Time for a catch up!

Hello and thanks for dropping by! It's been a busy few weeks so today I'm going to share some of that with you. As you'll have seen on my previous post I've been heavily involved in the Island Haven fundraiser - see here. That took place a week ago, but it was a fairly demanding event which seems to have taken its toll on my energy levels. But, on to the photo of Steve and I above. We don't often go out socialising but on Saturday there was a farewell party for Steve's line Manager Diana and we joined the throng to wish her well in her new role. After the gathering Steve dashed off to collect Sasha from St Mary's in our boat and I decided to take some shots of not only my outfit but mainly of the lovely show of flowers on our garden wall.

I was so keen to capture these before they started to wither which is exactly what's happened in the past few days, so it was a lucky move. The agapanthus are just starting to come into to flower so it was great to get them both in bloom.

And so, to the outfit. It's actually my favourite outfit of the moment. The trousers (River Island) and jacket (no label) were both recent purchases from Vinted. I love the clash of patterns that don't really clash but compliment each other well. I've had lovely feedback about the outfit when I've worn it both out that evening and previously to work - "very Pucci" was one lovely compliment. The vest top is old and my boots were from Vinted earlier in the year.

The evening sun was dropping in the sky creating a lovely golden light so I carried on for a few more shots until the rabble arrived...

The drinks had run freely at the leaving party and these locals were delighted to photobomb my session. It was all great lark for them as you can see - they were heading to the pub to continue the celebrations as the local Steam Band were playing, but I gently declined the offer to join them. Blimey, I must be getting old!

My necklace was a purchase from New Look last month when I was in Truro, the belt and rings are old as are my sunglasses. Talking of my trip to Truro...

My trip away was, to all intents and purposes, to fit in three minor health checks but I built that into a four night mini break in a lovely little apartment in the heart of the city. The accommodation had been newly refurbed and was all greys, black and white - very cool and modern indeed. I mooched about the shops during the day and watched movies on Netflix in the evenings with a TV dinner on my lap - what a fab treat it was!

Funnily enough, I pretty much wore the same outfit during my visit. The linen trousers were uber comfy in that easy slouchy way that I didn't wear anything else, but I did change my tops over. The clothes shown above were laid out once I got home, but I took some while in the flat to show you too. 

Brand new leather boots from Zara, found in the British Red Cross shop where they receive end of line goods from Zara all year round. These still had the labels on and were greatly reduced. 

I went into Poundland to buy a brolly when it started to rain one day, had a little browse in the clothes department and found this fab summer hat. It's the perfect colourway for my summer wardrobe. My question is this though - how come I paid £6 when it's called Poundland?

My fave top and the one that I paired up with my linen trousers the same day I bought it. Anyway, I've had a lovely time at the shops as clearly I'm lacking in shopping opportunities in my life generally, hahaha! 

Last, but by no means least, this was my proud mum moment as Jamie, captain of the Tresco Cricket Team, shared his joy at winning the Triangle inter-island tournament on Sunday. I could boast about how great his organising skills are in both planning and on the day arrangements to make the tournament run smoothly, but honestly he'd rather I didn't. Suffice to say that he's in his fifth year of leading the team and is hugely popular amongst them and all the visiting teams. Well done Jamie for doing a stalwart job!

                                                                    Anna x

French girl style, our SNA challenge for May

Hello and welcome to our Style Not Age challenge which this month has been chosen by Gail - French Girl Style being her prompt. This wasn't something that easily came to mind, so I did a bit of online reseach and found two themes, ruffles and cowboy boots - this is my resulting look. Let's see how my fashionable friends tackled this one...

Gail's suggestion led her to showcase a typical gamine style of dressing - slim, boyish and elegant. She carries this off perfectly in her skinny jeans and masculine cut jacket. See more on her blog Is This Mutton. 

Elegant comes to mind again when I look at Hilda's French Style offering. Red and beige work well together in this chic look. See more from her in Over The Hilda blog.

Emma is certainly oozing that certain Oo-la-la here, don't you think? Her jacket is by Kooples, a French brand so that kicked things off well. The entire look does say Parisienne. See more on The Style Splash. 

Wide legged trousers and a fitted jacket say French girl style for Jacqui. Neutral shades echo that Parisienne elegance too! Read her back story on Mummabstylish.

My interpretation of French girl style is clearly not in the same vein as the others, but I'm never one to run with the pack am I? I'm delighted to have the opportunity to wear this ruffled delight again and pairing it with these white textured cowboy boots by Allsaints gives the whole look a stylish edge I think.

My cream jeans jacket is by Jack Wills which I've customised with a sprikling of brooches. I've added a neutral belt for definition and also the give a finished look - the leather belt was a charity shop find. Tonal rings are both old and the diamante crusted shark's tooth necklace is also old as are the Radley sunglasses.

The backdrop to my photoshoot is the beach path where I come off of Green Porth beach, my favourite swimming spot of late. It was the perfect corner to catch the evening sunshine and was quite private too which helps when one is posing in front of a camera on a tripod as one pulls various poses and facial expressions.

My final nod to French Girl Style is this bag by Christian Dior - Sasha passed it on to me, but I fancy it was from a foreign marketplace rather than the Champs-Elysees. I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and maybe we've given you a dash of inspiration too!

Wishing you a fab week ahead!

Anna x