Autumn Hues our SNA October challenge

Hello again! And welcome to our monthly Style Not Age challenge which comes from Hilda this month. Autumn Hues are very much my colours, as in what's recommended for my skin and hair shades but the season of autumn isn't one of my best. I begrude the dimming of sunlight, the shortening of the days and the general decline into winter gloom. But, hey, as you'll see from my shots, the day was golden when we captured this outfit so let's just leave it there shall we? 

Hilda has shopped her wardrobe for this stylish look, one that I'd happily wear myself. I love the pattern clash of cardigan and leopard print pumps! See more from her on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui too has shopped her closet for this month's challenge, and very successfully I must say! The faux leather culottes in particular are very much to my taste. Catch up with all the latest news from her very busy life on Mummabstylish blog. 

Emma's following the trend of recycling her outfit apart from her new snazzy jacket from Jenerique, a brand I've not heard of. See all the other details on her blog Style Splash. 

Gail has just completed a seven day skirt challenge on her blog and continues to style it up with this cute mini here. Loving the brogues and belt Gail! See her back story on Is This Mutton. 

My outfit comprises both old and new (to me). The faux suede bomber jacket was a recent Vinted find as was the floral turtle neck sweater. I do like a thin knit turtle neck for layering up in the cooler months and this flowery version will be very handy in the months ahead.

The wide legged brown trousers were from TK Maxx many years ago and I was pleased to find that they still fit. The older I get the more I battle with an increasing girth, but I fancy I may not be the only one to struggle this way. To be honest, the latest setback for me has been the influx of purple stinging jellyfish that have been swarming across our shores for almost two months now. 

I'm staying out of the water as their stings have to be treated with a get normally used on chemical burns. I've been walking the beaches to try to find a clear beach to swim in but honestly as the tide washes in and out every six hours, well it's almost impossible to predict where they'll turn up next. That cold water blast to my metabolism has surely helped to keep my figure in reasonable shape but I'm noticing the difference lately. Hey ho!

My cream boots are old, from ASOS, I think. The handbag was a purchase in Rome when we were on a cruise there many moons ago - see that post here. Anyway, the strap broke and only recently Sash borrowed it when she went away for a wedding and very kindly bought a replacement one. 

Suddenly this little bag is back in the mix again! Nothing new jewellery wise though, one preloved ring and the other is an Emily Nixon Scribble ring (see here for similar) and old sunglasses from Radley London.

Steve and I dashed off to capture these shots one evening just before sunset. The golden light is very flattering and ties in perfectly for this challenge too. See below for the view in front of me  - what a fabulous sight that sunset is!

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge! I'll be back next week with another dose of colourplay for you. In the meantime, take care!

                                                                    Anna x

Holding on

Hi there! I'm late again with this week's post and have no excuse apart from life in general being a challenge. But hey, here I am, holding on. Holding on? Yes, holding on to my summery looks as I so dislike transisitional dressing aka the changeover into gloomy old autumn and winter seasons. 

The wind may be blowing but at least today the sky is blue and I'm determined to keep turning up in bright and breezy colours, the same colours that lift my mood and garner me compliments.

There's nothing new here, but all of it, every single piece, brings me joy which is pretty much my mantra. 

My life, indeed island life, is seasonal. I work in a retail position which relies on visitors to keep me in employment. By the end of the month the Gallery will be closed and I'll be busy with winter works. And winter works means no daily dressing up for the day job, so I'm making the most of things in this final push.

The majority of what I'm wearing is from Vinted, the second hand site that's helping to change how we shop. Second hand no longer means sad, smelly, worn-out clothes; Vinted allows anyone to move on their shopping mistakes, often never worn at all, to find a happy new owner. Vinted is also helping me dejunk my wardrobe all year round. I'm finally allowing myself to let go of pieces that don't fit or even spark joy as I know I'll be able to find replacements in a heartbeat. Sorry if this is coming across as an advert - it's just an enthusiastic post from a second-hand lover!

