Summer is here!

Hi there! How's it going? Here's me, smiling into the evening sun as I revel in the beauty of this wonderful show of agapanthus. I've been doing a lot of early morning walking of late, and this is one of my routes along the road beside Tresco Heliport. Every morning I've been taking note of how many flowers have burst into full bloom and on Friday I decided I needed to capture them as soon as I could. Agapanthus really do mean summer to me, a genuine indication that we're seeing the island at its most beautiful.

My outfit of the day was this lovely embroidered summer dress from Warehouse (bought on Vinted). I really have a thing about embroidery at the moment and so wish I had time to practise some myself. I've even gone as far as buying stencils and threads, a beginners book too, but heck, I simply don't have the spare time. Those of you who've followed my blog over the years will know how I find it challenging at this time of year, trying to balance all the elements of my life; work, home, swimming, walking, cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, writing the blog, taking photos for the blog, making time for family and friends and so the list goes on. Anyway, in an ideal world I'd be sitting in the sunlight sewing away on an embroidery project with not a care, but that's simply a fantasy.

Someone recently remarked that this was my Little House on the Prairie dress - how right they are! I love it, the style is simple and feminine, but most importantly it's the perfect backdrop for all of the sprigs of embroidery, especially this oversized collar. It has an elasticated waist and sleeves, is fully lined and washes and irons like a dream. I've accessorised the dress with a pink stretch belt (old), two pre-loved rings, my Radley sunglasses and my new watch from Storm (gifted). 

My floral embroidered shoes were a recent purchase from TK Maxx in Truro. I bought this multi colour pair and also a lemon/yellow pair. Steve calls them my Jesus sandals which slightly deflated me, but I suppose they are very similar and maybe not as glamorous as I perhaps thought they were. 

Jesus sandals? Methinks not. They're from Rocket Dog and are rather lovely!

On Sunday we joined our family on Bryher for the birthday celebrations of two local babies, one of whom is Mose, son of our nephew David and Polly (my ex-assistant at Gallery Tresco). Polly has just finished her maternity leave and is now back working in the HR department on Tresco. Needless to say I miss her terribly but she's now part of the family which is such a bonus. Little Mose is a darling and is doted on by all of us and his Bryher relatives; cousins, aunts and uncles and his next door neighbour, Grandma. 

Island life on these summer days seems like a dream. It still amazes me that this is where I live. I'm eternally grateful for the journey that brought me here and for the luck that befell me when I landed on the magical island of Tresco and met Steve. 

                                                                            Anna x

Birthstone Beauties

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge. Jacqui has chosen this month's theme inspired by our birthstones and I'll be frank with you - I really don't like my birthstone (garnet). I have a few things in my winter wardrobe that might have worked for this one, but not in my summer collection. This lovely red jumpsuit is borrowed from Fiona my blogging photographer. But more of this later. Let's see how Jacqui  tackled her own challenge shall we?

Emerald is Jacqui's birthstone, the colour of her shoes leading Jacqui to create this zingy outfit in greens and yellow. Her jacket is from F&F, trousers from Zara and top from Matalan. See the rest of her story on her blog Mummabstylish.

Ruby is Emma's birthstone and she has opted for various tones of red to echo the different shades of the stone. Her jacket and trainers are from Zara, top and trousers from River Island and her bag is from eBay. Emma's backstory can be found on Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's turquoise birthstone has me more than slightly envious. Her daughter's handbag was the inspiration for this look paired with these fab white mules and pretty summer dress. Read more from her on Over The Hilda. 

Gail too has an enviable birthstone - topaz. She's wearing a topaz pendant with her casual denim jacket and white M&S jeans. Did you know that topaz comes in orange too? Find out more on her blog Is This Mutton.

My offering this month was virtually thrown together at the last minute. Fiona and I had been for an end of the day sea swim followed by our flask of tea and chat ritual when I remembered the outfit challenge. After a cycle dash home I managed to find this floral top to compliment the floral jumpsuit. It's very old, so old in fact that I don't recall where I bought it. I added this ornate belt (eBay) and these neutral sandals to complete the look.

My matching rings are charity shopped from long ago. 

My gold coloured chain is from Zara, a gift from a girlfriend. 

I bought these uber comfy sandals from TK Maxx earlier on this year. 

I must admit that if this were my jumpsuit I'd definitely be wearing it as a regular work outfit. The fit is loose, yet with a belt is a flattering shape, is lightweight for the summer and would look just as pretty with a simple tee shirt underneath. Platform sandals would be another great addition too. 

So that's pretty much it folks! I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge. I'll be back next week with... goodness knows what!

                                                                        Anna x