Tales of a wet weekend

By the time you are reading this, we will be in the middle of a mid week break abroad, but as I still had a couple of loose ends to tie up, I thought I'd treat you to a scheduled post.

The First of November, All Saints Day, is a public holiday here in Belgium, and as this year it was on a Friday, we had a long weekend to look forward to.

Typically, after a working week full of gloriously sunny Autumn weather, Friday was another damp and dismal day.  

I tried to keep my spirits up by wearing this vintage, mustard yellow shift dress. Its print, with its scrolls and giant flowers, always reminds me of opulent wallpaper.

I kept my accessories relatively simple with a multicoloured necklace, a turquoise chunky ring and a gold rimmed ceramic brooch displaying some oriental poppies. Well, it was that time of year again when one wears poppies, wasn't it?

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that I was wearing the bright blue ankle boots I snapped up in a charity shop the previous weekend. Did I mention they only cost € 6?

In spite of the weather playing foul again, it wasn't a totally wasted day, as I had a visit from a lady who bought lots of stuff from me at our flea market back in July. She came for a rummage through my bags full of Winter clothes, and I'm happy to say she went home with no less than five dresses, three skirts, a jumper, a blouse and a jacket, leaving me with quite a bit of pocket money!

Initially, there was some improvement in the weather on Saturday: even if it was quite windy, at least it wasn't raining, so that there was no need for an umbrella. Charity shops, here we come!

If you think you've seen this skirt before, you are absolutely right: it is a fairly recent find, which Angelica was modelling a couple of weeks ago. Now, finally, it was my turn!

There's a choice of colours in its print, but I decided on autumnal shades to keep it company.

The tweed jacket, which has both green and purple in its plaid, was bought from a local shop eons ago and after narrowly escaping the giveaway pile a couple of years ago, it has now fully earned the space it takes up in my coats wardrobe. To its lapel, I pinned my official poppy brooch bought in Ypres. My other outerwear consisted of a sage green beret and a purple crushed velvet scarf.

I struggled a bit with what to wear with the skirt, finally settling on this rose red blouse, which I bought back in 2013 from a delight of a vintage shop which has sadly stopped trading. Further accessories consisted of a pale green belt and beaded necklace. Oh, and did you notice that my opaques and ankle boots were an almost perfect match?

Our rummage in the charity shops yielded some cozy knits and a tweed skirt, but alas I forgot to photograph them. But our main find was this utterly kitsch 1950s ornament.

When I pointed it out to Jos, mentioning that € 7 was quite a fair price, he exclaimed over it, as it turned out his childhood home contained something quite similar.

There's even some photographic evidence. Here's a thirteen year old Jos, with his Dad, Mum and sister and yes, there it is on the mantelpiece!

We added some battery-operated fairy lights which makes it look quite atmospheric at night.

Now I've truly had it with the weather forecasters, as Sunday, which they had promised would be mainly dry with a possible guest appearance of the sun, turned out to be a wet day through and through.

We were off to an antiques fair in a romantic castle about half an hour from where we live, which is being held biannually, in April and November.

As the fair itself isn't huge - browsing it takes about an hour or so - we usually combine it with a walk around the estate. In all the years we've been going there, this was the first time the weather wasn't cooperating.

Still, after our visit to the fair and a car picnic - the photo in the below collage, top right, was taken through our windshield - we took our ancient umbrella from the boot and went off for a wander.

No photos of the castle itself this time, as it was almost completely covered in scaffolding, but you can catch a glimpse of it across the lake, with me doing my Mary Poppins impersonation in the foreground.

The incessant rain had formed a thin layer of mist which curled around the edges of the lake and hung indolently between the tree tops, slightly veiling their autumnal splendour.

The once crunchy carpet of leaves had become a soggy, slippery mass, so that the longed for leaf kicking was out of the question.

I did my best to match their vibrant shades by wearing pumpkin colours: a burnt orange beret and an embellished crushed velvet scarf edged in tiny pumpkins ... err ... pom poms!

