Anna does Kirstie at Christmas

Happy Christmas my lovelies!

Hello and thanks for dropping by today. I bet I'm not alone in wondering how Christmas has suddenly been and gone already. All that hype, all those preparations, all that food and packing of presents and suddenly - it's over! 

This is my Christmas day frock a la Kirstie Allsopp. I'm a huge fan of her pre-Christmas bonanza of programmes in which she wears the shirtwaister dress in all sorts of colours and patterns. I found mine in a charity shop in September and stashed it away ready for the big day. It's a vintage piece by the brand Kerena. The red, green and gold theme screamed out festive dressing the minute I saw it and the voile fabric was too pretty to resist. 

I changed the self fabric belt for this gold trimmed woven one (pre-loved) to add a bit more Christmas pizazz. The ring is also pre-loved and my necklace was a gift from Sasha a couple of years ago - it's been one of my most featured pieces of jewellery thanks to the simplicity and therefore versatility of it.

(Just a little aside here. I spent most of Christmas day thinking I'd forgotten something and it was only when I reviewed these photos that I remembered - the deforestation of my eyebrows! A tad more lipstick wouldn't have gone amiss either.)

I wanted to lift the dress out the conservative dressing bracket and gave it a touch of tartan to create something more "Anna's Island Style". The boots were from M&S ages ago. The red glitter tights add a touch of glamour - maybe too much for some, but a dash of fun for me.

Anyway folks, I wasn't sure if anyone would be checking the blog over the festive period so thank you for calling. I'll be back on Monday for the last of our Style Not Age challenge for 2019. The theme is Winter Opulence and I'm sure it's gonna be a corker! Do pop by for that if you get a moment.

I'll leave you with this fabulous sunset shot taken from my garden this evening.

                                                                                   Anna x

Orange + sequins = heaven!

Hello to you, my dear readers!

Today's offering gives more than a nod to the festive season and golly, how wonderful it makes me feel! I love orange. I love sequins. And therefore this is a heady delight for me to air once again. I wore this fabulous jacket way back at the start of the year (see here) and again in the spring (here). It's pretty bold, even by my standards and so I have to be in the right frame of mind to carry this off. 

If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I find the winter months a real struggle. This year more so than most as I'm not able to swim currently and that daily dip is what keeps me from descending into the black hole of depression which snaps away at my heels for the long dark months. But I've discovered that the discipline of a daily walk yomp has an equally good effect on my mood. Now, that may be because I've been joined by friends on some days, but even on those days when I've stamped around the circuit on my own, I've been energised and so very pleased with my efforts. 

I'm finding the walking bug has got me in the very same way that the swimming bug did. The daily yomp has become an addiction regardless of the weather. The circuit I walk is a full hour of speed walking both up and down hills, across moors and coastal paths and I just love this new found high. The other day Jilly and I were striding out in a howling gale dressed in full wet-gear, marching alongside the exposed southern coast as we tried hard to keep up our conversation. As we reached the top of an incline we were suddenly blasted by sand; it was the cheapest spa treatment ever as we were exfoliated by gusts of mica-laden wind and we laughed at each other as we struggled to see. The ferocity of the wind stole the words from our mouths, dragged the snot from our noses, and forced us to stagger bent double against it. I was grateful for my sunglasses protecting my eyes and also for the scraps of loo roll Jilly dragged out from the corner of her pockets. Afterwards as we hugged and said our goodbyes, we both congratulated each other on that life-affirming walk; the extreme weather making the challenge all the more of an achievement. Never mind ladies who lunch, we're ladies who yomp!

And so, to the outfit. Another Eight is the brand of this dazzling bomber jacket which is surprisingly cosy, thanks to the fulsome padding. I would wear it more often, but even for me it's pretty out there. Having said that, I plan to wear it a lot over the Christmas period. I'm suddenly back in love with this flamboyant piece and it fills me with joy and the "Why not?" philosophy that has served me so well in the past.

The turtle neck was second hand (from eBay) and the rings are pre-loved too.

The brocade boots are from ASOS.

The high waisted Mom jeans are from Topshop, earning lots of praise for the great fit as well as the contrasting lime green stitching. I picked them up at the end of the summer sale (£20) - result! The leopard print belt is second hand and my sunglasses are my old faithfuls from Quay Australia.

I'll leave you now, as I have to return to the task in hand, that being another few batches of fudge to be made, cut and packed before the weekend is over. I love the pleasure of giving these be-ribboned boxes out to family and friends. There's something so special about a hand-made Christmas present isn't there? For me 'tis the joy of giving, that's for sure!

In case I don't get back to you again before the event, I'll just say -

Happy Christmas to you all! 

                                                                                    Anna x

Tartan and fur for that festive feeling

Hurrah, Christmas cometh!

Hello again my dear readers. I suddenly find myself on that crazy roller coaster ride that is the countdown to Christmas. I have a mixture of joy and panic flipping inside my tummy currently. Yes, I bought a lot of presents, but no, I've not checked if all the festive food menus are going to work out. This weekend I'll be nipping to St Mary's to have my hair cut and check out the last of my to-do list at the shops. How about you? Are you making progress towards the big day?

I've rolled out one of my favourite Christmas looks today with my teddy bear spruce green fur coat supported by a very healthy dose of tartan (or plaid for my readership across the pond). I'm terribly partial to bit of tartan which probably has something to do with being Scottish I suppose.

My beloved tartan boots were from M&S last year.  I must admit that my skirt and boots together remind me of my clan tartan.

This is Kerr tartan, the fabric of my clan. I wonder if this was worn to battle hundreds of years ago?

The only battle I was facing was with the driving winds, but that was a small price to pay for this stunning backdrop across the harbour at New Grimsby over to Bryher.

So, the outfit comprises of the fur coat by The Vintage Collection which came from TK Maxx last year, tartan skirt and black polo neck are both pre-loved and black cotton rich tights are from Tesco's. 

This has to be my favourite black sweater. I love the figure shaping ribbing plus the gilt buttons lift it out of the ordinary. Wash after wash it seems to hold it's shape beautifully. My necklace was a charity shop find, silver and black rings are one pre-loved and one from many moons ago.

My thanks for today's photos go to my lovely friend Fiona who gave up her lunch break to gad about with me looking for the right backdrop for our shoot. I hope you've enjoyed another peek at my island home. Have a great week and I hope to catch up with you again soon!

                                                                                    Anna x

Print frenzy

 

Hello and happy Sunday to my dear readers. Here I am today on the 1st of December enjoying the dry, sunny weather. No wet-gear or winter coat required, hurrah! You may remember seeing this leopard print top from a recent shopping trip (see here). Well, this is my first bit of styling. What do you think?

The top is by Tahari and came from TK Maxx (£19.99). It's a soft and cosy man-made fabric and I chose it mostly for the colour which is neither blue nor lilac. At the time of purchase I had no idea what I'd wear it with, but a quick root around in my wardrobe resulted in this outfit.

Apart from the top, I have say that I see these boots as the star of the show today. They're DKNY and must be at least 20 years old now. I had a good look at the box when I rediscovered them the other day to see that they're called Florence and the pattern name is Wallpaper. Well I can totally understand that name as yes, they do remind me of a wallpaper pattern.

The woollen skirt (by Claire DK) boasts this adorable mini kick pleated finish which flicks as you walk. It's a very grown-up skirt. I love it and do wonder how I manage to overlook it so often when I'm searching for inspiration in my closet. It drew lots of compliments today.

This cute little coral satchel bag pushed into the scene today thanks to the blue edging. I must have picked this up in a charity shop, but it has no label. No matter, it works perfectly to add a splash of colour to the otherwise blue theme. My rings are charity shop finds.

The blue faux leather jacket is an old favourite of mine and just worked to so well with the smart casual look I wanted to create. The brand is Toxik 3. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia. 

The bargain piece of the whole ensemble is this silver chain mail belt which I picked up for £1 in a charity shop. 

Much as I've called this a pattern frenzy, I think the checks, leopard print and wallpaper pattern don't clash at all, but meld beautifully in this melody of blue. I've mostly shopped my closet too, so I always give myself a pat on the back for that. 

Thanks to Fiona, my photographer of the day. She did a great job, despite us being photo bombed by a cat at one point!

Have a great weekend!

Anna x

Charity shopping at Crisis in London

Hello from London!

I love that saying, "Every cloud has a silver lining". Last weekend my silver lining took the form of a visit to stay with my dear friend in London. Ben used to be a Gallery assistant of mine (about 10 years ago I think) and our friendship has continued over the years. He's now a mature student studying for a degree in Japanese at SOAS in London. Although he's only just started his course I have every faith in his ability to achieve his goal. When he worked with me he was an absolute power horse, with not just a huge capacity for work, but he had a real flair for selling. Bright as a button and utterly focussed, this guy was always gonna go far! I'd come away to the mainland to have minor surgery on the skin cancer on my back, but rather than the starkness of a trip for that alone, I decided to tag on his offer to stay and have a tour of his local charity shops.

I'd forgotten my Oyster card, but Ben told me I could just use my contactless card to get around on the tube. I loved that I could keep the card safely inside the palm of my glove as I swiped my way around the underground! How exciting these wee things are for an island lass.

My wonderful shaggy leather bag was a gift from Ben many months ago. He bought it in Stanley Market in Hong Kong on his last trip there. Coat is by Covent Garden, two piece is by Zara as are these most comfortable of boots. Handbag is by Carvella. 

But first, was breakfast. Of course. You can't go shopping without a decent breakfast and Duck and Waffle serve a pretty mean breakfast it has to be said.  

The view from this 40th floor restaurant isn't too shabby either.

Ben went for the house special, Duck Benedict whereas I opted for something more simple, but equally delicious. We toasted the day over a glass of Mimosa. For a moment I was worried that we'd peaked too early. 

But no, things were just about to get a whole lot better. Ben took me to his favourite curated charity shop, Crisis at the bottom of Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park. The shop does away with that endless searching for a gem which can be so time consuming. Instead the staff pride themselves with sifting through the donations to steam and display designer wear along with more funky pieces that can command a good price. 

Coming from our tiny island community, one of the shocking truths about London for me is the amount of homeless people you see as you travel around the city. Ben told me that the number of deaths of the homeless is already over 140 this winter. It's a chilling thought that we're barely into winter and this figure is set to rise when the first cold snap hits. Crisis aims to help in the long term as well as over Christmas by bringing those in need off the streets into a caring community where they can not only eat and shower, but access all kinds of medical support and practical help too. My shopping was going to make a real difference to lots of lives. 

The haul!

When we returned to base Ben kindly modelled one of my most sparkly finds. This (H&M) cardigan will surely come into its own over the festive period.

The spree was mostly from the Crisis shop with a few other finds from the Cancer Research shop in Muswell Hill. Exhaustion soon set in, resulting in us beating an early retreat home. Ben cooked dinner while I had a soak in the bath, but not before I spread the loot out for us to admire. Not the best photo, I'm afraid, but you'll see more of these pieces over the next few weeks I'm sure.

All shopped out!

Truro was suitably festive by the time I arrived on Monday. I had time to do some Christmas shopping before going to the hospital for my appointment. In keeping with the island-girl-goes-shopping tradition, I packed up a box of presents, putting them in the post before coming home. Ben had sent a box of clothes home for me too. 

By Tuesday I had reduced my luggage to this amount. That day I had a frustrated trip to Land's End airport as the weather or rather cross-winds, put paid to my flight home. En masse we weary-from-going-nowhere travellers were sent away to return the next day. I took this opportunity to deposit my suitcase at the docks to be shipped home to me, hence avoiding excess baggage charges.

24 hours later and hurrah! Here she comes!

Farewell to the mainland! See you again next year.

Anna x