Adidas trouser suit

Hello there! How are you? We've been so lucky this week with sunshine making a regular appearance. It's such a simple pleasure to see the sunshine - it's the best mood-lifter ever! I'm feeling brighter, more motivated and defintely happier this week. 

I've managed to ditch the coat this week and have gotten by with gloves and scarf to keep the wind at bay. I've pretty much shopped my closet for everything and yet it's still a make-me-happy outfit. I think the only new addition is my cute and compact handbag, a Steve Madden gem that I bought when I was in Truro in December. I love that it's both a handbag and an across the body bag and I do use it both ways.

You'll have seen this coral Adidas trouser suit before and yet it's still looking fresh. I was delighted to be stopped by a lady on the road who wanted to pay me a compliment on my bright and colourful outfit. It's somehow even nicer when a complete stranger pays you a compliment isn't it? She couldn't believe that it was made by Adidas - it's quite formal compared to the usual sportswear of the brand.

There's nothing new with my jewellery: the necklace is old from Topshop, sunglasses old from Radley London, my beaded belt was from Amazon, rings are by Diana Porter and Emily Nixon.

As I mentioned, I'm feeling much brighter this week and that's spilled over onto the home front. I've been watching re-runs of Sort Your Life Out and it's created a real need in me to actively engage with my clutter and start to make a difference. Already, just in the space of a few days, I've relocated bits of furniture and ditched quite a lot of junk. And the wonderful thing is that it becomes quite addictive. I'm finding moments in my day, just while waiting for the kettle to boil for example, when I can throw open a kitchen cupboard and see exactly what needs to be moved on - it's so liberating!

I rediscoved my love for these ornate trainers by Replay and tied them in with my equally colourful floral roll neck (from Vinted). As ever, the outfit of the day is always chosen to please me rather than worn to attract comments from others, but of course, it's always a bonus if it garners compliments, which it did several times. It strikes me that if my outfit makes others smile, gives them joy, well what a lovely thing that is!

                                                                            Anna x

My rather fabulous new coat

Sometimes lady luck just smiles upon you... Well, that's how I feel about this rather fabulous new coat that I found as I was browsing through Vinted last month. If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I love everything ornate, in fact the fancier the better, so this coat almost had my name emblazoned across it! The beautiful embroidery sold the piece to me straight away and when it arrived it was everythig I'd hope it would be.

The brand is Savage Culture, a boho brand from what I can tell, and is definitely worth my investigation in due course. Anyway, after the first wear I discovered that the buttons were all a bit small for the buttonholes and so I set about remedying that by customising the coat with some buttons from my button box. Most of them are ceramic, bought from one of our suppliers when I used to stock buttons in the Gallery. 

The length is great, the fit is perfect and it seems like the ideal coat for this time of year when it's still chilly enough to need a coat, but not necessarily a winter coat. This is my springtime special, I would say!

This was my outfit of the day for yesterday, the first day the Gallery opened up after our winter break. The dress has been featured on the blog before (see here) but this time I've added boots and tights to extend the wearabiltiy of it. The brand is IVIVI and was a Vinted purchase.

 I wore a long sleeved thermal top underneath the dress and the tights are bamboo ones from Boots - a cotton feel that are cool and comfy. 

The patent boots are from Topshop from years ago. I've had them reheeled recently and am so happy to have them for a while longer.

Sunglasses are old (from Radley London), the fabric necklace was from Vinted, the perspex ring was a charity shop find and I'm also wearing my beautiful birthday ring.

We've been blessed with good weather for the past few days. What about you? Does it feel more like spring with you? As the season begins with us once again it does help to have this gentle easing into another year of hospitality on our tiny island paradise. Do pop in to say hello if you're ever on the Isles of Scilly - Tresco is definitely worth a visit!

                                                                                    Anna x

Are you a lemonader?

Hello there! I'm so happy to report that the veil of depression has lifted and it's business here as usual. I'd forgotten how quickly I sink into despair with any (small) physical setback. It only took some kind words of encouragement to remind me who I really am - a strong willed, capable and resiliant woman - and I was on the way back up. My sister Sandra sent me this link from Saturday's Guardian about Lemonading. What particularly struck a chord with me was this; (Lemonaders) infuse quality and enjoyment into everyday experience. This does indeed summarise my aim in life and could be my mission statement.

Another reminder of who I am came from a friend who prompted me to go back through my Instagram feed as if it were someone else. She pointed out that the images are not just of my outfits but of my joy at living where I do and squeezing as much happiness out of the everyday as possible, joy which others might overlook. The view across a bay, although familiar, is still a source of absolute delight for me. I can find pleasure in the smallest of things from a tiny shell found on the shoreline to the first page of a new book which holds such promise. Gratitude is an eveyday ritual, to be repeated often as these pleasures arise.

