Pink boots x 2


Hello my lovelies and how are you? I'm well and hope you are too. With summer fast approaching I'm posting these sock boots once again as I'm aware that sandal season is just around the corner. Have I paired these with this pink trench already? Surely. Can't stop to check, as I'm heading off to the beach in a moment - yes, I'm back on my daily sea swims and all is once again well with the world! Yay!


Anyway, I ended the day yesterday wearing this version of pink sock boots as these are my afternoon comfy version. I think that the chunky sole is a great feature and distracts from the fact that these are more or less slippers. Pop a tweedy checked fabric on these and they'd be perfect grandad footwear.


They're also kinda spaceman boots too, don't you think? I bought these Jeffrey Campbell boots in TK Maxx earlier this year.


The rest of the outfit comprises of the polo neck sweater which is preloved, also much loved by me for the ribbed knit giving a figure hugging fit, plus the gilt buttons at the cuffs. The trousers are from Primark, this season, and the leather belt is preloved. The pink trench is by Topshop and was a fab charity shop scoop last year. The pink sock boots are by H&M.


You'll have seen a lot of this necklace recently due to the simple versatility of this silver chain which adds a contemporary twist to any outfit. It's by Melissa James, a brand that we carry in the gallery - please note this was a purchase of mine, not a gift. I link through to the brand cos it's a super and very affordable range of jewellery.


My old favourite sunnies are by Quay Australia - another shout out for a great brand - I have about half a dozen pairs of them, but seem to come back to the same couple of pairs time after time. And last of all my diamante ring is preloved and the pink ring was a gift from a friend.


We had a fair few spectators for this photo shoot by way of the cattle in the field nearby. Plus the obligatory photo-bomber this time was Graham the bike hire guy on the island. Am sharing this photo of him for those of you who know and love 'im!


Graham is a popular figure on the island and is know for his declaration that "This is my last year on the island" which earns him a healthy tip from his customers. Somehow the fact that he spins this one year after year only serves to endear himself to them even more!


Well, that just about rounds it up folks. It's been great to catch up with you again. You can tell that I'm feeling back on form again with this punchy pink ensemble. I'll be back at the weekend with another offering of sorts. I hope you have a brilliant week and look forward to seeing you again soon.

                                                                                         Anna x

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The year of the trouser suit


Hello my lovely readers. How are you today? I do hope you're feeling better than me currently. The photos belie the fact that I'm in the middle of a horrible head cold. I'm surrounded by tissues, paracetamol and throat lozenges as I wallow in self pity. To be perfectly honest I'm really lucky that I hardly ever get colds, but when I do I always feel that it must be worse than anyone else.


Steve took these shots on Sunday during the lovely sunny spell and when I was feeling pretty sunny-natured myself. He steps into the roll of photographer when he can and we always bicker back and forth as I boss him about. My laughing face is preferable to my resting face that's for sure, so I'm happy to have the banter. 


Anyway, this is the year of the trouser suit according to me with this one being the second I'm sharing with you. The first was the glorious pink version I wore on Mother's Day, see here. The white and black checked suit is from Primark, bought separately and as far as I can recall it cost about £30. The fabric is man made and is a summer weight so I expect you'll be seeing it again later with sandals and a colourful tee shirt. Today I'm sporting a simple white tee from Dorothy Perkins from many moons ago.


I'm a big fan of the trend for paper bag top trousers and find them very forgiving with the post lunch tummy syndrome. Sitting high on the waist then that frill plus bow they distract the eye from any secrets that may lie beneath. 


I have a very small weight tolerance allowance which in normal speak means that I only allow 7lbs as my personal fluctuation limit. At the top of that range I'm fat and at the bottom I'm thin. Feel free to call me crazy, but after years of struggling with my weight I've found that this tightening of the belt as it were keeps me on an even keel. Currently I'm at the top of that range, but today in the midst of this head cold I've fallen into that old adage of "Feed a cold, starve a fever". The fruit bowl is my sofa companion - a shrunken satsuma and two wrinkled apples are all that's left.


I chose contemporary silver jewellery to compliment this crisp simple look - silver and onyx rings (old) along with silver chain by Melissa James and my favourite sunglasses from Quay Australia


I was torn between wearing my white kitten heel boots or these pink sock boots (from H&M) and decided that pink just added a bit of pizzazz to the outfit. They weren't ideal for traipsing across the boardwalk here though. Steve poked fun at my footwear not being quite the thing for the big outdoors and yes, he was right - this is gallery garb! 


