Going Dutch

In the beginning of this year - call it a New Year's Resolution if you like - we promised ourselves to get away more often and thus to regularly treat ourselves to short (and longer!) holidays.

With our long weekend in Bruges in April, our holiday in Shropshire in June, and our usual week in Belgium's west country in September, we were well on our way to achieve the goal we'd set ourselves.

Back in October we were casting around for a fourth and final getaway in November and, inspired by Tina's post about her visit to Zeeland in Holland, we decided this would be the perfect place to spend a couple of days.

After all, Zeeland, which is in the south-west of Holland, is only a stone's throw from where we live!

The Dutch province of Zeeland consists of a number of islands and peninsulas, with large parts being below sea level - hence its name, meaning "sealand" -  as well as a strip of land bordering Belgium.

Our destination settled, we then started trawling the Internet and found exactly what we were looking for on airbnb: a compact little house on the outskirts of Middelburg, Zeeland's capital town, in the middle of the Walcheren peninsula.

And so it was that one week ago, on a bright and sunny Wednesday, we made the short journey of just  over an hour to Eveline's cottage, which turned out to be even more delightful than the photos on airbnb had promised.

We arrived shortly after midday, with a whole afternoon still ahead of us. 

After being welcomed by Eveline, and subsequently eating the packed lunch we'd brought, we explored the little house which would be our home for the next three days, making ourselves comfortable and looking forward to spending evenings cosying up in front of  the wood burner.

I took quite a fancy to the Art Deco style armchair, the pretty wallpaper on the stairwell and yes, the toilet seat in the bathroom with its Delft style decoration featuring the ubiquitous windmill!

Leading off the cozy sitting room was a well equipped kitchen with dining area while upstairs, under the sloping roof, a light and roomy bedroom with a comfortable, adjustable bed awaited us.

The house's location, on a quiet, narrow one-way street, couldn't have been better either. Even if there was no on-site parking, there was plenty of free parking space on a parallel street just a few minutes' walk away.

The car could easily be left behind for a stroll into town, taking less than ten minutes at a leisurely pace, starting along and over a picturesque canal with a park laid out on the old town ramparts on the opposite side.

We crossed a second canal in front of the Kloveniersdoelen, an imposing building dating from 1609, which now houses a restaurant, but which served as a place of exercise for the army and a military hospital in its chequered history.

Having crossed the bridge we walked along one of the town's main shopping streets, the Langeviele, where a souvenir shop dedicated to all things Zeeland caught our eye. Or rather, the display of slippers in the shape of traditional Dutch clogs did. Tacky they might very well be, but I'm sure you'll agree that there was no way I could have left this pink pair decorated with the iconic Dutch kissing boy and girl behind ...

Soon we caught our first glimpse of Middelburg's most famous - and certainly most visible - landmark, the Lange Jan (lang or lange means long in Dutch), the 90,5 meter high tower belonging to the town's extensive abbey complex which was established around 1100 by Flemish monks.

Even though we were planning a more in-depth visit in a day or two, I couldn't stop making photographs of the slender wedding cake layered tower which is the town's emblem and visible from far and wide in the area's pancake flat landscape.

And it's a good thing I did ... but you'll read all about that in one of my next posts!

There's yet another Flemish connection to the town's magnificent gothic town hall, built between 1452 and 1520 by several generations of the Flemish family of architects Keldermans, originating from the town of Mechelen.

Dominating the market square, the richly decorated building, with its profusion of statues and little turrets and charming red, white and yellow shutters, was bathing in the golden Autumn sunlight.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that this is considered one of the finest gothic buildings in the Netherlands. In fact, in 2007, exactly 555 years after the first stone was laid, it was voted the second finest building in the country.

By then, our feet were getting tired and our throats dry, so we dived into the first inviting looking place for a restorative cup of coffee and a slice of cake. The establishment we'd walked into turned out to be an Italian ice cream parlour and, apart from the cakes, our coffee came with complimentary mini ice cream cones as well as lots of cream!

You can catch a brief glimpse of my green floral print dress and orange polka dotted cardigan here.

Emerging from the café, the sun was starting to dip towards the horizon, illuminating the city's streets and squares with her final, fiery light of the day.

Back at the market square, a brightly lit up stall selling traditional "oliebollen" (a kind of deep-fried, ball-shaped doughnuts) was ready for business, with a handful of hungry city birds hanging around hoping for a handout.

After our late afternoon snack, we weren't the least bit hungry so, instead of searching out a restaurant for our evening meal, we did some food shopping at the local supermarket before returning to our cottage.

The sun had dipped even lower by then, the yellow ball of fire changed to hues of tangerine and pink, casting the stark, leafless silhouettes of the trees in a wintry glow.

A handful of trees still wearing their Autumn hues were reflected in the tranquil, mirror-like surface of the water.

In the houses beyond the canal, people were starting their evening routines. Here and there, twinkling lights appeared in windows, before the curtains were drawn on the approaching darkness outside.

Before retreating indoors, we did a brief photo session, with me posing against the sunlit red brick side wall of our cottage. Note the two tiny bedroom windows high up in the wall and the charming curlicued gable ends.

I'm wearing brick red tights, a red beret, my burgundy crushed velvet scarf and burgundy cross-body bag to compliment my lightweight, checked Winter coat. I'm positively glowing with all these reds!

