The JD Williams spring campaign is live!


Yes, after much nattering on from me, I can at last share some of the final shots from the spring campaign which has now gone live. Watch the TV advert here. Paulina and I weren't used in the commercial this time, but can be seen over the social media campaign.


If you recall, this was day two of filming at the Dairy Shed just a 20 minute drive outside Cape Town. This was the middle of the day and the temperature was in the early 30's.


The wedding scene was set against this fabulous floral archway with all of the cast wearing pale pink and nude outfits. 



When the filming was done the stills photographer Elisabeth Hoff stepped in to take my shots. Once again it has to be said what a privilege it is to be photographed by Elisabeth. If you check out her profile you'll see that she's very much the photographer of the moment with recent subjects being Mary Berry, Marco Pierre White, Emma Willis and Davina McCall, to name a few. Elisabeth is making her name as a modern day David Bailey.




Elisabeth gives strong direction, thank goodness, and yet also helps to relax her subject with a great playlist. I have a funny clip on my phone of me drifting off into a bit of a reverie when the music had me dancing and singing as if I was on a music video - Elisabeth soon brought me back into the moment! 





The brief video above (working or not?) is from the JD Williams Instagram feed and can also be seen here

And so, back to reality. I've returned from my short trip to the mainland. Storm Gareth tried his best to disrupt my plans, but I arrived on the mainland, diverted to Newquay instead of Land's End and was slightly shaken not stirred from the flight. I had an appointment at the hospital for a bone density scan and will get the results anon. So what on earth did I manage to do with myself for the rest of the time? Shop, I can hear you all shout out. And shop I did! Below is a veritable rainbow collection of shoes, boots and separates to bulk out my already busting-at-the-seams wardrobe. When the big seasonal clothes changeover takes place I'll be turfing out the least worn pieces to go the next charity event locally.



The jacket from Primark (£15) matches a pair of trousers I bought recently and will make a fabulous summer suit.


The brand is Boohoo, price £7.99 and was a TK Maxx find.


Topshop had a sale on... these were reduced from £42 to £20.


Another TK Maxx scoop - River Island trousers at £9.99 instead of the ticket price of £40.


The New Look sale this time, and these sandals were £8 from £22.99.


TK Maxx again and the brand is Vera Moda, price £9.99.


A culotte jumpsuit by Spense, found at TK Maxx for £24.99.


Another TK Maxx bargain, from Zara at £15.


Ethnic print trousers from TK Maxx £12.99.


Topshop jumper reduced from £25 to £10.


Topshop polo shirt reduced from £15 to £9.


Various vest tops in the Topshop sale for £2.50 each.



New Look sandals reduced from £22.99 to £11.



Paint splattered deck shoes by Sioux Grasshopper at TK Maxx £20.


Stradavarius jumper from TK Maxx £5.99.


Black patent boots from Topshop reduced from £70 to £35.


White kitten heel boots from New Look £7 from £25.99.


Frida Kahlo tee shirt from Primark at £6.


Yes, this was me in the changing rooms at Topshop seeing what the camera had to say about this outfit. It said yes, obviously!

It's great to be back home again, back to work where Polly and I are still licking the gallery into shape as the first trickle of customers come in to see us. I'll be back soon with some work outfits made from these new separates. I hope you've enjoyed this image heavy feature and look forward to seeing you again next time!


                                                                                         Anna x

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The wind doth blow!

At the start of the week I had a bit of a cream and brown thing going on outfit-wise which for that very reason meant it wasn't going to hit the headlines on the blog - way too boring! Come Tuesday morning the pressure was on to find a more upbeat, smile-inducing ensemble to lift my mood as well as to share with you. Enter stage left some winter florals. Winter and florals may be an unusual combination for some, but hey, I think they really work. See what you think...




I've only worn these (New Look) boots once over Christmas (see here) so it's good to find another outfit to work with these. I like the gold tone of the heels and how that picks up the yellow in the flowers. The peplum jacket was a find in a charity shop as was the brand new pink ostrich handbag. My coat comes from Sicily where I found it in a vintage shop (yay!) while we were on holiday. The rings are all gifts and my sunglasses are from Sainsbury's.










I know these bold florals are pretty full-on, but I also think that they're a marriage made in heaven (seemingly mixing our florals is bang on trend this spring too). Both items were sourced from charity shops last year and are from different retailers - the blouse from Next and the trousers from H&M. Each piece obviously works beautifully with a plain partner, for instance I have a baby pink cashmere polo neck that works perfectly with these pants, and likewise I've styled the top with a plain black skirt which worked fine and dandy. But, well, hey, it's just too conservative for me to dress like that every day. Sometimes I like to make more of a statement, like today. 

The wind was blowing furiously as you can tell, meaning my peplum jacket alone wasn't enough even for my short walk to work. But it was no hardship to pull my pink winter coat one more time. Spring may be here (almost) but the fierce wind that continued to rise in the course of the day really kept the temperature down. I managed to escape the worst of the wind for my morning swim by crossing to the other side of the island and heading on to Pentle Bay. New Grimsby bay, where the gallery lies as well as where Polly and I did our shoot, was hammered all day long with hail and rain showers appearing seemingly out of nowhere. 


In the course of the day the view from my office window constantly changes as the tide washes in and out and the brilliant colours of the sea change too according to the sun and cloud cover. At this moment the azure green of the water was highlighted by the contrasting raincloud that was hurtling towards us. Minutes later the brightness was gone, eclipsed by the heavy storm slapping huge dollops of rain against the window. Mother Nature often puts on a display to distract me from my admin!

Linking with -
Laurie of Vanity And Me
Anna x

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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 -
Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb
Cherie of Style Nudge

Anna x

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Sparkle and shine

Today's offering is my attempt at wearing sequins in a more casual manner. However, I do realise that my default setting is probably a bit more blingy than most, in which case this maybe isn't as dressed down to you as it is to me. The fabulous mini skirt was a purchase in the January sales and this is the first time I've worn it. 









Almost exactly 12 months ago I was just beginning to falter with the first signs of flu. I struggled on until Christmas day when I managed to cook the turkey with all the trimmings, missed the lunchtime drinks at the pub, then almost as soon as we ate I spiralled downhill. By 4pm I was wrapped up in a duvet on the sofa, in denial, still trying to get my money's worth out of the big day. Things continued to deteriorate from there on and days drifted past in a blur of sweat, aches and pains. Eventually I resurfaced, well into the New Year to be greeted by an avalanche of parcels - evidence of my efforts at self medicating and proof of my influenzia delerium shoppingitis (as coined here) - which covered every glittered/sequined anything that you could imagine. Much of it I returned immediately, and many sparkly pieces of finery were placed in a holding pattern until I could get a second opinion. Polly came to visit and this mini skirt was the final item to be discussed. Yes, you'll not be surprised to hear that I was concerned that it was WAY too short for me/someone my age. Thick tights and flat shoes were our joint decision as to how to make this more wearable, so what the heck has happened today? Glittery tights and these brand new boots with fabulous gold high heels are what's happened, because this Christmas I've got a whole lot of catching up to do!

Skirt: H&M, sweater: TK Maxx, boots: New Look, tights, H&M, thermal top: M&S, rings: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia.
Anna x

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