Thursday 20 June 2019

Two weeks in June

Holiday preparations are in full swing here at Dove Cottage!

Today was my last day at work and tomorrow we'll finish the dreaded packing. I've already packed away most of the essentials, but there are clothes and shoes strewn all over our bedroom. Whittling them down to a manageable pile, while still leaving me with enough to cover four seasons isn't the easiest of tasks.

Then, on Saturday, we will be getting up at the crack of dawn for the start of our journey, which will once again take us to Shropshire and the Welsh Borders in the UK.

And on Sunday ... well, we've already got a little treat planned for that day!



But before I bid you au revoir, I still have to tie up the loose ends of the last two weeks.

So, let's start with this frock, which I wore two weekends ago. Lovely though it is, it didn't make the grade and won't be travelling with me. I mean, look at those pleats! I don't think they would survive the journey unscathed.

It's been in my wardrobe for absolutely ages, and it was in desperate need of another outing. Its print, which has more flowers than the average garden, never fails to put a smile on one's face.


Especially when worn to - finally! - our first outdoor flea market of the year!

We'd been on tenterhooks all week, as stormy weather had been predicted, but fortunately the worst of the wind had died down by Saturday night, with Sunday dawning an almost picture perfect early summer's day.


Orange being the most predominant of the print's colours, I accessorized the dress with an orange belt and one of my Cameo brooches, which has an orangey background. The dress's navy bits were picked up by my beaded necklace and flower ring.

On my feet, my trusted Clarks Cloudsteppers. This was a huge flea market, so we had a lot of walking to do.

My straw bag with its appliqued cornflowers was just the right size to carry essentials. 


Sadly, this year's edition of the flea market, which we've been going to for many years, was a bit of a disappointment. The fields and surrounding streets where the market was held seemed to be colonized by stalls selling cheap tat, toys and children's clothing, leaving only a handful of  stalls worth looking at.

I did manage to find a couple of things, though, so that the journey wasn't a completely wasted one: a vintage skirt and jacket, and a round wicker bag, which I had been on the lookout for but wasn't prepared to buy new.


The next day, Monday, was a holiday in Belgium, but as the weather wasn't on its best behaviour, alternating sunny spells with bouts of rain, we stayed at home, doing some pottering and a bit of lounging.

The dress I plucked from my wardrobe was charity shopped on Retro Day back in March, and this was actually its first wear. It is clearly and a bit clumsily handmade, and features a deep, collared V-neck and three-quarter length sleeves. Upon seeing its colourful, exotic print, you might be forgiven in thinking that the fabric is waxed cotton, which it isn't. It's a kind of thin terry cloth material, for want of a better description.


I pinned a pearly brooch to its collar, which somewhat disappeared into the print, and opted for shades of brown for the rest of my accessories.


Back at work, I spent one of my lunch breaks visiting a new charity shop selling only clothing, which has recently opened in a side street of Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare.

The shop is nicely laid out and the stuff they sell is above average but generally a bit on the expensive side. I mean, a King Louie dress for € 24 ... no, thank you!

Nevertheless, these two necklaces, still on their retail cards, came home with me. They were € 3 each, which isn't too bad.



We woke up to torrential rain on Saturday. In a lull between two showers, we made it to our garage without getting wet, and went off for our usual charity shopping trip.

We'd taken the camera, jokingly telling each other that it might clear up later so that we could take outfit photos in the park. Well, wouldn't you know, by the time we got there, the sun was out! 
Miracles do happen!



Here's a look at what I was wearing. 

The dress is another one I've had for ages. Its floral print features coral, brown and green on a pale lemon background. I'd set out wearing both a cardigan and my orange leather jacket, but with the sun shining it turned out to be too warm for both.


My yellow cardigan, with its pattern of hearts and tiny heart buttons, is King Louie, and was charity shopped earlier this year. The flower brooch I pinned to it is actually a hair clip!


The dress has got a tie belt, but in honour of the small splodges of green in the dress's print, I substituted it with a green leather one. I also added my green "birds in flight" brooch to its collar.

