A bit of a round up

I'd like to take a moment to do a round up of the summer months, in particular of my swimming, and the friends who've joined me in this crazy pastime. I'm an all year round sea swimmer, (for those of you who are new to the blog) and more importantly I don't wear a wetsuit. I love the challenge of swimming in the cold Atlantic ocean in just a swimsuit. The daily routine, no matter what the weather, makes me feel good. It takes drive and determination to face something that so many would flinch at. In addition it helps keep my focus throughout the winter months when SAD threatens to settle around me. 

Kate is a dear friend who visits the island as often as she can - this is from her June trip. The joy we feel after our swim is pretty obvious.

And here's fellow blogger Kezzie who visited the Isles of Scilly in August while on a cruise with her mother. We three managed to fit in a quick dip on Pentle Bay together before I gave them a whistle-stop tour of this little island paradise.

Kezzie and Ros were impressed by the endless clean white beaches and turquoise sea.

It's difficult to believe that this idyllic scene is in the UK. I promise - this image hasn't been tweaked - it really does look like this!

September was when I managed to fulfil a long term dream of mine by swimming in the Jubilee pool in Penzance. The beautiful art deco building has recently been rebuilt after severe storm damage in February of 2014. See the details here.

Mid September, and Kate and I were both on Appletree Bay enjoying some late summer sun.

This was taken on the morning on 2nd October which was the day before our 35th wedding anniversary. I had a swim just after sunrise and took some time to contemplate life with my wonderful husband. It's good to stop and count your blessings.

10th October, and one of my daughter's work colleagues, Anna, was on the island for a few days. We had a couple of sessions on Appletree Bay together. (She swims like a fish - I tagged along in her wake.)

And and this was taken on Friday at sunrise on Pentle Bay. I'd just finished my morning swim when the sky and sea turned golden before my eyes. Cold water swimming is scientifically proven to encourage the release of endorphins (our feel good hormones). I suppose that's why I do it again and again. And also for mornings like this.

For more information on the benefits of cold water swimming see the programmes "The doctor who gave up drugs" with presenter Dr Chris van Taulleken available on BBC iPlayer.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb

Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Anna x

#Ping Pong Post no 8

Welcome to another edition of Ping Pong Post, the feature where one well travelled item of clothing brings me and my blogging friends together for our monthly style challenge. This month I'm delighted to announce two additional guests to the feature by way of fellow bloggers, Sheela of Sheela Writes and Greetje of No Fear of Fashion. Both Sheela and Greetje have followed the feature with great interest since it started (see here) and were very keen to join in for this special edition.

The dress/tunic this month is from my wardrobe and started its journey from the Isles of Scilly to Holland in April, then travelled to Texas, Hong Kong and finally on to bonnie Scotland a couple of weeks ago before heading back home to me. So let's see what this diverse collection of bloggers made of the green shaggy beast shall we?

Here's Samantha from Fake Fabulous, one of our regulars. This shaggy dress caused quite a dilemma for her, but in the best possible way (I think) as it presented so many possibilities. She opted for a simple, neutral palette to offset what is quite a flamboyant, fuzzy top. Samantha has given this green monster a classy, chic look that I wouldn't have thought possible. Bravo, my dear! Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Details -

DRESS: H&M (Anna’s)

TIGHTS: Levante

BOOTS: Duo (now Ted and Muffy)

CARDIGAN: Urban Outfitters

POLONECK: Redoute

NECKLACE: Oliver Bonas

SOCKS: M&S 

Our other regular, the very creative Ann, of Kremb de la Kremb has done her typical Ann thing and turned the piece right on its head, and oh how gorgeous does she make the shaggy shawl look? (Such glowing skin - it shouldn't be allowed!) I love all of the ornate jewellery she has accessorised it with. Go to the top of the class girl! Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies--Forever 21

Earrings--Ben from Jardines Bazaar, Hong Kong

Shrug--Anna's dress

Brooch--Banana Republic

Ring--India

Shirt--Gap

Leather Shorts--Forever 21

Jungle Bag--Louella Odie

Anklets--La Jolla Beach, California 

Booties--DIY on an old Forever 21 pair (http://www.krembdelakremb.com/diy-painting-scuffed-shoes/) 

And here we have the ever so cool Sheela of Sheela Writes. Sheela lives in Houston, Texas where she exploits her stark,urban backdrop to contrast her downright outrageous outfits. My readers may well think I have an extensive shoe collection, but they really need to check out some of the amazing footwear lurking in this lady's closet! Follow Sheela on Instagram here.

