Red Alert! - our monthly style challenge for January.

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! Jacqui has chosen Red Alert as this month's theme and it certainly was a fair challenge for me as reds are so few and far between in my wardrobe. Luckily I've been wearing this co-ord (old from Zara) that Sash passed on to me in December and it was perfect for the festive season, also great for the winter months generally as it's super cosy. But let's continue first with the ladies of the collective to see what they came up with...

Jacqui is looking fab in this feather topped jumpsuit (borrowed from her daughter) with her black oversized jacket, finished with blood red shoes and lipstick red handbag. Find out more on her blog Mummabstylish. 

Gail has brought out all of the reds from her closet to great effect. In particular, I love her second hand coat from Coast, tres chic! Read all the latest from her on Is This Mutton blog.

Emma's tomato red top and trousers are from River Island topped with a vest from Principles. Her funky bag steals the show however, don't you think? It's from Jayley. Catch up with all her latest on The Style Splash. 

HIlda's red trousers and yellow cardi tie in perfectly with her leopard print courts and what a statement this ensmeble makes - I love it! Follow Hilda on Over The Hilda blog.

My chunky knit two-piece has been aired quite a lot during December and January, mainly because it's so blooming comfortable! The pull on trousers have an elasticated waist which has been ideal for the post-Christmas tum and the long tunic top hides any such evidence too!

My massive Koi boots in cow print (from Vinted) are a brilliant pairing for the outfit as the whole thing is quite over-sized. The chunky heels and platform soles help to balance out the weightiness of the co-ord . 

Necklace, rings and sunglasses are all old, but work really well with the colourscheme of today's outfit. Again, red isn't one of my oft worn colours so it was a bit of a rummage that took place to find these. The sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia.

Our Red Alert challenge has brought forth a lovely and diverse range of outfits to hopefully inspire and entertain you. Many thanks for dropping by and I look forward to chatting to you again soon!

                                                                            Anna x

A quick catch up!

Hi there and thank you for dropping by! I've been awol for a little while, but thought I'd better get back online to share what's been happening. Christmas was so lovely this year, mainly because none of us got ill. Last year the four of us were hit by a nasty cold/flu virus but the upside is that we spent this Christmas celebrating the fact that we were all well. We lazed around eating non-stop, watching movies and generally feeling very happy with our lot. And then New Year's Eve came around and I went to the pub to have a dance or two. Steve felt a bit bah-humbug and stayed home, but I was keen to see everyone dressed up. The evening was a fancy dress do with the theme being 1920's. I didn't have an outfit sorted so just wore sequins...

I'd bought this dress from Vinted, the brand is Very and cost me £25. The boots also were from Vinted, are beautifully soft Italian leather and were brand new costing me £6 - yes, actually £6! The yellow tights were from Amazon. 

I had my very own kitchen disco to warm me up before venturing out to the New Inn. 

These boots are pretty special aren't they? I've already lined up three other outfits to feature them...

This was me before my New Year's day swim. I'm so enjoying my winter swims at the moment! The cold isn't too bad as yet - it's mainly about maintaining the distance of once across the bay and back which is pretty much as far as I swim on a summer's day. I'm feeling good about this. March is the coldest month, so let's see how I'm doing by then.

I have a new stylist in the family. My great niece, Leila, is due to go to secondary school this year and at only aged 11 she is already passionate about clothes, so much so that she hopes to become a fashion stylist. Over Christmas I invited her to come to see my winter wardrobe so that she could try a few things on and put some outfits together. She turned up looking like a miniature Madonna, all in black in a variety of fabrics and textures including fishnet tights and lace gloves. This was her suggestion for me to wear. The top is new, from Vinted and the fringed skirt is conversely very old. Leila loves cow print, choosing these boots and orange tights to complete the look. 

I love the look she put together for me, especially as it's not something I would have come up with myself. I plan to invite her again once I've got my summer clothes in place so that she can have another rummage. Watch this space!

This was a post-swim shot sporting that wonderful after glow, taken a couple of days ago. The air temperature is pretty cold at the moment as we're experiencing a brisk easterly wind, but I dodged out of the breeze on the western coast of Tresco on Appletree Bay. The first photo of this post is of me enjoying a hot drink as reward for my efforts. I had a beautiful swim along the length of the bay which really looked like a summer's day, despite the chilly sea temperature. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to look me up. Here's wishing you a somewhat belated Happy New Year!

                                                               Anna x

Christmas jumper day

Hello again! Did you take part in National Christmas Jumper day last Thursday? Here on Tresco we did and this was my offering. It's not new, but is one of my favourite Christmas jumpers and really, I don't feel the need to keep buying a new one every year.

I think I bought this sweater a few years ago. It's from H&M and maybe needs a bit of debobbling this year. I must admit it was a last minute rush to find it and get an outfit together the other day. My rings are pre-loved.

The rest of the outfit is pre-loved or simply old. The trousers were passed on from my daughter and the white shirt was a charity shop buy many years ago. Sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

What's new however are these rather fabulous cow print boots, a recent purchase from Vinted. The brand is Koi and even though they look massively high the balance between platform and heel make them surprisingly comfortable. I wore them all day without a pinch or tweak.

I topped the outfit off with my oft-seen green faux fur coat, a regular at this time of year. Red, white and green is very traditional, a lovely look for the run up to Christmas. 

How are your Christmas preparations coming along? As usual I'm up to my elbows in fudge making before I can turn my attention to the home front. I've packed up and sent off some boxes to my relatives in Scotland today and will have more ready to wrap tomorrow. We won't be having our Christmas tree until nearer the time; it's down to Steve as to when he can make the time to find one in the woods somewhere. Apart from that we have presents on the way, so I'm poised with fingers crossed that Mr Postman will come up trumps.

                                                                                              Anna x