Not everything is black or white

In just a handful of hours, it will be time to say goodbye to this funny old year. I expect it to fizzle out rather than go out with a bang but, well, let's face it: there's not much cause for celebration, is there?

The hopes we might have had at the start of this year have fallen by the wayside, all but crushed into oblivion by the force of an invisible enemy. 

As the days go by, it's not just hard to remember what the Before Times* were like, sometimes it's almost impossible to get one's head around the fact that such times ever existed. 

And yet, I've picked myself up again, and again, and continued living through the wasteland of days, which have knitted themselves into weeks and then months, until they completed the tapestry of another year.

* Thank you Sheila for this very apt term!

Christmas was still in the future when we set out on a wintry walk on Friday the 17th of December, and so was negotiating the manic Christmas shoppers which would frazzle my nerve ends in the week to come.

The solid greyness of the day had been joined by a lingering fog, and a fine drizzle was coating my glasses as we ventured into the park after that morning's charity shopping.

Too miserable for a walk, our aim was to look for a suitable spot to take some outfit photos.

Crossing the park's overflowing brook, we squelched through the sodden mulch towards a gnarly multi-stemmed tree which seemed perfect for the job. It even had a handy hook to hang up my cork handbag. 

I'll show you the details of the rest of my outfit in a minute, but for now a look at my outerwear will have to do. I wore a plaid wool jacket in delicious shades of chocolate, cinnamon and cream. It's got the softest furry collar ever and I found it in a vintage shop opposite my hairdresser's in November 2019. Due to its rather boxy shape, I always wear it belted, this time opting for a burgundy leather one. Both the green beret and the pink boa were charity shopped and need no further introduction as they've both appeared here countless times.

Apart from the odd, tenacious hangers-on, most of the leaves had joined the thick layer carpeting the ground, leaving the trees gaunt and bare. 

Pink winged Spindle berries (Euonymus europaeus) decked the shrub like festive bunting. I wonder if it flowered early this year, as legend has it that this signified an outbreak of the plague was on its way.

As a final hurrah, Goldenrod (Solidago) regaled us with clouds of fluffy snow-white seed heads.

I was wearing last Summer's roses on my jumper, blowsy pink ones cavorting among a profusion of fresh green foliage. 

The jumper is King Louie and was yet another charity shop find, as were the pink tie-neck cardigan and the cerise belt I'd added to accent my waist. Both my necklace and my brooch, on which a flapper lady is echoing my choice of headgear, were flea market finds. Only my skirt, in a super soft forest green faux suede, was bought brand new from Mango a couple of years ago.

The drizzle had petered out by the time our photo session had finished, so we decided to walk towards the hump-backed bridge where the brook meets the pond. 

Here, we were accosted by the customary gaggle of ducks and geese clamouring for a handout. Alas, we'd come ill-prepared and empty handed. The geese in particular were not amused and loudly honked their discontent. At the back of the pond, a flock of gulls was pretending they belonged in this landlocked part of the world.

We'd come ill-prepared indeed. 

As we ventured deeper into the park, negotiating muddy and waterlogged paths, it dawned on us that there was no turning back and that our photo session had turned into a walk. But not only was I wearing the most unsuitable footwear in the form of my bottle green wedge heeled ankle boots, we hadn't had the forethought of bringing our walking sticks, which were in the boot of our car!

Beyond the pond, the world's edges were blurred by a bank of fog, cocooning the park and us, the sole explorers of the magical world it contained.

The bridge and the grassy field bordering the pond were glowing with the feathery, fiery foliage of Taxodium distichum, the bald cypress,  It was as if a flock of fairies had simultaneously cast a magic spell and conjured up this unexpected splash of colour in a world otherwise leached of it. 

Rags of fog were caught in the branches of the trees, which looked forlorn and ghostly grey, their bleakness a sharp contrast to the odd one out which had stubbornly kept hold of its Autumn finery and was vainly preening itself in the mirror-like pond.