Details -

Leather Top - StitchFix

Belt worn as necklace - JCrew

Clutch, Booties, Sunnies & Leggings - thrifted

Ring - a gift from Eve

Yellow Cuff - courtesy of Unearthed

This vision of elegance is Greetje of No Fear of Fashion. Greetje too, has a rather amazing collection of shoes and boots, and these are a particular favourite of mine - those heels are something else aren't they? Greetje features not only her fabulous clothes on the blog, but also the local sights both in Holland as well as on her various trips away with girlfriends that seem to be a regular occurrence (lucky lady). Follow Greetje on Instagram here.

Details

skinnies: Closed, 

booties: Eijk Amsterdam, 

shirt: Marco Polo (old), 

pendant: through Heleen Tuinman.

So here we go with my take on this shaggy beast of a top. These shots were taken at the end of March and seemed to be my typical mix of elements that made the outfit very me. However, the fly in the ointment was when Samantha diligently returned the top last week which was a terrible trial for me. You may well have noticed a couple of pairs of jacquard boots making their debut on the blog recently... Well, I really wanted to re-shoot wearing a pair of those, but time and weather put a stop to that. Maybe another day. In the meantime here's how I styled it -

This extended edition has been such great fun. Thanks to all of my blogging friends for taking the time and effort to present their own version of this crazy green top/dress/shawl. It's been really interesting as usual, and I do hope it was worth a visit for you, the reader. Next month we have an offering from Samantha which is currently under the care of Ann as she considers her options. I fancy her creative juices are already flowing with some marvel or other. If you'd like to, then please follow me on Instagram here.

My outfit details are -

Dress: H&M

Disco pants:H&M

Polo neck: eBay

Shoes: Office

Pendant: Vivienne Westwood

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

Watch: Michael Kors

Rings: old.

I'm asking if I may be excused games tomorrow Miss! Well, what I mean is, I'm having a day off from my regular Friday post, but will be back again on Sunday. Amuse yourself with a dip into some old posts I say, as I'll be setting questions for your assessment soon!

Anna x

Pattern play and seriously tight skinnies.

Skinnies, hmmm, not really my thing y'know. I mean, I do like tight jeans, but these are my first pair of "super skinnies". These pastel hued babies were too good to pass over when I spied them in my latest raid of the Truro charity shops. They are ridiculously tight (no back views this time), but I suppose that's why they call them skinnies. Massively in their favour is the flower print which lifts them out of the ordinary. 

The story that runs throughout today's outfit is the pale pink which is present in the jacket, blouse, jeans and brogues. I love the fact that the blouse and jeans are almost in an identical flower print, but with a different background colour. Leopard print and florals wouldn't be an obvious choice for most, but the pink hue links everything together beautifully. Pattern play needs to be applied with a light touch, not be over thought, and stopped before it turns into a jumble sale. I always lay everything out on the bed first, swapping things in and out until I get the right balance. There has to be a major player or else everything will just be jockeying for position. Here, it's this rather exquisite satin leopard print jacket that takes the lead (the black makes it dominant) allowing everything else to fade and blend while the eye takes it all in. The size of the patterns are all pretty uniform here too which helps with the mellow flow of things. Sometimes it's more that one pattern will be much larger than the others that will make it the dominant feature. Lesson over my lovelies. Most importantly, have fun.

Tomorrow is time for our monthly Ping Pong Post challenge and for no other reason than that, I'm going to have to love you and leave you. That feature is still in need of some work from me and I don't want to let the ladies down. This one is to be a bit different, probably a one-off, and requires a bit more organising from all of us involved. I do hope you'll find time to come back for another visit so soon - I promise it'll be worth it!

Outfit details - jacket: New Look, jeans: Papaya, blouse: Topshop, shoes: H&M, belt: H&M, rings: old.

