Spring is in the air

We are days away from the island being declared open for another season and spring is definitely in the air. Later this month the clocks will go forward and my morning swims will also move forward as I experience the joys of an early start. I love that feeling of anticipation, the excitement of another season ahead with all the new staff and holiday makers changing the dynamic of these small islands once again.

Very soon these blurry photo shoots will become a thing of the past as Polly takes on the role of my photographer for another summer season. Hurrah!

I just love the combination of camo and gold together. 

I'll make no apologies for showing this gold (H&M) sweater again. It made its debut on my birthday in January (see here) and then again last month (as here) which just goes to show how useful it is (thanks Sasha). I've yet to pair it with a skirt so you may see it next month in a new guise. The three quarter length tartan jacket was from Next many moons ago and yet is one of my winter favourites. The gold boots were in the River Island sale a couple of years ago. I'm sporting sunglasses by Quay Australia and my rings are from charity shops.

I have to thank Sasha too for these camo trousers (Primark) which she gave me for Christmas. I'm a bit late to jump on this fashion bandwagon, but you know me, I do things at my own pace. I've worn these on and off for most of the winter. Working alone, seeing so few people within the course of a week, never mind a day, led me to slip into slovenly ways of repeat dressing. These camo trousers and a pair of blue jeans became my uniform with a thermal layer and cashmere polo neck finishing the look, day after day. Comfort seems to drive me more in the winter rather than innovation. But hey, spring is here and I feel inspired, refreshed with new ideas and opportunities to dress up, mix things about and find new outfits within my closet. At the end of the month I'll be breaking my clothes shopping ban (three whole months without buying a thing!) as I head off to the mainland on business. During my downtime, I'll be rooting about in each and every charity shop I come across as well as visiting my most favourite of retail stores, TK Maxx. I can barely contain myself!

My original camo trousers from over 20 years ago. Check out my pixie cut!

Straight ahead is the island of St Mary's, the main island of the Isles of Scilly, and to the left are the tiny uninhabited islands called the Eastern Islands. These small atolls, surrounded by virgin white sands are a perfect escape for the day - all you need is a little boat, a picnic with some long cool drinks and your perfect castaway companion!

Linking with -

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Anna x

Ping-Pong Post no12

Hello and welcome to the 12th edition of Ping-Pong post, the monthly collaboration between myself, Samantha of Fake Fabulous and Ann of Kremb de la Kremb. To see the background of this style challenge read here. This month Samantha proffered her black drapey top which almost flummoxed me completely. Despite being simple in shape, it was still one of my least favourite of colours to work with. Let's start with Samantha who certainly didn't seem to struggle -

The black top has a scoop neck and cross over front, but very cleverly Samantha has chosen to wear it back to front revealing a stunning strappy feature below. Wet look leggings, and patent boots lift this plain cotton top into the realms of fabulousness. She has finished this off with a statement bag and necklace leaving no room to doubt that she is indeed a true style icon. Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Details -

TOP: Yong Kim

NECKLACE: Oliver Bonas

LEGGINGS: Pamela Mann

BOOTS: Vagabond

BAG: River Island

Ann has given the top a more casual spin with her snakeskin jeans, biker boots and striped shirt, but hasn't forgotten a dash of glamour by way of her diy ostrich handbag (see the link below). A roll neck and gloves give a nod to the cooler weather Ann is experiencing in Hong Kong this week when she took these shots. Black doesn't look very difficult to wear when you've got the right hair colouring does it? Fab styling Ann! Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Details -
Outfit Details

Earrings--my guy Ben in Jardines Bazaar, a great ladies market in Hong Kong

Turtleneck--heat technology, Uniqlo

Striped Shirt--Zara

Black Top--Sam's

Gloves--market in Shanghai

Ostrich Bag--Kremb de la Kremb DIY

Snake Jeans--Bershka

Moto Boots--boutique on Houhai Lake, Beijing

Those who know me will recognise my default setting here - when in doubt, dress it up! Glitter tights and glitter boots, seemed like a great way of detracting from the pallor-inducing colour of the top. Adding some softer, more neutral tones against the skin also helped. One feature I did like was the pockets and by adding a belt the tunic took on a bit more shape. A splash of silver jewellery and studded clutch were the finishing touches. Samantha - I gave this my best shot, but heck it's been my least favourite of our challenges so far!

Details -

Top: Samantha's

Dress: H&M

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Tights: H&M

Boots: Topshop

Necklace: M&S

Rings: old

Handbag: charity shopped

The news on Ping-Pong Post is that having completed a whole year of this style challenge we're going to evolve the series a little next month, so do come along to see exactly how on the 20th of March.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Velvet + embroidery = my perfect jacket

This gorgeous jacket was a Christmas present from my husband, albeit with a bit of guidance from me. I love embroidery on most things and on this velvet jacket it's a great addition. I have lots of bomber jackets, each different, but all so useful as that extra layer at work for when it's a bit chilly.

I bought this nude pleated skirt in Tesco in December, but have been waiting to find the right pieces to style it up. I also had another (Christmas jacket) in burgundy that would work just as well, so may redo this another time. The blouse was from Topshop (sold out but this is pretty), the vest is from River Island (charity shopped), and the jacket is by Glamorous from ASOS (it's in the sale here). The shoes are from my favourite supplier of brogues, Office, but currently they have nothing similar. And last, but by no means least are my silver glitter socks by ASOS.

I'll apologise in advance if these links don't work. I seem to be having a technology blip at the moment. Instagram decided not to work for the day on Tuesday. Then yesterday my camera went all huffy on me when I was out and about, supposedly to take some shots of the island. The blog links have been a challenge for the past week, meaning I've fought shy of posting a blog in case it keeps happening. Fingers crossed it'll be OK!

News on my staycation is that I'm having a lovely time, thank you. I've just ordered a new filing cabinet to set to with the dreaded task of sorting out my paperwork; filing, shredding and dealing with all the collected clutter along the way. Next week will herald the start of the big clothes cull. I'm going to group into jumble, which will go to the clothes bank on the islands, eBay for anything that's worth selling, and finally the keep pieces which will be checked for any mending or dry cleaning needed. 

Running parallel to all of the bigger jobs are the daily swimming, shopping, tidying etc as well as batch cooking for the freezer so that I don't have to cook at the end of the working day. Yesterday I also went to yoga and had a walk around the beaches as I tried to find the perfect spot for my swim - we've had some wild weather recently, and that means big ground seas leave the beaches awash with huge reams of seaweed (yuk) and also there is a big run of tide that sucks in and out of the beaches, sometimes a 15 foot drag that feels quite threatening when you get caught up in it. 

I've just read Leap In by Alexandra Heminsley which has been very inspirational. The story of her determination to crack open water swimming resonated with me, and best of all she shares so much of what she learnt. Alex traded up her strong breast stroke for a hard-earned front crawl which took her out into the sea as well as tackling river swimming and finally a crossing from Kefalonia to Ithaca. Inspired by Alex I too want to trade my strong breast stroke for the less labour intensive front crawl. My daily efforts at this streamline stroke are handicapped by a poor breathing technique which impacts on the smooth glide and rhythm. All of this is covered in the book and fills me with excitement that I too, may conquer this challenge. The book is a great read, not just for those who swim or want to, but it's more about her dogged determination that shows her true spirit. 

Anna x