Sequins and camo for daytime

Eeek, it's only another 7 sleeps until Christmas and I'm so far off being ready! But let's move swifty on... Today I'm touting this daytime look that throws sequins on top of camo print in the loudest of colours. As you may know, I love orange, can't get enough of the colour and therefore when I came across these cargo pants on Vinted (new with the labels still attached) I just knew they were meant for me.

The trousers are so practical for work, yet eye poppingly bright and breezy that they yell out fun. I'll be wearing them this week while I do my final preparations to get the Gallery ready for opening. I'll swap out these orange leather boots (Asos) for my baseball camo ones and add a big cardigan for warmth.

My glitter top was a charity shop purchase from years ago and the orange sequin jacket came from TK Maxx a few years ago; I bring it out every Christmastime and it always makes people smile. The padding makes for a lovely snuggly winter jacket as well as being totally glam.

Glitter, sequins and camo meant I could get away with the minimum of jewellery. The classic black sunglasses are by Radley London and orange belt is from Primark.

Well, I suppose I'd better get back to my fudge making again. I've only one more batch to make this afternoon, making a total of over 24 pounds of the sweet stuff for family and friends. 

By tomorrow this will all be wrapped and packed into colourful boxes ready to distribute to my family here on the islands. It truly is the joy of giving!

I'll be back on Christmas day with my style sisters for our monthly style challenge, so if you get a quiet moment over the festive period please do swing by to see our take on Christmas Dressing.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

Anna x

Inspired by Autumn, our Style Not Age challenge

Hello and welcome to November's Style Not Age challenge, chosen this month by Hilda. Inspired by Autumn suited me down to the ground as this was my work outfit from Friday showing my version of autumn delights. Burnt orange is a favourite seasonal choice of mine, but let's catch up with my blogging friends first to see how they interpreted this one...

Well, it looks like Jacqui and I were singing from the same sheet this time with our orange jackets, floral dresses and boots. Her jacket and dress are both from Bonmarche and boots are Clarks, handbag gifted from Teddy Blake. Catch up on her latest news on Mummabstylish.

Emma has shopped her closet for this stylish outfit - jacket and handbag were both from eBay, trousers and boots from M&S and top was from Joanie Clothing. The rich burgundy velvet jacket certainly says autumn to me! See more from Emma at Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's weekend look is indeed in autumnal hues. She too has shopped her closet for the challenge adding the only new item, a bright red scarf to finish her outfit. I love her boots and jacket and will be hopping across to her blog for more details - OvertheHilda. 

Zingy lemon and orange are Gail's autumn colours, and golly how fab they are together! The coat is from ASOS, scarf and top are from Kettlewell, leggings from M&S and boots are from Office. See more from Gail on Is This Mutton. 

Details of my ensemble are: fur coat from TK Maxx, dress from Joe Brown's (gifted), roll neck, old and charity shopped, boots from ASOS, belt from Amazon, gloves (old), sunglasses from Radley London, resin necklace (very old). 

To keep out the November chills at work I donned this extra layer - another autumnal offering by way of this fairisle cardigan (charity shopped last year). A woollen layer is what my mother-in-law always urged me to wear if I ever complained of being cold. It tickles me that I now pass on these wise words to workmates whenever they remark on our draughty workplace.

I'm still breaking in my new orange leather boots (from ASOS), but did manage to wear them all day long this time. The heel isn't terribly high, although the pointed toes do eventually tweak by the end of the day.

No new jewellery here, simply orange rings and necklace from my collection. Stretch belt was from Amazon earlier this year.

Despite the Gallery being closed for the winter, I do still like to make an effort and dress up for work. We have our winter schedule in place which means we have artists' residencies running over the next few months so I do see a steady trickle of them over the course of each week. Me dressing up is another way of conveying the fact that I take my role as Gallery Manager seriously; I do like to still have an air of professionalism about the place. 

Thanks for dropping by for our monthly challenge - I do hope you've enjoyed it!

Anna x

Another shorts co-ord from Primark!

