Tuesday 5 December 2017

All silent save the dripping rain

It seems I am seriously lagging behind. Another weekend has come and gone and I've yet to continue telling you about the previous one!

I left you on Saturday before last, riding my bike dressed in my 1980s batwing dress. But obviously we did something else as well that day. Can you guess? Yes, we were off to the charity shops!

Our first stop was a shop which has somewhat fallen out of grace. It used to be one of our favourites, as its shelves could always be relied upon to yield a couple of treasures, but lately we have once too often left it empty handed. They also tend to be a bit more expensive, especially when it comes to vintage items, sometimes quite ridiculously so!


So, imagine our delight when minutes after walking in we spotted this slightly battered plaster bust of Joseph and the infant Jesus for just a few €.

Although we are not religious, this is just the kind of quirky thing to appeal to us. In fact, we already have a motley crew of plaster saints living at Dove Cottage. Surprisingly this is our first one featuring Joseph who, after all, is Jos's namesake!



Then, there was this set of pretty rose coloured glass coasters, priced at € 1.


This decorative tin used to contain chocolates called Mignonettes by Côte d'Or, which is a major Belgian chocolate brand.



The chocolates, it seems, were never meant to come onto the market. In fact, they were produced especially for the Brussels International Exhibition of 1935, where they were distributed among the visitors to their pavilion.
The miniature chocolate tablets proved to be so popular that Côte d'Or decided to put them into production, and they are still going strong today.

Now, let's get back to Saturday!

The charity shop's large clothing department didn't deliver, as the only thing I found was a new to me yellow wool scarf, which admittedly I've already been wearing for most of last week.

Our next stop was the charity shop in our own village. This used to be a smallish and rather cramped one, but it has recently more than doubled in size. Some of the shelves and racks were still waiting to be filled, but I promise to take some photos once all is finished.




While I unearthed this pristine red vinyl bag (seen here with the yellow scarf), Jos found an album of 78 rpm records, all in perfect condition. The album itself, and most of the records, came from a well-known shop in Brussels called Cado Radio.

Back at home, we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to the records, most of which were quite good. They got Phoebe's approval as well!


On Sunday, we were at a bit of a loose end. Although we'd woken up to sunshine, more rain had been predicted and indeed we could see dark clouds looming, which ruled out a walk.

There was an indoor flea market in Antwerp, but as it is very much in decline, we'd vowed we wouldn't go near it again. I mean, even the Brooch Lady, who could always be relied upon, and for whom we often went especially, has been giving it a miss lately!

Still, with nothing else to do, and not inclined to spend the day at home, we ignored our self imposed ban, and went ahead regardless.



I dressed in a grey wool skirt, featuring diagonals in white, yellow, red and green, which I combined with a floral print V-neck blouse. On top, a green cardie, to which I pinned Gisela's Scottie dog brooch.


Further accessories were green beads, a green vinyl belt and a red plastic ring. I wore my burgundy boots again. They are so warm and comfortable, with a reasonably low heel, which is perfect for trawling flea markets.


Look at my new jacket! It was bought full price at Think Twice, which must have been the only shop not participating in the Black Friday madness which seemed to prevail on Antwerp's shopping streets.



Although I have quite a few green jackets and coats, I'd been looking for a short, fake fur collared winter jacket for ages. In return, and to free up some space in our coat cupboard, I donated another, seldom worn jacket to charity.



Not one of these, though ...




Obviously, the jacket needed a brooch (I later spotted its twin at the flea market!), and as it was quite cold, I wore a pair of thin vintage gloves, my mustard beret and one of my oldest but favourite scarves.



As usual, we took a coffee break about one third into the flea market, this time accompanied by a sugary waffle.

By this time, we have usually already made a couple of purchases. Not now, though.

It seems that apart from the Brooch Lady, some of our other favourite traders were missing as well.

Instead, we trawled through aisle after aisle of discarded toys, heaps of tatty clothing, tasteless decorations and overpriced knock-offs, which made us feel quite miserable.




At one point, we feared we'd made a wasted journey and would leave with nothing, but then I spotted these glass rings and, a couple of stalls further on, some vintage buttons for my stash.



We were almost at the end when my heart skipped a beat upon spying a carton full of celluloid Scottie dog brooches. Unfortunately, the trader knew what they were, which was reflected in his asking price of € 25 per brooch. With heavy heart, I walked away.

Then Jos argued that since we had hardly spent anything, I'd better go back and buy one of the brooches, or I'd be forever regretting it. He was right, so I did and chose a black dog beating a drum. Isn't he cute? He has already made friends with the similar green doggie I bought in Cardigan a couple of years ago!

In the end, the seller knocked off € 5 too!


This purchase made, I found two more brooches before we left, for which I paid € 3 each. This, I'm sure, was a steal, especially for the one on the left, whose trombone clasp revealed that it is older than I initially thought it was.

As they say, you win some, you lose some!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.

32 comments:

  1. You guys are such pros!

    I've gone into thrift stores that are hugely disappointing and then I'm mad I made the trip. That's the thing with thrifting, you can never tell when the gettin' will be good. It's kind of what I like about it though. You never know what to expect.

    In the end you made out well and I love your fur trimmed coat.

