Tuesday 7 June 2016

I'm just sitting watching flowers in the rain

It was a strange week last week and the weather being absolutely atrocious did not help. Someone should tell the weather gods that we're well in to spring by now! On Monday, it was raining heavily all day, so much so that part of the high street in our well and truly landlocked village was flooded. Not that I noticed, as I was at work, where I didn't even venture outside during lunch break.

Although things improved from Tuesday onwards, it was still dreary and overcast. Time to be cheered up by the tail-end of the sales at Think Twice.

This is what I bought for € 1 a piece:

First up is this pastel-coloured summer dress with sprigs of flowers in blue, aqua and purple, which I accessorized with lilac and purple. And a little posy of wilted Cosmos!



These two handbags both needed some cleaning. The cream one is a little worse for wear but will therefore come in handy when I need a summer bag which is not too precious. Oh, stop all those excuses, will you Ann! You just couldn't resist buying it at that crazy price!


I really should do something about the handbags, as I am running out of space.




Can you believe this gorgeous psychedelic print maxi was also just € 1? It has a label which says "Nicole Bernard, Paris". Sounds posh, doesn't it? I couldn't find anything about it on the Internet, though. But I felt fabulous posing in it, so who cares, really?


If you are wondering what I'm doing in that first picture, I was actually trying to put some flower(s), more specifically, a little Fuchsia bell, in my hair.

My final purchase was this pale yellow polka dotted dress, which I fell in love with on the spot. It was missing a button, so I replaced the lot with much nicer ones which were in my stash. They came from a high street shop blouse, which fell apart. I knew they would serve their purpose one day when I salvaged those buttons.


I wore the dress on Sunday to go to town. We went to a barbecue at the care home where my friend's mother Lydia is living. While the barbecue itself was absolutely fine, we escaped when they were about to start the "entertainment" (silly cabaret singer with clownish false eyelashes, anyone?) and took Lydia into town for a drink.


Starting from top left, here's Lydia with my friend Princess Inez, our friends Kris and Marnix, Inez's daughter Isabelle and her girlfriend Anke, and why: here's Jos and me as well.









I have to point out that Jos, in continuation of the seaside theme of one of my previous posts, is wearing a wonderful sailing boat print shirt!









The café we went to, now called Gustav, is very sumptious and has long been connected with Antwerp's opera, with which it is sharing a building.


It had been a warm and humid day and a thunderstorm had been predicted. Sure enough, by the time we got home it was raining yet again.

Lately, I have received some lovely comments about our garden from my blogging friends. Don't be deceived though, as I am only showing you the nice bits. It is all a bit wild and unkempt and I'm not joking when I'm saying it's a jungle. But the local wildlife loves it, and so does Phoebe.


We adopted Phoebe, who was found among stray cats, just over 7 years ago. The organization who picked her up thought she was domesticated and put her up for adoption. She was probably dumped by her previous owners and she certainly had a hard time surviving among the more experienced strays. Even after all those years, she still is quite a scaredy-cat and never ever leaves our garden.

She is actually quite a posh cat. She doesn't have a cat-flap. Oh no, Madam has her own doorbell! There is a sensor right next to our back door and when she comes to the door, the portable doorbell starts playing, very appropriately, the Pink Panther theme, accompanied by a veritable light show.


It can be quite annoying if she decides to hang around the back door with no intention of coming in. Believe me, you'll never want to hear that Pink Panther tune again ...

25 comments:

  1. De kattebel is fantastisch maar met 3 katten, ga ik dat toch niet installeren :) De lange jurk is prachtig ! Wat een mooie print !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Voor 3 katten is dat inderdaad niet aan te raden, Ingrid ;-)

      Delete
  2. Oh my goodness! Cat doorbell! I am so impressed that Miss Phoebe has such a facility! Exclamation mark overload!!!

    That maxi is incredible and what a bargain to boot! xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a very clever thing, isn't it? And she just knows she has to wait and the door will magically open. xxx

      Delete
  3. Like you, I find that less-than-perfect bags can be nice as you don't feel under such pressure to take care of them. Sometimes, you need a bag that can go out in the rain.

    The dresses were a great bargain-I think the yellow one is my favourite of the lot, though they're all lovely.

    Cat doorbell?! What a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You so understand me on the bag thing. That is exactly what I meant. I have "nice" bags which I hardly dare to leave the house with and then there are the less-than-perfect ones which can withstand the elements xxx

      Delete
  4. Like you, I find that less-than-perfect bags can be nice as you don't feel under such pressure to take care of them. Sometimes, you need a bag that can go out in the rain.

