Summer flashback (all dressed up with nowhere to go)

I sit here writing while hailstones are bouncing off the garden by my window, hitting the daffodils as if there's a point to be made, "Spring isn't quite here yet!" maybe? A fierce gale is blowing outside and I'm sitting waiting, hoping that I'll get a call to say the annual beach-clean event this morning is being cancelled until kinder weather blesses our island shores. in the meantime I've decided to plunge deep into my draft box and bring out a lovely reminder of last summer. The all-dressed-up-and-nowhere-to-go look came about rather organically as I'll explain...

I found this elegant shift dress by Reiss in a charity shop in the early summer and thought it would be perfect for those days at work when I felt the urge to look smart. Dark blue and navy always make me look a bit pale (check out my peely-wally pins), but I'm trying to expand my repertoire of colours, so thought I'd give this a whirl. In an effort to bring some light to my complexion I've added my favourite chunky peals and that does seem to soften the dark dress. The beaded sandals (Monsoon) and clutch (Accessorize) were finds from the same thrifting session and a great ploy to lift the colour scheme too.

As the day was a bit breezy I decided I needed to add a jacket to the ensemble and this one seemed perfect. It's by Jaeger and was an absolute snip at £8.95 in a charity shop in Truro.

By the end of the day, just as Polly and I were cashing up, I remembered that I'd found a hat during one of my earlier shopping sprees. I mentioned that this might be a great finishing touch to this rather posh ensemble and here's how we finished the day -

Perhaps it can be seen as a trial run for some invitation yet to come? At least I know I've go this stashed away in readiness. My necklace was from Debenhams many moons ago, the rings are old, my watch is by Michael Kors and sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

The good news is that the Spring Beach Clean has been cancelled. And when you see the view from my kitchen window you'll understand why.

Linking with 

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

                                                 Anna x

Summer show: 4 of 6

I can hardly believe that we're more than half way through the run of our summer shows already. Polly and I are in the flow of hanging a new show, hosting the opening night party, selling and packing the work ready to dispatch and then before we know it, it's time to take it all down and start again. Details of the work for this particular show are here. Nick Botting, Rosemary Trestini and Gary Long have all been inspired by the islands so do take a look at the link to see the resulting works. And an opening night couldn't take place without my team of lovely assistants, so take a bow, Ruth, Polly and Max -

We rallied outside the gallery for our obligatory photo shoot and the weather put on its blustery best just to add a bit of interest to the shots. As skirts flapped and flew, we grabbed and clamped down what we could amidst shrieks of laughter.

The dress of the day for me is a small mending success by way of my new found sewing skills. I bought this (H&M) frock which was brand new (rrp £79.99) but due to the broken zip was retailing at £7.99. These brand goods are coming through a Truro charity shop that is in receipt of their "rejects" the best of which my daughter and I scoop up from time to time. My sewing teacher would be proud at my efforts. I carefully unstitched the broken zip, and lovingly pinned the new one in before machining it in place. The skirt has a nude lining as far as the knee, so looks more racy than it actually is. And that's it - four exhibitions down, two to go! 

The dress, as I say, is from H&M, the gold beaded top is so old that I can't recall where I bought it, the shoes are from Primark, handbag is Accessorize (again, very old though), necklace comes from Magpie Vintage, nude ring is from Boots and yellow ring is Martin James (airport stock).

This week I'll be linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Cherie of Style Nudge

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x

Wedges and windy weather

It's a rare day on the island when we are becalmed, therefore you just have to make the most of the almost constant breeze/wind/gale. Polly and I wanted to capture these fab culottes in full sail and that's pretty much what happened. The lively photo shoot took place on the beach just below the gallery where we work and will be a familiar backdrop to my regular readers and those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the wonderful Isles of Scilly. New Grimsby bay is the location and is the main docking point for day trippers to arrive on the boats from all the other islands. Cruise ships tend to use the quay at the other end of the island, Carn Near, if the tide is low enough as that is nearer to the Abbey Garden, the highlight of their visit to Scilly. I've got some lovely shots coming up later of a couple of large ships moored up at the end of the beach where I take my daily swim.

These culottes are so easy to wear as well as being functional for work. Climbing ladders, nipping up and down the stairs, hopping onto my bike to go on errands can all be achieved without the same concerns a skirt might cause. Apart from that, I think they are blooming lovely! I've added this lace, pistachio peplum top to give a bit of femininity along with these sky high wedges. I've worn these a few times on the blog before and will repeat that although they look really high and might look like they are crazy to walk on, they're not. The slope on the front edge means you roll along smoothly despite the height of them. The culottes are from Topshop, lace top from H&M, shoes are from New Look, vest top is from Primark. My necklace was from Debenhams a couple of years ago, yellow ring is by Martin James, sparkle ring was from East, and this wonderful gold nail polish is Oil Slick by Accessorize. Apologies for not supplying any links to these items today, but they are all to old too show anything similar within these brands.

Linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

The gorgeous sweep of Pentle Bay is one of the treats awaiting the cruise ship visitors today. Despite it being the middle of July there are only a handful of people on the beach.

This scattering of islands in the distance are the Eastern Isles which are all uninhabited outcrops and mini islands, perfect for picnics and isolation.

This is the view of Pentle Bay in the other direction. Notice the isolated shower over the far end of St Martin's while the near end still enjoys the sunshine. This clump of cloud is heading towards mainland UK - next stop Land's End.

Looking towards St Helen's on the right and Northwethel island on the left - both are uninhabited and are idyllic escapes for those with their own boat.

The Old Blockhouse castle. Read about this island defence here.

This final view is across Old Grimsby bay. I hope you've enjoyed this quick sweep around the island - to find out more about where I live click here. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Anna x

May show time!

Yes, it's that time of year again - time for another exhibition at the gallery with the best excuse ever to bring out my finery. This outfit went with me on our cruise in February (see here), but didn't make the final cut when I swanned around the cabin to get Steve's opinion. In fact, we both liked it, but not as much as some of the frocks I had taken along which rivalled this shirt and skirt combo. 

On Thursday we were hosting a mixed show from a group of seven artists. I managed to hijack a couple of the artists before the preview evening began. Nicola Hancox and Paul Lewin both went on to have a great opening night party. Check out their work here.  The Isles of Scilly attract thousands of tourists every year amongst them hundreds of artists, professional, amateur and aspiring, hoping to capture the essence of this beautiful archipelago. The five inhabited islands offer an insight into life where weather and tides influence our every day, where boats are our main mode of transport, where there will be more birds on the beach than humans, and where it's possible to spend a day playing Robinson Crusoe on an uninhabited island if that's your dream. To learn more about these beautiful isles see here.

As you can no doubt tell, the wind was blowing as Polly and I tried to maintain our smiles and ignore our windswept tresses. Our photo shoot was a bit of a rushed affair thanks to the weather, but at least you get an idea of the evening and our ensembles. Polly wears a black lace dress and black sandals both from H&M. My black blouse is from Uniqlo, the skirt is by Anthropologie (I succumbed to it at sale time which helped make it less painful), shoes are my well worn favourites from Primark, clutch is Accessorize (charity shop) and doesn't it match these shoes perfectly? My belt was from eBay, necklace from Dorothy Perkins and rings are from a charity shop.

Linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x