It's time for the Mermaid coat's summer appearance!

Yes, it's that time of year again! For my new readers, and hopefully I do have some of these, I have this summer event where I take my Mermaid coat off to the beach and have a photo shoot for no other reason than I like to. Increasingly I view my blog as my personal online diary, probably because I'm aware that times and trends change and eventually this might become for my eyes only. For that reason alone, I want to document the evolution of myself over the years, capture the passage of time, but most of all to see the happy memories from a very happy life.

I suddenly find myself, at the grand old age of 67, to be much more self concious, more aware of a softness of my body, a lack of tone, as my battle with time becomes more apparent. As Steve took these snaps, I felt a coyness perhaps, as I struggled to reveal the truth of myself.

How foolish to be shy in front of him, but really it was because I knew I felt awkward to reveal myself to you.

Little by little...

...as one pose unfolded after another, I relaxed, realising how silly it was to hide when my intention was really to share with honesty what a 67 year old body looks like.

You can read my discomfort here, the awareness of that gooshy tummy, those lumpy thighs - what am I doing?

Trying to hide and reveal at the same time, to feign confidence, wishing that my body wasn't telling this particular story.

I'm nothing if not honest and this post has to be one of my most honest this year. I owe you my honesty simply because you're interested enough to show up. Thank you. I could easily have edited this post to show you glimpes, nothing that revealed how age and motherhood have impacted on me, but trickery isn't what I'm about.

The fact of the matter is that I love our beach days. I love the feeling of the sun on my skin, the freedom a bikini offers, the illusion of still being beach body ready. I'm probably hyper critical, but I have ridiculously high standards in most things - that's who I am.

And thank God for Steve! He's never tried to dissuade me nor cajole me, but has always supported my choices of subject and outfits, allowing me to test myself, express myself even if it might feel uncomfortable. Will this be my last bikini shoot? Only time will tell.

                                                                            Anna x

Carpe diem

Yesterday was most definitely a seize the day kinda day, when all plans for housework, paying of bills and worst of all, some in depth troubleshooting of poorly laptop had to be set aside in favour of a bit of messing about in boats. After a quick gathering together of the basics for a picnic, Steve and I took off in the boat and headed out to find a beach to ourselves. 

The sunshine and that end of summer feeling had brought the locals out, all wanting to enjoy the islands before autumn truly takes hold.

We moored up in the bay at Tean and crossed the narrow neck of land onto a sweep of beach which faced out into the Atlantic affording us the most idyllic view.

Round Island Lighthouse looking very majestic.

We drank in the view which was populated by the occasional boat sailing by.

Never one to miss a photo opportunity, I just happened to have the perfect late summer outfit ready for the moment. (Technical issues however abound currently with both camera and laptop, so apologies for the slightly fuzzy photos!)

Full marks to Steve for his creative eye with the setting for these shots. Low tide isn't always the prettiest to photograph, but the boy done good, don't you think?

Windswept hair and no lipstick has a real back to basics look for me in these shots. My beach dress was a sale purchase last summer from Sainsbury's, sunnies are my ol' faithfuls by Quay, necklace is by Charlie Dodge and bangle is preloved.

And finally, the news is that my modelling debut is on the news stands! The October issue of Woman and Home features adverts for the new "I AM" campaign for JD Williams. I'm thrilled to have made the cut and still can't quite believe it. The full story along with more shots are, of course, going to follow, but I just couldn't keep quiet for any longer.

Thanks go to my son Jamie for lending me his laptop otherwise there might have been a long blogging break while mine is being looked at by the IT doctor. I'm missing some of the technical help that my own laptop offers, so do bear with me if things are not looking quite the same as they usually do.

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

Ping Pong Piece no 5

Welcome to the latest edition of Ping Pong Piece, the new and improved version of Ping Pong Post which entailed three bloggers posting our clothes around the world in the name of creativity (see how it started here). Now, instead of pinging clothes back and forth, we ping ideas around to each other. This month Samantha, Ann and myself along with my guest of the month, Mary Murnane are styling a beach cover-up. 

Mary is an Emmy Award winning TV news reporter and anchor whose love of photography and fashion has led her to publish her own blog. I've followed Mary for some time now and am in awe of her sleek, polished style which still incorporates a playful element and a penchant for beautiful handbags and shoes. Her cover up is by Neiman Marcus and slides are by Zara.

Samantha has recently been playing happy families on the beach in Scotland where the temperatures aren't quite making the 20's yet. Sam's answer is to keep her top half cosied up against the wind which enables her to don her shorts to catch a few rays. See more of this on her blog Fake Fabulous.