And yet, there were signs of a future Spring, with clumps of gently nodding Snowdrops and the fresh green foliage of some Hellebores which, as a rehearsal for their fat juicy buds, had caught a perfectly formed, coppery Oak leaf in their midst.

Not everything is black or white

Some things are lonely grey

Like windows looking out on rain at dusk

Or the bitter pain in winter skies

when all the birds are gone…’

~H. Joanne Hardee, from “Some Things Are Grey”

This atmospheric poem captured the mood of the day and those which would follow perfectly.

From the park, we climbed to the towpath which runs paralell to it, the river a colourless ribbon running towards the horizon.

We spotted a white heron, but it had spotted us too and took flight, the blur caught by my camera a cross between ghost and angel.

Back in the park, we passed the bench we often use for picnics. Judging from the knee-deep carpet of fiery leaves and the haphazard heaps left on its seat, the last ones to have had their sandwiches here were those spell-casting fairies before they fled for the imaginary monsters in the undergrowth.

Perhaps they were still hiding in the wreckage of the water feature taken over by nature and neglect?

And so, we have come to the end of our walk, and the end of yet another year. 

Pandemic or not, there are still things to be thankful for. If the year got off on the wrong foot by having to say goodbye to Phoebe in February, welcoming Bess in March has more than made up for this.

Happy New Year!

Clouds got in my way

Although it had been pelting down on and off since our return from our walk in the sculpture park on Saturday afternoon, the weather gods seemed to have temporarily dried their tears on Sunday morning. Without Saturday's partial sunshine, however, the day's highs of 5°C felt quite a bit chillier. 

I had a couple of chores to tick off my list, starting with wrestling a couple more Winter coats from their out-of-season hidey-hole, and putting away my lighter scarves in favour of some warm knits.

This was followed by the pleasurable task of assembling outfits for the upcoming working week. This is something I try to do every Sunday, playing around with my wardrobe and making sure I've got plenty of possibilities to choose from on dark weekday mornings, on which my inspiration seems to have done a runner.

By the time we'd finished the somewhat less pleasurable task of dusting the dining and sitting rooms, the rain could be heard lashing against our windows again.

With the world outside Dove Cottage's windows looking pretty uninviting, there was no way we would be stepping into the garden for outfit photos, so we made use of a corner of our kitchen instead.

I was wearing  a wool and polyester blend long-sleeved vintage dress, its deep forest green swirled with orange and mint green. The rust coloured marl knit cardigan was a charity shop find from several years back and helped to keep the worst of the chills at bay. 

For the sake of the photos, I donned my forest green wedge-heeled ankle boots, offering a generous peek at my dark rust opaques.

My belt with its intriguing buckle used to belong to a dress which wasn't me and was redonated sans belt. The brooch was a flea market find back in April 2016 and the necklace with its stack of tiny orange tiles was charity shopped last year.

I always think Dove Cottage really comes into its own this time of year, with its plethora of table lamps highlighting the treasures we've collected over the years.

One of our recently acquired treasures, of course, is Bess! Her latest thing is watching the wildlife in our garden from the edge of the sink below our kitchen window, often raising herself on her hind legs when she spots any quick-as-lightning blue tits making use of the feeder under the awning.

On the bottom right is a view from the kitchen into the dining room, with its original 1930s tiles.

The pretty wooden pendulum clock, found by Jos in a local junk shop, is ticking away in our sitting room, flanked by a pair of cheap as chips charity shopped Art Deco vases. The Bakelite radio dates from the early 1950s is still in working order, although its choice of stations is obviously rather limited, and was picked up at a charity shop event in March 2016.

The ceramic couple on the top left, wearing traditional Dutch costume, is identical to the pair which used to grace my paternal grandparents' mantelpiece. Alas, the originals didn't survive but these two offered an instant flashback to my childhood when I came across them when browsing at a flea market.

There's some Art Nouveau loveliness in the lamp base on the top right and the trinket box on the bottom left. The 1930s green deer lamp was love at first sight at an antiques fair. And what were the odds of finding the matching deer ornament on its left at a flea market only a few months later!

