Summer's swansong

As correctly forecasted by those who are supposed to be in the know, Summer took its final bow on Friday the 14th of October. Admittedly, with the continuing Indian Summer temperatures we had been blessed with in September and the first half of October, it was obvious that we were living on borrowed time. Still, it was quite a shock to the system when the mercury took a dive from its lofty 24°C to a mere 14°C on Saturday.

Time for the next installment of my wardrobe exchange, which involved delving into the depths of my coats wardrobe for the first batch of Autumnal outerwear. 

I'd almost forgotten about this forest green cord jacket with its heart-shaped patches. From the German Oui label, it was charity shopped back in May and promptly stashed away until Autumn.

But I definitely hadn't forgotten about this gorgeous denim midi dress! Although I had been scouring the charity shops for well over a year, the perfect denim dress had so far remained elusive. So, imagine my delight when I opened the bag of presents Vix and Jon had so kindly given me during our June meet-up and found this gorgeous button-through puff-sleeved one waiting inside.

The dress offers endless possibilities and I can definitely see myself wearing it when the temperature eventually drops to single figures, with a long-sleeved t-shirt or a polo neck layered underneath. No need for such things just yet, though. 

I kept it simple by adding one of my stretchy belts, a string of colourful ceramic beads and a folksy wooden brooch, all of which came to me by way of the charity shops. Oh, and a pair of brand new calf length tan boots which Jos insisted I buy! Not that I offered much resistance ...

The weather continued in much the same vein on Sunday with a mixture of sunshine and showers. Lots of showers! Together with the 12°C shown on the thermometer it wasn't exactly the kind of weather to entice us into leaving Dove Cottage's cozy confines. 

However, our phone's weather app kept insisting it would clear up in the afternoon and, as our heads were full of cobwebs, we had plans to go for a short walk after lunch. Patches of blue had appeared as if out of nowhere while we were enjoying bowls of Jos's delicious homemade soup, but we'd hardly finished before another shower materialized. Resigning ourselves to being cooped up indoors, I decided to continue with my wardrobe exchange, but then, hey presto, the sun came back to taunt us.

Quickly donning coats and boots, we made a dash to our garage, picked up our car and drove to the park in the nearby town of Boom - rhymes with home - about 8 and a half kilometers away.

Dark and menacing rainclouds were once again gathering by the time we were making our way through the park gates. Not trusting the weather gods' apparent fickleness, we therefore thought it wise to take an umbrella with us.

Instead of taking one of the paths leading into the heart of the park, we opted for the one skirting the edge, which we followed until we reached the building and garden belonging to an ecological visitor centre.

Last time we were here, about 18 months ago, parts of the garden had been turned to bare soil, which lead us into thinking that perhaps the gardens were being redeveloped. It seems we were right, as now everything was deliciously lush and green and full of interest, even this late in the season.

The rain, which was now definitely imminent, made us take outfit photos in a bit of a hurry. Still, I braved the inclement weather by taking off my coat and show you what I was wearing underneath!

My teal cowl-necked and pleated dress was a Think Twice find in March 2022. For some unfathomable reason, I initially left it behind, which could have ended badly. However, it was still there when I went back for it the next day. What's more, it had been reduced by 30%!

At my waist, the half-elasticated green belt with lion head buckle which I picked up in a charity shop on Saturday. The wood and raffia beaded necklace was charity shopped as well, as was my King Louie cardigan but, if my memory serves me right, the brooch was a flea market find. 

My old pair of knee-high mock croc boots have been demoted to walking boots now that I've got a brand new pair waiting in the wings.

And then the rain came! Buckets and buckets of it, for which the willow tunnel we were sheltering in was no match. As our weather app kept insisting it was just a blip and would be over soon, we made a dash for the visitor's centre awning to wait it out. So we waited, and waited some more until we were starting to get chilled to the bone.

With the sky still a uniform granite grey and the rain getting quite torrential, we made the decision to give up our intended walk as a lost cause. Thankful for having had the forethought of bringing an umbrella, we walked back to our car and drove home. 

Typically, we'd hardly closed Dove Cottage's front door behind us when it stopped raining and gaps of blue once again appeared overhead. 

As it often happens, the wet weekend was followed by a sunny start to the working week. The temperature had dropped to barely above freezing point overnight which, thankfully, the sun managed to crank up to highs of 12°C by lunch time.

My week started with an appointment to the ophthalmologist, where another one of those dreaded field tests revealed that the glaucoma in my left eyes seems to be under control. 

Then it was back to the office where we had a whirlwind visit from our bosses. Although they are the nicest guys ever, their visits are usually quite full-on and exhausting, so that my colleague and I breathed sighs of relief when they left on Wednesday, which was two days earlier than expected.

As a reward for having jumped the hurdles of the past couple of days, I walked to Antwerp's small but perfectly formed Botanic Garden during my lunch break. The sun was shining brightly and the day's highs of 17°C would have been considered balmy if a chilly wind hadn't played spoilsport.

Still, it was heavenly walking the paths of this wonderful city oasis, feasting my eyes on the garden's Autumnal splendour, with the typical seasonal scents tickling my nostrils.

I even found a sunny bench to sit and stare for a while, until my watch told me I was running late getting back to the office. By then, a veil of grey had done away with the blue sky and the sun was beating a hasty retreat.

The rain, however, had the decency to wait until I was home in the evening, although the weather gods didn't have mercy on me on Thursday when they insisted on raining down on me during my commute.

As a result of our bosses' early departure, I was able to take another Friday off. Not that we had anything fun planned, as we had a funeral to go to. The deceased was my late Mum's cousin who had reached the formidable age of 91 years. In contrast, my Mum passed away just months before her 66th birthday ...

It continued raining on and off all day on Saturday, with the oddest of sunny spells, and about 16°C. 

There was a charity shop event going on, so we thought it wise to avoid the inevitable crowds and visit the non-participating Oxfam shop in Wilrijk to satisfy our rummaging urges. I'll leave my finds for my next post, ending this one with the outfit of the day.

I bought the dusky pink blouse with its wide wing collar in a vintage shop back in 2015, when I fell for its pattern of plum, orange and green flowers and diamonds and its bright orange buttons.

I combined it with one of my favourite skirts, a € 4 sales bargain from Think Twice in October 2019. The dusky pink in its pattern of flowers, berries and Paisley matches the blouse almost exactly.

I picked up the sage green bits by adding a green suede belt picked up in the Summer sales, a vintage necklace which had its origins in the same shop as the blouse, and a pale green plastic ring recently found on the high street. 

Last but not least, the hard-to-photograph faceted purple glass brooch I pinned to the blouse's collar was found in a Shrewsbury charity shop during our holiday in June. Here's a better look at it!

Oh, and before I bid you goodbye, we bit the bullet and booked a mini getaway for later this month. Which means I'll be writing another travelogue before the month is up. Isn't that exciting?