Mail shot surprise

It's a funny feeling to open the mail and see your own face smiling back at you.This mailshot landed on my doormat yesterday which was a lovely surprise. The product launch was a few weeks ago and I've already run a feature about the products (see here). Anyway, seeing this reminded me that I've not shared the behind the scenes shots from the day I spent working on the campaign. Would you like to see them? 

The photo shoot took place in a house in a London suburb. Don't ask me where exactly, as I haven't a clue. I spent the night with my dear friend Ann who lives near Borough Market and the next day I took a taxi, a train and then walked the last half mile to the house down a quiet avenue in a residential area. This is the entrance hall which was a taster of what was to come. The house is a large family home full of both classical features and quirky objects d'art. I must admit that in between shots I did a fair bit of snooping about, taking lots of photos of this extraordinary home.

I was barely over the threshold when this message carved into the mantelpiece struck joy in my heart. Had I just entered my dream home?

Directly opposite the front door this central area joining all of the downstairs rooms leads through to the garden with lawn and sitting areas. A couple of models are being prepped here ready for their shoot as I continued to nosey around.

Flamingos are a fabulous passion that crop up again and again. 

Yup, the obligatory selfie.

The kitchen island is build around a real olive tree. I gawped and tried not to gasp out loud at each quirky aspect of the house and its decor.

And the other end of the kitchen ...

... leads into the garden.

On the veranda is Annee being lined up for her shot.

She's worked for the brand for a while now and looks very much at home in front of the camera.

Yet more flamingos in the undergrowth.

And perched just around the corner was fellow blogger Laurie of Vanity and Me Style. It was lovely to meet up with her again and have a catch up on each others news. We had lunch together and sat out in the sun as we waited for our shoot.

What a great way to protect your outdoor furniture from the weather - cover it in AstroTurf!

We were both in agreement that this was a most unusual and stunning house. We enjoyed the privilege of spending the day in these luxurious surroundings, as the stylists worked their magic and pampered us with the products.

Annee and Amanda, one of the make-up and hair stylists, are loitering outside a bedroom - there was a lot of loitering to be done.

I joined in as I'm not averse to a bit of loitering myself.

The natural light in this bathroom was perfect for the photo shoots.

At every turn and from every angle there was something artistic to see. Someones imagination had run wild in the creation of this home.

The editing suite was located in the playroom which doubled as the changing room, meaning I got the chance to snoop at the proceedings. This is Ruth, the oldest model on the day at 83 - doesn't she look amazing? The brand, Look Fabulous Forever, has truly encompassed all mature women in this campaign.

Next day I was on the train back on my way to the West Country, enjoying the view across the Tamar bridge as we passed from Devon to Cornwall. I spent the night in Truro, although, shock, horror, I had little time to shop in my favourite city.

These motor bikes parked up on Lemon Quay were too colourful to walk past - I'll have one of each please!

Early morning light over St Michael's Mount as captured from the train at the end of my journey.

And there she is, The Scillonian loading up with freight and passengers as she makes ready to leave for the day trip to the islands. My adventure may be over, but the memories remain. It's been a funny old year. If someone had told me in January on my 60th birthday that I'd be featured in three advertising campaigns this year, two of which would show me on TV - well, I'd have laughed in their face. I'm still slightly bemused at how I've pulled this off, but I suppose it just goes to show that anything is possible.

Anna x

JD Williams trousers with pink trench by Topshop

I'm making no apologies for showcasing my pink trench coat so soon after the last time. The pop of pink and bright blue are perfect for chasing my winter blues away. The look may seem out of step with the sparkly Christmas outfits that other bloggers may be sharing currently, but first and foremost my motivation is always about the feel-good factor, especially at this time of year.

When I introduce a new piece into my wardrobe of course it has a knock-on effect sparking new combinations using older pieces. The Meghan trousers that I bought earlier this year were begging to be paired with the coat. I just love this bright pink and cobalt blue together and what a cheery response this outfit got!

The floral blouse by Country Rose (pre-loved) brought both the pink trench coat and cobalt blue Megan trousers by JD Williams together perfectly, and these in turn all tied in beautifully with my cosmic creepers by T.U.K. - these pieces are so meant to be together! (I missed a trick however, as I have a double sided pink and blue suede belt which I planned to wear and then promptly forgot!)

Steve's comment on seeing me later in the day was that I looked like I was auditioning for the 70's band, Mud. For those of you who haven't heard of them see the link here. I'm not so sure that they wore cerise tights with their brothel creepers, but apart from that I have to concede that my styling would have warranted me a place in the line-up. My voice may have let me down though!

The pink rose resin ring was a gift, the blue ring is preloved and the Tree of Life pendant was from a boutique in Truro. 

The great thing about this look is that I'll be able to wear it again in the spring - it's got a really joyful feel to it, don't you think?

I'll leave you with a few shots of the islands from this morning. I sat out at the North End of the island overlooking Bryher and Shipman's Head to capture the effect of the 50mph winds that are whipping across the Isles of Scilly today.

Needless to say, my dear readers, I didn't succumb to the lures of sea swimming today!

Anna x

Wet and wild!

Winter is upon us, that's for sure, when the view from my office window looks like this. 

