Monday 15 May 2017

A fickle minded real live girl

Right, that's it! I've had it with my Winter stuff. Come rain or shine, from now on, I'll be wearing my Spring/Summer wardrobe. After all, I've only got a couple of months to wear all those gorgeous frocks, and as it's Mid May already, I haven't got a minute to lose!

The problem is, where do I start? I want to wear it all. Opening my wardrobe doors, there are all these dresses calling, wear me, wear me! I wish they'd shut up and leave me to decide in peace.



Now, let met think: shall I wear pink? Purple? Green maybe? Or blue, perhaps? I'm a fickle minded girl, you know! Well, why not wear a dress that combines them all?

Short sleeved, the fabric not too flimsy (it isn't summer just yet!), elegant but comfortable, slightly quirky with its riotous print, round neckline and pointy collar: it was ticking all the right boxes for Saturday!

So far, so good: I'm dressed. That didn't take too long, did it?

Clockwise from top left: Argenteuil, Bernadette, Paradiso and Rambouillet

Breakfast offers yet more choices. And I'm not talking about the food, which on Saturday morning is a given, as Jos is doing a Belgian version of a "full English".

No, I'm talking about cups and plates here. We have several sets of Boch china (Boch is a Belgian pottery whose vintage stuff is very collectible) dating from the late 1960s. None of them are complete, but breakfast plates and cups we have a-plenty.

We started out collecting their Rambouillet pattern, but picked up pieces of Argenteuil, Bernadette and Paradiso along the way.


Our cupboards are full of vintage china.

Our first vintage set was this classic flower printed one. We bought a box consisting of four full place settings, including two serving dishes, for € 5 at a flea market about 15 years ago, and added several more pieces, all bought from charity shops and flea markets.



They date from around 1963, and they could be bought by saving up tokens which came with a washing powder called Tide. The ad came from the July 1963 edition of a magazine.

The cup on the right is part of a set which belonged to my paternal grandmother. We brought a set of four cups, saucers and plates home from my dad's, as a keepsake, as I couldn't bear parting with them.




After breakfast, I donned a sturdy denim apron and a pair of gardening gloves bought from a cheap high street shop last week (to allow for my fickleness, I bought them in two colourways).

The narrow paved area next to our kitchen was in a right state, but I had plans!

The little table has seen better days, the top having lost one of its slats, and it was partly hidden by a thick layer of overhanging ivy.

Last year, Jos had been given a vintage wash set, complete with bowl and jug, as well as covered soap and comb dishes, by one of his village lady fans. The set had been languishing in our garage ever since, as we do not really have the space to display it properly inside Dove Cottage.

A couple of weeks ago, I hit upon the idea of creating a little outdoor room.


After I'd given the ivy a good prune (and found a white stone cat and a decaying bird house underneath), I covered the table with an old vinyl tablecloth, put a redundant bathroom mirror against the wall, and decorated it with the wash set .

Doesn't it look fab, with the potted plant on a rickety old garden chair next to it? The pot already contained a Hosta, but the fern - they self seed like mad in our garden - decided to keep it company.


Total spend: nothing! But the cheerful sight which is greeting us now when we look out of our kitchen window is priceless!


In spite of the imminent wilderness, the garden is looking its exuberant best this time of year.


Phoebe loves exploring all its nooks and crannies.

And look, one or two ancient Alliums have opened their purple bee-magnet globes, and there are some Lilies of the Valley - inherited with the garden - too!

Oh, and this is our giant white currant bush (left), planted the first summer after we moved into Dove Cottage 18 years ago. It's higher than our shed! I wanted to show it to Sally, whose white currant bush is having its first crop of currants this year.


The gooseberries are coming along fine as well, and one by one, the numerous pink flowers of our ground covering Geranium are showing their little faces to the world.



Task done, it was time for a light lunch, after which we decided to hit some charity shops.



I added a green new wool jacket (part of a suit bought at a vintage market last year), to which I pinned a brooch which somewhat echoes the colours of the dress. The brooch came from a local flea market. The blue, pink and white scarf was probably charity shopped.

