Something simple

Sunday, and for my third post in three days, I thought I'd serve up something simple. Well, simple in my eyes, anyway. Yes, I may have a bit of pattern clashing going on, and a pop or two of bright yellow, but that's tame by my standards. Today's look is more classic than wow, more everyday than party, but sometimes we have to take a breather. This slight lull is giving me time to rally. For what, you may ask? Well more of that later...

Sunglasses by Quay Australia. Photography by Polly x

I'm not a huge consumer of magazines, but I do like to pick one up as a treat most months. Red, Elle, Grazia, and the occasional Vogue are all great for both fashion and features. This month's front cover of Good Housekeeping caught my eye, thanks to the fab shot of Mary Portas. Mary is a woman after my own heart. A great business woman, with huge verve and energy for her cause, be it reviving the high streets or rejuvenating charity shops, Mary is above all things a true style icon. The biggest compliment I've had recently is to have been likened to Mary by client when we were discussing fashion for the older woman. I was enthusing about my latest shopping coup, explaining how you can find absolute gems in all sorts of unexpected places on the high street. I was bubbling with details of my favourite charity shops in Cornwall, giving her hints and directions, hands flapping and gesticulating when she said "I know who you remind me of - Mary Portas!". I'm not usually very good at accepting compliments, as they often fly past me as if they must be aimed at someone else. This time however I managed to capture it and respond with a "thank-you".

So there we go. I've survived my three day, self-imposed, madness of daily posting. Yes, I know of bloggers who somehow manage to post almost every day of the week, but I'm not them. This weekend was the exception, but it has been fun, none the less. Wednesday will bring a very unique post to the blog, something that by its very nature can only be a one off. Expect a whole lot of imagery. I'd love to tell you more, but don't want to spoil the surprise.

Jacket is old, by Zara. Trousers are Topshop from their summer sale (final reduction here). Top is old, by H&M. Shoes are old, by Topshop. Pendant is Vivienne Westwood (sim). Rings are charity shopped. Watch is by Michael Kors. Sunglasses by Quay Australia (these are nice). Candy bag by Furla.

Linking this week with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Turning Heads Tuesday.

Anna x

#Ping Pong Post 6

Yes, it's crazy I know (where is the summer going?), but here we are already, the three of us with another dose of Ping Pong Post. Ann of Kreme de la Kremb and Samantha of Fake Fabulous are my blogging partners in crime who together over the past six months have been swapping clothes amongst each other. Nothing unusual in that you may say, but when you consider that Ann lives in Hong Kong, Samantha in Scotland and I live on the Isles of Scilly, off the end of Southwest England, then you can see this style challenge has taken some commitment along with a fair bit of planning to make it happen. Read here to find out how this all came about. This month Samantha threw her little shrug into the arena to see how we might style it up and for the first time ever I think we're all singing from the same sheet.

First up is Ann who wears the shrug to top off an utterly feminine, floaty dress with her favourite cowboy boots and leather pouch. This look is perfect for Ann, the tomboy of the group one minute and sexy siren the next. By donning her rough ol' boots she toughens the vibe making it so very Kremb de la Kremb. If you rewind to previous Ping Pong Posts, you'll see that Ann is highly creative with the item of the month and this time I half expected that the shrug may well have been reinvented as a modern day pair of bloomers by her. I think you might have missed a trick there Ann! 

Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Outfit details for Ann are -

Earrings--Boutique in Florence, Italy

Coral Beaded Necklace--made by Venezuelan girlfriend, Mariana Morrill

Evil Eye and Half Circle--Fireworks

Shrug--Samantha's

Dress--Forever 21

Belt Bag--Francesca's

Cowboy Boots--Old West via Zappos

Samantha has chosen to wear the shrug with a print dress too. She is sporting her bolero in a perfectly relaxed style, just popped over as an extra layer to keep her shoulders warm at the end of the day. Her leather clogs add an edge to steer away from an uber cutesy look (it's not Sam's fault that she's so pretty) as does the funky handbag. Samantha always seems to pull out a winning card with these feature handbags of hers and this is one no exception. The finished look is sleek and cool. Full marks Samantha. 

Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Samantha's outfit details are -

DRESS: Old (new look)

CLOGS: Old (timberland)

BELT: Old (Topshop….there is a theme here :oP)

BAG: Old…actually belongs to my daughter, but she seems to have forgotten that it is hers!

