Episode two piece

Week 46 of 2019 (November 11th to 17th be precise) I was on the mainland, in Truro and the reason I know that is because I uncovered this gem in my wardrobe recently. It's a linen two piece that I'd bought and hidden away as a surprise for myself for the summer. At that time, little did I realise that I'd be deep in the midst of a 12 month shopping ban! What a great gift therefore to unearth it this summer just when I was needing a little retail therapy. I wore it to work for the first time last week with white trainers in the afternoon, but had started the day with sandals, like this -

Steve took these shots at the Old Blockhouse castle on Saturday after my return from the hairdressers. Not that you can really tell I've had my hair done! Storm Ellen was just on the wane, but it was still very windy up on the ramparts.

I ducked out of a revamp of my hair as I wasn't really sure what I wanted. Instead I opted for a tidy up of the ends plus fringe and had a few highlights and lowlights added to give a richer colour overall. For the moment I'm going to carry on growing it as Steve likes me with longer hair and in the meantime I'll try to find some style inspiration for next time. The salon experience was great - my stylist was in mask and visor and there were only two clients in the salon at a time. I was sat by the door which was open and it all felt very safe and clean. 

So, back to the outfit. The linen two piece has big shoulder pads which indicates this may be from the 80's, the decade of power dressing - a proper vintage find then. That, plus the shorter length dress place in in that era. It's in very good shape, feels hardly worn and the colour is strong and bright making me think it's been one of those old gems where it was kept for best. The lovely gold and green colour is a great combination. I got lots of compliments when I wore it the other day.

The shiny gold buttons led me to add gold in my accessories with my go-to gold chain necklace, gold rings (preloved) and gold cuff. The retro sunglasses are from River Island.

The gold coloured cuff is an old piece that I bought in the gallery from Almost Perfect, a brand that doesn't seem to be trading currently.

The gold wedge sandals were from TK Maxx, but not this year.

The neutral (see how I avoid using the word beige?) handbag is a beautiful Radley piece, second hand from a charity shop in Harrogate a few years ago. Every time I bring it out I wonder why I don't use it more often. It's a lovely size and the quality is superb.

The rest of my weekend was filled with ordinary domestic chores. I did have a lovely long swim on Sunday morning on Pentle Bay. The yachts around the islands are beginning to thin out now and Pentle Bay was completely empty. I do love to have a beach to myself in the morning. My swims have been few and far between of late due to the pressures of work, but when the tide is high in the morning I feel the call of the sea quite intensely and will juggle what I can to create space for this chill time. Storm Ellen had curtailed swimming for a few days too and it was a real bonus to get back in the water again. One of the results of the storm was finding a line of detached thongs of seaweed, each about four foot tall, which were staggered along beach in the sea at about chest height. They were each spaced about 20 feet apart, maybe about 10 of them in total, drifting in the water showing a round knobbly head on the waterline like sentinels. As I swam the length of the beach I could observe them underneath the sea, resembling Dementors from the Harry Potter movies, their long cloaks of seaweed billowing beneath them, hanging in a strange limbo unlike anything I'd seen before. The high tide was creating a rhythmic dance, wafting them this way and that as I passed by them. There presence was all the more spooky as the sun kept disappearing behind the clouds making the sea gloomy and dark. Typically, I didn't have phone or camera with me to capture this strange sight!

Thanks for taking the time to visit. Apologies to my blogging friends for my lack of contact recently, but as you know, work is all consuming at the moment (work, eat, sleep, repeat). I'd like to think that September will see an easing up for me. Fingers crossed I'll be back at the end of the week with something else to share with you. The forecast isn't too good and I've not got any photos taken yet, but hopefully I'll be on top of things by then!

Have a lovely week all of you!

Anna x

Hurrah for Dress Up Friday!

Here I come with Dress Up Friday!

Yes, it's that time of the week again and I'm delighted to be taking part in this weekly gathering where like minded souls parade their idea of dressing up. Last week I chose a jumpsuit and this week I've opted for a very flouncy frock. Like so many of you, I'm not indulging in retail therapy at the moment meaning I'm shopping my closet for the outfit of the day. 