It was my boots' final voyage as the years had finally taken their toll, but what a grand finale they had walking along the leaf strewn woodland paths.

And here's what I was wearing beneath my old tweed jacket. The bottle green cord midi skirt was a recent find from the vintage per kilo shop. I combined it with an aubergine spotty blouse from Think Twice and a charity shopped belt and cardigan.

And now, without further ado, here are the things I found at the fair.

First up is the odd one out. I simply couldn't resist this chestnut brown croc handbag.

It almost goes without saying that I found some brooches. In fact, I bought a total of nine brooches from different sellers.

On the top row, another micromosaic one and a behatted and furred lady's head, which both came from the Brooch Lady's archives.

My two favourites are on the bottom row: a celluloid brooch featuring two Scotties in a sailing boat and a gold-rimmed Lucite brooch containing some garden pinks.

Here are the others. Clockwise from top left: top hat and riding crop, a handmade leather Scottie dog, a waterside scene, a large, shiny gold tone flower and a pearl bodied fish.

What is your favourite?

I will be back with another set of adventures next week!

All's fair at the castle

During two weekends a year, in Spring and Autumn, Castle de Renesse is the romantic setting for a small antiques fair, which we have been visiting for quite a few years now.

The castle is located in the sandy soiled and pine rich countryside to the north of Antwerp, just over half an hour's drive away.

Landscaped gardens and parkland complete with a picturesque lake and a couple of smaller pools surround the castle, blending seamlessly into ancient woodland.

As quite miraculously we always seem to have the weather gods on our side on our outings to the castle, an hour's browsing of the stalls set up in the castle's rooms is usually followed by a picnic and a meander through the castle grounds and beyond.

On the first Sunday of April, the weather gods were more than compliant, with lots of sunshine and temperatures of up to 20° Celsius.

I very daringly opted for short sleeves, choosing a turquoise Crimplene frock with a groovy cream, green and grey print. For contrast, the dress's collar was adorned with a posy of cheerful orange flowers, but indulged some matchy matchy-ness by choosing green beads and a turquoise belt.

Green opaques balanced the outfit, and my feet were more than happy in the emergency booties I was obliged to buy a couple of weeks ago.

As I was mentally going through my jackets for the perfect one to wear, I was reminded of a green new wool suit I bought at a vintage market several years ago. Its jacket turned out to be the perfect match, even if, combined with the sweat-inducing Crimplene, it would be much too warm later in the day.

Making our way to the bridge which would take us to the castle's courtyard, we were disappointed to see that scaffolding had been erected, spoiling the enchanting view of the castle and its reflection in the moat.

It's a good thing we'd been there before, so that I could pinch some of the photos I'd taken on previous visits for you to admire.

Against the faded grandeur backdrop of the castle's interior, all manner of delectable objects are displayed, many of them with a price tag well beyond our budget.

However, there are still enough reasonably priced goods on offer for us to return year after year..

Following her absence last Autumn, we were relieved to see that the Brooch Lady was once again presiding over her folders of brooches. As she's well into her 80s we were more that just a little bit worried. It turned out that she'd taken a fall back then, but had now sufficiently recovered to take up her pitch at the castle again.

These are the five brooches I bought from her.

The brooch on the top right dates from the second world war. It is handmade and the beautiful lady with her 1940s up-do and string of pearls is painted directly on a piece of fabric. Below, on the bottom right, you can see how the brooch's back has been constructed.

The plastic anchor brooch is a souvenir from a Belgian seaside resort.

By lunchtime, we picked up our picnic basket from the car, and made our way to the one and only picnic table in the vicinity of the castle.

It offers a fabulous view of the castle across the lake but, as even from this distance the scaffolding was all too prominent, no photographs were taken this time, except for the sunbathing tortoises and the topsy-turvy duck performing its ablutions.

By then, I'd removed the chiffon scarf I was wearing and tied it to my handbag's handles. Do take a good look, as it'll be the last you'll see of it. It was only by the end of our walk that I noticed its absence ...