SHRUG: Very old

Introducing a bit of print was my first thought too as this skirt from Jaeger caught my eye when I scanned the rail in my wardrobe. I like the vintage vibe conjured up by adding the big belt and net underskirt. I'm always trying to inject an element of fun into my outfits and the frothy fullness of the petticoat does exactly that. Never one too underplay things, I've added jewellery in lots of colours drawn from the skirt. My shots are looking very cool coloured as they were taken way back in April when the sunshine was a bit weak and watery. I'm also still carrying a bit of winter weight around my middle, a feature I'm only happy to share now that it's all shifted. I did wonder about choosing the shots that don't show my middle ripple, but then I thought it's good for me to show I'm less-than-perfect. I'm no model, nor am I pretending to be, and so it's only fair to show my imperfections to highlight that I'm as ordinary as everyone else. Keeping it real is what they say nowadays isn't it? 

You can follow me on Instagram too, see here.

And my outfit details are -

Shrug: Samantha's

Tee shirt: M&S

Skirt: Jaeger

Underskirt: eBay

Shoes: New Look

Belt and jewellery: charity shopped

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

Anna x

Too much colour?

I wonder if there can ever be a case of too much colour? If so, might this be it? Is there any point in me trying to apologise? I've just trawled through my album of photos from the past few weeks looking to find the right outfit to feature and despite my best efforts at trying to tone things down have opted for this colour fest today. I do have some more sober (well, less punchy) offerings to show you, but not this time. Here on the Isles of Scilly we're about to be hit by a gale and a huge, wet weather front this weekend. In light of this, I thought I'd inject a bit of colour to give myself a lift as we batten down the hatches. Summer lives on - in my little world at least!

These wonderful sweetie-like rings were a gift from my friend Wendy who follows my blog avidly. She saw them in a local shop in Cornwall and immediately thought of me. They were the start of today's outfit which I built around the stripes and colours - what fantastic inspiration! Thank you so much for this fun element - you know me so well Wendy x

Early mornings are always busy on the road to New Grimsby quay and this morning brought Rob, one of the engineers on the island, trundling along in his tractor, happy to be the photo-bomber of the day.

Today's post is the first of three that I will be publishing over the next three days. Friday and Sunday are both my regular posting days, but Saturday is also the 20th of the month which is Ping Pong Post day. I do hope I can keep up the pace, and that you won't be sick to death of me by the end of the weekend! See you tomorrow?

Back to the ensemble - the skirt is by Boden (similar), top is from Coast (charity shopped), cardi is from Pure (similar), sandals by Refresh (similar), rings and necklace are gifts, watch is by Michael Kors, bangle by Kate Spade New York and sunglasses are from Quay Australia.  Finally my pink glitter nail polish is called Pink Crystal by BINKY

Anna x

Summer Exhibitions: 5 of 6

As I write up this post, I feel a bit sad that our summer season is nearing the end. Our summer exhibition period is the highlight of my working year. From the planning stages in October, to the artists coming across to paint over the winter months, then working closely with my designer Bo as we tweak and refine the on line brochures, to shipping the artwork across to the island and the trials therein, and finally the hang of the work - it's all so rewarding. None of this could happen without the creativity and skill of the artists and my thanks go them, every single one, who have combined to make this a fantastic collection of summer shows this year. Our opening night party is the time for us all to relax and enjoy the event.

This is Tom Rickman, one of the artists of the evening - in fact, the only one who managed to make it across to the island to attend his opening night. See Tom's work here along with the paintings by John Dyer and Wendy McBride which all made for a wonderfully diverse show. 

As you can tell, this skirt was truly made for twirling although I did get a bit giddy from all that spinning. Polly excelled herself with her motion photography, whilst avoiding all the photo-bombing from passers by. My final thanks must go to the ladies who once again provided all of the necessary back up and support to achieve a slick opening night party, despite it being one of our busiest yet. Thank you Ruth, Polly and Heather for all your hard work.

And this was a the view as we left for home. The evening had been pretty perfect, ending the same way.

My outfit comprises of the blouse which was from a vintage charity shop in Exeter, skirt from Enjoy Clothing in Truro, shoes and clutch are charity shopped in Truro, belt from eBay, necklace and rings are all charity shopped too.

Anna x