Winter coat

Yes, it suddenly dawned on me that any minute now we're going to be embracing all that is spring and I've yet to show you my new winter coat. My daugther Sasha bought it for my Christmas and it's been a fine addition to my winter wardrobe. This slim fitting leopard print coat comes from Tesco of all places and was in the sale for about £15 I think. I pointed it out to her when we were shopping together et voila, there it was on Christmas day!

I've worn the coat today with these fabulous orange satin disco pants from the Conscious Collection at H&M from quite a few years ago adding this mohair sweater by Diesel which I've also had for years. It's got a tiny bit of itch to it, so I always pop a vest top underneath to make it more comfortable. The ginger and spice colours of the look were just calling out for my nutmeg suede boots from Office and I finished it all off with my heavy gauge gold necklace (another gift from Sasha) along with some old rings. Oh, and let's not forget my old faithfuls - sunglasses by Quay Australia.

The winter has evoporated once again and I'm aware that our season on the island is just beginning again. I'm pleased that I've managed to get out and about in between the winter storms to capture some new backdrops for you. This setting is in the woodlands just above the church, looking out across Old Grimsby and onwards to Men-a-Vaur rock. One of my blogging friends, Julia from When the girls rule blog (see here) has asked to see more of the island - well this little corner is mainly populated by holiday cottages, but also is where the church, community centre and primary school are all located. My son, Jamie lives in a tiny bungalow at Old Grimsby where a lot of the young members of staff are housed in flats and staff accomodation. Our winter population is about 150, but that almost doubles in the summer when the seasonal workers arrive. With no shopping malls, night clubs, fast food joints or other temptations, the island is the perfect location to work for a summer and save up. Some, like me, come for a summer and fall in love, not just with island life, but with an islander, and never leave.

When I arrived on the islands (in 1978) Round Island Lighthouse was permanantly manned but is now operated remotely. On a stormy day the waves crash onto the rocks below and can break over the buildings on the island, sometimes obliterating the lighthouse completely. The sight can be exhilirating and is a great reminder of how tiny and insignificant we are at the hands of nature.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Ping-Pong Post no12

Hello and welcome to the 12th edition of Ping-Pong post, the monthly collaboration between myself, Samantha of Fake Fabulous and Ann of Kremb de la Kremb. To see the background of this style challenge read here. This month Samantha proffered her black drapey top which almost flummoxed me completely. Despite being simple in shape, it was still one of my least favourite of colours to work with. Let's start with Samantha who certainly didn't seem to struggle -

The black top has a scoop neck and cross over front, but very cleverly Samantha has chosen to wear it back to front revealing a stunning strappy feature below. Wet look leggings, and patent boots lift this plain cotton top into the realms of fabulousness. She has finished this off with a statement bag and necklace leaving no room to doubt that she is indeed a true style icon. Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Details -

TOP: Yong Kim

NECKLACE: Oliver Bonas

LEGGINGS: Pamela Mann

BOOTS: Vagabond

BAG: River Island

Ann has given the top a more casual spin with her snakeskin jeans, biker boots and striped shirt, but hasn't forgotten a dash of glamour by way of her diy ostrich handbag (see the link below). A roll neck and gloves give a nod to the cooler weather Ann is experiencing in Hong Kong this week when she took these shots. Black doesn't look very difficult to wear when you've got the right hair colouring does it? Fab styling Ann! Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Details -
Outfit Details

Earrings--my guy Ben in Jardines Bazaar, a great ladies market in Hong Kong

Turtleneck--heat technology, Uniqlo

Striped Shirt--Zara

Black Top--Sam's

Gloves--market in Shanghai

Ostrich Bag--Kremb de la Kremb DIY

Snake Jeans--Bershka

Moto Boots--boutique on Houhai Lake, Beijing

Those who know me will recognise my default setting here - when in doubt, dress it up! Glitter tights and glitter boots, seemed like a great way of detracting from the pallor-inducing colour of the top. Adding some softer, more neutral tones against the skin also helped. One feature I did like was the pockets and by adding a belt the tunic took on a bit more shape. A splash of silver jewellery and studded clutch were the finishing touches. Samantha - I gave this my best shot, but heck it's been my least favourite of our challenges so far!