Typically, Monday saw a brief respite from the rain, although it was quite chilly in morning so that I wore gloves for the first time this season. It warmed up to 8°C with lots of sunshine though.

While I was waiting for Jos at our usual pick-up point after work, I thought I'd make a photo of Essentiel Antwerp's flagship store on the opposite corner for Sheila!

Tuesday the 30th November would have been my Mum Alice’s 86th birthday. Sadly, we lost her all of twenty years ago. As if on cue, the day was as dismal as they come, with hardly any daylight worth speaking of and a veritable deluge.

Here she is, in 1965, flanked by my paternal grandmother, a 4-year old me, and my Dad. The photo is taken at the zoo in Antwerp, and this delightful time capsule is one of my all-time favourites.

The rest of the working week brought a mix of sunny spells and showers, with the temperature dropping from a reasonable 9°C to a rather goosebumpy 5°C from Wednesday to Thursday.

In spite of the fact that I'm often finding it a struggle to get through my 4-day working weeks, they do seem to speed by at an alarming rate, with Friday rolling along in no time.

Not surprisingly, it was another dismal day. Although it remained mostly dry, a harsh, eye-stinging wind made it feel much colder than the 4°C indicated by the thermometer.

The powers that be had been sitting together trying to come up with a new set of rules since 9 'o clock that morning, but wild horses couldn't have kept us from our weekly charity shopping trip. Besides, some good-for-the-soul rummaging was just the ticket to take our minds off things.

Trying to give all my Winter coats the chance to shine, it was now the turn of my plaid vintage swing coat, charity shopped back in the mists of time. I'm sure my beret and scarf do not need further introduction.

Underneath my coat, I was wearing a vintage black floral shift dress from Think Twice, topped with a maroon long-line cardigan and ditto pair of opaques. Pinned to my dress was a cream celluloid flower brooch, while a mint green flower corsage adorned my cardigan. The finishing touch was provided by a necklace combining both wooden and raffia beads in shades of green.

Everything except for the tights, but including my beloved green boots, is vintage or at least second-hand.

Pickings were meagre at the first shop we went to, my rummage only yielding these two necklaces. While the pink one is vintage, the chunky reddish brown and pale green one is by Belgian costume jewellery label Les Cordes.

If you're intrigued by the background these were photographed against, it belongs to a dress I found in our second shop of the day. An easy-going dress with sporty trim at the neckline and some very forgiving folds at the waist and hips, I simply couldn't resist its gorgeous print. 

A brown wool and polyester blend plaid skirt and a King Louie cardigan in a delectable shade of green were my final pickings of the day.

Back at home, there was news on the new rules, none of which concerned us very much. These included the wearing of masks for all children from the age of six, a week's earlier start to the Christmas holidays for schools and the cancellation of all indoor events involving +200 people. The main source of infections seems to be in primary schools at the moment. And then there's the new Omicron strain which seems to be slowly but surely heading in our direction.

The most surreal news of the day, however, came from the zoo in Antwerp, where two hippos turned out to have tested positive for Covid-19. I won't blame you if like me you had to read this twice to make sure that your mind isn't playing tricks on you ...

Crazy, crazy world! Surely this needs a cuddling session with our Bess. No enforced cuddles where she is concerned, though, she is actually asking for them. After spending 12 years in the company of grumpy Phoebe, we are definitely not used to this kind of cat behaviour!

It looked set to be a wet weekend, starting with a rainy all-dayer on Saturday. 

To make up for the lack of proper daylight, I dressed in sparkles! Well, I actually did that so that I could participate in Nancy's Good Buy/Good-Bye Book.

My outfit was based around this sparkly turquoise midi skirt with its striking black geometric pattern. After wearing it only once upon finding it in the Think Twice sales back in November 2017, it had been languishing in my wardrobe ever since, as admittedly it was somewhat snug in the waist.