                                                                                Anna x

Summer is here!

Hi there! How's it going? Here's me, smiling into the evening sun as I revel in the beauty of this wonderful show of agapanthus. I've been doing a lot of early morning walking of late, and this is one of my routes along the road beside Tresco Heliport. Every morning I've been taking note of how many flowers have burst into full bloom and on Friday I decided I needed to capture them as soon as I could. Agapanthus really do mean summer to me, a genuine indication that we're seeing the island at its most beautiful.

My outfit of the day was this lovely embroidered summer dress from Warehouse (bought on Vinted). I really have a thing about embroidery at the moment and so wish I had time to practise some myself. I've even gone as far as buying stencils and threads, a beginners book too, but heck, I simply don't have the spare time. Those of you who've followed my blog over the years will know how I find it challenging at this time of year, trying to balance all the elements of my life; work, home, swimming, walking, cooking, cleaning, laundry, paying bills, writing the blog, taking photos for the blog, making time for family and friends and so the list goes on. Anyway, in an ideal world I'd be sitting in the sunlight sewing away on an embroidery project with not a care, but that's simply a fantasy.

Someone recently remarked that this was my Little House on the Prairie dress - how right they are! I love it, the style is simple and feminine, but most importantly it's the perfect backdrop for all of the sprigs of embroidery, especially this oversized collar. It has an elasticated waist and sleeves, is fully lined and washes and irons like a dream. I've accessorised the dress with a pink stretch belt (old), two pre-loved rings, my Radley sunglasses and my new watch from Storm (gifted). 

My floral embroidered shoes were a recent purchase from TK Maxx in Truro. I bought this multi colour pair and also a lemon/yellow pair. Steve calls them my Jesus sandals which slightly deflated me, but I suppose they are very similar and maybe not as glamorous as I perhaps thought they were. 

Jesus sandals? Methinks not. They're from Rocket Dog and are rather lovely!

On Sunday we joined our family on Bryher for the birthday celebrations of two local babies, one of whom is Mose, son of our nephew David and Polly (my ex-assistant at Gallery Tresco). Polly has just finished her maternity leave and is now back working in the HR department on Tresco. Needless to say I miss her terribly but she's now part of the family which is such a bonus. Little Mose is a darling and is doted on by all of us and his Bryher relatives; cousins, aunts and uncles and his next door neighbour, Grandma. 

Island life on these summer days seems like a dream. It still amazes me that this is where I live. I'm eternally grateful for the journey that brought me here and for the luck that befell me when I landed on the magical island of Tresco and met Steve. 

                                                                            Anna x

Time for a catch up!

Hello and thanks for dropping by! It's been a busy few weeks so today I'm going to share some of that with you. As you'll have seen on my previous post I've been heavily involved in the Island Haven fundraiser - see here. That took place a week ago, but it was a fairly demanding event which seems to have taken its toll on my energy levels. But, on to the photo of Steve and I above. We don't often go out socialising but on Saturday there was a farewell party for Steve's line Manager Diana and we joined the throng to wish her well in her new role. After the gathering Steve dashed off to collect Sasha from St Mary's in our boat and I decided to take some shots of not only my outfit but mainly of the lovely show of flowers on our garden wall.

I was so keen to capture these before they started to wither which is exactly what's happened in the past few days, so it was a lucky move. The agapanthus are just starting to come into to flower so it was great to get them both in bloom.

And so, to the outfit. It's actually my favourite outfit of the moment. The trousers (River Island) and jacket (no label) were both recent purchases from Vinted. I love the clash of patterns that don't really clash but compliment each other well. I've had lovely feedback about the outfit when I've worn it both out that evening and previously to work - "very Pucci" was one lovely compliment. The vest top is old and my boots were from Vinted earlier in the year.

The evening sun was dropping in the sky creating a lovely golden light so I carried on for a few more shots until the rabble arrived...

