All Buttoned Up, our SNA challenge for Feb




Hello again my lovelies! Can you believe it's the end of the month already? Well, the last Monday of the month at least, which means it's time for our Monthly Style Not Age Challenge and this month our theme is All Buttoned Up as chosen by Gail. I found this a very inspiring challenge, one that ties in with my latest news hobby-wise, but I'll share that in a moment. First, let's see how my fashionista friends approached the task in hand, shall we?




Emma is looking pretty in pink in this button featured trouser suit. The fact is that it's not even a suit, but a thrifted jacket and perfectly matching trousers. Catch up with her on her blog The Style Splash here for all the fashion details. 




Jacqui from Mummabstylish has opted for pinstripe sailor trousers as her buttoned up feature, a classic style that never goes out of fashion. A chunky roll neck and matching grey across the body bag completes this weekend look.




Hilda's lean and leggy look features her much loved jeans from Next with a buttoned up cardi/jacket from Zara which she confesses to hardly wearing, but goodness knows why not - it's very pretty! Read more from Hilda on her blog Over The Hilda




Gail does indeed have this month's challenge All Buttoned Up. Oh how I love all of this look! Black and white with a pop of orange makes for a stunning combination and her shoulder buttoned sweater is fab. See her back story here for all the style details. 




My buttoned up item is a thrifted linen pin tuck blouse by Jaeger which cost me £5. It was only when I got it home that I discovered a scorch mark on the sleeve. My bargain maybe wasn't so much after all and I relegated it, in rather bad humour, to my mending pile. Fast forward to last year when I had a bit of a creative moment and decided to try to cut and create some applique to cover up the offending area. 




The addition of another mulitcoloured sunflower bloom at the back of the blouse helped it look more of a feature than a cover up job.




The final alteration took place when Gail announced this month's challenge and I decided to remove all the rather boring white buttons and replace them with whatever I could find in my button box. My white linen blouse has become a quirky and unique addition to my wardrobe, another slow fashion item. I do feel rather pleased with the end result.




The rest of my outfit is made up from these lilac wide legged jeans from Primark and my old floral Converse boots. The day was a real bonus allowing me to find a spot out of the wind which looked like a perfect summer's day in February!




The day was quite a breezy one, a definite jacket day! Mine is by Pull and Bear purchased for £30 at TK Maxx last year. It's super cosy and I just love the colour. It makes me think of the famous poem by Jenny Joseph entitled Warning which starts with 'When I'm old I will wear purple'... Read it in full, here





I sat on the outcrop of rocks at the end of Saffron Bay and enjoyed the view on this blustery day, pleased to have my padded jacket on to beat the chill wind.




Oh, and finally, the news that I mentioned earlier, is that I've joined The Very Scilly Sewing Bee, a new course being run on St Mary's for the next five weeks. I'm excited to say that I'll be trying to make a dress for the very first time. As you may know, I've done bits of sewing in the past, but never made anything from a pattern. Hopefully I may have a dress to share with you sometime soon! Thanks for joining my friends and I for this month's challenge and please do pop across to see more from them on their own blogs if you have a moment.


Have a super week!

Anna x

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Colour play, my favourite game




Yay for the weekend, and yay for some colour play! I've been shopping my closet again this weekend and came up with a new combination that's surely worth a mention. The corduroy dungarees from Enjoy Clothing are still looking fresh as ever despite being almost a year old now. I bought them primarily as weekend wear, but I must admit they did sneak into work quite a few times last year. You really can't beat dungarees for comfort can you?




The mix of pink and turquoise are a joyful combination. I topped the outfit off with this fab Topshop trench, a charity shop find from long ago. There's a lovely sense of spring in the air at last and I'm so happy to be shedding that winter feeling. I've been sea swimming a lot this week thanks to the more settled weather too. Now that we have visitors on the island again it really helps to push us further away from the gloom of winter and onwards to longer days.




I was up early to capture the sunrise with is skin-flattering golden tones. Let me share the view I was smiling at.




There's something about an early morning start, whether it's for a swim or walk or simply to capture the sunrise, it just sets you up with that feel-good factor, don't you think?




The top is a vintage piece, a happy find from a while ago. And the jewellery is all second-hand too. Sunglasses are by Radley London. 




I bought my Converse sneakers from Office Shoes last year and surely to goodness you remember seeing them - I wore them lots!  I love them. They make me smile. Isn't that what it's all about?




Ten minutes later and a different backdrop, but the clouds have blocked out that wonderful golden light. Never mind, at least it's a fabulous view behind me! I do hope you've had a great weekend and managed to factor in some downtime. 