Our walk took us pas the ice house, which has a gazebo built on top of it. This is more of a folly than a real gazebo, as there is no entrance at all.  One can only walk around it and glance through its intricately grilled windows.

The ancient oak tree on the bottom left has been cordoned off to protect it, with the path which used to run next to it diverted to the other side of the picturesque pool you can see below.

What a joy it was to be walking along this delightful avenue of trees. Clothed in clouds of youthful green, a gentle breeze sighing among them, they seemed to be whispering secrets.

It was while we were taking a break at a picnic table hidden in the woods that I noticed my scarf was gone. I scanned the straight road we had just walked along but to no avail.

Back at our starting point, we were both in need of a restorative cup of coffee which, in a mad moment, we decided to accompany by ice cream with hot chocolate sauce. Little did we know that they would be so huge!

I'll finish by showing you our other finds of the day. 

There are always vintage buttons galore at one of the stalls upstairs, and I picked up three cards for my stash. How charming are those navy celluloid ones carved with red, turquoise and yellow flowers? 

The mystery objects on the bottom left are tiny boxes containing 35 mm film reels. There was a whole box of them, from which Jos selected these three for our manually operated toy projector. Dating from the 1950s, it was given to Jos by his brother-in-law in the early 1960s.

Finally, joining our collection of kitsch is this old religious print. Adorning the mantlepiece of many a Flemish living room back in the day, it admonishes not to swear, as god can see you. As I'm always pointing out to Jos, it doesn't mention that god can hear you, so we're quite safe with this on our kitchen wall.

A haunted castle

If all goes well, I'll be enjoying a short holiday by the time you are reading this. Since I still had a post up my sleeve, I thought I'd give scheduled posting a try. So, if you are reading this, it has worked! Yay!

I don't know about where you are, but here in Belgium we've had yet another batch of gorgeously warm and sunny weather in the week and weekend before last.

Admittedly the mornings were a bit chilly and once or twice there was a flimsy layer of hoarfrost greeting us upon drawing the curtains, but the warmth of the sun soon did away with that, and by midday it had warmed up sufficiently to start shedding layers.

We went charity shopping on Saturday before last and took a picnic, which we could easily have eaten outside if there had been any benches to sit on.

So, a car picnic it was then, but one with a view!

The rather murky water I'm looking out over belongs to the moat of one of the double ring of defensive forts around the city and port of Antwerp. This one, dating from 1878, is in Walem near Mechelen and is now a nature reserve which can only be visited with a guide.

Afterwards, we briefly walked along the water's edge and took some photos.

I was wearing a long sleeved frock, black but sprinkled with poppy-like flowers. It was, after all, that time of the year again when we wear poppies as a symbol of remembrance of those who died in war. I thought that this year the occasion of the centenary of the WW1 Armistice warranted the wearing of more than just that single poppy pinned to my jacket.

I took the lead from the pink flowers to add a pink cardigan and pink tweed jacket, but opted for green for the rest of my accessories, including green opaques and a green beret to tie in with the flowers' stems. I chose a white vinyl belt to please the white flowers.

Next stop was the charity shop near the park.

I'd come across a delightful green tweed jacket in the first shop we visited and, even if I'd told myself to stop buying more jackets, I just had to make an exception for this one. I mean: it's green! How could I not buy it?

I changed into it immediately and have in fact been wearing it for most of last week.

We spotted a heron at the other side of the pond and tried to get a little closer to take its picture, but unfortunately it had spotted us too and flew off. Oh well.

After a short circuit of the park, which was veiled in the light of the Autumn afternoon sunshine, it was time to continue our charity shopping.

The usually rather disappointing jewellery display came up with a marbled orange beaded necklace and a plastic ring in the shape of an apple, complete with diamanté leaf.

Anything velvet always grabs my attention and when I saw a black midi skirt with the most gorgeous metallic print, I knew resistance was futile. I'm promising to wear it on the blog soon, but until then you can admire a close-up of its amazing print.

