Ready for spring!

I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for spring. The weather today was totally rubbish for my photo shoot meaning that I had to have another indoor session in the kitchen instead. At least a bit of Zoe Ball on radio 2 gave me plenty to bop about to. I'm sure we mums do our best dancing in the kitchen, don't we?

I came back from my little mainland jaunt yesterday and have had a lovely time away. The weekend was a mix of business (meeting up with my framer) and pleasure (meeting an artist friend for lunch) as well as a tad of retail therapy. Add to that a chance to see the extravaganza aka Bohemian Rhapsody and it was a pretty perfect mini-break. These fabulous orange trousers were a last minute find in Primark (£13) as I was beetling through on my way to the homewares department. I ended up buying five pairs of trousers in all plus two blouses. I'll photograph them soon to show you. I also did a small shop at TK Maxx and found a few bargains in my favourite charity shops.

The paper bag trouser trend is very evident in the shops at the moment which is great for me as I love this style. High waisted trousers suit my shape and help to elongate the leg too. Shoot me for giving in to fast fashion once in a while, but I know that these won't be turfed out of my wardrobe at the end of the season. I might buy into a trend, but if it's something that suits me then I'll be wearing it long after the mood has changed. And orange, for goodness sake - you know you'll see these again and again as I reach for my very own dose of sunshine!

I love the clean lines of the trouser with not a pocket in sight to spoil the sleek look. I wouldn't have been upset to find a pocket or two, but can see how they benefit from this simple cut.

This outfit has super-charged my smile.

My only jewellery is a couple of pre-loved rings in zingy citrus shades.

My tee shirt is by RED or DEAD and was part of a fun raising event at a charity shop last year. I'm pleased to raise awareness through fashion and help to add money to the coffers too.

Last night was the first episode of the second series of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer and I, like the majority of the UK viewing population, was glued to my telly for the duration. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that Russell Brand brought his own brand of humour to the show stopper challenge of 3 D biscuits! Follow the link above to catch up on the fun.

Bubblegum pink and bright orange seemed like the best way to welcome spring into my working week, but that was before I'd seen the grey old weather waiting outside. Too late! I was sold on this for my post today and it did give me a great lift as I danced and posed my way around the kitchen. The trench coat was a crazy charity shop bargain (£4) from last year despite being from Topshop. Jamie bought me the sockboots for my Christmas from H&M and golly aren't they just dreamy together?

At the end of the day I had to visit one of the holiday properties (Barn Flat) to check on some artworks. The weather had been that typical mix of spring weather of sunshine and showers, improving towards late afternoon. I was happy to have the excuse to get out and stretch my legs as well as take in this fabulous view. 

Thanks for dropping by, and please do leave me a comment if you've enjoyed today's post!

                                                                                   Anna x

You got my memo then?

This is Rachel, Bookings Manager for the island and friend of mine. She turned up in the gallery the other day and on seeing her I quipped "You got my memo then, about stripes as dress code?". This started a little flurry of shots of some of the other members of the office team who do in fact have stripes as their uniform.

Rachel joined by Carina ...

Carina and Nikki ...

Rachel with Ruth, the Office Manager.

Those of you who are regular visitors to the island may well recognise these ladies who help organise various elements of your stay, ensuring that everything goes smoothly.

Sasha and I got together after work to add a few more shots for the post. Polly had been poorly for a few days (she's much better now, thanks) and my draft box was getting a bit empty in her absence.

These are the striped culottes I mentioned recently; they're from Primark and I'm afraid I can't remember how much they cost. The striped body was from TK Maxx and I decided to go for stripes overload with the these mules, again from TK Maxx.

Standing, serving at the desk all day long while Polly was away called for some clever/sensible footwear that wouldn't cripple me by lunchtime, and these mules were ideal as they're a lovely broad fit. I have a grey pair and pink ones too which are also equally comfy.

The trousers are a synthetic material, a decent medium weight fabric that reminds me slightly of the crimpelene trousers my mother used to wear back in the day. They're pull on, with an elasticated waist and for that reason I decided to go up a size so that they'd give a sleeker, smoother fit. It's taken me a long time to get over being a slave to sizing; the buzz of fitting into a size 8 means nothing if it pinches and shows every seam of underwear. I know I can vary from anything between an 8 to a 14 depending on the brand or shop, so I take a few sizes into the changing room nowadays, ignoring the size label and relying on the fit as to what looks best. 

As a safety measure, I added this diamante Scottie dog brooch (preloved) to the stripey body as the crossover front isn't stitched together. The black and silver necklace is by Melissa James, the frilled silver and gold ring is by Emily Nixon and the other ring is preloved.

I feel I just have to mention the line of washing hanging in the garden behind me. This is mine and a source of comment from many visitors who see it as documenting how my family as it has grown; the baby grows and terry nappies heralding the birth of my first then second child and thereafter the size of clothes indicated how they were thriving through their school years into teens and beyond. And now that Sasha is home again we just seem to have a constant array of bright and colourful items to entertain the masses. Hanging my washing out is a pretty sociable affair, causing strangers to stop and comment on the weather and if things will dry today, or to say they like that my clothes prop is an oar, or the most frequent thing they say is that I have the best view ever from my washing line. I have a friend who is rather coy about hanging her undies on the line, but not me - I'm pretty sure we all wear these so what's the problem?

I had some technical problems on the blog recently which resulted in lots of comments sitting unpublished for a few days. Hopefully I've remedied this now and can look forward to continuing my dialogue with you once again. I'm heading off to the mainland this week for yet more dental treatment, so do give me a day's grace as I may be a bit worse for wear - I think I'm having an extraction which does fill my heart with dread. Once again, wish me luck!

In view of this, I'm scheduling a post for Wednesday in my absence which is a rather special feature about more friends, but this time swimming buddies. Marilee, I think you will love this one and for all of you, it's another opportunity to see the extensive and rather beautiful swimming pool I have access to every day thanks to Mother Nature. 

Anna x

Something simple

I thought it was maybe time to step away from all the glitz and sparkle of Christmas and post  a more simple outfit. This was taken just two days after I had my tooth out, calling for a good dollop of blusher and a slash of bright red lippy to brighten up my rather peely-wally (aka peaky) complexion.

All the jewellery is pre-loved, including the necklace and bracelet that I picked up last week.

The grey sweater and culottes are both from Primark, again recent purchases. The grey long sleeved tee is a thermal layer from M&S and the boots are from H&M.

 Oh how I love these boots!

Every time I wear these red sockboots I feel the cost has been justified. But, more importantly, I just love how glamorous they make me feel and the fit is so comfortable too. Today's outfit is all about comfort in fact, as the culottes have a fully elasticated waist which will be very handy round about Christmas time when waistlines have the habit of expanding no matter how good ones intentions are. I've chosen a shift dress to wear on Christmas day for the very same reason. 

I hope to sneak another post in before Christmas Day, but in case I don't I'd like to wish you a very Happy Christmas and also say thank you for joining me as we near the end of another year. Whether you're a regular reader or a now and again visitor I'm so pleased to have you around. But one last thing - I was asked about my party outfit and what I finally alighted on for the event. Well, I wore this skirt and top (see here) but I added these boots instead (see here). The whole outfit made me feel very comfortable, so much so, that yes, I did dance after all! 

Anna x