Happy Mother's Day!

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all of you lovely mums out there. Are you having a great day? Jamie and Sasha treated the family to lunch at the Ruin beach Cafe today, and how fortunate we were with the lovely spring weather. We sat outside in the sun and congratulated ourselves on our luck. I suppose I ought to have done that whole raft of images to show you what we ate, but we were far too hungry to shilly-shally about with that nonsense! Suffice to say, it was delicious and very filling - so filling in fact that one of us had to take the remains of theirs home in a doggie-bag.

The cafe sits on the beach at Old Grimsby affording a beautiful view across the bay to the Old Blockhouse and on towards the Eastern Isles in the distance. I love coming to this side of the island - it's my favourite spot, reminding me of when I used to work at the Island Hotel which was located in these grounds. I could never have imagined that 41 years on I would be standing here with my very own family, happily ensconced on this beautiful island.

The vista from our table shows the spit of sand called Blockhouse Point which always looks so inviting - it's the stuff of daydreams for me. In fact, that's exactly what I used to do when I was meant to be dusting in room 2, I would actually be hypnotised by this view, thinking how wonderful it would be to live here. 

After lunch Sasha and I took a detour home via this field of oxalis flowers, far too pretty to be classed as a weed surely? Anyway, they made the perfect backdrop for our photo shoot.

My kitten heels kept sinking into the soft soil.

I built the whole outfit around this fabulous tee shirt (new, from Primark) which will be my go-to top for the summer. I already wish that I bought a couple of these as I worry that the colour will fade. Hand washing may well preserve the dye so that's what I'll do. 

You'll probably remember the pink (pre-loved) Topshop trench from here. After my recent abstinence from bright colours I have reverted to my default setting of colour, colour and more colour for my Mother's Day celebrations. I feel so much more me when I'm swamped in brights. This is the third outing for the coat bringing down the cost per wear to under £1.50 already. 

The trousers are new from Boden (still some left in the sale here), the result of a severe longing I've had for a pink suit. The matching jacket was sold out, but this trench pretty much fits the bill. I'll confess now that I am in the midst of a trouser suit moment - so you have been warned! The blog will be awash with suits very soon in all sorts of colours and patterns, some second hand, some new, all of them filling me with excitement and utter joy at the prospect of a suited summer ahead.

The white kitten heel boots were from New Look, in the sale for £7.

Just rings to finish the look. Pink one was a gift from my friend Maggie, silver and gold one by Emily Nixon.

My pink handbag was new from a charity shop last year/year before? Oh dear, time is whizzing by so fast!

My Quay Australia sunglasses add the final flourish to this springtime outfit. 

I know my homage to neutrals may have been short-lived, but I will make another stab at these sombre shades again, I promise. The addition of the JD Williams snakeskin jacket has already given me some new ideas along those lines, so do please bear with me if that's more your thing. In the meantime, I hope that you're enjoying a bit of a lazy day and that someone is out in the kitchen getting the evening meal together while you put your feet up. Hope your Mother's Day has been as lovely as mine. I have a new magazine waiting for me amidst a pile of cushions on the sofa. Steve, what's for tea?

                                                                                           Anna x

That 60's vibe

Increasingly I seem to be drawn to the fashions of the 60's. I'm beginning to wonder if this is because that was the decade I was cutting my fashion teeth on as a girl. Do you have a penchant for the trends of your youth? Perhaps you do, but maybe you put up a bit more of a struggle than I do!

Today's look is strong and funky which is good enough for me. You may have seen the boots from my previous post when I'd hit the sales in Truro big time. The boots were a consolation prize for me. I'd missed buying a pair of white leather boots in the January sale at Topshop and have been hankering after something similar for weeks. 

I'm breaking fashion ground here as personally I really don't like white boots. I think they (and all white shoes) were classed at tarty by my mother when I was a young girl and that prejudice had remained with me for many, many years until just recently when I bought some white summer sandals. Maybe they opened the floodgates and are responsible for these kitten heeled boots from New Look. I would have preferred them to be leather, but I suppose you can't expect that for £7, can you?

So, last weekend I also did a tad of charity shopping and this skirt was one of my favourite finds. There's a new charity shop opened in Truro for the Cornwall Air Ambulance - a lifeline for the islands too, so I decided to pay it a visit. The shop is well laid out and seems to have quite a lot of new clothes with labels still attached. This skirt and a blue and black version were both brand new from Marks and Spencer. I paid £10 for it and don't begrudge that amount for this local cause. We never know if ones nearest and dearest may need the services of the Air Ambulance one day.

The skirt is a lovely fit, hip skimming and tummy smoothing, but best of all is the flap at the front, fully lined and sewn down to spare ones blushes. I also like the two pattern effect of the hounds tooth print. Sometimes M&S manage to surprise me with their designs. I would never have guessed the brand by just looking at it.

My black and white sunglasses by Quay Australia came into their own with this outfit - always a nice feeling when these things happen. The necklace was a purchase from a Truro shop last year, but not a charity one (I forget the name, sorry) and the rings are both old, real silver and from different shops, but again not charity ones. The polo neck sweater was however, a pre-loved purchase, new with labels on and chosen for these gilt buttons at the cuffs - adding a touch of class I think.

Our weather had improved this morning compared to the gales of late. Polly and I are having to be a bit more creative as to where to take our morning photos and if you look behind me you'll see why.

Yes, the entire frontage of the gallery is decked out in scaffolding in preparation for the builders to descend on us soon. The gallery roof has been leaking for some time now and at last we are having some work done. It does mean that Polly and I will be scouting around the area nearby to capture the outfit of the day. 

As Monday is the last one of the month, that heralds our Style Not Age challenge, so please do come back to see what we're all showcasing for you. I've found this one to be a bit of a difficult one, due to the lack of specifics - sometimes the abstract can just flummox me! Anyway, I've plumped for something bright, that's all I'm saying. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Anna x

The north wind doth blow!

The past week on the Isles of Scilly has been a wild and windy time. Polly and I did manage to brave the winds one day to capture this spring-like outfit, but even then she battled with the force of the wind as it tugged against the camera. I took the much more practised route of leaning into the wind making one less likely to be blown over.

This is that much recognised stance aka the windswept look, another favourite of the locals.

So let's talk clothes, shall we? The pre-loved jacket is by Next, the jersey retro top is also second hand (no label), the paperbag canary yellow jeans are from Primark and are this season as I bought them less than two weeks ago. The trainers are by LA Gear and were from TK Maxx last year.

The gold chain necklace was a recent purchase from Primark too. I have a similar one already, but it's been such a workhorse that I worry it will one day fall to bits so this is my back-up piece. The perspex rings were a gift from my lovely friend Wendy - are you reading this? I hope you are.

White tops in the bay are never a good sign. The boats and planes have suffered disruption throughout the week, meaning delays to the post and food supplies - at one point milk ran out on both St Mary's and Bryher. The local dairy on St Agnes were working flat out trying to meet the demand. Most homes on the island have back up stores in either a shed or outhouse for times like this. An extra freezer is another norm for us all in our sheds so that we have sufficient food to tide us over lean time like this. I'm sure most remote communities exist like this too.

At the time this post goes live I hope to be back in Truro for the weekend, this time not for a jolly, but to attend a hospital check up - nothing serious. I say hope, as the weather may well have scuppered my plans. I've put this post together and have left it to be posted automatically so fingers crossed!

Thanks for all of the lovely kind wishes to Polly. All is well with the world when you see this backdrop and my crazy antics prompted by the fab photographer cum gallery assistant. Here's to another great season together!

Hope you have a fab weekend. Let's catch up again soon!

    Anna x

Save and splurge

Today's outfit sums up my shopping ethos of save and splurge. The majority of the time I like to shop to save, preferably from charity shops where I'll often find a gem vintage piece or even just a high street brand from a few seasons ago. I'm not averse to shopping from the high street, but I do like the varied selection that pre-loved shopping offers. 

I bought these alphabet trousers in a charity shop in Truro when I was there recently. The brand is River Island and they cost me £2.50. I'll hazard a guess that they would have cost about £30 in store. A quick wash and they're as good as new.

The jumper was again second hand, the brand is Topshop and this time costing me £3 as opposed to, say £25. Over these two items alone I've saved nearly £50 to set against the cost of the (non-charity shopped) shoes.  

The brand of the shoes is Church's - check out their website here with the other fabulous city smart shoes on offer currently. I found these ones at the Edinburgh branch of TK Maxx when I was there in January. But that's not the price I actually paid for them ...

This was the ultimate in savvy shopping. I saved a massive £363 on these, and gained a pair of high class shoes at the same time. So maybe not so much of a splurge after all!

And yes, the blue soles on these Oxfords was a big plus point when I was considering buying them. Well, the considering took a very brief time in fact, only as long as it took to try them on. I love something a little bit quirky, a bit off-centre and these pretty much tick all of the boxes for me. Plus, I knew how versatile they would be - black and white are a wardrobe staple - as they've proved to be today.

My only piece of jewellery is this charity shopped ring which cost me 99p and again is just a bit unusual, a little bit funky to go with this retro inspired ensemble.

Polly and I were forced indoors yesterday for our photo shoot due to the storm that was blowing across the Isles of Scilly at a ferocious speed. I don't think there were any flights into the islands all day and the freight ship has been affected by the weather for days too. But such are the joys of island life. If I hadn't been at work I would have loved to be wave watching at the North end of the island. I bet it would have made for exciting viewing!

                                                                                           Anna x

Sunday mash up

Hello and welcome to my Sunday mash up, a riot of colour and pattern play. You may recall me saying I've had a little splurge on the Zara sale site recently? Well, these leopard print trousers were one of the pieces I succumbed to for the princely sum of £5.99 - yes, that's right, £5.99! Most the items I bought were that price, which is the best reason ever to keep your eye of for the Zara sale next time. The other leopard print jeans I've already showcased here were also £5.99 which seems totally bonkers, but a win for me. 

