Call me Sybil!

Hi there! Do you remember Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers? This frilled blouse brings her to mind don't you think? I fell in love with it at first sight, buying it without pause from Vinted last month. I love everything about it; the coral colour, the abundance of frills and flounces and general over-the-top look of it all. 

I thought the blouse deserved an outdoors photoshoot to capture the movement of the chiffon and up on the top of the island was a great setting. 

As you know, I totally love a bit of drama and this backdrop seemed to be perfect to showcase my new glamorous purchase. The view from King Charles' Castle overlooks Bryher and onwards out to the wild Atlantic Ocean. 

The crop flares are very old, but work well with the look, as do my orange leather boots - find them in the sale on the ASOS website here. The Gallery may be closed at the moment, but that's not going to stop me dressing up just for the heck of it!

I added a wide belt to bring the outfit together - this is very old too, but being leather has simply improved with age.

The entire outfit has been pulled together from existing pieces in my wardrobe, apart from the blouse obviously. Even the rings are old, also pre-loved, bought in charity shops.

The finishing touch is this beautiful oxblood leather coat by Next which I bought second hand from the Oxfam shop in Truro. A leather coat or jacket is such a worthy investment and this one is a keeper for me.

I feel I need to mention that I've sold a few items on Vinted recently which I think helps to counter the recent rash of purchases. At least if I can bankroll my purchases by selling at the same time then I'll arrive at a point of balance!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

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