Ecru boilersuit from Tu

Happy Friyay!

Friday/Friyay, whichever, I'm still happy to be on the cusp of the weekend. Even though I'm furloughed, I do love to have that Friday feeling where the weekday pressure is off. My weekdays are proving to be much more challenging than I expected. I thought I'd be bouncing out of bed at 5am, galloping off to the beach and then swirling around the house like a hyman tornado, spring-cleaning every nook and cranny before lunch. And yet, it's not like that at all. My sleep is disturbed and my very early mornings often result in a mid-morning slump. I'm trying to avoid the news as it's my main source of stress, but I'm like a kid with a scab on its knee who just can't help going back to it. But, from what I can gather, I'm not alone with this lack of productivity. The simple truth is, we're not quite sure how to deal with these most extraordinary times, are we?

But, one thing that's well within my limits is dressing up! I saw the TV advert for Tu Clothing in March and immediately fell for the charms of this ecru boilersuit. The colour, the elasticated waist, the cut, the fit - all are perfect for my colouring and shape. I seem to be having a bit of a moment with cream denim of late, but that's no biggie is it? I can happily report that the boilersuit is still available online here. At £35 I consider this to be value for money as well as being practical and stylish. Ideal for simply lounging around indoors or for striding out for the daily walk, it really is a great buy.

I opted to add orange as a feature colour to the ecru (mainly because I thought Steve would pass a comment about me looking ready to do a bit of painting and decorating). 

The orange resin necklace is ancient, the orange leather belt and across the body bag are charity shopped as are the rings. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

The orange embroidered trainers are by Replay from TK Maxx. Comfortable and very in keeping with today's easy-to-wear look.

I'm very happy to report that I've at last finished my clothes changeover. It took longer than usual, but I've done a fair bit of downsizing and reducing the actual volume of clothes I have available for spring/summer season. 

This year I've chosen to colour co-ordinate the pieces rather than group them into dresses, skirts etc. The shoes underneath reflect the colours above.

I have under-the-bed boxes and on-top-of-the wardrobe boxes housing summer shoes and sandals too. Winter shoes and boots are packed up under the bed too.

The run of colours goes from light to dark. The smaller shelves are home to handbags and scarves. (Not colour grouped I've just noticed.)  A lot of the handbags have smaller ones stashed inside each other.

On the far right are my jackets, tops and trousers, and casual footwear.

Jumpers and jeans are housed on the far right shelving system. The whole run of wardrobes is fronted with mirrors allowing plenty opportunity for self criticism. There's a whole load of angst goes on up here before you guys get to see the outfit of the day!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

                                                                                       Anna x

Hurrah for Harrogate!

Yes, here we have the post about my annual business trip to Harrogate which also happens to be one of my best shopping trips too. I'm back home now, firmly at the helm at work and wearing the most fabulous of outfits, even if I say so myself.

Outfit details are - leather trousers are from TK Maxx (£14.99!), jacket by Autonomy (charity shopped), blouse from Sainsbury's, boots from River Island, necklace from Du Barry, clutch borrowed from Sasha, rings are charity shopped, sunglasses from Quay Austraila.

So let's rewind to the beginning shall we? I started my trip with a stopover at Sasha's new flat in Truro (where's the photos from this, I now ask myself?) and a visit to the hairdressers. My stylist, Matthew, is also the owner of Afina (see more about the salon here) one of the busiest salons in the county, where massage chairs at the backwash come as standard, and the welcome drink ranges from a glass of bubbles, a blast of caffeine or soothing herbal tea according to your fancy.

Matthew worked his magic and after various hair treatments I'm feeling ready to step out in style with the elegant ladies of Harrogate. The following day was spent on the train heading north reading this month's book for book club which is an absorbing read, a captivating story and as you can see has the most ornate of covers.

The main objective of my trip to Harrogate is to visit the British Craft Trade Fair see here to find new, often hand crafted gifts to sell in the art gallery I manage. The show delivers exactly what it says on the tin: British made goods that are craft orientated rather than mass produced. 

I met Matthew Read last year at the fair. This year I'm back to replenish my stock of these beautiful one-off pieces of gold and silver jewellery. Matthew is an extraordinary craftsman who collects all sorts of rare jewels and minerals (such as pieces of meteorites) to mount and mould into his quirky jewellery.See his website here to find out more about him.

The trade fair is based in one large hall located out at the Great Yorkshire Showground. After quartering the aisles for hours I would step outside for a breath of fresh air, take on some fuel and consider my plan. Spring is in full bloom here.

