Sunday 22 December 2019

The house of books

Is that the holidays I can see up there?

You bet it is! Tomorrow is my last working day of the year (yay!) and it certainly couldn't have come any sooner. I'm feeling tired and drained and my brain is in a muddle and I'm looking forward to some time off without anything much planned, our diaires blissfully empty except for Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

In fact, we already made a start this weekend, trying to ignore the fact that Monday we'll have to get back on that hamster wheel one more time.


We did a spot of light charity shopping yesterday and today I'm writing this blog post, even if its subject is two weekends ago, with the impending holiday only a blip on the horizon.

As you can see, red was still on the menu that Saturday! 

The delightful diagonal pattern of the dress, which has been a wardrobe stalwart for many years, combines shades of blue and turquoise on a white background, and I think it just calls out for a pop or two of red.


These pops came in the form of a charity shopped tie-necked cardigan and beaded necklace and a pair of high red boots. These were a retail buy from way back and originally had some very bothersome frills and straps, which were carefully cut off by moi! There, better!

The dress's turquoise was repeated in my beret and opaques. And I wore not one but two brooches: a large carved celluloid one, repeating both red and blue, pinned to my dress, and a tiny floral-themed metal one which I used to fasten the cardigan's tie.



We spent a happy hour or two browsing two charity shops and, in spite of the fact that I only found a handful of things, it was time well spent even if just for the relaxing properties of a good rummage.

The thin magenta jumper has a bit of sparkle in its weave, and a triangular inset at the collar. It's from the French mail-order company 3 Suisses. Seeing the label made me think of my Mum who used to order from their catalogue all the time when I was growing up.

I'm always checking out the belts, which in this particular shop are jumbled together in large box. For € 1,20 this wide woven belt was mine.




My final find was this unworn pair of wellington booties in a purple tartan pattern, which will come in handy to venture outside in the garden when it has rained or - god forbid! - snowed. So much easier to pull on and off than my tall floral wellies.



Sunday was another day like today, dark and dismal and with lots of rain. The perfect excuse to stay indoors and indulge in some reading and pottering.

But no excuse for not dressing up! I was wearing one of that week's sales bargains picked up for € 4 from Think Twice, and as soon as there was a break in the clouds, we were out there to take some outfit photos.

The cozy wool and polyester blend dress was deadstock with its original tag (Made in Austria!) still present, its print featuring green, red and orange squiggles on a beige background.



The granny square bag was another € 4 find on the same day and its colours seem to compliment the dress perfectly. 

I added my orange, elastic backed belt and a teal beaded necklace. My fused glass ring, which is again repeating the dress's colours, was from a market stall in Bruges back in September.

I quicly threw on this sage green wool blazer, and only noticed later that the lining was peeking out from the sleeves! Well, we did have to act fast, as we expected it to start raining again any minute.



Here are the rest of my € 4 Think Twice finds, starting with a navy dress printed with massive flowers, which made me think of Monica's fabulous massive flower dress and skirt. 



This funky patterned, brown based Diolen shift dress still has its original tie belt finished with tiny gold metal tubes.

Dressing up Angelica with my latest finds is one of my favourite pottering activities, as is playing around with my wardrobe and assembling outfits for the week ahead.

But I also made time for reading, which from the moment I realized I could read, has been one of life's necessities for me. Consequently, I live in a house full of books.


Commenting on one of my previous posts, where I showed you a corner of our sitting room, Veronica said that in her opinion books do furnish a room, and I can only agree with her.

It's the first thing I notice when visiting or seeing photos of people's homes and I find it a bit disturbing when there's no sign of any books, anywhere.

I thought I'd give you a short tour of Dove Cottage's book shelves, starting with the sitting room.

Apart from two sets of 1950s Tomado shelf units full of them, they share space with some old cameras in an IKEA display cabinet I've had for about 30 years, which makes it practically vintage.

But not all of them are on shelves as we're simply lacking in space: there's an old wooden crate piled high with books shoved under our sitting room table!


Our dining room has a wall of Billy shelves, some of them having double layers of books ever since we brought home piles of books I couldn't part with from my parents' house.

The old dresser which used to belong to Jos's grandparents is home to a shelf of vintage paperbacks, which I used to collect. The beautiful doily wall hanging decorated with buttons (top right) was a handmade gift from the lovely Lynn.

The shelves beneath the window were custom made by my Dad, and is holdening gardening and Barbie collecting books.


We are moving upstairs now, where the tall shelf unit on our tiny landing was also custom made by my Dad. We have increased shelf space by hanging another 1950s Tomado unit above it.

