Obviously handy packing tips are much more the norm these days on blogs and in the magazines…

But I thought it’d be fun (ok, completely whimsical) to show you the favourite things I packed for Portugal. We arrived last night after a hectic delayed flight, welcomed by beautiful heat and bright blue skies today. These photos, on my terra-cotta windowsill, are of the pieces that mean the most to me this trip …

My skin hasn’t been amazing lately, dehydrated and dry, so this lovely little package and a cheat sheet from the award-winning 001 arrived just in time. The range can be mixed up together and experimented with, applied cool from the fridge or with a massage around the eyes and temple (with a spoon, must try this!) to eliminate toxins. I received three products in the range to try out a little beauty multi-tasking and treat my dry and tired skin. Having reviewed this range before, I have high hopes. I’ll let you know how I get on. Thank you to founder Ada for so kindly sending for review!

I am completely besotted with my new Annina Vogel heart ring (birthday present to self, yah) – it’s a soft-coloured rose gold with a flattened heart on a slim textured band. I wear it on the middle finger of my left hand and it gives me magic strength and super powers. Obvs.

Stripes and stripes, jumper and tanks, are perfect hot weather wear; you just don’t need to think. The less thinking on holiday the better, I say! These are both recent purchases from H&M in Westfield, Stratford along with a tonne of basic tees and tanks. There’s a particular t-shirt they’re doing at the moment which has this super nice slightly crumpled scooped neck line; there are a few similar styles online, but I’m pretty sure it’s this one.

A super dinky-sized Olympus PEN in white, slightly top-heavy with my old Olympus 50mm manual legacy lens admittedly, but to me it is truly a thing of beauty. With the older Olympus lenses you need an adapter, but I picked this one up super cheap on eBay. The lens? Not so cheap. I still feel mixed tingles of excitement and pangs of guilt at having swiped it from under the noses of probably some very hardcore photography eBay bidders, a 50mm 1.2, it’s pretty rare these days and not that easy to find.

And, of course, my latest ripped denim obsession by MiH. I did a little reading and MiH used to be Made In Heaven – remember them? – founded in Chelsea in 1969 with a focus on flattering fit and worn by Jane Birkin et al, but was re-launched in 2005 by the owner’s god daughter Chloe Lonsdale, a St Martins graduate who saw a gap in the market for a more tailored premium denim. This electric blue Phoebe Grover pair were in the sale, still going, and I’ll confess to you now, I got them in a lighter wash too, as this pair were a little oversized and I needed a size down, so now I have two pairs of the same style, but in different sizes and colours – the baggier pair and the neater, more fitted pair. Ok, ok, no excuse, complete indulgence I know. I plead my birthday?