Pairing yellow with pistachio...

Hi there! This was my favourite work outfit from last week. An unusual pairing of yellow and pistachio, one that I've not tried before, but I think I like it. What about you?

The pistachio cotton velvet coat is by White Stuff and was a Vinted purchase a little while ago. I'm going off to the mainland on Tuesday this week and think I'll wear this in an effort to look 'mainland smart'. Living on a tiny (car free) island tends to impact on what constitutes smart in real life. We dress here in response to the weather and most of the winter that means wet-weather gear or cosy coats to buffer one against the gales and cold weather. And so a trip to the mainland is always a style challenge for me as I try to anticipate the weather needs and my idea of style.

I'll be hanging around on drafty train platforms a lot of the time so a full length coat seems like a good idea. I'll add a scarf too and will pack a brolly in case of showers and that ought to cover everything. Having a car seems to negate the need to think about the weather - well that's how it looks to me when I see women dodge out of their cosy motors and pop into the supermarket wearing only a sweater. 

The rest of the outfit reads like this: skirt is a charity shop find, by Laura Ashley, sweater is old, tights are by Snag Tights, boots are by ASOS (from Vinted) and yellow necklace was from Vinted too. 

My rings are old and my sunglasses are old too, from Radley London. My orange felt bird brooch was a fabulous Christmas present from my sister Sandra.

The yellow boots are genuine suede and were brand new, never worn, costing me £20. I know yellow's not for everyone, but for a colourist like me, they're a great addition to my wardrobe.

Another feature of island life is our obsession with the weather whenever travel is on the horizon. Wind, or rather too much of it and fog can both impact on travel plans and it looks like my return on Friday hangs in the balance. At this time of year there's no sea link to the islands so flying is the only option and flights are often delayed or cancelled when there's bad weather. I probably won't know until Thursday if my flight is confirmed or not so I may be spending Friday night in the Premier Inn, which normally wouldn't bother me but as Friday is my birthday I'm rather keen to get home. Wish me luck!

                                                                    Anna x

Jazzing up January

If you're a regular reader of mine then you'll know that January is one of my least favourite months of the year. It's not so much the post-Christmas/New Year slump, more that the grey and cold weather tends to get me down. But hey, cold weather is a green light for bringing out a fur coat again, so here we go -

The orange fake fur is quite old now, was from TK Maxx and yet is still a firm favourite of mine. The scarf was a Christmas present and is beautifully soft, also big enough to act as a shawl when required. I have, in fact, reached the stage in my life when I'll happily go to bed early simply to have more time with my book of the moment which also means I enjoy draping a cosy shawl around my shoulders as I sit up to read. Plonk a frilly bonnet on my head and I'd probably look like an ancient grandma, but hey, since when did I care!

Orange and yellow certainly pepped up my working outfit the other day, although not many people saw it as I was working alone. This does support my ethos of dressing up for myself, not to please others. 

Preloved orange perspex rings are my only concession to jewellery that day and my sunglasses from Radley London are quite old now too.

My sweater is by Heyton, a brand-new-with-the-labels-on purchase from Vinted in the run up to Christmas. I'm having a rather intense love affair with fairisle patterns on sweaters and waistcoats currently. I bought a rather fab one from M&S last month but it's probably not going to appear on the blog for two reasons - the first being that it's brown and second because it fits so well and is so blooming cosy that I've worn it to the bobbling stage already. 

The corduroy skirt was a charity shop find in December, but has no label. My rather fabulous Argyll tights are very, very old but seemed to be the perfect ploy for this outfit. My orange leather boots aren't new, the brand is River Island and yet they too work very well with the look.

A final word or two before I sign off. I spent this morning thinking it was Tuesday, but it is in fact Wednesday - but not just any Wednesday, it's Wednesday the 15th of January which just so happens to be my daughter's birthday. Shame on me - one of the locals whizzed past me on his bike at lunchtime and called out to ask it it was Sash's birthday today. No, said I with confidence, it's her birthday tomorrow, Wednesday. It is Wednesday he replied, stiffling a laugh as he continued home for lunch. I could blame it on my working alone, or that I've already sent her money or that she's off-island at the moment, but honestly I'm simply a failure of a mother!

