70's psychedelic flares

Hello again! How are your Christmas preparations coming along? Today I'm making my first batch of fudge which means I'm pretty much on track. I've also started wrapping presents, but that's mainly so that I can check what's arrived and what I still need to order. Writing Christmas cards will be next. The Christmas tree isn't up yet, nor are the decorations, but that's always very last minute in our house. So hey, let's talk about my outfit of the day, shall we?

I've had little online shopping splurge of late and these 70's flares were a wonderfully joyful find on the Asos website (find them here). I'm having a bit of a nostalgic fashion spell currently, revisiting the 60's, 70's and 80's. In my last post I was raving about wet-look boots and now here I am, totally loved up with these fab psychedelic loon pants - another reminder of my teens!

I love the muted palette of this outfit which still has that festive feel thanks to the fun fur jacket (New Look, very old). The trousers are a mix of glorious pastel hues in blue, lilac, aqua and dusky pink. I've revived an old fluffy sweater in pale blue (a charity shop find) and added these chunky heeled Chelsea boots which are also new and from Asos (find them here). These awesome ankle boots in ecru are going to be so versatile, mixing with lots of my existing outfits. I've got a couple of brown and cream outfits in the pipeline which may sound very blah for Anna's Island Style, but with the addition of these awesome boots, you'll appreciate how amazing these colours can look...

Don't these boots and trousers look a dream together? I'm head over heels with both of them and have this lined up for a workday outfit when I'm in the run up to Christmas next week. The gallery is open for four days in Christmas week so I'm trying to plan my outfits ahead to lessen the stress of the day. I'm happy to report that I'm back into my daily swimming routine which has a great knock on effect to my body confidence. We all want to approach Christmas in the best mindset too and that time in the sea helps to calm my mind, helping me enjoy my watery meditation. 

I'm so pleased to have the chance to showcase this icy floral necklace again. I bought it in the Crisis charity shop in London a couple of years ago for only £12. While I was there I learnt a lot about what the charity does to raise awareness of homelessness within the city and it was good to see how my money was going to have a direct impact on the situation. Do check out their website to find out how you can make a difference to someone in need this Christmas. My dear friend Ben gave me guided tour of the finest charity shopping in the capital that day (see here) and he really did me proud. My perspex rings are all second hand too. My old favourite sunglasses are by Quay Austalia.

My thanks to Fiona for popping out with me at short notice yesterday to capture the golden sunshine after what had been a day of mist and rain. It wasn't so much seize the day as seize the moment!

                                                                                               Anna x

Charity shopping at Crisis in London

Hello from London!

I love that saying, "Every cloud has a silver lining". Last weekend my silver lining took the form of a visit to stay with my dear friend in London. Ben used to be a Gallery assistant of mine (about 10 years ago I think) and our friendship has continued over the years. He's now a mature student studying for a degree in Japanese at SOAS in London. Although he's only just started his course I have every faith in his ability to achieve his goal. When he worked with me he was an absolute power horse, with not just a huge capacity for work, but he had a real flair for selling. Bright as a button and utterly focussed, this guy was always gonna go far! I'd come away to the mainland to have minor surgery on the skin cancer on my back, but rather than the starkness of a trip for that alone, I decided to tag on his offer to stay and have a tour of his local charity shops.

I'd forgotten my Oyster card, but Ben told me I could just use my contactless card to get around on the tube. I loved that I could keep the card safely inside the palm of my glove as I swiped my way around the underground! How exciting these wee things are for an island lass.

My wonderful shaggy leather bag was a gift from Ben many months ago. He bought it in Stanley Market in Hong Kong on his last trip there. Coat is by Covent Garden, two piece is by Zara as are these most comfortable of boots. Handbag is by Carvella. 

But first, was breakfast. Of course. You can't go shopping without a decent breakfast and Duck and Waffle serve a pretty mean breakfast it has to be said.  

The view from this 40th floor restaurant isn't too shabby either.

Ben went for the house special, Duck Benedict whereas I opted for something more simple, but equally delicious. We toasted the day over a glass of Mimosa. For a moment I was worried that we'd peaked too early. 

But no, things were just about to get a whole lot better. Ben took me to his favourite curated charity shop, Crisis at the bottom of Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park. The shop does away with that endless searching for a gem which can be so time consuming. Instead the staff pride themselves with sifting through the donations to steam and display designer wear along with more funky pieces that can command a good price. 

Coming from our tiny island community, one of the shocking truths about London for me is the amount of homeless people you see as you travel around the city. Ben told me that the number of deaths of the homeless is already over 140 this winter. It's a chilling thought that we're barely into winter and this figure is set to rise when the first cold snap hits. Crisis aims to help in the long term as well as over Christmas by bringing those in need off the streets into a caring community where they can not only eat and shower, but access all kinds of medical support and practical help too. My shopping was going to make a real difference to lots of lives. 

The haul!

When we returned to base Ben kindly modelled one of my most sparkly finds. This (H&M) cardigan will surely come into its own over the festive period.

The spree was mostly from the Crisis shop with a few other finds from the Cancer Research shop in Muswell Hill. Exhaustion soon set in, resulting in us beating an early retreat home. Ben cooked dinner while I had a soak in the bath, but not before I spread the loot out for us to admire. Not the best photo, I'm afraid, but you'll see more of these pieces over the next few weeks I'm sure.

All shopped out!

Truro was suitably festive by the time I arrived on Monday. I had time to do some Christmas shopping before going to the hospital for my appointment. In keeping with the island-girl-goes-shopping tradition, I packed up a box of presents, putting them in the post before coming home. Ben had sent a box of clothes home for me too. 

By Tuesday I had reduced my luggage to this amount. That day I had a frustrated trip to Land's End airport as the weather or rather cross-winds, put paid to my flight home. En masse we weary-from-going-nowhere travellers were sent away to return the next day. I took this opportunity to deposit my suitcase at the docks to be shipped home to me, hence avoiding excess baggage charges.

24 hours later and hurrah! Here she comes!

Farewell to the mainland! See you again next year.

Anna x