The drinks had run freely at the leaving party and these locals were delighted to photobomb my session. It was all great lark for them as you can see - they were heading to the pub to continue the celebrations as the local Steam Band were playing, but I gently declined the offer to join them. Blimey, I must be getting old!

My necklace was a purchase from New Look last month when I was in Truro, the belt and rings are old as are my sunglasses. Talking of my trip to Truro...

My trip away was, to all intents and purposes, to fit in three minor health checks but I built that into a four night mini break in a lovely little apartment in the heart of the city. The accommodation had been newly refurbed and was all greys, black and white - very cool and modern indeed. I mooched about the shops during the day and watched movies on Netflix in the evenings with a TV dinner on my lap - what a fab treat it was!

Funnily enough, I pretty much wore the same outfit during my visit. The linen trousers were uber comfy in that easy slouchy way that I didn't wear anything else, but I did change my tops over. The clothes shown above were laid out once I got home, but I took some while in the flat to show you too. 

Brand new leather boots from Zara, found in the British Red Cross shop where they receive end of line goods from Zara all year round. These still had the labels on and were greatly reduced. 

I went into Poundland to buy a brolly when it started to rain one day, had a little browse in the clothes department and found this fab summer hat. It's the perfect colourway for my summer wardrobe. My question is this though - how come I paid £6 when it's called Poundland?

My fave top and the one that I paired up with my linen trousers the same day I bought it. Anyway, I've had a lovely time at the shops as clearly I'm lacking in shopping opportunities in my life generally, hahaha! 

Last, but by no means least, this was my proud mum moment as Jamie, captain of the Tresco Cricket Team, shared his joy at winning the Triangle inter-island tournament on Sunday. I could boast about how great his organising skills are in both planning and on the day arrangements to make the tournament run smoothly, but honestly he'd rather I didn't. Suffice to say that he's in his fifth year of leading the team and is hugely popular amongst them and all the visiting teams. Well done Jamie for doing a stalwart job!

                                                                    Anna x

Dreamy dresses our SNA challenge for June

Hello and welcome to June's Style Not Age Challenge where five friends throw down the style gauntlet month after month in rotation resulting sometimes in angst other times in joy. Jacqui came up with Dreamy Dresses which seems to have been a happy choice this month. Mine is yet another second-hand find from Vinted and I'm delighted with what's surely going to be a very useful summer frock. But let's look at my fashionable friends first shall we?

A very dreamy setting for Jacqui's summer dress, a new purchase from Matalan worn with old sandals and handbag from New Look. Catch up with all of her news on Mummabstylish

Emma's Dreamy Dress comes from TK Maxx worn with sandals from Coast and bag by Fenella Smith. Read her back story on the Style Splash

Gail wore her Dreamy Dress to the Vivienne Westwood exhibition at Christies recently and didn't look at all out of place. See more from her on Is This Mutton. 

Hilda's Dreamy Dress is from Whistles (not new) but worn when she was taken out to dinner recently in Derry. Find out more on her blog Over The Hilda.

This lightweight dress is made from polyester making it easy to wear and cool on this bright sunny day at work. I'm sure this will earn its place in my wardrobe this summer.

This pretty frock has a myriad of colours making styling so very easy. I've added these fuchsia flatforms from last summer which are super comfy. Then I took orange as my next lead colour adding this stretch belt from Amazon, again purchased last year.

What's not to love about a dress that says Love on it?

The lemon mini bag with beaded handle by Dune was a TK Maxx find last summer - it's uber cute don't you think? My rings are old, pre-loved too.

My sister Dianne recently sent me this pearl and heart necklace, in fact two of these, one in white pearl and the other with grey pearls. This is perfect for today's look.

Another splash of colour comes by way of these old sunnies by Zara. It was great fun putting this outfit together, where it was all about colours and as many as possible. Thanks for joining us this month - I hope you've enjoyed our challenge!

                                                                Anna x