Wednesday 23 February 2022

February, quite contrary

One of the woes of being a working girl is the distinct lack of blogging material during the week. I'm sure my office days would illicit more than just a yawn and, as apart from a quick dash to the shops for essentials, I haven't been out much during my lunch breaks, there isn't any content to be gleaned from these either.

To add insult to injury, there's the lack of daylight which prevents me from showing you my daily outfits in Winter.  Help is on its way, however, as I've noticed with more than just a modicum of delight that the days are finally lengthening. For now, though, it'll be mostly weekend outfits and outings here.

Consequently, there isn't all that much I can tell you about the second week of February. Except perhaps that Think Twice's sales were in full swing and that I made it to one of their shops on Thursday, which happened to be a € 4 day. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, it means that every item in the shop sells for € 4! I might even have made a purchase, but I'm asking you to bear with me. You'll get to see me wearing my find later in this post!



Meanwhile, my weekends are still starting a day early, as I continue to be able to take Fridays off. Long may it last as the mere thought of working a full 5-day week leaves me quite exhausted.

In spite of our best intentions, we'd slept late-ish on Friday the 11th of February, so that the morning was quite advanced before we could make a start with our weekly round of the charity shops. 

My outfit was a repeat of one I wore to work earlier that week. With the thermometer stuck at 8°C, I was glad of my dress's wool content. The dress in question, which is vintage, its label proudly proclaiming it was made in Belgium, was a charity shop find many years ago. In fact, it was my friend Inez, whom I was shopping with that day, who pointed me into its direction.



I'm loving its pattern of pink and purple flowers floating down towards the hem on a criss-cross patterned background. It came with a rather gorgeous Bakelite buckled belt , which this time I replaced with a bottle green leather one.

Layered on top was a chunky knit cardigan in a similar shade of green. I also sneaked in yet another wear of my beloved tall green boots which, like everything else in my outfit except for my tights, socks and underwear, were second-hand finds.




The metal and enamel green butterfly brooch was one of my very first vintage brooches, picked up in a posh, overpriced second-hand shop in Antwerp before I knew any better.




Our first port of call that Friday was the Oxfam shop in Wilrijk, where the dregs of the Winter clothes were going half-price. There wasn't anything that tickled my fancy, so we left empty-handed.

We fared better in our local charity shop, where we stopped on our way home. Browsing the bookshelves, these three landed in my shopping basket.



Chaos reigned in the clothing aisles as apparently they were doing a seasonal changeover here as well. In spite of this, I still managed to snaffle a green and white striped vintage blouse of Swedish origin and a caramel cardigan with a silky front panel endorsed by women's magazine Libelle. 

Back at home, it was time for some chores after lunch. These included cleaning the bathroom and, as the initial clouds had made way for some unexpected sunshine, finally sweeping up the leaves which had been accumulating on the garden path since Autumn. 



We woke up to some light frost on Saturday. The mercury would climb to just 7°C, but with the continuation of Friday afternoon's sunshine it felt glorious and almost Springlike outside.

In fact, the weather was just perfect for wearing my latest Think Twice find! 

It was love at first sight for this wool and acrylic blend vintage C&A dress. Isn't it a stunner?




The red chevron pattern on a rich teal background made me swoon, and that's before I spied its frilly neckline and cuffs! The lining made it comfortable to wear, although I did have to combat some minor itchiness on my arms by layering a long-sleeved tee-shirt in a matching teal underneath.

Although the dress came with a teal tie belt, this was instantly ditched and replaced with a wide leather belt in a delicious reddish brown. In order to keep the collar on its best behaviour I pinned it down with a red-hearted brooch. A vintage carved celluloid brooch featuring a threesome of Summer flowers was pinned to the dress's bodice. Finally, a red plastic ring and red opaques completed my outfit.





It would have been downright shameful not to go for a walk on such a gorgeous day, so we decided to top up our Vitamin D levels in Walenhoek, which is yet another local nature reserve established on the site of former clay pits.

At just over 10 kilometers from our front door, it's the perfect choice if we want to go for a slightly longer walk but do not want to stray too far from home. 



The last time we were here was on New Year's Day, when there were only two other cars in the reserve's car park.

