My staycation

I've had a week off work, a staycation, but one that was eventful with the departure of one Prime Minister and the arrival of another and of course, the shock of the sudden death of our beloved Queen Elizabeth II. As the drama of that day unfolded, I was at home watching the TV coverage with a sense of disbelief. Within 48 hours of seeing her welcoming Elizabeth Truss into Balmoral her Majesty had passed, leaving us reeling at the speed of her demise. The loss seems so personal to many of us, her benign reign one that has resulted in a groundswell of public mourning. As we are swept along with the pomp and ceremony of this change in the Monarchy the loss is felt globally.

Instead of the weekly work outfit, this is me in my casual wear as I had a walk out to King Charles Castle which overlooks the channel between Tresco and Bryher. These shots are from Monday when we had a huge spring tide of 6 metres which effectively drains the sea from this boating channel turning it into a swathe of sandbanks and pools that draw the intrepid holidaymakers (and locals) to cross from one island to the other. This pilgrimage occurs several times a year and sometimes is accompanied by a low tide event. In fact one was scheduled to take place on Sunday but was cancelled out of the respect to her Majesty.

As the inter-island crossings took place below me I captured a few shots of me in my downtime. No jewellery or smart shoes, simply the comfy cotton sweater ( a gift from my friend Tiggy) worn with these lightweight plisse trousers. This has been my casual wear for most of the summer, perfect for cycling to the beach for a swim or catching up at home. The shoes are uber comfy, bought in TK Maxx in the spring when I was on the mainland.

My only accessory of the day are these Radley sunglasses. If you've been on the island this summer then you'll probably have seen me dressed like this on my day off - it's almost become a weekend uniform. It's a welcome change for me to step back from my work finery and marks a different me from my work persona. On such a tiny island it's so vital to find some escape from who I am at work and the need for downtime is never more necessary than during our peak season. 

Apologies for the erratic nature of my posts over the past few months. My commitment to work has been draining leaving the rest of my life in tatters sometimes. The boat renovations still aren't complete and therefore there will be no off island picnics for us this year. My week at home has been truly restorative however. I've read, napped, deep cleaned some long overdue corners of my home and had some lovely sea swims too. And now am back at work for the final push of the season. Thank you so much for coming to visit, for your comments and for chatting to me via Instagram too. See my latest posts on Instagram here. 

See you again soon!

Anna x

Summer brights

Hello lovelies! I maybe ought to have called today's post "Better late than never!". August has taken its toll on me, meaning I'm way behind with everything apart from work. Well, maybe even at some areas of my work too if the truth be known... Anyway, here I am in the middle of the night, with a bout of insomnia and an internet connection that keeps dropping in and out trying to put this post together.

My summer brights outfit is a mixture of old and new items - the new being this ruffled skirt, yet another purchase from Number 36 in Penzance dating back to my spring visit to the mainland. The white vest top was from H&M earlier this year too and the pink linen shirt (M&S) was a charity shop find from last year. 

The tiered orange skirt feels flirty and fun and it seemed only right to flounce about on the sand for these photos. Fiona, my photographer extraordinaire, was awol as were family and so I had to make do with the timer on my camera and a bit of hamming up on my own. At least I managed to find a quiet spot on where no-one could see my antics.

I was prepared for the odd flash too by wearing my new bikini. I've yet to do a beach post proper this summer as my every spare moment has been spent helping Steve with our boat renovations. Goodness knows if we'll managed to get it into the water at all this year! Just as we've been trying to finish the last patch of paintwork the weather has turned wet and unpredictable here which is very frustrating.

Said bikini is floral and multi-coloured and is the first new one I've bought for years. Am I bikini body ready I ask myself? Probably not, but it's the only body I've got and may well be on display in September when I've booked a week off work. If the boat isn't launched by then, I plan to take myself off to the beach every day (weather permitting) for a high tide swim and then have a picnic and laze around reading a book and sunbathing. I've already put in for a dose of good weather so fingers crossed that will all go to plan!

