.

I don’t know about you but I always find the end of the school year to be a bit of a contemplative time. I miss the feeling of summery celebration that came with primary school; the end of year assemblies, sports days and children coming home weighed down with all of the artwork they’d produced over the course of they year. And yes at the time I used to sigh inwardly and wonder how we would ever decide which pieces to keep and which to part with… and then where to put the giant paintings that look so effective on a classroom wall but don’t fit anywhere at home. However the end of year at secondary school just seems to fizzle out. There’s been no let up in terms of work for my two because they’re both midway through GCSEs and A Levels. So they come home in a state of exasperated exhaustion rather than the euphoria that used to emanate from them in the last days of term.

Of course it feels different for me too. I no longer have an excuse to close my books and take the whole six weeks off as I used to. My calendar is devoid of trips to the zoo and days out at the beach. And so summer will fly past much more quickly as we won’t make as many memories of days that stretch on forever.

The school year ahead will be a serious one for us. So for the next few weeks, I’m hoping to lighten my load by doing a little less of everything. I feel as though I’ve driven myself hard since I left my post at the Home Fragrance company two years ago. Working for yourself means that you have to – you’re only ever as good as your last project and you need to look ahead constantly to make sure that there is work coming in.

It feels now as though all of that is paying off, (and I’m crossing everything as I type but) I’m almost fully committed until Christmas in terms of both my day job and Midlifechic. I have some interesting things to share with you over the months ahead and I’m particularly excited about Christmas – if I can pull off what I have planned it should be really good.

It’s going to be a lot for one person to manage so I hope you’ll bear with me if I blog a little lighter until the end of August and in fact take a complete break when we go away in a few weeks’ time. I’d hate you to think that Midlifechic has gone off the boil so I thought I’d explain in advance. I’m going to regenerate for the season ahead – and I realise that makes me sound like a Time Lord… maybe I’ll come back as someone completely different!

Nothing will be change too much, it’s just that some of my posts will be a bit shorter… like this one where I want to focus on a flash sale of my tricolor clutches. If you remember these were designed specifically for Midlifechic and there are only a few left but I will be working on something new for next season so I need to clear some space.

Bag boutique flash sale

These clutches are made from contrasting suede and leather and are perfect for subtly lifting a simple outfit. I use mine most when I’m wearing solid colours –  they make the outfit look more thought through as you can see in these pictures from last year (when I was growing my hair out). Of course there’s also the solid black option which works with everything.

Bag boutique flash sale

Tricolor clutch; Dress

Bag boutique flash sale

Tricolor clutch

So, I’m selling the last few at 40% off which makes them incredibly good value for a distinctive clutch that you’ll have for life. There are four colourways:

Bag boutique flash sale

Berry, taupe and black

Bag boutique flash sale

Yellow taupe and black

Bag boutique flash sale

Orange taupe and black

Bag boutique flash sale

Black suede and leather mix

And with that I must go to catch the train again, one last time. After that I’m looking forward to being around more for the boys – even though they probably won’t notice I like to think that they might. I’m going to make the most of this last steady summer of ours because the next few will all be summers of significant change for our family.

I do hope you’ll stay with me for these lighter posts – I have a ‘late summer clothes capsule’ coming up on Friday that I think you’ll like and then I have posts on make-up, books, my recent weekend away with Mr MC and whatever else pops into my head before I go away. In the meantime thank you for reading, for commenting and (hopefully) for not giving up on me. I hope you have a summer break planned too and will join me in stepping away from screens for a while to recharge your own batteries in the sunshine. September will be here before we know it and we will be straight into a new season which should feel very fresh after months of light summer clothes. Exciting times ahead.

New summer sales

Claudia Bradby has just started her sale here.

The Hope Fashion sale has started here

Disclosure: ‘Bag boutique flash sale’ is not a sponsored post

Spring / Summer style and beauty posts

A skincare régime tailored to summer

What I’ve been wearing in and out of the office

Last minute summer holiday packing and a tip for the airport

The Boden Sale and gift ideas

The turning of the generations – and what I’ve been wearing

2018 summer sale edit – by category

Holiday dresses for hot summer nights

2018’s best bikinis, bras and other bits and bobs

Summer t-shirts and skincare

What I wore in Valencia

Best swimwear for your bodyshape

Capsule holiday wardrobe

A capsule summer city wardrobe

Summer 2018 from Hush and Uniqlo – a Midlifechic edit

Working in London – what to wear and The UK Blog Awards

Indigo jeans try on and what I’ve been wearing

A great weekend break and a new drop from Hush

Trying on my Boden order – keepers and returns

A Spring Smorgasbord – gelato colours

Casual basics – jeans

Spring pick-me-ups

Spring / Summer 2018 – key trends

Other posts you may have missed

The happiest of 50th birthday weekends

How it feels to be 50 in 2018