Blue Monday post




Hi there! Thanks for swinging by again. I'm posting on Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year as we're all supposed to be in a full post-Christmas slump, but hopefully it's not been too much of a trial for you. This year it's on the 15th of January which is my daughter's birthday (she's 35). We met up with Sasha yesterday to have brunch with her in one of the Seagarden Cottages where she's enjoying a few days of luxury as a gift to herself. I dodged outside to take a few shots of my outfit, but couldn't find the right spot either out of the sun (too bright)... 






...or in the shade (too dark). The view was pretty spectacular though!




I've been itching to wear this wonderful waterfall tulle skirt since I bought it recently on Vinted. I can hardly bear to tell you how much it cost. What do you think? Would you believe that even though it's brand new it only cost £5? Honestly! The rest of the outfit is from my wardrobe, nothing new. The waistcoat is years old and may not ever have been shown on the blog, but do tell me if I'm wrong. The blouse is ancient, was a charity shop buy from years ago, boots are from ASOS, sunglasses are from Quay Australia and cream tights are very old indeed.




Later on I swapped the waistcoat for this fitted jacket (very old). I really like this look; the yellow tweed jacket has a gold fleck to it and works so well with the soft fluid nature of the tulle and chiffon. The chunky boots toughen the look up without being too overpowering.




The broad tan leather belt is another way to add an accent without it becoming too much of a focal point. For me this outfit is all about the skirt, so hopefully the balance with the other pieces works to allow the tulle to remain at centre stage.




Nothing new with these citrine rings - I've had them for years now - they were gifted to me as part of a collaboration with Gemporia way back in  2017 (see here).










No doubt you'll see this skirt again and again and again this year. It's an obvious piece for summerwear, but I so wanted to try to winterise it successfully and think I did. Do you agree? I actually wore my cream cow print fur coat over the top of this as it was so chilly - sorry I forgot to get shots of that but we were running late. It's great to have your company again - many thanks and have a great week!

                                                                                         Anna x

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A quick catch up!




Hi there and thank you for dropping by! I've been awol for a little while, but thought I'd better get back online to share what's been happening. Christmas was so lovely this year, mainly because none of us got ill. Last year the four of us were hit by a nasty cold/flu virus but the upside is that we spent this Christmas celebrating the fact that we were all well. We lazed around eating non-stop, watching movies and generally feeling very happy with our lot. And then New Year's Eve came around and I went to the pub to have a dance or two. Steve felt a bit bah-humbug and stayed home, but I was keen to see everyone dressed up. The evening was a fancy dress do with the theme being 1920's. I didn't have an outfit sorted so just wore sequins...




I'd bought this dress from Vinted, the brand is Very and cost me £25. The boots also were from Vinted, are beautifully soft Italian leather and were brand new costing me £6 - yes, actually £6! The yellow tights were from Amazon. 




I had my very own kitchen disco to warm me up before venturing out to the New Inn. 






These boots are pretty special aren't they? I've already lined up three other outfits to feature them...




This was me before my New Year's day swim. I'm so enjoying my winter swims at the moment! The cold isn't too bad as yet - it's mainly about maintaining the distance of once across the bay and back which is pretty much as far as I swim on a summer's day. I'm feeling good about this. March is the coldest month, so let's see how I'm doing by then.




I have a new stylist in the family. My great niece, Leila, is due to go to secondary school this year and at only aged 11 she is already passionate about clothes, so much so that she hopes to become a fashion stylist. Over Christmas I invited her to come to see my winter wardrobe so that she could try a few things on and put some outfits together. She turned up looking like a miniature Madonna, all in black in a variety of fabrics and textures including fishnet tights and lace gloves. This was her suggestion for me to wear. The top is new, from Vinted and the fringed skirt is conversely very old. Leila loves cow print, choosing these boots and orange tights to complete the look. 






I love the look she put together for me, especially as it's not something I would have come up with myself. I plan to invite her again once I've got my summer clothes in place so that she can have another rummage. Watch this space!




