Ready for spring!

I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for spring. The weather today was totally rubbish for my photo shoot meaning that I had to have another indoor session in the kitchen instead. At least a bit of Zoe Ball on radio 2 gave me plenty to bop about to. I'm sure we mums do our best dancing in the kitchen, don't we?

I came back from my little mainland jaunt yesterday and have had a lovely time away. The weekend was a mix of business (meeting up with my framer) and pleasure (meeting an artist friend for lunch) as well as a tad of retail therapy. Add to that a chance to see the extravaganza aka Bohemian Rhapsody and it was a pretty perfect mini-break. These fabulous orange trousers were a last minute find in Primark (£13) as I was beetling through on my way to the homewares department. I ended up buying five pairs of trousers in all plus two blouses. I'll photograph them soon to show you. I also did a small shop at TK Maxx and found a few bargains in my favourite charity shops.

The paper bag trouser trend is very evident in the shops at the moment which is great for me as I love this style. High waisted trousers suit my shape and help to elongate the leg too. Shoot me for giving in to fast fashion once in a while, but I know that these won't be turfed out of my wardrobe at the end of the season. I might buy into a trend, but if it's something that suits me then I'll be wearing it long after the mood has changed. And orange, for goodness sake - you know you'll see these again and again as I reach for my very own dose of sunshine!

I love the clean lines of the trouser with not a pocket in sight to spoil the sleek look. I wouldn't have been upset to find a pocket or two, but can see how they benefit from this simple cut.

This outfit has super-charged my smile.

My only jewellery is a couple of pre-loved rings in zingy citrus shades.

My tee shirt is by RED or DEAD and was part of a fun raising event at a charity shop last year. I'm pleased to raise awareness through fashion and help to add money to the coffers too.

Last night was the first episode of the second series of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer and I, like the majority of the UK viewing population, was glued to my telly for the duration. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that Russell Brand brought his own brand of humour to the show stopper challenge of 3 D biscuits! Follow the link above to catch up on the fun.

Bubblegum pink and bright orange seemed like the best way to welcome spring into my working week, but that was before I'd seen the grey old weather waiting outside. Too late! I was sold on this for my post today and it did give me a great lift as I danced and posed my way around the kitchen. The trench coat was a crazy charity shop bargain (£4) from last year despite being from Topshop. Jamie bought me the sockboots for my Christmas from H&M and golly aren't they just dreamy together?

At the end of the day I had to visit one of the holiday properties (Barn Flat) to check on some artworks. The weather had been that typical mix of spring weather of sunshine and showers, improving towards late afternoon. I was happy to have the excuse to get out and stretch my legs as well as take in this fabulous view. 

Thanks for dropping by, and please do leave me a comment if you've enjoyed today's post!

                                                                                   Anna x

JD Williams trousers with pink trench by Topshop

I'm making no apologies for showcasing my pink trench coat so soon after the last time. The pop of pink and bright blue are perfect for chasing my winter blues away. The look may seem out of step with the sparkly Christmas outfits that other bloggers may be sharing currently, but first and foremost my motivation is always about the feel-good factor, especially at this time of year.

When I introduce a new piece into my wardrobe of course it has a knock-on effect sparking new combinations using older pieces. The Meghan trousers that I bought earlier this year were begging to be paired with the coat. I just love this bright pink and cobalt blue together and what a cheery response this outfit got!

The floral blouse by Country Rose (pre-loved) brought both the pink trench coat and cobalt blue Megan trousers by JD Williams together perfectly, and these in turn all tied in beautifully with my cosmic creepers by T.U.K. - these pieces are so meant to be together! (I missed a trick however, as I have a double sided pink and blue suede belt which I planned to wear and then promptly forgot!)

Steve's comment on seeing me later in the day was that I looked like I was auditioning for the 70's band, Mud. For those of you who haven't heard of them see the link here. I'm not so sure that they wore cerise tights with their brothel creepers, but apart from that I have to concede that my styling would have warranted me a place in the line-up. My voice may have let me down though!