Further accessories were a chunky coral ring and one of my new necklaces!


Having completed our circuit of the park which not only looked but smelled heavenly, especially after the rain, we walked over to the charity shop across the road.



I've donated quite a few bags of clothing in the last couple of weeks - I actually spotted one of my vintage short-sleeved jumpers on the rails - which made it a completely guilt-free shopping experience.

My finds, clockwise from top left, were: an organic cotton scarf from Antwerp label Froy & Dind, still bearing its tag, a wide, red-brown leather belt, a pair of navy espadrille wedges and a short kimono cover up.


But the icing on the cake was this soft-as-butter taupe cord blazer for Jos. The pocket square is made from an orange Paisley print tie, which I found still packed in its plastic wrapper.

As the rest of that weekend and the following week was a flurry of last minute preparations and wrap-ups, that will be it for the month of June.

So, there will be no posting from me for about two weeks, as I will be mostly off-line, although I might be reading your blogs whenever time and WiFi allows.

See you in July!

30 comments:

  1. I think you are one of those women where everything, uh, and,, klopt,,. You know what I mean? I can't see you on any other outfits then the ones you wear. Everything you wear looks as if it was made for only you. I think you have such style sense! Friends of us just got back from the Welsh coast. Are you going to visit Skomer island? Have a fantastic time Ann!

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    1. Haha, I do know what you mean, Nancy! I wouldn't know how to say it in English either ;-) But thank you, your comment really means a lot to me! xxx

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  2. The three dresses you're wearing are gorgeous especially the not-waxed cotton one, what lovely colours! Good to see those fab Cloudsteppers, are they packed?
    Love Jos's cord jacket, your rope soled wedges, kimono-style cover up and that circular wicker bag. Your flea market sounds the way our car boot sales are heading, endless tat and bankrupt stock but at least it makes those rare gems all the more special.
    Safe travels to you both - can't wait until Sunday! xxx
    Damed rain - is there no escape from it?

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    1. It feels a bit strange replying to your comment after our meet-up, but didn't we have a fabulous day? I'm so glad you finally managed to escape the rain! xxx

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  3. I have all my fingers and toes crossed you have great success in choosing what to take on your trip AND that said trip is glorious in weather and activities. Is that orange jacket going with you? I nearly passed out when I saw it--such a find! Everything you showed is a treasure, but that jacket!!!

    Hugs for fun and safe travels,
    Sherry

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    1. Thank you Sherry! As usual I packed far too much and only wore half of it. The nice weather half, I'm happy to report. And I did take the orange jacket, but only wore it once. xxx

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  4. Well, first of all, have a lovely trip and vacation and enjoy your blogging break! I will be eagerly awaiting your post(s) to drool over and make me wish your part of the world wasn't so darned far away!

    I love all your outfits: the lovely pleating on that first dress, that awesome pattern on the terrycloth dress (what an odd choice of fabric) as well as the rounded back neckline on it, and your gorgeous orange leather jacket (I have one just like it - we're twins!).

    Of your purchases, the round wicker bag rings my bell, as does that gorgeous leather belt, and of course, Jos' blazer.

    Thank you for all the lovely flower and scenery pictures! So lovely.

    Take care, my dear!

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    1. Can't believe both our holidays have come and gone. It all goes so fast, doesn't it? I too wished we weren't so far away from each other. It would be absolutely amazing to meet you! xxx

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  5. That terry cloth robe print is fantastic.

    I'm excited for your trip. I can't wait for your follow up blog posts which always make me feel as though I was right there with you.

    Have a brilliant vacation!

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. Thank you Suzanne! I did have a brilliant holiday, and blogging about it makes me relive it all. I'm glad to hear you enjoy reading my travel posts. xxx

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  6. You found some great pieces - I really like that round bag, I have a very similar one, they are so trendy at the moment! :)

    Enjoy your upcoming holiday! I hope you manage to pack everything you need, I always overpack terribly, haha!

