That Friday feeling

Hello again! Yes, this is me, giving a big sigh of relief for that Friday feeling. Not popping corks or doing somersaults, simply sitting for a moment, taking in the view and being grateful. 

The days seem to be rattling past as August gets into full swing. The Isles of Scilly are thronging with visitors and we're all working flat-out to provide the premium holiday experience that our guests deserve. But golly, I'm flagging all of a sudden. Lunchtime walks and morning swims have been dropped for the first time ever as I struggle to find enough energy for work alone. But I'm not too worried as I know this will be short-lived. In no time at all it will be September and the frenetic pace will soon be a thing of the past. Tempus fugit eh?

Today's work outfit is a new combination again. The dress was from TK Maxx when I was away in May, but this is the first time to be shown on the blog. The brand is Feather and Bone, not one that I've come across before, but the frock is a pretty floral pattern of black, brown, pink and yellow mainly and the fabric is polyester and elastane which gives it a lovely bit of stretch.

The drop waist style is flattering and comfy too. I've added a net underskirt and my plaid Converse boots to give an edgy look as I worry that maxi dresses can be a bit frumpy if you're a woman of a certain age.

The petticoat was a charity shop find and the Converse were from TK Maxx, some time ago.

I would say that the best thing about this frock is the wash and wear aspect of it. I've not had to iron it between wears or after washing, hurrah! What busy working woman wouldn't be thrilled with that? Jewellery today is a smokey quartz and silver necklace from Emily Nixon (many moons ago) along with a couple of charity shopped rings. My cool sunglasses are from Quay Australia - surprise, surprise!

I'll leave you with a playful whoosh of the frock, just to show you that I'm not completely done yet!  Thanks for dropping by. I know we're all so busy at this time of year and I have very little expectations from my readers to spend time leaving comments or even to visit at all. I appreciate you swinging by and I do hope you're having a wonderful summer!

                                                                                          Anna x

Agapanthus how I love thee!

Hello again my lovelies! What a busy week it's been on the islands since we last spoke. Schools have broken up for summer holidays and we're seeing so many day trippers now. The gallery is doing a roaring trade, as are all the other businesses on Tresco. Sunshine and showers was the rule of thumb for the week and then bang, we were hit by Storm Evert! The rescue services were in evidence throughout Thursday evening as helicopters refuelled on the island and the local lifeboat had to be supported by one from the mainland as it hit difficulties too while they responded to distress calls from over 20 yachts in danger. Campers across the Isles of Scilly had their tents ripped, flattened or in some cases blown away as the storm raged overhead. The island communities rallied around offering shelter and repairs to help the visitors get back on their feet again.

In the meantime, I've been snapping away trying to capture my garden in bloom, specifically these fabulous agapanthus flowers which grow like weeds around the island. The are big and blowsy, larger than life and real show-offs as flowers go; they remind me of myself! I've had to do a fair bit of cropping of these photos as we have power lines run along the top of the garden plus there's the steel framework of our children's swings from their childhood. Anyway, here's the results plus me in Friday's work outfit.

Nothing new here, but it's the first time I've worn this sheer flower sprigged top (by Clara) with my gingham dungarees (from Topshop). It was raining as I set off to work and rainy days always present a problem for me clothes-wise. My white pumps (from TK Maxx) are patent and therefore ideal for weather so that was easy. And for some reason I always end up wearing black in some shape or form on wet days, maybe simply because I feel a bit dull? Anyway, as the rain drifted away this outfit served me well even when the sun came out.

A couple of pre-loved rings was all I could muster by way of jewellery, well that plus my ever favoured sunglasses by Quay Australia, of course!

Do you have a favourite between the white blooms or the blue ones? I think I prefer the blue.

It was my day off on Saturday and Steve, Sasha and I went for a picnic at Great Bay on St Martin's. I forgot to take any photos but here's a few snaps from the last time we were there.

