Hurrah for the sunshine!




Wow, what a difference a little bit of sunshine makes! I honestly can't begin to explain how much the sunny weather on Sunday made to my mood. Not only that, but I took myself off to the beach on Saturday morning to swim on the high tide despite the fact that it was tipping down with rain. The sea was glorious - chilly, yes - but the isolation that the sea offers; the sense of escape and ultimately the watery meditation that the big blue provides is the best therapy ever. I returned to Green Porth on Sunday morning and repeated the whole process with even more delight as I didn't have to struggle to get dressed in the downpour as on Saturday.




I sometimes forget the importance of pushing myself to make time to swim, forgetting that the payback is immediate and also long lasting. From day to day all I need to do is succumb to the restorative powers of the ocean to feel 100% me again. Without this daily regime I do indeed go downhill mentally and wonder if that's similar to an drug addict craving their next hit. Whatever, if you hear me complain about feeling low, please remind me to get to the sea!




The outfit of the day all comes from Vinted. Second hand satisfies my desire to reduce landfill and Vinted is also helping me reduce my own dejunking efforts too - it's a win/win. The top is by Adidas, leggings are by Stronger and the green boots have no brand or labels on them but are brand spanking new.




I love the soft green colour of these and they are super soft and very comfy. I've thrown this look together without too much notice as to if all the colours work together - it's a fun outfit, a weekend play look and I love it!




The rings are old, pre-loved too and the sunglasses are by Radley London. I played on the ramparts of the Old Blockhouse castle, enjoying the space on this brilliant sunny afternoon. What a joy!








The rest of my weekend comprised of batch cooking for the freezer, cleaning, defrosting the freezer and the Sunday roast dinner. Two swims and a lovely walk in the sunshine far outweighed the weekend chores which is surely a sign of me getting the balance right. Many thanks for swinging by again.


Have a super week!

Anna x

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Another weekend outfit




Hello again! How was your weekend? Busy? I managed some downtime with a couple of swims and a walk in the sunshine on Sunday afternoon which was lovely. I'm painfully aware that the feel of the island will change soon once we become fully open and that's essential to keep us all in gainful employment, but I will miss the peaceful walks and empty beaches. I also know that once the season starts we're all suddenly 'on' becoming acclimatised to that position overnight. I'm really not complaining, simply saying that the year is most definitely a game of two halves.




I'm sporting my new silver puffa jacket (£10 from Vinted, the brand is Parisian) along with an outfit that's all old pieces - shopping from my wardrobe as the wonderful radio presenter Gabby Roslin says. 




What an absolute joy is was to see the sun! Honestly, we've had rain and fog for days and days over the past couple of weeks and it's all a bit wearing. 




Nothing new with the jewellery either, but these rings and necklace all tone very well, don't you think? Do you have a rummage in your local charity shops for jewellery? It's one of my favourite things when I'm off-island. Even if I'm not in the market for some new clothes (take my temperature - there must be something wrong with me!) I do love to find some hand me down and vintage jewellery. I have mini-pots for all my rings, one in each colourway, from silver and gold to pinks, oranges and blues. My sunglasses are by Radley London.




This may not be my most glamorous of outfits, but weekends do mean comfort for me, that plus practicality. I run about at home doing chores and cooking, making beds and taking out the rubbish, talking of which, I've recently promoted myself to Waste Manager on the home front and what sense of good deed done it gives me! Our waste bins aren't emptied for us, instead we have a local recycling area. In another life I think I might have made a good binman! How tragic am I talking about the rubbish on my blog!!!!!




Very soon my blog will be populated by work outfits, but for the moment, I thought it was fine to let you see me in casual mode. I've been beetling away behind the scenes at work all winter, visiting cottages across the island to check and update art in the newly renovated houses. Hill Top, Doctor's, Nurses and Reading Room cottages have all had new bathroom upgrades, so once those were completed my job was to rehang and exchange art to enhance the overall look - it's a very satisfying part of my job.




Many thanks for dropping by. I do hope that life is treating you well! Enjoy the rest of the week and I'll be back on Monday with our monthly style challenge, so do please swing by to see how that goes. 

                                                                        Anna x

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Blue Monday post




Hi there! Thanks for swinging by again. I'm posting on Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year as we're all supposed to be in a full post-Christmas slump, but hopefully it's not been too much of a trial for you. This year it's on the 15th of January which is my daughter's birthday (she's 35). We met up with Sasha yesterday to have brunch with her in one of the Seagarden Cottages where she's enjoying a few days of luxury as a gift to herself. I dodged outside to take a few shots of my outfit, but couldn't find the right spot either out of the sun (too bright)... 