                                                                                                  Anna x

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Pretty in Pink, our Style Challenge for September




Hello and welcome to our monthly Style Not Age Challenge! We're back again and this month my style sisters and I are all Pretty in Pink, thanks to the theme choice from yours truly. I've recently purchased this glorious pink frock from Hush - it's called Kloe and is still in the sale here. I've been having a pink moment, searching for the perfect pink trouser suit which then led me to find this loose and airy summer dress which is an absolute joy to wear. More of that later, but first, let's catch up with the others shall we?




Jacqui from Mummbstylish has been shopping recently too, buying these fab pink trousers and animal print shirt, both from M&S. Such a cool look! 




Gail from Is This Mutton has embraced the pink theme completely. It turns out that pink is her favourite colour and therefore wasn't too hard for her to find in her wardrobe. Those metallic pink boots are right up my street! 




And here's Style Splash's Emma sporting the most fabulous dose of pink! The trousers and jacket pulled together make the most pretty trouser suit indeed leaving me green with envy.




Hilda has brought out an old faithful pink coat for this month's challenge. The maroon handbag and pale pink are a very pretty pairing aren't they? See more on her blog Over The Hilda




This was me, last Monday on the beach just below The Old Blockhouse Castle on Tresco. We'd had a lovely run of Indian Summer weather making my day off perfect for this photo shoot. I've been wearing this lovely pink dress to work at least once a week since I bought it about a month ago. I'm smitten with the bright fuchsia colour as well as the flounced shape. The fabric is Hemp, making it cool and yet not flimsy; I usually wear an underskirt if the fabric is very see-through, but that's not necessary with this dress. 




I love the self-coloured spots too.




Colour therapy at its best is how I see this kind of dressing. It gets me lots of compliments, but more importantly it makes me feel happy and self-confident. As you know I primarily dress for myself and it's a bonus if that earns approval from friends or family. As I said I've been searching for the ultimate pink trouser suit ever since I saw the gorgeous Louise Minchin on Breakfast TV wearing a rather fabulous version. I've found a similar suit on the ME+EM website - see it here. Stocks of this are low due to it being in the sale and I've ended up ordering the jacket and trousers in different sizes which may be a stupid idea. I'll let you know how that pans out...




Lots of lovely pink accessories here today. The pink Candy Bag gets aired whenever I can justify it and this was the perfect excuse! Pink pre-loved rings and a pink and silver bangle from a girlfriend all add to the pink lusciousness of the look. My silver hooped necklace was from Melissa James at Gallery Tresco and sits perfectly in this neckline, don't you think? And last, but my no means least, are my long-term favourite Quay Australia sunglasses.



 


Another joyful purchase from this summer has been these floral Converse boots. They're super comfy thanks to a cushioned insole, and of course they're just the most pretty pair of shoes I have at the moment. Paired with this flamboyant frock the whole effect is pure fun.




As usual, you'll find me hanging on to summer here on the blog. I've got another lovely summer frock to share with you next time taken during the recent balmy golden weather, so please do drop by again soon.


I hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and that you'll find time to check out the blogs of my fashionable friends too.


                                                                    Anna x

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Floral Converse boots and purple agapanthus




Hello again! How's your week been? I've had the day off today and even though the weather wasn't perfect, Steve and I took ourselves off in our boat and headed out to the Eastern Isles. White sand, clear turquoise water and a few glimpses of the sun as we lazed on an uninhabited island were enough to create our very own chill zone. A couple of beers with our picnic and we pretty much set the world to rights in a few hours.




And so on to the outfit of the day. I've recently bought a new pair of Converse boots which inspired this look. The floral boots are on sale from Office currently (see here). Increasingly I seem to be wearing flats for work and these are a bright and breezy way of lifting an outfit out of the doldrums.




Aren't they totally funky and great fun too!




I've paired the boots with with these patterned wide legged crops from H&M (pre-loved) which I've had for a couple of years now. The white floral top was from New Look in a summer sale, but not this year. Setting the whole shebang against the purple agapanthus is a riot of colour, one that will be over very soon, hence I was keen to capture the flowers while they were still in bloom.




I picked out accent colours of pink and turquoise for my statement rings, adding my favourite Quay Australia sunglasses for another jazzy aspect. My sea glass pendant is a tiny blue droplet made by Drift jewellery out of sea glass I collect from our beaches.




The pressures of work are gradually calming down now meaning I'm more able to fit in my wild swimming again. I'm back at the ever-so-heavenly Cradle Porth in the shots below. 