Outfit details -

Jumper: Charity Shop
Gilet: Joules
Sandals: Vionics
Shorts: Fat Face

It seems that Ann has a similar approach to the beach cover-up idea. An old favourite of hers, this fisherman's jumper is her go-to casual wear for summer by the lake. Sunnies, flip flops and cut-offs complete her summer essentials for a day in the sun. Join Ann on Kremb de la Kremb. 

Outfit details are -

Sunnies--Forever 21

Sweater--HM

Suit and Flip Flops--Target

Cut-offs--DIY thrifted Wranglers

Beach Tote--Louella Odié

My beach cover up was a charity shop find earlier on this summer, from ASOS, and cost all of £3.99. I love the crazy hooped hemline which reminds me of a Lady Gaga costume. The shoot took two days and two visits to my favourite desert-island-of-the-moment, Samson. The black hat on day one, left me a bit non plussed, but the pistachio hat and coral sandals were more the mood I wanted. And the joy of these islands is that you don't have to wait too long before a yacht or two will sail on by adding that Caribbean vibe to the shot.

Body confidence is in the news currently thanks mainly to the Loose Women photo shoot where the presenters all stripped down to their cossies shunning the aid of airbrushing. When you consider that the oldest, Janet Street-Porter, is 70 it's a brilliant message for women of every age that we ought to love our bodies - wobbly bits, scars, lumps and bumps - it's all part of our unique story and a celebration of normal life. 

goodtoknow.media.ipcdigital.co.uk

Every summer I promise myself that this will be my last one for wearing a bikini and this year is no different. Will I dare to bare next year when I'm 60? So here's my (maybe) last bikini shot. I share it to celebrate a body that's given birth to two babies and over the decades has gained then lost many pounds all in the name of body confidence.

I'm heading over to the mainland today and may not manage to respond to your comments during the next few days, but please do drop me a line and I'll catch up with you when I get back. Are you still wearing a bikini in your 50's? And why not? I'd love to hear from you if you are!

Anna x

#Ping Pong Post 4

Welcome to the fourth instalment of Ping Pong Post. For any new readers you can chart the progress of this feature back to the start here. This months challenge has been thrown down by Ann of Kremb de la Kremb fame and I have to say it has been the most difficult one for me so far. And yet when the dress arrived I fell in love with it. The white flowered voile looks so utterly romantic, don't you think?

I was pretty confident that I could style this up in a flash. The fact was, it took me three attempts to find a look worth photographing. But hey, let's gloss over that for a moment and move on to the vision that is Samantha of Fake Fabulous. 

Samantha picked up on that romantic feel too and wears the dress very demurely. I think she could be giving a bit of a modern spin on Downton Abbey. I had hoped that she would invite me over for afternoon tea and a glass of bubbly too, but no luck. The gorgeous hat really sets the whole look off making it feel very authentic for that period. Samantha has kept the palette to white and neutral which adds to the understated look. Very classy Samantha! And yet a cheeky little flash of thigh ensures a youthful vibe too. 

Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Samantha's details are -

Dress: Ann's...from forever21

Slip: M&S
Hat: old
Shoes: Clarks
Nails: BarryM
Toes: Mavala
Necklaces: Various gifts and vintage pieces
Belt: Topshop
Glasses: Vogue

Ann opts for the other end of the dressing up spectrum with a beach babe look. We can always rely on Ann to raise the temperature a notch or two with her sexy take on these challenges, and hey who can blame her? If you've got it, flaunt it! Ann's theme of black and white works so well with her dark hair and sunkissed skin. I think I would love to have some of those shell anklets for my next beach day too. Perhaps you can pop some in the post Ann?

Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Ann's details

White Maxi Dress--Forever 21
Leopard Bikini--ASOS
Jean Shorts--Paige Denim
Puka Shell Anklets--Puka Beach, Boracay
Turkish Towel--Bowl and Pitcher
Sun Hat--Forever 21
Sunglasses--Target
Beach Bag--Bali

As you can see my take on the dress is a bit of a half-way house between the other two. Yes, it lends itself to a beach setting, but I had the same idea as Samantha with the short dress too. Initially I had tried this with a white linen maxi dress underneath, but it looked like I was heading for my boudoir! My next effort was with white linen trousers and an orange vest top, but somehow that seems to detract from the sheer effect of the overshirt. Finally I decided to try this floaty little beach dress in pastel hues of pink, tangerine and lemon. A matching necklace plus an armful of golden bangles all finished off with my neutral sandals completed the look. Once again, I can honestly say this has been great fun to see how these other two fashion bloggers created their own outifts from this challenge, and I look forward to next month when we'll be back on Scilly soil with my next offering.

Details for me are

Overshirt: Ann's -  Forever 21

Dress: Florence and Fred

Sandals: Bertie

Necklace: Magpie and Butterfly

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

Bangles: charity shop

Gold/nude ring: Boots

Cream floral ring: charity shop.

Linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge 

Anna x