Jumpsuit joy!

Hello and welcome!

Since I did my wardrobe overhaul last week I've been able to find a lot of inspiration in my closet, the first being this combination of gingham dungarees and sheer spotty sleeved top. I bought the dungarees last summer from Topshop and they were a mainstay both at work and play last year. I'm delighted to bring them out again, this time with a top that I bought in February from TK Maxx (the brand is Wild Flower). I bought a black version of this too and will showcase that in due course.

Steve and I headed along the beach to Saffron Cove on Sunday afternoon during the last of the sunshine. It was a glorious end to the day. We took our time, wandering through the high tideline looking for treasure as we enjoyed the view. I've always got my eye out for sea glass and found a few colourful pieces to add to my collection.

Simple pleasures.

Back to the jumpsuit. I changed the buttons as I so often do. The previous ones were a nondescript, brownish colour which didn't work so well. I'm a hoarder of buttons and tend to remove any good ones before I get rid of old clothing that's on its way to the bin. I have a button jar, but have just recently found a wooden box while spring cleaning that I'm going to recycle to make it my button box, just like my gran used to have. 

I particularly like the big, oversized puff sleeves of this top. The body of it is a ribbed sweater with these fabulous chiffon sleeves acting as a wonderful contrast. Next time I'll be trying to dress this up with my off-white smart trousers and perhaps some silver or gold sandals.

Rings are both pre-loved,

... sunglasses are by Quay Australia,

... and trainers are by Puma.

We walked back along Farm Beach collecting more sea glass on the way. Many of you are visitors to Tresco and may appreciate this backdrop of New Grimsby harbour. Hopefully things will return to normal soon and we'll be able to welcome you to our island again. In the meantime, take care, keep safe and stay home.

                                                                             Anna x

Ecru boilersuit from Tu

Happy Friyay!

Friday/Friyay, whichever, I'm still happy to be on the cusp of the weekend. Even though I'm furloughed, I do love to have that Friday feeling where the weekday pressure is off. My weekdays are proving to be much more challenging than I expected. I thought I'd be bouncing out of bed at 5am, galloping off to the beach and then swirling around the house like a hyman tornado, spring-cleaning every nook and cranny before lunch. And yet, it's not like that at all. My sleep is disturbed and my very early mornings often result in a mid-morning slump. I'm trying to avoid the news as it's my main source of stress, but I'm like a kid with a scab on its knee who just can't help going back to it. But, from what I can gather, I'm not alone with this lack of productivity. The simple truth is, we're not quite sure how to deal with these most extraordinary times, are we?

But, one thing that's well within my limits is dressing up! I saw the TV advert for Tu Clothing in March and immediately fell for the charms of this ecru boilersuit. The colour, the elasticated waist, the cut, the fit - all are perfect for my colouring and shape. I seem to be having a bit of a moment with cream denim of late, but that's no biggie is it? I can happily report that the boilersuit is still available online here. At £35 I consider this to be value for money as well as being practical and stylish. Ideal for simply lounging around indoors or for striding out for the daily walk, it really is a great buy.

I opted to add orange as a feature colour to the ecru (mainly because I thought Steve would pass a comment about me looking ready to do a bit of painting and decorating). 

The orange resin necklace is ancient, the orange leather belt and across the body bag are charity shopped as are the rings. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

The orange embroidered trainers are by Replay from TK Maxx. Comfortable and very in keeping with today's easy-to-wear look.

I'm very happy to report that I've at last finished my clothes changeover. It took longer than usual, but I've done a fair bit of downsizing and reducing the actual volume of clothes I have available for spring/summer season. 

This year I've chosen to colour co-ordinate the pieces rather than group them into dresses, skirts etc. The shoes underneath reflect the colours above.

I have under-the-bed boxes and on-top-of-the wardrobe boxes housing summer shoes and sandals too. Winter shoes and boots are packed up under the bed too.

The run of colours goes from light to dark. The smaller shelves are home to handbags and scarves. (Not colour grouped I've just noticed.)  A lot of the handbags have smaller ones stashed inside each other.

On the far right are my jackets, tops and trousers, and casual footwear.

Jumpers and jeans are housed on the far right shelving system. The whole run of wardrobes is fronted with mirrors allowing plenty opportunity for self criticism. There's a whole load of angst goes on up here before you guys get to see the outfit of the day!

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

                                                                                       Anna x

Easter chick

Happy Easter!