It was quite a bit busier now! We'd just parked our car and I was exchanging my boots for my walking ones, when a car stopped next to ours, disgorging two mothers with a gaggle of extremely loud and boisterous kids.

We gritted our teeth and waited until they were out of sight and, more importantly, out of earshot. Much to our relief, they took the path leading off to the right, whereas we wanted to take the one to the left as usual.




Finally, peace and quiet reigned again, and as we were walking in our chosen direction, we spotted some people walking on a paralell path on the opposite side of the pond to our right. 

In the Summer months, this path would be completely hidden from view by lush vegetation, and in fact, it was the very first time since we've been coming here that we actually noticed there was one at all. 



We decided to investigate and soon spotted the path in question, leading off into the direction we'd come from and meandering between the two ponds which were both on the verge of flooding it.

Negotiating some muddy patches, we enjoyed the sun on our backs and the unmistakable scent of approaching Spring in the air.

 


While the shady pond on our right still sported a gossamer layer of ice in places, the expanse of blue sky with its wispy clouds was reflected in the mirror-like surface of the one on our left.




Soon the path merged with one we'd frequented countless times before, although we usually walk into the opposite direction. Nevertheless, we marvelled at the fact at how different it all looked, as if it was all brand new territory.



We kept meeting fellow walkers at regular intervals, all of them giving us the time of day, even the ones walking in larger groups. The noisy family, however, seemed to have vanished into thin air.

I squealed with delight when I noticed that our favourite bench, sitting on a spit of land jutting out into the largest of the ponds, was ours for the taking. 




Here we rested our weary feet for a while, enjoying the cakes we'd brought while bathing in the sun's mild and wholesome rays.





A soft breeze had joined the sun, rippling the water with hypnotizing sparkles, which we sat and watched for a while. 

If all goes well, you can enjoy them with me ...




We would be in for a couple of sunny days before being battered by pesky Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.

But that, my dears, will be for my next post.


32 comments:

  1. I've noticed that the days have grown slightly longer too. Finally!
    The wool dress with a pink and purple print is stunning. I love how you paired it with that green cardigan. The Think Twice sales sound inviting. I love the concept of everything being 4 euros, I bet I would enjoying that kind of shopping.
    That C&A vintage dress is absolutely stunning. Its V shapes red striped look amazing against teal background. I love your red beret and scarf too. Lovely photos from the walk. It's nice being out and about.

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    1. Thank you Ivana! Think Twice's sales actually go down to everything being 1 euro, although admittedly there isn't much choice left on the final day, as you can surely imagine! xxx

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  2. Ah, such lovely pictures of your walk - I'm glad the boisterous family was scarce. I loved your mini-movie!

    Lovely outfits, Ann! You have such an amazing wardrobe!

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  3. I loved The Other Hand, a fantastic book!
    Your walk looked beautiful, the sun's rays glinting on the water and those brilliantly blue skies. What balm for the soul.
    The knitted dress is fabulous and the pinkish one couldn't be more you. Well done Inez for pointing you in the right direction.
    The days really are getting longer now, aren't they? Jon's adjusted the timings on all the outside lights - a sure sign Spring's not too far away! xxx

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    1. Upon your recommendation, I moved up The Other Hand in my reading pile. I'm struggling a bit with my current read, as I always fall asleep after a page or two. That way, obviously, it is taking forever to finish it! xxx

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  4. Again, you have done very well at the charity shops - those blouses are very striking and as for the dress, well it definitely had your name on it! Loving the photos of your water world and you I can see the delight in your face at having bagged the bench for a second time! Thank you for the short video clip - very immersive. I too get a thrill out of observing the slightly longer days. It won't be long now! xxx

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    1. Thank you Claire! I was so chuffed to find that C&A dress and yes, I was delighted to have bagged that bench: it's such a great place to sit and stare! xxx

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  5. That teal adn red dress is such a great find, it looks lovely on you! It's good you were able to get out and find a new path for your little stroll as well! I was most upset to take a walk along our favourite trail the other week and find out that one of our favourite shortcuts was blocked off "for revegetation" Made me a bit sad as the bush is growing in and filling in the path nicely now it's blocked off, and they put a fence at both ends. It was a bit dicy at the top off the cliff part as the fence had fallen when the cliff eroded but it's still sad out fave shortcut is gone, there was still plenty path way left on the cliff edge!