To the left is our bedroom, where a row of vintage Penguin paperbacks live on the mantelpiece.



The door to the right of the landing leads to our spare room, which is the same size as our bedroom, which is quite huge. This is our dressing room and home office and I'm sitting here typing this.

It also houses another Billy unit, which has space for some vinyl as well. This unit, and the shelves next to it, are crammed with books, including some of Jos's childhood books, as well as my vintage fashion library.


You've probably seen enough books by now, so I'll end this post with an outfit.

This is one I wore during the week to come, but which I assembled that Sunday, giving it a trial run in the garden where, lo and behold, the sun had made a watery appearance.

It had been a while since I wore this groovilious frock featuring brown, green and orange. For some reason, I wasn't sure about it, but I'm glad I gave it another chance, as it's now a keeper.


The ochre beads were a gift from my friend Ingrid, while the orange cardigan was charity shopped, but both the belt and the ring were retail buys. 

I'm racking my muddled brain but I can't for the life of me remember where the green ceramic Bambi brooch came from. But isn't he or she the epitome of cuteness?

Well, that is it for now, and as my next post will only be after the day, I'm wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, whichever way you celebrate it - or not!

See you on the other side!



37 comments:

  1. We have books everywhere. :-) Hopefully, tomorrow will be over quickly that you can finally relax. I missed the last two days at work because I got sick. I'm not back to normal yet and therefore glad that we are on holidays alreaady. Have a good time! Regula

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    1. Thank you, Regula! I'm hoping the holidays went well and you're having the most amazing time in Moscow! xxx

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  2. I shall have to take some pictures of our messy bookshelves - we have about 9 of them in our condo, and I have a lot from my mom's childhood.

    Love all of the wonderful dresses, including your new ginormous flower dress! Wishing you and Jos a very Merry Christmas, and hugs to Phoebe too! See you on the other side - two more days of work for me and then I'm off for a whole week!

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    1. Looking forward to seeing your messy bookshelves Sheila ;-) xxx

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  3. I have a huge bookshelf in my room and it is somehow still enough to keep all my books organized and tidy.
    Love your outfits! :)
    I am your new follower #40
    Follow back ?
    xoniomaniax.blogspot.com

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  4. Love all the colours in your outfits. You are certainly a colour queen!

    I enjoy reading too. I’ve got too many books now that my 2 shelves are full. I can’t wait to buy a house one day and fill it with book shelves.

    I like you Mary figurines above your shelves. Did you find them in opshops?

    Happy Christmas! X

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    1. Thanks Jess! So pleased that you noticed the Mary figurines, which indeed were all found in opshops! xxx

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  5. If i would not watch, we would have books on every wall of that huge BWH! But i need an airy environment, so for new books in some old ones have to go....
    Love the look with the swiss made dress! Earty tones with pops of brights are a fav of mine - and the dress itself is very chic!
    Enjoy your holidays!!!! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! I have to do a yearly purge of books, but all non-fiction are usually keepers. xxx

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  6. Loved seeing your bookshelves. Have a wonderful Christmas.

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  7. Your outfits brighten up a dark December, all put together perfectly.
    Books are my addiction you'd feel right at home in my house. I keep thinning them out by donating paperbacks to charity but still they accumulate faster than they leave and I like to know I have a pile of unread ones waiting for me. Then there's the old favourites I can't part with.
    Wishing you, Jos and Phoebe a happy Christmas and a good rest from work. xxx

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    1. Thank you Sally! I am trying to be more ruthless with my paperbacks too and have just done a little purge over the holidays. Not that you'd notice ;-) xxx

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  8. Oh I love seeing pictures of book shelves and yours are fab! We have books in every room in our house except the kitchen and bathroom...

    I loved all your colourful and beautifully patterned dresses. The last one with the pretty paisley pattern was delightful and I loved it with the accessories you chose. In fact all your accessories were fab - they always are!

    I also loved the tie neck cardigan - very unusual I thought.

    Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year to you both!
    xxx

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    1. I thought you'd appreciate my book shelves, Vronni ;-) We used to have one or two books in the bathroom as well, but not any longer. And we do have Mrs. Beaton's in the kitchen ;-) xxx

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  9. 3 Suisses! My grandma used to order from them, too!
    Love your pink jumper, wellies and both your dresses. You did well.
    The red outfit, the Autumnal one and the orange accented combo are all fabulous.
    I'm always fascinated by other people's bookshelves, you can tell so much about someone by their choice of reading material. We've got a Ikea bookcase on the landing, a mammoth Victorian glazed fronted Victorian beast that used to live in my Grandpa's office until he retired, a shelf of dedicated vintage fashion and handicraft books and two Lloyd Loom bedside cabinets crammed with paperbacks. I redonate all our paperbacks back to the charity shop once I've read them (and usually come home with the same amount!)
    Hope work whizzes past and you're back home and able to enjoy a well-earned break with Jos and Phoebe in a few hours time.
    Loads of love from me, Jon and the cats! xxxx

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    1. I didn't know you had 3 Suisses in the UK! Other people's bookshelves always fascinate me as well. I even turn around magazines when they have pictures of someone's bookshelves in them, trying to read the spines! xxx

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  10. As usual you have an eye for choosing the most fab prints and colors. Love the last dress and the adorable Bambi pin, the granny bag and the first two brooches. Your book collection is amazing. Makes quite the impressive decorating statement!

    Enjoy your relaxing holiday.
    Theresa

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    1. Thank you so much Theresa! I actually have quite a few Bambi pins as I find them irrisistible. xxx

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  11. Merry Christmas, Ann! Wishing you, Jos and Phoebe a very Merry Christmas and wonderful 2020! Thank you for being such a lovely friend. XXX

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    1. Thank you so much Sasha, and thank you too for being my friend! xxx

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  12. Yes, that green ceramic brooch is the epitome of cuteness indeed. The outfit you wore it with is beautiful as well. I really like the print on that green brown dress, it's so pretty. The orange necklace, cardi and boots are fab too and those tights are so eye-catching. The whole outfit is so lovely. A perfect combination of colours.

    I also really like your first look with the blue dress with diagonal stripes and the chic beret. The red cardi is a great pairing with that blue dress. I also like the second look and the brownish colour palette. The granny bag is amazing. Such a great find. You do find the best things.

    Merry Christmas! I plan to do some reading myself and I'm really looking forward to it.

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    1. Thank you so much Ivana, and I hope you were able to do some reading! xxx

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  13. wonderful blog

    greeting from Indonesia
    happy blogging and Merry Christmas!

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  14. I hope you're enjoying your holidays to the fullest:).

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    1. Happy 2020 to you too Ivana, I had a wonderfully relaxing holiday, but unfortunately I have to go back to work tomorrow! xxx

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  15. I cannot imagine a home without books. I once went on a couple of dates with a guy who I really wasn't sure about. I met him at his place one night and there was literally nothing to read, not even a magazine or newspaper, that was definitely the death knell on our relationship!

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    1. That would have been a turn-off for me as well, I'm sure! xxx

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  16. You won't find any books in my house except for in my office, and as it's normally an absolute tip, I rarely invite people in! I like to have books around, but I also like to pass them on so they can be read again, I find it hard to let them go though. I have one decent sized bookshelf and I limit myself to that, I know if I bought more I'd fill them and it would be even harder to part with books!
    xx

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    1. Keeping your books in the office sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, though, I'm descended from a family of hoarders ;-)) xxx

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  17. woww, lovely outfits and lovely that you thought on me when you found the massive flower dress, this kind of details make me totally happy, thanks!. And your dress looks particularly fabulous indeed!
    Love your red cardigan over the diagonal striped dress and love all the delightful matchiness you created which makes my heart sing!.
    Also love the autumnal shades in your second outfit, your dress pattern in oranges and greens and the cute accessorizing (oh, this bag!).
    And I totally agree that it's disturbing when there's no sign of any books in a home. I always notice their absence in decorating magazines, which annoys me (even if I know they're just fantasy!).
    Your last outfit is also gorgeous, I love so much those colours and accessorizing and how fabulous you look in them!. Glad that you kept this dress! it's stunning!
    Best wishes for the new year!
    besos & Felices Fiestas

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    1. Thank you Monica, and yes, I immediately thought of you when seeing that dress :-) I'm the same with decorating magazines, always wondering how people can live in empty, bookless spaces! I'm glad I kept the dress too. What was I thinking? xxx

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  18. You got some great finds from Think Twice there - you and Monica definitely have to have a Massive Flower Showdown.

    I can't imagine living without books. Pete's got rid of a lot of his since getting his Kindle, but I hang onto mine. The batteries can't go flat in books!

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    1. The batteries can't go flat in books! I love that! And it's true ;-) Besides, I love being surrounded by box. No Kindle can beat that, in my book - pun not intended :-)) xxx

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