Orange + sequins = heaven!

Hello to you, my dear readers!

Today's offering gives more than a nod to the festive season and golly, how wonderful it makes me feel! I love orange. I love sequins. And therefore this is a heady delight for me to air once again. I wore this fabulous jacket way back at the start of the year (see here) and again in the spring (here). It's pretty bold, even by my standards and so I have to be in the right frame of mind to carry this off. 

If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I find the winter months a real struggle. This year more so than most as I'm not able to swim currently and that daily dip is what keeps me from descending into the black hole of depression which snaps away at my heels for the long dark months. But I've discovered that the discipline of a daily walk yomp has an equally good effect on my mood. Now, that may be because I've been joined by friends on some days, but even on those days when I've stamped around the circuit on my own, I've been energised and so very pleased with my efforts. 

I'm finding the walking bug has got me in the very same way that the swimming bug did. The daily yomp has become an addiction regardless of the weather. The circuit I walk is a full hour of speed walking both up and down hills, across moors and coastal paths and I just love this new found high. The other day Jilly and I were striding out in a howling gale dressed in full wet-gear, marching alongside the exposed southern coast as we tried hard to keep up our conversation. As we reached the top of an incline we were suddenly blasted by sand; it was the cheapest spa treatment ever as we were exfoliated by gusts of mica-laden wind and we laughed at each other as we struggled to see. The ferocity of the wind stole the words from our mouths, dragged the snot from our noses, and forced us to stagger bent double against it. I was grateful for my sunglasses protecting my eyes and also for the scraps of loo roll Jilly dragged out from the corner of her pockets. Afterwards as we hugged and said our goodbyes, we both congratulated each other on that life-affirming walk; the extreme weather making the challenge all the more of an achievement. Never mind ladies who lunch, we're ladies who yomp!

And so, to the outfit. Another Eight is the brand of this dazzling bomber jacket which is surprisingly cosy, thanks to the fulsome padding. I would wear it more often, but even for me it's pretty out there. Having said that, I plan to wear it a lot over the Christmas period. I'm suddenly back in love with this flamboyant piece and it fills me with joy and the "Why not?" philosophy that has served me so well in the past.

The turtle neck was second hand (from eBay) and the rings are pre-loved too.

The brocade boots are from ASOS.

The high waisted Mom jeans are from Topshop, earning lots of praise for the great fit as well as the contrasting lime green stitching. I picked them up at the end of the summer sale (£20) - result! The leopard print belt is second hand and my sunglasses are my old faithfuls from Quay Australia.

I'll leave you now, as I have to return to the task in hand, that being another few batches of fudge to be made, cut and packed before the weekend is over. I love the pleasure of giving these be-ribboned boxes out to family and friends. There's something so special about a hand-made Christmas present isn't there? For me 'tis the joy of giving, that's for sure!

In case I don't get back to you again before the event, I'll just say -

Happy Christmas to you all! 

                                                                                    Anna x

Gold, brocade and the Christmas party outfit

Hi, hello and draw up a chair, why don't you!

How are you? Are to catching up on some of those Christmas chores? Well, don't worry. Neither am I! And the blog seems to be like a poor relative at the moment too, limping along behind the ever growing to-do lists. But never mind, I'm here now and you have my complete attention. 

Today I'm channeling that festive feeling by way of this gold lurex cardigan which I bought in the big charity shop haul in London last month (see here). The brand is H&M and it was a snip at £6. I've added some more depth to the outfit with the addition of brocade, twice - once on these red pre-loved trousers (Oxfam) and secondly with the black and gold boots from River Island.

The gold lurex cardigan is really weighty making it feel more like a jacket. I like the popper fasteners, but do wish it had some pockets - oh how I love the slouchiness of a pocket! My blouse is another recycled item, this time by Jacques Vert. The embellishments in gold and sequins add another layer of fancy to this already fancy pants ensemble, but hey - it's the festive season isn't it?

I wonder if someone might get the hint as I model this ring today? It's made from the sea glass washed up on our shores. I collect bags of this a couple of times a year and send them off to a couple of artists who then create jewellery for the gallery. 

Another pre-loved purchase is this red leather belt by Tommy Hilfiger, but it looks as good as new and well worth the £5 I paid for it.

Fiona and I were trying to capture some indoor shots, but the lighting issue (too much sunlight flooding the scene) and camera settings were an interesting challenge for both of us. Later on that evening we were back here at the New Inn attempting to get some photos of my Christmas party outfit.

Automatic flash wasn't quite what we wanted ...

No flash didn't work either.

The lighting here was better, but blurry and you couldn't see the whole outfit.

What do you mean, "suck your tummy in"?

How's this?

Yes, the fringing shows up better like this!

My fab black glitter boots were from Topshop last year, as were the sparkly tights. The pre-loved skirt (Oasis) was from the Crisis Centre shop in London too, and the lurex top is ancient, but second hand. 

