Joie de vivre

Happy Sunday to you my lovely readers!

Today's outfit inspired these shots of joie de vivre. This is my Praise the Lord pose which sets the perfect tone for this post as I prepare for my morning stint at church, assisting the Warden with her duties.

I can't think of a better way to start the day than acknowledging how blessed I am to live where I do, surrounded by people that I love, doing a job which stretches and fulfils me. The sun doesn't always shine on this little island paradise, but that doesn't mean to say I can't start the day with joy in my heart for this wonderful life.

I ought to set these moves to music!

Polly and I spend two minutes every morning trying to capture my enthusiasm for life embodied in the outfit of the day. If I can spread a little happiness through these shots then we've done well.

I'm sure that a good old belly laugh is the best bit of exercise for both heart and lungs!

And so, on to the outfit. These shorts are vintage and have loitered in the back of my cupboard for the past couple of years, taunting me, goading me, daring me to try to style them. I bought these when Sasha and I went to Exmouth where we had a true charity shopping fest. I was drawn to the gorgeous colour of them plus the fact that they're a great vintage piece. However, they're a challenge with those darts and pleats around the tummy creating a bit of puffiness. And the length too isn't necessarily the most flattering. Yes, I'm uber self critical, I know.

I think that one of the reasons I shied away from wearing these is that they remind me of a pair of men's golfing shorts - just add some knee length Argyle socks, tongued brogues with studs on the soles and a cashmere sweater and the golfer in me would be ready to go! So for an old bird who's constantly searching for the glamour in life this was a good challenge.

The best way to glam up an outfit surely has to be to add frills, making this blouse by Jovonna (from TK Maxx) the perfect solution. Cinching the waist in with a smart belt (preloved, Country Casuals) draws the eye upwards towards the waist rather than the tummy which is another good ploy. Adding a fair old smattering of jewellery (all preloved apart from the necklace by Melissa James) is another way to ramp up the glam factor.

These pretty summer sandals were in the Sainsbury's sale last summer at £5, so not only were they a bargain, but are a great way finish to this look. I'm not normally a fan of white shoes, but Sasha, my partner in (shopping) crime, encouraged me to try them, and they have proved to be a very useful summer shoe. I'm delighted to have cracked this, and you never know, I may find another variation on this shorts ensemble to show you if summer lingers on.

I'll leave you with these shots from Blockhouse beach where I had my morning swim yesterday. The sea was calm and not too chilly at all making for a relaxing and energising start to the day. I'm heading off to the beach now before breakfast then I'll be in church by 10. If you see me, do stop me to say Hi!

Have a fab week!

Anna x

Technical hitches and what you learn along the way

Sometimes life gets complicated and this week my computer started to play up. It kept telling me my password was wrong, locked me out until eventually I couldn't get into the darned thing. Apart from the utter frustration, I was worried - did I have a nasty virus residing in my dear old laptop? If you can't get in though, how can you find out? Not only that, but I had the panic of wanting to reply to comments on my blog, visit other bloggers and also put together a post for today. Eeeeek! After a sleepless night last night, the cavalry arrived today in the shape of the business's IT department. A warped keyboard was found to be the issue and here I am, back online. 

But it got me thinking about how much we are now dependant on our computers to run our personal lives: our banking, paying bills, renewing providers of all sorts of services, ordering prescriptions, making appointments, keeping in contact with family and friends and that doesn't even touch on all the things we have to do within the workplace. I have a friend who is going back to writing all her vital contacts and info into a new posh Filofax as security for events like mine. Now that we're all being prompted to becoming paperless it does beg the question as to how to keep track if your computer crashes when you don't have the info on file. My back-up programme is flashing away, transferring and updating as I type away, but imagine if the breakdown was not just my own computer but something further reaching - what happens then?

My point today is not about scaremongering, it's about the relief I felt when the wonderfully talented Tony turned up at my door in his lunchtime to hand me back my fully functioning laptop. All was well, life was back on track and even though I was way behind on lots of computer based chores, the joy outweighed the workload. Sometimes we need things to go wrong to remind us how lucky we are. 

And so in this vein, I've decided to post this (previously rejected) outfit. My high standards had led me to think that my dress and shoes, being too similar to the beach and seaweed in colour, couldn't possibly make the grade. But what the heck, I'm delighted to post something, nay anything for your amusement/entertainment. The dress is pure silk and preloved, coming in at £8.95 last month. Nougat is the brand and is one that seems to fit my shape well. The suede sandals were in the summer sale at Sainsbury's for only £5 and the pretty necklace was another preloved bargain at £3. The rings too are preloved, matching perfectly with my Michael Kors watch and Kate Spade rose gold knot bangle.

Today's lesson for me was to remember the simple act of gratitude. Oh, and maybe the joy of a summer breeze!

Anna x