Thursday 21 October 2021

Oh foggy days

The day we woke up to on the 8th of October was wearing a veil of fog so dense that we felt as if marooned in a cocoon of cotton wool.

The weather forecast kept insisting it would clear up later, but for now the sun was having a hell of a time making herself noticed.

It was Friday, which could only mean one thing. Yes, we were more than ready for a spot of rummaging after a week's abstinence. We even went the extra mile and visited the charity shop on the industrial estate in Mechelen. One of our regular haunts in the Before Times (thank you, Sheila!), it had somewhat fallen from grace after our first post-Lockdown I visit last year. In fact, this was only our third visit in well over 18 months.



I will let you have a peek at my finds in a minute. But first things first, as the sun had finally managed to pierce through the layer of fog just as we'd reached our second shop, which was the one near the park where, weather permitting, we usually end up going for a stroll.




By the time we'd parked our car, a glorious Autumn day was about to be be unveiled, so we grabbed our camera - and the waffles we'd had the forethought to bring - and set forth.

The eagle-eyed among you might have already spotted that I was wearing the cord skirt I couldn't resist buying in a high street shop a couple of days earlier. I might not be averse to a spot of pattern mixing - surely that's the understatement of the century! - but sometimes I'm craving the blank canvas of a solid. Here, I even went a step further by going for neutrals!



The trees edging the park's ponds were silhouetted against a thin blanket of lingering, gossamer fog, diffusing the light and confusing eye and camera lens alike.



With the sun effortlessly warming things up to a balmy 18°C, it was no hardship to remove my Tweed jacket to reveal what I was wearing underneath.

My teal blouse, with its funky orange, yellow, turquoise and white pattern, serendipitously has its origins in the same shop as the skirt it accompanied, although it came to me by way of a flea market. 



I added a turquoise textured leather belt to accentuate my waist and accessorized with a red glass beaded necklace and a brown and gold plastic ring. The brooch with its faux-tortoiseshell frame is a much-worn favourite.

Blue was my choice for the first opaques of the season, while the ankle boots, which have seen better days, were perfect for trudging through wet grass!



By the time we'd enjoyed our waffles while contemplating the world on a sun-warmed bench, the fog had packed up and left, leaving a bright blue sky in its wake. 

Our Vitamin D levels satisfactorily restored after our circuit of the park, we returned to our car and drove home, where Bess was waiting impatiently for her lunchtime bowl of food.



Before I proceed, I'm treating you to a closer look at my vintage belted Tweed jacket, which is always a joy to rediscover in Autumn! As is the frothy turquoise scarf, which is just right to combat those Autumnal chills. 



And now, without further ado, here are that week's charity shop finds!

An ochre yellow Breton top was still missing in my wardrobe, and so was a purple jumper, so both could be ticked off from my mental list. 

Then the long-sleeved top in the middle, with its funky Autumnal pattern, caught my eye, as did the two beaded necklaces. 

The raffia bag was a snip at € 0,50, while the moss green ankle boots with their sturdy soles set me back € 6. They are Mephisto and would easily have retailed for about € 190. 



Saturday's weather could have been a carbon copy of Friday's, although the morning fog was less persistent, with the sun having already managed to magic away most of it by the time we were having breakfast.

Wanting to make the most of what looked set to be a glorious Autumn day, we slapped together a couple of sandwiches and programmed our Satnav to take us to one of our favourite nature reserves, the enchanting Blaasveldbroek.




A light fog was still clinging to the edges of this watery paradise, the landscape illuminated by dazzling sunshine and meeting its mirror image in the ponds.



Standing on the jetty, silhouetted against the brightness of the sunlit pond, making outfit photos was quite a balancing act. In fact, making use of our camera's flash turned out to be the only option.

Coordinating with the season, I was wearing browns, both my skirt and blouse vintage wardrobe stalwarts picked up at Think Twice. The skirt in particular is an old favourite, making its first appearance on my blog in its first month.

The tangerine necklace was a charity shop find - as was the pink cardigan you can just catch a glimpse of in the below photo - while the orange stretchy belt and the flower corsage are old retails buys.



'Tis the season of the Tweed jacket, so I'm wearing another one from my collection. This one features some funky embroidery on one side only.




