Sunglasses alert

Yep, today you may well need to don your sunglasses or maybe turn down the brightness control thanks to these bold and sassy colours! Not one to do anything by halves I've pulled together two of my favourites, green and orange, along with other colourful delights and florals too just to give you your money's worth. The dress is a star as far as I'm concerned, a joyful discovery in Sainsbury's when I was last in Truro. I'm a bit of a fan of their Tu range on the quiet. I chose this because the pattern has a vintage feel and is also a beautiful silky viscose which hangs like a dream. The cut is so flattering too and best of all (let's say it together now) - yes, it's got pockets!

Today's photo-bomber is one of the locals. Adam is the new Harbour master and his cheeky little friend is called Chip.

Apologies you to all for the lack of photos from my Bloggers Meet Up the other day. Kezzie and her mother Ros had a fab day on the island and we covered quite a lot of ground too. I'm just waiting for Kezzie to get back to me with some info and then I can hopefully do a good job to the feature soon. On Tuesday we will be opening our 5th summer exhibition which will mean Wednesday's post will showcase my outfit of the evening. And coming up very soon after that on the 20th is the next edition of #Ping Pong Post. So, you can see it's a bit of a busy month bloggingwise never mind working full time, daily sea swimming and also trying to capture some summer memories with the family before autumn arrives. My weekly yoga session has fallen by the wayside due to work commitments so in one way, I'll not be too sorry to get into quieter times to get back on track with my wonderful yoga teacher and classmates again.

My outfit comprises of the Sainsbury dress from the Tu range (all sold out now), jacket is from Benetton (also sold out), sandals are from TK Maxx (these are nice), handbag was charity shopped, necklace is old, belt, brooch and rings are all charity shopped, sunglasses are Quay Australia, and my rose gold watch is by Michael Kors. 

This week I'll be linking with these lovely bloggers

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge 

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Day off, down time.

I'm aware that I may come across as spending my every waking minute dolled up, but that's so not the case. At the end of a working day I love to kick off my heels and get into something comfy. My alter ego is slouchy, snuggly, duvet-loving and the exact opposite to the hard working, sea swimming, dressed up self you normally see. On my day off, it's good to dress down and show that I'm not at work which is important when you live and work only 50m apart. My favourite item to chill out in has to be these flowy, floaty trousers with a cute tie front. I bought them in New Zealand, in Russell, on the Bay of Islands on the North Island in what I think they call an "op shop" - our version of a charity shop. I wore them endlessly on that holiday as the loose, unstructured fit was perfect for our camper van lifestyle. They look great over a swimsuit too.

Even though it's my day off, I still like to inject a bit of colour and fun into my outfit. The pattern clash is divine with these separates too, made all the more perfect by the addition of these playful rings and nail polish. Even my espadrilles add another dimension to the pattern play, yet the colours all are in total harmony to me. The top is new and has been sitting on the sidelines since I bought it in Sicily when we were on our cruise in Feb see here. It's a vintage piece that was part of a huge find from an eccentric lady who had collected clothes over decades, but never wore them, just had them housed in her dressing room, waiting. When she died, her sister took boxes and boxes of beautiful pieces,still in tissue to the store. The shop owner thinks this came from the swinging 60's. Needless to say, I love it.

Trousers and top (see above). Shoes are from TK Maxx (brand is Giamo these are similar). Rings and pink bangle are gifts, silver bangle is charity shopped. My summer favourite nail polish is Rita Ora by Rimmel in Tangerine Tent.

Linking with

Dawn Lucy of Fashion Should Be Fun

Footnote

As I publish this today I'll be getting ready for my first ever bloggers meet up. Kezzie of KezzieAG is coming to the islands on a cruise. We hope to meet up and tour the Abbey Garden, whereupon she would like to join me for a sea swim (note to Suzanne: this was Kezzie's suggestion not mine). With any luck I'll have some photos to show you on Sunday. Until then, have a great weekend!

Anna x

Brooch pile revised

One of the downsides of being a perfectionist is that I'm always in competition with myself. I know I can always do/be better and this reaches into every corner of my life. Take my brooch pile jacket from earlier on this summer see here. I was delighted with how this came together, but after a couple of wears I felt it could maybe benefit from a tweak or two. So here we have the new, improved version...

I wore the jacket on the mainland recently and it really drew quite a few compliments. The jacket dazzled and shone and I basked in its reflected glory. The need to improve it has passed now - it's as perfect as it needs to be. My shrink will be impressed with my progress.

Jacket from Gap, dress from TK Maxx as are sandals (these are nice). Watch is by Michael Kors and sailors knot bangle is by Kate Spade New York, rings are all gifts. Sunglasses are from Quay Australia.

Linking with

Dawn Lucy of Fashion Should Be Fun 

Anna x

Check out these beauties!

