The joys of the utility jacket




Who'd have thought I'd be excited about a utility jacket? I never cease to surprise myself! This beautiful floral jacket is from H&M (via Vinted, surprise, surprise!) and is my latest guilty pleasure. New, the jacket would have retailed at £39.95 and I paid £10 for it. Sorry if I'm beginning to sound like an advert for the second hand site, but honestly it's a source of some pretty amazing bargains. 




As is with all of my clothes, I buy them because I love them and this jacket is my latest new love. Even my husband is impressed by it. I think its appeal for me is the wonderful juxtaposition of a traditionally masculine style adorned with these perfectly feminine florals. This was its first outing, a stroll out on my day off to capture the simple stylish nature of the jacket whilst out in nature. Too cheesy? Sorry.




I've shopped my closet for the rest of this outfit. The shirt is old, from Primark, the fairisle tank top is an old charity shop find, the Levi's jeans are also pre-loved. 




The chunky chelsea boots were from Primark, bought a year ago and are super comfy for yomping about in the countryside. 




The jacket sports four big patch pockets, large and roomy with enough space to do away with a handbag if you wish; phone goes in one pocket, wallet in another, hairbrush and lipstick in the third and tissues in the last - perfect! My only accessories today are my Radley sunglasses and a simple gold chain.



 
I'm pleased as Punch with this new addition to my wardrobe. Winter walks will take on a new stylish attitude with this fabulous jacket.




My new working regime for the next few months is that of a four day week now. I've saved my annual leave up and am taking long weekends off to catch up at home. It also means that I'm able to fit in three consecutive days of sea swimming which is great for me at this time of year. I really do rely on my swimming to help stablise my SAD symptoms and it's held me in good stead for years. I'd love to say that I can manage to swim every day, but the shorter days are a challenge to fit it in either before or after work. In addition, the intermittant storms do impact on when it's safe to swim, but all in all I'm doing well. If you click on the tiny link above, just to the right of the About Me tab, you'll be able to see my latest swimming clip on Instagram.

I'll be back next Monday with our monthly Style Not Age challenge so do pop by if you get the chance. 

In the meantime have a great week!

Anna x

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Call me Sybil!




Hi there! Do you remember Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers? This frilled blouse brings her to mind don't you think? I fell in love with it at first sight, buying it without pause from Vinted last month. I love everything about it; the coral colour, the abundance of frills and flounces and general over-the-top look of it all. 




I thought the blouse deserved an outdoors photoshoot to capture the movement of the chiffon and up on the top of the island was a great setting. 




As you know, I totally love a bit of drama and this backdrop seemed to be perfect to showcase my new glamorous purchase. The view from King Charles' Castle overlooks Bryher and onwards out to the wild Atlantic Ocean. 




The crop flares are very old, but work well with the look, as do my orange leather boots - find them in the sale on the ASOS website here. The Gallery may be closed at the moment, but that's not going to stop me dressing up just for the heck of it!




I added a wide belt to bring the outfit together - this is very old too, but being leather has simply improved with age.




The entire outfit has been pulled together from existing pieces in my wardrobe, apart from the blouse obviously. Even the rings are old, also pre-loved, bought in charity shops.




The finishing touch is this beautiful oxblood leather coat by Next which I bought second hand from the Oxfam shop in Truro. A leather coat or jacket is such a worthy investment and this one is a keeper for me.




I feel I need to mention that I've sold a few items on Vinted recently which I think helps to counter the recent rash of purchases. At least if I can bankroll my purchases by selling at the same time then I'll arrive at a point of balance!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

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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

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Jeans and Jewels, our Style Not Age challenge for October




Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age which this month is led by my choice, that of Jeans and Jewels. I must confess that I stole the idea from the very talented professional Photographer Elisabeth Hoff who posted the details of a photoshoot on her Instagram account recently - see it here. I'm huge fan of Elisabeth's since we met on the JD Williams set some five years ago. I view her account often as she photographs a huge variety of famous models and actors. Elisabeth was incredibly kind to me, helping me to settle into this rather daunting role as fashion model. I worked with her on three campaigns for JDW and she even stepped in to change my outfit on our last shoot together in South Africa as she didn't think it reflected my character. See Elisabeth and I together on location here.




Emma built her Jeans and Jewels look on this fab vintage denim dress embellished with beads to which she added her statement necklace. Catch up on all of her news on her blog Style Splash




I love the layering that Gail has done with her jewels for this challenge. Her Georgian style necklaces are from Etsy and her jeans jacket is from Amazon. To get all the details of her outfit see her post on Is This Mutton blog. 




Hilda's given us a double dose of jewels with her jewel bright coat along with a totally bling necklace (inherited from her daughter). See more from her on Over the Hilda blog. 




A glitzy necklace and beaded jeans are Jacqui's offering from this month's challenge, capturing the essence of this contrasting theme perfectly.  Read her back story on Mummabstylish blog.




My jewels are all old pieces, some vintage, others that have been lurking in the back of my jewellery boxes for years since I started blogging.  I decided to add some brooches to my new Jack Wills jeans jacket. Some of you may remember I have another jeans jacket adorned with brooches too - see it here




I bought my Levi's jeans in Camden Market in September and just love them! The long, lean leggy look is fab considering I'm none of those things in reality. I've added height (and glamour) by wearing these stilletto heeled silver leather boots (old, by Buffalo). 




My bejewelled belt (from Amazon) seemed like the perfect accessory to go with today's look along with these twinkly rings (pre-loved). Sunglasses are by Radley London.




The backdrop to my photoshoot is King Charles' Castle located on the North End of Tresco. I was lucky to have a day off when we had a fine day of weather and took myself off there at the end of the day to capture the golden light (most flattering for older complexions).




I do hope you've enjoyed this month's Style Not Age challenge. Please do pop over to see the full stories from my stylish friends too if you have a moment. 

I'll be back next week with another post, but the subject isn't clear as yet. The Gallery is now closed, so dressing up is no longer essential, but that's not to say I'll be scruffing about in joggers any time soon! Thanks so much for joining me.

                                                                                            Anna x

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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

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Spread The Joy




The title of today's post is inspired by Gaby Roslin who has recently released a book by the same name; see it on Amazon here. I heard Gaby on Radio 2 yesterday and she really struck a chord with me, especially when she commented on pink and orange being her favourite colour combination and I was wearing my outfit of the day already! Anyway see how my day unfolded...




The first photo shows the view from my garden, but also features our boat Leah Dancer in the foreground. This boat has been a huge renovation project over the past two years, culminating in it finally being launched in September. Apart from the day job, Steve and I have worked every weekend and most evenings over this summer to finish this labour of love, but it has meant us giving up many other things to acheive our goal. For me, the joy of my life, my sea swimming became a luxury I simply couldn't afford. We both made compromises and they were worth it. But now, thank goodness, I'm back in the groove and swimming on the high tides which this week have been in the morning. I met three other ladies crossing the bay yesterday morning and we stopped to say hello and, lovely morning!




Another joy I've recently managed to reinstate is my lunchtime walking with my friend Fiona. We both seem to have had equally busy summers and now at last are taking some time back for ourselves. Walking and talking is great fun, good therapy too and a great way to build up a bit of fitness. We walk a circuit of the island, but not across the North End, which takes us approximately an hour, giving us our 10,000 steps along the way.




And so, on to the outfit of the day. Like Gaby, I love pink and orange together which makes this another favourite of mine. The pink trench is really old now, but is still a source of joy, especially as it was a wonderful charity shop find at only £5!  Pairing it with my new orange handbag (see full details in my previous post here), makes the whole look pop.




One simple move that Gaby advocates is to jump, yes just jump, then jump and smile at the same time and see how effective that is in bringing an immediate sense of joy. I did a bit of that whilst up on the ramparts of the Old Blockhouse after work. My camera had a job trying to capture these shots of course, being a moving image, but at least you get the idea from this shot.




My pink and blue floral dress was another thrift shop find, from last year but this is only the second time I've worn it. It was a toss up between these silver brouges (very, very old from Office) and pink tight and boots. The shoes won for the simple reason that they're much more all-day-long comfortable. 




I'm wearing a long sleeved thin thermal layer (old, from M&S) underneath to keep the autumn breeze at bay. My rings are second hand and sunglasses are by Radley London.




Counting your blessings is another source of joy and taking time to stop and stare is an easy way to do this. The beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me. I can't imagine living anywhere else.




Milky autumn sun dancing behind the trees.




Home again in time for tea! So that was my day, and I do hope you enjoyed sharing it. I was at work too, but never seem to document that much as it's pretty much the same backdrop most days. Winter works are on the horizon though meaning I'll be getting out and about more, so hopefully will get some snaps of that in due course. I hope you're well, I hope you're finding the joy in your life and sharing it with the ones you love.

Have a great weekend!

Anna x

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