Wednesdays mean Timeshare party

Hello lovelies and sorry for the tardiness in my posting this week, but this is the reason. I'm in the middle of my latest obsession meaning every spare moment is being spent sewing. I hope to showcase the dress on Monday for our monthly challenge so please do swing by again to see the fruits of my labour.

So, as the title suggests, Wednesday means Timeshare party here at Gallery Tresco and this was me after the event last night. Timeshare and Island Share owners have bought into Tresco life and as such this weekly gathering is one of the perks. It's the perfect opportunity for everyone to get together to chat about all things island as well as comparing what each property has to offer and to boast about who's got the best view!

It may not look like it, but I'm struggling to find things to wear at the moment as I've not yet done my bi-annual clothes changeover. My wardrobe and shelves are still full of winter woollies and boots, but hopefully next week I'll be taking some time off and that will be one of my chores. That said, I did receive lots of compliments about outfit of the day last night which is always a lovely boost to the morale. Nothing new here at all; the suit was a charity shop find in Harrogate a long, long time ago (it was on the men's rail, so do remember to rummage everywhere), likewise the vintage blouse, another charity shop find this time from Exeter many moons ago, the boots were from Diechman just before Christmas and the pink handbag is rather ancient too.

The pink handbag by Furla is my mini Candy bag which unfortunately didn't show up in quite the right colour - it's much more pink than that! Not quite the same colour as my boots but still acceptable fashionista-wise I think. More importantly, it's the only pink bag I have.

Nothing new with the accessories either. Sunglasses are my old faves by Quay Australia, the bejewelled watch was a charity shop buy and only recently rediscovered in a box, the huge pink resin ring was a gift from a friend and the other a charity shop find too. The necklace was a purchase a few years ago from Gallery Tresco and is by Charlie Dodge.

My beaded belt, an Amazon buy, always gets lots of comments. It's so utterly feminine isn't it?

So, you must excuse me, but I've got to return now to my sewing machine. I'm trying to make a pink net underskirt to wear under my orange linen dress, as one does. The slight problem I have is that I don't have a pattern and despite looking at lots of tutorials on youTube I'm really none the wiser. I have no real idea what I want to achieve apart from it being a flash of colour as I walk. 

As ever, thank you so much for dropping by and hopefully I'll see you again on Monday!

Anna x

Easter weekend on Tresco

The sun shone down on Tresco this Easter reminding me how beautiful this little island paradise is. The view is from the Sea Garden Cottages, namely from the patio of Shrimp where I was visiting friends. I regaled them with my memories of being a (hopeless) chambermaid 45 years ago at the Island Hotel here in these grounds; I was besotted with this view and thought it to be the most idyllic sight I'd ever seen, so much so that I spent far too much time staring out the window and not enough time cleaning. The truth is, I still find it mesmerising. Anyway, the figure in the distance is one of those I was visiting - more recognised for his voice than his physical self.

Yes, it's the Radio 2 DJ legend that is Johnnie Walker! Johnnie and his gorgeous wife Tiggy are regulars to Tresco, this most recent visit being to celebrate Johnnie's 78th birthday. Doesn't he look well on it! Johnnie hosted a birthday dinner at the Ruin Beach Cafe where he was joined by friends for an evening of good food, fine wines and lots of tales about the music business. I quizzed him as to who has been his favourite musician to interview to which he replied James Taylor. You can't argue with that.

This was Monday's work outfit showing nothing new, simply a mix of pieces shopped from my closet as they say. The main feature is this rather fabulous coat by Clements Ribiero which I bought about five years ago in Manchester from TK Maxx. It's three years since I wore it last on the blog here and yet I do so love it!

I've mixed designer with high street fashion to give my own style. The sweater is from H&M, trousers from Primark and the gold leather Chelsea boots are so old I can't recall where I found them. The boot cut trousers are maybe a tad short, but I've seen girls wearing wide cropped trousers so thought I could get away with this too.

Nothing new  with my accessories either - the gold chain necklace was from Zara, rings are old too and sunglasses are from Radley London. 