One of the new suppliers I found this year was Hazel Holland from House of Hazel. This range of tableware has a wonderful, fresh contemporary vibe that will sit perfectly in our gallery - I can't wait to put a window display together. Hazel also makes plush cushions and sells co-ordinating fabrics to compliment the range.

Hazel and her husband, artist Tom Holland, work from their studio in Penryn - see here for her website. Tom has been one of my gallery artists for years, and yet I've been blissfully unaware of Hazel's work. Their stand at the fair became a daily highlight for me to drop by and chat about how our endeavours were going.

This year, as every year, I stayed in a lovely guesthouse on the Kings Road in Harrogate, The Alamah (details here) which is run by Judy and Sue. The house is as warm and welcoming as they are, with every creature comfort you could need. Breakfast is a running banquet or in my case, more simple fare which set me up for the day ahead and the big bed was luxury at the end of my miles clocked up at the fair.

The boiled eggs hidden under these old fashioned egg cosies are the best protein packed fuel for me. Sue waits table while Judy acts as chef. I don't know of anywhere else you'd get the chef come to your table to check that the eggs were scrambled to your liking whilst they're still in the pan! I featured Judy's ceremony of the eggs to my table one morning as the little spiral egg cup in the background bobbed and danced its way to me - find it on my instagram here  

And yes, let's not be too coy about the other draw to Harrogate - the shopping! The sales were on, but aren't they always? I scored new shoes and boots from all sorts of shops, none of them charity.

From left to right, back row to front it reads like this - black and gold boots from River Island, silver boots from Primark, tassel sandals from River Island, pink and orange sandals from River Island, black lace heels, pale gold heels, coral and gold trainers, floral mules and burgundy oxfords are all from TK Maxx. Yes, that will keep me going for a few months.

Here's the loot all waiting to be loaded into the taxi ready for the journey home. I did in fact have to leave the blue holdall with Sasha to bring home for me as I couldn't carry it! I caught the train and finally the ship home to Scilly on Thursday. The islands were bathed in sunshine as we rounded into St Mary's quay. It was great to be back.

I count my blessings every time I see this sight. Island living suits me, and much as I love my trips to the mainland it's no longer a way of life that I hanker after. These forays to hunt and gather fulfil my needs and I'm happy to retreat to this smaller island existence. The season is well under way here and my focus is now all about the job. Our first exhibition of the year is next on my agenda and I'll be able to share that with you next week.

I'll leave you with the clothes spread as per usual. I think it's a great haul, mainly from charity shops with the odd purchase from TK Maxx. 

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style 

Anna x

Too matchy-matchy?

How much is too much? could well be the question here today. I've put a new outfit together from some pieces that you may have seen already. For instance the stretch jeans were posted in December (see here) and the boots early this year (as here), but the jacket and tunic/dress are both new. The jacket is thrifted (aren't the pleats adorable) and I bought the dress in Sainsbury's last September, but have struggled to wear it because it's a smidgen too short. By adding the jeans underneath it feels less revealing. But the too much refers to the boots and trousers matchy-matchy thing - what do you think? Too much?

And maybe adding this little jacket is one step too far? It's so difficult to be objective when you're so close to the subject sometimes don't you think? Burgundy is a relatively new colour for me, but I do wonder if I've overdosed.

I've just realised that matchy-matchy could be the norm for lots of women. Is the problem more about me not being very conventional? My bright floral mixing the other day (see here) seems very me, and yet these three toning burgundy pieces push me out of my comfort zone. Crazy? Welcome to my upside down world!

And finally, here's an update on my sewing project. I posted this shot on instagram yesterday as I was heading off to my final class of the course. 

Here's the next stage.

Yes, it may look like the finished piece, but if I turned it over the other way you'd see that the floral side is not fitting very well at all. The piping too, is a tad on the wobbly side for my liking. My very clever tutor has shown me a couple of ways to fix things and in due course I hope to post it again for you to see. In the meantime I thought I'd share how I commute to the class on the other island. I've been dodging back and forth to St Mary's on a jetboat for the past five weeks which I suppose is like most people commuting on the train or bus. St Mary's harbour is just coming to life with more boats taking up their moorings in the bay. The Scillonian ferry stands at the end of the quay after disgorging the day trippers and other visitors who sailed across on the 2.5 hour trip from mainland Cornwall.

We're just passing Appletree Bay, one of my favourite beaches. An hour later I was down there swimming on the high tide in the afternoon sun.

Finally I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to my readers. I hope you're being spoilt today and enjoying a lovely restful day. See you soon!

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x