    The dresses were a great bargain-I think the yellow one is my favourite of the lot, though they're all lovely.

    Cat doorbell?! What a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  5. A kitty doorbell, who knew! That's such a clever invention and I'm delighted to hear that it serves sweet Phoebe well. She looks and sounds like such a darling girl.

    Awesome finds! I had to double check that you said everything was just a Euro, as it is such an incredibly awesome price for the sorts of pieces you picked up. Congratulations on all of them - your new frocks very much included.

    Here's to the hope that this week is much sunnier and more pleasant across the board for you, dear Ann.

    Big hugs,
    ♥ Jessica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jessica. That shop is a true godsend, having amazing sales about once every month. You need good rummaging skills on the final days though. XXX

      Delete
  6. Ohhhh, where do I start? That maxi dress is fabulous, you look wonderful. The other dresses are lovely and I love Jos's shirt.
    Gawd, yes. I remember some of the dreadful acts that used to entertain the residents at Dad's home - he didn't have a clue what was going on and used to hide in the laundry cupboard.
    Phoebe is gorgeous, I'd better not show our two that doorbell, they'll be wanting one each!
    Its 27 degrees here today but its gone very dark - I think we've a storm on the way. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew you'd like that maxi, Vix. Imagine having to answer to two doorbells! That would be utterly exhausting ... We're having warm and sunny weather right now, but still quite humid - not very good for my poor joints -- but that's nothing compared to your hip, I guess. Thinking of you. xxx

      Delete
  7. Oh my word, all those pieces for €1 each! I adore the print on that maxi dress, that is quite something special.

    Your kitty is so gorgeous! I love the idea of a kitty door bell, I wish I'd had one of those when my cat was alive as I hate the unsightly cat flap in my back door. I'll definitely remember it if I get another one. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Cate! That doorbell definitely is a godsend. xxx

      Delete
  8. I love all the dresses particularly the psychedelic maxi. Phoebe is also adorable. The door flap us a neat idea. We have 4 cats but they are inside only as we live on the city

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We intended for Phoebe to be an inside cat as well, as we live near a busy road, but she never leaves the garden as she is too scared, so she gets to enjoy the outside world, however small, after all. xxx

      Delete
  9. We are having a very changeable weather too, recently! One day pours cats and dogs and the following the sun shines and temperatures are high...not easy get ready in the morning!
    I like your psychedelic print dress, it's very joyful!
    And I loved knowing about Phoebe the ( lucky ) cat! Her story is very similar to the story of my small dog ...
    I had never heard of a cat doorbell:it's funny!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And there's me thinking the weather in Italy would be better than in Belgium! I am always dressed in layers these days. It is nice to have an adopted pet, no? xxx

      Delete
  10. YOU HAVE A CAT DOOR BELLL?????????????????????????? Oh my goodness!!! That is so cool! With the Pink Panther theme too!
    I adore that spotty dress you wore and your bargains were er- very bargainous!!x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew that cat doorbell would appeal to you, Kezzie. There were many different sounds to chose from, but of course we had to have the Pink Panther ... xxx

      Delete
  11. phoebe is such a cutie!!!
    that kitty-door-bell would drive me crazy - it´s often so quiet out here that any artificial sound feels totally wrong....
    1€ sale! i´m sold! ;-) luckily for my full wardrobe/bag drawer there are some kilometers between here and "think twice" ;-) the colors of the dotty yellow dress remind me of a dress one of my cousins wore when we were about 12-14 - loved this then and love the colors now!
    well done to take lydia out for a drink! you are such a nice gang - looks like a great afternoon in that chic café! jos´ shirt is fab and the "railroad keeper" would like to wear ist too :-)
    xxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must say that the doorbell sometimes drives us crazy too. You know cats: they want to be in, then out, then in again ;-) I had to talk Jos into wearing that shirt, and now he doesn't want to take it off! xxx

      Delete
  12. Hello Ann, I am so glad that you find me, so I can find you back.
    Love all your clothes and blog.
    Do keep in touch
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for finding me back. Of course, I am keeping in touch. Besos xxx

      Delete
  13. Well done on all your good purchases, my favourite is the colourful maxi frock!! I am so enjoying the photos in your garden, you have so many plants that I to grow. I love the idea of a cat door bell, your cat is super lucky, but she is obviously worthy of her own door bell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sue, the maxi frock is my favourite too. xxx

      Delete