Two for one!

This time last week I left you with the promise of sharing my day off with you, including a picnic if the weather was kind. Well, let's start with the day off bit, shall we? I did indeed have the day off and went to St Mary's to have my hair cut. I kinda wish I'd left it now, as I've ended up with a much shorter cut than I planned. My fault entirely as I was a bit vague as to how much I wanted off and maybe ought to keep this in mind for next time. 

The shape of the cut is fine, but oh goodness, what happened to the length? I love my hairdresser, don't get me wrong, I just wish I was able to be a bit more assertive when I plonk myself down in that chair. Is it just me? Anyway, the great thing about hair is of course that it grows! Four weeks down the line and it'll be great!

You'll not be surprised to learn that the rings are both preloved, and even more loved by me!

Today's backdrop is in the Abbey Drive where Sasha and I came across these hydrangeas in full bloom. We'd walked this way from the boat which dropped us at the south end of the island at Carn Near leading us past these gorgeous flowers growing along the roadside. I'm no gardener, but I do love the showiness of these big colourful flower heads.

So, me on a day off looks a bit like this. A much more casual affair than you'll be used to seeing when I dress for the day job, which is why I ought to feature it sometimes. Camo jeans are from Primark last winter but whether they're on trend or not is irrelevant to me. I like them cos they're not just plain ol' jeans and also cos they have a fair amount of stretch too.

The cardi is a couple of years old and is by Rocha from Debenhams. I like how the floral print ties in well with the camouflage of the jeans. Sometimes I impress myself with these little pairing ups that I do!

And here we have the piece de resistance, my new Nike trainers. The babies are so, so comfortable, it's just like being out in my slippers! The fit is stretchy, yet snug and the soles are indeed like walking on air. Oh, and guess what? Yes, they were brand new from a charity shop last month! I paid £17 for them and they're worth every blooming penny.

So the next part of my day off was meant to be all about the picnic, but the weather didn't oblige. However, Steve and I had recently visited Nornour, one of the Eastern Isles which I rave about from time to time. I've had these shots up my sleeve, as it were, for a time just like this ...

This little island on the left is Nornour. It was actually quite a breezy day which worked in our favour as this island is truly like a pardise island when the sun shines and there's not a breath of wind, but that also means it's quite popular with people like us who have a boat and want to get away from it all. The boat trip was quite choppy too, but worth it.

As we got closer we could see that the high tide had pretty much covered up most of the pretty white beach, leaving sun-bleached rocks and pebbles for us to land on. Steve assured me that there was still a slip of sand for us to sneak our way onto.

Tell me that this doesn't look like your idea of paradise. 

As you can see, there was just enough sand for us to dip our sink our feet into. We had our picnic and watched all the sea life round about us.

The big passenger ship, the Scillonian, was returning to Penzance full of day trippers. 

In the distance also leaving the islands was a cruise ship that had spent the day here allowing visitors to discover the joys of the Isles of Scilly. These visitors are vital to the economy of our islands as they are to many others of the British Isles. 

These are our golden times, when it's just us and our thoughts. Time to share plans for the future and remember happy times too. The setting couldn't be more perfect for day dreaming.

There in the middle distance was the snout of a seal, hovering around, maybe watching us, maybe just resting, but a funny sight none the less.

And this is the large cruise ship we saw leaving the islands a little while ago. It had gone out around St Mary's into the deep water as it departed, heading off to mainland UK.

This turquoise water was warm in parts and chilly in others. Steve tells me there's a big current washes through between these Eastern Isles and it can be fast flowing too.

Just above the beach are some ruins of an early settlement. The remains of three buildings are still visible despite the years and years of storms that will have battered this tiny island.

We followed the grassy path up to the top of Nornour and looked across the rest of the Eastern Isles.

And in the other direction we could see St Martin's with the Damart in clear sight.

The tide was beginning to drop revealing more pristine white sand below.

As we stood on the top of the island we looked to the East and could just make out the hazy outline of the mainland. 28 miles away doesn't look too far away.

The main island of St Mary's lies in the distance with our boat below bobbing about as the tide drops. Time to go home as the sun is getting lower in the sky too.

