Summer show: 3 of 6

Last night's opening party of the third summer exhibition had to take place without any of the artists present due to various reasons, but as they say "the show must go on" and on it did. The evening was still a success and the artwork looked fantastic. See the featured artists Ellen Watson, Neil Pinkett and Amanda Hoskin's work here in detail. The weather proved to be a mixed bag, but we enjoyed a really lovely evening with a fine turnout considering the blustery wind and showers. In between these we managed to take a few hasty shots.

The breeze played with my lace maxi skirt and I played along with the fun. The evening was coming to an end and I was relieved that it had been a success for all involved - time to have a light hearted moment with the girls. Ruth, Polly and Max were once again worth their weight in gold providing great support throughout. 

Next time we will be out in force will be for the 4th summer show which takes place on 6th August. How quickly the summer seems to be slipping past us! My regular readers will not be in the least bit surprised to learn that both my skirt and top were charity shopped. The shoes are from H&M (no longer available, but these are lovely). In addition to my beautiful Michael Kors rose gold watch and Kate Spade rose gold bangle I'm also showcasing two rather special pieces of jewellery from Cornish jeweller Emily Nixon, this seaweed frilly ring and matching bangle in silver and rose gold. See further details here. 

Anna x

Hello summer. Goodbye summer!

I wonder if my most recent post jinxed things? The British weather is unpredictable at its best, but now I've told the world we're having a heatwave see here, the mist has crept in, quickly followed by rain and the temperature has dropped. Surely I can't be held personally responsible for the demise of the great British summer?

Anyhoo, here I was basking in the sunshine one early morning in my summer neutrals. I know I'm renowned for my bright, colourful dressing, and for that reason only I like to opt for something a bit different occasionally. This sweet grey and white top was gifted from by my sister Sandra and is the perfect match for my white linen skirt with the sprinkling of grey spots. I've finished the whole look off with my black and white striped courts and some silver jewellery. Summer neutrals, I'm loving 'em! 

My outfit comprises of the top which was a gift and skirt from a charity shop. Shoes are by New Look, watch is by Michael Kors, silver necklace, bangle and rings are all charity shopped.

Linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style 

Anna x

We're having a heatwave!

Yes, the UK is having a heatwave which means that here on the Isles of Scilly, there are a whole lot of unprepared visitors who have swapped their lily white skin for a lobster coloured, shiny, UV blasted version of themselves. The lack of industry pumping out pollution over our skies allows the sunlight unfiltered access to us mortals below with painful results at times. Our local shop has run out of suncream in every factor but 50 - unfortunately it really ought to be 50 that everyone is applying here! My solution is to slap on cream after my shower every day and on a scorcher like today cover up with a cool maxi dress. 

What is the huge shiny orb in the sky?

Incredible though it may seem, yes, Polly assures me it's actually the sun. That coy, pale disc often seen shyly peeping through the clouds has been shining like a good 'un for days!

Time for a celebratory twirl I think!

I charity shopped this colourful maxi dress last September when I had a huge shopping spree weekend with Sasha in Exeter. Its first outing was in Palermo when we were on our cruise in February see here. The frock garnered such a lot of compliments today, that I'll have to bring it out a bit more often now I know it's a winner. 

The other winning piece is the wonderful handbag my friend Suzie brought me when she was visiting us last month all the way from New Zealand. She used to live here on the island for many, many happy years, but is now settled with the love of her life in New Zealand complete with dog, cat and homestead with veg garden and small flock of sheep which Reg shears himself. The handbag was made locally and features feathers, pieces of Paua shell and carved bone. I didn't realise I needed a summer handbag until she gave me this, but now I'm using it all the time. Thanks again Suzie!

The belt is a charity shop scoop from last year too. Shoes are very old, so old that I can't read the print inside to see what the brand is. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia, and my nail polish passion is Rita Ora for Rimmel in Tangerine Tent which matches these two thrifted rings beautifully. Watch is by Michael Kors and rose gold bangle is by Kate Spade.  

Linking with 

Dawn Lucy of Fashion Should Be Fun 

Anna x

Ping Pong Post No 5

Hello and welcome to the 5th instalment of Ping Pong Post where my two blogging friends Samantha of Fake Fabulous and Ann of Kremb de la Kremb send our clothes around the world in a style challenge to each other. See how this idea came about here. This month it's my item again with this sheer tunic which I fancy may have been our trickiest subject to date. So let's get started with Samantha and see how she got on.

Samantha took a youthful spin on this grey overshirt by way of adding a sleeveless denim jacket and vest top to give a lovely casual look. Shoe hoarder Samantha has added these funky buckled sandals to keep things interesting along with some quirky pieces of jewellery. This outfit could take her from an afternoon shopping with friends onto early evening drinks in the late summer sun, although I think she may well report the absence of summer in her neck of the woods in bonnie Scotland. Note how Samantha is gradually growing out her pixie haircut into a less structured style - I like it Sam!

Details of her oufit are

Shoes: All Saints

Jeans: Topshop

Nails: BarryM

Vest: JohnnieB

Necklace, rings, earrings and bangle: Various gifts & charity shop finds.

Waistcoat: New Look

Glasses: Tkmaxx

Bag: Topshop

Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

For those of you who follow this series you'll not be surprised in the least at the creativity of Ann in how she's styled this. Seems like this tunic was her idea of hell combining grey (her least favourite colour) with a mandarin collar! Poor Ann. However, she turned this into something truly individual by using the top as a cover up and hey, why not? In her eyes, this is the kind of thing you'd wear on a junk trip out on the river in Hong Kong where she lives for most of the year. Looks like a simple solution to what was clearly a very tricky problem. Check out Ann's other creative makes as featured on her blog here. This lady loves to be inventive.

Ann's details are currently whizzing around out in the ether so I'd say the tote bag, and jeans turned into shorts, may have further info to come, along with her sunnies and jewellery.

Follow Ann on Instagram here. 

I have to laugh at how utterly conventional I look in this tunic compared to my blogging friends. But I suppose that's the whole point of the series isn't it? I bought this top in a charity shop with the intention of throwing a curved ball at us all in #PPP and I think I succeeded. My scenario was to wear this for a summer's evening drinks party. I even had my lovely silver clutch propped up against my tripod for the duration of the shoot as a finishing touch - fat lot of good that did! So there you have it, another Ping Pong Post in the bag. Next month we'll be styling up a little something of Samantha's and I must admit I had a bit of fun with that one. Wishing you all a great week and see you soon!

Here's my details

Tunic: Wallis/charity shop

Trousers: Wallis

Shoes: Bebbou

Vest: H&M

Belt: charity shop

Necklace: Dorothy Perkins

Rings: charity shop

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

You can follow me on Instagram here.

Anna x