Floral Converse boots and purple agapanthus

Hello again! How's your week been? I've had the day off today and even though the weather wasn't perfect, Steve and I took ourselves off in our boat and headed out to the Eastern Isles. White sand, clear turquoise water and a few glimpses of the sun as we lazed on an uninhabited island were enough to create our very own chill zone. A couple of beers with our picnic and we pretty much set the world to rights in a few hours.

And so on to the outfit of the day. I've recently bought a new pair of Converse boots which inspired this look. The floral boots are on sale from Office currently (see here). Increasingly I seem to be wearing flats for work and these are a bright and breezy way of lifting an outfit out of the doldrums.

Aren't they totally funky and great fun too!

I've paired the boots with with these patterned wide legged crops from H&M (pre-loved) which I've had for a couple of years now. The white floral top was from New Look in a summer sale, but not this year. Setting the whole shebang against the purple agapanthus is a riot of colour, one that will be over very soon, hence I was keen to capture the flowers while they were still in bloom.

I picked out accent colours of pink and turquoise for my statement rings, adding my favourite Quay Australia sunglasses for another jazzy aspect. My sea glass pendant is a tiny blue droplet made by Drift jewellery out of sea glass I collect from our beaches.

The pressures of work are gradually calming down now meaning I'm more able to fit in my wild swimming again. I'm back at the ever-so-heavenly Cradle Porth in the shots below. 

I'm so lucky to have the chance to swim in these clear waters all year round. I feel the mental health benefits are almost more important to me than the physical ones. My solitary swims in particular take me to a calm place; a welcome state of zen, an escape from the norm and into a watery world where my senses are devoid of sound (with earplugs in place) and are taste and sight oriented. The delicate shades of sea greens and aquas lull me into dream world where under sea creatures like bold little brown crabs fend me off and purple globe jellyfish pulse their way on by. Nature unwinds me, undoing the knots of tension in my shoulders and emptying my buzzing brain. I emerge refreshed and revitalised, ready for the next challenge that life may throw my way.

Anna x

And yet more agapanthus!

Hello lovelies and yes, here I am in my back garden again! The beautiful agapanthus flowers are still in bloom and offering up such a splendid backdrop that I couldn't resist another home photo shoot. How are you this week? It's already half way through August and I'm more than a little bit panicked that the summer is almost over. As always, I had great plans for lots of off island adventures in our little boat and very few of them have materialised. Never mind, we've still got a few weeks of sunny weather left hopefully.

I dodged about from one spot to another trying to capture the best show of flowers for you -  they are such a joy, they really make me smile.

This was the last spot and probably the best as it also has the bright orange montbretia flowers too. But, let's chat about the outfit of the day, shall we? I wore this a year ago too, but it never made it onto the blog for some reason, so here (below) is that version with different necklace, earrings, no belt and slightly longer hair. Is it me, but does that 12 months make me look younger and fresher too? Yes, I know I'm my own worst critic!

Steve took this photo so maybe that has something to do with it...?

Anyway, on to the outfit. The skirt is a vintage Jaeger piece, blouse is by Jovonna from TK Maxx, belt from eBay, and flatforms are from TK Maxx too.

I totally love these sandals and am gutted to say that these two times are the only chance I've had to wear them. I say that because on the second wear I was rushing down the stairs at work when suddenly the back strap broke! I've got the shoe packed up ready to send to the cobblers on the mainland in the hope that he can stick it back together again. It needs to be pushed right inside the base of the sandal, not just glued otherwise we would do a make-do and mend job at home.

The rose gold heart pendant was a boutique find in Truro years ago and the rings are both charity shopped.

I'm pleased to report that I've had a few swims this week and do feel better for it. The pace at work seems to have plateaued out and I'm not doing so many hours (exhaustion put paid to that), which is no bad thing. I've got the weekend off and have already nipped to St Mary's to have my hair cut and then had a swim on the high tide on my return. Next on the agenda - waging war on the laundry pile and then some cooking for the freezer. Fingers crossed for some nice weather tomorrow so that Steve and I can have a trip out in the boat and have a picnic on a deserted beach somewhere.

Wishing you a super weekend!

Anna x

That Friday feeling

Hello again! Yes, this is me, giving a big sigh of relief for that Friday feeling. Not popping corks or doing somersaults, simply sitting for a moment, taking in the view and being grateful. 

