Terrific tartan and perfect plaid

Yet another flea market has come and gone and I haven't even told you about our finds on the previous one! I really must get my skates on! They'd have to be old fashioned roller skates, though, as I used to love to whizz around on them a lifetime ago. Ice skates, not so much, as I had a little ice related accident when I was four years old, ending up with a broken arm and a lifelong trauma.

But I'm blathering on a bit, and if I keep going at that rate I will still be talking about my December outings and outfits well into the new year!

So, back to the first Sunday of the month, when we were all ready to go to yet another extra edition of our favourite flea market.

Here's the wrongly sized cardigan I found at the charity shop that weekend. As soon as I clapped eyes on it and its delicious embroidered flowers, I knew it would be the perfect companion for my tartan pattern circle skirt.

I fell head over heels for the skirt when I was trying to shake off the New Year blues on the second day of this year by going for a walk around my little hometown. Halfheartedly looking at the festive shop windows which were now past their sell-by date, the skirt was imploring me to ignore my self-imposed rules and principles about not giving in to fast fashion.

In addition, the shop in question was making an early start with the sales, so that any left-over resistance melted away like ice cream on a hot day.

As a nod to the brown flowers nestling between their blue and white sisters, I added a translucent brown beaded necklace and a wide tan belt.

I lost count of the number of times I was told I was dressed for Christmas. Well, maybe I shouldn't have worn my green furry collared jacket on top, and pinned the leaping stag brooch to it, which one of the stall holder insisted was a reindeer! 

We have a season ticket for this flea market which, except for July and August, is being held one weekend a month. This year, there were some extra editions in November and December, and while this might sound like a good thing, there were fewer stalls and, apart from the usual diehards like us, it seemed to be one too many for a lot of regulars.

This particular edition still had a good mix of stalls selling an array of items, from lovingly laid out vintage to haphazardly packed cartons containing everything but the kitchen sink.

Our finds were a mixed bunch as well. The red woolly thing is a jumper and it was my first buy that day. Originally from the high street, I was more than happy to hand over its € 2 asking price. The creamy thing on its right is a vintage slip, for which I paid the same price. They are becoming rarer than hen's teeth these days.

At our friend Tanja's stall, we fell for this sugar bowl and milk jug. Dating from the late 1960s, they are from the Belgian Boch pottery and the pattern is called Argenteuil. We already have several pieces of this pattern, including a coffee pot, so it was obvious that these had to come home with us.

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you! This is indeed a roll of loo paper. A vintage one, obviously. Isn't that packaging absolutely fabulous? This has gone straight into the display on top of our bathroom cabinet, where it is joining another roll from a different brand. For a little peek inside our tiny bathroom, see my post from June 2016. As this is over 3 years ago, it goes without saying that it's a bit more crowded up there now!

From Rita, who usually has a stall back-to-back with Tanja's, came this delightful vintage powder compact, while Jos pounced on the Expo 58 medallion inside its round blue box stamped with the 1958 World Fair's emblem, which came from the same stall.

I'm always on the lookout for cheap 'n cheerful costume jewellery, like these chunky rings and mottled green beaded necklace.

We were already more than halfway through the flea market's aisles when I found my first brooches.

These all came from the same lady from whom I've been buying for years. Pickings were meagre this time, but I still came away with these four.

My favourite and most exciting find of the day came at the very end. Browsing another regular trader's stall, I spied these two brooches hidden away inside a display case. It is thanks to French blogger Solenn (you can find her blog here) that I recognized them as 1940s handmade brooches.

The following week brought us another string of dark rainy days, the rain often increasing in intensity by late afternoon, and resulting in the usual rush hour traffic disruption.

By Friday, the temperatures had taken a nose dive as well, but at least I had the afternoon off so that we could dash outside in daylight for some outfit photos.

I didn't stop raining all afternoon, and I had no option but to make use of my brolly.

In case you are worried, my trusty photographer took these shots standing under the glass awning outside our kitchen door, so that he didn't get wet either!

The cold prompted me to dig out my woollies, starting with the plaid Gor-Ray skirt which was a lucky charity shop find about a year ago.

