Today we headed to Arundel for an early lunch at the Californian inspired The Loft at Sparks Yard General store. It's a family friendly cafe that serves up a good coffee and great burgers  in a thoughtfully designed space, just what you need when out and about with the kids.  

After having our fill we were then able to saunter along Tarrant street and the main high street as the roads were closed off for the Arundel festival, which is on until Monday, offering street entertainment, culture and fun for all the family. 

We however were off to the castle for it's 'History in Action' event. Set on the lower lawns of Arundel castle it's a multi period look at life, costumes and combat spanning over 2,000 years with a grand finale battle between the Roman Gladiators, Saxons, Crusaders and 15th Century archers among other historical characters. 

It's a great atmosphere with the encampments of Raven Tor living history group and the Company of St Barbara set up in the grounds and the medieval castle walls as a backdrop. It was definitely a hit with our two making history come to life and more exciting than a text book lesson!

I kept it casual with my H&M blue cotton shirt, Zara skinny ripped jeans and Matt Bernson KM gladiators, well I have to stick to the theme! I accessorized with my Z for Accessorize 'Positano' bracelet and Sophie Anderson woven shoulder bag matching the pop of pink in the pattern with my toe polish.

See my outfit builder below for a similar look and click on the descriptive text to shop. If you like this post please kindly share with friends and family and enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend.

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I know my blog posts have been far from daily over the last couple of weeks but that will be rectified as soon as the next school year begins.

Here I'm revisiting our lovely stay with friends in Repton, Derby of last week. Among other great days out at Chatsworth House and a canal walk to Mercia Marina we visited Calke Abbey. 

Managed by the National trust the woodland area is transformed into 'Calke Explore' for the summer holidays, an area of natural play installations and activities which get your children back to nature and off the ipads! 

We spent most of the afternoon relaxing in the garden of imagination whilst the children banged away on makeshift drums and built various structures with the wood bricks. I would definitely recommend Calke Abbey for a family day out of doors, weather permitting!

It was dry with sunny spells when we visited hence the shades and my outfit was practical and casual. Grey marl sweatshirt from M&S, over an Autograph white linen vest and Zara soft rip skinny jeans. My Nike Internationalist jacquard trainers and Coccinelle tan cross body bag meant I could easily join in with the exploring although I did draw the line at rolling down the hill!

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It was raining this morning and so I wore my M&S linen blend pleated culottes, see above, and teamed them with my white Sandro silk bib t-shirt, Mango flowy mac and Mi Stan Smith leather trainers to run errands in town. I was thinking how versatile my culottes were and wondered how I would style them come Autumn.

So today's outfit builder is just that. Hopefully it will give you inspiration for those in between season days when you want a practical but on trend outfit. So these are my top tips for AW15 dressing now. 

Firstly a scarf belt; having seen this image on style-advisor.com I thought I might try a print scarf as a belt which will break up my separates softly whilst also injecting some much needed colour too.

Burgundy and dark green accessories; I've already got my burgundy Massimo Dutti lace ups on order as this multi strap style keeps on giving and this hue will be huge in accessories next season. 

Silk blouses; whilst this Reiss top is 100% polyester the silk or silky feel blouse is a wardrobe staple and the high street will soon have even more to choose from as they are a key seventies trend separate.

A lot of Culottes; wear the lighter, looser ones now and change texture to denim and corduroy come the colder months, when you can team with a heeled boot or show off your funky flats.

Make up must have; according to Glamour magazine the nude/caramel nail was the biggest trend at the catwalk shows with MAC's 'Very Important Poodle' being the most popular shade. It's from their 'Haute Dogs' collection which is out now stateside if you want to be lead...er of the pack! 

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