Wednesday 13 November 2019

Tales of a wet weekend

By the time you are reading this, we will be in the middle of a mid week break abroad, but as I still had a couple of loose ends to tie up, I thought I'd treat you to a scheduled post.

The First of November, All Saints Day, is a public holiday here in Belgium, and as this year it was on a Friday, we had a long weekend to look forward to.


Typically, after a working week full of gloriously sunny Autumn weather, Friday was another damp and dismal day.  

I tried to keep my spirits up by wearing this vintage, mustard yellow shift dress. Its print, with its scrolls and giant flowers, always reminds me of opulent wallpaper.

I kept my accessories relatively simple with a multicoloured necklace, a turquoise chunky ring and a gold rimmed ceramic brooch displaying some oriental poppies. Well, it was that time of year again when one wears poppies, wasn't it?


The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I was wearing the bright blue ankle boots I snapped up in a charity shop the previous weekend. Did I mention they only cost € 6?



In spite of the weather playing foul again, it wasn't a totally wasted day, as I had a visit from a lady who bought lots of stuff from me at our flea market back in July. She came for a rummage through my bags full of Winter clothes, and I'm happy to say she went home with no less than five dresses, three skirts, a jumper, a blouse and a jacket, leaving me with quite a bit of pocket money!


Initially, there was some improvement in the weather on Saturday: even if it was quite windy, at least it wasn't raining, so that there was no need for an umbrella. Charity shops, here we come!

If you think you've seen this skirt before, you are absolutely right: it is a fairly recent find, which Angelica was modelling a couple of weeks ago. Now, finally, it was my turn!


There's a choice of colours in its print, but I decided on autumnal shades to keep it company.

The tweed jacket, which has both green and purple in its plaid, was bought from a local shop eons ago and after narrowly escaping the giveaway pile a couple of years ago, it has now fully earned the space it takes up in my coats wardrobe. To its lapel, I pinned my official poppy brooch bought in Ypres. My other outerwear consisted of a sage green beret and a purple crushed velvet scarf.


I struggled a bit with what to wear with the skirt, finally settling on this rose red blouse, which I bought back in 2013 from a delight of a vintage shop which has sadly stopped trading. Further accessories consisted of a pale green belt and beaded necklace. Oh, and did you notice that my opaques and ankle boots were an almost perfect match?



Our rummage in the charity shops yielded some cozy knits and a tweed skirt, but alas I forgot to photograph them. But our main find was this utterly kitsch 1950s ornament.


When I pointed it out to Jos, mentioning that € 7 was quite a fair price, he exclaimed over it, as it turned out his childhood home contained something quite similar.

There's even some photographic evidence. Here's a thirteen year old Jos, with his Dad, Mum and sister and yes, there it is on the mantelpiece!

We added some battery-operated fairy lights which makes it look quite atmospheric at night.



Now I've truly had it with the weather forecasters, as Sunday, which they had promised would be mainly dry with a possible guest appearance of the sun, turned out to be a wet day through and through.

We were off to an antiques fair in a romantic castle about half an hour from where we live, which is being held biannually, in April and November.

As the fair itself isn't huge - browsing it takes about an hour or so - we usually combine it with a walk around the estate. In all the years we've been going there, this was the first time the weather wasn't cooperating.



Still, after our visit to the fair and a car picnic - the photo in the below collage, top right, was taken through our windshield - we took our ancient umbrella from the boot and went off for a wander.

No photos of the castle itself this time, as it was almost completely covered in scaffolding, but you can catch a glimpse of it across the lake, with me doing my Mary Poppins impersonation in the foreground.


The incessant rain had formed a thin layer of mist which curled around the edges of the lake and hung indolently between the tree tops, slightly veiling their autumnal splendour.

The once crunchy carpet of leaves had become a soggy, slippery mass, so that the longed for leaf kicking was out of the question.


I did my best to match their vibrant shades by wearing pumpkin colours: a burnt orange beret and an embellished crushed velvet scarf edged in tiny pumpkins ... err ... pom poms!



It was my boots' final voyage as the years had finally taken their toll, but what a grand finale they had walking along the leaf strewn woodland paths.


And here's what I was wearing beneath my old tweed jacket. The bottle green cord midi skirt was a recent find from the vintage per kilo shop. I combined it with an aubergine spotty blouse from Think Twice and a charity shopped belt and cardigan.

And now, without further ado, here are the things I found at the fair.



First up is the odd one out. I simply couldn't resist this chestnut brown croc handbag.

It almost goes without saying that I found some brooches. In fact, I bought a total of nine brooches from different sellers.



On the top row, another micromosaic one and a behatted and furred lady's head, which both came from the Brooch Lady's archives.

