In the pink

Hello again! I seem to be having a bit of a pink moment again this week - such a flattering colour isn't it? My soft pink blouse was from Primark, as are the checked trousers, all from last month's trips to the mainland. I couldn't resist popping in to see if the stock changed weekly and golly, it certainly moved quickly! As you know I do love charity shopping, but when time is short it's always tempting to dash into the high street stores where you can see straight away what's on offer. Charity shopping and indeed browsing in TK Maxx both require more time and dedication. However, it'll come as no surprise to you to learn that I managed to shop in all of these over those four hectic trips.

My black and pink rose jeans jacket isn't new though. It's a charity shop find from some time ago and the brand is Topshop. I feel a bit sentimental whenever I find a Topshop piece in my wardrobe - how I miss the branch in Truro! One of my artists told me she shopped in Topshop ages and ages ago, long before I ever did. I had always seen it as my daughter's stomping ground and had avoided it for that reason. Wendy urged me to pop in and snoop around on my own and I was sold! I loved the huge one on Oxford Street and certainly didn't feel out of place amongst its shoppers.

The monochrome look called for my beloved leather and cowhide bag made by Claudine Sear of Bags of Time.  The across the body bag is soft and slouchy with phone and purse pockets sleekly incorporated. I view this as a timeless classic and expect to be using it for the next 10 if not 20 years.

The black and silver necklace is a charity shop piece, whereas my silver and black ring was a Gallery Tresco purchase very early on in my career. The huge pink rose ring was a gift from a girlfriend. My Radley sunglasses were a gift from another girlfriend. In fact, she gave me a whole selection of fabulous Radley eyewear as she had been working with the brand - what a perk!

And talking of all things fabulous - I couldn't resist these DKNY trainers from TK Maxx last week. I love the black and white duality of them. Super comfy too and yet still smart enough for work when I'm doing these dressed down days. 

Thanks for dropping by. I'm on a two week countdown not until my 7 year blogging anniversary. My outfit is all sorted and I'm just keeping an eye on the weather to find a good day for Fiona and I to seek out the perfect backdrop. To say I'm excited to share this new outfit is an understatement and when you see it you'll understand. 

Hope to see you soon!

Anna x

I found a lump...

Three weeks ago I discovered a lump on my neck and straight away I shall tell you that it's all fine, nothing to worry about. However, I didn't know that at the time and am afraid that my initial reaction (probably a common one, I'd say) was to immediately worry it might be cancer. I was seen by two different doctors locally and they agreed that it needed to be investigated quickly, putting me on the two week cancer pathway. Those two weeks were the longest of my life. One of them I spent in isolation as we had Covid on the island and I needed to provide a negative test in order to see the consultant on the day. I passed a lot of the time researching lumps and swellings of the throat and thyroid, as one would, and became quite informed about goitres, cysts and cancers, of which the survival rates vary from 100% down to 20% depending on the types and aggressive nature of the tumour. 

My appointment finally came round on Thursday last week. Steve flew across to the mainland with me as support, hanging around while I was in the hospital for 3 hours having tests and waiting, waiting, waiting. The lump was diagnosed as a benign cyst on the left lobe of the thyroid and for the moment needs no treatment. Our little family see this as cause for celebration. We had braced ourselves for the worst and of course hoped for the best. The moral of the tale is - please check yourself out for lumps or bumps regularly. I somehow had failed to see this growth despite taking endless photos for my blog and editing them to showcase necklaces and necklines of outfits. I also apply neck cream every night and can feel this lump now whereas it wasn't so prominent until recently. 

Anyway, as you would expect in a small island community, the news travelled fast and on my return from hospital I was greeted with warmth and affection. I've been touched by the kindness and genuine concern of co-workers and islanders in a way that I didn't expect. Life is all the sweeter.

And so, on to yesterday's work outfit. The trouser suit is a gorgeous coral shade of corduroy by Adidas which I bought quite some time ago. I've paired it with a new pale aqua shirt from TK Maxx - it won't come as any surprise that on getting the good news, I insisted on celebrating in the only way I know, to go shopping! I'd found an unused gift card at home with £200 credit on it and this seemed like the perfect time to spend it!

