Lighthouse, Simple Island Living

Up until a few weeks ago I hadn't heard of the Lighthouse clothing brand but I'm delighted to have now hooked up with this Irish company, based in Belfast. I've been gifted some lovely items of clothing and today I want to share the first outfit I've created using the sweater and fleece, both in the delicious colour called sugar coral.

A beautiful outfit deserves a beautiful backdrop and so I took myself off to Pentle Bay for this Sunday afternoon photoshoot. I must admit to loving this colour, it's very flattering for my skin tone. The fleece is super cosy and has a lovely fluffy lining which acts as a double layer. 

You won't have seen me feature a fleece very often on the blog so this is quite a fashion conversion for me, but one that comes at a great time as I can see how useful it'll be for my winter lunchtime walks. Running the Gallery makes it quite difficult to get away for an hour in the middle of the day, but by the end of this month the Gallery will be closed for the winter and the clocks will be changing so Fiona and I are already planning our daily escape to enjoy the views on our circuit of the island. Our walk takes us around the coastal path of Tresco and is most defintely a power walk as we aim to solve the problems of the day as we yomp, burning off a few calories too. The fleece could solve my too hot/too cold issue too as I would normally wear a padded jacket, get too hot and then have to carry said jacket until I'm too cold. I'll let you know how this goes. 

With a full zip front and big roomy pockets for my walking essentials of tissues, polos and phone the jacket is not only cosy but of course lightweight. It does beg the question as to why I don't have a fleece in my wardrobe already, but maybe that's because I'd not come across one in this fabulous colour before!

The Eden jumper, again in sugar coral, is 100% cotton in a medium weight yarn in a pretty open weave - the perfect piece for this time of year when transistional dressing is the name of the game. If you're a regular reader you'll know that the end of summer is always a sad time for me as I so look forward to those long beach days and never want to say goodbye to those crazy, hazy, lazy days of summer. 

And so on to the styling of today's outfit. Apart from the two new pieces I've shopped my closet for this autumn look and am rather pleased with it, even though I may say so myself! The embroidered jeans are so blooming old that I can't remember where I bought them from, but they remain firm favourites of mine - well you can't go wrong with beads and embellishment as far as I'm concerned. 

The checked boots are by Converse, again quite old, but not looking too bad for all that. Steve and I had a beach walk after this photo shoot and the boots were perfect for gadding about on the sand as we enjoyed this (perhaps) last hurrah of summer weather.

My accessories are old too - sunglasses by Zara, flower ring was a charity shop find and heart pendant was a boutique find from years ago, and I do love the rose gold hue that works so well with the coral of the outfit.

I'm adding a link to the Seashell fleece here as it's actually on offer at the moment. 

Winter walking here I come!

Anna x

Where did autumn go?

Hi there! How's tricks? Life here on the island is finally slowing down to an easier pace and looking around me this week I've been wondering what on earth happened to autumn? We seemed to fast forward from balmy September into the depths of winter within the space of a couple of weeks. I've now packed away the last of my summer fripperies and am back in the land of woolly socks and winter coats again.

I was delighted to rediscover this oxblood Next leather coat during the seasonal clothes changeover. I bought it in the Truro Oxfam shop last year for £30 and think it's a blooming bargain at that price. The colour is an unusual one for me, but it has become a firm favourite already. Leather is wonderfully wind proof and therefore perfect for island life where we're subjected to wild winds for almost half of the year. Worn here at the weekend it's great for a casual look, but is also handy for a smart finish to my work wear too.

I like the simple straight lines of the jacket - no belt or flap pockets to create bulk - and love the fact that it doesn't have a back vent. Oh goodness, how drafty they can be, flapping open when the wind attacks you from behind!

Dressing down for the weekend is my time to be quirky and creative away from work. I've teamed the pre-loved fairisle vest (known as a tank top in my youth) with skinny jeans embellished with embroidered flowers, beads and pearls for this trend clashing look. The tan heavy brogues by John White have leather soles which sound out with every step - a great way to announce this style statement. Under the vest I'm wearing a skinny ribbed sweater to keep out the cold - this was from Primark.

The jeans were from TK Maxx a couple of years ago when ornate embroidered jeans were in fashion. Trends may come and go, but if I like something I'll wear it regardless. They have a bit of stretch which adds to the comfort value of them, another winning feature.

The floral leather belt is rather ancient which again adds appeal and character to the piece. The wool vest is by Ralph Lauren, a wonderful charity shop find. The scottie dog bracelet and matching necklace were a lovely set which I bought in Harrogate about 5 years ago. I have them wrapped up in one of my jewellery boxes where they lie forgotten for months on end, waiting to be found once again with renewed delight. Such joy for me in these simple pleasures!

The flower ring was charity shopped and the domed ring was from a street market in Cape Town. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

The classic leather brogues are from that era when I seemed to purchase them in almost every colour - cream, mint green, blue, black, brown, silver, gunmetal, pink, burgundy, two tone blue and bronze, two tone yellow and brown, flats and heels - and in leather, suede and patent leather too. These ones came from my beloved TK Maxx. Talking of which I'm on the final push now of my 12 month shopping ban. It's 8 months since I went shopping for clothes or shoes, although I did one online purchase in March. My autumn/winter clothes collection is a fraction of what I have for spring/summer, but that's probably because I really don't like this time of year. Perhaps if I made more of an effort to find interesting and colourful clothes for the darker months I might enjoy this season much more? Still, that won't be happening any time soon.

Thanks for swinging by today and if you're a new reader then why not introduce yourself in the comments box? It's always lovely to have your feedback. Fingers crossed we shall all have some nice weather this weekend so that we can get out for some fresh air and exercise. I'll be out and about taking photos for the blog, weather permitting, as well as catching up on some long overdue housework!

Have a super weekend!

Anna x

Flowers and more flowers

If you've followed my blog for any length of time you'll be aware that I hardly ever feature jeans. But hey, it's the weekend and I'm in jeans. Not just any old jeans though - embroidered ones.

So the jeans are new, from TK Maxx and I'm wearing a top that I bought last year when we were in Sicily. I couldn't resist the cheesy pairing of floral top with flowery jeans. Very hippy in my own way, but fun none the less. And then just to get my point home, I've added a very old flowery leather belt as well as my flowery sunglasses. More is more is definitely my message today. Neutral leather strappy wedge sandals are the finishing touch. 

I'm keen to hear from those of you in the know if this is a genuine Pucci piece. I'm one of these people who buys because I love it rather than for the brand, but when I went looking for a label in this, I found I'd done what I usually do which is cut out any scratchy labels. When I googled this it came up with Emilio Pucci, but I wonder if this is an imitation. No matter if it is or isn't, I still love the vibrant pattern.

I'll leave you with some shots that I took this morning before my swim. It was about 8am and the sun was well up in the sky giving some lovely dazzling images. I hope you're having a great weekend. 

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge.

Anna x