Fluffy, feathery dress

Yes, here I am doing my own thing again, all the while thinking how much I miss Polly and her photographic skills. But I know she's not missing me. And why can I be so sure of that? Because today Polly is flying to New York for eight days holiday with her boyfriend. She promises to send me some snaps, but won't that just make me even more envious? New York is most definitely on my bucket list - what about you?

This was the backdrop that I wanted to have for this photo shoot, but as you can see the light wasn't working for this direction. Such are the compromises that must be made when you're working alone, ho hum! Anyway, it was a gorgeous sunny day when I took this and you have to agree that the view is pretty lovely isn't it? This is taken from my front garden which faces the island of Bryher - not too shabby eh?

I've worn this shaggy mini dress before, well quite a long time ago - it was the star of a Ping Pong Post many moons ago (see here). The excitement of these wonderful boots has me rooting around in my wardrobe trying to find a new outfit created from something old. I'm chasing a look, a feel, and as yet it's eluded me. But in the meantime, I'm having fun trying things on, testing how it all feels.

I even put a lovely little montage of accessories together from which I was hoping to build my perfect tartan showcase outfit, but the main features eluded me. All of the jewellery is charity shopped and of course, you'll remember my fabulous Candy Bag by Furla. If you know of something I've forgotten, something that would make these boots sing, then do feel free to prompt me!

The mustard Zara cords (see here) were bought with the idea that they would be the right thing, but somehow they miss the sweet spot.

But. Back to the outfit in hand. This is fine, don't you think? I was really pleased to dig out a teal pair of tights from the depths to compliment the feathery, fluffy dress, disguising the mini-ness of it. For those of you who don't know the island you'll see the gallery is just a stone's throw behind me as I do a little shimmy here in my front yard. My commute kills me some mornings!

My old faithful sunglasses from Quay Australia compliment the striped top and I chose some pre-loved rings to go with my silver chain necklace by Melissa James. 

Today's photo shoot did actually have a musical accompaniment as there was a band playing at the New Inn (just some 25 metres away). I jigged and shimmied about in my front yard, stopping and starting whenever someone went past. It was a Sunday afternoon Jazz session which went down a treat with everyone, including me.

Stop the press! I forgot to include this shot of my lovely friend Sheila who wore the sister (aka more groomed) version of my dress on her blog recently (see here), but be warned - Sheila's weekend posts require a cup of tea and a very comfy chair as they are mighty big!

Last weekend we had an island wedding and fingers crossed, I hope to share some photos of it with you as an extra post on Friday. I just need to double check with the bride that she's happy to be featured, so do pop back to see how that unfolds. And on the 19th of this month I have another special post coming up with an offer that you might not want to miss...

In the meantime, have a lovely week!

Anna x

A pop of pink

Happy Sunday to you my dear readers and I hope your day is going well. The heatwave is being peppered by the odd rain shower which is no bad thing given the state of the burnt grassland and pastures here. I expect the rest of mainland UK is suffering the same, in fact I think I've heard of hosepipe bans in some areas too. Anyway here's a pop of pink to brighten your day if you need it.

This Ralph Lauren frock had a rrp of £260 marked down to £23 at TK Maxx which was too good a bargain to miss, don't you agree? I purchased it last month on my way back from my modelling trip as a little reward for the three days of hard work in temperatures of 31 degrees. I had intended for it to be an exhibition outfit, but when I tried it on the other morning I decided I'd rather get more wear out of it as a day dress and wow, what a fab day dress it is!

I was heading off to St Mary's for a meeting this morning and decided I'd need a jacket on the boat, opting for a faded denim one to make this a more casual outfit. This cute Levi's jacket is one I borrowed from my husband 40 years ago when I first met him and somehow I've never given it back to him. 

Silver seemed like a good choice for my accessories with these silver wedge sandals coming from a charity shop in Penryn a couple of months ago. They're a great height and the cork wedges mean they're not heavy either.