This was a post-swim shot sporting that wonderful after glow, taken a couple of days ago. The air temperature is pretty cold at the moment as we're experiencing a brisk easterly wind, but I dodged out of the breeze on the western coast of Tresco on Appletree Bay. The first photo of this post is of me enjoying a hot drink as reward for my efforts. I had a beautiful swim along the length of the bay which really looked like a summer's day, despite the chilly sea temperature. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to look me up. Here's wishing you a somewhat belated Happy New Year!

                                                               Anna x

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December is for Dressing Up, our Style Not Age challenge this month




Hurrah and Happy Christmas to us all! I do hope you're having a wonderful time. Our challenge this month has a festive theme and was chosen by Gail. I'm not averse to a bit of dressing up as you may know and so it wasn't a terrrible hardship to push the boat out for this most special of posts. Let's see how the others fared and come back to mine later...




Gail has totally embraced her prompt by pairing lime green sequins with a gold faux leather skirt to glamorous effect! Catch up with her on Is This Mutton blog for the full story.




This is Hilda's Christmas Day outfit which looks not only fabulous but also comfortable too which is very clever bit of Dressing Up. Read her backstory on Over the Hilda blog.




Gold satin and red wide legged trousers are another successful festive take on December Dressing up from Jacqui.  See more from her on Mummabstylish blog.




Pink, silver, glitter and sequins - Emma's brought it all in her Christmas outfit, even a bottle of bubbly! Find out what she'll be getting up to today on her blog Style Splash.




My trouser suit is a Christmas present from my son (under my instructions obviously) and is by Lavish Alice, a brand I've not come across previously. Its silver and gold pattern screams out festive dressing and I hope to find an excuse to wear it soon. 




I've teamed the suit up with a silver and white sequinned top which is very ancient and was a charity shop find. Sparkly rings are also pre-loved and the silver chain necklace was a Vinted purchase recently. I'm wearing classic black sunglasses by Radley London and must admit I felt red carpet ready in this glitzy lot!




I took myself off the Tresco Abbey Garden for this photo opportunity and think it makes for a lovely backdrop to the silver outfit.  My leather boots are old, from TK Maxx and are utterly fabulous don't you think - the brand is Buffalo.




And just in case you're wondering, I didn't traipse the mile from my home to the Garden dressed like this. I made use of the large loos on site to act as a changing room as no-one was around on the quiet Sunday afternoon. It was a two-for-one day as I captured last week's ensemble and this one at the same time.




And that rounds up another year of our Style Not Age challenge. Thank you so much for joining me and my blogging friends and I do hope you've been inspired to maybe try out something you've seen with us.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

Anna x

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Sequins and camo for daytime




Eeek, it's only another 7 sleeps until Christmas and I'm so far off being ready! But let's move swifty on... Today I'm touting this daytime look that throws sequins on top of camo print in the loudest of colours. As you may know, I love orange, can't get enough of the colour and therefore when I came across these cargo pants on Vinted (new with the labels still attached) I just knew they were meant for me.




The trousers are so practical for work, yet eye poppingly bright and breezy that they yell out fun. I'll be wearing them this week while I do my final preparations to get the Gallery ready for opening. I'll swap out these orange leather boots (Asos) for my baseball camo ones and add a big cardigan for warmth.



My glitter top was a charity shop purchase from years ago and the orange sequin jacket came from TK Maxx a few years ago; I bring it out every Christmastime and it always makes people smile. The padding makes for a lovely snuggly winter jacket as well as being totally glam.




Glitter, sequins and camo meant I could get away with the minimum of jewellery. The classic black sunglasses are by Radley London and orange belt is from Primark.






Well, I suppose I'd better get back to my fudge making again. I've only one more batch to make this afternoon, making a total of over 24 pounds of the sweet stuff for family and friends. 




By tomorrow this will all be wrapped and packed into colourful boxes ready to distribute to my family here on the islands. It truly is the joy of giving!

I'll be back on Christmas day with my style sisters for our monthly style challenge, so if you get a quiet moment over the festive period please do swing by to see our take on Christmas Dressing.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

Anna x

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