The two colours together are very spring-like and just right for the spell of fine weather we're experiencing at the moment. I do love a trouser suit for work as it's such a sharp business look and yet in this colourway it's so very feminine too. I did get a few compliments along the way.

However, we also encountered a few photo-bombers while Rachel and I were trying to do our photo shoot early in the morning...

Why, you'd think we were actually standing on the main road trying to take photos in the middle of the morning rush hour!

Ah, see that bright shiny orb in the sky...

I brought out this ornate (pre-loved) handbag from River Island to go with my brocade boots just to add another dimension to the look. As ever it's always more is more with me!

My necklace, rings and leather belt are all charity shop finds and my sunglasses are from Radley London.

It's great to be back to work and open to the public again for another year. We're all looking forward to a busy 6 months here on Tresco, welcoming our guests back to the island and functioning more and more as we did in those pre-Covid19 times. Please do pop in to say hi if you're in the vicinity!

                                                                            Anna x

Colour play, my favourite game

Yay for the weekend, and yay for some colour play! I've been shopping my closet again this weekend and came up with a new combination that's surely worth a mention. The corduroy dungarees from Enjoy Clothing are still looking fresh as ever despite being almost a year old now. I bought them primarily as weekend wear, but I must admit they did sneak into work quite a few times last year. You really can't beat dungarees for comfort can you?

The mix of pink and turquoise are a joyful combination. I topped the outfit off with this fab Topshop trench, a charity shop find from long ago. There's a lovely sense of spring in the air at last and I'm so happy to be shedding that winter feeling. I've been sea swimming a lot this week thanks to the more settled weather too. Now that we have visitors on the island again it really helps to push us further away from the gloom of winter and onwards to longer days.

I was up early to capture the sunrise with is skin-flattering golden tones. Let me share the view I was smiling at.

There's something about an early morning start, whether it's for a swim or walk or simply to capture the sunrise, it just sets you up with that feel-good factor, don't you think?

The top is a vintage piece, a happy find from a while ago. And the jewellery is all second-hand too. Sunglasses are by Radley London. 

I bought my Converse sneakers from Office Shoes last year and surely to goodness you remember seeing them - I wore them lots!  I love them. They make me smile. Isn't that what it's all about?

Ten minutes later and a different backdrop, but the clouds have blocked out that wonderful golden light. Never mind, at least it's a fabulous view behind me! I do hope you've had a great weekend and managed to factor in some downtime. 

                                                                                                  Anna x

Another birthday present!

Hello again! Yes, mine is the birthday that goes on and on, but goodness isn't this latest worth the wait? My family clubbed together to buy me this fabulous faux fur coat last month, and after a couple of false starts delaying things (the sizing is very generous, meaning I returned it twice and downsized from a 12 to a 6 eventually) here it is in all its glory! You can tell how excited I am about this, can't you?

The coat is from River Island and I'm a bit gutted to see that it's now been reduced to half price in the sale - see here. However, I can see that it's sold out in a 6 which does help. 

I dragged my son Jamie to the beach in between storms this weekend and elevated him to the role of Blog Photographer and wow, didn't he rise to the challenge? The sun shone and the wind continued to blow, but we made the most of things and I was thrilled to gad about in my new ensemble. 

I've been panicking that the coat wouldn't get an airing until the autumn, but this cold blast of wild weather was the perfect excuse to get out and about on Saturday afternoon. Not a soul was in sight as we dropped down onto Cradle Porth on the low tide. The blond sandbar was the perfect backdrop for this monochrome outfit. It's quite a change for me to opt for such a muted palette, but honestly the look still delivers the wow factor, don't you think?

The camo two piece was also from River Island (see here). The stretch fit makes for easy weekend wear, either for working out or lounging around at home. Oh, and the camo print is fabulous - I've got a thing about camo at the moment. The leggings are sold as bum sculpting with a high waistband and the fit is great, even on my ageing derriere!

A touch more glam comes by way of the Radley sunglasses and two pre-loved rings. 

