Easter chick

Happy Easter!

Dear readers, I hope you're having a happy Easter - well as happy as it can be under the circumstances. Steve and I stepped outside our house yesterday to capture these shots of my take on being your Easter chick (forever tongue in cheek, that's me!). As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny, hazy day. 

In the midst of this, our local Church Warden, Rachel came along with some palm fronds on her way to decorating the outside of St Nicholas Church. Rachel was also working alongside the Easter bunny, helping to scatter some chocolate eggs around the churchyard for the island's children. 

And not to be outdone, our local delivery driver turned up keen to photobomb our session - Hi Barek!

I've been busy this week doing my clothes changeover, dragging bags and suitcases out from under the beds to bring my spring and summer clothes out again. The remit this time has been a bit different as I'm not actually at work, therefore lots of my clothes are redundant at the moment - particularly my opening night party clothes are still unpacked for the moment. 

Yesterday was supposed to be the first exhibition of the year, our Easter Show, at the gallery and this was the outfit I would have been wearing during the day for our first phase of the meet and greet. The trouser suit is by JD Williams, one of my favourite buys from them last year. I love wearing it, love the sunny colour and the instant togetherness of wearing a trouser suit. The trousers may be a tad snug, but they do have a bit of stretch which does help. I've linked through to a similar suit on their website currently, modeled by the gorgeous Andrea who I worked with during my stint with the brand. Happy days!

I styled the suit with these New Look kitten heel boots for a bit of a retro look. I bought them a couple of years ago and they've been so useful, lending a real statement to any outfit. The white ruffle shirt was from TK Maxx. I've added a stretch belt which was a charity shop piece. 

Bangles, rings and necklace are all pre-loved and much loved by me too.

These long time favourite sunglasses are by Quay Australia - note they reflect my reluctant photographer. Poor Steve, has ended up being my one and only photographer by default currently! 

He may be reluctant, but he still does a very good job. Thank you darling!

This is the view from my washing line and it's often remarked that I have the best vista ever for such a mundane chore - I have to agree.

Thanks for joining me again today. I hope you're all having a chocolate-fest kind of a day and that the sun shines on you during your exercise break! And in the words of the great Crosby, Stills and Nash - "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with..."

                                                                           Anna x

Ralph Lauren military jacket

Hello again!

Welcome to my Friday hook up. I'll confess that this OOTT was from those pre-furloughed days when dressing up for work was the joy of the day. There's no better motivation than knowing that you'll be customer facing and therefore under scrutiny. I have lovely clients who pop in to see me, confessing that they merely want to check what I'm wearing that day! So, no pressure there then. But honestly, I do love the excuse of work, in fact any excuse, to dress up. 

This is the first time I've shown the bargain of the month that I found in February when I was on a quick trip to the mainland. As is my habit, I checked out TK Maxx on this very brief trip and was lucky enough to happen across this wonderful military style jacket by Polo Ralph Lauren. It was the only one in the store as is often the case and to my delight it fitted like a glove!

Regardless of the crazy price saving here, I have always lusted after this style of jacket. I think Victoria Beckham designed one a couple of years ago, but even before then it's been on my wishlist. I see it as a wardrobe staple, one that can be dressed up or down and is an absolute classic in my eyes. You'll be seeing a lot of this in future I promise you.

Barrel buttons and braiding are typical of this type of jacket, but on top of that, the woollen fabric is weighty in a reassuring way, without being too heavy - it remains sleek, is what I'm trying to say. Yes, it's true love, that's for sure.

Perfectly pleasing pre-loved rings.

I bought the off white jeans on the same shopping trip. The brand is River Island, but they were on sale at TK Maxx for £9.99 as opposed to the £40 original price tag. You know how I just love a bargain! Next time I'll style them up with a sweater to show you the neat cut of them including the black belt which ties in with the black contrasting stitching. They're high waisted, neat fitting and will be great for the spring/summer period. I've paired them with my much loved black patent chelsea cowboy boots from Topshop last year.

Yes, here's another pair of Radley London sunglasses, courtesy of my friend Ellie who designed them.

And finally, I think I'm beginning to make headway with all of my chores at home. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed at the sheer number of jobs that are calling out for my attention. So the other day, I decided to break these down into bite size pieces and hey presto, I've tidied the cupboard under the stairs!

I'll leave you with a few beach photos from the past week. I've been following the tide around, swimming on the high tide every day which has  been such a treat.

 

Until next time, stay home, stay safe!

Anna x

On feeling blessed

Hello and welcome again!

You join me today as I talk about counting my blessings during this strange time where lock-downs and furlough are now part of our daily life and the only news on TV and radio relates to the Coronavirus. Our world has changed so much in the past months. The pandemic that seemed so distant from us when it was contained in China has gradually seeped into our everyday lives impacting more than any of us could have imagined. And yet in the midst of all of this, there is a growing awareness of self responsibility, care within our neighbourhoods and gratitude to our NHS which is long overdue. More than ever, I feel very blessed to be living on this remote island. A vetting process in place for anyone trying to access these islands, prohibiting an influx of those trying to escape their primary home. The message to stay at home is finally reaching everyone, even those to whom rules don't normally apply. No matter if you're rich or royal or young or famous - anyone and everyone is prey to this new enemy, invisible yet deadly. And so this modern day wartime spirit is continuing to strengthen as we pull together to unite and stay strong.

