I've got that Friday feeling!

Hurrah, it's Friday!

Thank Crunchie it's Friday! Wow, what another busy week I've had. It's all downhill now to the weekend! Anyway, here's today's offering from my closet and yet another new-to-me piece to share with you. This lovely yellow blouse (another boat neck) was a charity shop find last year and yet this is the first time I've worn it. The brand is Tu at Sainsbury's and it cost me all of £3. Increasingly I'm finding how much I like yellow and how it really does give me a mental lift. I'm drawn to the yellow and orange hangers in my wardrobe, especially if it's a dull day and I'm fighting the blahs. Dull days do have that effect on me.

The fabric is a lightweight cheesecloth weave with these pretty sleeves and boat neck making it light and easy to wear. It's been very hot at work lately, and I'm finding that loose tops help me from overheating. (Wearing a mask all day is certainly raising my temperature too, that's for sure!)

The jungle print skirt was another second hand piece, this time the brand is River Island. It's a synthetic fabric, silky and light too. I love the big roomy pockets for that slouchy, casual feel - perfect for that Friday feeling!

I don't often wear earrings and that's because I don't have pierced ears. As a teenager I had my ears pierced, twice in fact, but both times they went septic despite the Dettol dousing as suggested, so I finally allowed them to close up. Every once in a while I come across some good old fashioned clip-ons. These beaded ones were bought from a friend who sells vintage jewellery. 

I've had these comfy yellow sling backs for years now. The toes are beginning to show wear and tear, but I'll be keeping them for as long as they hold together. I bought them in the Topshop sale many moons ago - too many to recall in fact. They are fake leather and buttery soft with it.

My sunglasses are old, from Tu at Sainsbury's. The striped perspex ring was a gift from my friend Wendy and the other was a charity shop piece. I just want to say that despite not shopping now since the start of March (in fact the last time I went shopping was actually February, but I had an online purchase in March), anyway, I've really surprised myself how I've not missed shopping at all. In fact, I've been amazed at the number of new-to-me items that are loitering in my cupboards and closet that have never yet seen the light of day. I'm trying hard to showcase these pieces before my seasonal change-over. Summer jackets seem to be abundant and I'll be featuring the first of these on Monday.

And that's just about it from me. Have you any plans for the weekend? Steve and I will be keeping an eye on the weather, ever hopeful that we'll get away for an outing on our boat. The house is however, showing terrible signs of neglect and also signs of the fact that my sea swimming regime is back on track. If only I could clone myself, the other version could be the stay-at-home housewife who kept everything spic and span while I worked during the week and had fun at the weekend! Who knows - in some future realm that may well be the norm...

                                                                                  Anna x

Episode two piece

Week 46 of 2019 (November 11th to 17th be precise) I was on the mainland, in Truro and the reason I know that is because I uncovered this gem in my wardrobe recently. It's a linen two piece that I'd bought and hidden away as a surprise for myself for the summer. At that time, little did I realise that I'd be deep in the midst of a 12 month shopping ban! What a great gift therefore to unearth it this summer just when I was needing a little retail therapy. I wore it to work for the first time last week with white trainers in the afternoon, but had started the day with sandals, like this -

Steve took these shots at the Old Blockhouse castle on Saturday after my return from the hairdressers. Not that you can really tell I've had my hair done! Storm Ellen was just on the wane, but it was still very windy up on the ramparts.

I ducked out of a revamp of my hair as I wasn't really sure what I wanted. Instead I opted for a tidy up of the ends plus fringe and had a few highlights and lowlights added to give a richer colour overall. For the moment I'm going to carry on growing it as Steve likes me with longer hair and in the meantime I'll try to find some style inspiration for next time. The salon experience was great - my stylist was in mask and visor and there were only two clients in the salon at a time. I was sat by the door which was open and it all felt very safe and clean. 

So, back to the outfit. The linen two piece has big shoulder pads which indicates this may be from the 80's, the decade of power dressing - a proper vintage find then. That, plus the shorter length dress place in in that era. It's in very good shape, feels hardly worn and the colour is strong and bright making me think it's been one of those old gems where it was kept for best. The lovely gold and green colour is a great combination. I got lots of compliments when I wore it the other day.