Today's mash up may seem a bit too adventurous for some of you, but I just wanted to show how easy it is to mix up lots of patterns together provided they have colours in common. The shirt (pre-loved from Boohoo £2.50) was the most perfect partner for these trousers as they're both sporting the red and black leopard print. The design in itself is a great mash up of leopard print, zebra stripe and chain pattern and can be the star of the show with a simple pair of black trousers - that would look really effective too.

I'm always looking for an opportunity to bring out my tartan boots from M&S. As an idea this may not have been an obvious one, but when you look at the colours together you can see that the clash of patterns is negated by the happy partnership of colours. The outfit is basically red and black and falls into my mindset of Why Not?

I'd like to say that this shoot was taken in my own back garden and that I laze about like this often, but the truth is that my photographer and I had sneaked into one of the holiday cottage gardens to test drive this rather lovely lounger. I can report that yes, it was very comfy and please do go ahead and buy them of all of the cottages. This was in the garden of Smugglers which nestles under the trees, only a stone's throw from the Old Blockhouse.

Are you having a chill-out this Sunday? Or maybe you're making the most of the spring weather and doing some gardening? I'm heading off to work now, continuing with the preparations for the Gallery to open on Friday. The whole island wakes up from its winter slumber on the 15th of March so there is quite a flurry of activity this weekend as the last few maintenance jobs are done. There are lots of new faces appearing on the island too meaning that the staff recruitment has been successful in luring newcomers for the many seasonal roles. There's an undercurrent of simmering excitement (for some that may be panic) as the pace picks up ready for the big day. 

Tomorrow is a big day in the Gallery as I welcome Polly back into her position of Gallery Assistant. She and I will be hanging art, cleaning glass and bronzes and generally pulling the displays together over the next few days. The finishing touches of jewellery cabinets being set up is one of Polly's favourite tasks giving her a chance to show her creative flair. Oh, it will be lovely to have her back on board again!

                                                                                        Anna x

Ready for spring!

I don't know about you, but I'm more than ready for spring. The weather today was totally rubbish for my photo shoot meaning that I had to have another indoor session in the kitchen instead. At least a bit of Zoe Ball on radio 2 gave me plenty to bop about to. I'm sure we mums do our best dancing in the kitchen, don't we?

I came back from my little mainland jaunt yesterday and have had a lovely time away. The weekend was a mix of business (meeting up with my framer) and pleasure (meeting an artist friend for lunch) as well as a tad of retail therapy. Add to that a chance to see the extravaganza aka Bohemian Rhapsody and it was a pretty perfect mini-break. These fabulous orange trousers were a last minute find in Primark (£13) as I was beetling through on my way to the homewares department. I ended up buying five pairs of trousers in all plus two blouses. I'll photograph them soon to show you. I also did a small shop at TK Maxx and found a few bargains in my favourite charity shops.

The paper bag trouser trend is very evident in the shops at the moment which is great for me as I love this style. High waisted trousers suit my shape and help to elongate the leg too. Shoot me for giving in to fast fashion once in a while, but I know that these won't be turfed out of my wardrobe at the end of the season. I might buy into a trend, but if it's something that suits me then I'll be wearing it long after the mood has changed. And orange, for goodness sake - you know you'll see these again and again as I reach for my very own dose of sunshine!

I love the clean lines of the trouser with not a pocket in sight to spoil the sleek look. I wouldn't have been upset to find a pocket or two, but can see how they benefit from this simple cut.

This outfit has super-charged my smile.

My only jewellery is a couple of pre-loved rings in zingy citrus shades.

My tee shirt is by RED or DEAD and was part of a fun raising event at a charity shop last year. I'm pleased to raise awareness through fashion and help to add money to the coffers too.

Last night was the first episode of the second series of The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up 2 Cancer and I, like the majority of the UK viewing population, was glued to my telly for the duration. I won't spoil it for you, but suffice to say that Russell Brand brought his own brand of humour to the show stopper challenge of 3 D biscuits! Follow the link above to catch up on the fun.

Bubblegum pink and bright orange seemed like the best way to welcome spring into my working week, but that was before I'd seen the grey old weather waiting outside. Too late! I was sold on this for my post today and it did give me a great lift as I danced and posed my way around the kitchen. The trench coat was a crazy charity shop bargain (£4) from last year despite being from Topshop. Jamie bought me the sockboots for my Christmas from H&M and golly aren't they just dreamy together?

At the end of the day I had to visit one of the holiday properties (Barn Flat) to check on some artworks. The weather had been that typical mix of spring weather of sunshine and showers, improving towards late afternoon. I was happy to have the excuse to get out and stretch my legs as well as take in this fabulous view. 

Thanks for dropping by, and please do leave me a comment if you've enjoyed today's post!

                                                                                   Anna x