There's nothing new jewellery-wise and the Radley sunglasses aren't new either. The beaded belt is very old indeed but has been brought out to tie in with my sandals which again were bought in the spring (from TK Maxx) and haven't made it onto the blog previously.

Side by side, the belt and sandals do look as if they match perfectly which for me it terribly satisfying. Matchy-matchy or clashy-clashy whichever is the plan always makes me happy if I manage to pull it off. Such little pleasures in life please me immensely.

So that's just about all from me. I'm having an overnight trip to the mainland this weekend to have my eye's tested but don't expect I'll have much time for shopping. I say that to almost prepare myself for any disappointment. I also have to get a new passport photo taken and have done an online search, but do wonder how reliable that is - one of the venues is KFC! Anyway, wish me luck and I'll be back on Monday with our Style Not Age challenge. Hope to see you then. Please leave me a comment if you've enjoyed this post.

Thanks for dropping by!

Anna x

Cool dressing for another heatwave

Another week and another heatwave outfit - who'd have thought it? Friday's work outfit was all about keeping cool in the stifling heat. It was another scorching day on the Isles of Scilly and at work we had no way of escaping the intense temperature despite having the doors and sky lights open - there wasn't a breath of wind.

I chose this new airy smock dress (from TK Maxx) to keep me cool and it was pretty successful. The fabric is light and the cut very generous to allow lots of movement and air circulation - not that this was on my mind when I bought it as I simply loved the mix of paisley and floral patterns together. This was another purchase from the spring when I was on the mainland and I had scooped up some new clothes for the months ahead. 

I'd spent most of the day longing for a sea swim at the end of work. The thought of the refreshingly cool water was what kept me going as the mercury rose. At one point while I was serving a customer I bent down to get a paper bag and felt two beads of sweat trickle from bra line down over my tummy - how little exertion was needed to work up a sweat! 

The end of the day couldn't come quick enough for Fiona and I so we had a lazy walk to the south end of the island to find a spot for the photo shoot. It was a bonus to find an empty beach in the height of the summer - this is known as Bathing House Beach. Afterwards we crossed the road behind here and dropped down onto Appletree Bay for a delicious cooling swim.

The outfit was all about comfort so I opted for my sparkly flower sandals to finish off the look. These were from Amazon and are a wonderful mix of comfort and style - the insoles are nicely padded making them all-day wearable. 

My sunglasses are from Radley London and the chunky necklace (Topshop) earned me lots of compliments as it picked up most of the colours of my dress. 

Nothing new jewellery-wise at all. The rings are both old, but work fine with this look.

The islands are busy as ever at the moment which is exactly as it ought to be. We're having a bumper time in the Gallery for our artists too. Sales are strong and I'm just about to fill our art container ready for shipping to the mainland this week. We no long host exhibitions, instead we showcase one painting per artist and from there offer private viewing for the clients to see more from their chosen artists. The gallery has a wonderful mixture of paintings, a real eclectic gathering of styles offering something for everyone. We've hit upon a winning combination for artists and clients alike. I love this new format and as a business model it's a huge success. Hurrah!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x

Friday's Finery

Hello again! So, here's Friday's outfit - a fabulous jumpsuit from The Finery. It was on the mannequin in the window of the British Heart Foundation shop in Penzance when I was there in the spring. The colours are so eye-catching that it stopped me in my tracks. I was heading to catch my flight home and was carrying my holdall, whilst wearing a jacket that unfortunately had a stain on the front. I mention all of this because it's perhaps why I was spoken to the way I was...

I made my way to the back of the shop and found an assistant steaming clothes in the back room. I asked her what size the jumpsuit in the window was and she said it was a 12. Great, I responded, Can I buy it? At which, she looked me up and down, clocked what she thought was a bag lady and snapped, "It's £20!". "Great" I repeated and she stomped off to retrieve it. Never judge a book by it's cover, eh? To my utter delight, the jumpsuit turned out to be brand new with the labels still attached. I don't buy from The Finery myself, but checked out the website and can see another jumpsuit in the sale in baby blue...

