Thursday 14 February 2019

Make me smile

As I'm working full time, my blog posts tend to concentrate on my weekend escapades and outfits.

This is especially true this time of year, when the lack of daylight prevents me from blogging about my day-to-day life or showing you any weekday outfits.

I'm also eternally strapped for time, so that more often than not I am blogging about things that happened one or even two weeks ago.

Take this outfit, for instance. I wore it on Saturday before last and, already having written about what we did on Sunday, I just had to backtrack and share these outfit photos, even if it messes with my timeline.



For fear of sounding like a broken record, it was another grey and rainy day. As it was quite chilly to boot, my purple fake fur (a.k.a. the Muppet coat) came out to play again.

I might have gone a bit wild with patterns and colours that day, but I desperately needed something to cheer me up and put a smile on my face, and this outfit just happened to fit the bill.

Here's to hoping it will put a smile on your face too!


This was my first wear of the psychedelic print skirt I picked up at Think Twice last month. Its polyester/wool blend is super soft to the touch and ensures that it is a joy to wear.

The mad, silver print on sea green tights were from a local shop. You can catch a glimpse of the purple socks I was wearing to keep my feet warm and toasty.

But I'll stop beating about the bush, as I'm sure you will have noticed by snakeskin print booties by now!


I bought them, together with another pair in pink suede, from New Look during one of my lunch breaks that week. All six of their Belgian shops have gone into liquidation and they were having a closing down sale, with their new collection going at half price.

They were definitely worth braving the huge queue at the till for.


The weather that week was the usual up-and-down affair, with a brief appearance of the sun one morning, bathing Antwerp's cathedral in a golden glow, and a dense fog obscuring most of its tower from view the next. 

The view of the cathedral from my office window is another thing that never fails to put a smile on my face, whatever the weather.


But I'm digressing, so let's get back to Saturday. 

Before I go ahead and show you what I was hiding beneath the Muppet coat, here's a look at the rest of my outerwear: a charity shopped Burberry beret in a rusty brown, my ancient green scarf and a pair of dark green leather gloves, which were a sales bargain.


I picked up the turquoise in the skirt (it might be green or even blue to you, but I'm slightly colour blind in that range, so I'm taking the safe option) by wearing a vintage blouse in the same colour.

It came from Blender Vintage Shop, which sadly is no longer trading. Don't you love its scalloped, flower petal collar? It's made of some sort of stretch crepe fabric, and it has tiny white dots, pearly buttons and a ribbon tie at the collar, which I accented with a brooch with a purple stone, again picking up one of the colours of the skirt.

A second brooch was pinned to the blouse's collar, this one featuring a portrait of a lady. Having a simple C clasp and a long pin, I'm guessing this is quite old.



More purple was added in the form of a charity shopped cardigan to which I pinned a third brooch, a gold tone bow with a mottled red and white stone.


Here are the other things that made me smile that week.

One morning, while I was on my way to the bus stop, I was captivated by the view of our local town hall. It has recently been re-opened after extensive building work. An extra floor, looking like a square box with windows all around, was put on top of the existing building. Needless to say, we are calling this contraption "the fish tank". That morning, it was all lit up, and it was looking quite spectacular, especially with the huge lit up figure which seems to be holding up the box.

The figure is the six metre high village giant called Contios, who was introduced in 2013. He's got movable limbs which enables him to be walked through the village streets at special events, and here he was part of the town hall's re-opening celebrations which took place last week.


I dare anyone not to smile at the sight of this brave little daffodil which unexpectedly reared its head in the flower box at our back window. 

Or at the sight of my flying duck skirt! I happened upon it in a charity shop last weekend. On closer inspection it turned out to be vintage Scapa of Scotland. And it has pockets as well!


Here I am wearing it with an old rust coloured jumper to which I couldn't resist pinning my wooden flying duck brooch. 

I shopped my wardrobe for the belt, and the brown owl ring used to belong to my friend's daughter Cynthia. She donated a bag full of jewellery for my flea market stall, but I rescued the things I liked for myself!


The ridiculously comfortable boots were charity shopped that same day. The leather is slightly worn, making them perfect for bad weather days. And the best thing is that they were only € 2.



Leaving the best news for last!

We have finally, finally put my parents' house up for sale last week and last Sunday we have accepted an offer, which means that it is as good as sold. Not bad at all after only a couple of day, and surely something else to smile about. 

Nevertheless, as this is the house I grew up in, it will be kind of bittersweet saying goodbye after all these years ...

But that will be for another post.

36 comments:

  1. Congratulations on selling your parent's home!

    Lovely outfits! The Muppet coat is fab and looks so cosy. I loved your skirt and the tights are gorgeous. Love the boots you got at the New Look closing down sale. As far as I know they are still going strong here...

    The flying duck skirt and the brooch made me laugh and what a lovely outfit they and the jumper made. More fab boots as well.

    I thought the figure on/at the 'Fishbowl' was amazing.

    Hope you have a lovely, sunny weekend!
    xxx

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    1. Thank you Veronica! It's only the Belgian branch of New Look that's closing down. I was amazed at how great the jumper went with the flying duck skirt. I hadn't worn it in years ... xxx

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  2. Congrats on selling the house! :)

    I really like both outfits, but the bird print skirt is my favourite, it looks great with the rust knit and the fun brooch!

    Hope that you are having a good week so far :) We finally got a break in the heatwave last night and it was so welcome!

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica! The bird print skirt was my favourite too. I was so lucky to find it in the charity shop. xxx

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  3. I am in love with the muppet coat. I like and colour and it's fluffiness :)
    You look amazing in this duck skirt, what a wonderful find. I love skirts with bags. I hope for spring if I come bag on 28. Your Osterglocken are lovely.
    With a very huge hug and many greetings from Thailand, Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina! Don't think about coming back yet, you've still got the rest of your holiday to enjoy! xxx

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  4. Love the booties! I have the same thing with blogging: work gets in the way during the week so weekends are when I have time. The problem with posting on the weekend is fewer people are reading blogs then. My weekend posts get the most response on Monday.

