Staircat

Dull November brings the blast,

Then the leaves are whirling fast.

~Sara Coleridge, "The Months," 1834

And it's not just the leaves that are whirling fast, either. October too, has whirled past in a blur of dull rainy days. We've hardly had any proper, leaf-kicking, Autumn weather to speak of yet and those days which seem to be made for walks in the woods, to simply enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of the season, could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

And now, without a backward glance, she's bade us farewell, perfidious October, and passed the Autumnal torch to that misery of a month, November.

But there will be one more backward glance from me before I'm putting the lid firmly on the box labelled October.

So, for the sake of the continuity of this blog, I'm taking you back to that month's last weekend.

Let's start with what I was wearing on Friday! 

This cheerful little frock, in purple with a lilac and pink flower print and row of tiny blue buttons, came from a shop in Antwerp called Melting Pot, which sells vintage and second hand clothes at € 15 per kilo! It's a bit of a jumble of a shop, but I've managed to unearth the odd treasure.

The dress is long-sleeved and lined, and there's every indication that it was handmade. I opted for bright pink to accessorize it. Both the belt and the beads were charity shopped, while the chunky ring was an old retail buy.

As we had an important task to fulfill, I left work early on Friday: we were cat-sitting Abby, the delightful British Shorthair belonging to Jos's son and daughter-in-law.

They only live about 10 minutes up the road from us and, as they were enjoying a couple of days away, we were only too glad to go and feed madam, and keep her company for an hour or so.

I was wearing my recently purchased faux-Lea Stein cat brooch in her honour.

I always surprise Abby's servants with a photo session of their little monster, but I'm sure they were none too pleased when they saw the antics of their butter wouldn't melt darling using the back of the sofa as a scratching post and molesting plants!

Phew, cat-sitting is quite exhausting, especially as we're no longer used to such playfulness. Our Phoebe's clearly above such matters, preferring to use our sofa for naps. And more naps!

Here's a proper look at what beyond any doubt is my favourite pair of boots. They're vintage and were snapped up at Think Twice last Winter. For the record, I am wearing nylons here! The chartreuse long cardigan was another charity shop find. 

Saturday morning was spent changing around my coats wardrobe which basically consists of putting the coats of the season in the left segment within easy reach. There will be further changes when Autumn segues into Winter. The coats which are currently on rotation live downstairs in the hallway.

I can't wait to wear my berets again, and not just for their warmth either. They are perfect for bad hair days as well. Look at all those glorious colours! I've got more, but they didn't fit in the picture ...

Now what could be that strange illumination in the sky? The headlights of a spaceship, perhaps? I'm so glad I've got my twin with me, so that we can clutch each other in fear!

After lunch, we were off to visit Her Royal Highness again, a tiresome task that we made lighter by combining it with some charity shopping. 

It seems I was wearing variations on a theme that weekend, embracing above the knee frocks two days in a row.

I actually woke up thinking I would love to wear this vintage shift dress, but scouring my wardrobe's rails, I could find no trace of it. Then I remembered I put it in the "shall I keep it or not" pile. What in heaven's name was I thinking?

The dress is of Scandinavian descent, from the Swedish "Aspens" label, and the fabric it's made from is called "asplene".

Fun fact: when I googled the label, one of my own posts from 2017 came up in the search results!

I combined it with chartreuse opaques, a long pink cardi (I definitely need more of these!), and my tan boots which cost all of € 2 in a charity shop last year. 

My accessories were ivory coloured carved beads, a dusky pink vintage brooch and a fused glass ring I bought in Bruges back in April.

Look at that little diva stealing my limelight! 

Seriously, though, I wish we could rent that staircase as a photo studio, as it has proved to be just perfect for outfit photos.

Additionally, there's a huge slab of reinforced glass between the kitchen on the ground floor and the sitting room on the second floor, which we gladly made use of for some photographical experiments.

Before returning to Dove Cottage, we drove down to the charity shop at the edge of our village for a well-needed rummage.

There were shoes and boots galore! Among the mass of scruffy blacks and browns, I spotted this pristine pair of bright blue ankle boots, which have just enough of a heel not to torture my knees and back.

These two Mid Century wall plaques, clearly leftovers from the previous week's retro event, caught my eye. 

The larger one is signed Rufinelli, Assisi on the back, while the smaller one only mentions Made in Italy. I do, however, suspect they're both from the same pottery. 

They are about to join the crowd on the wall of heads in our spare room. 

As lately I seem to have a penchant for wearing separates, I've been on the lookout for more skirts, especially since some of last Winter's have become a tiny bit too snug. After coming away empty handed for weeks, I struck gold that day, as I found no less than four. 

From top to bottom: a Wow To Go chevron print midi skirt, a classic Prince of Wales check midi skirt, a vintage handmade black floral skirt and a cotton retro print circle skirt, also handmade, all of which are expected to make their debut on the blog shortly.

So, that was it for now and I'm leaving you with another seasonal quote. See you next time!

The drifting clouds are dark and drear,

The blossoms die of cold and fear,

The wild wind mourns the fading year,

And winter threatens near.

~Elizabeth Chase Akers Allen, "November", c.1864