Yes, I was wearing tights! My bare legs really are in no fit state to be shown to the outside world yet, and will require a few more coats of self tan before I feel confident enough to go tightless.

The shoes, comfortable Clarks, came from a flea market held in our very own street, and cost € 7.



In spite of the quiet times at the charity shops, we ended up with eight scarves (€ 0,25 a piece), a brooch (€ 0,50), and a hat (€ 1,-) for Jos, who admits he's gone a bit hat mad!

Total spend, a whopping € 3,50.

Jos's hat, which you can see him wearing, seated at our outdoor dressing table, is vintage, made in Italy for a local hat shop which has long ago closed its doors, and is exquisitely lined.



These suitcases are new acquisitions too. They'd been hiding in my parents' attic and will be put to good use after getting rid of the slightly musty smell inside.


That was it for Saturday, which ended with our outdoor bathroom being rained upon.

Sunday was a fun day too, visiting our last indoor flea market of the year.

But that, my dears, will be for another time ...

32 comments:

  1. That's such a spring-like dress, the collar is great and it's perfect with that jacket and scarf.
    The joy of maxi dresses - nobody can see your milk bottle legs underneath!
    Your outside room looks absolutely lovely, the red oilcloth is perfect for adding cheer when the weather is anything but (we've got the same today). I'm in love with your garden.
    Jos's hat is fab, I love it when they have a leather hat band, proper quality. xxx

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    1. I should definitely wear my maxi dresses more, and buy some more too! But I've braved the elements this week, and went tightless, which was a bit scary, especially for the people I met that day ;-) xxx

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  2. I love your outside room with the lovely bowl and jug - what a clever idea!

    Your china collection looks fascinating. I do love it too but have no storage space for it so I limit myself to a few pretty cups and saucers.

    Your outfit is beautifully co ordinated and you look very elegant and stylish. I'm envious of the 25p scarves; I'm trying not to buy anymore as I have at least 20 headscarves now and as for the other sort, I must have at least 100 if not more!

    Jos' hat is fab and the brooch, too. Excellent finds.

    I won't bare my legs to the world either not until we have a heat wave...

    xxx

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    1. You do have more scarves that I do, Veronica, but I can never resist picking them up when I find them cheaply. This definitely was the cheapest I ever bought them. xxx

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  3. The outdoor bathroom looks FAB indeed!

    Nice charity shop finds...y'all did well!!

    Looking forward to seeing more of your pretty dresses!

    Happy thrifting ;)

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    1. Thank you, and I'm sure you'll get to see more of my dresses. xxx

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  4. There were so many things I loved in this post, the white currant obviously! Your 'fickle' dress :) I love it. The garden is looking great and what you've done with the table looks so cheerful. The brooch on the green jacket too.
    I hope the weather warms up properly so you can enjoy your spring wardrobe. xxx

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    1. I've had a chance to enjoy some more of my spring dresses this week, as we had 27°C for a couple of days. Followed by thunderstorms, and rain, at last! xxx

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  5. I like the idea of an outside room, what a good job you did. Glad to see you wore an apron to protect that pretty frock. I too want to wear my summery stuff desperately, I think some creative layering is called for until it warms up sufficiently x

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    1. I didn't want to get changed again, so I just wore that sturdy gardening apron over the dress. I wouldn't garden in one of my more delicate frocks, though. xxx

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  6. Phoebe is a darling, I didn't realise you had a cat.
    I love the idea of a little outside room, and for free - that's brilliant! I recently created a bee bath for free after finding an old bird bath in our hedge.
    Your garden looks so green and lush, send some more rain our way xx

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    1. I'm glad you like Phoebe! I saw your bee bath and I'm thinking of creating one too. Jos has just noticed that bees have moved into a derelict bird house at the bottom of our garden, so I think they like it here ... xxx

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  7. Love the mixed vintage china. I've got a huge collection but always take in more, especially lonely cups and mugs. I like different sizes for different hot drinks!