If someone had told me 12 months ago that I'd be wearing shorts next winter I'd have laughed in their face, and yet here I am in another fab two-piece from Primark. I've recently bought this one from Vinted and it cost me £18. Vinted has become my guilty secret of late. I seem to have become a insomniac shopper, using the app to fill the dreary hours when I can neither sleep nor read. Speaking about this out loud is my first step in controlling things before they get out of hand. Rest assured my purchases aren't yet breaking the bank, but I'm finding the bright colours and interesting pieces quite a lure. Even if I stopped buying right now my blog will still be littered with jolly purchases for the next while. Anyway confession over, let's talk outfits shall we?

As I was saying, shorts and me are not really a happy marriage. I still carry my teenage angst about my athletic thighs and wouldn't normally choose to show them off, but the magical powers of 80 denier tights inspire enough confidence in me to step out in style. I've always loved bright coloured tights and it seems that by adding them to the equation I've overcome years, if not decades, of hang-ups. Even at my grand old age it seems we can still surprise ourselves! I'm even going to give you a quick look at the back view which is pretty brave of me, I can tell you...

The shorter length jacket works well with the slighter shorter shorts too, compared to the pink and orange two-piece I've been raving about. (See it here in case you've missed it.) I wore it to work in the last week of the Gallery being open and loved this green and white colour combination. 

I've opted to wear my mint green brogues (old from Office) with this new suit. Again, I surprise myself that I'd wear flats with shorts! What on earth is going on? Anyway, I brought various shoe and boot options together for the initial try on and strangely these chunky brogues gave the best balance to the outfit. High heeled boots really were too much, (even though that worked with the other suit) as were various ankle boots that seemed to shorten the leg, leaving these as the winners. Not only did they look the best, but they're all-day-long comfortable - hurrah!

The pale colour means that the slightest mark shoes up, but I'm learning to live with a bit of wear and tear too. Goodness, is the perfectionist in me drifting away I wonder?

I teamed the suit with this fine knit roll neck sweater that I bought from TK Maxx this summer. I've been waiting to find the right opportunity to showcase this funky top and love the pattern play it creates. The belt is old (from Primark) and the Tree of Life pendant is very old too. One silver ring is by Emily Nixon and the other enamel and silver one was a lucky charity shop find.

The finishing touch is these old Radley London sunglasses. I'll sign off with a local view for those of you who might be in need of a dose of Tresco bliss. 

Have a great week and I look forward to reading your comments. Your feedback is so very welcome, letting me know you're out there and enjoying my latest offering. So please do drop me a line! Thank you.

                                                                       Anna x

And yet more joy!

Hello again and sorry for my absence, but life is forever busy as we prepare to close the gallery for winter meaning that I change hats and become curator of the Tresco Art Collection which is held within some 100 cottages and public areas around the island. However, here I am, referring back to my previous post about joy. As you can see I'm jumping for joy as I had a lovely walk to the North End of the island and decided to practise what Gaby Roslin was preaching. It really works! I did indeed feel energised, and much happier simply for jumping and leaping around like a mad thing.

For a very small island, Tresco does offer a sense of the great escape, be it here on the rocky heathland, in the depths of the Abbey Garden or along the sweeping stretches of white sandy beaches skirting the majority of the island. It was a good day to visit the North End as I met only three other people, all heading off to find there own place of solitude. 

A day off is a chance to dress down and this was me in outdoorsy mode in this two piece (very old) from Asos. The stretchy leggings and top are perfect for working out or busying around. And a plain white tee shirt underneath was enough layering to keep me warm on this autumn day.

The camoflage boots are by Replay and oh, what a joy they were when I found them on Vinted earlier on this summer! I love the matchy-matchy look and will be seen over the forthcoming months sporting this when I'm lugging paintings around from houses into winter storage. I'm going to show you some of the views from this vantage point...

This bay is called Gimble Porth and is where you can often catch sight of a seal or two at any time of year, but mainly during the quiet winter months. There was one bobbing about while I was taking these shots and you may be able to discern his dark head just above the water.

The view just beyond Gimble Porth shows Northwethel and the Small Islands beyond - all of these are tiny uninhabited islands, popular for picnic trips and adventures for those with a small boat and knowledge of tides and rocks.

Beyond those lies the inhabited island of St Martin's and the Eastern Isles strewn outwards towards the mainland. Steve and I love to escape to these desert islands on our days off.

