Cool dressing for another heatwave

Another week and another heatwave outfit - who'd have thought it? Friday's work outfit was all about keeping cool in the stifling heat. It was another scorching day on the Isles of Scilly and at work we had no way of escaping the intense temperature despite having the doors and sky lights open - there wasn't a breath of wind.

I chose this new airy smock dress (from TK Maxx) to keep me cool and it was pretty successful. The fabric is light and the cut very generous to allow lots of movement and air circulation - not that this was on my mind when I bought it as I simply loved the mix of paisley and floral patterns together. This was another purchase from the spring when I was on the mainland and I had scooped up some new clothes for the months ahead. 

I'd spent most of the day longing for a sea swim at the end of work. The thought of the refreshingly cool water was what kept me going as the mercury rose. At one point while I was serving a customer I bent down to get a paper bag and felt two beads of sweat trickle from bra line down over my tummy - how little exertion was needed to work up a sweat! 

The end of the day couldn't come quick enough for Fiona and I so we had a lazy walk to the south end of the island to find a spot for the photo shoot. It was a bonus to find an empty beach in the height of the summer - this is known as Bathing House Beach. Afterwards we crossed the road behind here and dropped down onto Appletree Bay for a delicious cooling swim.

The outfit was all about comfort so I opted for my sparkly flower sandals to finish off the look. These were from Amazon and are a wonderful mix of comfort and style - the insoles are nicely padded making them all-day wearable. 

My sunglasses are from Radley London and the chunky necklace (Topshop) earned me lots of compliments as it picked up most of the colours of my dress. 

Nothing new jewellery-wise at all. The rings are both old, but work fine with this look.

The islands are busy as ever at the moment which is exactly as it ought to be. We're having a bumper time in the Gallery for our artists too. Sales are strong and I'm just about to fill our art container ready for shipping to the mainland this week. We no long host exhibitions, instead we showcase one painting per artist and from there offer private viewing for the clients to see more from their chosen artists. The gallery has a wonderful mixture of paintings, a real eclectic gathering of styles offering something for everyone. We've hit upon a winning combination for artists and clients alike. I love this new format and as a business model it's a huge success. Hurrah!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x

Another week, another heatwave outfit!

Yes it's another heatwave hello from me! I'm gradually learning what works in these high temperatures with Friday's work outfit looking like this. It's not new and has been featured on the blog previously, but the loose fit and total cover up seemed to keep me cool all day long. The paisley maxi skirt was a charity shop buy and the silky paisley top was a hand me down/up from Sasha quite a few years ago.

The agapanthus are in full bloom now so Fiona and I walked out to the Heliport down on the south end of the island to capture these colourful shots. The photo shoot was meant to be followed by a cooling swim in the sea at (nearby) Appletree Bay, but yours truly managed to forget her swimming costume. Barefooted Fiona and I walked across the heather (sprinkled with prickly gorse) to Pentle Bay, but by the time we arrived there to the choppy sea and windy side of the island it was 8pm and my offer of skinny dipping had lost its appeal.

This multicoloured beaded necklace is new to me, a recent charity shop find for the princely sum of £3. I've been holding back to find the right outfit to showcase this and am really happy with the overall look.

Rings are preloved and the pink stretch belt was an eBay buy from years ago. I love the mish mash of colours here though - so very summery!

This must be the year of summer flatties for me! These floral sandals are heaven to wear as the back strap is stretchy and the soles are soft and spongy to assist all day comfort. Apologies if the comfort work keeps cropping up on my blog of late, but heck I'm on my feet all day and really need a kind and wearable shoe for my weary feet. I found these ones on Amazon. 

It's such a feminine outfit and one that had me wafting about with a smile on my face all day long. 

So this was us, Fiona, me and Jilly, partners in crime on Thursday as we staged a picnic on the beach at the end of our working day. After much promising and planning we finally co-ordinated our diaries and managed to spend a few hours lounging about on the sand, eating and drinking and even having a dip to cool off. We laughed and chatted and shared stories of work and home. Our next date will be a movie night at mine as I've got a great film saved on my planner. But anyway, Jilly was in fits of laughter at my tales of woe when the world seemed to conspire on the previous day leaving me frauded and flat.

My day had started badly with a message on my home phone to say that my credit card was showing suspicious activity and for me to press any button to run through a security check. Well, I don't know about you, but I've watched so many of those scammers programmes that I don't trust any automated message. I dismissed it and went off to work. Some time later I found a text message from Tesco's to say that they couldn't fulfill my grocery order as my card had been declined. Typical! On Wednesday's I only have cover at work after lunchtime. I was also due to have an afternoon meeting with a local jeweller bringing some (long-awaited) pieces for our display. It's been two years in the planning so this was going to be a lovely catch up with Sophie especially as she's created an exclusive range for Gallery Tresco.

