Like spinning plates

My blog has finally reached my first week back to the hamster wheel of full-time office life. And what a week it was! In spite of being able to pinch a day off each week for the foreseeable future, it still left me exhausted by Thursday, wondering how the hell I ever managed week after week of nine-to-fives. Or, in my case, eights-to-four thirties :-)

Life just feels like spinning plates right now. It's just one day more than the three-day weeks I've been working since March but it feels like I'm forever strapped for time.  It boggles my mind how I coped before "the rona". Where did I find time for gardening, reading and blogging, never mind the inevitable household chores? Looking back by way of my blog, there seemed to have been no shortage of fun things either. I can't imagine how I fit all that, and more, into my busy schedule!

We had a rainy start on Monday the 5th of July, with some watery sunshine from early afternoon onwards, and the temperature still hovering around 20°C.Although I’m usually working on a Monday, it felt totally different this time, as it wouldn't be followed by my usual non-office Tuesday. I only had just enough energy left for a quick watering session after work, quenching the thirst of those plants which hadn't benefited from Sunday's rain. As a matter of fact, I felt so overwhelmed that it didn't even enter my head to take outfit photos.

Last seen on my faithful assistant Angelica a couple of posts ago, this King Louie was long overdue an outing, so I wore it to work on Tuesday. It's the dress which kick-started my love for King Louie stuff back in 2012, and one of a handful bought brand new rather than charity shopped.

I took full advantage of its navy, red and orange pattern, picking navy for my Millefiori bracelet and ring, red for my wooden bangle and cat brooch, and orange for my necklace.

For once, though, I didn't swap its self-fabric tie belt for a contrasting one from my stash, in spite of there being plenty of likely candidates.

Judging from the outfit photos, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a sunny day, but in fact it was and utterly grey and rainy one. There was a brief let up during lunch break, so I decided to brave the crowds and walk to the nearest Think Twice shop. Rounding the the corner, however, I could see a queue snaking towards the shop's entrance, so that I turned heel and went for a quick walk around the block instead. I'm so, so tired of forever dodging the crowds!

At the time of writing, the Hydrangeas you can see peeking out above the jungle of ferns in the previous collage are a sorry mess, but here they are still looking fresh as a daisy, their azure and faintly purple tinged blooms with the odd new-born lime green one thrown in, a veritable sight for sore eyes.

The mixed hanging baskets and cones of Pelargoniums under the awning were at their pinnacle too, as were the pots grouped on and around the barrel at the back of the garden. 

And look: the slugs didn't kill off my lovely Astrantia 'Primadonna' (above, bottom left) after all. Aren't its pink pincushion-y flowers gorgeous?

The sun rejoined us on Wednesday, even if she once or twice played peek-a-boo with the clouds, and the day's highs of 22°C meant a cardigan could be dispensed with for once.

I was wearing a yellow dress sprinkled with orange and brown dots which, in spite of missing a couple of buttons, I fell in love with on the spot when I spied it at Think Twice in June 2016. As I didn't like the existing buttons anyway, I replaced the lot with pearly ones salvaged from a high street blouse which had seen better days. 

My sleepy Lea Stein lookalike cat brooch is nestling among the dots near my dress's collar, while other accessories were a chocolate brown beaded necklace and a brown mock croc belt with a faux tortoiseshell buckle.

As I had to wait in for a courier, I took an early lunch break while my colleague, who only works mornings, was still in the office. Once outside, I made a beeline for Think Twice where this time there was no sign of a queue. I spent a happy half hour or so browsing, finding three skirts and a a dress for which I paid a whopping ... € 16. I hadn't even clocked they were having one of their sales!

The sunny weather and my unexpected Think Twice bonanza gave me a well-needed boost of energy. 

I happily pottered around the garden after work, watering the thirsty plants and deadheading the annuals. I even uprooted several nasty Nasturtiums, the offspring of last year's climbers which had sneaked themselves into the border next to the bench uninvited and had by now grown far too big for their boots.

Looking innocent and innocuous at first, they seemed to be conspiring together in taking over the garden. Of course, I couldn't find it in my heart to get rid of the variegated leaved ones (bottom left) but the larger ones really put me in mind of the fearsome plants in The Day of the Triffids!

And there's no escaping them inside Dove Cottage either! What are the odds of having not one but two tins decorated with Nasturtiums! 

And now, without further ado, here are that day's Think Twice finds which, once again, Angelica has the honour of premiering on the blog!

First up is a red cotton skirt, which has a shirred waist stitched with rows of multicoloured thread. Garlands of embroidered flowers trail along its hemline, a crocheted lace peeking out, creating the illusion of a petticoat worn underneath.

This handmade cotton skirt has a delightful pink, blue and maroon millefiori print and has the added benefit of being fully lined.

I was charmed by the faux patchwork pattern of this vintage C&A skirt, which might well be my favourite of the three.

My final find was this Diolen dress in shades of lilacs and pinks, with the cutest of lilac buttons and a chevron patterned skirt. You'll see me wearing this one in a next post.

When photographing my finds, Angelica wasn't my only assistant this time! 

Like Phoebe before her, our Bess is keen on giving a helping hand, although she seems to be more interested in the dust bunnies living underneath the landing bookcase here.

To say that I was glad when Thursday finally rolled along is quite an understatement.  I was actually overjoyed to have made it through my first four-day working week. 

The weather gods had even cranked up the thermostat to 23°C for he occasion, so yay!

When I pre-selected and assembled a couple of outfits on Sunday, I was adamant to include a skirt and top combo among the row of dresses, as these kind of felt like the easy way out. You know, just add some accessories and you're ready to go.

As this outfit was a bit of an afterthought, I didn't try it out in advance, so I was happy it worked as well in real life as it did when planning it in my head.

Both the skirt and the cotton peasant style blouse are from the high street by way of a charity shop, the blouse having joined my wardrobe only recently.

Accessorizing was a doddle with all those colours to choose from. I picked an orange beaded necklace to tie with the skirt and added a green butterfly to frolic among the flowers on my blouse.

Stretchy belts are just perfect for accenting one's waist while not being too restricted when sitting at a desk for most of the day, and my feet were comfortable and happy in a pair of blue wedge heeled shoes trimmed with a tan bow.

And so we have arrived at the end of this post. I'll be back soon, please do stay safe until then, my friends!