More tartan and checks with feathers!

Hello peeps, how's your week going? 

My outfit of the day was spawned by these boots, first seen on another blog in September. Fellow blogger Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb runs this fabulous monthly round-up of all that's worth mentioning in the blogsphere and that's what piqued my interest. See the post in question here. And there, slap bang in the middle of the page, were these beauties from M&S.  The stilletto heels aren't too high and the pointed toes aren't too narrow making for all day wearability, and the look is a mix of sleek and fun which is perfect in my eyes.

Straight away I knew that these boots were for me. Is it because I'm a Scot through and through that I have this passion for tartan? I honestly don't know, but perhaps being a Scottish exile has sharpened my sentiment for all things Scottish (the bagpipes, a misty glen, shortbread, a man in a kilt, butter rowies and mutton pies, leather soled brogues, Scottish Country Dancing, in particular Strip The Willow, teeth-achingly sweet tablet, the heady scent of gorse, the rough texture of a tweed jacket and Paul McCartney singing "Mull of Kintyre" - oh, the list could run and run).

You may remember this Zara dress from last winter, see here. I've had it packed away all summer and now it's back! I totally love this over-the-top feather trim. If you took away the trim then all you'd be left with is a checked dress in a boxy shape with not much to lift it out of the ordinary - and you know I hate to look ordinary! The ring is a charity shop find for a pound, yes that's £1 I said. If it gets broken or lost it won't break my heart at that price.

My silver coloured necklace is by Melissa James, not very expensive if I remember rightly, and my sunnies are by Quay Australia.

The signature shots of me larking about are from when Polly and I were working together. Mornings aren't quite the same without her, but it will force me to be a bit more inventive in finding ways and places to pose on my own. Larking about in front of a tripod somehow won't be quite as much fun though!

And who's gonna feed me punchlines or tell me to shut up, or say "You'll not like that when you see it!" Come back soon Polly, I'm gonna miss you!

Linking with Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Anna x

When okay just isn't good enough

This is far from my best post, but I thought for the sake of honesty and realism I ought to share it with you anyway. Sometimes my outfits just hit middle ground or middling to okay, but even this wasn't quite good enough in my eyes.

Today I really ought to have shown a bit more patience and this shoot perhaps would have turned out better. I wanted to take some photos of this new dress and decided to do a tour of the island to find a good backdrop. The wind had shifted, leading me to this sheltered spot at the Ruin Beach Cafe which is closed for the winter. 

But really the problem started even before I left home. I was guilty of trying to fit too much into my Sunday off; I wanted to have an afternoon swim too. In the rush I didn't really do a good job to the styling of this dress and ought to have spent more time trying other options of tights, jacket and shoes.

Even now, when I look at this I know the tights are wrong (black or brown would have been better) and I wonder if my long velvet trench might have been an improvement too. And boots, why didn't I try on some boots? But no, I charged about grabbing the first thing that came to hand!

On top of the photo shoot and the swim, I was also cooking a family meal for this evening to celebrate my daughter's 29th birthday so I had quite a lot on my plate. But this is just typical of me; I'm greedy for life, always wanting to do as much as I can.

The beach I normally go to (Appletree Bay) is having some repairs done to the nearby wall, meaning I have to consider tides and winds every day as I try to find another place to swim. The stormy weather we've been having has brought reams and reams of seaweed onto our shores and I really don't like sharing my swim with all the maggots and flies it harbours. So all in all, it's quite a palaver - just to get a swim.

I have a green corset belt that may improve the outline of the dress enormously. It looks pretty shapeless, although that may just be the style. I bought this in the Zara sale and when I tried it on, I absolutely loved it. Seeing it now, I think I'll have to work a bit harder for the next time I wear it.

Can you see the shirred waistline? I think that corset belt would be ideal. Next time eh? I also have brown knee high vintage boots that could work too... 

Outfit details read like this, dress: Zara, jacket: Next, shoes: from Portugal, tights: old, necklace: Sasha's, camisole: Primark, rings: old, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Anyway, now that I've got all that moaning done, I have to tell you that within half an hour I was back here, swimming on this very beach. The wind direction was perfect and there was hardly any seaweed and what there was, was high and dry at the top of the beach. 

As I stood on the water's edge rinsing my goggles preparing to get in, I could see a man strolling down the quay, and I could almost hear his disbelief at the sight of me in my cossie - he, all wrapped up in winter coat, scarf and hat. His pace slowed as he kept turning towards me to see if I dared... Yes, clearly the local madwoman!

This was a little family returning to St Martin's with a tiny child wedged between mum and dad. It was such a lovely day to be out on the water having an island adventure - very Swallows and Amazons, eh?

Appletree Bay - the road and footpath as well as the supporting wall were all washed away as a result of storm Eleanor. Luckily we had no other damage to the fabric of the island nor was anyone hurt, so I suppose you could say we got off lightly compared to some places in Europe.

Those of you who know the island will understand the impact this has on our beach. The upper wall has been undermined too. However, the good news is that work is already being done and hopefully will be all put to rights in time for our season opening in March.

I forgot to mention that there's a webcam located above the decking where I did my shoot today. I've no idea if anyone was watching as I got out of the sea, but I gave a wave just in case my friend Angela was checking the view, as I know she often does. Hello!!! And didn't I look pink?

Anna x