I'm so lucky to have the chance to swim in these clear waters all year round. I feel the mental health benefits are almost more important to me than the physical ones. My solitary swims in particular take me to a calm place; a welcome state of zen, an escape from the norm and into a watery world where my senses are devoid of sound (with earplugs in place) and are taste and sight oriented. The delicate shades of sea greens and aquas lull me into dream world where under sea creatures like bold little brown crabs fend me off and purple globe jellyfish pulse their way on by. Nature unwinds me, undoing the knots of tension in my shoulders and emptying my buzzing brain. I emerge refreshed and revitalised, ready for the next challenge that life may throw my way.



Anna x

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That Friday feeling




Hello again! Yes, this is me, giving a big sigh of relief for that Friday feeling. Not popping corks or doing somersaults, simply sitting for a moment, taking in the view and being grateful. 




The days seem to be rattling past as August gets into full swing. The Isles of Scilly are thronging with visitors and we're all working flat-out to provide the premium holiday experience that our guests deserve. But golly, I'm flagging all of a sudden. Lunchtime walks and morning swims have been dropped for the first time ever as I struggle to find enough energy for work alone. But I'm not too worried as I know this will be short-lived. In no time at all it will be September and the frenetic pace will soon be a thing of the past. Tempus fugit eh?




Today's work outfit is a new combination again. The dress was from TK Maxx when I was away in May, but this is the first time to be shown on the blog. The brand is Feather and Bone, not one that I've come across before, but the frock is a pretty floral pattern of black, brown, pink and yellow mainly and the fabric is polyester and elastane which gives it a lovely bit of stretch.




The drop waist style is flattering and comfy too. I've added a net underskirt and my plaid Converse boots to give an edgy look as I worry that maxi dresses can be a bit frumpy if you're a woman of a certain age.




The petticoat was a charity shop find and the Converse were from TK Maxx, some time ago.




I would say that the best thing about this frock is the wash and wear aspect of it. I've not had to iron it between wears or after washing, hurrah! What busy working woman wouldn't be thrilled with that? Jewellery today is a smokey quartz and silver necklace from Emily Nixon (many moons ago) along with a couple of charity shopped rings. My cool sunglasses are from Quay Australia - surprise, surprise!




I'll leave you with a playful whoosh of the frock, just to show you that I'm not completely done yet!  Thanks for dropping by. I know we're all so busy at this time of year and I have very little expectations from my readers to spend time leaving comments or even to visit at all. I appreciate you swinging by and I do hope you're having a wonderful summer!

                                                                                          Anna x

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Primark suit and Converse boots - a cool and stylish work outfit




Hello my friends, how are you? I'm doing okay, especially as I've got that Friday feeling. No matter that I'm actually working tomorrow - it's all about that end of the week vibe!




This was today's work outfit, a thoroughly stylish suit from Primark that I bought on my recent trip away. I decided to underplay things by adding a shimmering silk blouse in a neutral hue. Yes, you might have expected a burst of pink or orange to jazz up this rather conservative trouser suit, but hey, not today!




My Converse boots add a playful touch and also give a cool, edgy feel to the look. I love the check on check pattern play.




Mixing old and new pieces is one of my favourite ways of putting an outfit together and this is a perfect example of that. The silk blouse is pre-loved as it the elastic belt. 




I must admit, my new hairstyle has restored my self confidence. That long shaggy (non) style was making me feel rather drab, but now I feel all pepped up and ready for fun!




I think this may be the first time I've showcased this bronze blouse. It was a charity shop find from way back when, but at least has been given its moment to shine.




My green pearl necklace has a golden hue which works so well with the blouse. The large ring is a pre-loved piece and the other one was from an airport concession. The rose gold watch is by Michael Kors.




It's funny how a good haircut and decent suit can lift the mood, oh and these new Steve Madden sunglasses help too. I had some lovely comments about the outfit today, one of which was that I looked dapper - I loved that!




I've had a good week; busy at work and I've had some lovely sea swims. On Thursday we also we had our first dinner party in almost 18 months. It's been so long since we had anyone round to our house and yet it felt so easy and natural again. Hurrah for some semblance of normality! 




What are you up to this Bank Holiday weekend? Are you going away anywhere? I'll be working on Saturday and hope to get out on Sunday to take some more photos for Monday's feature. The end of the month signals time for our monthly Style Not Age challenge so I hope you'll swing by to see how that pans out this time.


Have a great weekend!


Anna x

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