Brilliant shafts of sunlight were acting as spotlights to guide us along the woodland path.

Once we emerged from under the trees, we walked between reed-lined ponds until we came across the most inviting sunlounger.




The perfect place to worship the Autumn sunshine and perhaps indulge in a little shut-eye. Zzz!



Walking as a pastime seems to have taken a backseat ever since Covid regulations have been relaxed. We only met a handful of people and at times it felt as if we had the place completely to ourselves, and we were quite appreciative of these rare moments of solitude.

We made time to enjoy the spoils of Autumn, the turning leaves, the graceful seed heads and the delicately sculpted flowers of the alas highly invasive Himalayan balsam. 


The crooked tree on the bottom right always makes me reach for my camera and it must have featured on my blog in all its seasonal guises. It tugs at my heartstrings, this solitary tree and its efforts to reach the sky, somehow evoking an unexplained nostalgia. 




It was time for lunch by the time we rejoined civilization at the visitor centre. Soon after we'd sat ourselves down at one of the picnic tables, we were joined by the resident black cat. Purring loudly, she succeeded in stealing our hearts, as well as some of the contents of our sandwiches.



We loved the new wildlife artwork adorning the visitor centre, although I'm sure the resident chickens weren't quite so appreciative of the prowling fox painted on the walls of their coop!



Hunger pangs satisfied, we completed our walk around the domain, appreciating its primordial wildness, before once again making our way home.

Oh, if only Autumn days could always be this sweet ...



38 comments:

  1. Hey Ann,

    I often come back to your blog for travel inspo! Keep these beautiful 'reportages' coming!

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    1. Oh, thank you so much! How wonderful that my blogs gives you travel inspo! xxx

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  2. love brown with blue and that tweed jacket is one of my favorites!
    gorgeous photos of the beautiful landscapes - perfect bench to bask in the autumn sun :-D the wall paintings at the visitors center are stunning......
    and a lovely cat to share picknick with <3
    xxxxx

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    1. And mine, Beate! In spite of it being slightly moth-eaten, it'll be a long time until I say goodbye to the jacket! Unusually for cat, she even scavenged for part of my cheese sandwich, bread and all :-) xxx

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  3. Beautiful Autumnal photos Ann (particularly the shafts of sunlight) and perfect outfits to match! I always feel better after a walk and even more so if it’s close to water - it must be something about its reflective properties. The moss green boots were a brilliant find - bet you can’t wait to wear them. I’m a little envious as I’m curtailing my charity shop visits at the moment - too many crowded shops full of people without masks, even though cases are soaring here in the UK. I love seeing your finds though! xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! My favourite places to walk all include water. Thankfully, we've got quite a few nature reserves here, which are established on former clay pits, now filled with water! xxx P.S. Charity shops here are all a lot bigger than the average UK one. I wouldn't dream of going into those smaller ones!

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  4. What a lovely autumnal post Ann. I’m going to have to find myself some of those blue tights, I haven’t got that shade in my stash. They go so well with the tan which I’ve got in my wardrobe this year. I’m just a bit jealous of those green boots as well.
    I had a little chuckle at you sprawled across the massive park bench.
    Stay well dear friends. We’ve got our booster jabs next week and have had our flu ones today xxx

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    1. Thank you Lynn! I can't believe blue opaques are missing from your wardrobe :-) And yes, they are just fabulous with tan shades! xxx

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  5. Blue and brown! Yes, I love that combination. I ordered a dress today with those colors. By seeing the first photo my thought immediately was:huh, where are the prints?? But luckely you wore that fabulous blouse underneath. Oh and yes, that tweed jacket. Gosh, I adore tweed. I'm going to look for a pre loved twee jacket! Thanks for reminding me.

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    1. I fooled you Nancy :-) I love a tweed jacket too, and this one is my all-time favourite! xxx

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  6. What a lovely post, Ann! I see you, being very dramatic in your poses! Lovely corduroy skirt - I'm also drawn to neutrals in good fabrics and cuts. We need them to wear all our fun blouses with!

    Amazing pictures...just beautiful. I love that giant lounger!

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    1. I'm a drama queen ... err ... princess, didn't you know :-) xxx

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  7. Hello Ann, I had to do a double take with the giant sun lounger... I thought you'd somehow shrunk yourself ! :0 :) Waffles and an autumn nature walk sounds perfect. Loving your tweedy jackets and the wildlife artwork. Lulu x

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    1. Wasn't that lounger amazing. Re the shrinking, I was originally going to include an Alice quote :-) xxx

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  8. Brilliant photos, Ann! How cool is that huge wooden bench? You and Jos look like The Borrowers!
    I love the chunky black cat and the glorious lakeside vistas, too! The artwork is fabulous especially that owl.
    I knew that brown cord skirt would look good and it does. I love those green boots, I'd have danced around the shop in delight if I'd found them in my size! xxxx

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    1. We do, don't we? The brown skirt is just perfect, and I'm glad I bought it even if buying new is something I rarely do! xxx

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  9. These are monumental animals on the walls of the visitor centre. Beautiful artwork! xxx Happy weekend!

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    1. Thank you Regula, that artwork is gorgeous isn't it? xxx

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  10. What gorgeous days those foggy mornings produced. I loved your outfits; both very autumnal. As for your finds, wow, you did so well! I am so jealous of the green boots; they are gorgeous.

    The wild life artworks were fabulous. Maybe the fox artwork might dter the real foxes!
    xxx

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    1. Thank you Vronni! Those green boots are delightful in every way. And I hadn't thought about the fox artwork that way. You might be right though! xxx

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  11. That classic tweed jacket really is something timelessly special. What a joy that you get to catch up with it again each year as the mercury begins to plummet.

    Autumn Zenith 🎃 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Thank you Autumn, that jacket is my all-time favourite! xxx

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  12. Lovely autumn outfits. I'm laughing at the size of that lounger, but what fun it must be to sprawl out across it.
    Artwork in public places always makes me happy. I wish we had more of it.

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    1. Thank you Goody! It was a joy to sprawl out on that lounger, I could have stayed there sunbathing for much longer than we did! xxx

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  13. Lovely photos <3 And your autumn outfit too. Loving your teal blouse too, the prints look so pretty.

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  14. Love you soaking in all of those rays.
    Our sunny days have been scarce.
    You found some great pieces. Love the boots.

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    1. Thank you Hena! We've had quite a few sunny Autumn days, and certainly made the most of them! xxx

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  15. You do pattern mixing very well. This is something I'm no good at! Lovely to catch up with you xx

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    1. Thank you so much Laurie! Pattern mixing isn't something that came natural to me. I was inspired to try it by other bloggers! There's been a lot of trial and error ... xxx

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  16. Thank you for taking us on the walk and topping up our vitamin C too!

    If you're ever in top-to-toe plain neutrals, I admit I'll think you've been caught by the Bodysnatchers! But that skirt really highlights the pattern of the top you wore it with.

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    1. You're welcome, Mim, and your Bodysnatchers remark made me chuckle! xxx

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  17. Lovely photos and so delightful autumnal shades both in the landscape and in your outfits!.
    Your funky shirt is a joyful piece and love the way it ties browns and blues together, everything goes!.
    You made some fab purchases, the yellow striped top (I have some of them from C&A) and the moss-green boots are really versatile pieces!
    Love your photos on the massive bench, so amazing spot for some sunbathing!. And you look particularly fabulous in the matchy browns and oranges ensemble, so delightful prints!
    Love the golden light, nature looks a little bit drowsy and really beautiful.
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! The shirt is one of my favourite pieces, and I have a dress in the same pattern too!
      I love your description that the golden light makes nature look a bit drowsy! xxx

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  18. this Autumn weather has been blissful hasn't it? What wonderful photos thank you for sharing.

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    1. Thank you Gisela! It really has. Except for this weekend, it's been raining for two days running! xxx

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  19. What utterly perfect sunshine you had and all your photos have such a glorious glow and richness of colours in them! Wow!
    I especially love the one with the shaft of sunlight shining down like heaven and the red leaves.
    Ah, I see I read the posts in reverse order so I got to see the charity shop finds in all their glory!
    You look so tiny on that wooden lounger!!

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! Wasn't that sun lounger magnificent. I felt like Alice after she'd drunk from the Shrink Me bottle :-) xxx

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