Details -

Top: Samantha's

Dress: H&M

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Tights: H&M

Boots: Topshop

Necklace: M&S

Rings: old

Handbag: charity shopped

The news on Ping-Pong Post is that having completed a whole year of this style challenge we're going to evolve the series a little next month, so do come along to see exactly how on the 20th of March.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Decisions, decisions.

As you may know, I'm currently on holiday at home and spending most of my time indoors on a huge decluttering mission. Scruffy jeans and trainers aren't really going to inspire you much, so I'm taking a break from time to time to get out into the sunshine and take some shots for the blog. I recently posted this on instagram -

I wrote "When you can't decide which pair to wear" and got a lovely response to help me decide. However, the fact was that I'd already worn the outfit and the shoes for my photo shoot.

The majority of votes were in favour of the navy and silver shoe, as seen in isolation it might look like the best match, but when you consider the total outfit I think the brown and yellow is carrying its weight too. I added a pair of gold lurex socks which tied in with the gold sweater as well as the yellow shoe. But really, it's just a bit of fun and suits my personality too. I like the quirky nature of the look. It's not either or, it's - this is a pair of shoes as I'm wearing them. Odd shoes for an oddball you might say.

And as if to prove that there's no such thing as an original idea, this evening as I was flicking through the March edition of Marie Claire, I came across this -

My progress report on the home front is that the filing cabinet has arrived and is now almost full of newly organised wallets and files; lots and lots of old paperwork has been shredded along the way. I've swapped my sea swimming for two weeks of pool swimming so that I can do an hours practise a day to improve my freestyle. Rolling, breathing, reaching, catching are being broken down into drills to drum each element into my fuzzy head. At the moment when I think about rolling, I forget good (bilateral) breathing. When I concentrate on the breath, then the rolling slips away from me. I have a reference book that takes me through all of the steps to create the perfect stroke, but I do wonder if I'll reach that stage within this timescale. I do hope that I'll be able to see a difference when I get back to the beach.

Outfit details - Leather bomber: Next, gold sweater: H&M, jeans: Zara, tee shirt: Dorothy Perkins, socks: ASOS, shoes: Boden (sold out, but these are fab), sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Anna x

It's magic

Every woman deserves to have an item of clothing that can work a bit of magic. For me, it's this bright red flouffy underskrt. Whenever I put it on I feel transformed; playful, flirtatious, joyful - it's magic! Maybe not everyday wear for some I know, but for me, if I need to inject a bit of fun into my day, out comes the petticoat. 

I've pulled together this outfit today from that bloggers standby - shopping my closet. The rollneck sweater was a brand new piece picked up from a charity shop; it caught my eye because of the gold buttons on the cuffs as well as the slimfit shape. I'd put it away in September and then completely forgotten about it. The skirt was a hand-me-down from my daughter (or should that be a pass-me-up?), anyway, it too was brand new with the label still attached. And the tights, well what a great find they were! I came across a bag of tights under the bed (like we all have, right?) and inside were a couple of pairs of these wonderful thick tights that have a slightly fleecy lining. I'm probably well behind with this trend, but golly how warm they are! I have no recollection where or when I bought them, or they may even have come from Sasha too, but hey what a find.

This month I've noticed that a few bloggers on Instagram are taking a month off from clothes shopping and I've decided to join in with the challenge. I'm not due to go away to the mainland again until April, so I thought I'd steer clear of the online sales at Office and H&M which are generally my downfall and see if I can go cold turkey until then. April in the charity shops will herald all sorts of spring and summer goodies - that's what I need to focus on. I was very lucky with both Christmas and birthday presents so I do have quite a few new clothes to add to the blog over the next few months. It's going to be an interesting few months I think. Wish me luck!

Outift details - sweater: H&M (similar), skirt: H&M (similar), underskirt: eBay, belt: New Look, boots: Office (sold out, but these are similar), rings and necklace: gifts, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Linking with -

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

It's my birthday!

Yes, today is my birthday. January is not the best of months to have a birthday, but hey, what can you do? I'm at work today, but as a nod to my birthday I decided on Sunday to have a walk to one of the local beaches, taking some time to enjoy the sunshine while I reflected on being a year older.