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    1. I do have to restrain myself, as all the cupboards here at Dove Cottage are bursting at the seams. xxx

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  8. You've beaten me to it Ann, I'm still wearing my winter clobber. I adore the colours in your frock, so fresh and summery and the addition of the jacket makes the outfit very elegant. What a great idea making an outside room, although I don't know how I'd feel seeing that lovely china deposited with bird sh*t! Perhaps Phoebe will chase them all away? Your Boch collection is lovely! xx

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    1. Not too much fear of bird sh*t in that part of the garden, but a colony of slugs might make it their home. Phoebe is quite a scaredy cat, and comes running inside if a bird gets too close! She has been known to catch earth worms though and bring them inside. Yuk! xxx

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  9. Such a pretty spring like outfit! Lovely crockery too.
    Your garden is especially beautiful, I love the little area you created, that's sweet xxx

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    1. Thank you Melanie. The garden's still a bit of a tip, but at least we can look out onto that little outside room now ... xxx

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  10. An outdoor room wouldn't last five seconds in our garden (if the wind didn't get it, the wildlife would) so I'm enjoying seeing yours. What a lovely way to use the otherwise unneeded items.

    That's the perfect spring dress, right there-you look so happy wearing it. Confession-I'm still drinking my tea from a Christmas mug I bought last year. I have other mugs, just haven't bothered switching them out.

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    1. I had no idea what to do with the wash set, so I'm glad I found a use for it now, and enjoy looking at it every day. We're alright for wildlife, except for Phoebe ;-) xxx

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  11. you look like the impersonation of spring in that dress / outfit! <3
    your garden is so cosy and lush - sweet idea of an outdoor dressing table! my summer salon is still waiting to get propped up - its a working area at the moment - i have to sand and paint some furniture in it........
    there is something about black cats - like a cat-shaped hole in the picture of our world, with 2 green eyes :-)
    huge hugs!!!! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate. Sometimes, all you can see of Phoebe is those huge green eyes! xxx

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  12. I love that you just donned an apron and were working in the yard wearing a dress! I must try that myself.

    I adore your cute little room. Sometimes the smallest things really do bring us the most pleasure.

    The weather has warmed up here today so I'm hopeful that I might be able to start taking some photos outside again for a change.

    Love the dress the pattern, shape and cut.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. I knew I was going to work in the garden, so I chose a dress which wasn't too fussy. It's got a couple of flaws, which do not show up due to its busy pattern. But yes, I definitely love working in the garden in a dress or skirt! xxx

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  13. Choosing the right outfit for the day is not an easy job, especially in the early morning and if you are in a hurry!!
    Your colourful dress seems to be prefect for a Saturday out ...
    Beautiful floral-printed tea cups . (I have some very similar ones which are a dear memory of my mother in law)

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    1. I usually have a couple of outfits ready, in order to save time in the morning. That way, I only have a small selection (which already come complete with accessories) to choose from ... xxx

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  14. Such a lovely dress, I like particularly those colors and the fab print!, it looks gorgeous with those green beads and the purple belt. And your green jacket also looks amazing!
    I'm in love with your pottery collection, those Boch's sets are absolutely lovely (even the names are lovely!). And your garden is blooming nicely! splendid!. So much better than my four window boxes on our balcony!
    besos

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    1. I'm glad you like my Boch collection and agree with you on the names! I used to have a balcony with window boxes too before I moved to Dove Cottage! xxx

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  15. That first outfit is gasp-worthy, it's just pure spring. Maybe now you're determined to dress for it, the weather will behave itself. I like your mismatched cups too; they all go together despite being different patterns. Vintage china is so hard to resist.

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    1. Well, it did warm up for a couple of days since I started dressing for spring! As for the vintage china, I really have to restrain myself as we have run out of space ... xxx

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  16. I chuckled at you being a Welsh lady. You and Jos are so like me and Philip with your charity shop trawling and how you spend your time together and how you furnish your house.
    I to make outside rooms in the garden. This year I'm also creating areas of colour, grouping blues together, pinks etc. I need to set some time aside to get on with it though, it's a right mess at the moment. Xxx

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    1. Couldn't resist the Welsh lady opportunity, could I? We must be twin couples then! Love your idea of creating areas of colour. xxx

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