A Good-Bye, then? Well, no. It turned out to be just a matter of moving the waist button a bit to make it a Good Buy after all! It only took me 4 years to think of this!

I added more sparkle with my turquoise cardigan charity shopped last year and if you look closely there's some sparkle in my ring as well. 

The black vintage blouse with its tan stripes and tan and turquoise flowers was another Think Twice find. My zebra belt was making another appearance too, while a charity shopped cream and turquoise necklace and a - yet again sparkly - bird brooch found at a flea market completed my outfit. 

With any outside activities out of the question, but needing to flee the house if only for an hour or so, we drove down to the slightly smaller charity shop in the neighbouring village of Reet. 

I've been on the lookout for more long-line cardigans, but so far the charity shops haven't exactly delivered. Much to my delight two of them were waiting for me here, a fluffy grey one and one in a delicious raspberry colour. 

My final find of the weekend has some sparkle too, although it turned out to be nigh on impossible to photograph. This festive green and red cardi is by the delightfully named but far too expensive Belgian label Lucy has a Secret. At just € 4, I'm sure you'll agree I couldn't say no! 

And with that, we have once again reached the end of this post. My 500th post, to be exactly! How did that happen?

Adrift

It absolutely boggles my mind that we have once again turned the calendar's final page to December. 

Is it just me, or has the year really sped by even faster than usual?

2021 was supposed to be a year filled with hope, but sadly it seems that we're still in the same boat as this time last year. What's more, it has sprung a few more leaks and is now more adrift than ever. I'm paddling like mad to reach the shore before it starts sinking.

In my blog, we've only just made it into the second half of November, as no matter how fast I'm paddling, it seems to be nigh on impossible to catch up. Not that I would want it any other way. I'm finding that hindsight does tend to put things into perspective and generally helps me to accentuate the positive.

Saturday the 20th of November dawned yet another dismal day with a distinct lack of sunshine and temperatures just into double figures. 

I had my outfit all figured out, or at least I thought I did. However, the skirt I'd originally earmarked to wear for my blouse's maiden voyage turned out to be all wrong. Still determined to wear the blouse, which is by CKS and was charity shopped back in Spring, I suddenly remembered this burnt orange cord button-through skirt. I'd actually downgraded it to gardening wear after its first wear in October last year due to it having a mind of its own which kept me tugging at it all day.

I'm glad I gave it another chance, as this time I felt completely comfortable wearing it, giving in to its slouchy properties and shoving my hands into its satisfyingly deep pockets.

The rest of my outfit was child's play, using teal for my belt, cardigan and opaques - not that you can catch even a glimpse of the latter - and pinning an orange centred brooch to my cardigan. My long beaded necklace combines both teal and emerald green, while my footwear of choice were the greyish green waxed nubuck boots I'd charity shopped on Friday.

Something else we'd picked up on Friday was a new blind, which we bought brand new from a DIY and home decor store.  We'd had our previous IKEA one for over twenty years so we definitely got our money's worth. Instead of off-white, we went for a coffee colour this time. In my mind's eye, I can see Beate rolling her eyes at the fact that we didn't go for a more exciting colour, but in our defence we do have boldly striped curtains to provided the necessary colour pop. 

We'd earmarked Saturday to catch up with some chores, the first one being hanging up the new blind. It just needs steaming out the creases, but we haven't got around to that yet, hoping that the problem would solve itself.

The rest of the day was spent doing a load of washing, stripping the bed and putting on fresh bed linen, running an errand at the supermarket, doing a spot of cleaning, catching up blogland and writing a new blog post. Oh, and I started a new book, which turned out to be a much-needed lighter read. It wasn't all that bad but rather superficial, and it's definitely not a keeper. There aren't too many books which make the grade nowadays, and I can hear our groaning bookshelves breathe a sigh of relief whenever I'm putting another book into the re-donation bag. I fully admit to buying the book for it's rather marvellous cover!

