Throw those curtains wide

We definitely topped up our Vitamin D levels last weekend, making the most of the summery weather by doing outdoorsy things both on Saturday and on Sunday.

On Saturday, we packed a picnic and drove the 20 kilometer or so to our first outdoor flea market of the year.

I wore a coral dress in Diolen fabric, bought at the soon to be defunct Vintage Styling in last summer’s sales. The dress has a pattern of leaves and some kind of strange fruit in blue and green. It did not come with a belt, so I added a blue belt with fabric covered buckle from another dress, and accessorized it with a string of blue beads bought at Belgian haberdashery and accessories chain Veritas. Much as I love those beads – I have them in many colours – the strings break on me one after the other, scattering beads everywhere, and at the most inconvenient of times. Sure enough, this one gave up the ghost only minutes after this photo was taken. I’m sure Phoebe will keep finding loose beads for days to come.

That said, it’s back to Saturday’s flea market. Knowing from experience that it is hard to find a nearby parking spot, we parked our car just under a kilometer from the flea market’s entrance, just to be on the safe side.

Upon entering the flea market, we were a little disappointed to see that there were fewer stalls than usual. We attribute this to the fact that it was now a two-day event instead of just the one, and we suspect that Sunday would have been busier.

I started out well by taking some photos, but was soon distracted by browsing the stalls, so you will have to make do with just a few photos. I really need to be a better blogger in that respect …

It took us a while to make our first purchase: this lot of three brooches, which were going really cheaply. How could I leave behind the cute twosome of cats and the leaping deer?

Next up were these new-to-me shoes, which will be perfect for work and play alike. I didn’t have a nice pair of navy shoes yet and they’re comfortable too (and believe me: I haven't got the easiest of feet!). I already wore them to work and no blisters: a true miracle!

In the next field, we stumbled upon this wooden mirror and comb rack, adorned with art nouveau style decorations in a tarnished metal, which we thought was brass but now aren’t too sure anymore. Although I tried to clean them up with some Brasso, the built-up tarnish did not come off completely, but it is fine like that. Jos put some brown shoe polish on the edges where the top layer of wood had come off and now it’s already hanging up in our hallway. You can see it on my left in the outfit photo at the start of this post. 

After this, it was time for our picnic. We forgot to take cups and had to drink coffee straight from our thermos flask.

Saturday’s last find was not one but two gorgeous tapestry covered handbags, which made me a very happy bunny indeed!

Now, which one shall I use first?















On Sunday, the weather was even warmer so we decided on another nature walk. Again, I wore a Diolen dress. The label says Françoise de France, so I’ve got an inkling it’s French. I really couldn't resist its cheery print, although it is a little worse for wear, with lots of pilling going on. This makes it a perfect dress to wear when out walking, though.

We started our walk in the pretty village of Klein Willebroek, picturesquely situated along the banks of the river Rupel and at both sides of a wide canal complete with locks. There's a chapel built in 1842, dedicated to the Protection of Shippers and Seamen.

From the village, there is easy access to not one but two nature reserves comprising ponds, lakes and marshy areas, where birds of all plumage rule. .

All in all, a very satisfactory weekend. Bring on the next one, I'd say. It's going to be an extended one here in Belgium, but unfortunately the weather forecast is not good.

Here's to hoping they got it wrong again!