The pink rose resin ring was a gift, the blue ring is preloved and the Tree of Life pendant was from a boutique in Truro. 

The great thing about this look is that I'll be able to wear it again in the spring - it's got a really joyful feel to it, don't you think?

I'll leave you with a few shots of the islands from this morning. I sat out at the North End of the island overlooking Bryher and Shipman's Head to capture the effect of the 50mph winds that are whipping across the Isles of Scilly today.

Needless to say, my dear readers, I didn't succumb to the lures of sea swimming today!

Anna x

Another pop of pink!

This time last week I was advocating a hefty dose of colour as my prescription against the winter blahs and this week I'm back to reinforce that message. A pop of pink can work wonders when it comes to chasing the blues away. 

The main event here has to be this rather fabulous trench coat, a charity shop find from last month's dash around town in Truro which yielded a very rich seam of treasure. The brand is Topshop and cost all of £4, but I have to add a dry cleaning bill to that as it was quite marked, although that's remedied now. It has a rubberised finish meaning it really is waterproof rather than just masquerading as a raincoat as so many do.

The other great feature of the coat is the gingham lining, of course. I'd already found this mini skirt earlier in the day (another Topshop pre-loved piece) so when I saw this coat it felt like one of those meant-to-be moments. I've been itching to put this outfit together and must admit it did live up to be all that I'd hoped for. Pink and grey do pack a mighty punch, especially when you throw gingham into the mix. The grey polo neck was from Primark last year, the elastic belt was from eBay a couple of years ago, the necklace was a boutique find earlier this year, but the rest of the ensemble is second hand. 

Oh well, I've put off mentioning these for long enough - yes, I've finally succumbed to over the knee boots! I know I've debated this dilemma in the past, trying to talk myself out of this desire to buy a pair before it's too late (for me as opposed to the trend). This year seems to be my sod-it year where I'm blasting all the rules out of the water. All the reasons which held me back previously still remain, in that my legs are still too short/chunky, I'm still not tall enough to be the willowy creature who owns this look and that I yearn to be, and surprise, surprise I'm a year older than I was last time I shared this longing with you. So what this means is that at the grand old age of sixty I've come to realise that life's too short to wait for my stars to be perfectly aligned and for me to become the woman of my dreams! This is my (and yours too) only chance at this life and I'd better get on with it!

These beauties are by Clarks, leather fronted with elastic on the back. This combination gives a great fit which is probably what convinced me to buy them. Ideally I would have preferred to have a slight high heel (not a Pretty Woman heel, just enough to help elongate my not-so-long legs). However, when I tried them on in the shop (TK Maxx where they were retailing at half price for £75) I was wearing black skinny jeans and these boots looked great, well great enough for me to jump at them. 

The clutch is another pre-loved piece, stashed away for months waiting for its timely debut, et viola! And you'll no doubt recognise my most favourite pair of Quay Australia sunglasses that look as if they were just made to wear with today's ensemble. (Big sigh, as I swoon at this blissful coming together of these elements!)

The boots also look fab with the micro mini skirt from last week (see here). I thought I'd just add that before Jude or Sheila come back at me with that suggestion - don't worry girls, I'll show you that another time! My photographer of the day was Steve and I did suggest how more suited this outfit would be for an outing in London, and bless him, he agreed. I fancy we won't get away together this winter, but maybe we can have a mini-break in the spring ...

I thought it might make a nice change for you to see a bit of different scenery today. The cottage behind me is called Pentle Cottage, one of the holiday cottages, near to Pentle Bay. My attempts at gadding about as Polly and I do, somehow didn't quite work, but I kinda like them anyway.

I hope you've enjoyed today's pop of pink and that you might consider a sweep of pink lipstick or perhaps a mohair scarf in this sweetest of colours to add a touch of fun to your day. And my finishing words might cheer you up too - take heart, I've not bought one single Christmas present yet! 

Anna x