Christmas cometh...

Oh goodness, it's only a week until Christmas - how exciting! I'm busy at work cleaning the gallery before I get the Christmas decorations out and this was my outfit of the day. 

Steve very kindly did the honours with my photos today which did incur quite a lot of hilarity. But it was good to be able to get some outdoors shots so that was another bonus. My outfit is mostly new or new-to-me. Gold jacket from Vinted, sequin jumper (ASOS) from Vinted and gold boots (Zara) from Vinted too. The black jeans are new, from Primark from my recent mainland trip.

Steve tolerates my bossiness re how to take the best shots, thank goodness. In addition he's prone to chucking in a few hints and tips, mainly ridiculous ones just to make me laugh. 

I'm happy to report that the fudge production is going well. I'm on the final stretch now, with only four more batches to make this weekend. I also hope to clean most of the house downstairs by the end of Sunday as I'll be working right through to Christmas Eve. 

STOP PRESS! I've just discovered this evening that the freight ship which is bringing my frozen turkey across to the islands, along with many, many other Christmas grocery orders has broken down and is returning to Penzance. This isn't the first time that Christmas has been blighted by freight issues - one year all of the frozen turkeys were left out on the quayside all evening and had started to defrost before they had even been put onto the boat. Ever since then I've always had a plan B. I now schedule two Christmas orders with Tesco's both with a turkey on them, but only two days apart. If my first turkey arrives, then fine I simply cancel my second one. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will know whether to allow turkey number two to come or if I can cancel it. Turkey number two is a fresh one which will make life a bit easier too. Oh the joys of island life!

My gold coloured rings are both old, the flower one was a gift from a friend and the other a charity shop find. My sunglasses are old too.

And that pretty much winds things up for this week. Life is good, busy and slightly bonkers at times as I try to fit in the wrapping of presents, stirring of fudge and making list after list in an effort to feel in control as the big day races towards us. I'm sure we're all in the same boat and I love the idea of each little house being a hive of industry and stress too, but mostly full of the joy and anticipation of spending quality time with loved ones at this most special time of the year. I'll be back before Christmas with another festive outfit to share with you. 

See you soon!

Anna x

Catch up

Hello again and thanks for dropping by! I've been away for a week, primarily for a business meeting but Christmas shopping came in at a close second. I visited the studio of Emily Nixon so that we could discuss an exciting new project. Gallery Tresco has had a very good season selling Emily's jewellery resulting in the team asking me to visit so that we could brainstorm a bespoke range for 2025. 

The studio is like a twinkly Aladdin's Cave, full of all sorts of gorgeous silver and gold pieces just begging to be tried on. And try on I did! The range we're creating will be based on the sea colours around the islands using sapphires gathered from across the globe but always ethically mined from dealers that Emily herself meets to check the authenticity of the stones.

These gemstone rings were hugely popular over the summer which alerted Emily to this new retail opportunity for our Tresco clients. We hope to have the island collection in place by March which will be a great way to start the season.

So apart from this I also had a haircut while I was in Truro. Much as I'm enjoying having longer hair it really was in need of a tidy up. I went to Afina Hair Salon and had an appointment with Billy. See my before and after photos below -

Before...

...and after.

Before...

...and after. I'm very happy with the cut and just wish I could replicate the styling and glossy finish now that I'm home. I have endless products but not a lot of know-how about achieving this level of finish.

And now for my outfit of the week - 

It's turned terribly cold here after being blasted by the recent storm, but this has proved to be a blessing in disguise allowing me to bring out my fur coat from the depths of my wardrobe. This cow print full length coat was from River Island either last year or the year before - sorry to be so vague, but the fact is, I still love it!

I'm wearing an old sweater and new cream jeans from Vinted along with new Zara boots from Vinted too. I paid £10 for these brand new cow print boots - what a great bargain!

The boots almost had an airing with last month's SNA challenge but this was one of the outfits that didn't make the grade. The boots however are definitely winners! (Not that the skirt wasn't - it was simply a styling issue).

My mainland hairdo is a thing of the past already. As for jewellery - the gold coloured chain was a Vinted purchase earlier this year, the gold flower ring was a gift from a friend some time ago and the silver and enamel ring was a charity shop find. Sunglasses are from Radley London.