My lace top is old, from New Look a couple of summer's ago, but works well under this neckline. The jumpsuit came with a long sash in the same block colour as the hemline, but I changed that up for a stretch belt in purple. 

None of my accessories are new. Why does that make me feel so virtuous? Probably because last week's outfit was almost totally new I suppose. Anyway, apart from the £20 jumpsuit the rest comes from my closet and jewellery collection. Even the sunglasses are old, by Radley London.

My silver and white sandals (Topshop) are very old indeed and were even passed on from my daughter a few years ago.

Fiona did me proud again with our after work photo session. Some of you may recognise that I didn't venture far from my workplace to get these in the bag. 

                                                                         Anna x

7 years of blogging

Hello and welcome to this celebratory post! I can't quite believe that it's seven years since I took up blogging and yet here I am reveling in my self promotion and the excuse to dress up for no other reason than that I want to. If you're a regular you'll recall my recent post Inspired by Iris Apfel. Well, much to my amazement, I somehow have pulled it off and managed to buy the longed-for suit as worn by Iris in the advert (see here). 

On the launch date of the H&M collection I was off-island and unable to get online to join the queue of fashionistas all keen to purchase their own favourite piece. My best friend Bo who lives in Portugal stepped up to join the race on my behalf. She managed to buy the trousers through the Portuguese H&M website which was no small feat. By the time she had posted them off to me I was home again and had fallen prey to Covid. 

Some five days into the virus I had to go online to pay my water bill and then had the idea that I maybe ought to check out eBay just in case the jacket had surfaced there. My first find was a size 16 version which was currently being bid by 6 hopefuls, raising the price to £533...

I continued with my search and found a jacket in a 12, (brand new with the labels still attached) newly listed with 6 days to run and no bids as yet. I had a few minutes to consider if I ought to wait to bid on the last day, pitching it at what I hoped to be the right price. But, really I knew I couldn't risk missing it. So I bit the bullet and clicked the Buy it Now option. I've not had a moment of regret at paying over the odds for what is my dream suit. It is a thing of beauty, a thing of joy and probably the most exquisite outfit I own. I love it and I deserve it.

In homage to Iris I'm wearing more than one necklace again, but have toned it down slightly this time. There's nothing new here, just a few second hand bangles and various pre-loved rings too. My sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

I bought these pristine new Replay trainers from TK Maxx recently once I knew I'd secured the whole trouser suit - I love the simplicity of the white tee and shoes which contrast perfectly against the ornately embroidered and pearl laden suit. The pea pod pearls are divine, don't you think?

And here's another beautiful touch to the design - the 100 year symbol combined with the glasses the style icon wears. 

Anyway, here's the icing on the cake of my 7th blogging anniversary -

The first outing of this most exquisite two piece was last night when Steve and I were invited to join Johnnie Walker (DJ legend of our times) and his wife Tiggy to their Eurovision party. We were in a small party of six at one of the Sea Garden cottages on Tresco where we enjoyed a running buffet of Tapas and local fare with lots of liquid refreshments. Johnnie wore his Sergeant Pepper shirt and I must admit I'm inclined to call my suit by the same name, although pea pod suit does have a nice ring to it ...

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I had changed into a pale aqua top and turned up the jacket sleeves. If I'd been able to try on the jacket in store I might have chosen a smaller size, but beggars can't be choosers can they? So I'm sporting this as an over-sized jacket as if I planned it that way. To be perfectly honest I see this as a true collectors item. I totally love it and feel it's totally me in fabric form. 

We had a brilliant evening, much aided by great company and the spectacularly welcome result for Sam Ryder for Great Britain. Every time I put on this suit it will evoke happy memories of the night we partied to Eurovision with Johnnie Walker and co!

And finally. No blog post of mine would be complete with out the obligatory photo-bombers...

And what about this bit of visual trickery? See how I launch this bird from my hand to fly off overhead -

And that's it. My 7th year of blogging and I'm still enjoying sharing my island life with you. Please do take a minute to say hi in the comments box if you'd like to share your thoughts about this or any of my posts - I'd love to hear from you.

See you soon!

Anna x