Wedding weekend

Last weekend saw local couple Andrew and Duffy celebrate their marriage with a blessing on Samson and a festival of fun on Bryher. 

The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome and the partying went on until daybreak the following day. The Big Hoolie looks set to be replayed every summer with bands, booze and lots of dancing making for a most memorable evening.

Sasha wins the family prize for stamina as she danced until 5am. On an evening where four different bands played sets, once the 11am curfew arrived the revellers donned their headsets and a silent disco continued until daybreak. 

My niece Zoe of Bryher Bakebox fame made the cakes, including her much loved tattie cake.

Steve and Jamie made the wooden cake stand, a rustic take on the standard version.

The marquee was decorated with the help of friends and family alike to create a colourful backdrop for the celebrations. The weather was changeable outside but the huge marquee was windproof and big enough to accommodate eating, drinking and dancing for all.

Steve scrubs up well, doesn't he? My feather trimmed pyjama suit shed forensic evidence all evening, even the ladies loos were documented with my visits.

There is a point where dressing up can be mistaken for fancy dress... A friend, on seeing this photo, asked me what the wedding theme was and I had to explain. The lady on the right had attended the hen do on the mainland, at Rattlerfest for those who might have heard of it. Anyway, the theme for the hens was to wear the worst bridesmaid's dress. This mint green ensemble is the remaking of her hen dress. My feather trimmed pyjama suit cannot be explained away apart from the fact that I always feel I have to try a little bit harder to create the wow factor on these occasions. Dressing up daily for work does set the bar a bit higher than most. That said, I did receive many compliments, one being from a young friend of Sasha's who told me she had been taking in all of the elements of my outfit and had decided that's what she would aspire to at my age. The sandals are from Vinted, the feather trimmed pyjama suit is by River Island but was from Vinted earlier this year.

My one regret of the evening was that I wasn't there for Jamie's speech. Andrew and Jamie grew up together, bonding at the hostel when they were teenagers and having this easy, steady friendship that has matured as they have grown into men. As one of the groomsmen, Jamie had written is thoughts down and somehow managed to reduce the entire company to tears with his story of their lifelong friendship. I've lost count of the number of people who approached us to say what a wonderful speech he delivered. Proud parent moment.

Steve and his sister Gill...

...and with Jo-Jo, one of his great nephews. 

We came home on an 11pm boat, a gentle crossing between the islands on a moonlit evening. It had been a special day, an island gathering for a much loved couple.

On Sunday, we met, a much smaller gathering of family, at the Ruin Beach Cafe for lunch. Somehow Sasha was there despite only having had one hour of sleep!

Oh how I have pizza envy! Even though I can't eat 'em I do love to see them...

Pizza cooked in a wood fired stove - yum yum!

We had a long, lazy lunch and afterwards found the perfect shot to capture my outfit of the day.

Details are: Steve Madden handbag (from TK Maxx), white trousers are a recent buy from Number36 in Penzance, sandals from TK Maxx and top is from Vinted.

The weather was glorious and Tresco was looking pretty perfect in the summer sunshine.

Many thanks to Steve for being my photographer of the day. Despite the heckling, he did a good job. I do hope you've enjoyed the latest catch up from Tresco and the Parkes family. Leave me a comment if you have. 

                                                                    Anna x

Frilly jumpsuit

Hello again and thanks for dropping by! Apologies for my week off - it wasn't planned, simply a case of being overrun at both work and home so something had to give. Sometimes I just expect too much of myself which results in burn-out, last week being a prime example of this.

Do you like my new frilly jumpsuit? I wore it for the first time for one of our evening drinks parties recently and my assistant Rachel kindly did the honours with the photos. The jumpsuit was yet another lucky find on Vinted. No labels, no brand, but it's a gem of a piece and a joy to wear. I've added a green stretch belt and the yellow link necklace, both from Vinted too. My sunglasses are from Quay Australia. Rings are not new; the fluted one was a gift from a friend and the other is my Emily Nixon ring.

My sandals were from TK Maxx last summer. I bought them in two different colourways and golly, how comforable they are!

The jumpsuit has a 70's feel and makes me think I ought to be drifting about in a corn field with a chocolate ripple in my hand. Am I the only one who remembers that advert?

Rachel did a great job with the photos, but she did spend most of her time trying to make me laugh, which I suppose is no bad thing. Thanks Rachel, I'll let you help out again!

                                                                            Anna x

Spring has sprung!

Hurrah, spring has indeed sprung! This is from today on Tresco (Wednesday 26th of March) a beautiful bright blue morning that surely imbued everyone with the feel-good factor here on our sun-kissed island. Tresco has recently hosted a Wellness Week followed by a religious retreat both with resounding success. For those of us who live here it's no surprise to see how well these breaks are received; it reflects the lure of this special island. 