                                                                Anna x

Another big round up

Happy New Year to you! I do hope you've had a great time over the festive period. I certainly have! We had lots of family time together, time to relax and chill out and eat some of our favourite Christmas meals. I dodged in to work for a couple of days during the Christmas and New Year weeks which was very civilised and allowed me plently opportunity to veg out.

This was my Hogmanay outfit, a great mix of old and new pieces. The jacket is by Michael Kors and is quite old now, but still rather fabulous, don't you think? My kilt (£4.50) was a recent charity shop find in Penzance when I was there in December - it's a vintage M&S buy when they were know as the St Michael brand. 

The tartan boots are also from M&S but not quite vintage. I love how they work so well together. 

I'm wearing my green orb pendant by Vivienne Westwood along with two preloved rings. 

I worked on New Year's Eve so went halfway with my dressing up. The green faux fur coat is old, seen many times on the blog before. 

My grey woollen sweater with pearls was a Vinted find recently and perfect for his semi-party look. The sequin trousers are the same ones that I wore when I went to the ABBA Voyage event in London over a year ago - see the post on that trip here. 

The diamante Scottie dog brooch is a charity shop piece as are both of my rings. 

For the evening out at our local pub I wore my mermaid coat. I had two options and this was the first...

The Iris tulle skirt is by Eleven Loves - it's not new but they still sell this style but not in this colourway - see here for the olive green version. The sequinned bodysuit has languished in my wardrobe for ages now and at last had an airing. The pearl heart necklace was a present from my sister Dianne.

And this was option two, the one I actually wore. It was sequin overload, I know, but I did love it! The coat was from Topshop, the top is from Zara (through Vinted) and the trousers from Shein. My silver boots are by Buffalo.

I went out with my son that evening as both Steve and my daughter were full of the cold. I think it's inevitable at this time of year, but still rather annoying to be ill over the festive season. I met up with my sister-in-law and her family where we danced and drank until midnight. It was a lovely evening. So here we are in 2025 now and I do hope that we can all look forward to a good year with peaceful times, happy times too with family and friends.

                                                                        Anna x

Golden Girls, our Style Not Age challenge for December

Hello again and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! Emma chose the theme and it did remind me of the TV series of the same name, but hopefully we're not quite as old as those golden gals. Anyway, let's take a look at Emma's outfit shall we?

Emma's gold jacket is from eBay, her blouse is new, from Monsoon and velvet trousers are from Very. The gold clutch bag is a vintage piece from Warehouse. See more from Emma on her blog Style Splash. 

Jacqui looks like a sparkling starlet in her gold F&F skirt topped with her new fur jacket by Izabel. Her shoes and top are closet finds - doesn't she look fab! Catch up with her news on Mummabstylish. 

Hilda's look hinges on her gold bag and the rest is all about tonal shades. She send apologies that her outfit isn't as dazzling as she'd anticipated but family commitments have dragged her sideways. See her latest on Over The Hilda blog.

Gail is resplendent in her vintage brocade dress, bought from Etsy worn over a cream sweater from Kettlewell. Gold and leopard print accessories finish off the look perfectly. Find more from Gail on her blog Is This Mutton. 

My gold trousers and jacket are both purchases from Vinted this past month. The jacket reminds me of Freddy Mercury don't you think? Either that or the ringmaster at the circus, hahaha!

I'm wearing my exquisite embroidered Sunny Days boots from the MOMA shop. Gold threads, seed pearls and an abundance of colours make these boots so very special and versatile - wearable with almost any colour mix. 

I finished the look off with this burnt orange faux fur jacket, old, from TK Maxx. Orange and golden hues are what my outfit is all about and needless to say I'm in my element! Thanks for joining us again this month and I'll be back next week with a round-up of my festive finery from this week at work and the New Year. I hope you have a great New Year and look forward to catching up again soon!

                                                                        Anna x

Christmas cometh...