No swimming on these days either!

The following day it was much improved and only a bit showery so I ventured outside with tripod, camera and timer to try a morning shot. I only managed one snap when the first shower hit and I had to grab my camera and run for cover.

I toyed with the idea of setting the camera up inside the gallery so that I could gad about outside, but as you can see the door was centre shot and not quite what I wanted. 

There was nothing else for it, I pitched the tripod and camera up outside the gallery door (downwind of the rain to keep it off the lens) and my new tartan brolly was brought into play. Lining up to get into the shot took a couple of goes though!

Oh well, third time lucky then ...

Yay! Here I am. So shall we talk outfits? Starting from the shoes up - these silver golfing type brogues are from Office, not new, but not terribly old either. I think I've only worn them twice before this and I can't imagine why cos I really do like them. They get packed away in tissue, boxed up and slid back under the bed, so maybe that's why I seem to forget about them. 

This was my vain attempt at giving you another look at the shoes. Oh Polly, where are you now? Next up are my cotton/bamboo tights from TK Maxx which are uber soft and comfy. The tartan pencil skirt is rather ancient now and I've no label to identify the brand. I've got a thermal polo neck under the red sweater which is by Berkertex and cost me £4 in a charity shop. 

The piece de resistance of the whole outfit, well apart from the cute tartan umbrella, has to be this wonderful jacket by Moschino from TK Maxx. I love a bomber jacket at the best of times, but this one just caught my eye as I was cruising through the designer racks. A little bit quirky and yet functional too as it's nicely padded so is quite cosy - well how could I resist it? The label price was £550 reduced to £120. A few times a year I treat myself to something special that's not pre-loved and this is most certainly a very special piece.

Last of all is the silver disc necklace that I bought from M&S a few years ago. 

I've been struggling with a low mood ever since the rainy weather settled here and I'm having a job shaking it off. I'm making an effort every day to find something cheery to wear and this mix of red and tartan was great to partner with my new jacket. I know when the S.A.D. is really taking hold with me when I start to wear the same outfits on a very tight repeat pattern. My yellow and red tartan jeans are becoming my default setting, my comfort zone. The blog is great drive for me however, pushing me to think beyond the same old, same old day after day. Sasha has offered to take some shots for the blog tomorrow so I'll knuckle down to find you something worth coming back for.

And finally, I had a funny Heath Robinson moment today when the sun made a momentary appearance between the rain clouds. The sight of this brightness in the sky really lifted my heart making me feel hopeful, optimistic I suppose, that the weather was going improve and with it my mood too. I suddenly had this vision of a diy version of instant sunlight where we could access sunlight from our own personal reserve, by way of a solar hat, no less! Imagine if you could store sunlight in a natty little hat and when you need a burst of sunlight it could be projected from the panels for your own enjoyment, nay mental well being! Laugh if you will, but maybe I'm just ahead of my time. Ought I to be putting a patent out on this now?

Anna x

Tweed and satin? Yes!

Mixing up fabrics can be just as much fun as colour play in my book, so today I'm sporting a cute little tweed jacket with these skinny satin trousers. The jacket is pre-loved by Joules which I picked up for £15 in a charity shop and the disco pants are quite old and were from H&M Conscious Collection. Jeans might have been an obvious pairing for this, but I wanted to add a bit more colour, hence the tangerine pants. 

The jacket has velvet edging and a fancy lining as well as non-matching buttons making it very me. The fit is great to say it's off-the-peg with the sleeve length being perfect too. All of my jewellery is charity shopped, but the watch was a gift from Nordgreen - see more about it here. I still have an offer available on this brand if you use the code PARKES15 you will get a 15% discount on any purchase. 

At this time of year I seem to always add a polo neck sweater to the outfit of the day, probably because I'm one of those chilly types. I hate having a cold neck more than anything, so my closet has lots of them, especially black ones - I must have about six of those currently. This cream one was from Primark last year.

Sasha was my photographer, catching me laugh when I almost fell over on this tiny incline. It's really not a very steep road, but as I changed my footing I almost lost my balance, creating a drama out of nothing as is pretty much my way. Slight incline plus high heeled boots equals risk assessment!

In my previous post I was complaining about having short legs, but today I concede that the towering boots (by Office) are magnificently leg-lengthening. Those extra five inches make all the difference confidence-wise. The best part of course is the deep platform that means these are all-day comfortable too. 

I seem to have waited ages to showcase this tiny leather bag, but here it is at last. It's by Gigi and yes, it was a charity shop find. I'm particularly pleased to have matched up the orange trim with the trousers - small things please small minds eh?

I'm enjoying this lovely view looking east across the Great Pool, a perfect spot to stop and chill. The island has benches dotted all around (many made by my dear husband) encouraging the habit of pausing to take in the scenery. The big lure of holidaying on the island is indeed the slow pace allowing for time to reconnect with not just nature, but with oneself. Read more on this aspect here. 

And as we hurtle towards Christmas in a flurry of shopping, baking and partying it's worth keeping in mind the need to take a moment away from the commercialism of Christmas and remember the true meaning of our celebrations. This is a reminder to myself as much as anyone.

Have a fabulous week!

Anna x