Welcome to the Jungle our Style Not Age challenge for May

Welcome to our style challenge for May!

This month Emma chose "Welcome to the Jungle" as our Style Not Age theme, a great idea if I may say so. I was delighted when she suggested this as I've had the perfect outfit waiting for this very opportunity. But first, let's see what sparked her challenge shall we?

Style Splash's Emma has nailed it with this fabulous trouser suit by Scotch and Soda. In fact, I love everything about this outfit - the cute tee shirt, matching necklace and the orange accessories all amount to blooming perfection!

Hilda from Over The Hilda is a woman after my own heart by borrowing her daughter's cardigan for this feature. I'm partial to a bit of clothes sharing too! The beautiful cardi is by designer Hayley Menzies, as stocked by Liberty amongst other stores.

Gail from Is This Mutton is sporting a snazzy palm tree print jumpsuit with mules from Topshop. A neon see-through clutch and statement necklace finish off the look.

Jacqui from Mummabstylish played a great move here by borrowing her jumpsuit and scarf from her daughter too and boy doesn't she look great in them?

My silky and comfy two piece is from by George at Asda and was a charity shop find last year. I picked up the trousers while I was in Truro at one of my favourite shops. On taking them to the till, the assistant asked if I'd seen the matching top .... Well, I hadn't, but was delighted when she flicked through the racks and yes, it was still there! Both the trousers and top are loose fitting with elastic waistbands making them just right for lounging around or getting out and about on hot days. The two piece cost me £7.50, so what's not to love?

Just a quick mention to my artistic director of today's shoot for capturing these jungle shots. My long suffering husband gets dragged out twice a week for the blog photos and it's all done with good humour, but isn't one of his favourite tasks. I gave him the jungle remit and he delivered this great backdrop. I spotted this fallen log on what looks like a jungle swamp and said it would be great to stand on this for some atmospheric shots. This entailed him carrying me down a slippy bank and across this marshy bog to plonk me atop the slightly rotting tree. Thank goodness no-one saw me getting a piggy back especially as he nearly tripped as we were navigating the downwards slope. I was impressed that he lined up the Montbretia flowers to add to the shots - hurrah for my darling hubby!

Here's a better look at the outfit. The short sleeves have a cute bow as adornment. 

All of my jewellery is pre-loved. The sunglasses of the day are by Quay Australia.

The perfect footwear for today's outfit, these flower sandals were from Primark a couple of summers ago.

Thanks for joining us again this month and I do hope you've found some inspiration from the collective. I'll be back on Friday with the weekly Dress Up Friday feature so I hope you'll join me for that too.

Wishing you a lovely week!

Anna x

Hurrah for Dress Up Friday!

Here I come with Dress Up Friday!

Yes, it's that time of the week again and I'm delighted to be taking part in this weekly gathering where like minded souls parade their idea of dressing up. Last week I chose a jumpsuit and this week I've opted for a very flouncy frock. Like so many of you, I'm not indulging in retail therapy at the moment meaning I'm shopping my closet for the outfit of the day. 

It's frilly, flouncy and so utterly feminine and I just love it! The delightful dress was from Zara last summer when Steve and I were in London for the weekend. See that colourful post here if you haven't already. I didn't try the dress on at the time due to the massive queues at the changing rooms, knowing that this smock style surely had to fit, and it does. I love the romance of the tiers of frills and the peach flower sprigged print is very flattering for my skin tone. Yes, this is a keeper and I do hope to be wafting about in it as an old rocker in my 70's!

The dress has an irrestistable swoosh factor.

Our photo shoot was early in the morning, but we still managed to be photo-bombed by my daughter, of all people, who was out for a 15k run!

I'm not sure how many laps of the island she had to do to achieve that impressive distance.

The gold sandals are by London Rebel, bought from TK Maxx.

I'm sporting a fab pair of Radley sunglasses today along with a green resin necklace and toning rings - all charity shopped. Radley has a buy one get one free offer on until the 27th of May so hurry to grab yourself a bargain. 

I'll leave you with one final swoosh! 

Thanks for joining me again today. I'll be back on Monday with the ladies from the Style Not Age collective, so do please swing by to see what we've been up to this week.

In the meantime, have a super weekend!

Anna x

Yay! Another Dress Up Friday

Happy Friday!

Hello and happy Friday to you all. And yes, Friday now means Dress Up Friday which surely has to be the highlight of my week currently. I do miss dressing up for work so this is the next best thing. What about you? Do you have a day when you bring out your glad rags? Sunday maybe when you Zoom the family? Do let me know what merits some dressing up in your life.

I bought this fabulously colourful jumpsuit in the autumn of 2018 when I was in Manchester filming an advert for JD Williams. The all-in-one was from H&M in collaboration with GP & Baker fabric which I picked it up in their end of summer sale. See my styling of it then, but mainly to check out my sharp haircut of the day - oh how I'm missing getting to the hairdressers!

I chose neutral sandals (Bertie) and belt (pre-loved) for today's outfit along with my lovebirds handbag (also pre-loved) to tie in with the pink and blue of the flowers. 

Orange is my accent colour for rings and bangle - all of these are charity shop finds.

Today's sunglasses are by Guess. The tonal beaded necklace was from a market in Cape Town.

Thanks for joining me again today. As the lock-down restrictions are gradually being eased in England, I can say I'm delighted to report that sea swimming outdoors is now legal again as are water sports. Wednesday saw a flurry of boats being launched in the harbour at New Grimsby. Apart from that we're not seeing much different here on the island currently. Plans are afoot to gradually restart the business within the next month or so which has galvanised me into action again. I'd determined to achieve as much of my spring cleaning as possible before I have to return to work. 

The view from my kitchen window looks as quiet and calm as ever.

Anna x

A seaside stroll in the sunshine

Hello from sunny Tresco!

Today is all about the beautiful island of Tresco and specifically this beach, called Appletree Bay. Steve and I took ourselves out for an early morning stroll along the shoreline to capture some pretty outdoors shots away from the village. This beach is only a five minute cycle or a 20 minute walk from home. On a very big spring tide, this beach dries out completely, joining up with a central sandbar which stretches all the way to the island of Bryher behind me. This is where the Low Tide event is staged - see my post from last year about this here.

My weekend outfit is a mix of pre-loved and newish pieces. My sister Dianne kindly sent me these cropped trousers last year and this is the first time I've worn them. I have posh shoes and a smart jacket that would also look great together, but opted for this relaxed look instead. When I get back to work I'll feature the other option.

The sheer striped top was a second hand buy (brand is M&S) and underneath is a vest top from Topshop (again pre-loved). My mind wandered off then, to consider my preference for pre-loved clothes which supports my passion for recycling and reducing waste. I wonder if UK clothes retailers will rein in their production over the forthcoming months? Or will the hunger for all things new still be present in our consumers? Will these long weeks at home have shaped the consumerism of the future? The big question of "Do I really need this?" might be easier to answer now that we've managed without so much recently. 

My wedge sandals are by Guess and came from TK Maxx last year. Both of my rings are pre-loved. 

The sunglasses of the day are my old faithfuls by Quay Australia.

The turquoise and silver anklet was from Accessorize last year.

A sense of peace is probably the most obvious thing we locals have all noticed over the past weeks of lock-down. With no vapour trails overhead and scarcely a boat to break the silence, we have all been gifted this time to bask in the idyll of island life. We've been blessed with beautiful weather too, enabling us to make the most of our surroundings without seeing a soul. We seem far removed from the reality of Covid-19 and yet we know how fragile and vulnerable our island communities are to the very real threat of the invisible warrior. Social distancing is practiced here as everywhere and our shop operates as those on the mainland do with ours only allowing 4 shoppers at a time. Once freedom of movement resumes we're all aware that our stress levels will rise as we have visitors and workers return from the mainland and we too will experience the kind of anxieties that have become the norm elsewhere. For the moment we are savouring the calm before the storm.

I'll be back on Friday with my latest feature of Dress Up Friday - do pop by if you've got a minute!

                                                                           Anna x

Keep on keeping on!

Hello again!

Thanks for joining me today. It was only 24 hours ago in the spring sunshine that Steve and I took these shots in the green heartland of Tresco. I was feeling bright and bouncy in this colourful outfit and delighted to have something to share with you for my next feature. And then I woke up this morning with a real dose of the blues, brought on, I think, by disturbed sleep. Since I was a child I've been a poor sleeper with the slightest of worry impacting on my ability to drop off to sleep. I'm often still awake at two or three in the morning, reading as I try to wear myself or rather my brain out. The lack of mental stimulus currently is what seems to be showing with me now. Much as I can be physically tired, my brain is churning away the moment I switch the light out.

Anyway, I thought I'd follow my own, and often used, advice of Keep on, keeping on. We're all suffering ups and downs during lockdown and a dose of the blues is probably the least of our worries. Loneliness, financial hardship and worse of all, loss of friends or family members all overshadow my down in the mouth days, and yet we ought to be able to reach out to others in similar situations eh? My moods aren't consistent at the moment, but who can honestly claim to be coping all of the time? Lean forward and give me a virtual hug right now and I'll return it with gusto!

When I look at this shot the first thing I notice is how much I need a haircut. It's almost two months since I was last at the hairdresser and wonder how long it will be until I get back again. I'm already toying with the idea of scarves and hairbands as I see so many other woman resorting to currently. 

I need my colours done too!

I decided to add a pair of earrings to my look today as a distraction from the lack of hair style. These are a vintage pair of yellow and white beaded earrings bought from a friend who sells vintage clothes and jewellery online. See her Instagram feed here Madamefifipresents. Annie and I first met in London when we were both attending the casting audition for JD Williams a couple of years ago and have been friends ever since. I'm also sporting another new pair of Radlely sunglasses featuring sweet two tone frames.

As for the rest of the outfit, well you may have seen it all before, but not together. The Levi's denim jacket is most definitely vintage as I stole it from Steve when we first got together over 40 years ago. It definitely has improved with age - a bit like him I have to say! The bright pink chinos are by Boden (a couple of years ago) and the trainers were from TK Maxx last year.

The embroidered runners are by Replay and were a joyful find when I was at the Harrogate branch of TK Maxx. 

I found this fabulous Frida Kahlo tee shirt in Primark last spring and went on to buy five more for friends as well as my daughter. I fancy I was threatening to showcase us all wearing it together but never got around to that. We could maybe try again later this summer if things pan out well?

The glorious handbag was a purchase when I ran riot in London charity shopping with my dear friend Ben. We had a great weekend together, but I must admit his energy outlasted mine and I had to retreat to the welcome comforts of a bath long before the shops closed, but not before we had filled my shopping bags with ample loot. See the spoils strewn across my bed as his house here. The yellow bangle was from the same time and the rings are both pre-loved too.

I'll leave you with this lush and verdant backdrop of Pool Road on Tresco. A month of sunshine and showers has the island looking as beautiful as ever. I'm enjoying my daily jaunts outdoors and took a lovely little video from the beach on Pentle Bay last week - click here to see and hear the theraputic sounds of the sea. 

I'll be back again on Friday with another offering for the Dress Up Friday feature. Please do swing by again - I'd love to hear from you!

                                                                                        Anna x