Anna's Island Style: Oliver Bonas sunglasses

From spring to summer SNA challenge

Welcome to another Style Not Age challenge! This month I chose the theme and came up with From Spring to Summer, a timely notion, don't you agree? My Lucy and Yak dungarees fit the brief perfectly as I wear them most weekends - they're perfect for wearing to do the housework, go for a walk or just bumble about.

Jacqui has chosen this lightweight cream lace jacket as her transisitional piece and very pretty it is too! Catch up with all of her week's events on her blog Mummbstylish here.

A sporty cardi comes from Hilda, again the perfect layer to carry you from one season to another. See more from Hilda on Over The Hilda blog post here.

Another cardi, this time a short sleeved one, comes from Emma. The cute crochet cardi comes from TK Maxx and I wish I could just pop there now to find it! See the full post from Emma on Style Splash blog.

This weekend was my big summer clothes changeover and lucky for me it was a perfectly sunny day on Sunday to get them all washed and hung out on the line. My garden is right beside the road and the rainbow collection was the talking point for many passers by. I spent the afternoon weeding our garden wall, cutting back all the wild brambles and unwanted plants. I enjoyed lots of conversations about my colourful clothes, my blog and the day job which allows me to express myself in these bright colours and many a flamboyant outfit.

I did have one woman stop and ask me if I was having a clothes sale and what a unique idea it was for a shop front. I shall keep that in mind for when I finally retire and need to move all of my working clothes along.

The outfit of the day shows nothing new. The dungarees I've had for few years now, the long sleeved tee likewise and my sandals are by Heavenly Feet - these I can agree are indeed heavenly as they are so comfortable.

Nothing new with my accessories either - the sunglasses are by Oliver Bonas, gold chain from Accessorize and rings are both pre-loved. This is my ideal outfit for the weekends, easy to wear yet colourful enough to show my personality. Many thanks for joining us once again and I look forward to catching up with you again soon!

Anna x

Hello and sorry for posting so late this week, but it's been a bit of a hectic one! I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say that I'm like the proverbial swan, appearing to glide along effortlessly while in fact there's a whole lot of paddling away underneath the surface. Anyway, I was really keen to share this rather wonderful new (to me) spring coat by Masai, a brand I've not come across until now. Well, I say now, when in fact I found this beautiful coat in a charity shop last autumn and I was wowed by not just the fabric, but also the oversized shape and of course the fabulous colour. Would you believe that it only cost me £10? Bargain of the year I'd say!

The lining too deserves a mention which is why I've turned the sleeves up to created these striped cuffs. The fabric of the coat defies my descriptive powers, but it's like a very tight crinkle type material. Hopefully someone out there will be able to tell me what that might be... The size is very oversized as it an XXL, but that is part of it's charm as far as I'm concerned as I do love the feeling of lots of room and it's perfect for wearing over the top of a big sweater or in this case over a suit jacket without it being a squeeze.

Another joyful element of today's look is my Jean Muir suit. It reminds me of my primary school teacher who always wore a woollen suit like this, but it was less flamboyant of course and always with a more fitted skirt. She referred to it as not a suit but a costume - it's funny how nearly 60 years on and I still remember that. Maybe she was a style influencer of her time.

Much as I absolutely love this suit I'm very aware that it could look a bit conservative for me, hence my adding this vibrant bodysuit to lift it out of the ordinary. All of the colours pop and leave no doubt about what this look is all about - fun!

The chunky yellow necklace also adds to the funky look along with my blue Oliver Bonas sunglasses. I was really happy with the final result.

I adore this cute little handbag. The beaded handles add character which I love. The brand is Dune but I found it in TK Maxx a few years ago. My rings of the moment are both by Emily Nixon.

My yellow tights were from Snag and trainers were from ASOS some time ago. They both work perfectly with the outfit. And best of all, wearing trainers to work kept my feet happy all day long.

So that's it! My new spring coat is bit of corker, isn't it? Much as I love summer I don't want it to come too quickly as I'd like to drift about in this dream of a coat for a little while longer.

I must add that on Monday we're about to face our Monthly Style Challenge for April. I've somehow missed the earlier prompts so I'm now off to search through my closet to see what I can come up with. Please do join me again for this. In the meantime, have a great weekeend!

Anna x

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! This month Jacqui chose Muted shades for March, a lovely choice indeed. I've shopped my closet for my outfit but it'll be new to you as the cardigan and jeans have been stashed away from some months now. First though, let's do the honours with my fashionable friends to see what they came up with.

So here's Jacqui's outfit, a lovely combination from Cotton Traders. The muted shades work so well with Jacqui's dark hair and colouring. Hop across to read her blog post on Mummabstylish.

More muted separates from Emma... The multicoloured cardigan is from Vinted, trousers are from ASOS and trainers are by Puma. Check out her back story on The Style Splash blog.

Hilda is sporting a pale pink two piece from Vinted along with jeans by Frame. She was attending the launch of a spring collection from Avoca. See more about this on Over The Hilda.

My jeans were a charity shop find, the brand is Berksha and they are super comfy thanks to the back of them being elasticated - oh dear, is this my age showing? The cotton cardigan is from TK Maxx and is the perfect spring layer as it's lightweight and such a pretty colour.

My floral Dr Marten boots are making a regular appearance on the blog and I have no apologies for that as I love 'em!

The pop of blue thanks to my Oliver Bonas sunglasses add a certain charm to the outfit. The rings are both old and preloved, but are still a great addition to the look. The gold chain necklace is also an old piece of jewellery.

It was such a treat to see the sunshine when we took these snaps last weekend. Fingers crossed that Easter will bring some equally lovely weather too. Thanks for swinging by!

Anna x

Hello, and how are you? I'm late posting again this week and it'll be no surprise to you that work is still holdinng me hostage as I try to catch up with being open to the public. But hey, here I am sporting my beautiful Boden trouser suit!

Last seen on the blog when I went to Paris (see here) the suit really does deliver the wow factor and has had a few airings over the months, always with lots of praise. The vibrant colours and soft velvet really do make it an eye-catching outfit. We were hosting a family event in the gallery that day and I thought it fitting that I should wear this flamboyant outfit for such a creative event.

We host "Paint the Day" several times a year and it's always well attended. It's a very simple format; we provide paper mounted on boards plus a variety of paints, pens, pencils, charcoal and graphite for anyone to take away and capture the island in their own way. It's a lovely way to create an opportunity that may not happen otherwise. The resulting works are then displayed alongside our current exhibition and I always point out that they can each boast to have had their artwork exhibited on the wall at Gallery Tresco, even if it's just for a day or two.

I'm more aware than ever that I must wear my lovely outfits now! Age and time are, if not exactly running out, then at least they do seem to be galloping along. At the same time however, I am working hard to dejunk all sorts of things, including clothes, from my home as I simply have too much of everything. 35 years of living in the same house and golly what a lot we've gathered!

I teamed the suit with a shocking pink linen shirt, pre-loved, from M&S. Perspex pink rings are both old, as is the bejewelled white belt.

The bright blue sunglasses are from Oliver Bonas and add yet another pop of colour, not that it was really needed. The big silver link chain necklace is old too.

The embroidered canvas boots are only of their second outing. I love them so much but do worry about getting them marked or damaged - but of course, that stupid because there's no point in having them if I don't wear them. Doh!

I'm so blooming lucky to have the perfect job that allows me to dress up in whatever I fancy. There's barely a day goes by without someone remarking on the view and what an amazing workplace or else that I'm perfectly suited for the job as I'm wearing a colourful/snazzy/quirky outfit. I honestly never take it for granted. I'll leave you with a fab beach scene from a walk I had last weekend. Thanks for dropping by!

See you next time!

Anna x

And so begins the season of sparkles! Needless to say I'm in my element this month for at last I have a legitimate reason to dial up my dressing up. I'm wearing a cosy roll neck fairisle sweater that I recently bought from the F&F range at Tesco's. It was the only one on display which, for some reason, made it seem like a real find.

I'm not normally keen on black and white but the sweater is so perfect for this time of year I couldn't resist it. It has silver beading on the front that lifts it out of the ordinary too.

I've paired the sweater with these rather fabulous silver jeans, a charity shop find in Truro recently - the brand is Pull&Bear - and they're brand new, without a scuff or mark on them.

The mock crock effect boots are a recent purchase too from Deichman in Truro. I used to have a pair very similar to these and do wonder sometimes what on earth happened to them. Anyway, when I saw these I thought they might work well with some of the winter looks that I have planned...

My photography is a bit blurry this week. I had to take my own photos which wasn't helped by the blustery and cloudy weather. I've tweaked the photos but they could be better I'm afraid.

My textured cow print bag was the perfect accessory for the silver and black outfit. It's big enough for all of my photography essentails - mini tripod stand, phone, hairbrush and lipstick (although the look was definitely more windswept than anything else!).

The jacket is quite old now, but the brand is Zara and has a rating just like a duvet - it's ultra cosy and has this massive hood for rainy days too.

I do love this casual look for these silver jeans - what do you think? I'm sure I'll find another bit of styling for these over the next month, if I can only hit on a better day for the photoshoot!

Anna x

And so it was, that on a very lovely September morning I set off from Tresco for my annual holiday to Scotland. I've made a pact with myself to visit my family in Inverness once a year while I'm in a position to do so.

As I sat waiting for the pick-up to the airport I enjoyed the view and the warm golden rays of the autumn sunshine which only served to question why on earth I'd want to leave. Increasingly I find myself less and less inclined to gad off to the mainland, simply because I'm very happy where I am. Island life suits me, gives me all that I need to feel happy and on Tresco I feel complete, if that makes sense.

Soon however, the plane arrived, my flight was called and off I went to the mainland. Step one was complete and with it came that rediscovery of my other self, the one who is capable of independant travel, of having mini adventures and being self sufficient, resourceful and joyful when on the move.

I had a couple of nights in Penzance to decompress after what's been a hectic spell and then set off by train to meet up with my daughter in Manchester.

Passing from Cornwall to Devon is always a good marker of being on the move. Conversely, this bridge is always a welcome sight on the homeward journery too.

I met up with my blogging friend Emma which is the first time we've met in person. We chatted for a good couple of hours about our blogging lives, our families and plans for the future and then we went to view the Lowry exhibition showing nearby to Media City where Emma works.

I'd recently bought this leopard print velour tracksuit by Juicy Couture in TK Maxx. It was perfect for travelling and I wore it en route for most of my journeys.

Despite no memo, we both turned up in the same print which isn't really surprising as Emma and I both have similar tastes in clothes. We enjoy playing with pieces and love creating unique outfits. Emma dropped me back at my hotel just in time for Sasha to collect me for an evening out in the big city. What a contrast to my life on Tresco!

Sash had booked us seats at the theatre so see Moulin Rouge which was a great treat. I loved the movie and couldn't wait to see how that translated to the stage.

The show didn't disappoint! It was a packed house and our viewpoint may have been up in the gods, but the stage presence of all of the characters leapt out at us and the musical score was bang up to date. What a great start to my holiday!

We flew from Manchester to Inverness by Loganair, landing late in the evening, just in time for bed.

The next day Sash and I walked around the city, getting to know Inverness and its surrounding area. We visited the Botanic Garden, walked along the river Ness and up into the shopping centre where we went to the museum and onto the most amazing big second hand bookshop called Leakey's.

The book shop reminded me of a scene out of a Harry Potter movie. I would love to visit again in the depths of winter as there's a huge log burner there with wood stacked high on either side ready for the first cold snap of the year. And yes, before you ask, of course I bought some books!

Next morning my neice and her husband whisked us off on our sight-seeing tour and first up had to be Loch Ness which isn't far from their home. We arrived just as some of the Saturday morning swimmers were finishing their dip. I must admit I did have a pang of envy as it looked very calm and inviting. The one thing that is a plus about loch swimming is that you never have to worry about an influx of jellyfish!

I was keen for Sasha to enjoy the drama of the place just as Jamie and I had the previous year. The weather played its part in creating a great atmosphere too.

Mike has taken part in a huge cycle race that takes part here every summer. The course is around the entire loch - I've forgotten the mileage for that but suffice to say it's massive. He shaved an hour of his time between last year and this and now Lynsey has also taken up cycling. They love the big outdoor life that's right on their doorstep.

Next up was the village of Drumnadrochit which surely has to merit a visit simply for its name alone. I love this hillside vista showing the remoteness of houses right up at the top - you'd have to be very organised living there so that you didn't have to nip out for a pint of milk and a 20 minute drive to the shop.

Our next stop was Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. We were so lucky to have a break in the weather and see the grounds bathed in sunshine. This is a popular tourist attraction and was well worth the visit for some of the spectacular views.

The obligatory blog shot - old jeans, new sweater from TK Maxx, old boots and belt, new sunglasses from Oliver Bonas at Paddington Station when I was there the previous week (oh what a jet-setter I am, hahahaha!).

The following day we headed out to the coast nearby to Maryburgh to meet up with more of the family. I loved the mobile sauna parked up on the beach. The four ladies were dipping in the sea in between sauna sessions - what a great health boost for the immune system!

It's so good to capture these family album moments - Sasha doesn't see her cousins often so this one with is particularly special.

These have to be my favourite holiday snaps from this trip. My great nephew wanted to take the open top tour of Inverness and in the middle of it we were caught in a real downpour. The photos show that you can still have great fun even if you're being lashed with rain and belted over the top of the head by passing branches! Family memories being made here big time and we all agreed it might not have been such fun if the sun had shone and we'd had a sedate, uneventful ride around the city.

The whole point of the trip was to catch up with as many of the family as possible and that we certainly did. I'm really pleased to have made the effort once again to travel so far north as the photos show - we had a wonderful time together.