Thanks for your company while I wrote this today. I had to drag myself off the sofa and think of something other than my scratchy throat, runny nose and outbursts of sneezes while I challenged my brain to write a few words. I'll be back on Monday with the Style Not Age Collective as we take on "Pastels". That had me stumped for a while then I remembered a lovely pastel offering for you all. Steve and I had a laugh with the photo shoot for this one too. In fact I can't wait to show you!

Until then, have a great week!

Anna x

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Springtime dress and some shopping


How's your week going? Like a true Brit I'm gonna talk about the weather and say that after a whole weekend of rain, the sunshine has returned therefore all is well in my world. The forecast is for a sunny Easter weekend which will be ideal for us as we're hosting our first exhibition of the year on Saturday and I do love it when the opening night party can spill outdoors, drink in hand, to enjoy the vista in front of the gallery.


Today's outfit has been aired before, but deserves to be seen again I thought. Polly has named her theme as "the year of the dress" and turns up to work in a cute little number most days now. Following on from her lead, I'm pulling out some of my favourite dresses too. This ditsy print shirt-waister was from H&M last year and has a very grown up feel to it. I wore it before with these H&M red sock boots too, so there's nothing new here at all. I decided that it still warrants another look though. 


The seaweed and high tide had left the rocks a bit slippery - we really ought to have done a risk assessment!


Easy does it!


My pre-loved accessories are belt and rings, my much loved sunnies from Quay Australia and the gold chain necklace was from Primark earlier this season. 


I call this my master of illusion dress simply because it draws the eye to all of the right places. The red belt puts the focus on the smallest part of the body as the dress skims over the hips and thighs, the floral pattern disguising any lumps and bumps which may be lurking there. There's not too much material either which could cause bulk and it's long and flowing giving the impression that I may be long and flowing too, hahaha! I've just about talked myself into buying another of these, but I won't ....


I stumbled across this limited edition print in a charity shop in Harrogate recently and it couldn't have hit me at a better time. If you're a regular reader you'll know that Harrogate charity shopping is some of the best for me, resulting in a mammoth shopping spree. But this year I've had a fair dose of retail therapy over the past few months. I had decided to rein myself in, use my powers of self control and only buy pieces that would be really useful within my existing collection. I'm having this print framed up to act as a reminder of this new mindset. Pity I found this at the end of my stay and not the beginning!

Anyway, with this statement firmly to the fore, here's what I succumbed to -



I'll confess that these neon sweaters may not be the most stylish, in fact when I got them home I did a double take at how terribly bright they really are. But this is what seems to happen to me when I get my first sniff of the shops. A friend of mine who lives just along the road said she suffers the same problem. We go a bit stir crazy you see. Living on this tiny island (only one mile by two) with very limited retail opportunities, well it can make you impulsive when you get to the mainland and have your first dose of retail therapy. The excitement can go to ones head, resulting in some rather dodgy purchases. Thank goodness this was only a Primark splurge - it didn't break the bank!



The two pairs of dressy courts are a completely different ball game. Each of them was £20, both are Italian made and are indeed very classy (I think). These will be ideal party wear for our summer exhibitions.


In the sale at TK Maxx for £24 the brand is Tokyo Laundry and is a very practical purchase indeed. Ideal for dog walking or for wearing on the boat, this jacket is cosy and fits like a glove.


Pretty and practical, these Replay trainers were £35 in TK Maxx. Being pretty alone would have been fine, so it's a real bonus that these are comfy enough to be drafted in as afternoon shoes when the heels from the morning session are playing havoc with my tootsies. 


This Topshop skirt was a charity shop find and like so many pieces you come across it was stained. I trusted my instinct (and stain removing prowess) et viola, it's as good as new.


Another charity shop piece here, this time by Classic brand and coming in at under £5. The apricot shades are what attracted me - such a flattering colour for me.


And yet another charity shop find. By Boden, I thought this might look good with a black polo neck sweater and some pink or silver brogues - what do you think?


It was very exciting to find these snakeskin boots in New Look in Harrogate. I'd tried these on in Truro a few weeks ago, only to discover that one was a size 5 and the other a 6! The sales assistant scoured the entire store to see if she could find the other odd pair, but with no success. Clearly someone had bought them believing they were a pair. These were a 5 and had been reduced to £10, so it was a win-win.


This M&S dress is brand new with tags still attached. The retail price was £89, but thanks to the Scope charity shop, I only paid £14 for it. I've come up with a kooky plan to stop this looking too frumpy - watch this space.


Last of all are these leather and hessian sandals by Dune, from TK Maxx. They are nice and broad and the wedge belies the fact that they seem to be high, but the angle of them is very slight, making them all day sandals.