I had a swim in the clear waters of this little bay. It seemed to feel colder than on Tresco but I wonder if that's because it's open to the elements rather than sheltered by other islands within the archipelago. Next stop from this beach is mainland Cornwall.

Great Bay is a lovely long sweep of sand, but there's lots of rocks and seaweed here which I find a bit off putting for swimming in. I think I've been spoilt by the like's of Cradle's Porth!

This old sailing ship was moored up in the bay, looking very romantic, don't you think? We get a lot of Tall Ships pass through the islands on the way to some further adventure. I do love to see them, but don't envy the thought of days and weeks at sea feeling seasick!

Bee heaven in this beautiful meadow!

And king of all he surveys - this goat looked very at home on his perch. I hope you've had a great weekend so far. Fingers crossed we'll get some sunshine today!

Anna x

July jackets, the monthly style challenge

Hello again! Yes, it's time for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. This month Jacqui came up with the idea of Jackets for July, but that was before our heatwave of course! Things have cooled down a bit now, and I for one am not sorry about that. So, on to the challenge - let's see what Jacqui and the others came up with this time, shall we?

Jacqui has chosen a white linen jacket for today's feature; a classic summertime look. Wide legged trousers and a chiffon top complete the outfit. See all the details on Mummabstylish.

Emma's showing off her wild side today with lots of animal print. Her coral blazer is far from conservative too with colourful trim and funky buttons. See more on the Style Splash. 

Gail's suede bomber jacket ticks all my boxes for chic style and what a fabulous pairing with the citrus bright top too! Catch up with her on blog Is this Mutton. 

Here's another gorgeous jacket that wouldn't go amiss in my wardrobe! Hilda found this blazer in a local boutique - see the back story on Over The Hilda. 

I've had this bright green jeans jacket (from Benetton) for years now and still love it. The cotton has a touch of stretch to it which is nice too. When Jacqui proposed this challenge I almost went for a blazer as I have this silk one that's not made it out of my closet yet. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see it before the summer is over.

The Tresco Island tee shirt was gifted to me and is available at the Lucy-Tania shop on island. The design of the Gaia Statue (located in the Tresco Abbey Garden) is by Emily Parsons, a local artist who also works on the Reservations team at Tresco Island Office. My blue sea glass necklace was bought at Gallery Tresco from Drift Jewellery.

I'd popped out before 7am to take these shots before work. The view down through Tresco Channel shows just a fraction of the yachts that are moored up around the islands at this time of year. The ramparts of King Charles Castle are a great setting for a photo shoot with 360 degree views. 

I had to laugh as even at this early hour I could see a runner appear across the headland towards me! There's no such thing as escape is there?

The rest of the outfit is made up of white crops (Next, pre-loved), trainers by Zara and Quay Australia. Glimpses of charity shop rings seen too.

I hope you're enjoying your summer and are keeping safe now that the government restrictions are lift or being lifted depending on where in the UK you live. I'm pleased to report that our clients are acting responsibly, still wearing masks and behaving with care towards others. It's a great relief.

And on that positive note I shall leave you. Take care and I hope you manage to get some picnic time/fun time/barbecue time this week!

                                                                                         Anna x

My 60's vibe

Hello again! 

I'm writing this as the National Anthem plays on the TV and my ever hopeful husband sits transfixed as The Football Match of the Year (The Euro Cup Final) commences. Will England bring it home? I do wish them the best of luck for this historical game. Oh heck, they've scored! A goal within the first two minutes!!!!!

Anyway, here we go with the outfit of the moment. I wore this to work one day this week and honestly have no idea what day that was. Early starts in joggers and jumper at 5am are followed by breakfast at nine and a quick change of clothes ready for serving the customers. The days are passing in a blur of hello's, lovely to see you again's and yes, of course I can ship that you to. I love this time of year when the culmination of my artists efforts are rewarded by brisk turnarounds, sometimes with a painting only on the wall for half a day before it sells. 

