Two birthday bashes

Hello again, and how's tricks with you? Recently my sister-in-law, Gill, celebrated her 70th birthday and we had a lovely family gathering to mark the occasion. Do you remember Polly who was my gallery assistant a few years ago? Well she and my nephew David had a baby six months ago - this is Mose in the photo. We had a very long and lazy lunch party for Gill, with delicious food and an endless supply of champagne.

Gill's children had clubbed together to pay for a week of luxury in the newly converted Blockhouse Cottage which was the childhood home of Steve and Gill so you can imagine how the memories came flooding back for them. They had such fun reminiscing about the good ol' days while they told us stories about their time growing up on Tresco.  

This was what I wore that day. The jacket was a purchase from Vinted, trousers are old (from ASOS) and the River Island top was also from Vinted. 

I love the combination of peach and lilac together. My jewellery is all old too - necklace was from Debenhams many moons ago and the perspex rings are pre-loved. 

The white patent leather boots finish off this retro look perfectly. What a great excuse the party was for me to dress up! Luckily for me, the next evening we were invited to join with the family again to celebrate my birthday. Gill's birthday is the day before mine, but I was happy to turn up to sweep up the crumbs from her party table. We had drinks that evening outside by the fire pit which was a great start to the celebrations. From there we had a running buffet followed by a beautiful birthday cake made by my neice Zoe of Bryher Bake Box fame.

Zoe had been very clever in managing to decorate my cake in the same colours as my birthday evening outfit.

The rose gold ensemble matched my cake beautifully. My rose gold shoes were from, yes, you guessed it, Vinted as was the sweater. The Iris skirt is from Eleven Loves, but is all sold in out this blush colour. You can find a berry version on their sale page here. 

Evening indoor photography isn't my forte, but I wanted to showcase this fab tulle skirt regardless. I recently showcased a cream skirt so very similar to this one, but this really is a different one.

Note the cute tiny shoes beside me. These belong to Raffy, one of my great neices. The week was a great opportunity to catch up with all of Steve's family who had travelled to Tresco for the houseparty. They raved about the on site spa facilites and yoga room which they used every day, in fact they raved about the whole experience!

And this was another shot from my 66th birthday. After the picnic lunch with Steve, I had a bit of downtime that afternoon and then swam on the high tide as the sun was setting at about 5pm. All in all, I'd had a pretty perfect day. 

                                                                    Anna x

Blue Monday post

Hi there! Thanks for swinging by again. I'm posting on Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year as we're all supposed to be in a full post-Christmas slump, but hopefully it's not been too much of a trial for you. This year it's on the 15th of January which is my daughter's birthday (she's 35). We met up with Sasha yesterday to have brunch with her in one of the Seagarden Cottages where she's enjoying a few days of luxury as a gift to herself. I dodged outside to take a few shots of my outfit, but couldn't find the right spot either out of the sun (too bright)... 

...or in the shade (too dark). The view was pretty spectacular though!

I've been itching to wear this wonderful waterfall tulle skirt since I bought it recently on Vinted. I can hardly bear to tell you how much it cost. What do you think? Would you believe that even though it's brand new it only cost £5? Honestly! The rest of the outfit is from my wardrobe, nothing new. The waistcoat is years old and may not ever have been shown on the blog, but do tell me if I'm wrong. The blouse is ancient, was a charity shop buy from years ago, boots are from ASOS, sunglasses are from Quay Australia and cream tights are very old indeed.

Later on I swapped the waistcoat for this fitted jacket (very old). I really like this look; the yellow tweed jacket has a gold fleck to it and works so well with the soft fluid nature of the tulle and chiffon. The chunky boots toughen the look up without being too overpowering.

The broad tan leather belt is another way to add an accent without it becoming too much of a focal point. For me this outfit is all about the skirt, so hopefully the balance with the other pieces works to allow the tulle to remain at centre stage.

Nothing new with these citrine rings - I've had them for years now - they were gifted to me as part of a collaboration with Gemporia way back in  2017 (see here).

No doubt you'll see this skirt again and again and again this year. It's an obvious piece for summerwear, but I so wanted to try to winterise it successfully and think I did. Do you agree? I actually wore my cream cow print fur coat over the top of this as it was so chilly - sorry I forgot to get shots of that but we were running late. It's great to have your company again - many thanks and have a great week!

                                                                                         Anna x

Summer show 15th July

I'd like to say that the sun always shines on this little island paradise, but clearly that would be a lie. On exhibition nights we always wish for the perfect evening so that the party can spill outside and our clients, with a glass in hand, can watch the sun sink down in the West. That wasn't the case last night, but I'm happy to report that the dull weather didn't spoil our enjoyment of what was a brilliant collection of paintings. To view or download the brochure of our three July shows follow here. The show of the moment features work by Neil Pinkett, Marie Mills and John Bampfield (as seen in the brochure) and has the gallery teaming with images of boats, beaches and flowers as well as a rash of red spots to indicate SOLD.

I spent the evening rustling about in this tulle maxi skirt that I'd found in a charity shop (surprise, surprise!) which is by Jesire and cost me £14. It did earn me a lot of compliments. The black devore body is by Ayanapa and the boots are by Jessica Wright, both are from TK Maxx.The chain belt is so old I can't recall where I bought it and my rings are charity shopped.

The team were in fine form, working hard to make the evening, as well as the wine, flow seamlessly. Thank you ladies for your support. From l to r - Polly, Heather, Ruth and Max - my dream team!

Linking with -

Cherie of Style Nudge

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x