My two favourites are on the bottom row: a celluloid brooch featuring two Scotties in a sailing boat and a gold-rimmed Lucite brooch containing some garden pinks.



Here are the others. Clockwise from top left: top hat and riding crop, a handmade leather Scottie dog, a waterside scene, a large, shiny gold tone flower and a pearl bodied fish.

What is your favourite?

I will be back with another set of adventures next week!


38 comments:

  1. My favorite is the leather scotty :). I have a scotty bracelet in my closet.
    I am in love with this red/ mint skirt and red blouse outfit with mintgreen accessoires.
    Rain weather every day, except the sunny day on Sarahs birthday.
    A very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina, and yes, I saw the photos and you were very very lucky on Sarah's birthday! xxx

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  2. How glad I am you have managed to have some adventures in spite of the contrary weather! You do indeed flash of autumn colors in several of your outfits. I can't help but imagine Mother Nature feeling a bit flattered by that. :)

    It was hard for me to choose a favorite brooch among your latest collection because I like so many, but I'm going to go with the top hat. I'm not sure why it tickles the happiness button in my brain. The lady with fur and the Lucite with garden pinks were my next favorites. And, of course, I love the brooches with dogs.

    Have a great time on your next adventures! I look forward to reading about them here.

    Hugs,
    - Sherry

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    1. Thank you Sherry, and I do hope Mother Nature is so flattered that she'll conspire with the weather gods to give us some glorious weather in return :-) xxx

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  3. The mustard dress looks lovely, it's not a colour that suits me but I love it and it looks great on you.
    When I got to the end I thought Mary Poppins, so you struck a good pose!
    Lots of interesting finds and so many new brooches for your collection.
    It's nice to see the childhood photo of Jos, the ornament is so similar!
    Hope you're having a relaxing and fun break. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally. I didn't set out to do a Mary Poppins impersonation but upon seeing the photos Jos said he reminded me of Mary Poppins :-) xxx

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  4. My favorite is the waterfront scene. I don't even own a poppy brooche! Jee, I'm ashamed. What a fun thing that you found that old photo with almost the same candle holder.

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    1. Thanks Nancy! Oh, as a UK lover especially, you should be a poppy brooch. I used to have a traditional paper one but a brooch is so much more convenient. I'll look out for one for you next time we're in the Ypres area! xxx

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  5. A fav for looking at is the ladys head brooch, very 30s... but for wearing i would take the gold flower.
    And outfit wise the look with the pleated skirt is my fav - love the contrast of the tweed jacket and the very feminine skirt.
    Wish you a nice break! hugsies xxxxxx

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    1. Thanks Beate, and no I don't think I'll actually wear the lady's head brooch, as it's much too delicate. xxx

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  6. Hooray for selling your stuff for holiday spending money!!
    Loving the mustard dress with the turquoise boots and also the marvellous pattern mash-up in the second one and that lovely cord skirt in the third.
    How amazing to find the same family ornament that Jos grew up with - fabulous family photo as well. A vintage trader had a very similar one on their stall at Moseley, priced at £110!
    Gorgeous handbag and a right score on the brooches.My favourite is the top left one in the first collage, it reminds me of the roses and castles painted enamelware on English narrow boats.
    Despite the wet weather your scenery is gorgeous. Hope it stays dry for your adventures. xxx

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    1. We both did a double take upon seeing that price! Oh dear, that makes our € 7 even more of a steal. And with our loyalty card we got it practically for free! xxx

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  7. I think my favourite of the brooches is the scottie dogs in the boat. It's so quirky.

    The weather's been rotten, hasn't it? (I don't know why I'm surprised, it is mid-November after all.) I hope it's been reasonable for you on your break at least.

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    1. That's my favourite too! As for the weather, it actually was quite reasonable, but I guess I've been comparing it with the gorgeous weather we had last year! xxx

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  8. I hope you're enjoying your holidays!.
    And I love your mustard dress with the cute blue booties, totally fabulous to cheer up any dull day!.
    It's lovely that you've sold some winter garments to an usual buyer!
    I'm totally in love with your autumnal shades outfit, the reddish-burgundy color and sage green, the cute blouse and the perfectly matchy boots and tights!, everything is so fab!
    Also love your 'Mary Poppins impersonation' pics and your tiny pumpkins scarf ;DD. Lovely color combo, your cord skirt looks particularly fab with the blouse and cardi colors! sorry that your boots made their last walk!
    Loving your purchases too, and I agree with previous comment, my favourite brooch is the scottie dogs in the boat!
    besos

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    1. It seems that the Scottie dogs in the boat is getting most of the votes :-) I'd actually forgotten about those boots, and decided to give them another wear, but unfortunately it was to be their last ... xxx

