Pistachio two piece from Primark

Hello lovelies! How are things with you? September is upon us but, as ever, I'm not done with summer yet and will be holding onto my summer finery for as long as possible. This was my work outfit from Friday when the sun was shining as opposed to today's showery, blustery weather. 

I picked up this skirt and top in Primark in April and this is only the second time I've worn it. My blogging friend Sheila from Ephemera always advocates wearing a new item as soon as possible, to take ownership of it and make it part of your wardrobe. Such good advice! I've held off wearing some pieces that I bought in the spring simply to keep them as new. However that can also work against them as they/I can go off the boil.

The two-piece is pretty and I do love the colour which is probably why I bought it, but the jury's out as to whether I'll be wearing it again next year. The elastic around the bottom of the top plus the batwing sleeves means that it doesn't sit in one place but keeps popping up over the waistband of the skirt. On reflection, I can imagine that this is meant to be a crop top. (Primark's demographic won't have over 60's like me in mind!)

The other downside is the very long skirt (neither maxi nor midi) which needs high heels or wedge sandals (these are old, from TK Maxx) as I've worn here. Much as I tried this on in the changing room at the time of purchase, I was simply looking to add some new colour and style to my wardrobe and this seemed to fit the bill. I recall I was in Truro for a medical appointment and therefore this would have been a bit of a rushed shopping spree at the time. Hey ho!

The gold coloured chain belt was another Primark purchase, bought at the same time to add a bit of bling to what I already knew was a marginally staid outfit. I do think it works in lifting the overall look especially along with the gold chain necklace - a very old Primark piece too.

I feel I may be a bit unkind and disloyal to this co-ord and have to say that I don't hate it, but need to find better accessories to lift it into Anna's Island Style. Maybe my orange wedge sandals would have given a more fun slant to things? No worries - I'll be packing it away until next year to give it another chance to shine. 

Understatement isn't one of my strong points and maybe I've not been very fair on the first viewing of this ensemble. My choice of vintage handbag is a great match but, you know me, I do love the wow factor. The rings are old and my Quay Australia sunglasses work well in that matchy-matchy way.

Fiona did the honours with our end of the week photo shoot. As friends we pride ourselves in absolute honesty with her telling me often "Oh, you won't like that one!" as I babble on when I need to be concentrating on my photo face. We do have lots of laughs and surely that's what we all need!

                                                                            Anna x

Smock it to me baby!

Hello lovelies! How are you doing? Are you wilting in the summer heat or have things cooled down with you? The weather here is fine, not too hot and pretty much a mixed bag where no two days are the same. My outfit of the day is new - jeans, smock and sandals are all new. The smock has the look of an artist's smock which was probably why it appealed to me. I found it in Number 36, the little boutique on Causeway Head in Penzance which I've been frequenting of late. 

The linen smock is by Goose Island and is perfect for cool summer dressing. The wide boat neck, generous one size cut and cute single pocket all go to make a stylish wear. I added a white tee underneath and white stetch fit jeans that I found on Amazon to complete the summer look. 

I bought the blue Lazy Dogz sandals online recently - they go really well with the smock. I've got a couple of pairs of these now and love them! They're cool and comfortable footwear, perfect for summer days when you're on your feet all day long. 

Both of the blue rings are old, charity shop buys from years ago and yet work well with the colour of today's ensemble.

You'll probably recognise my old favourite Quay Australia sunglasses worn here with my gold chain necklace from Zara. I had my hair cut last week and am really pleased with it. 

A final twirl to finish off!

Anna x

Another week, another heatwave outfit!

Yes it's another heatwave hello from me! I'm gradually learning what works in these high temperatures with Friday's work outfit looking like this. It's not new and has been featured on the blog previously, but the loose fit and total cover up seemed to keep me cool all day long. The paisley maxi skirt was a charity shop buy and the silky paisley top was a hand me down/up from Sasha quite a few years ago.