More preloved goodies are the rings and silver bangle. My pink and silver bangle was a gift a few years ago and the silver coloured chain is from the Melissa James jewellery collection which we stock at the gallery. That's of of the best perks of my job, that I see all the new jewellery as we unpack the range and therefore can buy mine before we even put it on display.

The dress is lined in pink satin and as you can see, it hangs perfectly. I'm thrilled with this purchase and can see it will be a firm favourite not just in the months ahead, but years to come too. Classic and stylish are made more fun by this brilliant fuchsia colour and honestly I felt a million dollars in this perky little number.

Before my meeting I had time for a ten minute breather sitting on Porthcressa beach which was looking pretty as a picture. These islands are just idyllic at this time of year, thanks to the best summer we've had in ages.

A tall ship was passing through the islands, looking very grand as it had moored up for the night in the calm Scilly waters.

I know that lots of you would swap your commute for one like this!

On my return to the island, I discovered the postman had delivered a bit of retail therapy for me. This Furla bag is one that I'd found on a recent online search. Well, since then it's sold out, but there's still a shocking pink across the body version here and it's on sale! Even this little bee on the handle thinks it's as sweet as honey. 

Until next time, have a great week!

Anna x

My new Marks and Spencer blouse

Good morning my dear readers and how are you on this fine sunny day? If you live in the UK you'll be getting used to this weather being more of a constant than the fleeting promise that summer used to be, and oh how grand it is to be able to rely on the sun showing its face day after beautiful day! The Isles of Scilly are looking mighty fine at the moment and are teaming with happy holiday makers who can't believe their luck.

I want to share this fabulous floral blouse which is NOT preloved and that I bought a couple of weeks ago from M&S for £19.50. I've just done a search to find that it's on sale now at £12, but sizes are going fast! Get yours here. Anyway folks, it's a lovely shirt, cool and easy to wear and has been an asset over the past week when I seem to have worn it at least three times when travelling and generally out and about. 

The fabric is modal which I had to look up as I wasn't sure what that means - 

Modal is a type of rayon fabric that is made from the fibres of the beech tree. Oftentimes modal fabric is blended with cotton, spandex, and other fibres because it is very soft, resists creases, has a very smooth finish, and drapes well.

The fabric does indeed drape well and the fit was loose and cool for this current spell. I chose a size 10 which fits as expected; one point that I must mention is the magic button - that perfect placement of the button at bust level which stops the blouse gaping and revealing the bra. I've washed and worn it a couple of times and the colour is holding fast too.The compliments came thick and fast when I wore this outfit. The jeans (charity shopped) are by Fat Face and this is the first time I've worn them, also they have a bit of stretch making them perfect for everyday wear. 

These cute little slingbacks were from Topshop a few summers ago and are still going strong. The colour is a great match for these cotton jeans and they are super comfy leather too which has moulded to the shape of my (broad) feet. 

This sunny outfit was completed by the addition of my Candy Bag by Furla. A search for this has taken me to a rather fabulous pink version of this bag which has me in a quandary as it's on sale too! The best thing (for me) about this spacious bag is the fact that the semi opaque finish means that it's flooded with light when you peek inside meaning no more scrabbling about in the dark trying to find wallet and sunglasses in a hurry. I took it with me on my recent trip to the mainland and it was like a miniature filing cabinet just by the very nature of its shape - everything sat static inside allowing me to have a place for everything and everything in its place. I like to feel organised when I'm off the island and this bag really helped me with my control freak tendencies.

And here I am, on my travels last week. I hooked up with this gorgeous group of ladies (now friends) on a wonderfully exciting project, a modelling job in fact. I'm contracted to say nothing more until it goes live in the autumn, but suffice to say it was great fun, a fabulous opportunity and something which was a huge learning curve for me. I'll have lots more to tell you in due course and hopefully my photos won't end up on the cutting room floor!

In the meantime I'll leave you with a couple of shots of the islands as they shimmer in the summer heat. 

My dear friend Kate was here recently giving us a couple of days overlap before I scooted off to the mainland. We had two early morning swims down on Appletree Bay and put the world to rights at the same time - such are the joys of friendship!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Anna x