Colour play, my favourite game

Yay for the weekend, and yay for some colour play! I've been shopping my closet again this weekend and came up with a new combination that's surely worth a mention. The corduroy dungarees from Enjoy Clothing are still looking fresh as ever despite being almost a year old now. I bought them primarily as weekend wear, but I must admit they did sneak into work quite a few times last year. You really can't beat dungarees for comfort can you?

The mix of pink and turquoise are a joyful combination. I topped the outfit off with this fab Topshop trench, a charity shop find from long ago. There's a lovely sense of spring in the air at last and I'm so happy to be shedding that winter feeling. I've been sea swimming a lot this week thanks to the more settled weather too. Now that we have visitors on the island again it really helps to push us further away from the gloom of winter and onwards to longer days.

I was up early to capture the sunrise with is skin-flattering golden tones. Let me share the view I was smiling at.

There's something about an early morning start, whether it's for a swim or walk or simply to capture the sunrise, it just sets you up with that feel-good factor, don't you think?

The top is a vintage piece, a happy find from a while ago. And the jewellery is all second-hand too. Sunglasses are by Radley London. 

I bought my Converse sneakers from Office Shoes last year and surely to goodness you remember seeing them - I wore them lots!  I love them. They make me smile. Isn't that what it's all about?

Ten minutes later and a different backdrop, but the clouds have blocked out that wonderful golden light. Never mind, at least it's a fabulous view behind me! I do hope you've had a great weekend and managed to factor in some downtime. 

                                                                                                  Anna x

The last weekend...

What last weekend? you may be asking. Well, the last weekend before we re-open for another season. On Friday the island of Tresco will be welcoming visitors once again, so this was my last weekend before I have to start dressing as the Gallery Manager. 

It was a weekend spent batch cooking for the freezer and also a time for catching up on those admin jobs you never really feel are important enough to make it to the top of the list - namely, getting in touch with every single company who sends me unsolicited brochures and flyers. I hate to see all that paper going to waste so I finally spent an hour contacted each and every one to politely ask them to remove me from their mailing list. It gave me a lovely sense of achievement.

I barely think this warrants being called the outfit of the day as it was an at home day, but Fiona kindly agreed to take some photos of this most casual weekend wear. Bejewelled jeans may not be everyone's idea of casual, but hey that's what they are in my book. They're rather old now, but I fancy I bought them at TK Maxx many moons ago. 

The addition of a couple of (pre-loved) knuckle-duster rings did lend a bit of dressing up to the whole affair though.

And the blue animal print sweater is also old, again from TK Maxx. 

The pale pink floral trainers are by Replay, and yes, were another happy find in TK Maxx. 

The white soles are flecked with silver glitter, surely a great reason to buy them!

Every time I wear this fabulous vintage coat it reminds me of Sicily and the wonderful cruise Steve and I went on 6 years ago. If you're new to the blog you can hop back to see that post here. Ah, happy days!

I'm not sure when Steve and I will venture off for another big holiday like that again. This summer we'll be quite content bobbing off in our little motor boat to picnic on the Eastern Isles and swim on our favourite deserted beaches. 

                                                                                                  Anna x

If I Were a Handbag, our Style Not Age challenge for February

Hello and welcome our monthly style challenge! I'll 'fess up straight away - yes the subject was my choice this month. For those who know me, you'll agree that my featured handbag is a good reflection of my character - fluffy on one side and smooth on the other, and exceedingly bright and colourful. I have a scatty fun side away from work, but also a smooth, glossy business side which is how I see myself at work. So how do my fashionista friends see themselves...?

Jacqui's offering for the challenge is this compact satchel bag with ornate front. Not sure what this says about her, but it's a super practical bag. See more from Jacqui on Mummabstylish.

Gail is showcasing a red bowling bag which was a Christmas present. The compact, sleek style ties in with her elegant outfit. Find all of the details on her blog Is This Mutton? 

Hilda's choice is a bright green tote borrowed from a local boutique. The bag is big enough to carry a laptop, in a burst of colour from a local designer. See her back story on Over the Hilda blog. 

Emma's handbag is a funky colourful piece by Angel Jackson which has inspired a lovely mix of colours in her outfit. Read all about it on The Style Splash.

My dear friend Ben found this fabulous multicoloured bag in a market on his travels and immediately thought of me - wild and colourful! I was thrilled to receive such an individual piece to add to my handbag collection. It's been my go-to bag for the past month, inspiring various colourful outfits for my working day. 

The fringed side of the bag is a glorious fuzzy, tufted aspect of this oversized handbag. 

As for the outfit of the day - the leather coat is by Next, a charity shop purchase for £20, trousers are from Topshop (ah, the good ol' days!), turtle neck from Primark, shoes and glitter socks from TK Maxx - none of this is new. 

The ring gold coloured ring is pre-loved and the chunky silver and gold etched In Heaven on Earth ring is by Diana Porter. The mustard gloves are from TK Maxx.

The mustard hues continue with my Quay Australia sunglasses.

So how did we all fare with this month's challenge? I do hope you enjoyed it. I loved the opportunity to show you this glorious bag again and would like to think there may be some inspiration within today's feature for everyone. 

Sending love to you all and I do hope that you're safe. Take care!

                                                                                                Anna x

Another birthday present!

Hello again! Yes, mine is the birthday that goes on and on, but goodness isn't this latest worth the wait? My family clubbed together to buy me this fabulous faux fur coat last month, and after a couple of false starts delaying things (the sizing is very generous, meaning I returned it twice and downsized from a 12 to a 6 eventually) here it is in all its glory! You can tell how excited I am about this, can't you?

The coat is from River Island and I'm a bit gutted to see that it's now been reduced to half price in the sale - see here. However, I can see that it's sold out in a 6 which does help. 

I dragged my son Jamie to the beach in between storms this weekend and elevated him to the role of Blog Photographer and wow, didn't he rise to the challenge? The sun shone and the wind continued to blow, but we made the most of things and I was thrilled to gad about in my new ensemble. 

I've been panicking that the coat wouldn't get an airing until the autumn, but this cold blast of wild weather was the perfect excuse to get out and about on Saturday afternoon. Not a soul was in sight as we dropped down onto Cradle Porth on the low tide. The blond sandbar was the perfect backdrop for this monochrome outfit. It's quite a change for me to opt for such a muted palette, but honestly the look still delivers the wow factor, don't you think?

The camo two piece was also from River Island (see here). The stretch fit makes for easy weekend wear, either for working out or lounging around at home. Oh, and the camo print is fabulous - I've got a thing about camo at the moment. The leggings are sold as bum sculpting with a high waistband and the fit is great, even on my ageing derriere!

A touch more glam comes by way of the Radley sunglasses and two pre-loved rings. 

My favourite boots of the moment are perfect for this monochrome play - they're from Asos and you can find them here. 

I'm in full "cat who got the cream" mode here. This is one of those outfits that I could wear day after day and still feel fabulous. What a joy!

                                                                                      Anna x