The gorgeous jumper with its profusion of pink roses is another King Louie find. Both the jumper and the green Mango cardigan were charity shopped as well.

I just love pink and green together!

As they are not visible in the outfit photos, I included a close-up of the jumper's delightful puff sleeves.

I thought the Limoges style ceramic brooch enhanced the old-fashioned romantic vibe of the jumper, while I chose more pink for my other accessories, a string of pastel pink beads and a fuchsia chunky plastic ring.

So, that is all for now, my dears.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to practice my (ice)skating routine in readiness for my next catch-up of outfits!

Escape into the shade

Languishing at the bottom of my mending basket was this gorgeous cotton piqué Summer dress.

It had been there for many months and, all but forgotten, it was starting to feel quite sorry for itself.

I'd found it on a rail at a flea market back in April: when I spied its blowsy green flowers and bottle green flower buttons, I couldn't hand over my € 2 fast enough. Needless to say that I was somewhat put out when I tried it on at home and found it to be a bit wide on top.

I pinned it this way and that but, without any proper sewing skills I was at a loss as how to make it fit. I wasn't ready to admit defeat, though, as it was really a rather lovely frock!

Enter the heatwave. In my struggle to find things to wear, I was suddenly reminded of the poor frock, which must have felt like a voodoo doll by now, what with all the pins. As I thought it would be perfect for the kind of weather we were having, I dug it out and put my thinking cap on. No mean feat, as I was feeling as if I was having one giant hot flush, which was rather counterproductive for my already muddled brain.

But, Eureka! What if I just moved the buttons a bit more to the left? As it's already closing asymmetrically, nobody would be any the wiser, surely!

After putting my plan into action, I am happy to say that my efforts have paid off.

By now it was Saturday (I'm lagging behind, so I'm talking about two and a half weeks ago here), and we had a brief respite from the heat. It was still warm enough to wear the dress but thankfully the temperature had dropped to below 30 degrees. Time to go for a little walk!

The park was looking decidedly past its best by now, its lawns all dried up, with hardly a blade of green to be found, and with most of the summer flowers in the herbaceous borders already on their last legs.

A gusty wind had brought some much needed oxygen in its wake, so I was feeling a bit giddy.

Walking into the direction of the little wooden bridge, the resident geese starting honking for a handout, so Jos went back to our car to get the leftovers from our picnic. They're quite greedy buggers!

Any excuse for a spot of charity shopping, especially as one of our favourite shops is only a two minute walk up the road from the park.

I pounced upon these navy and white shoes, as I used to own a pair of these before, found at a flea market back in May 2016 and worn until they fell apart.

Then there was a whole armful of bangles, and a huge wooden fish brooch.

Finally, these two new-to-me skirts, both already worn in the hot days which were still to come.

The green and blue one on the left looks like it was handmade, while the wide skirt in browns with a hint of orange on the right is by Roberto Collina and made in Italy. I'd never heard of the brand before, but some quick googling revealed that it must have retailed at well over € 100,-  Somebody must have had money to burn!

Here are some of the other outfits I wore to combat the heat.

Would you believe it was the first time I wore this gorgeous sleeveless blue and white maxi, which I picked up for a song at Think Twice about a year ago?  I'm wearing two of the bangles from our charity shopping trip on Saturday, while the belt was previously found at the same shop. Orange was my colour of choice for the rest of my accessories: a necklace which came from a defunct vintage shop, and a brooch and ring from various flea markets.

This 1980s does 1950s frock is a long time favourite and with its wide, swishy skirt, such a joy to wear, particularly on a hot Summer day. I'm wearing the same belt as above, and opted for turquoise and red accessories. You can catch a glimpse of my new red Gabor sandals, a recent sales bargain and super comfortable.

I've got some catching up to do, so fast forward to the next weekend. With the temperature cruising towards the low thirties again, we went in search of some shade.

I dressed in this sky blue cotton Seasalt frock, bought in Wales several years ago. Its sailing boat print never fails so cheer me up. Lovely as it is, it does have a downside, which prevents me from wearing it more often: it is an absolute nightmare to iron.