A lovely swathe of sand has been revealed as we castaways drag our dingy across to the shore. We agree that we need to check our tide chart so that we can enjoy this beach in all its glory next time. Our first visit to Nornour certainly won't be our last!

Anna x

August and another show night

Hello and how are you? We're all well thanks. Here's a shot of me from last night's reception party at the gallery with artists Flynn O'Reilly (left) and Ramie Leahy at the end of a busy evening. The time just flew by as we welcomed guests from both Tresco and Bryher to join us for wine and canapes and to chat to the artists about their work (see the show in full, here).

Ramie uses this quaint mode of transport to carry his art supplies and paintings as well as get him about when he's on the island. He has become a regular sight during the summertime over the past couple years.

You may remember this lace jumpsuit (by Darling, London) from last year. I bought it from TK Maxx and this year found these new shoes from there too. See the funky heel in the next shot.

The brand is Xti TENTATIONS. The heels are decorated in tiny sparkling jewels of black, silver and bronze and the main part of the shoe is in sparkly silver. The block heel makes for a comfy and stable height which is just what I needed at the end of a long working day.

My jewellery is a mish mash of old, gifted and preloved pieces along with my pink elasticated belt. 

Show number four of six had me recycling a party outfit which wasn't really what I had planned. The slightly overcast weather forced me to change my mind at the last minute from a chiffon beaded number that I'd done some last minute adjusting to in readiness for the party but hey, I can always wear it next time, eh? I also have a vintage two piece in silk which I've been saving for a special event so you will see that before the exhibition period is over too.

And finally, here's the line-up of lovelies from last night. My thanks go to (l to r) Ruth, Max, Polly and Tash for all the front of house and behind the scenes work that ensured another successful evening. Four down and two to go and they're still smiling.Thanks ladies!

Until next time, take care!

Anna x

Flower power!

I should have put out a sunglasses alert for this one! This is my new flower power jacket, a real throwback to the fashion of my teens (that's the 70's in case you couldn't guess). I came across it in TK Maxx earlier this summer and have been itching to have the opportunity to wear it. The recent downturn in the weather provided the perfect silver lining to these storm clouds giving me a chance to add a pop or two of citrus brights to the jazziest of jackets.

Here's the brand ...

... and here's the price. Not too shabby eh?

The observant amongst you will notice that I decided to flip my bag around letting you see the simple, featureless nature of the back - clever of me, don't you think? And done on purpose, of course.

The smock jacket is canvas, fully lined and adorned with these crazy vinyl flowers on the orange trim. It took only a heartbeat for me to decide to try it on and less than a minute to decide to buy it - the look is flower power, flamboyant and completely over the top, therefore is an utter joy to me. 

I added John Lennon retro sunnies (from River Island), a wide orange and gold bangle, one plastic ring and another oversized one, plus that natty little straw bag (all preloved) to continue with the hippy chick theme. No-one could ever accuse me of taking myself seriously could they?

The cute sweater is by Tu, picked up in the summer sale last year and perfect to wear with this jacket with its double trumpet sleeves. And the trousers are preloved, by Zara and seen recently on the blog after a trip to London (see here) and that's where I found this hand carved wooden necklace too.

These River Island sandals are retro pieces too being many, many years old; too many for me to remember. The rubber soles are great shock absorbers and the angle of the platform is not too steep to be uncomfortable - they're all day wonders these ones!

Sunshine and showers pretty much sums up the weather of the day. I have a day off tomorrow and had been hoping to have an end of day picnic when Steve finishes work so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the fresh weather front blows though by late afternoon. All being well, I can share a new off-island adventure with you on next time as Steve and I visit a different uninhabited island for the first time. We've suddenly decided that we really ought to visit as many of these smaller islands as we can, just because we can, and I'll be capturing as much of this on camera as possible. I do hope that you're having a good week wherever you are. Seemingly we in the UK are about to have another burst of that summer heatwave again, but this weekend I'll be thinking of my lovely friend Bo who lives in Portugal and is being promised temperatures of 48 degrees! She left the UK with her son and husband nearly 10 years ago, looking for a milder climate, but really - 48 degrees? That's blooming ridiculous!