The agapanthus are in full bloom now so Fiona and I walked out to the Heliport down on the south end of the island to capture these colourful shots. The photo shoot was meant to be followed by a cooling swim in the sea at (nearby) Appletree Bay, but yours truly managed to forget her swimming costume. Barefooted Fiona and I walked across the heather (sprinkled with prickly gorse) to Pentle Bay, but by the time we arrived there to the choppy sea and windy side of the island it was 8pm and my offer of skinny dipping had lost its appeal.

This multicoloured beaded necklace is new to me, a recent charity shop find for the princely sum of £3. I've been holding back to find the right outfit to showcase this and am really happy with the overall look.

Rings are preloved and the pink stretch belt was an eBay buy from years ago. I love the mish mash of colours here though - so very summery!

This must be the year of summer flatties for me! These floral sandals are heaven to wear as the back strap is stretchy and the soles are soft and spongy to assist all day comfort. Apologies if the comfort work keeps cropping up on my blog of late, but heck I'm on my feet all day and really need a kind and wearable shoe for my weary feet. I found these ones on Amazon. 

It's such a feminine outfit and one that had me wafting about with a smile on my face all day long. 

So this was us, Fiona, me and Jilly, partners in crime on Thursday as we staged a picnic on the beach at the end of our working day. After much promising and planning we finally co-ordinated our diaries and managed to spend a few hours lounging about on the sand, eating and drinking and even having a dip to cool off. We laughed and chatted and shared stories of work and home. Our next date will be a movie night at mine as I've got a great film saved on my planner. But anyway, Jilly was in fits of laughter at my tales of woe when the world seemed to conspire on the previous day leaving me frauded and flat.

My day had started badly with a message on my home phone to say that my credit card was showing suspicious activity and for me to press any button to run through a security check. Well, I don't know about you, but I've watched so many of those scammers programmes that I don't trust any automated message. I dismissed it and went off to work. Some time later I found a text message from Tesco's to say that they couldn't fulfill my grocery order as my card had been declined. Typical! On Wednesday's I only have cover at work after lunchtime. I was also due to have an afternoon meeting with a local jeweller bringing some (long-awaited) pieces for our display. It's been two years in the planning so this was going to be a lovely catch up with Sophie especially as she's created an exclusive range for Gallery Tresco.

Finally I manged to leave work just after 1pm and went home to check my credit card account online. Well blow me! I'd indeed been frauded - I had a payment showing for an Uber!!!! (I live on a tiny island, only one mile by two, with not an Uber in sight.) Anxious and more than a tad worried, I rang the number on the back of my credit card and after much waiting, followed by the necessary security questions, I finally got through. "I'm sorry Mrs Parkes" said the assistant on the fraud line, "but our alarm has just gone off and we're evacuating the building. You'll have to ring back later." Grrrrr...

My morning had been punctuated with phone calls from Tesco's regarding the failed payment but I had no time to resolve this as I was manning the desk alone. My next lunchtime call was to them and ironically coincided with the same lunchtime for the only operative who could unravel the non payment and rescheduling of my order. Off I go the to the Post Office, accounts office and then back home for lunch. On returning to work, well would you believe it, but my meeting with the jeweller had taken place with my stand-in in my absence! More seething and gnashing of teeth at the missed opportunity for this face to face as she was already on the boat back to St Mary's.

Various small challenges threw themselves at me within the workplace throughout the afternoon and I also managed to miss speaking to the Tesco's operative when I was tied up selling a painting to a client. Eventually I broke free and dashed home to call him back. We were connected, but surprise, surprise my home phone died at the moment we were about to speak! I put it on charge, returned to work and received several text messages from the bank asking me to call. Finally at 4.30pm I got through to the bank and they succeeded in putting a stop on my card. By this time I was so stressed out about Ubers and missed Tesco's orders that the fraud line assistant actually asked me to stop and take a deep breath. She then went on to say how difficult it is to send any messages by phone or text which are understood to be authentic. She continued, saying that I'd acted responsibly and was 100% correct in using my credit card as the true source of the contact phone number rather than risk responding to what may have been a scam call. Ten minutes later and I had finally managed to reschedule my grocery order too.