When I left the fitting room and came across a rail full of coats, my eyes zoomed in on a gorgeous brown textured wool coat. Taking out its hanger for closer inspection, I was delighted to see a flash of orange floral lining. Then my eyes clocked the label. Now, I don't need another coat, but it was my size, and it would be quite foolish to leave this Dolce & Gabbana coat behind for € 32.

The next day, Sunday, we had to be up bright and early for our second trip of the year to Castle de Renesse in Oostmalle, just over half an hour's drive away.

There's a twice-yearly antiques market, held in April and November, when stalls selling all manner of brocante fill the castle's public rooms and corridors.

We were dismayed not to see the Brooch Lady presiding over her folders of brooches as usual, but on the plus side this seriously limited our spending!

Still, it's always a pleasure to be there and browse the many treasures, oddities and curiosities on display in this magnificent setting.

They were obviously expecting me as, climbing the spiral staircase in the castle's keep tower, there was this ornate silver and turquoise throne waiting for me. 

There have always been rumours that the castle is haunted, but this has now been officially confirmed. Apparently, an organization called Paranormal Research Europe, has done some investigations and has registered "entities".

During WWI, a German officer committed murder and then suicide, and legend has it that he is the notorious castle ghost, but whether he was one of the "entities" remains to be seen.

Our browsing finished, it was time for lunch, and as usual we'd brought a picnic, which I am delighted to say we were able to have outside.

There is only one picnic table, next to a path leading into the domain, and with a view to the castle across the lake. Funnily enough we seem to be the only ones making use of it. 

With our picnic hamper and checked tablecloth spread out on the table, we caught quite a bit of attention from the people walking or cycling past.

As a rule, and weather permitting, our picnics here are followed by a walk around the domain, and it was such an exceptionally gorgeous Autumn day that we picked up our walking sticks from the car and opted for a longer than usual walk.

But let me show you what I was wearing first.

You've already caught a glimpse of my outer wear: my new-to-me green tweed jacket, a fluffy pink charity shopped scarf and a dusty blue vintage beret.

What you haven't seen is my dress, in brown with a print featuring a profusion of flowers in pink, coral, lavender and green. It is handmade and lined and has the most unusual leg-of-mutton  sleeves. Can you believe I unearthed it from the reduced bin at one of Antwerp's vintage-per-kilo shops? 

I added a lavender vinyl belt, wore my rose beaded necklace, pinned a gold tone brooch with a red and white mottled stone on the dress's collar, and chose a pair of purple opaques.

And I just had to wear this ring, its colours echoing the dress's print almost exactly.

The sun was beaming dazzling rays of sunlight though the trees, creating a magically enchanting atmosphere.

The earthy aroma of the leaf-layered woods mingled with a nostalgia inducing pine tree smell, providing a ticket for time travelling back to my childhood.

On our way back, we passed the spot where a frame has been erected, perfectly catching the castle surrounded by Autumnal splendour.

We concluded the afternoon with coffee and cake, which we had outside in the castle courtyard.

Finally, here are the things we found. And no, we didn't set out to colour coordinate them!

Our first purchase, mere minutes after we walked in, was the fabulous head plaque. She has joined our wall of heads by now.

The turquoise leather gloves and large brooch with the turbaned lady both came from the same stall.

Upstairs is a stall selling - amongst other things - brooches at every reasonable prices. The choice wasn't as extensive as before, but I still managed to find this charming little bird brooch.

Lastly, a small book full of drool-worthy jewellery, edited by Judith Miller. I already have similar books on shoes and handbags.

I am leaving you now with a selfie. I am notoriously bad a taking selfies, and usually I can't push the delete button fast enough. Still, perseverance must have paid off as I was quite taken with this rather spooky one!

See you next week!

Treasure hunting at the castle

Back in April, we visited a castle where a small antiques fair was being held, which I blogged about here.

Much to our delight, we found out that there would be another one in November, the date of which was promptly pencilled into our diary.

Last Saturday was the day, so we set our trusty SatNav, Marie-Jeanne, for the 30 odd minute drive to Castle de Renesse in the village of Oostmalle.