It's frilly, flouncy and so utterly feminine and I just love it! The delightful dress was from Zara last summer when Steve and I were in London for the weekend. See that colourful post here if you haven't already. I didn't try the dress on at the time due to the massive queues at the changing rooms, knowing that this smock style surely had to fit, and it does. I love the romance of the tiers of frills and the peach flower sprigged print is very flattering for my skin tone. Yes, this is a keeper and I do hope to be wafting about in it as an old rocker in my 70's!

The dress has an irrestistable swoosh factor.

Our photo shoot was early in the morning, but we still managed to be photo-bombed by my daughter, of all people, who was out for a 15k run!

I'm not sure how many laps of the island she had to do to achieve that impressive distance.

The gold sandals are by London Rebel, bought from TK Maxx.

I'm sporting a fab pair of Radley sunglasses today along with a green resin necklace and toning rings - all charity shopped. Radley has a buy one get one free offer on until the 27th of May so hurry to grab yourself a bargain. 

I'll leave you with one final swoosh! 

Thanks for joining me again today. I'll be back on Monday with the ladies from the Style Not Age collective, so do please swing by to see what we've been up to this week.

In the meantime, have a super weekend!

Anna x

Wearing nature's colours

Hello again and how's your weekend going? The Isles of Scilly were looking pretty idyllic on Friday evening as Steve and I went looking for a different setting for the latest photo shoot.  When I was thinking about a backdrop for this bronze and aqua outfit I thought about how the tones reflect the colours of the seashore. Behind me is Rushy Porth showing the shades I was thinking of. 

This is a lovely spot with a perfectly placed bench to sit and enjoy the view. A coastal walk around the island is my favourite way to spend my lunchtime during the winter months, affording me lungfuls of ozone rich air as well as a healthy dose of exercise too. The lure of the big outdoors is what brings so many visitors to our shores throughout the season as it's all so accessible and right on our doorstep.

Steve and I followed the path around the coast to where the next bench overlooks St Martin's and the Eastern Isles. Out of the wind, we stopped and took a few more shots. I had my hair cut on Thursday - see the clip on Instagram of my jetboat trip on the low tide, such a lovely day. Anyway, I'd been trying to grow my hair, but had no idea into what style and then I posted my mega feature and on seeing all of those photos with a sharp cut, I decided I maybe ought to backtrack to something like that again. This is the first tentative step to finding my way back into the best cut for my shape of face.

So let's talk about the outfit shall we. I've shopped my closet as they say, meaning you may have seen some or all of this before. The jacket is quite old, from H&M and is a hand-me-down from my daughter. I had coveted this for some time and was thrilled when she finally grew tired of it. The satin material has a lovely sheen and the colours are very flattering in these muted hues. The skirt was from Tu a couple of years ago when I picked it up in the sale. Back in those days Sasha was still living in Truro and we used to pretend we were on a food buying mission when we both really knew it was a cover for the fact that Sainsbury's clothes were always worth a look, particularly when the sales were on.

I've had these sandals for a couple of summers now. The brand is Refresh and I bought them in TK Maxx. Notice how the skirt has an almost two tone effect of silver and bronze.

The simple round neck long sleeved top was a charity shop find. I have these in so many neutral shades, all of them from charity shops costing only a couple of pounds. The same kind of thing from M&S can be found here for £12.50. 

I chose frosted silver for jewellery to tone in with the shimmering sea colours. The disc necklace was from M&S many moons ago, the bracelet and rings are all pre-loved. Sunglasses are by Guess.

So, that's my first post for June. I love this time of year with the promise of summer still ahead of us. Boat trips and picnics, exhibitions and visiting artists, warmer sea with longer swims; it's all still to come and brings joy to my heart. It's such a privilege to have this life here on the island. To have family and friends, work and play all within a couple of miles is a stroke of luck. Grateful as ever, that's me.

And with that, I'll wish you a super weekend and hope to see you again soon!

Anna x

Show time once again!

Hellooooo! How are you? I may be a day or two late, but here they are, the dream team from our most recent exhibition opening night and don't these young ladies look fabulous? From left to right, Tash, Polly and Hannah did a wonderful job as well as sparkling amidst the heat of the evening on Tuesday when we opened the show for Stuart Kettle, Maggie O'Brien and David Thomas (see the paintings in full here). We sold a few pieces on the opening night and sales are continuing fine thank you.