My favourite boots of the moment are perfect for this monochrome play - they're from Asos and you can find them here. 

I'm in full "cat who got the cream" mode here. This is one of those outfits that I could wear day after day and still feel fabulous. What a joy!

                                                                                      Anna x

My snazzy new co-ord!

Hello again! How's things? Hasn't January just whizzed by? I can't believe we're already a whole week into Feb. So, anyway, here's me in a snazzy new outfit which was Sasha's present for my Christmas. While she was on the mainland in November she had messaged me from Primark to show me this fab co-ord and without a moments hesitation I said Yes! The brown and white colourway wouldn't normally have been my choice but the geometric print and cut of trousers and jacket were a winning combination easily outweighing my reservations.

I hadn't planned on the windswept look for this shoot, but Sasha invited me over when she was staying in Nautilus for her birthday (week) and I'd had this vision of showcasing the suit outdoors on the deck. 

I did also take some indoors shots...

The straight legged jeans work great with the fitted denim style jacket don't you think? I had planned to pop a high neck sweater underneath but it made the whole thing look a bit mumsy. 

Instead I opted for my white ribbed and chiffon sleeved top by Wild Flower, a purchase from TK Maxx a couple of years back. The see-through sleeves lighten the look and are just a bit more fresh and funky. 

I matched the flower motif pattern of the suit with various pre-loved pieces of floral jewellery to give a bit of a 60's vibe. My sunglasses are from Radley London. 

The fab new suit gives me the opportunity to bring out my ecru Chelsea boots which I bought from Asos not so long ago. They're still available here. I've not had the chance to wear this outfit to work yet as I've had a couple of weeks off work spanning my birthday weekend (spent on the dejunking project). However it's just a little over 4 weeks to go now until the Gallery re-opens and I'll be sure to be gadding about in this natty ensemble as soon as I can!

                                                                              Anna x

New year, new challenge!

Hello and welcome to our first Style Not Age challenge for 2022!

January's challenge comes from Emma who has alighted on the Eye of the Tiger, relating to the Chinese New Year which starts on the 1st of February. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and we fashionista friends are all interpreting this in our very own way. My choice of outfit was guided by the simple fact that I only have one item of clothes with a tiger and this sequined top is it!

Gail has opted for a red and black outfit to showcase her Tiger's Eye pendant. Catch up with her on the blog Is This Mutton?

Jacqui's tiger print blouse is from New Look, paired with faux leather trousers from F&F with slouch tan boots. See her back story over at Mummabstylish.

From top to toe Emma's outfit reads like this - hat from eBay, shirt from Topshop, trousers from Zara and tiger necklace is from Palava. See more from Emma on her blog Style Splash. 

Hilda's tiger print piece is this fabulous handbag, borrowed from a local boutique - way to go Hilda! Find out more on Over The Hilda blog.

My sequinned tiger tee was a sale find in H&M some time ago. I've not worn it very often so am delighted to bring it into play today. A bargain basement piece for only a fiver I have to mention! My shark's tooth necklace was from Charlie Dodge jewellery and my rings are  preloved, sunglasses from Radley London.

The rest of my outfit is all old, seen before, but still makes for a good show, don't you think? The orange sequin jacket is padded and therefore lovely and cosy. Steve says that it's so sparkly it can be seen from outer space! 

I deliberately chose to take myself off to a remote spot on the top of Tresco so that I wouldn't dazzle any passing traffic. I'd hoped to be pretty inconspicuous out at King Charles' Castle until I looked out to sea and there was the local gig crew thrashing on their way down the channel. I think I was a bit more exposed than I planned!

My faux leather jeans are from H&M (old) and as are my patent Chelsea boots (Topshop). My sequin jacket was from TK Maxx and is one of those pieces that stays in my wardrobe all year round. It manages to avoid the seasonal changeover as the sparkly orange vibe can work for any time of year. 

I'll leave you with this splendid view out towards Shipman's Head on Bryher with the wild Atlantic Ocean beyond. This is a terrific vantage point as well as a great spot to escape from whatever may trouble you. There's nothing like the big outdoors to help you get things back into perspective!

                                                                              Anna x