The celluloid seagull was one of the first brooches I bought from the Brooch Lady. It's quite delicate, so it only comes out to play once in a blue moon.

The straw bag, with its blue flower appliqué, came from Think Twice and was all mine for € 2.

The shade we were after was found in the municipal park of a nearby town. Landscaped between the wars, it's got several so-called French pools, which are connected by rills. It was quite disconcerting to see that the majority of them were completely dried up.

The resident waterfowl had congregated in the heart of the park, where some water was still to be found, even though here too it wasn't exactly plentiful.

We'd brought a picnic, which we ate sitting on a pyramid of tree stumps in the play area.

Sufficiently cooled down, we visited one or two charity shops on our way home.

We didn't expect much, but still came away with another head plaque for our wall of heads, two gravy boats from one of the Boch series we are collecting (priced at € 0,25 each!) and some more new-to-me tops, all costing € 3 or € 4.

Oh, and I might have bought this vintage dress as well!

My next post will be the last one in my series of travelogues. I hope you'll join me again then.

Sentimental journey

No rest for the wicked!

After the antiques fair of Saturday before last, we weren't able to put our feet up on Sunday either, as we had a flea market to go to.

Saturday's rain had been replaced by a cold spell, and I hadn't chosen wisely when I selected this lightweight and unlined green charity shopped jacket. I am posing outside our garage for a change, and I am actually standing in a puddle, which wasn't very wise either, as my boots - a pair I just can't seem to say goodbye to - aren't exactly waterproof!

The dress I'm wearing was charity shopped as well: a lucky find just weeks before last March's retro event. On top, a light brown cardigan, and a scarf in similar colours as the dress. You can see a detail of both below.

My accessories were a brooch (on the cardigan) with multicoloured stones bought in Wales last year, green beads and a gold tone ring with a heart of sparkly yellow glass. The classic brooch, with its gold tone leaves and row of tiny pearls was pinned to the collar of my jacket.

The flea market in question is the famous indoor one in Mechelen, about 20 kilometers away, which is being held monthly from September until June. This year, we have taken out a membership card, saving us quite a bit of money. That means, of course, that we actually have to go now, no excuses! As if we need any incentive ...

In the top photo you can see Mr. S. in conversation with the other member of our party, my lovely friend Inez!

My first find was a jacket for the princely sum of € 2, but you'll get to see that in my next post.

Then, this empty lemonade bottle caught my eye! It dates from the 1960s, which I know for a fact as it was the lemonade my Mum always bought when I was growing up.

Although I had forgotten what the bottle looked like, I still clearly remembered their slogan, which ran "Ordal, best van al" (best of all). As I didn't like the taste of that lemonade at all, I always said it should have been "slechtst van al" (worst of all)!

I was charmed to see it even had a complete poem extolling the brew's merits on the back of the bottle. Wouldn't have convinced me, though!

Next up were these two small snuff tins, probably dating from the 1920s. The round one even still has a small amount of the vile stuff at the bottom, which I'm not going to sniff any time soon!

Talking of tins, I was very taken with this fabulous souvenir tin of the 1935 Brussels World Exhibition, in typical shape and colours of the era.

From the same stall came this tin advertising Belgian chocolate and biscuit factory Victoria.
They were established in 1896 and until 1938 their logo was a portrait of Queen Victoria, after which they switched to the marching British brigadier beating a drum, instantly recognizable to people of a certain age in Belgium!

The company finally stopped trading independently under the name Victoria in the late 1970s.

The market itself was huge and we browsed for almost four hours, only interrupted by a spot of lunch and a well-deserved cup of coffee or two!

But wait, no brooches?, I can hear you say ...

Well, it actually took me until the very last aisle to finally spot my first brooch, which was the butterfly, although I rather suspect it's a moth!

At a stall directly opposite, I found the gold and blue brooch with the chain. It wasn't priced but after thinking long and hard, the seller's verdict was € 1!

Then, a couple of stalls further on, the little dog and the pearly ladybird were waiting for me!

Four brooches wasn't bad a all, of course, especially as I'd bought six of them the day before.