The shiny gold buttons led me to add gold in my accessories with my go-to gold chain necklace, gold rings (preloved) and gold cuff. The retro sunglasses are from River Island.

The gold coloured cuff is an old piece that I bought in the gallery from Almost Perfect, a brand that doesn't seem to be trading currently.

The gold wedge sandals were from TK Maxx, but not this year.

The neutral (see how I avoid using the word beige?) handbag is a beautiful Radley piece, second hand from a charity shop in Harrogate a few years ago. Every time I bring it out I wonder why I don't use it more often. It's a lovely size and the quality is superb.

The rest of my weekend was filled with ordinary domestic chores. I did have a lovely long swim on Sunday morning on Pentle Bay. The yachts around the islands are beginning to thin out now and Pentle Bay was completely empty. I do love to have a beach to myself in the morning. My swims have been few and far between of late due to the pressures of work, but when the tide is high in the morning I feel the call of the sea quite intensely and will juggle what I can to create space for this chill time. Storm Ellen had curtailed swimming for a few days too and it was a real bonus to get back in the water again. One of the results of the storm was finding a line of detached thongs of seaweed, each about four foot tall, which were staggered along beach in the sea at about chest height. They were each spaced about 20 feet apart, maybe about 10 of them in total, drifting in the water showing a round knobbly head on the waterline like sentinels. As I swam the length of the beach I could observe them underneath the sea, resembling Dementors from the Harry Potter movies, their long cloaks of seaweed billowing beneath them, hanging in a strange limbo unlike anything I'd seen before. The high tide was creating a rhythmic dance, wafting them this way and that as I passed by them. There presence was all the more spooky as the sun kept disappearing behind the clouds making the sea gloomy and dark. Typically, I didn't have phone or camera with me to capture this strange sight!

Thanks for taking the time to visit. Apologies to my blogging friends for my lack of contact recently, but as you know, work is all consuming at the moment (work, eat, sleep, repeat). I'd like to think that September will see an easing up for me. Fingers crossed I'll be back at the end of the week with something else to share with you. The forecast isn't too good and I've not got any photos taken yet, but hopefully I'll be on top of things by then!

Have a lovely week all of you!

Anna x

Bubble sleeves and scuba skirt

Happy Friday to you!

Yay, it's Friday and I'm ready for the weekend! What about you? It's been a busy week at work and now we've got storm Ellen blasting over the top of us. My photos were taken a little while ago which is just as well because the same view looks like this today -

Island life does mean that we really experience the full benefits of the weather, be it a wild storm like today or a wonderful sunny day. The big outdoors is only a step or a boat ride away and what a joy that is!

I've been delving into my wardrobe again, playing mix and match with skirts and tops, this time coming up with this old scuba skirt (from H&M) and adding the bubble sleeved top from TK Maxx (the brand is By Clara Paris). My silver and white sandals were a hand me down from my daughter (the brand is River Island).

The stretch and leather trim belt was a charity shop find and works a treat to pull the two separates together. The ribbed jersey top is quite thick and does bunch up just by the nature of the fabric, but I find that a snug belt adds a bit of smoothing and control. 

My black pair of Radley sunglasses work really well with the bubble top. See the pretty rose adornments close up here. Cute eh?

Both of my rings are charity shopped too. The rose one is particular favourite.

Weather permitting I'll be going to St Mary's tomorrow to have my hair cut and coloured. This will be the first time I've been since March. We've not had any boating for the past two days however due to the storm so I may not make my appointment. Wish me luck with that! In the meantime, here's a shot of the Gallery from a couple of minutes ago. I was in at work early this morning, but decided to leave when the spray started hitting the gallery windows. I didn't like the prospect of high tide still to come and even more water dashing against the building.

I'll be back on Monday with the Style Not Age Collective, so please do join me then.

Late edit! The Style Challenge is next Monday, the 31st! 

Anna x

My mermaid dress

Helloooooo!

Yes, here it is, my mermaid dress. I've had this stashed away in my wardrobe since last summer when I found the silk beaded beauty in a charity shop in Truro and was delighted to pay £12 for it. The brand is Scala and it still had the dry cleaning label attached, therefore felt like an absolute bargain. The moment I saw it, I envisaged a sea themed shoot somewhere, wondering if I might be able to swim in the heavily beaded gown without having an underwater camera to catch the whispy hemline floating behind me. 

I know that this gown isn't quite as sensational as my other mermaid outfit (see here), but it still conjured up watery images when I found it. The ragged hemline is akin to a tail perfect for dousing in the wash of the waves. The previous owner donated this to their local charity shop probably expecting it be whisked off on holiday, perhaps as cruise wear and here I am wrecking it in the sea! In fact, the dress recovered very well, with no staining at all. 

I was quite relieved that there was no-one else on the sandbar to see my antics as I skipped and splashed around in the sea. This was the second photo shoot (catch the first one here) and had involved a quick outfit change and attempt at hair taming in the breeze for this very al fresco session.

I had earmarked this sandbar for a photoshoot last July when Steve and I had spent the day on St Martin's. I had espied the pure white spit of sand and it conjured up all sorts of romantic images of me in something equally glamorous. See the post here when the sandbar revealed itself in the beautiful heart shaped form. 

I'm once again wearing my favourite Quay Australia sunglasses. The necklace was another charity shop piece costing me all of £6.99. This whole outfit is testament to the joy of thrift shopping and how it can help one create a look of individuality. Things that crop up in charity shops are mostly well out of fashion and not available on the high street which is why I prefer to shop this way, making my look unique to me which is surely what we all aim for.

                                                                                                      Anna x

A double paisley day

  

Thanks for joining me again today. Yesterday I had a double paisley day wearing an outfit that you've probably seen me in before. The forecast was for it to be the hottest day of the year and for that reason alone I decided that long and floaty would be the perfect ploy for a day cooped up in the greenhouse of a gallery that is my second home. However the weather on Scilly didn't quite live up to the predictions. As so often happens, the high temperature created sea fog which swirled in and out all day long. On the upside the fog does play with the light making the colours of my outfit really pop.

Long and swooshy, the skirt was lovely and cool all day although I hadn't really thought things through work-wise as I spent a fair bit of the morning climbing up and down the ladder as I rehung paintings. For some reason all of my appointments were in the afternoon giving me the luxury of a free morning to review the artworks. Normally at this time of year I'd be showcasing a new exhibition every 10 days, but under the current restrictions our shows and their opening night parties have all been postponed until next year. Fingers crossed that things will revert to normal by then.

My latest obsession with the face mask continues. Once I'd decided that this was to be the outfit of the day, I decided that I needed the perfect mask to match. Yes, an hour before I was due to go to work I set about cutting fabric, lining and interfacing to create this natty little number in complimentary colours. On reflection, these decisions of mine do make me seem like a workaholic or maybe simply a crazy person.

I haven't had a major sewing project for ages and these little masks are giving me instant sewing satisfaction. I hand finish attaching the little tube over the nose that houses the wire for a snug finish. The turquoise elastic pleased me enormously - such little things give me joy!

Jewellery today is a gold chain (from Primark) and rings which are charity shopped. My sunglasses are by Radley London. I must admit that it tickles my funny bone to have my photo taken with a mask on, merely because I can chat and laugh without spoiling the photo! 

These embroidered slippers complete the ornate look of the day's ensemble. The skirt and shoe combination did result in a few compliments yesterday which is reward enough in my little world of clothes obsession. It particularly pleases me as I'm still shopping my closet and feeling rather smug that my wardrobe holds these delights.

Outfit details read like this - the top is from H&M (a hand-me-down from my daughter), the maxi skirt was a charity shop find, the brand is Blue Deise (there's no belt - this is the glitter stretch waistband of the skirt) and the shoes were from TK Maxx. I love the timeless elegance of these posh slippers and how well they work with jeans for a dressed down look too.

For those of you in mainland UK I bet you've been blessed with another scorcher of a day today. We on the Isles of Scilly have had a mixed bag of weather. The morning started off looking very promising, so Steve and I packed a picnic and jump aboard our boat to head off to one of the uninhabited islands. Within five minutes of setting off however the fog just started to roll in. We continued a while longer, but could see that it was only going to get worse and so decided to come home. I've still managed to have a lovely day off, culminating in the rare event of an afternoon siesta! 

                                                                                                            Anna x