I wore a chocolate brown polyester polka dotted dress, with long sleeves and a self fabric tie belt. Oh, and a contrasting white notched collar, to which I pinned the first of my brooches: a small blue plastic flower.

Further accessories were some amber coloured beads and a swirly amber plastic ring.

For contrast, I chose a powder blue cardigan and added a plastic brooch with a coordinating duo of brown and cream flowers.

First outing this season for this belted brown Tweed jacket from Think Twice.

Another layer means yet another brooch opportunity so I chose to add more blue with this darling little squirrel brooch. Tying it all together, I wore a silky brown and blue printed scarf.

The pleat at the back, revealing a row of three buttons, is my favourite feature of this jacket.

I decided to try out the little brown leather handbag I'd found at the charity shop event. It turned out to be just roomy enough for my weekend essentials: my purse, phone, a packet of tissues, lipstick and a small tape measure.

We'd packed a picnic, fully expecting to be eating our sandwiches while sat in our car, as rain was forecasted for the early afternoon.

After parking our car - noting that it was much busier than usual - we made our way to the moated castle, which was looking particularly picturesque drenched in Autumnal sunshine, with its mirror image reflected in the water.

At the castle's entrance this fabulous car, probably belonging to one of the stall holders, was parked.

Make no mistake: this isn't your run of the mill flea market, but a proper antiques fair selling all manner of brocante, with a lot of the the wares on offer a cut above the rest, which is reflected in the often exorbitant prices.

Nevertheless, there are still a handful of stalls selling the most wonderful stuff at prices within our budget.

And look whose stall we ran into!  Yes, it's the Brooch Lady, whom we hadn't seen since last May.
When she was absent at last month's flea market in Antwerp, we were starting to get a bit worried. She is, after all, well into her eighties ...

But there she was, with her folders of brooches, from which I selected four beauties to join my collection: a domed brown enameled brooch decorated with flowers, an oval brooch with a pearly border surrounding the painted portrait of a lady, a pink plastic Art Deco style brooch with carved flowers at its heart, and a souvenir brooch from Waterloo.

Two more brooches were bought from another stall: a sweet little cat brooch and a posy of mother of pearl flowers.

From the same stall, Jos bought this highly decorative share of Minerva, the famous Belgian manufacturer of luxury automobiles, which they produced from 1902 until 1938.

Minerva started out manufacturing standard bicycles in 1897, expanding into "motocyclettes", a kind of motorized bicycles which were a forerunner of motorcycles, in 1900, before adding cars to their production in 1902.

Minerva vehicles acquired a reputation for quality and reliability and, by 1914, enjoyed the patronage of the Kings of Belgium, Norway and Sweden.

A search on the Internet yielded a couple of international advertisements for Minerva cars dating from the late 1920s and early 1930s.

After World War II the company produced a version of the Land Rover 80" under licence for the Belgian army until 1954. After the deal with Land Rover fell through, there were plans to re-enter the car market but these did not get beyond the prototype stage.

Sadly, the company, who had their headquarters and factory in Antwerp, became defunct in 1956.

After this little diversion, it's back to the castle!

Upstairs was another one of our favourite stalls, selling vintage textiles, haberdashery, hats and miscellaneous curiosities (top right).

I couldn't resist this delightful little felt and faux fur hat. The retaining elastic needs replacing (it snapped at the merest touch), but otherwise it's in perfect condition.

By the time we finished browsing, and left the castle, the sun had disappeared and a dense blanket of grey, rain-filled clouds, had replaced the clear blue sky of earlier that morning.

As it was still dry, we decided to risk it, so we picked up our picnic basket from the car and made our way to a picnic table with a view of the castle across the lake.

As far as I know, this is the only picnic table in the castle grounds but still we always manage to have the place to ourselves.

This could very well have been our last outdoor picnic of the year!

We'd only just arrived back at our car and were about to drive off when the first drops of rain started to fall.

On Sunday, we had a real flea market to go to, for which I hope you'll join me again in my next post!