Oh goodness, it's only a week until Christmas - how exciting! I'm busy at work cleaning the gallery before I get the Christmas decorations out and this was my outfit of the day. 

Steve very kindly did the honours with my photos today which did incur quite a lot of hilarity. But it was good to be able to get some outdoors shots so that was another bonus. My outfit is mostly new or new-to-me. Gold jacket from Vinted, sequin jumper (ASOS) from Vinted and gold boots (Zara) from Vinted too. The black jeans are new, from Primark from my recent mainland trip.

Steve tolerates my bossiness re how to take the best shots, thank goodness. In addition he's prone to chucking in a few hints and tips, mainly ridiculous ones just to make me laugh. 

I'm happy to report that the fudge production is going well. I'm on the final stretch now, with only four more batches to make this weekend. I also hope to clean most of the house downstairs by the end of Sunday as I'll be working right through to Christmas Eve. 

STOP PRESS! I've just discovered this evening that the freight ship which is bringing my frozen turkey across to the islands, along with many, many other Christmas grocery orders has broken down and is returning to Penzance. This isn't the first time that Christmas has been blighted by freight issues - one year all of the frozen turkeys were left out on the quayside all evening and had started to defrost before they had even been put onto the boat. Ever since then I've always had a plan B. I now schedule two Christmas orders with Tesco's both with a turkey on them, but only two days apart. If my first turkey arrives, then fine I simply cancel my second one. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will know whether to allow turkey number two to come or if I can cancel it. Turkey number two is a fresh one which will make life a bit easier too. Oh the joys of island life!

My gold coloured rings are both old, the flower one was a gift from a friend and the other a charity shop find. My sunglasses are old too.

And that pretty much winds things up for this week. Life is good, busy and slightly bonkers at times as I try to fit in the wrapping of presents, stirring of fudge and making list after list in an effort to feel in control as the big day races towards us. I'm sure we're all in the same boat and I love the idea of each little house being a hive of industry and stress too, but mostly full of the joy and anticipation of spending quality time with loved ones at this most special time of the year. I'll be back before Christmas with another festive outfit to share with you. 

See you soon!

Anna x

Full skirts our SNA challenge

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month Jacqui chose Full Skirts as our theme. This for me was very tricky as I currently only have one big skirt to hand which I'd styled in three different ways, none of which really excited me so this one is the best I could do!

Much as Jacqui chose Full Skirts she has since lamented the fact as even she found it a challenge too far. Her skirt and top are from F&F, and jacket is from Matalan. Catch up with all her news on Mummabstylish blog. 

Gail lucked out when she found her skirt and necklace in a Plymouth charity shop for the grand total of £3.25! She shopped her closet for the rest of her outfit, and very successfully too. Find out more on Gails blog Is This Mutton. 

Emma's full skirt is by Joanna Hope. I love the bold autumn colours and how she's styled it, particularly with that natty hat! See more from Emma on the Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's gorgeous big skirt was on loan from a local boutique - a fact that always makes me envious. The rest of her look was from her own wardrobe, so see more of that on her blog Over The Hilda. 

I do love this skirt and wore it for the first time in the summer for a fund raising event at the Gallery - see it here. As a summery look I thought it worked perfectly, but in the depths of winter it really did challenge me. I had another rebirth in mind featuring gold to tie in with the forthcoming festive season but the weather here has been so wild this past weekend that I couldn't even get along to the Gallery to showcase it. (I have nowhere at home that gives good enough light at this time of year to take blog photos.)

However, as a full skirt it complies with the remit and so this is it. The skirt was new (from Vinted) and the brand is Coast so it was a worthy addition to my wardrobe earlier this year and I do still love it.

The leopard print top and orange sock boots are also from Vinted, again both new with tags on. 

My orange perspex rings are preloved and the gold coloured snake necklace was a gift from a girlfriend.

So that pretty much rounds things up for this month's challenge. Sorry if I've not been terribly inspiring this time. As you may already know, winter isn't my favourite season for showcasing outfits, but I'll keep trying!

                                                                        Anna x