Linking with

Cherie of Style Nudge 

Anna x

Squeezing the last drop out of summer

I'm the kind of person who likes to squeeze the last drop of juice out of a lemon, force that desultory dollop of ketchup out of the bottle and push the final slick of conditioner out of the tube. It'll be of no surprise to you then, that I've got one final hurrah before I say goodbye to my summer outfits. The defining line between summer and autumn for me is the lack of, or need to wear tights. That sudden bit of chill heralds the extra comfort layer for me. And golly, do I love my tights - patterned, tartan, lacy and every colour of the rainbow - I love them all! However today, here we have the (probably) final bare-legged offering of the year. And with that, a slightly formal, secretarial look too, I fancy.

The smallest of things give me such pleasure: these striped rings from my friend Wendy which work so well with this shirt and also the cuff links that I found in a charity shop.

This wonderful satin striped shirt (by Hawkes & Curtis, Jermyn Street, London) was a charity shop scoop from my last trip to the mainland. I thought the full spectrum of colours could stand an understated look, which brought to mind this simple grey pencil skirt. Black shoes and handbag would have been a classic way to take this, but hey, since when did I conform like that? My yellow, jelly, Candy Bag tones in beautifully and the wild card had to be my leopard print heels. 

Friday brought not just Polly's last day working with me, but also our final show of the year. The evening was a resounding success. The show is a platform for the emerging talent from Falmouth University's Drawing students - see the full exhibition here. We had a fantastic turnout for our drinks party, despite the wind and rain that descended just as we opened. Our normal photo shoot was a wipe out consequently so you'll have to make do with a couple of indoor shots. My (other) new boots had an outing along with a dress bought for the occasion from H&M. I was all ready to proudly link to something new for a change, but it turns out that the dress must have been so popular, it's all sold out! I can however let you see the boots from ASOS which seem to be still for sale here.

And I can't finish without giving a huge thanks to the team of helpers who have made the exhibition period run so smoothly. Thank you ladies - (LtoR) Ruth, Heather, Polly and Max - brilliant teamwork from you all. Please come back again next year!

Anna x

Suede, leather and sunglasses

I'm making the most of these last sunny days before grey skies become the norm. We've been lucky over the past couple of weeks with golden mornings accompanied by a cool easterly wind making our photo shoots look more balmy than they actually are. Lately I've been swanning about in this cute little ruffle top which I just happened to come across in the big clothes changeover recently. It's not actually mine, which I suppose might mean it belongs to my darling daughter who may just have left it behind when she moved out. I'm quickly having a flirt with it before she rumbles me (sorry Sash) and requests its return.

I've paired the top with these vintage suede flares that I bought in Etam many, many moons ago (last seen here). They were in the sale and cost me £25 at the time which was a huge amount of money. And as if that wasn't madness enough, they didn't even fit me! I fell in love with them and bought them as the proverbial dieters carrot. One day I'll be able to wear these, I promised myself as I handed over my hard-earned notes. Some 30 years later and here they are, fitting perfectly and thanks to the durability of the skin they've not aged a bit (wish the same could be said of me). 

The other item worth a mention has to be this nude leather jacket. I bought it in February while in London see here and am so pleased to have the opportunity to wear it again now that the temperatures have dropped. I rarely need a jacket here in the summertime as work and home are litterly a few hundred paces apart, so it's quite exciting to have a root through the jacket section of my wardrobe and choose an extra layer to finish off an outfit.

Polly leaves the island at the start of November and I wonder if I might manage to recreate some of the light hearted moments she and I have shared? I'm thinking that I might set up my tripod in this same spot and switch on the camera's timer to see if I can dash about changing poses without her prompts and intermittent barking "shu'up!" that brings on my laughter. We're busy trying to fill my draft box with lots of outfits before she goes. (Sob, sniff, sob).

Outfit details - trousers: Etam, boots: River Island, jacket: DSquared, top: unknown. necklace: charity shop, watch: Michael Kors, rose gold bangle: Kate Spade New York, rings: old, sunglasses: Tu clothing at Sainsbury's.

Anna x