To Bryher and back

No fancy outfits and no proper photo shoot today. Instead I've had a day off work which tied in perfectly with a big low tide at lunchtime. I could have stayed home to catch up on the laundry, the bills, the cleaning, blah, blah, blah, but off I went to walk to Bryher and back. This trip would normally entail a three minute boat ride each way, instead today the boat channel was nearly dry and became a veritable thoroughfare with holidaymakers and locals enjoying the novelty of the occasion.

The pilgrimage starts here as we head towards Samson on the left and Bryher on the right.

A couple of sailing boats are left high and dry on this huge tide. 

These guys are all prepared to paddle back to Bryher when the tide floods later today.

My photos were taken by friends and acquaintances I met mid-channel.

This little crab gave me the evil eye, just in case I tried to invade his territory.

This Frenchman was catching shrimps on the low tide. Makes for a tasty meal!

Looking inland to New Grimsby bay. In the centre of the shot is the gap in the wall where we do my photo shoots in the morning. Where I stand now is the backdrop to these.

Home again.

I'm never happier than when I'm by the sea. I'm an Aquarius and water seems to be home to me - swimming, pottering about in rock pools, bobbing about in our little boat - it's always so therapeutic, so relaxing and totally absorbing. I'm so fortunate to have always lived by the sea and couldn't imagine living anywhere else, and hopefully I won't ever have to. I hope you've enjoyed this small interlude, my away day which is only a stone's throw from my house.

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 12

Week twelve of this personal style challenge and I'm still not tiring of these frilled fancy pants from River Island. I'm hoping that I'm managing to keep you interested too...

We're still clinging on to the remnants of summer here on the Isles of Scilly even though there's (seemingly) wild weather due this weekend. I thought I'd better bring out this little top which is a tad late to the party re statement sleeves, gingham and cold shoulder trends. Lots of bloggers are already airing their wishlists for A/W17 making me dig my heels in a bit - I'm not finished showcasing my summer pieces yet! This pre-loved top originates from F&F at Tesco and fulfilled all the requirements for this summer's hottest trends - florals, checks, bell sleeves as well as the obligatory cold shoulders. I'd promised myself that I'd not be entering into the yards of flesh being exposed in the name of fashion that is the cold shoulder look, however these split sleeves seemed like a tiny nod to the trend without being too revealing for the workplace. 

The white mules were a supermarket purchase last year (Sainsbury's) and have taken me a whole year to get them on the go, as it were. Now that I've managed to stretch them a little I feel I ought to get some wear out of them before boots and brogues take centre stage. The clutch is pre-loved, but no brand label to be found. The belt is a new purchase from eBay and I have it lined up with a vintage blouse for another styling soon. The sunglasses were also from Sainsbury's sale last summer and the bangle and rings are from random sources (gifts and pre-loved).

I'm still getting a kick out of these frilled trousers and they get me a fair few compliments too. It'll be interesting how long this challenge will fire me with enthusiasm, but I promise to drop it before my passion wanes. The joy is in discovering pieces within my wardrobe that work well rather than just can be worn with black - the difference is huge in my book.

Please join me on Sunday for another edition of Ping Pong Piece where we'll be styling wide trousers for our sins! In the meantime, I do hope that the hurricane Gert swoops over the top of us all without causing too much damage. Stay safe x

Anna x

Penultimate summer show

How quickly this has come around! I can barely believe that we have only one more summer exhibition to host and the schedule will be over. 

Yesterday we opened another collection (see here) with our attending artist, Flynn O'Reilly. This was Flynn's first show with us, but he wasn't in the least overcome by the occasion and chatted to clients about his work which was the result of his winter residency on the island. Flynn lives and has a studio in Cornwall and has been holidaying on the Isles of Scilly since he was a young child - consequently he knows his subject inside out. Congratulations to him for making his first two sales with us by the end of the evening!

My outfit for the evening was not what I had planned. I have a really lovely vintage maxi dress in a sheer black fabric printed with orange flowers that I had hoped to wear, but after much faffing about with underskirts of various lengths combined with camis/bodies I gave up. I really need to line it and do in fact have black satin bought with that in mind. Time has been sadly lacking to get this done over the summer months, but hopefully before the October show I will manage to get my sewing machine out to tackle the job. Instead I wore - skirt: QED London, top: Tu at Sainsbury's, belt: eBay, shoes:H&M, necklace: Dorothy Perkins, rings: pre-loved.

My thanks as always to the dream team of the evening - Heather, Polly and Max who were all in fine fettle as you can see!

On Friday I'll be featuring my Black Trouser Challenge and on Sunday it'll be time for Ping Pong Piece once again. Do please join me!

Anna x