Time passes. Listen. Time passes.

Is that the time? Goodness me, it’s time to get out of my warm winter bed. No time for laziness, even though it’s Saturday!

Now, what shall I wear? I admit that this is one of the first things that pop into my mind. During the week, I have a rail of possible outfits put together in order to save time (there it is again!).

Not so on weekend days, when I love to throw open my wardrobe doors, and wait for inspiration to strike.













Breakfast time: back to the late 1960s, with this handpainted breakfast set by Belgian pottery Boch. We have several of their designs, but today we have opted for Bernadette. We even have a coffee pot to match. Ah, first cup of coffee of the day, to give it a kick start.

Shopping time! This is Dove Cottage’s version of a shopping list.

Dating from the 1930s, I fell in love with it after seeing it in BBC Homes and Antiques magazine back in 2005.

Imagine my delight when just a couple of months later, while on holiday, I unearthed this one in an antique shop in Lewes.

Although over the years we have collected quite a lot of kitchenalia, for which we both have a special fondness, this certainly remains one of our best finds ever.

On Saturday, there is no grocery shopping, though: this is all being done by Mr. S. while I'm at work, leaving our weekends free for another kind of shopping! Quite a luxury, no? What more could a working girl want?

Shopping means either visiting charity shops or, when there's a flea market on, that's where we head off to.

This is what came out of the wardrobe: a long-sleeved Crimplene dress, with a pussy bow and a zip at the front.


The pretty label says Shamrock, which I haven't been able to find out anything about.











Predominantly black, it has a kind of trellis pattern in white, against which red-hearted white flowers are growing.

I added a red cardigan with a ruffly collar, as well as red opaques.

The flower in my brooch almost matches the dress's flowers.

I continued the red theme with a belt with unusual square plastic buckle, a chunky red plastic ring and a watch with a red strap!

I wore the checked winter coat you've seen here before, adding a rich purple flower embroidered velvet scarf and a blue velvet beret.

The beret is a treasured vintage find, made in England, by Pauline for Bermona.










We were headed to an indoor flea market, which yielded a couple of nice surprises, but I will be showing you these in another post.

It took, however, until after we'd had lunch and another cup of coffee that we made our first purchase.

By the time we were ready to go home, it had started raining and we had to dash for our car which luckily wasn't parked too far away.

As we drove home, we passed the beautiful park, Den Brandt, where we snapped some foggy photos last month, looking quite differently in the pouring rain.

No stopping for a walk this time. Instead, it was straight back to Dove Cottage, where the ticking of clocks is a constant reminder of the passing of time.

Time passes. Listen. Time passes. (*)

It is hard to believe that on Saturday, it was twenty two years ago to the day that Mr. S. and I got married. Another reminder of the relentless passing of time!

(*) Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood