Saturday 15 October 2022

Sending out an S.O.S.

Lately, I've been feeling a bit low and out of sorts, and in spite of sending out an S.O.S. for my get-up-and-go which I seem to have lost somewhere along the way, it has yet to be returned to me.

It has been a rough couple of months to say the least. The disruptive building work next door - News Flash: the wall still isn't finished and our garden is still looking like a building site! - has a lot to answer for this. As does the fact that I'm on my own in the office until end of October at the very least, with only myself and the stoically silent walls to talk to. Add a more than generous amount of rain and dawn arriving a couple of minutes later each day and at times it's all I can do to crawl out of bed in the morning. And that's before the daily headlines bombarding us with yet another round of bad news.

But I'm sure that's not what you came her for, so I'd better stop my moaning. Let's have a look at some of my outfits instead, shall we?

At least I can still find joy in getting dressed, even if sometimes inspiration doesn't come as easily as it did before.




We've arrived on Sunday the 25th of September when, after a string of rainy days we were treated to some unexpected sunshine and a reasonable 16°C.

Having procrastinated both on Friday afternoon and Saturday meant that I had a list of things to tick off before another working week loomed on the horizon, so we actually only walked to the museum garden up the street for outfit photos. I know, we could have done those in the garden, but our neighbour was working on his kitchen extension roof, and I didn't feel like being watched.




I was wearing a long-sleeved wrap dress I charity shopped back in August. Seduced by its groovilicious print, I ignored the fact that I somewhat fell out of love with wrap dresses a couple of years ago. This was its first wear and I can report that it's definitely going to be a keeper.  

I added oodles of pink, starting with the T-shirt I layered underneath and the long-line cardigan I wore on top. There's pink among the wooden discs of my necklace and as well as the brooch, a painted seascape found in a Middelburg charity shop in November 2019.



My oatmeal coat is vintage, found at Think Twice many moons ago, and the perfect weight for those early Autumn days. The funky grey, green and pink patterned scarf came from a stall on our local Saturday market and the denim blue embroidered western-style boots, originally from Sacha, were a lucky find in a charity shop last November.

All work and no play wouldn't do on a Sunday, of course, so I spent some time lounging on the couch with my latest read.

After finishing the gripping Sleep, Pale Sister by Joanne Harris during our holiday - a hauntingly evocative laudanum-dream of a novel, anyone? - I started the enjoyable but otherwise forgettable The Missing Pieces of Nancy Moon by Sarah Steele. Don't get me wrong, it isn't bad at all, especially if like me you are looking for some pure escapism, but I certainly cannot back up the raving 4 and 5-star reviews on Goodreads. 




The rain returned with a vengeance on Monday and Tuesday and with highs of just 13°C it felt decidedly unpleasant. The kind of soul-destroying murky days on which daylight hardly gets a look in.

We only managed to take outfit photos on Monday, so here I am wearing two of my wardrobe stalwarts, both picked up at Think Twice over the years. The chevron patterned skirt is the most recent of these and joined my collection in October 2020.



I accentuated the blue flowers in my blouse's exuberant pattern by adding a blue beaded necklace and a gold tone leaf brooch edged with tiny blue beads. The latter was found in a Shrewsbury antique centre in June 2019. At my waist, my stretchy belt with its faux-tortoiseshell hexagonal buckle, which was last year's sneaky retail buy.



If I remember correctly, it remained mainly dry on Wednesday, although at 14°C the temperature still was nothing much to write home about. The mornings are getting chillier as well, often starting in the single figures, which is making wardrobe decisions a head-scratching exercise.

My lunch break was spent at the hairdresser's, where my coiffure was updated by my regular hairdresser Michel's wife, as he was out of action as a result of a motorcycle accident. Don't worry, his wife is a hairdresser too and what's more, I think she did a great job. I even had a host of compliments later that week.



When wardrobe inspiration is lacking, there's always a mental library of tried and tested outfits to fall back on. Case in point is this pinkish brown hued floral frock, which I don't think I've ever worn with any other colour than sky blue. And I'm pretty sure that the faux-tortoiseshell necklace and the bird brooch have been worn with it before as well.