Finally I manged to leave work just after 1pm and went home to check my credit card account online. Well blow me! I'd indeed been frauded - I had a payment showing for an Uber!!!! (I live on a tiny island, only one mile by two, with not an Uber in sight.) Anxious and more than a tad worried, I rang the number on the back of my credit card and after much waiting, followed by the necessary security questions, I finally got through. "I'm sorry Mrs Parkes" said the assistant on the fraud line, "but our alarm has just gone off and we're evacuating the building. You'll have to ring back later." Grrrrr...

My morning had been punctuated with phone calls from Tesco's regarding the failed payment but I had no time to resolve this as I was manning the desk alone. My next lunchtime call was to them and ironically coincided with the same lunchtime for the only operative who could unravel the non payment and rescheduling of my order. Off I go the to the Post Office, accounts office and then back home for lunch. On returning to work, well would you believe it, but my meeting with the jeweller had taken place with my stand-in in my absence! More seething and gnashing of teeth at the missed opportunity for this face to face as she was already on the boat back to St Mary's.

Various small challenges threw themselves at me within the workplace throughout the afternoon and I also managed to miss speaking to the Tesco's operative when I was tied up selling a painting to a client. Eventually I broke free and dashed home to call him back. We were connected, but surprise, surprise my home phone died at the moment we were about to speak! I put it on charge, returned to work and received several text messages from the bank asking me to call. Finally at 4.30pm I got through to the bank and they succeeded in putting a stop on my card. By this time I was so stressed out about Ubers and missed Tesco's orders that the fraud line assistant actually asked me to stop and take a deep breath. She then went on to say how difficult it is to send any messages by phone or text which are understood to be authentic. She continued, saying that I'd acted responsibly and was 100% correct in using my credit card as the true source of the contact phone number rather than risk responding to what may have been a scam call. Ten minutes later and I had finally managed to reschedule my grocery order too.

By 6pm the working day was over and the dust had settled on my financial debacles. I gathered together my swimming things, safe in the knowledge that a long swim on Appletree Bay was just the tonic I needed. I made a flask, grabbed a snack and a book ready for a couple of hours winding down in the evening sunshine. I jumped onto my bike and headed off. But wait, my bad luck hadn't finished - I had a flat front tyre!!!!  Defeated, I retreated to home and bed. Sometimes bed is the only answer!

                                                                      Anna x

What do you wear to work during a heatwave?

What to wear during in a heatwave isn't an everyday problem here in the UK, but golly we're having to consider it now! Lucky for me I've recently bought this large, loose, linen dress which fits the bill perfectly. It's another purchase from the small boutique, Number 36, on Causeway Head in Penzance. 

This lightweight linen dress is a heavenly piece of clothing, perfect for the high temperatures we're suddenly experiencing here on the Isles of Scilly. It's loose and airy, and shockingly for me, I didn't even add an underskirt! The Gallery has been like an oven despite us opening both doors and skylights so cool clothing is the name of the game. 

I love the stripe pattern, I love the side pockets and I totally love the colours - it's a fab find for the summer. Imagine how lovely this would be in turquoise too? Hmmm, I maybe need to search for one.

The free fitting, drapey dress was a dream to wear all day long. I conceded footwear-wise too on Friday, choosing to wear my new white leather Lazy Dogz sandals to complete the comfort factor of the day's outfit. 

This contemporary brushed silver chain necklace was also from Number 36. This will be a versatile piece of jewellery that I'm sure you see over and over again.

The fuchsia frock is another opportunity to bring out my pink Candy Bag. I've gone with pink and silver with my rings too, neither of them new, but both lovely none the less.

So, that was Friday's work outfit. Today, Sunday saw the mercury continue to rise and it was the hottest day so far this summer. Tresco was awash with boats and sun seekers, filling our beaches and enjoying the Jubilee Trophy gig race and live music at the pub. Steve and I however, are still hard at work on the renovations on our boat. I spent the whole day in the shade - 

Yep, here I am laid out under the boat applying the second coat of anti-fouling paint onto the hull. I was grateful of this face guard as it ended up dotted with drips and splatters which otherwise would have dotted my face. Steve is in charge of the the real renovations, all I am able to do is push a paint brush around. After two days the hull is much improved.

I haven't missed out on the lovely weather completely though - each day I've escaped during lunchtime to swim on the high tide. In due course, the boat will be finished and we'll enjoy our away day escapes to the uninhabited islands for picnics and sea swims. I'm not too upset at the delay as I know our efforts will be worth it. I must take some more snaps to share with you too. I'll leave you with a fab beach shot from the other day when Fiona and I had a lunchtime walk at the start of this fab spell of weather.

Cradle Porth is as beautiful as ever...

Anna x