Accentuate the Positive

The world is in turmoil and everything has gone topsy turvy, and at times it feels as if there is no way out of this nightmare we're currently living in.

I'm determined to spread some cheer and accentuate the positive, but still I'm having good days as well as bad.

For my own peace of mind, I'm trying, if not to eliminate, then to reduce the negative, by having snoozed everyone on social media who's been scaremongering and posting the often fake and blown out of all proportion news the Internet is rife with. Beyond the bare necessities, I don't want to know. In the end, we can only do what we've got to do, which is to try and keep calm, to practice social distancing and to self isolate as much as possible.

And to wash our hands! Mine are red and raw from constantly doing so and they seem to have aged 10 years in as many days.

There will be no walks to take you on or finds to show you for the foreseeable future, but I can still show you what I've been wearing, can't I? Nothing's changed in that department.

On Friday before last - Friday the 13th, how very apt - the first steps towards lockdown were taken by the Belgian government, closing all pubs and restaurants except takeaway ones, cancelling all events and closing all non-essential shops during the weekend.

I'd taken the afternoon off as we had an appointment at the bank, but that got cancelled as well, leaving me with time on my hands.

There was definitely something fishy going on, so I accessorized my burgundy, rainbow striped dress with the shrimp brooch I recently found at the flea market and a cream belt with a mottled plastic buckle and a ditto little dangling fish. 

I used pops of turquoise for my necklace, cardigan and opaques. Although this wasn't the intention, it just dawned on me that the turquoise might be representing the sea! After all, isn't that what we all are: at sea with the current state of affairs?

The sun was shining on Saturday, so it was too good a day to waste inside. 

But rather than joining the idiots who found it necessary to flock across the border to Holland where shops, pubs and restaurants were still open, and acting as if nothing untoward was happening, we just stepped across our backdoor's threshold and into our garden.

To say that it is showing signs of neglect is a huge understatement, so we took advantage of our house arrest to start with the first of our tidying sessions, removing some of the rampant ivy and pruning our lovely Hydrangea which was still sporting its dried flower heads among its luxurious new growth.

My denim ankle length gardening apron came from IKEA, but at almost twenty years old it can practically be considered vintage. The pink floral gardening gloves were a bargain from a local shop and I have them in yellow too. 

And this is what I wore for the rest of the day. Flowers, and more flowers! 

Both the navy, flower sprinkled skirt and the blue and white floral blouse, were Think Twice finds, but while the blouse already joined my wardrobe last Spring, the skirt was a more recent sales bargain.

Picking up the orange flowers in the skirt's print, I opted for an orange belt, necklace and tights. Orange also appeared in the raised flowers on my brooch, while the tiny white ones and the green background echoed some of my skirt's other colours.

We have recently started using our bread machine again - it had somehow fallen out of favour in the last couple of years - and as Jos had stocked up on ready-made bread mix, we didn't even have to leave the house for a loaf of bread. And baking one's own bread makes your house smell heavenly too!

Sunday was mostly spent lounging on the sofa. Or rather, sitting on our 1950s cocktail chairs, as our sofa was occupied by another family member ... Oh well, we all know who's the real Princess of Dove Cottage!

I've been reading my latest book, which is rather good. With my book hoarding tendencies, there will be no shortage of reading materials, that's for sure.

First wearing of this multi-coloured beauty of a dress, another fairly recent Think Twice find.

Here I am smiling as if there is no tomorrow, and faking that I haven't got a care in the world. 

With so many gorgeous Spring colours to choose from, it wasn't easy to pick the one I'd use for my accessories, so after doing some eeny, meeny, miny, moe, the choice fell on green! 

I didn't object and wore a vinyl belt, beaded necklace, opaques and a massive bird brooch in my favourite colour.

For the outfit photos I even donned my sage green ankle boots. They are pull-on ones in waxed leather, and bought while on a short break in Zeeland in November 2018.

Speaking of Zeeland, we'd booked an airbnb there in the week after Easter, which unfortunately it looks like we will have to cancel. Oh, how it breaks my heart!

But I didn't laze around the whole day. Enter Isolation Occupation No. 2!

Taking out my sewing basket and rummaging in my vintage button stash, I set out to replace the tired and washed out buttons on this crepe vintage dress. 

Aren't these magenta ones a definite improvement?  They match the pink-ish bits in the dress's flower print almost exactly.

Well, that was it, the first of the undoubtedly many isolation weekends. I'll probably get cabin fever, but I'm sure I won't get bored.  If only that scary virus would pack its bags and leave!

Do stay safe and sane, my friends!