    Hope that you have a lovely weekend ahead of you :)


    Away From Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica. Having seen your little video about packing for your trip, I wouldn't call that overpacking. Especially not terribly. You are a pro, and I need to take lessons from you! xxx

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  7. Such gorgeous outfits, Ann! I just love your accessories and that orange leather jacket is fabulous! I love your new finds too: especially that kimono! ;) I hope you have a wonderful trip away. I look forward to seeing your photos when you get back! XXX

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    1. Thank you Sasha! I took both the orange jacket and the kimono and both only wore them once. xxx

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  8. such lovely dresses, lovely prints and textures!. I understand that you didn't pack a pleated dress, even if it's so beautiful. Great that you found a cute wicker bag!, really great purchase!. And the cool print of the second outfit is eyecatching, a fab piece!
    Lovely to see your orange jacket once more, and it looks pretty amazing over your floral dress!. Fab combo!
    Also great to see Jos showing his purchases too, he looks really elegant!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! Jos is getting quite a bit of comments, so maybe he should start his own blog? Well, I am really proud of him for caring about his appearance. xxx

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  9. flowers and dresses and flowery dresses.....
    and fab necklaces too!
    jos looks very cool and british in his new jacket - great color for him. hope you could sqeeze all your stuff into the car for the holidays :-D
    wish you a fabulous time! xxxxx

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    1. Thank yoo Beate! Jos was really pleased that you think he looks British. No better compliment for him, really. But you should see the jacket I found for him in a charity shop while we were there. That makes him look even more British! xxx

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  10. As always very colourful. I like it. :-) Have a lovely trip! Regula

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    1. Thank you so much, Regula. I love seeing the little glimpses of your holiday in Rome! xxx

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  11. Loved all your outfits and fab accessories! The wicker bags are fab. Loved your buys and Jos's blazer is beautiful. It looked like velvet in the photo.

    I hope your holiday is brilliant and that the weather stays kind to you!
    xxxx

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    1. Thank you Vronni, and I'm happy to report that the weather did stay kind to us! xxx

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  12. Enjoy the Uk Ann! Shropshire is lovely and I hope you like it. Come to London some time and we can meet xx

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    1. Thank you Laurie! We are thinking of going on a city trip to London soon. I'll let you know if we do. xxx

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  13. I never did comment on this! You look beautiful in your three outfits- the first being my favourite! I look forward to hearing more about your trip to the UK! It's a pity about the Flea Market- I thought that about the one in Ghent- there didn't seem to be much vintage clothing and lots of tat!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie. I'm sorry to hear the flea market in Ghent was rubbish too. xxx

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  14. That pleated dress is so lovely and it looks great on you. I can see why you wouldn't pack it for vacay. Better to pack something that doesn't require ironing. The other dresses you wore are lovely as well. I hope you have enjoyed your vacation.

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    1. Thank you Ivana, I had a very enjoyable vacation, and only took clothing that didn't need ironing! xxx

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  15. Isn’t it lovely to wear an item that brings a smile to your face? I have a couple of very pretty dresses that do just that. Those pleated petals are lovely!
    I’ve been looking for a similar wicker bag, nothing has turned up yet but the charity shops will oblige one day…
    What a shame the flea market was disappointing, it sounds more like a carboot sale to me with all that tat on offer.
    The pattern on your handmade dress is really cool, very striking. Those necklaces will both be great additions to your wardrobe, I like the circles especially. We’ve had a few new charity shops open in the town recently and they seem to be going for a cool, boutique look, which is really nice.
    I’ve seen some of my donations on the rails too, I’m always so intrigued to see how much they price them at. Sometimes they’ve been more expensive than when I bought them!
    I know you probably had a lovely time here in the UK, I’m going to read on and see what you got up to :)
    xx

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    1. Thank you Hazel, and indeed wearing an item that brings a smile to your face can make all the difference. I couldn't believe I found that round wicker bag, as I had been craving one for a while. I think you are right and a lot of our flea markets are similar to your carboots ... xxx

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