The days seem to be rattling past as August gets into full swing. The Isles of Scilly are thronging with visitors and we're all working flat-out to provide the premium holiday experience that our guests deserve. But golly, I'm flagging all of a sudden. Lunchtime walks and morning swims have been dropped for the first time ever as I struggle to find enough energy for work alone. But I'm not too worried as I know this will be short-lived. In no time at all it will be September and the frenetic pace will soon be a thing of the past. Tempus fugit eh?

Today's work outfit is a new combination again. The dress was from TK Maxx when I was away in May, but this is the first time to be shown on the blog. The brand is Feather and Bone, not one that I've come across before, but the frock is a pretty floral pattern of black, brown, pink and yellow mainly and the fabric is polyester and elastane which gives it a lovely bit of stretch.

The drop waist style is flattering and comfy too. I've added a net underskirt and my plaid Converse boots to give an edgy look as I worry that maxi dresses can be a bit frumpy if you're a woman of a certain age.

The petticoat was a charity shop find and the Converse were from TK Maxx, some time ago.

I would say that the best thing about this frock is the wash and wear aspect of it. I've not had to iron it between wears or after washing, hurrah! What busy working woman wouldn't be thrilled with that? Jewellery today is a smokey quartz and silver necklace from Emily Nixon (many moons ago) along with a couple of charity shopped rings. My cool sunglasses are from Quay Australia - surprise, surprise!

I'll leave you with a playful whoosh of the frock, just to show you that I'm not completely done yet!  Thanks for dropping by. I know we're all so busy at this time of year and I have very little expectations from my readers to spend time leaving comments or even to visit at all. I appreciate you swinging by and I do hope you're having a wonderful summer!

                                                                                          Anna x

Agapanthus how I love thee!

Hello again my lovelies! What a busy week it's been on the islands since we last spoke. Schools have broken up for summer holidays and we're seeing so many day trippers now. The gallery is doing a roaring trade, as are all the other businesses on Tresco. Sunshine and showers was the rule of thumb for the week and then bang, we were hit by Storm Evert! The rescue services were in evidence throughout Thursday evening as helicopters refuelled on the island and the local lifeboat had to be supported by one from the mainland as it hit difficulties too while they responded to distress calls from over 20 yachts in danger. Campers across the Isles of Scilly had their tents ripped, flattened or in some cases blown away as the storm raged overhead. The island communities rallied around offering shelter and repairs to help the visitors get back on their feet again.

In the meantime, I've been snapping away trying to capture my garden in bloom, specifically these fabulous agapanthus flowers which grow like weeds around the island. The are big and blowsy, larger than life and real show-offs as flowers go; they remind me of myself! I've had to do a fair bit of cropping of these photos as we have power lines run along the top of the garden plus there's the steel framework of our children's swings from their childhood. Anyway, here's the results plus me in Friday's work outfit.

Nothing new here, but it's the first time I've worn this sheer flower sprigged top (by Clara) with my gingham dungarees (from Topshop). It was raining as I set off to work and rainy days always present a problem for me clothes-wise. My white pumps (from TK Maxx) are patent and therefore ideal for weather so that was easy. And for some reason I always end up wearing black in some shape or form on wet days, maybe simply because I feel a bit dull? Anyway, as the rain drifted away this outfit served me well even when the sun came out.

A couple of pre-loved rings was all I could muster by way of jewellery, well that plus my ever favoured sunglasses by Quay Australia, of course!

Do you have a favourite between the white blooms or the blue ones? I think I prefer the blue.

It was my day off on Saturday and Steve, Sasha and I went for a picnic at Great Bay on St Martin's. I forgot to take any photos but here's a few snaps from the last time we were there.

I had a swim in the clear waters of this little bay. It seemed to feel colder than on Tresco but I wonder if that's because it's open to the elements rather than sheltered by other islands within the archipelago. Next stop from this beach is mainland Cornwall.

Great Bay is a lovely long sweep of sand, but there's lots of rocks and seaweed here which I find a bit off putting for swimming in. I think I've been spoilt by the like's of Cradle's Porth!

This old sailing ship was moored up in the bay, looking very romantic, don't you think? We get a lot of Tall Ships pass through the islands on the way to some further adventure. I do love to see them, but don't envy the thought of days and weeks at sea feeling seasick!

Bee heaven in this beautiful meadow!

And king of all he surveys - this goat looked very at home on his perch. I hope you've had a great weekend so far. Fingers crossed we'll get some sunshine today!

Anna x