Paisley Park

Isn't it typical to get a cold just as the weather turns fine? A week ago on Friday, I woke up with a telltale lingering headache which just wouldn't budge even when attacked with a dose of Paracetamol. This was swiftly followed by blocked sinuses, a scratchy throat and watery eyes.

Oh well, I hardly ever get sick, so I'm not complaining, and I'm certainly not going to give in that easily either!

The best medicine is wearing something I feel great in, so I unearthed one of my favourite frocks from my wardrobe.

It's one of my black florals, and I love the vibrancy of its exuberant print, as well as its cowl neck and full skirt. Even if my head was spinning, I couldn't resist doing a twirl!

I wore the dress with a green vinyl belt and a pale green cardigan to which I pinned a pearly wreath brooch. A long off-white beaded necklace and green and peach butterfly ring were my other accessories, while teal opaques and tan slouchy boots completed my outfit.

After a good night's sleep, I felt much better on Saturday morning. I even thought it had been a false alarm, but alas it wasn't to be.

Not to be deterred, we went for a little spin to the charity shops. I wasn't expecting to find much this close to the much scorned "Retro Day", which will be held on the 9th of March, but nevertheless I found one vintage blouse lurking among the otherwise mediocre stuff.

Isn't that print gorgeous? I will be wearing it in my next post, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait until then to see it in its full glory.

From the same shop came this fabulous pair of shoes, which I left behind last time we were there, as they are a just a bit too large for me. They were only € 3, and I was already regretting my decision, so I didn't think twice when I saw they were still there. I've tried them with shoe insoles, which seemed to be doing the trick, but if I won't be able to wear them after all, I'll make someone else happy with them.

And how about a brand-new-looking, intricately embroidered tea cozy for € 0,50?

There were two more buys at our next stop. The first was a yellow tweed blazer, its pockets trimmed and buttons covered with chocolate brown faux leather. I'll also be wearing that in my next post!

Finally, there was this pink rattan bag, with bamboo handles. I'm such a sucker for these things!

Our final shop was followed by a walk in the nearby park. As it was such a gorgeous day, it would have been downright silly not to make the most of it.

Let me show you what I was wearing.

I picked up the burnt orange bits in my dress by wearing a plaid blazer in rusty browns, adding a caramel belt at my waist to give it more shape. More orange appears in the brooch I pinned to my jacket's lapel, a foursome of tiny Matryoshka dolls.

My turquoise beret and opaques were inspired by the bright, tealish blue of my dress.

Clumps of snowdrops were everywhere and we detected the odd Crocus as well, all welcome signs of Spring to contrast with the winter-bare trees.

I wasn't the only one posing for photographs! Jos is wearing a pair of chocolate brown trousers, one of the pairs picked up, together with the belt, during our recent retail shopping spree. His orange River Woods shirt and Harris Tweed jacket were both charity shopped.

We have walked in this imaginatively laid out and planted park countless times since we discovered it back in 2013. One of our favourite bits was the colourful herbaceous border planted between the path running just in front of the bench in the picture, and the reeds bordering the shallow pond. For some reason, most of the plants were dug up from this area last year and we were sad to see that, apart from the odd survivor and the rampant reeds, the border was left bare.

Here's a closer look at the dress I was wearing, which I charity shopped several years ago. 

I wore a turquoise open-work King Louis cardigan on top. I love the fit of their cardigans, and have several of them in my wardrobe, all of which were charity shop finds.

Another Paisley-esque print, splashes of green can be detected among the profusion of orange. The silky fabric has an equally slippery blue lining, so that the dress swishes satisfyingly with every move. It closes with a back zipper, has two box pleats at the front and a tie, which I fastened with a brooch featuring an orange and green swirled stone.

More turquoise was added in the form of a beaded necklace and plastic ring, but I opted for an orange belt to provide an extra pop of colour.

The gorgeously embroidered handbag, in pristine condition, was a Think Twice find, and even though I've had it for a while, it only now got its first outing.

Making our circuit of the park, we were horrified to notice that some of the infant trees which were planted only last year had been vandalized. Quite a few of them had been snapped in two, and one had even ended up in the nearest pond. And don't get me started on all the littering! 

I can never find it in my heart to make photographs of these random and heartless acts of vandalism, preferring to gladden your hearts with the timeless beauty of nature.

I will be linking Saturday's outfit to Patti's Visible Monday and Mica's Weekday Wear Linkup once they are up.