The tall, tan mock croc boots have been on constant rotation ever since I got them out of storage, and I definitely don't regret my impulse buy after spotting them in an advertising leaflet which fell through our letter box last Autumn.


Thursday was another mainly dry day with the sun playing peek-a-boo a couple of times, and a mild-ish 16°C. As I had to go for my booster jab, I took the afternoon off and, taking advantage of the extra time at my disposal, I continued with the seasonal swap-over, and even got out my iron and ironing board to give the most wrinkled offenders a once over.

I wore Tuesday's skirt again, but this time combined with a jumper, the sleeves of which were accommodating enough to allow easy access to my upper arm. I'm happy to report that all went well and without any side-effects apart from a slightly sore arm for a day or two.



The reasonably mild and sunny weather continued into Friday, when the weather gods cranked up the thermostat to 17°C.

As I had already taken Thursday afternoon off, I had to work a whole day on Friday, for which I rewarded myself with a naughty high street purchase: a gorgeous mustard yellow wool-blend skirt from Uniqlo, which you'll get to see me wearing here as soon as we're having a cold snap.



Friday's frock was yet another Think Twice find, a teal vintage one patterned in Autumnal hues snapped up almost exactly a year ago. I took advantage of the pops of green and tan in its print by adding a belt, necklace and ring in matching colours. My brooch is matching the dress's print in both colour and theme.



And just like that, September had come and gone, and we now found ourselves in October.

"Then summer fades and passes, and October comes. Will smell smoke then, and feel an unsuspected sharpness, a thrill of nervous, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure." ~Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again

The first day of the first of the true Autumn months had a bit of a false start as we woke up to the sound of rain beating against our bedroom window.  Half-way through the morning, however, the rain clouds packed up their bags and made way for blue skies and sunshine. 





We wasted no time in packing a couple of sandwiches and driving to the park in Duffel for a picnic followed by a stroll.

Admittedly, I was dressed a tad too warm for the balmy temperatures we were treated to that Saturday. I certainly didn't need the beret, nor my frilly turquoise scarf and it was no hardship to remove my green Tweed blazer to show you what I was wearing underneath.




I'm sure my tweedy turquoise vintage skirt does not need introducing, as I've been wearing it on the blog countless of times. The orange floral top, however, got its first outing. It was charity shopped earlier this year and has a keyhole neckline to which I pinned a brooch I bought brand new from H&M back in the mists of time. The wide woven belt and the teal King Louie cardigan were charity shop finds, as was the orange flower corsage I pinned to the latter.



And speaking of charity shops, since we were only a stone's throw from one of our favourites, it goes without saying that we went for a rummage. 

The orange and bluish grey striped knitted top with its cute frilly sleeves is by Essentiel Antwerp, while the ajour knit blue cardigan, which as a bit of sparkle, is another King Louie.

I also snapped up Diane Von Furstenberg's autobiography and and a chunky knit orange, pink and purple scarf.

My final find that day was floaty aqua floral skirt by H&M, which I'm already envisioning myself wafting around in next Summer. 



But that's still a long way off, and I will probably have forgotten about this skirt by the time I'm doing my Spring/Summer swap-over. That said, I haven't even finished the Autumn/Winter one as I type!





42 comments:

  1. Hello Ann, well you are looking truly fab in your colourful outfits. You are certainly cutting through all the murk and endless building works! You're especially groovilicious in your pink outfit. Regarding your sole office working situation - I'd be weary of talking to one's self too much. Over the years I have spent time working alone and now I can't break the habit in a shared office!!! I put on a headset so my colleagues presume I'm on a call. Often I'm not - I'm just nattering to myself :0 ;) :) Good luck with the autumn winter swap over xXx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your advice Lulu. Luckily I've only got one colleague who I guess is used to my quirks by now! xxx

      Delete
  2. There are hard times ahead of us, and I am not even sure whether we read about it or see in on TV. There is a big change going on, and I try to imagine how our life will be in a few years. I fail. What can we do?

    I hope the lonely times in your office will end sooner than later. Hopefully the construction site (former garden of yours) will come to an end before the winter kicks in.

    Meanwhile enjoy your colourful and flowery wardrobe even if the weather gets cooler. There is always another sweater to put on top of different layers of clothing. Drink tea, light a candle, listen to Mozart. Sing and dance! It doesn't help to be sad. I just came home from Ireland. These people have a whay of life we can learn from.

    Have a lovely Sunday!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Regula. I'm trying to live day by day and not worry about the future too much. You're absolutely right: it doesn't help to be sad, but I'm afraid that's the way I am. xxx

      Delete
  3. I'm sorry you too have been feeling the blues. It's rotten when everything conspires against you. I'm sorry that the neighbour extension intrusion still continues.
    You put together some gorgeous outfits. I particularly loved the bluey floral shirt dress with the red cardigan.
    Sending you hugs, lovely friend. Xx
    Kezzie xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kezzie, I just knew you'd understand! xxx

      Delete
  4. Sorry you have been having a hard time! It's nice to see you are still embracing all the bright colourful pieces and patterns to help boost your mood! I find that colour can be a real mood booster for me on the days I just feel blah!

    Hope you are having a great weekend :)

    Away From The Blue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Mica, and you're absolutely right: wearing colour is a real mood booster! xxx

      Delete
  5. Sometimes things get difficult. I find that blogging about what I love really helps to put me in a more positive mood. Your gorgeous, colourful outfits always look great.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Liz, and yes, blogging really helps to put things into perspective! xxx

      Delete
  6. Hi Ann, Sorry to hear you've been feeling low. This time of year never helps. I definitely experience a slight dip before I adjust to the seasonal changes before embracing the winter months.
    In the meantime, you have your wonderful wardrobe to distract you. You look very chic in that oatmeal coat and western style boots!
    Hope you feel better soon. Spending time alone at work can be a good thing. I suggest you sit with your feet up on your desk, phone in hand and puffing on an imaginary cigar while you have the chance! :-D xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Claire! While I haven't been puffing on an imaginary cigar yet, I often sit with my feet up on my desk :-) xxx

      Delete
  7. fabulous autumnal outfits!!!
    love the (almost) all blue one especially...... but dont BE blue because of things you can´t change anyway - be glad about what you have - and you have a lot.
    hugsies! xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Beate, and I'm trying not to feel (too) blue. Not always succeeding though! xxx

      Delete
  8. Hello Ann. I'm sorry you've been feeling down of late. The building work and incessant mess sounds very draining although, being the antisocial creature I try not to be, I'd have loved having the office to myself and not having to listen to my colleagues wittering on about Strictly Come Dancing or Xmas three months early!
    I love the pink cardi, the chevron midi skirt and the glorious blue-hued walking outfit especially. Your finds are fabulous and it won't be long before that floaty H&M skirt gets an outing - not that I'm wishing my life away. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Vix! I'm an antisocial creature too and usually I don't mind being on my own. I certainly prefer this than having a lot of gossiping colleagues! xxx

      Delete
  9. I am sorry to hear the construction work was still ongoing. I hope by now it has stopped or at least reduced...

    What lovely outfits and do I detect a paisley theme going on? I really loved the brown dress with blue accessories; the beautiful dark blue worn with tan/orange accessories and the skirt and top ensemble. I had quite a few wrap dresses in the past but like you stopped buying them - they are still very popular and I always see them in the charity shops. Wasn't DVF the queen of the wrap dress?

    Great charity shop finds!
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Vronni! I do love Paisley but the theme wasn't intentional. And yes, DVF was indeed the queen of wrap dresses. xxx

      Delete
  10. Dear lady, I'm sorry to read you're feeling a bit low. Neighbours and their building works are annoying enough to make you feel disgruntle, let alone that gloomy weather. Sending you sunshine!
    Anyway, you look fabulous in these vibrant autumnal outfits, and I love your wrap dress with pink, your cool brown&blue colour combo and floral frock, but my favourite one is that teal dress with leaves motive. Also loving that tweedy turquoise skirt and warm jacket, and the floral top you wore for a walk in the park.
    besos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Monica and thanks for the sunshine which has arrived in abundance in the meantime! xxx

      Delete
  11. I think the changeover of seasons from Summer to Autumn is always exhausting. I still love Autumn the most though. Love your outfits, I found your blog through Vintage Vix, so will follow now. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Louise, and welcome to my blog! xxx

