Friday 1 September 2017

Back to nature

When in doubt, throw in a little orange! This was the style tip given by my fabolous blogging friend Natalia in one of her latest posts.

In fact, it were the splashes of bright orange, not to mention the big orange buttons and round belt buckle, which sold this dress to me. Forget about the dress's other colours, lovely though they are, it's the orange that makes it stand out.



As summer decided to make an appearance last weekend, I chose this sleeveless dress to do our weekly charity shopping trip on Saturday.

I picked up some of the other colours of the dress with a green necklace and a lilac pair of shoes I've had for many years, but sneaked in more orange by choosing an orange ring and flower brooch!



The spotty orange cardigan lasted only a couple of minutes, as it was far too warm, but long enough to show you my second brooch, a vintage green Scottie dog playing the drum, bought at Cardigan Antiques Centre a couple of years ago.

We didn't have a huge haul at the charity shops, but enough to keep us happy.



At our first stop, I picked up some jewellery: three brooches (the cream rose is vintage Yves Rocher and made in France) and a green glass bangle. There was also a gorgeous green vintage slip, which will be one for winter as it's got a thermal lining. And an über cute Babushka set!



Shop number two yielded the Emsa butter dish (orange!) from the same range as our salt and pepper shakers.

We found some more things at our last shop too: a man bag for Jos (he'd been looking for a decent one for ages) and a handmade skirt for me. It was rather short, above the knee, so I nearly left it behind when I noticed the generous hem allowance.



I was able to let it down about 5 centimeters, to a length I'm much more comfortable with.

And there were  two scarves as well. Not that I need any more scarves. I just can't resist rummaging through them in the chazzas, where they are going real cheap.

Sunday was another gorgeous summer's day, perfect for being out and about and doing a nature walk.

We hadn't been to Het Broek in Blaasveld, one of our favourite walking destinations, since winter, so that's where we went.



At least, that was the plan, but it was fraught with obstacles and we nearly called the whole thing off. Twice!

First of all, getting there wasn't easy, as we stumbled upon roadworks and had to make quite a detour.
Then, once we had parked and were ready to go, it turned out that there was a running event going on, with hordes of runners clogging up the usually peaceful paths.



As usual, we'd brought a picnic and, as it was nearly noon by then, we plonked ourselves down at a convenient picnic table, where we were joined by some creepy crawlies!

After some deliberation, we decided to go ahead anyway, as the number of runners seemed to be petering out.


Once past the pretty little whitewashed chapel with its blue and white painted door, we came upon a side turning leading away from the main path and any straggling runners.




The enticingly winding path brought us to a delightful meadow bordered by trees. 



Here, we had the place to ourselves, so we sat down on a bench and enjoyed the peace and quiet of our surroundings.



I was wearing a red and white polka dotted button through skirt which I picked up at Think Twice last year. It has pockets too!

For contrast, I chose a navy tone on tone cotton blouse from H&M - charity shopped, obviously - to which I pinned a vintage Edelweiss brooch from the Brooch Lady.

Other accessories were a white vinyl belt, some cheap 'n cheerful bangles, and the wicker and red leather handbag brought back from Wales this year.



We continued our walk and ended up at the visitor centre which lies in the heart of the domain.

Even here it was quiet and in fact, apart from a couple of people enjoying a picnic at one of the benches, there wasn't a soul to be seen.


We spent some time in the company of the resident animals, including a pair of bronze beavers and a family of exquisitely carved wooden ducks.


Nearby, there's a children's play area, and as we had this to ourselves as well, we had some fun posing in a wooden throne carved out of a tree trunk. It was far too high for me, but luckily there was a conveniently placed foot hold.


Quite a magical place to sit and stare!


There were a couple of smiley faces to be discovered among the rooms in this insect hotel, although the one on the bottom right seemed to be watching our silly antics open mouthed!


On our way back we took a turning which brought us to one of the large ponds. It was covered with the remains of what must have been a glorious carpet of water lilies in early Summer.



A gull was blatantly ingnoring the no fishing sign while the air was buzzing with bees who couldn't get enough of the plentiful wild orchids.

We were so glad we persevered with our plans in spite of the initial hurdles, getting in some practice for our lazy limbs at the same time.

