Off-island

I've had a day off today, filled with lots of household chores, blah, blah, blah, but my reward was a jolly jaunt off-island for a picnic and photo shoot at the end of the day. Steve took me to Samson which was deserted and looking lovely as ever on the high tide.

A day off means dressing down for a change. The jeans are from Next, the top is from H&M but is very old, as are the sandals which are so old that I can't read the brand name on the sole (they came from TReds in Truro many moons ago). The bag was a charity shop find last summer.

Rolled up jeans are just right for jumping on and off the boat. I particularly like these as they're high waisted and seem to hold everything in place better than low rise jeans do on me of late. I seem to be suffering from not just muffin tops, but also there are real signs of that softening around the middle aka the dreaded middle aged spread. 

A strange thing seems to be happening to my figure which I suppose I could put down to the big 60. Much as my weight remains more or less the same, there's a definite slackening of skin tone which is not what I signed up for. I know I'm not fat, but I can gather bits of me up in rolls that I never used to have. Sorry, probably too much information!

The view from up here is fab. Rocks, sea and dazzling sunshine.

It's amazing what a little bit of sunshine does for our mood. Just a couple of days ago we had fog and yesterday it was bitterly cold with a strong north east wind ( I was in winter boots and a polo neck) and yet today it could pass for a summer's day. Hurrah!

The decorations on my sandals are cleverly wired so that no matter how long they're packed away every winter, I can easily tweak them back into shape again. The embroidered butterflies and ornamental flowers don't look a bit out of place in the bed of flowers underfoot.

I've lived on the Isles of Scilly for 40 years and this is the first time I've been right up on the top of Samson. The view is stunning and you can see all of the other islands from here.

And here's my photographer, boatman and picnic companion. Thanks Steve for making this happen!

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