...or in the shade (too dark). The view was pretty spectacular though!




I've been itching to wear this wonderful waterfall tulle skirt since I bought it recently on Vinted. I can hardly bear to tell you how much it cost. What do you think? Would you believe that even though it's brand new it only cost £5? Honestly! The rest of the outfit is from my wardrobe, nothing new. The waistcoat is years old and may not ever have been shown on the blog, but do tell me if I'm wrong. The blouse is ancient, was a charity shop buy from years ago, boots are from ASOS, sunglasses are from Quay Australia and cream tights are very old indeed.




Later on I swapped the waistcoat for this fitted jacket (very old). I really like this look; the yellow tweed jacket has a gold fleck to it and works so well with the soft fluid nature of the tulle and chiffon. The chunky boots toughen the look up without being too overpowering.




The broad tan leather belt is another way to add an accent without it becoming too much of a focal point. For me this outfit is all about the skirt, so hopefully the balance with the other pieces works to allow the tulle to remain at centre stage.




Nothing new with these citrine rings - I've had them for years now - they were gifted to me as part of a collaboration with Gemporia way back in  2017 (see here).










No doubt you'll see this skirt again and again and again this year. It's an obvious piece for summerwear, but I so wanted to try to winterise it successfully and think I did. Do you agree? I actually wore my cream cow print fur coat over the top of this as it was so chilly - sorry I forgot to get shots of that but we were running late. It's great to have your company again - many thanks and have a great week!

                                                                                         Anna x

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December is for Dressing Up, our Style Not Age challenge this month




Hurrah and Happy Christmas to us all! I do hope you're having a wonderful time. Our challenge this month has a festive theme and was chosen by Gail. I'm not averse to a bit of dressing up as you may know and so it wasn't a terrrible hardship to push the boat out for this most special of posts. Let's see how the others fared and come back to mine later...




Gail has totally embraced her prompt by pairing lime green sequins with a gold faux leather skirt to glamorous effect! Catch up with her on Is This Mutton blog for the full story.




This is Hilda's Christmas Day outfit which looks not only fabulous but also comfortable too which is very clever bit of Dressing Up. Read her backstory on Over the Hilda blog.




Gold satin and red wide legged trousers are another successful festive take on December Dressing up from Jacqui.  See more from her on Mummabstylish blog.




Pink, silver, glitter and sequins - Emma's brought it all in her Christmas outfit, even a bottle of bubbly! Find out what she'll be getting up to today on her blog Style Splash.




My trouser suit is a Christmas present from my son (under my instructions obviously) and is by Lavish Alice, a brand I've not come across previously. Its silver and gold pattern screams out festive dressing and I hope to find an excuse to wear it soon. 




I've teamed the suit up with a silver and white sequinned top which is very ancient and was a charity shop find. Sparkly rings are also pre-loved and the silver chain necklace was a Vinted purchase recently. I'm wearing classic black sunglasses by Radley London and must admit I felt red carpet ready in this glitzy lot!




I took myself off the Tresco Abbey Garden for this photo opportunity and think it makes for a lovely backdrop to the silver outfit.  My leather boots are old, from TK Maxx and are utterly fabulous don't you think - the brand is Buffalo.




And just in case you're wondering, I didn't traipse the mile from my home to the Garden dressed like this. I made use of the large loos on site to act as a changing room as no-one was around on the quiet Sunday afternoon. It was a two-for-one day as I captured last week's ensemble and this one at the same time.




And that rounds up another year of our Style Not Age challenge. Thank you so much for joining me and my blogging friends and I do hope you've been inspired to maybe try out something you've seen with us.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

Anna x

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Christmas jumper day




Hello again! Did you take part in National Christmas Jumper day last Thursday? Here on Tresco we did and this was my offering. It's not new, but is one of my favourite Christmas jumpers and really, I don't feel the need to keep buying a new one every year.




I think I bought this sweater a few years ago. It's from H&M and maybe needs a bit of debobbling this year. I must admit it was a last minute rush to find it and get an outfit together the other day. My rings are pre-loved.




The rest of the outfit is pre-loved or simply old. The trousers were passed on from my daughter and the white shirt was a charity shop buy many years ago. Sunglasses are old, from Radley London.