Tomorrow we are off for a week's holiday in Belgium's west country. Let's hope the weather behaves for us this time!


43 comments:

  1. Absolutely fabulous! That orange dress and your accessorizing are just perfect (of course :)! I also love your red polka dot skirt with the contrasting shirt, such a great combination! And I am so glad that you were able to enjoy your walk - so much beauty and fun on the way. Your eyes are open for beauty, so you find it everywhere you go!

    Jos found a brilliant bag, I would wear it too (as would Justin)!

    Thank you for your kind words, my sweet friend!! Lots of love!

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    1. Thank you Natalia! And you were so right about orange! xxx

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  2. OH, and I wanted to mention about your lovely Matryoshka doll set! It is one of the two traditional kinds - Semenovskaya (from the village of Semenovo), which is easy to recognize by the floral aprons and usage of mainly yellow, blue and red colors. They are so cute!

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    1. Now I love the Matryoshka doll set even more! xxx

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  3. Oh Ann you look fabulous in this orange/violet coloured dress. Orange is great. It makes happy, isn't it?!
    Wow and this england bag and a HANDmade Skirt are great.
    I wish you a great weekend Ann, big hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina. I so want to wear the handmade skirt, but I doubt I will be able to this year, as the weather has changed for the worse ... xxx

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  4. Yes, more orange please! Your red white and blue outfit is lovely-those pockets on the skirt are perfection.

    Have a wonderful holiday.

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    1. Thank you Goody. I do love the skirt's pockets too, but I had to sew down the flaps as they kept sticking out ... xxx

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  5. What a delightful walk. Love Jos's man bag with the Mini design (I'm a Birmingham girl and drive one of the last cars produced at Longbridge) your orange print dress is lovely as I'm mad on orange, those lilac suede wedges are divine, and I want to go out rummaging for brooches every time I see your new additions! Have a wonderful and relaxing holiday! xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! How wonderful (but a little bit sad too) to be driving one of the last cars produced at Longbridge! I'm sure you'll be able to find some good brooches at your charity shops! xxx

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  6. Orange is lovely. And your red/white/blue outfit would work well over here!

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  7. I would never have thought to put orange and lilac together but it looks wonderful.
    I love the photos from your peaceful meadow walk, complete with a picnic, perfect.
    Have a great holiday and fingers crossed for good weather :) xxx

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    1. I'd never have thought of that colour combination either, if it weren't for the dress. It was a good reason to wear my lilac wedges, which I'd almost forgotten about ... xxx

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  8. that plant with the bee is a "himalaya springkraut" - neophyt and not an orchid at all :-)
    wonderful nature shots and you look so cute in your red&blue ensemble, with country-style accessories, standing on the meadow. and jos with the the new bag and cool hat is such a dapper chap!
    great that you found the matching butter container! and i have such a cream rose too - but its a pendant and looks like carved from bakelite and being from before 1945....... ??
    xxxxx

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    1. Thank you for educating me about the plant's name, Beate. Somehow, we've always called them wild orchids, and once a name stucks ... My cream rose brooch isn't Bakelite, I'm afraid. And it can't be older than 1958, as Yves Rocher was only established that year. xxx

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    2. maybe they produced such roses since a long time before and Y.R. just used their popularity..... i see them often on fleamarkets.
      i have this plants in my garden, they grow wild and up to 2,5 meters!
      xxxx

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  9. I'm absolutely into orange, the brighter the better. I've been wearing a bright orange cardi, short sleeve top and full skirt all charity shop finds, all orange.
    You've had some lovely days out, I'm quite jealous of you having better weather than us
    Lynn xxx

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    1. I seem to be adding more and more orange to my wardrobe too! The weather's really been up and down here, unfortunately ... xxx

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  10. That is a stonking dress Ann, the green and orange accessories are perfect. So pleased to see that Mr.S is happy to carry a man bag emblazoned with 'England'. We Brits tend to think we are persona non grata in Europe now, especially after Monsieur Barnier's recent comments. Your skirt is a great find, fab colour combo and thank heavens for deep hems eh?. Have a wonderful holiday, hope the sun shines for you.xxx

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    1. Thank you Fiona! We've always loved England and, well, the UK in general, and no Brexit is going to change that! xxx

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  11. Ew, those crawlies really are creepy! I'd have joined the runners to get away from them.