There was another edition of our recently restarted indoor flea market on Sunday, which is why we'd made sure to do all our chores on Saturday. What with all the alarming news messages about the current Covid-19 resurgence, however, we had second thoughts and decided not to risk it, even with the requirement of having to scan one's Covid Safe Ticket and wearing our masks.

For fear of sounding like a broken record, we'd once again woken up to rain on Sunday, and it continued raining on an off all morning. When it finally stopped, we thought we'd drive down to the garden centre for a mooch around. Me and my twin couldn't wait to wear our vintage C&A burgundy velvet coats!

Underneath, I was wearing one of my black based dresses, a 1970s Swedish "Petri" one, with a riotous geometrical pattern in white, red, orange and the palest of yellows. It has made it to the blog many times before and I don't need to revisit these past posts to know that orange often featured in its accessories.

Although I did wear a pair of burnt orange opaques, I tried to break the mold this time by adding a red rather than an orange cardigan and opt for black and white accessories. I'm finding that my zebra print belt seems to go with rather a lot of things.

On our way back from the garden centre, we were regaled by a brief sunny spell, a moment I swiftly eternalized with my phone's camera!

Apart from picking up a new bird feeder, we also came home with a replacement Snooze Bay for Bess.

When we bought the original blue one before Bess came home with us, we were fully expecting it to be totally ignored, so we were chuffed to bits when she started using it. Then she developed the habit of flattening it by jumping on top of it, where we often found her curled up and fast asleep. Nevertheless, the minute we put it up again, she was in there like lightning, kneading and purring like mad. It never lasted though, and she'd flattened it again before we knew it.

We'd tried giving her an open cat bed but she never went near it, so we thought we'd buy her a second Snooze Bay to use as originally intended. 

After giving it the side-eye for a couple of minutes, we were pleased to see her go inside and, after a spot of sniffing and kneading, actually lie down in it. Result!

The new working week went off to a good start. It was slowly but surely getting colder, just 8°C with a touch of frost in the morning on Monday. We were in luck, though, as the sun joined us for most of the day.

In spite of it getting busier and busier at work, I went for a walk during lunch break, having made the conscious decision to do so every day - weather permitting, obviously - and make some photographs of things that caught my eye.

Although just a stone's throw from my office - and actually visible from my office window - I'm ashamed to admit that I'd never been inside the small Chapel of Our Lady of Refuge. Hemmed in between high street shops on the Schoenmarkt (Shoe Market), it is locally known as the Shoemakers’ Chapel, although apparently it has nothing to do with the trade.

I couldn't help but smile at the plaque just inside the entrance (top left) which urges you not to set foot inside without saying a prayer to Mary.  It doesn't sound like much this way, but it actually rhymes in Flemish, which makes it quite charming!

On the bottom right are just of a few of the dozens of ex-votos, votive offerings in gratitude, or thank you-notes if you please, lining the entrance hall.

The small Gothic chapel dates from the 15th Century and has been renovated many times over the years. It used to belong to some almshouses established in 1343 for twelve destitute women.  

The chapel is an oasis of quietness and devotion - an older lady and a young Asian girl were praying there during my visit - and has, through the years, offered a refuge for everyone regardless of rank, social class or age. 

In fact, until the 1970’s quite a few of Antwerp's prostitutes came here to say their prayers, which earned the chapel its alternative nickname of the "Whores' Chapel"

Tuesday started off in the same way as Monday, and this time I decided on a slightly longer walk during my break. 

After passing one of Antwerp's multitude of city bike stations, belonging to a public bike hiring system called Velo, I entered the Hendrik Conscience Square. Named after the Belgian author (1812 – 1883) who is considered to be the pioneer of Dutch-language literature in Flanders, this square used to be the haunt of us punks back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

The square is dominated by one of Antwerp's gems, the lavishly decorated baroque Sint-Carolus Borromeuskerk (St. Charles Borromeo Church).

Built for and by the Jesuits between 1615 and 1621, in the middle of the Counter-Reformation period, words failed to fully describe its magnificence even back then, certain people calling it heaven on earth or the eighth wonder of the world.

None other than Peter Paul Rubens played an important role as a painter, decorator and architect. His influence is visible in the tower, façade, high altar and the vault stucco in Our Lady’s Chapel. Sadly,  the 39 ceiling paintings by his hand were lost in a fire when lightning struck the church on 18 July 1718.

Since 1803 the St.-Carolus Borromeuskerk has been in use as a parish church. 

During the Dutch reign preceding Belgium's independence in 1830 the church's lavish interior was stripped and turned into a Dutch Reformed Church. A restoration campaign in the 1980s brought the church back to its original splendour.

The church wasn't open at the time of my visit but I promise to return one day during opening hours and take you along with me.

I'd only just returned to the office when clouds started gathering, bringing along torrential rains which lasted for most of the week. 

Even the weather forecast for the weekend ahead looked pretty dire, but that, my friends, will be for my next post.

Until then, do stay safe and healthy, everyone!

Time of the season

Spring's wakening bugle long is hushed,

Long dimm'd is Summer's splendour;

October yields her easel bright

To "black and white" November!

~James Rigg, "November," Wild Flower Lyrics and Other Poems, 1897

I have to confess that I've been feeling somewhat uninspired lately. The fact that I'm feeling a bit blue this time of year is nothing new, though. The darkening days always seem to sap some of my energy and if semi-hibernation would be a choice for us humans, I would be first in line. 

Now don't get me wrong. I am definitely a four seasons girl and adore a crisp but sunny day in Autumn or Winter. In short, I'm a firm believer of the fact that every season has its charm. But surely there's a distinct lack of charm in a seemingly endless string of wet and murky days when a sorry excuse for daylight is all that's on offer. 

Saturday the 13th of November was yet another one of those dismal, grey and rainy days, even if the mercury managed to climb to a reasonable 13°C.

After our return from park Den Brandt on Friday, it was Jos's turn to get the sniffles, going through a stack of old-fashioned hankies before the day was done.

Nothing a couple of paracetamol couldn't deal with though, and in fact, he was already feeling a whole lot better in the morning. Still, we decided on a day of pampering and doing nothing in particular. 

We did, however, step outside our backdoor when there was a gap in the clouds. Surely, it would have been a shame not to show you my mustard and cream shift dress patterned in scrolls and flowers.

This Crimplene beauty is an old Think Twice find and always makes me feel fabulous, which is just what the doctor ordered, I suppose.    

A turquoise polka dot cardigan was added on top and I wore opaques in the same colour. Further accessories were a turquoise perspex ring and a long beaded necklace in turquoise and green. On my feet, the yellow suede ankle boots I charity shopped a couple of weeks ago.

The day's pottering included sorting out my collection of berets and gloves as according to the weather forecast we would be waving goodbye to the double figures shortly.

We got a first taste of what was to come on Sunday, when the temperature dropped a couple of degrees and came accompanied by a harsh, biting wind. The kind of weather that was too uninviting to leave the house if it weren't for the fact that we'd already been cooped up inside all day on Saturday.

In the end, we decided on a head clearing walk around the block, getting a loaf of bread from a vending machine in the process. At the very least the wind managed to blow the cobwebs away but as it was also making our eyes water and our noses leak, we couldn't get back home fast enough.

The dress I was wearing was bought in the closing down sale of a local shop in November 2020. I knew I was doomed when I walked into that shop and indeed it had been impossible to resist this midi shirt dress in a gorgeous shade of teal printed with purple and caramel flowers. 

Long-sleeved but too thin to go it alone, I wore a yellow long-line cardigan on top, to which I pinned a crocheted flower corsage which was an old high street buy. The cardigan itself was charity shopped, as were the multi-coloured beaded necklace and the purple woven belt. The gold-tone flower brooch I wore on my dress was a flea market find.

The rest of the day was spent lazing around and following the example of our little rascal who seemed to have taken up the offer of hibernation for the day.

Now what I can tell you about Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th of November, other than that it was cold and miserable with hardly any daylight to speak of.  On top of that, I was quite inundated with work after my 4-day weekend.

Meanwhile, Bess had been making up for lost time by causing mischief and clawing a hole in our front room blind. Admittedly it was old and in need of replacing, so perhaps she was just being helpful? 

She can truly be a handful at times. This, in fact, was predicted by Jos's daughter An upon seeing Bess's picture taken at the shelter (see here, top left). Weirdly enough, she instantly spotted mischief in those sad-looking eyes! 

There was a slight improvement in the weather from Wednesday afternoon onwards, although ominous looking clouds were still looming on the horizon.

The best day was Thursday, when the sun was out in full force and the mercury briefly climbed into double figures again. The gorgeous weather prompted me to leave my desk during lunch break and go for a rummage at Think Twice. It still boggles my mind that I used to do this several times a week in the Before Times, while I have only managed a handful of visits in the last 20 months or so.

I often come away empty handed too, but not this time, as I found not one but two dresses.

While the eye-catching black and red patterned one on the left is still waiting for its first outing, I already wore the green and pink tartan one to work last week. It's by Betty Barclay and the fabric is a wool and polyester blend.

And then another week had flown by, and Friday and its usual charity shopping trip were once again upon us. 

Still in double figures, the sun had nonetheless deserted us again by hiding behind a blanket of granite grey. In other words, a day in need of a good dose of colour therapy!

Enter this vintage dress charity shopped back in October. Made from a sturdy cotton fabric, this navy dress liberally decorated with diagonals of white and orange dots caught my attention when I saw someone try it on and model it in front of her boyfriend. Lurking in the aisles, I almost jumped for joy, when I saw the boyfriend shake his head and I lurked some more until I saw them put the dress back on the rails. 

I couldn't get into the fitting rooms fast enough, so imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be a bit large on me ... As you know by now, it just needed replacing and moving the buttons!

Due to its three-quarter sleeves, I layered a burnt orange long-sleeved t-shirt underneath, then added opaques in the same colour. At my waist, a white vinyl belt while, in lieu of a brooch, which would have got lost somewhat among the dress's exuberant print, I used a white felted flower corsage. I did have a problem finding the right necklace, settling for this navy and white beaded one after quite a bit of trial and error.

My lightweight blue and green tartan coat was a gift from my friend Inneke, and this was its first wear.

More orange was added by my beret, and the stripe of orange in my multicoloured scarf.

That day's charity shopping trip took us to the Oxfam shop in nearby Wilrijk. After striking it lucky on our previous two visits to the shop, this time nothing seemed to tickle my fancy.

This was more than made up for at our next and final shop of the day, the Opnieuw & Co. one at the edge of our village.

Here I found a short-sleeved groovily patterned vintage blouse, which has been put away until next Spring. 

For a while, it looked as if this would be my only find, but then I saw this blue and white rick rack patterned midi skirt in a loosely woven fabric. It is from &Other Stories, a shop I'm passing twice every day on my way to and from work, but have never seen the inside of.  Not only does it fit me perfectly, it looks as if it has never been worn, or perhaps just the once.

A wide, dark green leather belt was my next find. 

As you might have noticed, I've been lucky in the boots department lately. I keep finding perfect pairs in my size without even trying. This time, I just couldn't bear to leave behind hese grey-green waxed nubuck beauties.

As I was heading towards the fitting room to try on the skirt, my eyes were drawn to a row of shop dummies standing duty in front of the fitting rooms. 

One of them was wearing the most delicious burgundy velvet coat. Not for long though, as this turned out to be my size too. It's by C&A and, apart from some minor damage at the back of the belt, it's in perfect condition. No, I didn't need another coat and no, I couldn't leave this one behind either!

Christmas season - there, I've used the word - has already been embraced by our charity shops and although we tried to steer clear, I couldn't resist trying on a moose headpiece for fun. Perhaps the zebra mask isn't the ideal match ...

On this note, we've once again arrived at the end of this post. I hope you'll join me again next time.

Do stay safe and healthy, everyone!