The lighthouse is perched atop Round Island and is now worked remotely. Scudding across the foreground is one of Tresco's jetboats.

Part two of today's post is to feature my Primark short suit again, this time with different accessories. I much prefer outdoors photography for my blog outfits, but at this time of year I'm held hostage by the weather which has been pretty dire of late. Apologies therefore for the lighting and less clear images. Hopefully the backdrop makes up for what it lacks elsewhere.

The pink and orange tweed shorts suit is reinvented by adding a colourful tee shirt, pink tights and metallic cowboy boots - a bit different to when I wore it for the first time (see here).

Gold chain belt and necklace add a bit of glamour as do the pink and orange rings (pre-loved) along with these bobby dazzler boots.

The metallic boots really do add that punch to today's look. Not for everyone, I know, but very me! I bought them from Asos earlier on in the year, but they're sold out now. Gutted, aren't you! 

Thanks for dropping by and do keep in mind that our end of month challenge occurs on the last Monday of the month. It's my turn to chose the theme - I hope you'll join us for that!

                                                                                              Anna x

My 60's style

Hi there! Are you well? Hope you're doing fine. All's good here, busy of course, now that it's July, but that's as it should be. This was yesterday's work outfit, homage to the 60's, first seen here on my birthday. Bright colours and psychedelic prints were popular in the 60's just in time for me to find my first influences. I cut my fashion teeth on Mary Quant and Pan's People as I grappled with mini skirts, flares, skinny rib tops and fringed waistcoats in suede.  

 

I love the soft pastel shades of this two piece (from Asos). I've added a simple white vest top and pink stretch belt to the outfit plus my pink and orange cowboy boots to give the look a bit of an edge. See the boots here.

White sunglasses are the ultimate accessory for this 60's look - these are a charity shop find, for the bargain basement price of £3. I remember saving up my pocket money to buy the perfect pair of sunglasses in my early teens, mine had orange frames and I thought I looked fab wearing them.

Steve and I had just returned from a drinks do and so I cashed in on the fact that he was a bit tipsy and asked him to take my blog photos. I plonked myself on our front wall and he clicked away, regardless of whether I was actually in the shot or not! Luckily he captured me a few times.

Necklace is from Zara, this season and rings are both old.

Looking back at my birthday shots you may notice that my hair was a bit shorter. I've decided to let it grow this summer although am still having it trimmed to try to maintain some sort of style. I thought I'd try something longer for a change. What do you think? The wind did make it look a bit scruffy didn't it?

                                                                                Anna x

Winter layering

Hello again! It's been so good to have a week off work, but here I am back in the groove. I managed to find a happy compromise with my time off, catching up on a few chores (even spring cleaning two cupboards) and doing some batch cooking for the freezer, but also having some lovely swims, watching a few movies, read a book and had the odd daytime nap. It's been great!

Today's outfit is all about winter layering, the perfect answer to indoors heat and outdoors cold. My dress is a charity shop purchase from last month when I was on the mainland. It cost me all of £4.95! I love the pattern, the colours and the retro vibe too. The v cutout and neck band lift it out of the ordinary, don't you think? I popped a long sleeved thermal underneath to give an extra bit of warmth to this cotton dress.

Next I added this fur gilet, not new, but still a fab bit of glamour plus warmth when you need an extra layer. The waistcoat was from TK Maxx a few years ago and comes out every winter.

My boots aren't new either, but were from ASOS a few years ago. I love how I've created a brand new look without breaking the bank.

Nothing new with my rings or sunglasses either. 

Last of all is this oxblood leather coat, another charity shop bargain from years ago - it was £20 from Oxfam and worth every penny of it. I love how windproof leather is and how it copes with rain without marking. Once the temperature drops a bit further I'll add a scarf and some leather gloves to make this entirely chill proof.

Can you believe that in a month's time we'll all be in the run up to Christmas? Is it just me, or are the months simply speeding by? I've bought one Christmas present so far and a couple of packs of cards so maybe I need to start getting my act together!

I'll be back on Monday with another of our Monthly Style Challenges. Please do swing by to see what we're up to!

                                                                                           Anna x