    Your outfits are so cheerful, you must brighten everyone's day. People are getting all drab again now autumn's on its way.

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    1. Thank you Mim! The crawlies were rather harmless and seemed to be gathering on one side of the bench only. I was still sitting as far away from them as possible, though ;-) xxx

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  12. all cute but im living the first dress

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  13. Orange is a colour I've come to late in life, Ann, and I love your orange printed dress, fab cardigan and how you accessorised the outfit.

    You got some great finds on Saturday; I love the Russian nesting dolls; I've built up a bit of a collection over the years. The butter dish is wonderful - so cheerful and bright. More brooches? i can see why you couldn't resist them...

    What a lovely place to walk and the creepy crawlies were stunning. I don't think I've seen such colourful ones before although a bright green spider hitched a ride with us one day when we were in Ireland!

    Fabulous spotted skirt and the shirt was an excellent contrast to it.

    Hope you have a lovely holiday and that the weather smiles on you...

    xx

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    1. Thank you Veronica! It is my first set of Russian nesting dolls. The ones I'd come across before were either incomplete or not to my taste. Would love to see your collection! xxx

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  14. Hi there, interesting reading, thanks for sharing on your blog. Jacqui
    www.mummabstylish.com

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Jacqui! I'll pay you a return visit soon! xxx

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  15. Oh, Jos found a corker of a bag! I have my very own Mini, a new model though, not an old one, and I'm a huge fan of them. My mum had one when I was young and I've been in love with them ever since. xx

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    1. Thank you Cate! I've only ever been in a Mini once. In the backseat, that is. The car was owned by friends who live near Wells. xxx

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  16. Two gorgeous outfits both the orange dress and the navy and red combo and isn't Jos's bag fun?
    Perfect weather for a picnic. It looks like we're weather twins again this weekend with a welcome return to Summer! Long may your lovely walks last! xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix! I sincerely hope we are not weather twins at the time I'm writing this, as we've been plunged into Autumn for the last couple of days ... xxx

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  17. First, this is one of the best style tips ever!!. Your printed dress looks fabulous in this color combo, I love your shoes echoeing the mauve in the print!, love so much this kind of matching details! And you look so gorgeous and summery!!
    Glad that you enjoyed your picnic despite all the issues!, and your red and blue outfit is so cute, with that lovely polka dots, and the comfy&cool shoes!. And so great to see Jos enjoying his recently adquired bag!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica. I love matching my accessories to the colours of my outfit. I'd almost forgotten that I had those shoes. Maybe I have too many ... The red shoes have proved their worth during our little holiday. They really are cloudsteppers ... xxx

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  18. I just adore your style Ann! The first and last outfits (or were there only two?!) are just so vibrant and fun!!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. Lately, I've been coming across quite a few frocks where I thought, that's so Kezzie! xxx

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    1. Hi Kezzie, yes I am well, thanks for your concern. Have just returned from a week's holiday, hence my silence ... xxx

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  20. I am also a huge fan of orange. Funny so many people don't like to wear that colour and I think it is wonderful on almost everyone.

    I LOVE your red polkadot skirt and that new one you found and lowered the hem. I really want to return to Europe just to explore their thrift shops.

    You are dressed much better than we were when we went tramping. It was sports gear all the way. I much prefer your outfits. I'm amazed you can manage to find cute shoes that are great for that much walking.

    The trail you found was delightful...well aside from the red bugs. That would have freaked me out.

    And those faces in the wood are hilarious.

    Fun post!

    bisous
    Suzanne

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    1. Thank you Suzanne. I've had a thing for orange ever since I nagged my parents for orange wallpaper back in the early 1970s. The shoes are very comfortable, but for realy hiking I do need my 'boring' hiking boots ... xxx

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  21. I love the pattern on your dress, I think lilac goes with orange so well but it's not a combination you see very often.
    Looks like a lovely walk - the faces in the bee hotel made me smile :)
    x

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    1. Thank you Hazel. I'd never have thought of combining orange and lilac without seeing them combined in the dress ... I suddenly noticed the faces in the bee hotel, there were quite a few of them! xxx

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