But before we go any further, I want to apologise to my regular readers for my sporadic posts of late. The irony of my position has been lack of inspiration - this from the woman who professes to having a desire to inspire others - very funny, I know! Yes, I may have lots of clothes to choose from, but good daylight for photo opportunities during the winter does really become a challenge for me over time. I was given a very useful bit of advice when I first started blogging, and that was to be consistent with my content. I've had to make a choice between regular posts of a mediocre standard or decent posts as and when they occur. I hope you understand and that this decision will keep you coming back.

Unbeknownst to me, I had lost the stone from my ring somewhere between leaving home and getting to the beach. It was only when I came to edit the photos that I noticed. It's only a costume piece, so of no monetary value, but it was a lovely sparkly blue stone that matched my jeans perfectly. Ho hum!

This is Toby who belongs to some friends of mine. He had been enjoying the sea, but was well behaved enough to sit nicely for his photo shoot.

And talking of the sea, this was how I started my day on Sunday (and every other day of the year).

The swim had been one of the coldest of the year so far. My skin was ruddy in response to the temperature, matching the pink and lilac hues of the clouds behind, which were bathed in the rosy glow of the rising sun. This truly is the best time of the day for me. The swim gives me with a wonderful rush of endorphins which set me up for the day ahead. 

Turning 59 feels like a dress rehearsal for 60, and that's not really as big a deal as I thought it might be. I know I'm not there yet, but I was delighted to hear on radio 4 that Barack Obama, at 55, is a young and vital man with so much to give. Heck, this moving of the goalposts has come in the nick of time for me! Instead of having to write a woe is me piece I can rejoice that I too, am still young. Have you noticed that there's a lot of this going on for my generation? 50 is the new 40, and now 55 is young! I'm feeling a bit like Benjamin Button.

But seriously, I have to admit that I'm very happy with my lot and know I have a great deal to be grateful for. I'm lucky to be in a strong marriage where we are equal partners and have different interests to bring into the mix. Lucky too, that my son lives here on the island and that my daughter visits often - my family means everything to me. I'm so lucky to work in a job that I enjoy which leads me to meet and work with so many interesting and talented people. I'm incredibly fortunate to live here on this tiny island where life is lived at a slow pace in the most beautiful of surroundings.

I'm grateful too, for good health, but that hasn't always been the case. Click here to read about the battle to find my own pathway to healthy eating and consequently a healthy body. And click here to read about sea swimming because without it I don't think I'd have the healthy immune system I benefit from now. 

And finally, the icing on the cake has to be my blog. Much as it's been a bit wobbly of late, I do love having an opportunity to share my outfits of the day with you. It's opened up an avenue for making new friendships and consolidating old ones. Blogging brings to mind one of my favourite quotes from Oscar Wilde. He said,  "Be yourself, everyone else is taken." That little prompt allows me the freedom to be me, without fear of judgement. That's not to say that some may, and probably do, judge me, but I have no time to waste worrying about that. And that brings me nicely onto the subject of time. I'm aware that you may like to have a routine of days to tune in for the next feature, and I understand that. I'm sure once Polly is back on board I'll become more reliable, but in the meantime, may I ask that you hang on in there. I can only promise to give you my best, and if it's not forthcoming, then you may have to wait a little longer. Likewise if you're one of my fellow bloggers, then do take this as an apology to you too. I've struggled to visit all of my favourite blogs in the dark months, but do hope to catch up with you all as I emerge from the winter blues.

And as it's my birthday, I have a request. One of my favourite features on the blog is "As suggested by..."  (last seen here) and I ask that you would consider sending me your ideas. Take a look through my posts over the months and let me know if there's something you'd like to see again. Pop them in an email if you don't want to publish a comment, but please do let me have some feedback - otherwise it's a bit like a one handed applause. 

Outfit details - gold sweater: H&M (purloined from my daughter), jeans: charity shopped, boots: ASOS, shirt: H&M, bag: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, rings: charity shopped.

Linking with -

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

I'll finish with some of the views that give me daily pleasure in my life on the Isles of Scilly.

Thanks for joining me!

Anna x