External photoshoots are always tricky whether it's due to the weather or someone popping into the shot or the camera almost getting blown over which was the case here. I'd dodged about the island trying to find a quiet spot out of the wind before the gale arrived, hence the varied backdrops. Today it's been raining for most of the day with winds gusting up to 70mph and tomorrow is forecast to be more of the same. We were lucky to have it so good for Easter. I had a lovely swim on Easter Sunday on Green Porth beach - see my timelapse clip on the Instagram link at the top of the page.

Many thanks for popping by. Have a lovely week!

Anna x

Gallery Manager once again

Hello lovelies! Yes, here's me back in my normal guise as Gallery Manager of the art gallery on Tresco. It's been a long seven weeks during which time I was seconded to the Cottage department in my role as art curator of the large Tresco Art Collection where I rotated paintings between houses, adding new works when I deemed it necessary. I'm now onto the next step which entails cataloging every one of the 40 cottages with its updated collection. My photographic memory is serving me well as I can walk through every single house to visualise each piece, room by room. 

My outfit of the day is made up of old and new, as is my wont. The jacket, I inherited from my daughter many years ago, was from H&M. The brown jumpsuit came from TK Maxx last year, but this is the first airing on the blog, worn with a thrifted orange leather belt to go with the chunky orange necklce (old) and my new and rather fabulous orange boots from ASOS - see them here, now reduced in the sale! 

None of my accessories are new - the brown across the body bag with orange trim was a charity shop find. Rings are preloved and sunglasses are by Radley London.

The sun has returned as have the holiday makers, all descending on the islands in time for Easter. I'd forgotten how busy the island can get! 

                                                                    Anna x

Denim - But Not Jeans is our SNA challenge for March

Welcome once again to our Style Not Age monthly challenge! Jacqui's theme is a good one - Denim, But Not Jeans and we've all found our own way to express ourselves without being too similar. My jacket isn't new, but it's not been shown on the blog for some time and it's still an interesting piece - easy to do if you have some old brooches lying around.

Hilda went for a double denim look (not breaking the rules was it?) after finding this oversized jacket in Primark. I love this light blue denim twosome but she decided to return the jacket after some thought - not really me is a good instinct that has to be followed. See more from Hilda on her blog here.

Gail's maxi dress in denim is new from ASOS and is a real style statement. I don't wear a lot of denim myself but love this bold look. Read Gail's back story on Is This Mutton blog. 

EBay came up trumps for Jacqui as she scoured the internet for this denim maxi skirt which she's paired with a pretty yellow blouse (old from M&S). The combination has a fresh summery look to it, very fitting for the official start to summer, eh? Catch up with Jacqui's news on her blog Mummabstylish. 

Emma's denim dress was also an eBay purchase, but from way back during lockdown. It's a vintage find with lots of beads and embroidery as well as batwing sleeves and a figure hugging shape that suits her perfectly. Find out more about her outfit on her blog here. 

We've been having wild weather down here on the Isles of Scilly but I just had to bite the bullet and get out there to take my photos. This was a work outfit, mostly shopped from my closet apart from the boots which are coming up next...

These white leather cowboy boots are a recent buy from Vinted and the brand is Topshop. I plan to wear them with a long dress, but which one, I'm not quite sure yet. Vinted has become my guilty secret of late, a weakness my daughter is to blame for. She did warn me that the site can be a bit addictive. The good news is that I'm have a few successes with selling on some of my shoes and clothes meaning I snowball funds momentarily before I splurge the lot on another purchase!

Jewellery and sunglasses are all old, as is the rest of the outfit. Trousers were from Topshop, belt from eBay, sweater from Primark and sunglasses from Radley London.

Standing on the road that leads to Old Grimsby quay was just like being in a wind tunnel! I feel a small fanfare is needed as I will be working on my last cottage rehang of artwork tomorrow (Tuesday). It's been a long old slog to bring about the change that was so needed and at times it did feel like we were working in the eye of the storm, battling against time before the photographer arrived and even when she did, we were simply one cottage ahead of her for two whole weeks. That said, I'm extremely proud of all of the work Mel and I have achieved and am looking forward to seeing the overall results on the website in due course.

Many thanks as ever for taking the time to pop by. Please do take a look at the other blogs too if you have a moment. Until next time, take care and have a great week!

                                                                                             Anna x