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  9. What a beauty your mustard yellow 'wallpaper' dress is!
    How lovely to have someone to come over and relieve you of some of your clothes, and give you some pocket money at the same time. I need a friend like that.
    The weather isn't playing fair at the moment is it? Rain is one thing but rain when it hasn't been forecast is another entirely, you'd think the weathermen could get it right more often than they do.
    My favourite brooch has to be the shiny gold flower.
    Have fun on your holiday!
    xx

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    1. Thank you Hazel! I usually keep all my stuff for a flea market we do in July, but sometimes people ask to come over and have a look in between. It's always nice to make some money out of them and make somebody else happy with them! xxx

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  10. What lovely outfits! My favourite is the first skirt outfit. It really suits you and I love the blouse you chose to wear with it; an excellent choice! I always find it the most difficult thing to do - find the appropriate top for a skirt...

    The trees are just beautiful in their autumn colours; I wish they would stay those colours all year!

    I love all your brooches and you already know which are my favourites via IG,

    Hope you're having a fab break.
    xxx

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    1. I really loved wearing that first outfit and once I'd picked the blouse, I knew they were right for each other. xxx

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  11. You had a very stylish week even with the wet weather! I really like the mustard dress with the blue accessories, so fun! And I like how you wore that red skirt, the shirt is so nice with it :)

    Hope that you have a great weekend ahead of you! It will be a quiet one here, we are all a little unwell and the smoke haze means we need to stay indoors mostly!

    Away From Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica, and I do hope you're all feeling better now. The smoke haze sounds very unpleasant too! xxx

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  12. Have a wonderful time away Ann. The weather has been awful still here in the Uk xx

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    1. Thank you Laurie, and we did have some reasonable weather on our break! xxx

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  13. Nevermind the weather, you still look fantastic. Your mustard dress with the blue accessories is lovely. You're right, it does remind me of fine wallpaper.

    Also loved your green/purple tweed jacket, skirt and the other cord skirt too. Great shot of you in Mary Poppins mode.

    AND THAT BAG!!!!!! Now that's just so special. I love skin bags and have a few, but very rarely use them. My plan is to keep them for my girls.

    What a lovely find that ornament was. I believe our eyes tend to naturally focus on things from our childhood when treasure hunting. I know I do. I don't know why - maybe we're pining for our childhoods. Lovely family photo too.

    It's great that you're able to make some money from clothes you pass on. The lucky lady will no doubt look gorgeous in her new treasures.

    Of the brooches my favourites are the 1st floral one, dogs on the sailboat and the lady with her hat.

    Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

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    1. Thank you Suzy! I'd given myself a handbag ban, but how could I leave this one behind? I'll probably not use it much, but still. I've got some bags which are precious to me, and are primarily to look at. Oh, and I agree about things from our childhood. I keep getting drawn to things my grandparents used to have. xxx

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  14. I see that the bad weather didn't mess with your style. I just love your outfits. The first golden dress with white floral print is so delightful. I also like your colourful second look and the third red one. Wonderful green tartan jacket!

    It's lovely that some of your clothes found new owner and got you some nice pocket money. I see you picked up some nice things as well. The brooches you bought are so pretty.

    Enjoy your trip!

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    1. Thank you so much Ivana. We should never let bad weather mess with our style, do we? xxx

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  15. Oh, so many awesome outfits here, Ann! I love that mustard dress - that's right up my alley - and your bright blue booties, and your aubergine spotty blouse.

    Ugh, the weather this time of year, eh? I swear, we have the exact same weather as you. It's been raining and the leaves are all a soggy mess. That picture of Jos' family and that mantle ornament is awesome. My grandparents had some pretty wild 50s kitsch too.

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    1. Thank you Sheila, I knew you'd appreciate the mustard dress and aubergine blouse. My grandparents did have the odd kitsch ornament as well. xxx

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  16. How fun is that family photo?!
    I wonder if I hurry, and am quiet if I can sneak in and steal that beautiful brown handbag before you get back ;)

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    1. Well, you'd have to be very fast then as I'm back already ;-)) xxx

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  17. Another vote for the leather Scottie dog!!

    It's always sad to say goodbye to a pair of boots. I lost a pair this week, the sole came off one and the cost of repairs will exceed the cost of the boots, as they were only Clarks. Your boots did indeed have a grand finale.

    Loving the wallpaper dress at the start. Xx

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    1. I'd have Clarks repaired as long as it wasn't anything major. But these were super cheap boots and the upper layer was peeling off. xxx

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  18. Love the blue details of the ring and boots. And the croc bag too- what a great find!
    Your stroll through the park sounds lovely, even if it was rainy.
    My favourite of your brooches has to be the fluffy lady- how unique. X

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