The next thing on the agenda for me clothes-wise is to change over my wardrobe for spring and summer wear. I'm keen to see what I've had packed away for these past few months. What about you? Do you do a seasonal changeover or are you someone who believes in layering up for the winter instead of having a complete change of clothes? Do share!

                                                                                           Anna x

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Ready for spring!


I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for spring. The weather today was totally rubbish for my photo shoot meaning that I had to have another indoor session in the kitchen instead. At least a bit of Zoe Ball on radio 2 gave me plenty to bop about to. I'm sure we mums do our best dancing in the kitchen, don't we?


I came back from my little mainland jaunt yesterday and have had a lovely time away. The weekend was a mix of business (meeting up with my framer) and pleasure (meeting an artist friend for lunch) as well as a tad of retail therapy. Add to that a chance to see the extravaganza aka Bohemian Rhapsody and it was a pretty perfect mini-break. These fabulous orange trousers were a last minute find in Primark (£13) as I was beetling through on my way to the homewares department. I ended up buying five pairs of trousers in all plus two blouses. I'll photograph them soon to show you. I also did a small shop at TK Maxx and found a few bargains in my favourite charity shops.


The paper bag trouser trend is very evident in the shops at the moment which is great for me as I love this style. High waisted trousers suit my shape and help to elongate the leg too. Shoot me for giving in to fast fashion once in a while, but I know that these won't be turfed out of my wardrobe at the end of the season. I might buy into a trend, but if it's something that suits me then I'll be wearing it long after the mood has changed. And orange, for goodness sake - you know you'll see these again and again as I reach for my very own dose of sunshine!


I love the clean lines of the trouser with not a pocket in sight to spoil the sleek look. I wouldn't have been upset to find a pocket or two, but can see how they benefit from this simple cut.


This outfit has super-charged my smile.


My only jewellery is a couple of pre-loved rings in zingy citrus shades.


My tee shirt is by RED or DEAD and was part of a fun raising event at a charity shop last year. I'm pleased to raise awareness through fashion and help to add money to the coffers too.

Last night was the first episode of the second series of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer and I, like the majority of the UK viewing population, was glued to my telly for the duration. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that Russell Brand brought his own brand of humour to the show stopper challenge of 3 D biscuits! Follow the link above to catch up on the fun.


Bubblegum pink and bright orange seemed like the best way to welcome spring into my working week, but that was before I'd seen the grey old weather waiting outside. Too late! I was sold on this for my post today and it did give me a great lift as I danced and posed my way around the kitchen. The trench coat was a crazy charity shop bargain (£4) from last year despite being from Topshop. Jamie bought me the sockboots for my Christmas from H&M and golly aren't they just dreamy together?


At the end of the day I had to visit one of the holiday properties (Barn Flat) to check on some artworks. The weather had been that typical mix of spring weather of sunshine and showers, improving towards late afternoon. I was happy to have the excuse to get out and stretch my legs as well as take in this fabulous view. 

Thanks for dropping by, and please do leave me a comment if you've enjoyed today's post!

                                                                                   Anna x

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Just call me jazzy


Hi folks, just call me jazzy!


I decided to jazz up what was a fickle Friday by adding all the bells and whistles or maybe that ought to be stripes and fringes. Almost everything in this outfit will be familiar to you, I'm sure. Boots from H&M, palazzo pants by Boohoo, jacket is preloved (no label) and sunglasses by Quay Australia. The top is preloved and cost under £3. The necklace is old, maybe from M&S...


The rings too are second hand, and seen previously.


It's been a funny couple of days weather wise here as the warm temperatures have done nothing but produce fog and more fog. The tide and fog have both drifted in and out, although not in harmony, creating travel havoc with those who were trying to fly in and out of the islands. The Scillonian has been bulging to the gunnel's with passengers eager to move one way or the other and was even supplemented by smaller boats being hired to get folks home in time for commitments. 


Somewhere out there is a jet boat coming in to the quay to collect passengers travelling to the mainland some two hours away. Thank goodness that's not me as I dislike being out on a boat in the fog. I know that they're equipped with all the right technology like Sat Nav and radios but honestly it spooks me. I'll just say a quick Hi to my dear friend Angela who left today on the ferry after two weeks on the island - I hope your journey back to Cornwall was uneventful!


My hectic social whirl has passed, friends have been and gone, were wined and dined and life may settle back into something resembling a routine hopefully with the blog becoming less erratic too. We managed to fit in a boat trip to the Eastern Isles for a picnic which I will be sharing with you soon - the weather wasn't warm, but at least it was good enough to make the trip possible and we all had a super day out.



As I shimmy off towards the weekend I'll wish you all a lovely time - family time, party time, shopping time, DIY time or just time to chill - have a super weekend and I'll be back soon!

Anna x

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