What's new however are these rather fabulous cow print boots, a recent purchase from Vinted. The brand is Koi and even though they look massively high the balance between platform and heel make them surprisingly comfortable. I wore them all day without a pinch or tweak.




I topped the outfit off with my oft-seen green faux fur coat, a regular at this time of year. Red, white and green is very traditional, a lovely look for the run up to Christmas. 




How are your Christmas preparations coming along? As usual I'm up to my elbows in fudge making before I can turn my attention to the home front. I've packed up and sent off some boxes to my relatives in Scotland today and will have more ready to wrap tomorrow. We won't be having our Christmas tree until nearer the time; it's down to Steve as to when he can make the time to find one in the woods somewhere. Apart from that we have presents on the way, so I'm poised with fingers crossed that Mr Postman will come up trumps.

                                                                                              Anna x

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The joys of the utility jacket




Who'd have thought I'd be excited about a utility jacket? I never cease to surprise myself! This beautiful floral jacket is from H&M (via Vinted, surprise, surprise!) and is my latest guilty pleasure. New, the jacket would have retailed at £39.95 and I paid £10 for it. Sorry if I'm beginning to sound like an advert for the second hand site, but honestly it's a source of some pretty amazing bargains. 




As is with all of my clothes, I buy them because I love them and this jacket is my latest new love. Even my husband is impressed by it. I think its appeal for me is the wonderful juxtaposition of a traditionally masculine style adorned with these perfectly feminine florals. This was its first outing, a stroll out on my day off to capture the simple stylish nature of the jacket whilst out in nature. Too cheesy? Sorry.




I've shopped my closet for the rest of this outfit. The shirt is old, from Primark, the fairisle tank top is an old charity shop find, the Levi's jeans are also pre-loved. 




The chunky chelsea boots were from Primark, bought a year ago and are super comfy for yomping about in the countryside. 




The jacket sports four big patch pockets, large and roomy with enough space to do away with a handbag if you wish; phone goes in one pocket, wallet in another, hairbrush and lipstick in the third and tissues in the last - perfect! My only accessories today are my Radley sunglasses and a simple gold chain.



 
I'm pleased as Punch with this new addition to my wardrobe. Winter walks will take on a new stylish attitude with this fabulous jacket.




My new working regime for the next few months is that of a four day week now. I've saved my annual leave up and am taking long weekends off to catch up at home. It also means that I'm able to fit in three consecutive days of sea swimming which is great for me at this time of year. I really do rely on my swimming to help stablise my SAD symptoms and it's held me in good stead for years. I'd love to say that I can manage to swim every day, but the shorter days are a challenge to fit it in either before or after work. In addition, the intermittant storms do impact on when it's safe to swim, but all in all I'm doing well. If you click on the tiny link above, just to the right of the About Me tab, you'll be able to see my latest swimming clip on Instagram.

I'll be back next Monday with our monthly Style Not Age challenge so do pop by if you get the chance. 

In the meantime have a great week!

Anna x

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Call me Sybil!




Hi there! Do you remember Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers? This frilled blouse brings her to mind don't you think? I fell in love with it at first sight, buying it without pause from Vinted last month. I love everything about it; the coral colour, the abundance of frills and flounces and general over-the-top look of it all. 




I thought the blouse deserved an outdoors photoshoot to capture the movement of the chiffon and up on the top of the island was a great setting. 




As you know, I totally love a bit of drama and this backdrop seemed to be perfect to showcase my new glamorous purchase. The view from King Charles' Castle overlooks Bryher and onwards out to the wild Atlantic Ocean. 




The crop flares are very old, but work well with the look, as do my orange leather boots - find them in the sale on the ASOS website here. The Gallery may be closed at the moment, but that's not going to stop me dressing up just for the heck of it!




I added a wide belt to bring the outfit together - this is very old too, but being leather has simply improved with age.




The entire outfit has been pulled together from existing pieces in my wardrobe, apart from the blouse obviously. Even the rings are old, also pre-loved, bought in charity shops.




The finishing touch is this beautiful oxblood leather coat by Next which I bought second hand from the Oxfam shop in Truro. A leather coat or jacket is such a worthy investment and this one is a keeper for me.




I feel I need to mention that I've sold a few items on Vinted recently which I think helps to counter the recent rash of purchases. At least if I can bankroll my purchases by selling at the same time then I'll arrive at a point of balance!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

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