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    1. Thank you Ally! I've experienced the same thing. Friday nights are especially bad, I think. xxx

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  5. I love the colours in your first outfit and that Muppet coat is fabulous! ;) Those new boots are awesome! I'm in love with the flying duck skirt! It's gorgeous! Love that rust coloured jumper and cute brooch. Love the cute owl ring too! Hope you have a relaxing weekend, Ann! XXX

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    1. Thank you Sasha! I hadn't worn that rust coloured jumper in years, but wasn't it perfect with the skirt? I had a feeling you'd love the owl ring and duck brooch ;-) xxx

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  6. I had a muppet coat in the late 70’s it was a dusky blue and I thought I was the bees knees in it. Philip has a proper fur jacket that he wore with his tight flares. Yes he was a dapper chap even then.
    I’m glad you are able to move on now with the sale of the family home. I know it’s a bitter sweet experience though.
    Have a lovely weekend both of you xxxx
    ( It’s me lynn, I couldn’t get connected with my account)

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    1. Thank you Lynn! I'd have love to see you and Philip in your 1970s furs! Loved your wedding picture on Facebook! xxx

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  7. Hoorah for the house sale, I'm so happy for you!
    Three glorious outfits, I love the Muppet coat and the boots fit in with your fabulous wardrobe a treat. Viyella was such a great label, the quality is always astounding.
    I need to visit Antwerp, it's gorgeous. xxx

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    1. I'll have a final poke around in the house before the sale is completed. Need to write that blog post, eh? Yes, you do need to visit Antwerp, wouldn't that be fun? xxx

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  8. in the first pic you look very cool early 80s!!
    and the duck skirt is fabulous - i can borrow you the matching blouse: https://bahnwaerterhaeuschen.blogspot.com/2014/01/karos-und-entchen.html
    congrats to the house sale! big hugs! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! That blouse would indeed be perfect with the skirt ;-) xxx

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  9. That is excellent the house sold so quickly! The real estate market must be good there right now.

    I also like to buy used boots because they are more comfy after someone else has broken them in.

    Your owl ring is adorable!

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. Thank you Suzanne! Hope you are OK? I think we were just lucky with the house. It sold in less than a week, and we got a good price too. xxx

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    1. Thank you Liz, and I'm pleased to have brightened up your day! xxx

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  11. As you know I emptied mums house last year Ann. Be prepared for emotions to come up. A busy time ahead of you. We have had two glorious days in London this week. Unbelievable weather for Feb. Hope you had a lovely valentines xx

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    1. I'm sure emotions will come up when we bid our final goodbyes. Luckily, we've already emptied the house, so we have put the busy time behind us! xxx

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  12. Congratulations on the sale of the house. I really love your purple furry jacket and that fabulous skirt. That fine wool beret is also a spectacular find. I would so love to have a cathedral as my view.
    ❤️❤️❤️
    Elle
    https://theellediaries.com/

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    1. Thank you Elle! I've been working there for 24 years, and I still haven't tired of that view! xxx

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  13. Glad that your fab clothes put a smile on your face (they do it for me too!), I love the muppet coat, the fabulous purple and turquoise combo, the cute shirt and the even cuttest purple cardi!, love the accessories too!! It's better to wrap ourselves in beautiful colors and prints in this kind of days, for sure!. Don't care too much about timeline, I also post pics from weeks ago and everybody does it! we have a Real Life!
    Love your flying ducks skirt with the orange rust top and delightfully appropriate brooch. I love so much when things match serendipiously!. This makes me happy!
    Glad that you could sell your parents' house so quickly, good news despite the bittersweet feeling!.
    besos

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Monica! Yes, we do have Real Life, it would be far too exhausting if we posted about what we did and wore right away, wouldn't it? xxx

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  14. Furry coats are right on trend over here right now - and I love the outfit you're wearing underneath it.

    All the lovely bloggers I follow, yourself included, make me smile. It's so lovely to see everyone wearing bright colours, doing their own thing and having a good time.

    The house sold quickly! Here's hoping you enjoy seeing its new owners writing a new chapter in its history.

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    1. So glad I'm making you smile, Mim. That's the aim of my blog. We haven't met the house's new owners yet, but they're a young couple with children, so I'm sure this will be a happy house for them! xxx

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  15. I love your Muppet coat!!! Your whole post put a smile on my face. I hope you are still smiling today!

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    1. Oh, that's so sweet Sherry! I'm trying to put some smiles in every post. xxx

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  16. How glamorous you look Ann in your Muppet coat and I adore the collar on your blouse. So pleased your parents house sold quickly.xx

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    1. Thank you Fiona! That was quick, wasn't it? The house sold after only a couple of days! xxx

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  17. Absolutely love the duck brooch, the skirt is very cute too. I'm glad to hear the house sale has been quick and relatively painless. xx

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    1. Thanks Gisela! I had a feeling you'd love the brooch and skirt! xxx

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  18. I love your muppet coat! It looks very cosy indeed. I like your New Look boots too, queues are worth the effort sometimes huh?
    All of these things made me smile too - the brave little daffodil, the duck print skirt (pockets!!), teamed with a duck brooch, comfy boots, what’s not to smile about?
    I hope the sale of the house went well, it’s goo news that it sold so quickly after all of your hard work.
    xx

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    1. Oops, I've only just noticed your comment. I'm glad I made you smile, and yes, it was definitely good news that the house sold so quickly! xxx

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