And that pretty much winds things up for the moment. I'm suddenly in full fudge making mode now that it's December and I've made a double batch yesterday to send to my relatives in Scotland. I'll pack this up tomorrow and get some off in the post before the Christmas rush starts.

Thanks for swinging by! I'll see you again next week - I promise x

Anna x

Full skirts our SNA challenge

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month Jacqui chose Full Skirts as our theme. This for me was very tricky as I currently only have one big skirt to hand which I'd styled in three different ways, none of which really excited me so this one is the best I could do!

Much as Jacqui chose Full Skirts she has since lamented the fact as even she found it a challenge too far. Her skirt and top are from F&F, and jacket is from Matalan. Catch up with all her news on Mummabstylish blog. 

Gail lucked out when she found her skirt and necklace in a Plymouth charity shop for the grand total of £3.25! She shopped her closet for the rest of her outfit, and very successfully too. Find out more on Gails blog Is This Mutton. 

Emma's full skirt is by Joanna Hope. I love the bold autumn colours and how she's styled it, particularly with that natty hat! See more from Emma on the Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's gorgeous big skirt was on loan from a local boutique - a fact that always makes me envious. The rest of her look was from her own wardrobe, so see more of that on her blog Over The Hilda. 

I do love this skirt and wore it for the first time in the summer for a fund raising event at the Gallery - see it here. As a summery look I thought it worked perfectly, but in the depths of winter it really did challenge me. I had another rebirth in mind featuring gold to tie in with the forthcoming festive season but the weather here has been so wild this past weekend that I couldn't even get along to the Gallery to showcase it. (I have nowhere at home that gives good enough light at this time of year to take blog photos.)

However, as a full skirt it complies with the remit and so this is it. The skirt was new (from Vinted) and the brand is Coast so it was a worthy addition to my wardrobe earlier this year and I do still love it.

The leopard print top and orange sock boots are also from Vinted, again both new with tags on. 

My orange perspex rings are preloved and the gold coloured snake necklace was a gift from a girlfriend.

So that pretty much rounds things up for this month's challenge. Sorry if I've not been terribly inspiring this time. As you may already know, winter isn't my favourite season for showcasing outfits, but I'll keep trying!

                                                                        Anna x

That weekend vibe

Hello lovely, how are you? Hot off the press, here's me today, Sunday, trying to capture my weekend vibe for you. So often, you see my professional side, as in my work outfits so for a change this is me having some downtime. We've had a mixed bag of weather this weekend, but I wanted to get out for a walk while the sun was shining this afternoon and thought I'd kill two birds with one stone as it were.

I'm sporting one of my new winter jumpers in this gorgeous bright turquoise colour. It was from Vinted and cost me £10. As you may know, I'm not very good at transitional dressing, favouring intstead to jump from summer outfits straight into winter ones. This look is a favourite weekend spin for me. I've also bought a new pink jumper, patterned though, but very similar in shape and size and I love it too. You'll see that one soon, don't worry!

Rings are preloved and my sunglasses are from Radley London, but not new, I hasten to add. 

You'll maybe have seen my jeans before, again a scoop from Vinted. I seem to gravitate towards these every weekend now as I love them so much, but it worries me that I'll wear them out if I'm not careful. I've not come across anything like them which may account for why I love them so!

And this is one of my best spots for beach combing. I collect sea glass for one of our Gallery Tresco artists who tumbles the pieces and then turns them into her jewellery collection. The brand is Drift jewellery and can be found here. I do love hunting in amongst the pebbles to find these part tumbled bits of glass.

And here's my new pair of boots - these were such a bargain from Vinted at only £5. I'm very partial to a pair of chunky Dr Marten's type boots and these are pretty special.

And that pretty much wraps it up from me this weekend. I'm off to make a roast dinner for the family now whilst listening to Bob Harris on Radio 2. It's been a sad time for those of us who were big fans of Johnnie Walker since he gave up his Sunday afternoon slot due to his declining health. Bob is doing a wonderful job putting his own stamp on the role, but oh how I miss hear dearest Johnnie!

                                                                    Anna x