I spy with my sore little eye ...

... something beginning with double H: a holiday on the horizon! 

It truly beggars belief that in just three weeks' time to the day, we'll be spending our first evening in our Shropshire cowshed! It feels like time is slipping through my fingers, though, as I've still got a million things to do before we leave, both at the office and at home. Lists to make and tick off, instructions to leave, decisions to make: you know the drill. Not even my three-day weekends and the bonus 4-day ones we are lucky enough to have in the month of May seem to hold enough hours to fit it all in. 

Just having had what I can only describe as a week from hell hasn't exactly been helpful either. To cut a long story short: I've recently been prescribed stronger eye drops for the glaucoma in my left eye, which initially left me with a slight headache and a dry, sore and itchy eye. On top of that, I developed a whopper of a stye in the same eye. Not related according to my doctor, but very painful and exhausting nonetheless, so that blogging once again ended up on the back burner.

Now that things have somewhat settled, and I can see more or less clearly once more, it's time for another little catch-up. So, please do hop on for a short ride in the time machine back to the first days of this month. 

The 1st of May is Labour Day and a public holiday in Belgium, and obviously an extra day off in the middle of the week is always welcome! Thankfully, the sun didn't take the day off as well. In fact, after a false start due to lots of overnight rain, she went the extra mile by cranking up the thermostat to 24°C.

I built that day's outfit around a vintage C&A skirt I fell in love with at Think Twice the day before. Isn't its navy cotton fabric dotted with tiny posies of multicoloured flowers delicious? Not to mention its two double zig-zag rows of orange stitching! It's to the latter that I matched my short-sleeved V-neck jumper which, together with the stretchy belt with its massive buckle, were the only items bought brand new on the high street.

I opted for navy for the rest of my accessories, which included a charity shopped bracelet, necklace, chunky glass ring and genuine 1970s watch strap, as well as a brooch found recently at the indoor flea market.

After sleeping in, having a leisurely breakfast and a morning of gentle pottering, we had our friends Inneke and Maurice over for a long overdue catch-up.  Inneke was kind enough to bring cake and biscuits and Jos made a pot of freshly ground coffee and, while a lovely afternoon was had by all, not a single photo was taken.

Passing our kitchen window that evening, I swiftly ran back to get my camera and snap the golden daffodils illuminated by the late evening sun.

Seeing that it was my final working day of the week, it wasn't much of a hardship going back to the office on Thursday. 

After a sunny start, clouds starting gathering in the early afternoon and by the time I went home it had cooled down considerably from the day's initial 23°C. We were even treated to a stiff breeze and some light drizzle.

Everything was still hunky-dory when I walked down to the Botanic Garden during lunch break.

It's hard to believe that only the garden's retaining wall separates the woodland path lined with bluebells and wild garlic from a busy inner city street!

I stopped, not to smell the roses, but to admire the variety of bearded Irises, the fragrant bright yellow flowers belonging to King's Spear (Asphodeline lutea) and the flower spikes of the Gunnera near the pond. 

Friday the 3rd of May was another grey and rainy offering from the weather gods on which initially I struggled to assemble an outfit. 

Riffling through a pile of skirts I'd recently unearthed from the suitcase they'd hibernated in, I pulled out this floral midi one in a symphony of blues. The three-quarter sleeved t-shirt turned out to match the darkest of the blues exactly.

Same as the skirt, the orange, red, and burgundy tank top was charity shopped. It's by the Belgian designer Nathalie Vleeschouwer and although I've had it for about two years now, this was its very first outing. 

Red and blue accessories, a mix of high street, charity shop and flea market finds, completed my outfit.

On my feet, a pair of red slouchy Western-style boots. They too followed me home from a charity shop one day.

For once, we didn't go for a rummage that Friday. Instead, we drove down in the pouring rain to the optician's in the nearby town of Mortsel. Our mission: to choose a new pair of sunglasses for me. As one does on a rainy day! Pictures will follow in due time.

The sun finally got a look in that evening, which was much appreciated by the lovely Art Deco which lives on our bedroom's mantelpiece!

We were up bright and early on Saturday, as we had a wedding to attend: after having been together for over 12 years, Jos's son Kris and his partner Carolien had decided to tie the knot!

Before we go, let's have a look at our outfits! Neither Jos nor yours truly had bought anything new (or even new-to-us) for the event: everything was shopped from our wardrobes, as they say. In fact, both our outfits were Friday's spur of the moment decisions.

My green floral dress was a sales bargain from H&M many years ago, while the belt was picked up in the Mango sales in the Summer of 2022. The blazer is Zara, found in a charity shop in Welshpool back in 2019, while my beloved green suede ankle boots came from a local charity shop.

Jos was wearing a pair of trousers and a floral shirt from C&A. His blazer is part of a suit which has been in his wardrobe for well over 10 years. The green suede shoes were bought in the Shrewsbury branch of Clarks last June. Last but not least, his waistcoat was a gift from Vix & Jon. 

The civil ceremony was taking place in the old town hall of the village next to ours. Built in the typical neo-Renaissance style and dating from 1912, it has been a protected village landmark since 1983. Nowadays, it is mainly used for wedding ceremonies and wedding anniversary events.

Some introductions as we were waiting to go in: next to Jos, his eldest daughter, Els, with next to her, Carolien and Kris and their soon-to-be three-year-old son Cas.

Here's the happy couple during and after the ceremony, with Cas very much in attendance!

Afterwards, we walked to Hof ter Linden with its crumbling castle, as the wedding lunch was taking place in one of the coach houses flanking the courtyard. The perfect place for wedding photos, although the official photographer seemed to think otherwise. 

Who wouldn't want to pose next to those haughty sphinxes, I wonder?

Having arrived in the courtyard, I grabbed the rarest of opportunities to get all three of Jos's elder grandchildren in one photo. To the left of their dad, Tom - the one with the guitar, and husband of Els - is granddaughter Saar. Between the boys Warre (left) and Rik (right), is Warre's girlfriend Sarah. 

If you are wondering about the guitar, the family had prepared a little song for the bride and groom!

The weather gods had been on their best behaviour until then, allowing us to have pre-lunch drinks on the terrace, but decided that enough was enough half-way through lunch.

Thankfully, there was a lull between showers in the late afternoon, as we hadn't had the forethought to bring an umbrella. Son-in-law Tom snapped the below photo of us as we were walking in front of them along the cobbled linden-lined avenue back to the village and our car.

No rest for the wicked on Sunday, as we had the May edition of the indoor flea market to go to.

In contrast to the rest of the weekend, it was mostly sunny that day, which made the mercury climb to a reasonable 18°C.

The outfit I picked for the day's outing was almost entirely charity shopped, except for the green stretchy belt, which came from a fast fashion shop I won't name.

The maxi skirt with its groovilicious pattern is vintage and was a lucky find about 2 years ago. It even joined me on our Shropshire holiday in June 2022 (here).

The floaty floral bell-sleeved blouse is by Vero Moda and picked up the pinks and reds in the skirt's pattern. In its turn, the green of the blouse was echoed by the belt and the greenish-grey necklace charity shopped in Poperinge in September 2019. I can't remember which shop the red cat brooch came from nor when I found it. I was wearing the same green suede ankle boots I wore to the wedding.

Now, onto the flea market! As usual at this time of year, there weren't quite as many stalls, and some of our favourite sellers had given it a miss.  I was also feeling tired and not really in the mood.

Consequently, finds were few and far between, but I still managed to add to my brooch collection.

There seemed to be a green theme going on! Which one is your favourite?