      Delete
  12. Oh Ann, you don't need to apologise for how you're feeling. Better to be a thinking, feeling person than someone that is oblivious to the world around them. I hope your workmate returns sooner than expected and your (as we say in Nebraska) "shithead" neighbour finishes their project soon. You're NOT moaning, and I'm giving you a virtual hug right now.
    Your outfits are beautiful, and I was thinking of you when I purchased some colourful berets, though I can't say they look as nice on me as they do on you. Your haircut looks lovely as always. How lucky your hairdresser is to have a spouse that can fill in for them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, thank you so much for your lovely comment Goody, and the virtual hug was very much appreciated. Feeling much better already! xxx

      Delete
  13. Hang in there, honey, these feelings will pass - this is a rough time of year, and it's been compounded for you with the disruption to your environment. I totally get that (I'm also very sensitive to noise/lack of noise) and you have nothing to apologize for - and in fact, I commend you for asking for some love and good vibes!

    You must have been with me in spirit on my shopping trip yesterday, as "you" led me to yet another Welsh woven outerwear (this time a coat!). Your own outfits here fill me with happy feelings, as you're always so well put together. I love your scenic brooch, the chevron skirt and that pic of you at the railing is fabulous.

    Big hugs to you, my dear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your heartfelt comment, Sheila. I'm glad I led you to that fabulous coat! xxx

      Delete
  14. I really liked the tweed jacket in particular, but I love seeing all your outfits, and how you match and contrast colours. The stripy top has fabulous sleeves!

    I am sorry you have been down, it is understandable, endless noise, bad news, but weather! I hope the noise ends soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Laura! I'm particularly sensitive to noise and disruption, and I'm hoping with you that it ends soon! xxx

      Delete
  15. Dear Ann, sorry to hear that things are getting you down , hang in there soon the building work must finish and peace will descend again. I do fully understand I hate the machinery noise involved .
    Working alone would be a challenge for me too.
    Your wonderful outfits always must add cheer. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jill! I think we'll have to live with some kind of building work for a while yet and be thankful for the quiet moments! xxx

      Delete
  16. All alone at the office? Wow, that's boring. I can imagine that is not doing anything for your state of mind together with that shitty neighbour. Some people, read a lot, just don't consider other people. It would irritate the hell out of me, a neighbour like that. I arbiter all of your outfits here. Especially the fall colours ones, Although the turquoise skirt with the blazer looks amazing too! How fabulous that you found the DvF book! Such a fabulous woman! Have a great new week Ann!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Nancy! You are so right, lots of people do not consider other people. We are always wary of making too much noise and always think of our neighbours whatever we do ... xxx

      Delete
  17. Sorry to hear you have been feeling a bit down lately. You are not the only one.. I'm not feeling very chirpy at the moment either. The rain and gloomy weather don't help.
    I love that pink broach. So many great outfits and thrift store finds, it's hard to choose a favorite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Hena! You're right: the gloomy weather and dark days ahead do not help at all! xxx

      Delete
  18. If it helps the gloominess at all, I always feel uplifted when I visit your colorful blog. We all have "down" times and I like to think of them as "just before the up times." Listen to the walls, they might be wanting to tell you something....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, thank you so much Joni! And I do think those walls might have a tale or two to tell! xxx

      Delete
  19. Oh yes, as I understand you. That's why a holiday in autumn is still planned. Because when it's over, I'll be missing my colleague for the next 4 weeks. She is on vacation in Zeeland and I need all the strength for my job and everyday life.

    Your beautiful colorful outfits sweeten my life too Ann. 💕
    The first with many pink is my favorite today.
    with a veeeeery huuuuge hug Tina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Tina! We usually have a short trip planned in Autumn as well. Only, now we have to wait until my colleague is back to make any plans ... xxx

      Delete
  20. It's that bloomin building work that is underpining your gloom. It will eventually be over and your home will feel like your own again. Try and keep your chin up, things always improve, but I know how it is sometimes when the black dog pays a visit. I like all of your outfits and the chestnut palette makes me think of caramel, so you are a tonic to your readers, remember that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jean! I can't wait for my home and garden to feel my own again. xxx

      Delete
  21. I'm sorry to hear you are feeling down lately. I hope things will soon work in your favor. You look fantastic in the pink cardigan outfit.
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

    ReplyDelete