Mother's Day lunch

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mums out there! My kids treated us to a lunch out yesterday at the Ruin Beach Cafe on Old Grimsby. We started off outside but as the sun faded behind the clouds we relocated inside but still with a great view to enjoy. 

Pud of the day was this lovely chocolate desert. Steve didn't so much eat it as inhale it within minutes!

Unusually for me I opted for an all black outfit. Levi jeans and Ralph Lauren jacket plus white frilled shirt are all old. The pared down look was chosen to highlight my rather fabulous new cowboy boots - these are definitely the stars of the show. 

I bought the boots on Vinted last week. They're brand is MOMA New York - the Museum of Modern Art and you can find them here. They are called Sunny Days Ankle Boots and each pair is made from vintage saris and hand decorated with embroidery and beads making them quite simply unique. This was their first outing and I was thrilled with the fit and comfort of these cowboy boots. The sole and inner are both leather and are true fit for their size. These are boot heaven!

I took my lead from the boots with my accessories too - orange belt and scarf are old as are all my turquoise coloured necklaces and ring. Sunglasses are from Radley London.

Workwise I'm happy to report that I ought to be finished in the cottages within the next week. It's a wonderful creative project, but I am missing the Gallery and all that comes with it. If you've been on the island recently and popped in to see me then I do apologise for being awol. As I say, normal service ought to be resumed by next week!

                                                                                      Anna x

Workwear with no frills

Hello lovelies, how's tricks? I'm still knee deep in artworks, battling my way through the art upgrades in our holiday cottages. Today it's been Wigeon that has come under our attention. Mel and I have been planning the distribution of paintings across the final six cottages and this is certainly testing the grey matter as we try to balance the needs of each house with what we have at our finger tips. Here's some examples of rooms we've dressed so far -

This trilogy is by Ellie Verrecchia - see more here. 

On the right is a painting by Chris Hankey (more here) and on the left, one by Iona Sanders - more from her here. 

These three are by Cornish artist Maggie Matthews see more from her here.

Art for interiors is always fun as you sweep in at the last hour adding colour and character to each room, hopefully enhancing the soft furnishings and making the best of the room. No two rooms are finished to look the same and of course the gamble of adding bright contemporary art into old houses may not be to everyone's taste, but we love the finished looks.

My outfit of the day was very plain and simple. My turquoise corduroy dungarees are from Enjoy Clothing in Truro and have been aired on the blog previously. I've paired them with a bright orange roll neck, second hand from Vinted at only £5. My third addition are my white patent boots, quite old now, from TK Maxx. No rings (totally impractical when hanging art) and no necklaces for the very same reason. 

Sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia.

I'll leave you with the spectacular view afforded from the lounge in Puffin Cottage. We'll be working our magic in there tomorrow - wish us luck!

Anna x

Workwear for this week

Hi there! Another week, another work outfit. Yes, I'm still working on my big art project, that of renovating all of the individual art collections held within almost 40 holiday cottages on Tresco. Today's photos are from the patio outside Maiden Bower which sits on the banks of Farm Beach. My new assistant Mel was keen for me to showcase my tool kit too. I laughed when she called me #bosswoman!

I've worked on over 30 cottages so far, removing old faded prints and replacing them with lovely original pieces of art, befitting of these luxury cottages, many of which have had new soft furnishings and fabrics added recently. These will all be shown on the Tresco website in due course. The challenge for me is to not only find the right paintings but also to hang them in the right spot. Navigating wonky old ceilings and heavy beams adds to the challenge of getting them to look right and of course, hang straight! My trusty spirit level has become a good ally and duly given a name - Betty. Where's Betty? is my constant cry in Mel's direction as I stand clutching the frame of a large painting as I try to find the sweet spot. 

And so on to the outfit of the day. Steve bought me this Love co-ord for my birthday. I'd seen this worn on Gogglebox (one of my favourite programmes) and had mentioned this to Sasha. Before I knew it, she'd tracked it down on Vinted. I've managed to do the same - if you'd like to buy it then there's one right here. The brand is Never Fully Dressed and they seem to make lots of outfits along the lines of Love. Cute, eh?

My boots are new, purchased from Vinted too. The brand is Zara and they were brand new with the labels on for £20. Terrific value for a pair of leather boots. I love the shape and the big chunky sole. Steve informs me that these are in fact farmers boots and that you'll see them on many a tractor across the land. Always ready with a compliment is my dear hubby!

The island is open for business now and the Gallery opens on Tuesday the 7th. I've called in lots of favours to cover the first week of opening while I continue with the cottage art. Hopefully I'll be back at the helm soon and in due course you'll be able to see the fruits of my labours when the photos go live on the website.

Many thanks for dropping by!

Anna x