Last week was a bumper week for quite a few of my best selling artists which makes me so happy that we're getting it right. The best art for our clientele at this time of year is something I've been fine tuning for years and this summer is looking like another winner for us all. So far the women are selling well; Marie Mills, Lizzie Black and Amanda Hoskin have all had a great week, selling over a dozen paintings between them. See the entire line up on offer at Gallery Tresco here. 

As I was saying, this was an outfit of the day last week. The 60's ensemble was created around this wonderful vintage top by Diane Freis in polyester georgette. The bold print is typical of this designer who embraced colour and pattern through all of her ranges. I picked up this top a few years ago in a charity shop and this is the first time I've actually worn it. Unable to bypass a bargain (this was only £2.50) I knew that it would be a useful addition to my wardrobe at some stage.

Teaming the psychedelic blouson top with straight yellow chino's (again charity shopped) and white kitten heel boots (New Look) completes that 60's vibe.  The look is fun and funky and makes me feel good, which is surely what it's all about, eh? I can pin down the day to when one of my readers, Tessa, popped into the gallery to say hello. It's a rare treat to have the chance to meet up with my followers and she enjoyed a day on the island, finishing with an appointment to visit the gallery. We had a speed catch up about all manner of things which was lovely. She scooted off to catch her boat without much time to spare, so much so, that her husband rang to tell her to hurry up in case it left without her! On the mainland another bus would follow in due course, but here if you miss the last boat there won't be another until the next day.

I added persex rings and a 60's plastic and metal geometric necklace to compliment the look, along with these fabulous yellow sunglasses by Quay Australia.

Being time challenged at the moment, today's photo shoot was located in my back garden which will look much more pretty when the Agapanthus burst into bloom. I decided to ignore the glimpses of phone lines and Sky dish that festoon our back door. Within the next week these flowers will be looking at their best so I'll revisit this again to show you. Thanks so much for dropping by. I'll be back soon!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

All the pinks and polka dots

Hello lovelies, how are you?

Saturday's work outfit here, in all the shades of pink that I could muster up. Not exactly matchy-matchy, more a bundle of fun in this summer outfit. If I'd left the Candy bag out of the equation this would have been a sleeker style, but honestly it wouldn't be such fun. 

Some of you may recognise this as the It Dress of 2019 from Zara - see it here. I fell for its charms way back during a London trip when I visited the Oxford Street branch. Today's twist is a new one for me and one that is maybe a tad sugary sweet for some...

Last year I showcased the frock again, but that time with silver and white accessories - see here. Today's effort may well be saccharine sweet, but it does still say summer to me. The addition of my H&M sock boots add an elegance despite the bubblegum Barbie shade, echoed in the eBay elasticated belt. 

It's a joy to bring out my little pink Candy bag again. The jelly bag by Furla is one of two that I have; the other is a larger yellow version. See the rainbow bright collection here. The silver rings are both preloved, as is the wooden beaded necklace.

It's quick confession time now. I'm a day late posting the blog as my latest obsession has gripped me, causing me to spend hours yesterday hunched over my sewing machine. Yes, I'm trying to make a toile of my yellow linen dress. Despite the fact that I've bought a paper pattern, I'm hell bent on trying to make a pattern of the dress from scratch, something that, of course, isn't really advisable for someone of my limited sewing abilities. But, I'm possessed, obsessed and driven into trying. Logically, I know that the only way to make a pattern from an existing item is to take it to pieces and use them as the pattern, but no way am I relegating my gorgeous frock into pieces!

I've been watching YouTube tutorials, learning how to make gathers in fabric and unpicking the old sheet that is to be the trial run before I even venture into measuring up for the linen. I wish I could just conform, open up the shop bought pattern and get on with it, but it's not the exact shape of dress I want. I know I'm not the only one who has been smitten with the sewing bug since the Great British Sewing Bee has been on our TV screens. This sewing frenzy has gripped me and there's no getting over it until I've achieved something akin to a frock. If I'm not sewing, then I'm watching the previous series, trying to pick up tips to improve my skills. Practice, practice, practice is all I can do!

Wishing you a fabulous week everyone!

Anna x