    Hope you are having a great week! :) Another wet and stormy one here!

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thank you Mica! Actually, we had the same thing happen to us a couple of years ago, when we suddenly found a favourite path fenced off as otters and beavers had made their habitat there! xxx

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  6. Another lovely bright post. i wish my local charity shops were as exciting as yours. Still I can enjoy your finds and I do.

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    1. Thank you Jean! Our shops aren't always that exciting though, I guess I've just been lucky lately! xxx

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  7. 'The Secret Scripture' is one of my favourite books by one of my favourite writers. I loved it. It's set in Co. Sligo and the mental hospital is the same one my granny spent some time in in the early 1960s when she had a nervous breakdown. I went to see if I could find the dance hall mentioned in Strandhill and I believe I found the site if not the actual building itself; it's made of corrugated iron...happy reading!

    Fab finds - such a pretty caramel cardigan. I loved the C&A dress. I am in love with your green boots, too.

    That looked like a great walk. I love walking in cold, but sunny weather and you're so right; I've noticed the days lengthening too. We just need the wind to go away now...
    xxx

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    1. Oh, now I simply cannot wait to read "The Secret Scripture"! Fancy the mental hospital being the one your granny spent some time in ... xxx

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  8. Hurray for more daylight Ann and lashings of vitamin D :) I do love an old pit reclaimed by nature, plus I enjoyed your water sparkles. How fabulous your retro C&A blue and red dress is! xXx

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    1. Thank you Lulu! You'd be spoiled for choice here with all our clay pit based nature reserves! xxx

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  9. the vintage C&A dress is super cute!!
    but the one inez found you is not bad either :-D
    glad you had some sunshine for your walk around the nature reserve.... when i plan a walk/hike i always make sure to walk it in the "right" direction for more dramatic views/experiences :-D
    hugsies! xxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! I'll take your tip on walking in the "right" direction into account! xxx

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  10. Hahaha, so recognizable the families with loud children, we hate that! The days really are getting longer, I love that so much. Its almost March! We have plans to go to the UK by the end of March, can you believe it, I can't. Pink and purple is such a beautiful combination isn't it. I also love pink and burgundy a lot. It will be a glorious sunny weekend here, so I think you will have that too. Enjoy!!

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    1. Thank you Nancy! I'm so glad for you that your UK plans are going to go ahead! xxx

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  11. What a relief to see blue sky and smell spring. :-) Today is a cold and very windy day but with sunshine and no clouds from minute one to the last. What a difference that makes.

    Have a nice week with lots of interesting moments!

    Regula

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  12. Ah, the nature reserve looks wonderful! And how great that you got that bench to yourselves! I always grit my teeth when I spy a noisy family too! I feel quite smug, having already seen both of these beautiful outfits before the post! The teal dress really is gorgeous!!
    I do like your stripy blouse! Can't wait to see you style it!xx

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    1. Thank you Kezzie! It's such a gorgeous and - usually - quiet place for a walk. It was quite a relief when it turned out we'd lost that noisy family :-) xxx

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  13. Glad to see the sun came out for you. You look great.. love both your outfits.

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  14. Spring is on its way at last. I’m catching up on my blog reading. Xxx

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    1. It definitely is, and I am trying to catch up on replying to comments :-) xxx

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  15. That C&A dress is a real gem! What a great find, dear Ann.

    It exemplifies your fabulous style and strikes me as a garment that would be surprisingly easy to pair with a fair number of other colours and various accessories (especially since red and teal - which is a kissing cousin of blue, after all - are primary colours and they tend to work so nicely with many of their colour wheel compatriots.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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    1. Thank you Autumn, I thought that dress was a great find too and obviously I couldn't wait to give it an outing! xxx

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  16. Ah, work! Got to do it so we can afford to do things, can't do things because we've got to work! I'm glad you're able to enjoy Fridays, at least. With spring on its way you'll be abloe to get those vitamins properly topped up.

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    1. Exactly! Now that I'm 60 I'm making plans to work a 4 day week officially, so that I can keep enjoying those Fridays off! xxx

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