And so, on to the outfit. The sun shone sharply on Saturday, shaming me into getting out of my pit of despair and wallowing in the mini drama I was inhabiting and to look beyond the comfort of the sofa. I needed to shower and find some joy in colourful clothes. This is what I came up with - a bright medley of soft shades of pink, purple and coral with a dollop of turquoise to finish it all off. You'll laugh at the fact that I opted to walk to my intended photo site wearing this gold jacket as I believed it to be low key compared to the feather jacket thrust inside my tote bag.

The feather jacket was from Vinted last year, costing £5 - ridiculous but true! The jeans are from Primark, blouse and waistcoat are both from Vinted, as are the fabulous patent boots.

The cotton waistcoat is by Erika Classics Clothing in case you wanted to search for it. I've got a penchant for patterns of all sorts currently and this one ticks all the right boxes for me. I have a pair of pink trousers that will work really well with this as the weather heats up.

Simple accessories this week - sunglasses (old) from Radley London and my new ring by Emily Nixon along with silver and gold band (it says In Heaven On Earth) by Diana Porter.

This was colour therapy at work here, that's for sure. I'd moped around in grey old joggers and a brown wooly jumper for over a week so it was almost transformational to not only get outside again, but to feel bright and confident in gorgeous colours and textures. Of course, we all have times when illness and/or depression take us over, but that light at the end of the tunnel has to be pursued when it shows itself. I'm so grateful to be on the mend and to have had loving support at a time when I needed it.

                                                                        Anna x

Hello again!

Hello and thank you for coming back to see me! I've been awol for a little while. In my last post I mentioned that I was going off to the mainland but didn't tell you that I was having some minor surgery to remove two skin cancers on my back. The upshot is that I was allergic to the sutures which in turn created an infection. Once home and despite having had the stitches removed the infection raged leaving me feel quite poorly and just to add insult to injury the wound burst open leaving a nasty crater in the site. I'm waiting for some new medication to treat the wound and am on strict instructions to rest. Anyway, here I am and just wanted to say hello.

This was my birthday outfit and it truly was a case of all dressed up and nowhere to go! A day after my op and I was simply happy to be at home. The fur coat isn't new, but is still a big favourite of mine. We've had some very cold weather here on the islands this winter so I've not looked too out of place wearing my various fur coats. The oatmeal coloured cardigan (note how I've swerved the colour beige there) was from F&F at Tesco while I was away. It has matching trousers too which I also bought and is from their loungewear range. Underneath the cardi is a cream lace bodysuit that I found on Vinted and I added these faux leather leggings (from TK Maxx) with my gold leather boots (Topshop) for this rock chick vibe.

For those of you who visit Tresco I just wanted to share my joyful discovery of this little nook that offers such a lovely backdrop. The crab chairs on the lawn (near the Ruin Beach Cafe) have a low wooden table which works perfectly for my camera on its stand.

I added this old pearl necklace and Radley sunglasses to complete the theme of lace, leather, fur and pearls. 

Excuse me for this cat who's got the cream shot, but I'm flashing my new ring, bought by my lovely husband to mark not just this birthday, but the many others that have been missed by him over the years. The man came good this time, sending me off to Emily Nixon's Studio in Cornwall to have a trying on session with some gemstone rings resulting in this beauty being my 'many birthdays ring'. See more of these fabulous rings here. 

So that pretty much winds things up from me here. I'm signed off work currently so am not sure if I'll have any new outfits to show you soon, but in the meantime - look after yourself!

                                                                    Anna x

My pistachio jumpsuit

Hello and how's tricks? This week I'm featuring my new (to me) jumpsuit from & Other Stories, bought from Vinted for £30. I've checked out their website and found one similar for £125 see here. I'm particularly pleased with this purchase due to the great quality of both the fabric and the construction. The fabric is a lovely weighty drape (polyester, viscose and elastane), quite thick too and holds its shape really well. I wore it for the first time here which was for our last drinks party of the season. Afterwards I joined the team at the pub for a celebratory drink and noted later how well the jumpsuit looked after sitting down in it for an hour - hardly a crease in it and no bagging at the knees either.

Rachel and I have hosted these Wednesday night gatherings since the spring with only a short break over July and August and it was with a feeling of a good job done that we rallied for the last time before we closed for the winter. Note that we are so in tune we didn't even have to send a memo about the colour theme for our photo shoot.

Another aspect of this outfit that particularly pleased me was the wonderfully matchy-matchy suede trainers, again found on Vinted (ASOS is the brand) and worn for the first time here too. I bought these at different times and couldn't believe how well they sat together. My usual ploy would be to choose my footwear in the same colour as my accessories but I love the leg lengthening effect of keeping it all in the same colourway.

Once again I'm showcasing my fabulous velour knitted bag here with its brooch by one of our jewellers, Caroline Kelly Foreman. I thought the use of orange as my secondary colour was a great choice. I replaced the jumpsuit belt too for an orange leather one, old, and my perspex necklace from over a decade ago makes yet another appearance along with an orange resin ring and silver scribble ring by another of our jewellers, Emily Nixon.

I've been itching to show you my new winter coat and here it is at last! The pea green cotton velvet coat is by White Stuff and came from Vinted at the cost of £30. You've no idea how much I love this coat already. Let me show you it on...

Isn't it cute? And doesn't it work beautifully with this outfit too? As hobbies go, this one of mine really does give me immense joy which surely is what it's all about. This dressing up for work and play is my passion and hopefully my joy becomes yours too as you join me week by week to see me ring the changes. Thank you so much for dropping by and I look forward to catching up again soon!

                                                                        Anna x

Another shorts co-ord from Primark!

If someone had told me 12 months ago that I'd be wearing shorts next winter I'd have laughed in their face, and yet here I am in another fab two-piece from Primark. I've recently bought this one from Vinted and it cost me £18. Vinted has become my guilty secret of late. I seem to have become a insomniac shopper, using the app to fill the dreary hours when I can neither sleep nor read. Speaking about this out loud is my first step in controlling things before they get out of hand. Rest assured my purchases aren't yet breaking the bank, but I'm finding the bright colours and interesting pieces quite a lure. Even if I stopped buying right now my blog will still be littered with jolly purchases for the next while. Anyway confession over, let's talk outfits shall we?

As I was saying, shorts and me are not really a happy marriage. I still carry my teenage angst about my athletic thighs and wouldn't normally choose to show them off, but the magical powers of 80 denier tights inspire enough confidence in me to step out in style. I've always loved bright coloured tights and it seems that by adding them to the equation I've overcome years, if not decades, of hang-ups. Even at my grand old age it seems we can still surprise ourselves! I'm even going to give you a quick look at the back view which is pretty brave of me, I can tell you...

The shorter length jacket works well with the slighter shorter shorts too, compared to the pink and orange two-piece I've been raving about. (See it here in case you've missed it.) I wore it to work in the last week of the Gallery being open and loved this green and white colour combination. 

I've opted to wear my mint green brogues (old from Office) with this new suit. Again, I surprise myself that I'd wear flats with shorts! What on earth is going on? Anyway, I brought various shoe and boot options together for the initial try on and strangely these chunky brogues gave the best balance to the outfit. High heeled boots really were too much, (even though that worked with the other suit) as were various ankle boots that seemed to shorten the leg, leaving these as the winners. Not only did they look the best, but they're all-day-long comfortable - hurrah!

The pale colour means that the slightest mark shoes up, but I'm learning to live with a bit of wear and tear too. Goodness, is the perfectionist in me drifting away I wonder?

I teamed the suit with this fine knit roll neck sweater that I bought from TK Maxx this summer. I've been waiting to find the right opportunity to showcase this funky top and love the pattern play it creates. The belt is old (from Primark) and the Tree of Life pendant is very old too. One silver ring is by Emily Nixon and the other enamel and silver one was a lucky charity shop find.

The finishing touch is these old Radley London sunglasses. I'll sign off with a local view for those of you who might be in need of a dose of Tresco bliss. 

Have a great week and I look forward to reading your comments. Your feedback is so very welcome, letting me know you're out there and enjoying my latest offering. So please do drop me a line! Thank you.

                                                                       Anna x

Debenhams bolero jacket

Hello again. How was your weekend? The mercury rose here at the weekend and Tresco became thoroughly tropical for a couple of days. On Sunday I took cover for most of the afternoon as it really was too blooming hot for me. I spent a couple of hours indoors doing clothes management. If this is a new term to you then I decided to name the constant chasing of laundry around in circles as such. Not only laundry though as I've been putting away some spring outfits and bringing lighter summer clothes out. The chore is complete for this weekend at least!

This was Saturday's work outfit. I'm so pleased to showcase this yellow linen bolero jacket. I love it! The brand is Debenhams Collection (Petite) and was a pre-loved purchase from my recent mainland trip. I paid £4.50 for this pristine jacket and am thrilled to have this as part of my wardrobe now. The cut is great, the fit is perfect and I do like the notch front too.

I paired the jacket with these silky wide legged trousers from H&M which I bought way back in 2018. Have I worn them on the blog before? I honestly don't remember - (yes, shame on me Sheila!). I've had them hung up alongside a lemon and grey striped jacket for over a year now and I do know that the combination never made it to the blog last summer or the one before. I think the jacket was too long, whereas this cropped length is a much more flattering fit for this high waist Oxford Bag style of trouser.

The cream lace top was a charity shop find from ages ago and has certainly been aired on the blog many times already.

The cream hessian weave sandals are by Europen, bought from TK Maxx, but not recently.

Nothing new jewellery-wise: the gold chain necklace was from Primark, the yellow stone ring was an airport concession purchase and the silver and gold seaweed ring is by Emily Nixon.  

The lemon and cream combo has a lovely fresh feel to it and not only that, but the jacket gives the outfit a sharp edge which garnered a few compliments too. Dressing in lemon and yellow shades are akin to wearing portable sunshine and always earn me a smile or two along the way. Hurrah for summer!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x