Until next time, take care!

Anna x

Not Square With Gingham - our Style Not Age challenge

Hello and welcome! Thanks for joining me today as I gather together my Style Not Age friends who between us are presenting "Not Square With Gingham". It was Hilda's choice this month, and one that had me scratching my head a bit as I wondered what to wear. I really only have three gingham pieces, one of which I've already featured on our monthly style challenge (here). With no shopping trip in sight and a clampdown on spending this month due to far too many expenses with out little motor boat, I had to give up on my idea of eBay solving my problem. Anyway, as you can see I've gone all bright and colourful (oh what a surprise!) wearing this floral gingham top that came from a charity shop last year, but more on this later.

Hilda wears gingham check fitted trousers by Puno Roma and a classic Zara shirt. Why oh why, does that half tuck look stylish on her and yet half undone on me? Hilda's feature can be seen in full on her blog Over The HIlda.

Emma from Style Splash wears a summery pink and white gingham skirt and tee shirt both from Zara. (Have these ladies both been cashing in on the Zara sale site I wonder?) Her sleek and stylish summer shoes are from River Island. Do pop over to see more from Emma on her blog too.

Jacqui has given us a double dose of gingham with these crops and matching brolly, but she's also added some pattern play by way of this sleeveless duster in summer florals - fab! Last minute photos brought about this weather-led shoot which turned out both cute and playful for her. See Jacqui's post on Mummabstylish.

My photos were weather-led too as I panicked at my last minute attempt to find somewhere out of the high winds and between showers to capture my gingham offering. Steve kindly did the honours in his lunchtime. If he had zoomed into the sea in the distance you'd have seen the white horses driving over the tops of the waves. Heavy showers for the past few days has brought inches of welcome rain to the UK which is long overdue as you can see by the parched grassland of Jimmy Cox's field. (Jimmy Cox is long dead, so we weren't in danger of being chased off!)

I pushed the boat out by adding these pop art courts by Chockers to my jolly vintage skirt by Jaeger. They cost £8.50 in St Michael's Hospice charity shop in Harrogate in the spring.

My gingham top is by F&F at Tesco's but was sourced in a charity shop last year. I like the feature of the split sleeve which was a great compromise for me when off-the-shoulder tops ruled the roost, but weren't my thing. The addition of flowers and greenery to the gingham appealed to my need to break with convention. 

Today's jewellery is all preloved apart from my favourite gold chain necklace which was a gift from Sasha. This pretty pink cuff is a recent and welcome addition to my stash.

My other go-to accessory has to be this pink stretch belt which I found on eBay a couple of years ago. At £5 the cost per wear must have dropped down into the pennies by now as I seem to wear this belt at least once a week - it's turned into a signature piece of mine - not the most stylish, classy or expensive, but certainly useful!

The final flourish to my outfit was my black net petticoat, adding fun and fullness to the skirt. The simple act of adding a net underskirt instantly adds a sense of occasion to any ensemble - a favourite trick of mine.

Thank goodness that there was no-one about to see this windswept scenario as they were out for a woodlands walk - what would they have thought?

Thanks for joining me today on this last post of July. I can't quite believe that August is upon us! The summer is rushing past me with so many things left behind in the rush and tear of life; no link-ups as I'm too time challenged; far too infrequent exchanges with blogging friends; not enough miles clocked up ready for my big sea swim challenge - oh dear, I must try harder. On the plus side, I'm drawing on my mindfulness training from earlier this year (see here) and remembering to take a moment which has been a life saver. The "musts" and "shoulds" and "have tos" are being dropped in favour of power naps, picnics and revelling in the outdoors life. Counting my blessings is a great way of grounding myself and stopping the runaway train of thoughts that can sometimes drive me to exhaustion. Summer on these beautiful islands is in itself a huge blessing and one not to be overlooked. On that note, I shall leave you, my lovely readers and wish you well. Downtime is just what the doctor ordered methinks!

Until next time, take care!

Anna x