That was Mother's Day!

How was your Mother's Day? Did you get up to much or was it all about doing nothing for a change? Jamie treated us to lunch at the Ruin Beach cafe which was a lovely little outing. Of course we missed having Sasha with us but she was having a little outing herself as she took the train to Chester for the day. 

Tresco daffodils picked by Jamie brightened up the house along with cards and a lovely tub of body butter from Sasha. 

The weather was showery so my orange Barbour jacket was perfect to go with this outfit. We stopped on the way to the beachside cafe and Jamie did the honours with the photos. As always there was much bossiness from me and a look of panic on his face in response.

The dress is old, from Vinted maybe last year but pepped up with these rather fabulous and totally perfect tights that were a birthday gift from Fiona. I wore a thermal long sleeved top under the dress as it was a decidedly cold day. The black patent boots are from Deichman and my handbag is by Steve Madden. All in all, I was rather pleased with the look.

Steve assisted from the sidelines holding my coat as the wind gusted round about us and I pretended it was a warm spring day.

The orange perspex rings seemed right for this bright outfit and I added my Vivienne Westwood orb necklace. It was a fun look and felt very me.

We had a lovely, gentle lunch with a beautiful view to boot - it was a good time to count my blessings. As I write this now my husband is listening to James Taylor and I'm feeling rather sentimental about our life together. Recently one of my dear friends, Lucy Dorrien-Smith passed away after her long battle with cancer. Lucy was a big part of my life on Tresco, giving me the job at Gallery Tresco 28 years ago and mentoring me in the role as Manager some time later. But not only was she my boss, but a dear friend, supporter and guiding light when life was tough. Lucy believed in me, encouraged me and helped me to become the woman I am today. I'm missing her daily and can't quite get my head around the sense of loss that has hit me. To know that she's no longer in pain is the only balm to my sadness.

Dearest Lucy, you've left a huge gap in our tiny community, the loss is immense.

Anna x

Sunshine and showers

Hello again! Today I'm trying to find a plus with the British weather and that can only be the excuse to buy a new weatherproof jacket and wellington boots. The orange jacket is by Barbour and cost me £40 (brand new from Vinted) as were the Joules wellies. 

My ongoing wardrobe clear-out has extended to the downstairs coat cupboard now where I'm dejunking like a frenzied idiot, getting rid of coats that I've had for years despite never wearing them. In their place I'm replenishing my coat collection with all sorts of lovely (and mostly orange) coats and jackets. I'm suddenly aware that my next milestone birthday will see me becoming 70 and am trying to buy coats that will be useful to me at that time of life. Mostly, I'm slightly worried that I'll be an true OAP by then and may not be able to afford a good winter coat or two.

My friend Fiona and I hooked up for a lunchtime walk yesterday, timing it perfectly between the showers. It was still a good chance to test drive my boots as we hopped around the large puddles that have grown to almost mini-lake size after this dreadfully wet winter. The jacket was on its first outing too and proved to be light and yet fully windproof too. Steve has a few, very old, Barbour jackets and all of them are very heavy, never mind terribly dull in that boring old greenish brown colour.

This look is great compromise of style and functionality. The jeans are new too (from Vinted) and are by Twiggy for M&S. The fit is great as they have a bit of stretch in them, perfect for our yomp around the island. The white top is old as are the sunglasses.

The wellie boots are so cute, don't you think? I couldn't help but show them alongside our local daffodils. Spring is truly here!

My Zara necklace was a birthday gift last year and the rings are pre-loved and also very old. Easter has come and gone and the island is full of happy families enjoying island life despite the changeable weather. Personally I'm fed up with the rain and am very keen to do my clothes changeover, but can't justify it yet. In the meantime, my love affair with Vinted continues as I find temptation only a click away. My other passion currently is sewing and I hope to post some images for you to see next time. I've upcycled a pair of pink corduroy jeans and am working on a beautiful summer duster coat that's too big and is proving a battle to alter. That said, I do so enjoy the challenge of how to approach these items to make them fit. 

Thanks for joining me and Happy Easter!

Anna x