I'll admit that I'm a fair weather kinda gal whose mood is influenced by sunlight for its natural high. The brilliant blue sky is a joy to behold. The sunlight on the water is a joy to behold. Simply being on Tresco is a joy to behold!

I felt more than a little giddy on my way to work this morning. Sunshine is all I need to feel good and golly did I feel good!

The outfit of the day was chosen to reflect the bright morning and the optimism it fills me with. I bought the ASOS suit from Vinted last year. I had to rework the trousers as they were too big, but it was worth the sewing challenge (see more of that here) to get them right as it's a fabulous suit now. It seems I might be a bit colour blind as I've considered this to be a lime green but it's just yellow to everyone else. Hey ho!

The multicolour bodysuit in a retro print and suede trainers were also from Vinted and the yellow sunglasses are from Quay Australia. 

If you're interested in another wellness retreat, Gem Hansen is hosting a Restorative Retreat on Tresco at the end of November - see more about that here. 

                                                                            Anna x

My rather fabulous new coat

Sometimes lady luck just smiles upon you... Well, that's how I feel about this rather fabulous new coat that I found as I was browsing through Vinted last month. If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I love everything ornate, in fact the fancier the better, so this coat almost had my name emblazoned across it! The beautiful embroidery sold the piece to me straight away and when it arrived it was everythig I'd hope it would be.

The brand is Savage Culture, a boho brand from what I can tell, and is definitely worth my investigation in due course. Anyway, after the first wear I discovered that the buttons were all a bit small for the buttonholes and so I set about remedying that by customising the coat with some buttons from my button box. Most of them are ceramic, bought from one of our suppliers when I used to stock buttons in the Gallery. 

The length is great, the fit is perfect and it seems like the ideal coat for this time of year when it's still chilly enough to need a coat, but not necessarily a winter coat. This is my springtime special, I would say!

This was my outfit of the day for yesterday, the first day the Gallery opened up after our winter break. The dress has been featured on the blog before (see here) but this time I've added boots and tights to extend the wearabiltiy of it. The brand is IVIVI and was a Vinted purchase.

 I wore a long sleeved thermal top underneath the dress and the tights are bamboo ones from Boots - a cotton feel that are cool and comfy. 

The patent boots are from Topshop from years ago. I've had them reheeled recently and am so happy to have them for a while longer.

Sunglasses are old (from Radley London), the fabric necklace was from Vinted, the perspex ring was a charity shop find and I'm also wearing my beautiful birthday ring.

We've been blessed with good weather for the past few days. What about you? Does it feel more like spring with you? As the season begins with us once again it does help to have this gentle easing into another year of hospitality on our tiny island paradise. Do pop in to say hello if you're ever on the Isles of Scilly - Tresco is definitely worth a visit!

                                                                                    Anna x

Winter Woolies, our SNA challenge for January

Hi there and welcome to our Monthly Style Challenge! One of our members, Gail, has retired from the group this month and we're all wishing her the best. And so we'll carry on, forever in the hope that we're inspiring you to follow our lead month by month. It was my turn to chose a theme and the idea of Winter Woolies seemed like an obvious one.

Jacqui is a vision in cream for the challenge, sporting cosy cords along with her pretty fairisle sweater. Cream fedora and trench coat finish this most stylish of looks. See more from Jacqui on Mummabstylish. 

Looking equally pretty in pink, Emma found this fab cardi on Vinted - what a find indeed! Jeans and converse trainers complete this casual take on this month's challenge. Catch up with Emma on her blog Style Splash. 

Hilda shopped her wardrobe for this one - her cardigan is genuine vintage piece from the 80's. She paired it with these wide legged jeans from Cos and a simple tee. Read all of Hilda's latest news on Over The Hilda.

A mighty dose of pink has been my antidote to the wild weather we've been having recently, but I did manage to alight on a quiet spell one day to capture these shots.

The pink fairisle jumper was a winter find from Vinted and is much worn and loved too. It's very cosy and the colour is a great injection of zesty fun on a cold winter's day. The pink cords are from Vinted but benfitted from a bit of adjustment before I could wear them. I was pretty sure I'd featured them on the blog with the alterations but can't seem to find it at all - see the details on my Instagram feed here though.

None of my perspex rings are new, but they seemed perfect partners for this pink explosion of colour. My sunglasses are from Radley London but they're old too.

My recent trip to the mainland went well and I even managed to get home in time for my birthday. I'll show you what Steve bought me when I feature my birthday outfit of the day next time. But before I go, here's the view outside my house this afternoon. The gusts have been so strong that they shook the Gallery and have even ripped the nameplate off the front of the building!

Take care and see you next time!

Anna x

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