By 6pm the working day was over and the dust had settled on my financial debacles. I gathered together my swimming things, safe in the knowledge that a long swim on Appletree Bay was just the tonic I needed. I made a flask, grabbed a snack and a book ready for a couple of hours winding down in the evening sunshine. I jumped onto my bike and headed off. But wait, my bad luck hadn't finished - I had a flat front tyre!!!!  Defeated, I retreated to home and bed. Sometimes bed is the only answer!

                                                                      Anna x

Paisley pattern and lace for a summer's day

Hello lovelies! This week's post is my Friday work outfit (again). Friday seems to be a good day for a stroll after work with my friend and photographer Fiona. We ended up on Cook's Porth, just below the Old Blockhouse castle and settled there for a while. It was a lovely evening as we tucked in out of the wind to take these shots.

You may remember this lace blouse (Zara) that I wore a lot last year. It's become a summer staple - white means it's so versatile. The sandals were from Lazy Dogz and are so blooming comfy. Amazon has some of these on sale currently and I'm keeping my eye on them in case a gold pair comes up. I seem to be lacking a pair of flat gold sandals this year.

The only new item is/are these fabulous paisley culottes that I bought in Penzance from a little boutique on Causeway Head, called Number 36. (The label on them simply says Made in Italy.) It's a gem of a shop, selling lots of gorgeous clothes, as well as jewellery, cards and other lovely goods. I've bought a few things from there this year and will keep dodging in whenever I'm across on the mainland.

Not only do I love the pattern of the culottes, but also the deep shirred band that sits over the tummy and hips. It's a flattering style and easy to wear too. I resisted the temptation to pair them with a figure hugging top and went with a camisole layer under the wide loose blouse. 

Nothing new jewellery-wise, but the blue rings do go so very well with the cornflower trousers don't you think?

I feel I ought to be awarding a prize for those of you who remember the brand of these old favourites. It's Quay Austalia, just in case you've missed that!

I hope this has been a breath of fresh air for you - either because of the outfit or the glorious backdrop. I have a lovely new pink linen dress to showcase to your next week, so do swing by if you have a moment.

                                                                                      Anna x

Friday is fun day!

Hello again! This was my work outfit from Friday, hence the handbag-on-the-beach situation which might appear odd otherwise. Fiona and I wandered off to find a quiet corner for the photoshoot, ending up here on Cradle Porth our favourite swimming beach. It was pretty much low tide so we made our way across the sandbar down to the water's edge first of all.  We found ourselves in the teeth of the wind, but the backdrop is pretty idyllic you have to agree.

Just in case you've missed the back story to my over-the-top trouser suit you can see it here. I'm planning on wearing the amazing get-up once a week to showcase it and share the love for this most amazing bit of tailoring. The feedback is wonderful and creates lots of opportunity to share the tale of my luck in securing such a fabulous two piece.

This week's variation has the joyful addition of a satin blouse which my daughter gave to me last month. It's from Zara although I can't seem to find it on their website now. The pink colour isn't an obvious partner to the aqua suit and yet it does have accents in this same shade. I put the two things together as they lay on the bed and it was a beautiful "this works!" moment.

My recent extravagance hasn't stopped at the trouser suit. I've treated myself to this gemstone necklace with silver and gold cowrie shells. It's from a range by jeweller (Julian Warrender) that we stock in Gallery Tresco and it really caught my eye as the sea colour of the gemstones were such a great match for the suit. How could I resist? Both the necklace and trouser suit are investment pieces which at my time of life seem more important than ever. I shall cherish them both while making  point of wearing them regularly throughout whatever remains of my working life.

My other new tweak to the ensemble is this rather lovely pearl belt which is another thing of joy. I found it on Amazon. The rest of my jewellery is old, including the modesty brooch which might have to be a permanent fixture on this low neck blouse. My sunglasses are old favourites from Quay Austalia.