Dear readers, I hope you're having a happy Easter - well as happy as it can be under the circumstances. Steve and I stepped outside our house yesterday to capture these shots of my take on being your Easter chick (forever tongue in cheek, that's me!). As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny, hazy day. 

In the midst of this, our local Church Warden, Rachel came along with some palm fronds on her way to decorating the outside of St Nicholas Church. Rachel was also working alongside the Easter bunny, helping to scatter some chocolate eggs around the churchyard for the island's children. 

And not to be outdone, our local delivery driver turned up keen to photobomb our session - Hi Barek!

I've been busy this week doing my clothes changeover, dragging bags and suitcases out from under the beds to bring my spring and summer clothes out again. The remit this time has been a bit different as I'm not actually at work, therefore lots of my clothes are redundant at the moment - particularly my opening night party clothes are still unpacked for the moment. 

Yesterday was supposed to be the first exhibition of the year, our Easter Show, at the gallery and this was the outfit I would have been wearing during the day for our first phase of the meet and greet. The trouser suit is by JD Williams, one of my favourite buys from them last year. I love wearing it, love the sunny colour and the instant togetherness of wearing a trouser suit. The trousers may be a tad snug, but they do have a bit of stretch which does help. I've linked through to a similar suit on their website currently, modeled by the gorgeous Andrea who I worked with during my stint with the brand. Happy days!

I styled the suit with these New Look kitten heel boots for a bit of a retro look. I bought them a couple of years ago and they've been so useful, lending a real statement to any outfit. The white ruffle shirt was from TK Maxx. I've added a stretch belt which was a charity shop piece. 

Bangles, rings and necklace are all pre-loved and much loved by me too.

These long time favourite sunglasses are by Quay Australia - note they reflect my reluctant photographer. Poor Steve, has ended up being my one and only photographer by default currently! 

He may be reluctant, but he still does a very good job. Thank you darling!

This is the view from my washing line and it's often remarked that I have the best vista ever for such a mundane chore - I have to agree.

Thanks for joining me again today. I hope you're all having a chocolate-fest kind of a day and that the sun shines on you during your exercise break! And in the words of the great Crosby, Stills and Nash - "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with..."

                                                                           Anna x

Ralph Lauren military jacket

Hello again!

Welcome to my Friday hook up. I'll confess that this OOTT was from those pre-furloughed days when dressing up for work was the joy of the day. There's no better motivation than knowing that you'll be customer facing and therefore under scrutiny. I have lovely clients who pop in to see me, confessing that they merely want to check what I'm wearing that day! So, no pressure there then. But honestly, I do love the excuse of work, in fact any excuse, to dress up. 

This is the first time I've shown the bargain of the month that I found in February when I was on a quick trip to the mainland. As is my habit, I checked out TK Maxx on this very brief trip and was lucky enough to happen across this wonderful military style jacket by Polo Ralph Lauren. It was the only one in the store as is often the case and to my delight it fitted like a glove!

Regardless of the crazy price saving here, I have always lusted after this style of jacket. I think Victoria Beckham designed one a couple of years ago, but even before then it's been on my wishlist. I see it as a wardrobe staple, one that can be dressed up or down and is an absolute classic in my eyes. You'll be seeing a lot of this in future I promise you.

Barrel buttons and braiding are typical of this type of jacket, but on top of that, the woollen fabric is weighty in a reassuring way, without being too heavy - it remains sleek, is what I'm trying to say. Yes, it's true love, that's for sure.

Perfectly pleasing pre-loved rings.

I bought the off white jeans on the same shopping trip. The brand is River Island, but they were on sale at TK Maxx for £9.99 as opposed to the £40 original price tag. You know how I just love a bargain! Next time I'll style them up with a sweater to show you the neat cut of them including the black belt which ties in with the black contrasting stitching. They're high waisted, neat fitting and will be great for the spring/summer period. I've paired them with my much loved black patent chelsea cowboy boots from Topshop last year.

Yes, here's another pair of Radley London sunglasses, courtesy of my friend Ellie who designed them.

And finally, I think I'm beginning to make headway with all of my chores at home. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed at the sheer number of jobs that are calling out for my attention. So the other day, I decided to break these down into bite size pieces and hey presto, I've tidied the cupboard under the stairs!

I'll leave you with a few beach photos from the past week. I've been following the tide around, swimming on the high tide every day which has  been such a treat.

 

Until next time, stay home, stay safe!

Anna x