Black trouser challenge 5

Yep, it's week five of my self-imposed black trouser challenge and I'm still going strong. I thought it was about time to inject a good ol' dollop of colour this time by way of this floralfest of a blouse. One of my favourite stylings of this fabulous blouse was featured on the blog here. Cost-per-wear for my trousers has dropped down to a comfortable £8 so I'm a very happy bunny. Let's take a look at this week's offering shall we?

So what can I say about this five week love affair? The ruffles still make my heart somersault, the fit is still good after lots of wash'n'wear, and I'm finding black such a dream to partner up with the contents of my wardrobe. This morning I found another clutch of tops which could easily have made an appearance here and not looked out of place in the least. I do wonder if I would have been quite so inspired if I'd chosen a plain, basic cut pair of black trousers for my style challenge, but hey, you know that I wouldn't have fallen for anything less than wonderful to convert me to the joys of black breeks! My sole concern is that you, my dear reader, are tiring of the repeated exposure to these fancy pants. Please whizz on by if this doesn't enchant you as it does me - I'll understand.

Trousers: River Island (still available here), blouse: Next (charity shop find, so may be quite old), shoes: New Look, rings: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, heart pendant: boutique find, but no idea of the name, sorry!

This is a non-sponsored post.

My next post will be on Monday when I feature the #5Over50 challenge - hope to see you then!

Anna x

I can't get enough of these summer florals!

It's summer at last, so there's no need for me to apologise for this overdose of all things floral. The foundation of this outfit is this pair of magnificent billowing trousers. At £5 from New Look many summers ago I knew they were going to be worth it. I had them relined with a lovely swishy fabric as they had a stretchy lining which didn't enhance the grandness of them at all. Now, when I move about the gallery in my swishy pants, I exude an air of the VIP, which of course I am, being the manager. 

Any minute now and we'll hit July and August, our busiest period of all at work. It's a crazy mix of the most wonderful and most terrible of times - wonderful, as it's the culmination of all of my winter planning, and terrible, as it's so very busy that I have very little time to stop and enjoy it. Our exhibition period sees Polly and I like speeded up versions of ourselves; hanging, selling and taking down paintings in our very own groundhog day. But we love it, every single minute and make sure we laugh at ourselves as we unpack, hang, sell and re-wrap repeatedly in a flurry of bubble wrap and fragile tape over the most hectic 60 days of the year. We host 6 exhibitions in those 60 days, yes that's one every 10 days and they flash past us so quickly that one day, we look up at each other to discover that it's suddenly September. Crazy!

In the midst of all of this I try to ensure we get time to recharge our batteries and my favourite way of doing that is to hop onto our little boat and take off to a quiet beach somewhere. We took our friends Anna and Charlie off to an uninhabited island last week during that amazing heatwave and for us all it seemed like a day in paradise.

Not for us, those sandy sandwiches - no, we're terribly posh with our table and chairs to host the finest of fare. A huge coolbag stashed underneath to keep the refreshments cool and we're good for the next few hours. Now what else did the maid pack?

Just drop us over there, my good man.

The boat comes with this rather dashing boatman. All at no extra charge.

Please join me on Friday for the 5th instalment of my black trouser challenge. Today's outfit details are - trousers: New Look (very old), blouse, belt, clutch, bracelet, rings and sandals are all charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, green pearls: Almost Perfect.

Anna x

Scuba-doo skirt

I wore this scuba skirt during our recent heatwave and got so many compliments that I realised I need to showcase it more often. We had a leaving do for some locals a few days later and out it came, styled a bit differently, winning lots of approval. I didn't get any shots of that evening, but rest assured I'll wear it all again soon.

There's something about wearing a big net underskirt that gives me a real buzz. A sense of dressing up, of high jinks, frolicking fun and general joie de vivre are all embodied in this most feminine of undergarments. If you're looking to add impact to your wardrobe I would encourage you to take a leap of faith and buy one of these. Mine came from eBay and didn't cost very much at all. They are transformational for any full skirt or dress. Perhaps you could keep it for NYE or a party if you feel a bit timid wearing it for the first time. I swear that it will give you such a boost in confidence to whoosh about playing the part. Do try it, and if you do please let me know how it went.

Details - skirt: H&M, underskirt: eBay, top: gift, belt: charity shopped, sandals, New Look, jewellery: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 3

Here it is, the third variation featuring these fabulous black trousers from River Island. I wonder how many of you will see the appeal of black and gold done this way?

What's interesting about this offering is that much as a chic, more sophisticated styling was maybe lacking, I still felt this outfit was more fun than ever. This just seemed to bring out the high spirits in Polly and I. I felt playful and the shoot did spiral downwards...

Now, it may be that ankle boots and cropped frilled trousers are not a marriage made in heaven for some of you and that's okay. I wasn't really sure about this move when I put these together, but I was drawn to at least give it a go. I'm completely on the fence now. The first person to tell me they don't like it, and I'll be agreeing. I think it's that flash of bare leg. Polly, on the other hand, loves this look. These boots are new and I just couldn't bear to pack them away for the winter without at least one outing. 

Details - sweater: H&M, trousers, boots and sunglasses are all from River Island, necklace: gift, rings: charity shopped.

My next feature will be Ping Pong Piece on the 20th so please do pop back to see what the subject of the day is.

Anna x

Paradise and a U turn

Today I was whisked off to paradise by my doting husband. We took a couple of hours off work and tootled off in our little boat to Samson, one of the uninhabited islands that make up the archipelago of the Isles of Scilly. Summer has been skirting round us for some time now, interspersed with gales and fog, but by late afternoon we truly felt like it had arrived. 

That's our boat on the left and the yacht in the centre was conveniently moored up in front of us just to add an exotic touch to our view. This shot was after our picnic tea. Steve had indeed sung for his supper by first of all taking some shots for the blog. So without further ado, here's what we achieved.

We spent a leisurely few hours catching up, discussing local news and generally making time for each other. It was good to step out of our normal routine and take a moment to enjoy the life we have here on these beautiful islands. We never take our lives for granted, but we know that we don't get out and about as much as we ought to. So this summer hopefully you'll see more of our picnics and boat trips too.

My own news included the fact that I've been approached to feature some jewellery on my blog. If you're a regular reader you'll know that I've been unwilling to go the way of sponsored posts and collaborations in the past. Well, it seems I'm about to make a U turn. As I'm heading towards my 60th birthday I've come to the conclusion that I can in fact change my mind without loosing my job as blogger extraordinaire! I have to be realistic about my blogging life span and would hate to get to the end of the road and regret not making the most of the opportunities that come along. I'm aware that I'm crossing a line in the sand and that some readers and fellow bloggers may not approve, but this is something that I feel happy about and the time feels right too. I'm sorry if I lose respect or readers as a consequence, but Steve and I chatted today and this really isn't such a big deal in the grand scheme of things is it? I'll still be choosing what I feature and how, so things ought not to look much different.

And finally apologies to those of you who were expecting to see the third episode of my black trouser challenge. It'll be along very soon, I promise!

And suddenly it's midnight and time for me to get off to bed. Thanks for joining me and I do hope you'll keep coming back in the future.

PS Everything I'm wearing today is charity shopped, and I love it all!

Anna x