My frock for the evening is an chiffon number (preloved) by LK Bennett which almost broke the bank at £15. Joking apart, it was in immaculate condition and fits like a dream. This lightweight fabric was perfect for the hot summer evening when we were almost becalmed at New Grimsby with not much of a breeze circulating around the building despite doors and skylights being open.

The finer details of the dress can be seen here where the pleating creates a gentle empire line and a deep v neck with a tiny modesty band behind. The lining is polyester which swishes nicely as you move. This cobalt blue isn't a colour I wear a lot of, and certainly not what I would wear in the winter when my Scottish pallor wouldn't be enhanced by this tone at all, but with a light tan I can just about get away with it.

Note this delicious floaty layer of chiffon - I fancy I didn't quite dance around enough to do it  justice however!

Here's a wee twirl for you.

Oh, and I can do this too!

These lime green satin sandals are by Steve Madden from TK Maxx and also cost £15. The kitten heel was a great height to wear after a long day at work, not too high, nor were the straps too snug either. I wish I'd had a some lime green accessories, but I got by as you can see below.

My oversized pearls (from Debenhams) you'll have seen before as well as the green amethyst bracelet which my dear hubby bought me in Morocco. The fab blue rings are charity shopped. I'm wearing my old favourite sunglasses from Quay.

The photo shoot was at the end of the evening when we were confident that things had gone well which I hope shows in our overall relaxed body language. It can be quite a stressful day, preparing the gallery for the evening's party as well as the conversation topic of the day being which outfit we will wear. So far this summer I've managed to choose mine well in advance and even stick to it rather than my usual last minute change of heart. I'm floundering a bit already about the upcoming one in August, so watch this space...

And finally, July on the Isles of Scilly has been nothing less than idyllic in the heatwave. Work days are peppered with end of the day picnics for Steve and I which makes for a welcome bit of downtime for us. We're off to another island tonight, but in the meantime I'll leave you with some picnic shots from the last couple of weeks.

Landing on the high tide at Samson, just a two minute boat trip from home. 

A quick hop from the boat into the little tender to take us ashore.

Picnic over, it's time to capture something for my Instagram feed - I gotta feature this amazing setting, surely! But first, a slight tweak here, a little adjustment there ...

What about placing another pop of colour here? This hat will do nicely!

Swatting a couple of flies away before I can settle down.

And this is it! The shadows created by the evening sun managed to make me look much more tanned than I really am, so no filters required. Tresco island lies in the backgroud with a sprinkling of yachts moored up in the channel.

This time last year I posted a bikini shot and said that I wasn't sure if at 60 I'd still be happy to wear one. Yay, I still am! 

Anna x

It's still summer on the Isles of Scilly!

Yes, I know it's the 1st of September and that many bloggers will already be sporting the latest autumn trends, but I'm not through with summer yet - the sun is still shining down on these blessed isles and I've got a few more outfits I want to share with you before I acquiesce. 

My island life means that I don't often end up near shops at sales times, but I did have a quick trip to the mainland in July and this is one head-to-toe outfit that I snatched up. Sasha (my daughter) is a big fan of New Look, meaning we finally made our way there after I'd scoured my favourites charity shops. The trousers were £5 and the sweet lace top was £7 which is pretty much on par with charity shop prices in this neck of the woods. My gold shopper was a charity shop find earlier in the year and the gold sandals were from TK Maxx, the brand is London Rebel. My gold accessories are all preloved apart from the chain necklace that Sasha gave me last Christmas.

So here's a funny thought that drifted through the tumbleweed of my brain as I stood waiting for Sasha to come out of the changing rooms. You know how these high street stores have a section for youngsters, the 11-15's? Well, I surely can't be the only mum hanging out with her daughter, cash at the ready to give her a treat. Maybe the retailers are missing a trick? Maybe they ought to design a mother's section? We're there, browsing, in the mood for shopping too - why not offer up our own fashion? Crazy idea? Tell me what you think.

I've got a busy few days ahead and will be telling all when I get back next week, but until then I'll be posting again on Monday with the 5 Over 50 group. Amazing Lace is the topic and I'm still dithering as to which lace ensemble I'll be showing. Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Anna x