Hello again!

Hello and thank you for coming back to see me! I've been awol for a little while. In my last post I mentioned that I was going off to the mainland but didn't tell you that I was having some minor surgery to remove two skin cancers on my back. The upshot is that I was allergic to the sutures which in turn created an infection. Once home and despite having had the stitches removed the infection raged leaving me feel quite poorly and just to add insult to injury the wound burst open leaving a nasty crater in the site. I'm waiting for some new medication to treat the wound and am on strict instructions to rest. Anyway, here I am and just wanted to say hello.

This was my birthday outfit and it truly was a case of all dressed up and nowhere to go! A day after my op and I was simply happy to be at home. The fur coat isn't new, but is still a big favourite of mine. We've had some very cold weather here on the islands this winter so I've not looked too out of place wearing my various fur coats. The oatmeal coloured cardigan (note how I've swerved the colour beige there) was from F&F at Tesco while I was away. It has matching trousers too which I also bought and is from their loungewear range. Underneath the cardi is a cream lace bodysuit that I found on Vinted and I added these faux leather leggings (from TK Maxx) with my gold leather boots (Topshop) for this rock chick vibe.

For those of you who visit Tresco I just wanted to share my joyful discovery of this little nook that offers such a lovely backdrop. The crab chairs on the lawn (near the Ruin Beach Cafe) have a low wooden table which works perfectly for my camera on its stand.

I added this old pearl necklace and Radley sunglasses to complete the theme of lace, leather, fur and pearls. 

Excuse me for this cat who's got the cream shot, but I'm flashing my new ring, bought by my lovely husband to mark not just this birthday, but the many others that have been missed by him over the years. The man came good this time, sending me off to Emily Nixon's Studio in Cornwall to have a trying on session with some gemstone rings resulting in this beauty being my 'many birthdays ring'. See more of these fabulous rings here. 

So that pretty much winds things up from me here. I'm signed off work currently so am not sure if I'll have any new outfits to show you soon, but in the meantime - look after yourself!

                                                                    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

Pairing yellow with pistachio...

Hi there! This was my favourite work outfit from last week. An unusual pairing of yellow and pistachio, one that I've not tried before, but I think I like it. What about you?

The pistachio cotton velvet coat is by White Stuff and was a Vinted purchase a little while ago. I'm going off to the mainland on Tuesday this week and think I'll wear this in an effort to look 'mainland smart'. Living on a tiny (car free) island tends to impact on what constitutes smart in real life. We dress here in response to the weather and most of the winter that means wet-weather gear or cosy coats to buffer one against the gales and cold weather. And so a trip to the mainland is always a style challenge for me as I try to anticipate the weather needs and my idea of style.

I'll be hanging around on drafty train platforms a lot of the time so a full length coat seems like a good idea. I'll add a scarf too and will pack a brolly in case of showers and that ought to cover everything. Having a car seems to negate the need to think about the weather - well that's how it looks to me when I see women dodge out of their cosy motors and pop into the supermarket wearing only a sweater. 

The rest of the outfit reads like this: skirt is a charity shop find, by Laura Ashley, sweater is old, tights are by Snag Tights, boots are by ASOS (from Vinted) and yellow necklace was from Vinted too. 

My rings are old and my sunglasses are old too, from Radley London. My orange felt bird brooch was a fabulous Christmas present from my sister Sandra.

The yellow boots are genuine suede and were brand new, never worn, costing me £20. I know yellow's not for everyone, but for a colourist like me, they're a great addition to my wardrobe.

Another feature of island life is our obsession with the weather whenever travel is on the horizon. Wind, or rather too much of it and fog can both impact on travel plans and it looks like my return on Friday hangs in the balance. At this time of year there's no sea link to the islands so flying is the only option and flights are often delayed or cancelled when there's bad weather. I probably won't know until Thursday if my flight is confirmed or not so I may be spending Friday night in the Premier Inn, which normally wouldn't bother me but as Friday is my birthday I'm rather keen to get home. Wish me luck!

                                                                    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