    Suzanne

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    1. That's what we like about thrifting too, you never know what will cross your path! xxx

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  2. You're so right Ann...that frenzied Black Friday shopping IS madness.
    Super fur trimmed jacket and what a sweet Scottie, even at €20.
    That waffle looks very tempting, shame I never got to try one last weekend. Xx

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    1. Speaking of waffles, there's a waffle shop on the ground floor of our office building. Enough said! xxx

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  3. not only the yellow beret - now a green, fur collared jacket too!! :-D
    you look gorgeous in this outfit! perfect colors and cut!
    don´t ask how often we left a market/shop empty handed... especially because i made up a collecting ban ;-)
    that brooch with the tiny beads looks like something made in our neighborhood - bohemia!
    want a waffle now!
    hugest hugs! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! We've got a rule that we need to know where to put the item we fall in love with before buying it. Brooches, of course, are small enough not to be exempt from that rule ... xxx

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  4. The sweet Scottie dog brooch and the fabulous jacket were worth all the disappointing of the charity shopping and flea markets! The red bag and yellow scarf were brilliant buys, too.
    Look at lovely Phoebe! xxx

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    1. Glad I went back for the Scottie dog, and that I paid full price (still not too bad at Think Twice) for the jacket. I'm sure it wouldn't have lasted on the rails until they have another sale ... xxx

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  5. I love the Scottie dog brooch on your cardi and oh what a fab collection of wonderful green coats and jackets you have!

    So glad you didn't leave the flea market empty handed and you got three lovely brooches. I also loved your red bag and beautiful knitted scarf. The scarf will match your yellow beret!

    Hope the weather is cheering up for you...
    xxx

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    1. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much improvement in the weather ... Oh, and I simply cannot resist a green coat or jacket! xxx

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  6. I love your green coat collection.
    Philip collects 78's, he got a wind up gramophone back in the 70's to listen to them on and it still works . So I can just imagine you sitting listening to the ones Jos bought. Phoebe looks very cosy!
    I'm glad you found some treats at the end of your wander round the flea market. xxx

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    1. How wonderful to have a working wind up gramophone! It's one of Jos's dreams to own one. I've got a few inherited 78's from my Dad (decent jazz records) while Jos has some very scratchy ones from his parents. xxx

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  7. great finds, as always! That record collection looks divine, and I love, love your Scottie dog pin. Thanks for linking up, xo

    Patti
    http://notdeadyetstyle.com

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    1. Thank you Patti. I have inherited most of my Dad's record collection, consisting of jazz records from the 1950s and earlier. xxx

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  8. My Victrola sits unloved in a corner along with a collection of my dad's records-you've inspired me to clear away the dust, crank it up, and show the kid how it works. Will probably drive the budgie mad!
    I'd have bought that scottie too.

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    1. You should definitely crank up that Victrola and show Danny how it works. Phoebe doesn't like scratchy 78s, but these ones were ok, very much cared for apparently. xxx

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  9. I love your new jacket! Love the little scottie dog brooch too, you definitely had to go back and buy it!

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    1. Thank you Linda! I'm so glad I went back for the Scottie dog brooch. You hardly see those at flea markets, and usually they're even more expensive. xxx

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  10. Ann green is a stunning colour for you.
    I love this cute scottie brooch from Gisela :)
    I have a scottie bracelet ;)
    big hug, Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! I've now seen your Scottie bracelet, it's absolutely divine! xxx

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  11. So lovely tin box and red vinyl bag, a girl can't have too many red bags (as I'm concerned) and this one is particularly cute!
    I'm loving your outfit too, the skirt, the mustard beret and the green jacket which looks so warm and elegant! and it goes so well with those rusty colors!
    You look gorgeous!
    Glat that you finally purchased something awesome at the market, the scottie brooch is so cute!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica. I love that red bag too, but vintage ones prove to be very hard to find, which is why I pounced on this one in the first place! xxx

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  12. I love the green jacket with the fur trim - it's stunning! I am glad you went back for the scottie brooch - I've done that same thing in a vintage fair, passed by something I loved because it seemed too dear. We get so used to cheap vintage prices that a high one seems ridiculous!

    Aw, your lovely Phoebe reminds me of my old kitty Othello. What a beauty she is!

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    1. I definitely agree, Sheila. We are quite spoiled! I've lost count of the times I gasped "how much?" when visiting regular shops ... xxx

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  13. The selection of records is very interesting, I like 1930s dance music (great dinner music!). And that jacket - what a gorgeous colour! Great finds as usual. If you take an average from it all then the Scottie brooch isn't too bad xx

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    1. That jacket is perfect, isn't it? And you're quite right, I should definitely take an average from my whole collection, as the vast majority of them were less than € 5! xxx

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  14. I love the elephant tin as I'm sure you know I would!

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    1. Indeed I knew you would! The Mignonettes are those chocolates I sent you, by the way. xxx

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  15. The green jacket is a wonderful find, and your green coat/jacket collection is just amazing! I have a similarly cut retro style jacket with faux fur, which I haven't worn yet. You look beautiful in your outfit! Love the colorful flower brooch, what a sweetie! <3

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    1. Thank you Natalia, I'd love to see your jacket! xxx

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  16. You managed a good haul there - the records were a great find.

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    1. I know! Would you believe those records were actually sold per piece? That would have meant breaking up that album, which would have been a crying shame. When it was clear we wanted to buy the whole album, we got it for a bargain price! xxx

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