My sparkling rings are pre-loved and the handbag is almost a vintage piece by now as it's about 20 years old. The island party was very well attended, so much so, that I didn't know half of the faces there as they were from behind the scene at the various eateries on the island. I had a lovely evening, catching up with locals and dancing for as long as my boots would allow me.

                                                                                             Anna x

My pre-Christmas rush

Thank you for taking the time to visit my lovelies!

Is it bedlam in your house at the moment? Oh my goodness, well it's madness with us, that's for sure! In the past 24 hours I've -

• Made my first batch of Christmas fudge
• Packed up all my Christmas presents, including said fudge and got those off in the post.
• Had an hour's power walk as part of my daily exercise routine and effort to drop 5lbs before Christmas (1.5 to go...)
• Written all of my Christmas cards, ready for posting tomorrow
• Cooked a roast dinner
• Done three loads of laundry
• Got up and gone to work
• Made a casserole in my lunchtime
• Made the Christmas dinner gravy a la Jamie Oliver - this get ahead recipe is well worth the effort (even if you have to do it after a day at work!)

On the blogging front however, I'm constantly playing catch up. It's taken me a week to get this outfit in front of a willing photographer (thank-you Steve!), but the weather was quite a challenge. The wind-swept look was hard to avoid, even here at Old Grimsby which was the most sheltered spot we could find in my allotted five minute slot.

Just recently you may have seen this pea coat by Kew159 (see here) and since then it's been on my mind to make the most of this flattering longer length jacket. Although it's not cosy, it's just so pretty that I knew I could layer it up to make it wearable at this time of year. The shaggy sweater supplies warmth to the outfit and the jacket adds style. Do you agree?

I hope to bring this outfit into play over the festive period, perhaps to wear to a drinks party. We're hosting a couple of drinks parties at work over Christmas and New Year so this may well make an appearance. 

The fluffy pink sweater came from the retro shop "Enjoy" in Truro. My midnight blue velvet trousers were £1 from a charity shop which I customised by cutting off the bottoms to make them into crops and then adding some beading trim and flowers that I'd scavenged from an old lace and beaded vest top. See the post about that here.

The star of the show today however, has to be this fabulous pre-loved multicoloured handbag (£11) that I found recently during my shopping trip to London (here). I adore the sweater and bag together, but annoyingly I did also have my new pink leather gloves inside the bag, ready for the shoot, but forgot to flash them at the right time. Once back home I found them - doh! The large flower ring and bangle were both gifts from friends and the jewelled ring was £1 from a thrift shop. The oversized pearls are old now, but were from Debenhams.

The pink sock boots were my Christmas present from Jamie last year. They're from H&M, and yes are the exact same pair as my red ones. My passion for these still burns bright.

And this is me, striding off to the next challenge that awaits. Don't bother calling me Superwoman yet - by tomorrow I'll probably be sobbing as some tiny problem swamps me, bringing me to a standstill! Balance in life somehow always manages to elude me ...

                                                                                    Anna x

Tartan and fur for that festive feeling

Hurrah, Christmas cometh!

Hello again my dear readers. I suddenly find myself on that crazy roller coaster ride that is the countdown to Christmas. I have a mixture of joy and panic flipping inside my tummy currently. Yes, I bought a lot of presents, but no, I've not checked if all the festive food menus are going to work out. This weekend I'll be nipping to St Mary's to have my hair cut and check out the last of my to-do list at the shops. How about you? Are you making progress towards the big day?

I've rolled out one of my favourite Christmas looks today with my teddy bear spruce green fur coat supported by a very healthy dose of tartan (or plaid for my readership across the pond). I'm terribly partial to bit of tartan which probably has something to do with being Scottish I suppose.

My beloved tartan boots were from M&S last year.  I must admit that my skirt and boots together remind me of my clan tartan.

This is Kerr tartan, the fabric of my clan. I wonder if this was worn to battle hundreds of years ago?

The only battle I was facing was with the driving winds, but that was a small price to pay for this stunning backdrop across the harbour at New Grimsby over to Bryher.

So, the outfit comprises of the fur coat by The Vintage Collection which came from TK Maxx last year, tartan skirt and black polo neck are both pre-loved and black cotton rich tights are from Tesco's. 

This has to be my favourite black sweater. I love the figure shaping ribbing plus the gilt buttons lift it out of the ordinary. Wash after wash it seems to hold it's shape beautifully. My necklace was a charity shop find, silver and black rings are one pre-loved and one from many moons ago.

My thanks for today's photos go to my lovely friend Fiona who gave up her lunch break to gad about with me looking for the right backdrop for our shoot. I hope you've enjoyed another peek at my island home. Have a great week and I hope to catch up with you again soon!

                                                                                    Anna x