My Replay trainers (from TK Maxx) are still looking smart and are soooo comfy, all day comfort in fact. The River Island handbag (second hand) is a great choice for this outfit with lots of embroidery in gold and aqua. 

My weekend has been a mixture of work and play. I've been helping renovate some of the woodwork on our boat - simple painting and varnishing jobs that I can't really mess up while Steve is dealing with more major things like replacing the floor and fixing outboard engines. We are very late to be doing all of this, but our lives are always seem to be this way. On Sunday Sasha and I spent the afternoon on the beach. We went to Rushy Porth on Tresco, otherwise known to locals as Borough Beach. After a while I remembered to slap on some sun cream, but by bedtime I discovered how haphazard that had been. I've got sunburnt patches on my legs, one knee, both shoulders and even a random patch on one foot - honestly I ought to know better!

Anyway, that's pretty much it for this week. I do hope you won't tire of seeing this suit over the months ahead, although I do think I'll restrict it to only the odd time when a variation merits showcasing. In the meantime I'll leave you with some beach shots from yesterday on sunny ol' Tresco.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x

I want to share a secret with you

Hello again! How has your week been? Here we are, suddenly in May and I can't account for where April went. I've been so busy of late, both at work and home, dashing back and forth to the mainland three times in four weeks for various health checks and honestly it's been hectic. I'm off to the mainland again tomorrow for my Glaucoma check-up which has been delayed since 2020 and then hopefully things will settle down.

Anyway, I do want to share a secret with you today, and it's a website called Secret Label - please click on the link to see more. This family-run online clothing outlet has made it its business to save clothes from going into landfill sites by taking on the excess from designer brands such as Karen Millen, Coast and Reiss as well as high street brands Zara, M&S, Phase Eight, Warehouse, White Stuff and Monsoon to name a few. All clothes are brand new with the only concession Secret Label makes is to remove the labels meaning they can then offer huge discounts on all of these brands. 

I've been a customer of Secret Label for some time now, buying clothes for both my husband and son for Christmas as well as finding bargains for myself last autumn. More recently the brand invited me to become an ambassador for them. Their ethos is one that I can honestly support as diverting fashion from landfill surely has to be a commendable way to run a business. To recycle clothes in any shape or form is a good thing, one that I have advocated on the blog for years, and this intervention is another way to keep clothes in the loop and best of all, at a discounted price. And never has there been more pressure on the retailer to keep prices down as the consumer is on the brink of one of the most difficult economic times in recent history. As energy prices continue to soar and food prices rise we'll all be looking for ways to save money when buying clothes. 

My frock today is from Joules via Secret Label. I do pop into the Joules branch in Truro but the prices are what hold me back rather than the clothes themselves. I'm thrilled to be gifted this to showcase to you as part of this promotion. The dress is 100% viscose and has a lovely, weighty drape to the fabric that lends itself to the odd twirl or two. The shirt front opening, buttoned sleeves and fabulous fit and flare skirt are all finished to the high standard you'd expect from Joules. It's an utterly feminine shape.

The navy and pink colourway is classic and so pretty too. I chose to accessorise in pink and purple - the stretch belt in purple is an oldie but goodie as are my pink sock boots from H&M.

My mini pink Candy bag by Furla is the perfect ploy for this fun look today. My pink ring was a present from a friend and the white one was a charity shop find from years ago.

Pink fishnet tights are my way of adding my own unique style to the look - essential for me if I'm basing my outfit on high street fashion. God forbid that I might look too ordinary!

My necklace is from Zara and sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia. 

Ooops, I almost forgot to mention that if you use my code ANNA15 you can get 15% discount on your online order with Secret Label. That's pretty much the icing on the cake when you see what bargains can be found on their site!

Thanks for joining me again today. Later this month I'll be celebrating my 7 years of blogging and I already have a rather fabulous outfit to share with you for that. Now that's sorted I simply have to alight on the perfect photo shoot location on this tiny but diverse island. Not too terrible a chore, eh?

Wishing you a great week!

Anna x