And fur coats too!

Hurrah for the joys of dressing up big time! Oh what fun I'm having playing around with lots of fur and sparkly things this month. As ever, I really don't have many going out options, partly because of living on this tiny, but beautiful, island, but mostly because I don't drink alcohol and therefore pub life isn't really my thing. So this was me, on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon, all dressed up and nowhere to go.

I have maybe half a dozen fur coats, but this is my current favourite. It was from River Island quite a few years ago and I still get excited at the prospect of wearing it. The length somehow adds to the sense of luxury plus it has that reassuring weightiness to it - what a fab fur it is!

The coffee and cream palate is decidedly conservative for me so I thought the best way to ramp things up was by adding as many extra bells and whistles as possible. The satin combat trousers are by Zara purchased from a Truro charity shop recently. They're two sizes too big, but never to be put off by such small matters, I simply added the cow print belt (from Vinted) to tie in with the coat and cinched the waist in as tight as possible.

Next up is the cream blouse with these fabulous frilled arms. These obviously need to be flashed about to gain the full effect. The blouse is from TK Maxx. The pony skin boots again in cow print were a Vinted buy some time ago and work perfectly with the overall look.

The rings are preloved and the sunglasses are by Radley London. 

I'm pleased to say that I've nearly wrapped all of my Christmas presents already and am about to start writing my Christmas cards. Coming up this weekend is the first stint of fudge making for my far-flung relatives. Somehow I've not managed to amass the fancy fudge boxes that I like to use for this sweetest of gifts so I'll just have to get creative with what I can find. Wish me luck with that. 

And that pretty much winds things up this week. I do hope to fabricate an excuse to wear some party clothes soon - I missed our island staff party at the weekend as I was a bit under the weather so that's one opportunity dashed! But never mind, as my husband often has remarked, I'll get dressed up for the opening of an envelope so I'll be turning up here next week in another fancy outfit (as opposed to fancy dress!).

Sending you my warmest festive greetings and wishing you successful shopping in the final run-up to Christmas!

Anna x

December - the month of sparkles!

And so begins the season of sparkles! Needless to say I'm in my element this month for at last I have a legitimate reason to dial up my dressing up. I'm wearing a cosy roll neck fairisle sweater that I recently bought from the F&F range at Tesco's. It was the only one on display which, for some reason, made it seem like a real find. 

I'm not normally keen on black and white but the sweater is so perfect for this time of year I couldn't resist it. It has silver beading on the front that lifts it out of the ordinary too. 

I've paired the sweater with these rather fabulous silver jeans, a charity shop find in Truro recently - the brand is Pull&Bear - and they're brand new, without a scuff or mark on them. 

The mock crock effect boots are a recent purchase too from Deichman in Truro. I used to have a pair very similar to these and do wonder sometimes what on earth happened to them. Anyway, when I saw these I thought they might work well with some of the winter looks that I have planned...

My photography is a bit blurry this week. I had to take my own photos which wasn't helped by the blustery and cloudy weather. I've tweaked the photos but they could be better I'm afraid.

My textured cow print bag was the perfect accessory for the silver and black outfit. It's big enough for all of my photography essentails - mini tripod stand, phone, hairbrush and lipstick (although the look was definitely more windswept than anything else!).

The jacket is quite old now, but the brand is Zara and has a rating just like a duvet - it's ultra cosy and has this massive hood for rainy days too.

I do love this casual look for these silver jeans - what do you think? I'm sure I'll find another bit of styling for these over the next month, if I can only hit on a better day for the photoshoot!

                                                                    Anna x

Festival Fashion

Hello again and welcome to Festival Fashion, our Style Not Age challenge for July! It's a topical style choice at this time of year and we have Jacqui to thank for that. Before you scroll any further however, I just have to say that I was surprised at how differently we all approached this theme, but that surely goes to show our different personalities. So do please carry on - scroll away to see how my fashionable friends fared!

Emma brought out the big guns for her look with silver and sequins and all that sparkles! She's left us in no doubt as to where she's heading. See all the details on her blog Style Splash. 

Jacqui's look is more boho than disco with a slight country vibe to it too. I love the muted palette along with the leather accessories. Find all the details on Jacqui's blog Mummabstylish.

Hilda decided on a more relaxed slant for her outfit, choosing a comfortable, loose-fitting shirt and jeans for her festival fun. Catch up on all of her latest on her blog Over The Hilda.

I've shopped my closet for my festival finery and am really happy with the result. It's not an outfit I've worn before but now that I've assembled the look I think I'll wear it again. Everything is from Vinted, purchased last year. The frilled top has only been worn once before and I'm asking myself now, Why? 

Both the top and trousers are by River Island and the boots are by All Saints. I've been quite restrained of late and haven't made a forray into the realms of Vinted for months now, but when I see these pieces it does make me happy that I found them.

Behind me you'll see the last of the agapanthus still in bloom, but definitely past their best. I do love this beach path leading down to Pentle Bay, one of my swimming beaches. My only accessories are a couple of pre-loved rings and these blue Radley London sunglasses.

As a backdrop you really couldn't find anything nicer. Of course, I may be biased, but hey! I do hope our challenge has entertained and maybe even inspired you too. Enjoy the rest of your week!

                                                                        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

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

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