I'd like to say hurrah for the BBC news coverage which is gradually finding some happy stories to tell us. In in a time where we need to be kept informed, we also need encouragement, recovery stories and ways to keep ourselves physically and mentally fit. Enter stage right the amazing Joe Wicks who single-handedly is dragging the nation up off the sofa and getting our children motivated for their daily workout. 

I'm so grateful to live right here on the edge of the beach. This photo is taken less than 50m from my house: this is the view from my kitchen window, giving me an ever changing vista of island life as the tide comes in and the tide goes out. And talking of tides, I'm so happy to have this opportunity to follow the tide around daily, as I can now swim on the high tide every single day. I love to swim on the high tide as every beach looks much more pretty on a high tide. Today's high tide is at 3.47pm (Sunday) and will be a 5.1m high. I'm mainly governed now by wind direction and sometimes will walk to the most sheltered beach others, if I'm busy, will mean just a quick dash on my bike so that I can be there and back within the hour.

This was Pentle Bay on Thursday, location of my daily swim at lunchtime. I left home at 1.30pm to walk to the beach along the banks, swam from the far end to this point and then swam back. I sat for a while on the rocks, taking photos while I drank my flask of hot lemon and honey. Much as the sea looks tropical, it was still very cold and I had to march briskly onwards towards the south of the island with woolly hat and gloves on as I tried to warm up. I stopped along the way to collect sea glass and pottery pieces strewn along the high tideline. I think I met about four others, rather I saw four others as we all veered away to give each other space. 

By the time I reached Appletree Bay it was almost 5 o'clock. I'd had this idea to create something to post on my Instagram to tie in with the clapping for the NHS at 8pm on Thursdays that's becoming our lovely new ritual. Our local GP practice have recently sent out a message for us here to abide by the rules of social distancing and to stay at home. We're all hoping that the virus won't reach us, but as we emerge from the restrictions I do wonder if it's inevitable that we'll be hit in the second or even third waves. As you can tell, even living in our island paradise, we still feel the same anxieties as everyone else.

Enough of all that now! Let's talk about the outfit of the day. These fab applique jeans cost me £4.50 from a Truro charity shop earlier on this year. I've paired them with my Frida Kahlo tee shirt from Primark last summer and these comfy stretch pink sock boots by Jeffrey Campbell. The cute wool jacket was another charity shop buy last year and works really well to add a bit of funk to this look. 

The two toned suede belt was from Benetton a few years ago and the rings were both gifts from friends. The blue and pink floral bangle was a £1 wonder from a charity shop

The floral sunglasses were a sale item from Sainsbury's quite a few years ago, but perfect for this floral themed ensemble, don't you think?

I've decided to try my utmost to live in the moment, find joy in the everyday, observing happiness in the most simple of things, count my blessings and not stress about the future. We can only influence our own tiny little worlds currently and I'm trying to keep my own little family unit fed and loved and safe. Beyond that, if I can bring a little bit of pleasure into the blogging world with my outfit of the day, then hurrah!

Take care and keep safe!

Anna x

Charity shop finds

Hello again!

It's great to have you join me again today. I've had this outfit sitting in my draft box for a while and thought today was the right time to bring it out. We all know the ripples from the Coronavirus are being felt across the globe and are affecting almost every business now. Yesterday I heard that the future of many charities is under pressure, with the threat of collapse due to their lack of income. Events like the London Marathon produce a large percentage of income for most charities every year and without that and so many other fundraising events it leaves their future hanging in the balance. Small animal charities are the most vulnerable with worries about how they'll feed their livestock within the weeks and months ahead. Such a worrying time. As you know, I'm a huge fan of charity shopping, in fact, it's a mainstay of my wardrobe and I do wonder if the high street shops will survive once Covid-19 has passed. 

My outfit comprises of two items from the Oxfam shop in Truro. The oxblood leather coat is from Next and although not brand new, it shows no signs of wear and is a beautiful quality of hide. I paid £40 for it and see it as a great investment piece. 

The nutmeg vintage skirt is by Mondi, made from wool and polyester, fits like a dream and best of all still had the original tags on it. It cost £19.99 and again is another real investment buy. I suppose the skirt encapsulates all the best reasons to charity shop: it's unusual, stylish and an absolute bargain.

The fabric has a lovely drape, the pleats sit nicely and of course, the bonus has to be these pockets. I do like the button feature down the front too. My bronze and black sock boots are by Zara from a couple of years ago.

These are some of my last work outfits before I was furloughed. From here on I'll be going back through my draft box to find those ensembles which I might have bypassed previously, but beggars can't be choosers now!

Lora did a great job taking these shots on this particular day as I had given her the camera with the setting on the wrong place. When we got to the jewellery shot it wouldn't focus - stupid me for leaving it on the Scenery setting!

Nothing new with these rings as I've had them both for ages. H&M leopard print cardi is old too.

Yet another new pair of Radley sunglasses, (aren't they fab) paired with this chunky tribal necklace from Topshop last year.

A week into my furlough now and I'm still trying to create a work structure on the home front. One thing I've found is that too much news and social media definitely affect my energy levels. It's draining to have the reality of our world events come at you hour after hour. I'm limiting my news updates to once in the morning and once in the evening. The same for social media. And I'm letting the days roll by with less have-to's that I thought. I'm cooking and cleaning and swimming and resting, but not in any of the tight regime I previously would  previously have done.  I'll often find myself looking out at the island view from my window where there's not a sole in sight. Most of the time Tresco is like a ghost town. I expect you're finding life so very different too. Do drop me a line, leave me a comment and let me know how you're bearing up.

In the meantime, I'll be searching for outfits to keep us both entertained.

Anna x