But that was before I came across the stall heaped with costume jewellery I blogged about here. I'd promised a photo next time but guess what? I forgot!

The seller is the complete opposite of the Brooch Lady with her neat folders, but actually at least as much fun, as I love a good rummage. The result were no less than eight brooches for which I paid a total of € 22.

I'd taken the Monday after this two day bonanza off. However, we still had to get up early-ish to collect yet another buy.

We'd been looking for cups and saucers of a Boch dinner service we'd started collecting after we'd been given a couple of dinner and soup plates for free. Pure nostalgia for Jos, as it was the dinner service he'd grown up with.

After many years, we finally found cups and saucers - and much more besides - on a Belgian Facebook page called The Vintage Market. Asking price, a ridiculous € 25 for the lot!

We have been told by several people in the know that the cups and saucers are quite rare.

We also learned that at the time this particular dinner service could be saved up for by collecting loyalty stamps when buying a range of products, called Fort, at the grocery shop.

I remember their catalogues full of stuff to spend the full booklets of stamps on, and in particular the ones which were issued this time of year, full of toys to ask Sinterklaas for.

When emptying my parents' house, we came across this booklet of stamps which somehow never got completely filled, possibly because the company in question stopped trading in 1987.

So far, this trip down memory lane!

Even though it's Tuesday, I'm taking my outfit to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.

Time passes. Listen. Time passes.

Is that the time? Goodness me, it’s time to get out of my warm winter bed. No time for laziness, even though it’s Saturday!

Now, what shall I wear? I admit that this is one of the first things that pop into my mind. During the week, I have a rail of possible outfits put together in order to save time (there it is again!).

Not so on weekend days, when I love to throw open my wardrobe doors, and wait for inspiration to strike.













Breakfast time: back to the late 1960s, with this handpainted breakfast set by Belgian pottery Boch. We have several of their designs, but today we have opted for Bernadette. We even have a coffee pot to match. Ah, first cup of coffee of the day, to give it a kick start.

Shopping time! This is Dove Cottage’s version of a shopping list.

Dating from the 1930s, I fell in love with it after seeing it in BBC Homes and Antiques magazine back in 2005.

Imagine my delight when just a couple of months later, while on holiday, I unearthed this one in an antique shop in Lewes.

Although over the years we have collected quite a lot of kitchenalia, for which we both have a special fondness, this certainly remains one of our best finds ever.

On Saturday, there is no grocery shopping, though: this is all being done by Mr. S. while I'm at work, leaving our weekends free for another kind of shopping! Quite a luxury, no? What more could a working girl want?

Shopping means either visiting charity shops or, when there's a flea market on, that's where we head off to.

This is what came out of the wardrobe: a long-sleeved Crimplene dress, with a pussy bow and a zip at the front.


The pretty label says Shamrock, which I haven't been able to find out anything about.











Predominantly black, it has a kind of trellis pattern in white, against which red-hearted white flowers are growing.

I added a red cardigan with a ruffly collar, as well as red opaques.

The flower in my brooch almost matches the dress's flowers.

I continued the red theme with a belt with unusual square plastic buckle, a chunky red plastic ring and a watch with a red strap!

I wore the checked winter coat you've seen here before, adding a rich purple flower embroidered velvet scarf and a blue velvet beret.

The beret is a treasured vintage find, made in England, by Pauline for Bermona.










We were headed to an indoor flea market, which yielded a couple of nice surprises, but I will be showing you these in another post.

It took, however, until after we'd had lunch and another cup of coffee that we made our first purchase.

By the time we were ready to go home, it had started raining and we had to dash for our car which luckily wasn't parked too far away.

As we drove home, we passed the beautiful park, Den Brandt, where we snapped some foggy photos last month, looking quite differently in the pouring rain.

No stopping for a walk this time. Instead, it was straight back to Dove Cottage, where the ticking of clocks is a constant reminder of the passing of time.

Time passes. Listen. Time passes. (*)

It is hard to believe that on Saturday, it was twenty two years ago to the day that Mr. S. and I got married. Another reminder of the relentless passing of time!

(*) Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood