Pink and orange summer outfit

Hi there! How's things with you? This was my work outfit from yesterday. The bright pink linen dress comes from the brand Cerulean and was a purchase from a charity shop in Penzance when I was on the mainland in May. I've changed the buttons from very boring little brown ones to hand made beauties from a local maker, Emma Humphries from the Popplestone Studio on St Mary's. Emma made the buttons to match my orange and pink ensemble and they're fab!

I'm thrilled with the new dress and the addition of these colourful buttons are the icing on the cake. As you probably know I do love to style my clothes in my own individual way so having bespoke buttons is a wonderful expression of this.

Pink and orange are such a great colour combination for the summer, don't you think? Bright, cheerful and full of joy is how I see this look. The dress is second hand, the buttons new and the rest is old. The orange (ridiculously high) sandals are from ASOS and somehow I managed to wear them for most of the day. The orange stretch belt was from Amazon, sunglasses are from Radley London, fabric woven necklace was from Vinted and the Candy bag is by Furla.

The dipped hemline at the back of the dress can be a bit tricky if I wear flats as it tends to get caught between foot and shoe - I might have to do a risk assessment on that! Wearing high sandals sorted that out on the second time of wearing though. The shirtdress could be worn without the belt but for me that simply not an option as I'd look as wide as I am tall - not a look I'm going for. Not only that, but a belt always draws the eye to your narrowest point, especially if it's a colourful one!

It's been a tame week apart from some colourful dressing for work - I tidied some weeds from our garden wall this weekend, had some lovely swims on Pentle Bay in the morning before anyone else was around, did the usual cooking and cleaning etc, etc. On Saturday, I'm sad to say, Sasha went back to Manchester after having been home for two weeks. She had returned for her friend Duffy's wedding and had a fantastic time catching up with all of her friends and family on Bryher. Aside from that she had worked remotely so we didn't have a lot of quality time together as she was pretty exhausted. We managed to fit in a family walk with the dogs on the morning before she left which felt very relaxed so that was good. On the upside I'll see her again in September when she and I hook up for a long weekend together... 

Wishing you a lovely week!

Anna x

Wedding weekend

Last weekend saw local couple Andrew and Duffy celebrate their marriage with a blessing on Samson and a festival of fun on Bryher. Andrew is one of our local boatmen and also a lifelong friend of my son's. 

The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome and the partying went on until daybreak the following day. The Big Hoolie looks set to be replayed every summer with bands, booze and lots of dancing making for a most memorable evening.

Sasha wins the family prize for stamina as she danced until 5am. On an evening where four different bands played sets, once the 11am curfew arrived the revellers donned their headsets and a silent disco continued until daybreak. 

My niece Zoe of Bryher Bakebox fame made the cakes, including her much loved tattie cake.

Steve and Jamie made the wooden cake stand, a rustic take on the standard version.

The marquee was decorated with the help of friends and family alike to create a colourful backdrop for the celebrations. The weather was changeable outside but the huge marquee was windproof and big enough to accommodate eating, drinking and dancing for all.

Steve scrubs up well, doesn't he? My feather trimmed pyjama suit shed forensic evidence all evening, even the ladies loos were documented with my visits.

There is a point where dressing up can be mistaken for fancy dress... A friend, on seeing this photo, asked me what the wedding theme was and I had to explain. The lady on the right had attended the hen do on the mainland, at Rattlerfest for those who might have heard of it. Anyway, the theme for the hens was to wear the worst bridesmaid's dress. This mint green ensemble is the remaking of her hen dress. My feather trimmed pyjama suit cannot be explained away apart from the fact that I always feel I have to try a little bit harder to create the wow factor on these occasions. Dressing up daily for work does set the bar a bit higher than most. That said, I did receive many compliments, one being from a young friend of Sasha's who told me she had been taking in all of the elements of my outfit and had decided that's what she would aspire to at my age. The sandals are from Vinted, the feather trimmed pyjama suit is by River Island but was from Vinted earlier this year.

My one regret of the evening was that I wasn't there for Jamie's speech. Andrew and Jamie grew up together, bonding at the hostel when they were teenagers and having this easy, steady friendship that has matured as they have grown into men. As one of the groomsmen, Jamie had written his thoughts down and somehow managed to reduce the entire company to tears with his story of their lifelong friendship. I've lost count of the number of people who approached us to say what a wonderful speech he delivered. Proud parent moment.

Steve and his sister Gill...

...and with Jo-Jo, one of his great nephews. 

We came home on an 11pm boat, a gentle crossing between the islands on a moonlit evening. It had been a special day, an island gathering for a much loved couple.

On Sunday, we met, a much smaller gathering of family, at the Ruin Beach Cafe for lunch. Somehow Sasha was there despite only having had one hour of sleep!

Oh how I have pizza envy! Even though I can't eat 'em I do love to see them...

Pizza cooked in a wood fired stove - yum yum!

We had a long, lazy lunch and afterwards found the perfect shot to capture my outfit of the day.

Details are: Steve Madden handbag (from TK Maxx), white trousers are a recent buy from Number36 in Penzance, sandals from TK Maxx and top is from Vinted.

The weather was glorious and Tresco was looking pretty perfect in the summer sunshine.

Many thanks to Steve for being my photographer of the day. Despite the heckling, he did a good job. I do hope you've enjoyed the latest catch up from Tresco and the Parkes family. Leave me a comment if you have. 

                                                                    Anna x

Winding down at the weekend

Hi there, how's tricks? I thought I'd show you a weekend lazy outfit this time, just for a change. I had a busy start to the weekend as I was playing catch up with chores at home ready for Sasha coming home, but once I'd done that I managed to have a couple of swims as well as an evening stroll on the beach on Sunday. This is what I wore for a bit of relaxed down time.

These lightweight linen trousers are by Joules and were a recent buy on Vinted. Lots of pockets and a loose fit have boosted them to the top of my weekend-wear chart! I love the mulitcolour floral print which will work with so many options, and this time I've paired them with a new aqua sweater by Miss Carla, bought from Number36 boutique in Penzance. Despite the boxy fit the sweater is soft and lightweight, an easy-to-wear piece that will work well throughout the summer months. A simple white tee shirt and some old pale green suede sandals (by Lazy Dogz - very appropriate name, eh?) were all I needed to complete this weekend ensemble.

None of my jewellery is new. The silver and bead cowrie necklace was from Gallery Tresco a couple of summers ago (and we still sell these now - the jeweller is Julian Warrender). My rings are both charity shop finds and my sunglasses are from Radley London.

I sat amoungst the marram grass and wild flowers to watch the sun drop in the sky and enjoy the sounds of birdsong and the sea as it rustled over the sea shells on the shoreline.

Only a five minute cycle from home and I'm immersed in nature, surrounded by wild flowers and the gentle hum of buzzing bees. Nearby are a pair of Oystercatchers as they chastise me for encroaching on their territory. It's nesting season currently and the bossy little birds won't tolerate any intrusion, especially from swooping gulls on the lookout for eggs. I watched the pair from a safe distance, one of them chasing off the gulls while the other played victim, pretending it had a broken wing as it hoped to lure any preditor away from the well hidden nest. 

Jamie met up with Sasha on St Mary's where they checked out the odd pub or two. Sasha is working from home so that she can attend a local wedding on the island. It's lovely to have here back, even if it's just for a couple of weeks.

                                                                            Anna x

Summer Whites our SNA challenge for May

Hello and welcome again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! Summer Whites was my theme of choice after what's been a brilliant start to the summer. I would normally hold off wearing white at this time of year, not having faith that the morning sunlight would last all day long, leaving me looking a bit tragic in bright white summer clothes on a dull old day, but the steadiness of the weather meant that I jumped in with both feet and wore this outfit to work last week. But first, let's catch up with the ladies of the collective to see what they've been wearing...

Wowee, doesn't Emma look fantastic in this white lace dress! The brand is Pretty Little Thing and was gifted to her a few years ago when she collaborated with the company. See more from Emma on Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's white skirt is from Cos, a purchase from last year, and her top is old, from Topshop. Catch up on her latest on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui's dress is by Nomads, gold shoes are from Vinted and matching jacket is from Matalan. Find out all the latest from Jacqui on her blog Mummabstylish.

I don't often wear all white and today's look is no different. The orange and turquoise shimmery coat was a Vinted purchase last year and can be seen here on its first outing. I clearly like to pair this summer duster with my Sunny Days MOMA boots, probably because of the tiny toe end being turquoise too. 

My jewellery is mostly in turquoise hues: the bracelet is a reworked piece from lots of vintage necklaces which I bought from the Gallery last year after coveting it from ages. My dancing girl necklace was another Gallery Tresco purchase from years ago - I love the sparkling beads and the silver dancing girl in a green mini skirt. My gold coloured chain was bought in Accessorize last year and has retained its shine despite not being real gold. The large turquoise ring was a charity shop find and I'm also wearing my birthday ring from Emily Nixon Design. My sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

My white trousers were a recent purchase from Number36 boutique in Penzance. I seem to have a love/hate relationship with white trousers having bought endless pairs of both jeans and trousers over the years and none of them delivering the look I was after. The concern about looking trashy is probably my issue and white jeans always cause me concern. I tried on these loose linen trousers in the shop along with a beautiful pistachio green sweater and fell in love with the whole outfit - I promise you'll see that soon. The trousers have an elasticated back making for a good snug fit, along with the essential deep pockets and I do love the tapered cuff finish at the ankle. I paired the trousers with a white top, newly purchase from Primark and tied the two pieces together with my old faithful stretch belt.

The outfit of the day attracted a lot of attention, particularly from one lovely lady who was here on holiday for the week and made her way to the Gallery every day just to see what I was wearing. One day she even took a photo of the OOTD to send to her daughter. She and I both agreed that the summer duster coat was a mighty fine piece. I really must make an effort to wear it more often this year. Likewise with my fabulous peapod trouser suit which I wore on Friday and had such a great response to it. I'm increasingly aware that I won't be working forever and really must make the most of the opportunity to dress up while I can. 

Many thanks for joining us for this month's style challenge. As ever, I'm so happy to have your comments and feedback about this or any other outfit of mine. So do please let me know your thoughts or even requests to see something again. 

Have a great week!

Anna x