Gotta be brief today, am in a bit of a rush. Will counter this by showing you these phenomenal palazzo pants - oh I do love  a bit of alliteration! These beauties were a bargain find in the New Look sale a few years ago for a snip at £5. I had to reline them as the lining was a bit clingy and now are so very flowy and whooshy, that they make a lovely swishing sound as I waltz about in them. I feel like a schooner in sail (is that what I mean?) as they flow about beautifully. Enough chat, now some snaps.

Must dash as I've got lots to do and so very little time to do it in! The top was a gift, trousers from New Look, but nothing similar currently, shoes were from New Look (similar). Rings are charity shopped, green pearls are from Almost Perfect, my perfect rose gold watch is by Michael Kors and rose gold bangle is from Kate Spade New York.

This week I'll be linking with these lovely style icons

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Thanks to you all for joining me and taking the time to sit down and read this waffle of mine. I do enjoy your company, your feedback and seeing my readership grow. My aim is to inspire you to venture into the world of colour, to entertain you, and engage you in this lovely life of mine. Wishing you a great week ahead and I look forward to meeting up with you again soon.

Anna x

Summer show: 3 of 6

Last night's opening party of the third summer exhibition had to take place without any of the artists present due to various reasons, but as they say "the show must go on" and on it did. The evening was still a success and the artwork looked fantastic. See the featured artists Ellen Watson, Neil Pinkett and Amanda Hoskin's work here in detail. The weather proved to be a mixed bag, but we enjoyed a really lovely evening with a fine turnout considering the blustery wind and showers. In between these we managed to take a few hasty shots.

The breeze played with my lace maxi skirt and I played along with the fun. The evening was coming to an end and I was relieved that it had been a success for all involved - time to have a light hearted moment with the girls. Ruth, Polly and Max were once again worth their weight in gold providing great support throughout. 

Next time we will be out in force will be for the 4th summer show which takes place on 6th August. How quickly the summer seems to be slipping past us! My regular readers will not be in the least bit surprised to learn that both my skirt and top were charity shopped. The shoes are from H&M (no longer available, but these are lovely). In addition to my beautiful Michael Kors rose gold watch and Kate Spade rose gold bangle I'm also showcasing two rather special pieces of jewellery from Cornish jeweller Emily Nixon, this seaweed frilly ring and matching bangle in silver and rose gold. See further details here. 

Anna x

Summer show: 1 of 6

And suddenly it's time for our summer exhibitions. I can't believe how quickly this has come around again, and also it makes me realise how quickly these summer shows will keep coming and going in the blink of an eye. Here I am with (from left to right) Pamela Harrington, Maggie O'Brien and John Bampfield. The link to their work is here.

We were blessed with a great turnout of guests for the event who enjoyed the artwork on display as well as the fine evening with the high tide view across the bay to Bryher. Polly and I were joined by Ruth on the right and Max as seen below. Our assistants for the show play a vital role in helping to keep things running smoothly and it's good to know that they will be here for every opening night of the summer exhibitions. Thanks ladies!

My pink glitter shoes were pretty much the star of my own show, made all the better by the fact that they were a recent bargain at £5 in a charity shop with all the labels still intact. Brand new, rose gold, glitter shoes - I really couldn't have dreamt that one up could I? My dress is also another brand new find, from H&M (again via a charity shop) and doing me proud to go perfectly with these fancy shoes. My necklace is from Magpie Vintage see their website here for the most wonderful collections of vintage pieces reworked into contemporary styles. I'm wearing my gorgeous Michael Kors watch as usual with my rose gold Kate Spade bangle. My pink ring was a gift and the sparkle ring is from a charity shop.

Thanks for joining me again and I do hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you on Sunday!

Anna x

Brooch pile

I've shown this jacket on Instagram, but not with the same configuration of brooches so here's the new and improved version. A blogging friend, Suzanne Carillo (see her blog here), had featured her brooch pile jacket around the same time and we had laughed about our creative efforts being so similar at times.

I couldn't say which particular one of these is my favourite, but I do love the crammed full effect the brooches all create. I saw a fashion feature recently that showed a denim jacket with brooches which were sprinkled all over the entire thing. It was pretty in its own way and I might try it if I tire of this.

I really like this bag and shoes combo. Ostrich and leopard print are great partners in my eyes.

I can see that this brooch collecting could be addictive. Another blogging friend of my Kezzie (see her blog here) features her brooches often and each one has a story. I'm not sure if brooches might ever replace my passion for clothes, but it's another little offshoot which will be a joy I'm sure. 

The denim jacket was a £5 bargain in a charity shop and the brand is GAP. My orange top is by Coast (charity shop) and skirt is from Boden. Shoes are by Salord Jover and handbag brand is L Credi from TK Maxx. Watch is by Michael Kors, rose gold bangle is by Kate Spade, rings are old, as are the pearl necklaces.

Wishing you all a great weekend and hope you can drop by again soon!

Anna x