One last glimpse of the picturesque windmill, which would tempt me to take its picture every time we passed. 

By now, a timid slice of moon had joined the retreating sun for the grand finale, the sun's fireworks making way for the dusky blanket of the night.

Time to go inside and light the fire.

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style as usual, as well as to Nancy's Fancy Friday.

In the grey of December

It was to a grey and foggy world that we woke up last Saturday, but at least it was dry after the endless rain of the week before.

We were raring to go out and have a taste of fresh air before the rain clouds would once again descend on us.

The aforementioned fresh air turned out to be quite chilly, nipping at any uncovered extremities, so we wrapped up warmly, giving me the chance to wear my latest € 4 winter coat.

This coat is such a pleasure to wear, being warm but not too heavy as some woollen winter coats tend to be. The furry collar and especially the generous amount of fur at the hem, make me feel quite glamorous.

The extremities were covered by a teal velvet hat (slightly too large, I should have added a headband to secure it more firmly over my ears) and a pair of purple suede gloves. I added a turquoise knitted scarf for extra warmth.

My choice of handbag was a dark chocolate brown tapestry one with a floral motif.

These boots are good quality leather ones charity shopped a few weeks ago. I've just realized I completely forgot to show them to you, so here they are.

They close with a side zipper, although the laces at the back can be adjusted if necesssary.

Let me show you what I'm wearing underneath!

The dress's fabric is a heavy polyester, and it has a front zipper and wide turned up cuffs.

I broke up the pattern with a caramel coloured belt and a vintage plastic brooch carved with flowers in blue, red and ivory. The beads echo the blue of the dress's pattern and I chose a plastic ring in a similar colour as the belt.

On top went a chocolate brown cardigan edged in yellow, contrasting perfectly with my two deep blue 1930s Gentian brooches. The large one came from our favourite indoor flea market while the small one was charity shopped for a pittance in Cardigan last summer. I just had to wear them together.

By the time we made it to the park the fog was retreating but the sky was still a dull uniform grey, the sun lacking the energy and motivation to break through the iron curtain of clouds.

The edges of the park were blurred, the trees veiled in a light haze, the gnarled bark of their trunks a sombre brown.

It was a typically gloomy December day on which it is quite clear that, although not yet officially Winter, nature has outgrown its Autumn mellowness.

The relentless rain has made a soggy mess of the remains of the once abundant herbaceous border surrounding the park's pond.

The delicate Cyclamen have finished flowering, leaving patches of patterned leaves in their wake, a welcome oasis of green amid the endless carpet of sodden brown leaves.

We spotted the tall, leggy figure of a heron, that most majestic of birds, almost pre-historic in appearance.

When I tried to tiptoe closer, it took flight: wings flapping and with its legs dangling, it was airborne.

I've read that the heron often keeps its neck extended when taking flight, but once in level flight coils it back in typical heron fashion, which to my surprise I caught on camera!

Near the pond, the monochrome world suddenly turns orange. Bright orange!

It is where Taxodium distichum, the bald cypress, grows.

Deciduous, its feathery foliage turns this fiery colour in Autumn, then carpets the ground until it glows as if touched by a magic wand, creating an eerie world of colour, while all around seems to be leached of it.

One has but to step onto the bridge to bring out the full population of the pond's waterfowl, including a handful of cleverly disguised gulls, in search of a handout.

Unfortunately, we'd had our picnic in the car and ate everything to the last crumb, so they swam away disappointed, but in orderly fashion!

I'd taken off my gloves so that I could use my camera (making a mental note to put my pair of fingerless gloves in my handbag), so by now the cold was numbing my fingers and turning them stiff and clumsy.

Stamping to keep warm, pulling our hats closer over our ears, it was time to return to our car and hit a couple of charity shops!

It was Saturday, after all ...

Linking once again to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!

And when it rains all day ...

Last weekend was a quiet one and, apart from a visit to my friend Inez, involving coffee and apple pie, we hadn't anything planned at all.

We couldn't even go charity shopping on Saturday as all the shops were closed: November 11, Armistice Day, is a public holiday here in Belgium!

By a stroke of luck, though, the weekly market in our village was trading so, still on the lookout for the elusive burnt orange tights, I ventured outside. The rain we'd woken up to had diminished to a light but persistent drizzle by then, but it was still wet enough to warrant carrying an umbrella.

Sadly, the hosiery stall is discontinuing my favourite range of coloured tights and they only had some leftovers from previous years. But, hurray: they still had some burnt orange ones (actually called caramel) in my size, and I stocked up on a couple of pairs in rust, moss green and olive as well!

I'd been waiting to wear the striking aubergine blouse sprinkled with colourful spots for quite a while, but didn't hit on the right skirt to combine it with until I started pulling out my Winter skirts and found this one, in beige and brown polyester. Not really my colours and frankly speaking a bit boring: I'd actually forgotten about this skirt completely!

Once I had the skirt on, accessorizing was easy. I started by adding a brown belt with a round tortoiseshell buckle, and chose olive green tights and ditto cardigan.

The first of my brooches, a cameo, was pinned to my blouse, then a cream and brown plastic brooch, one of last week's finds, went on the cardigan. I also wore orange beads and a green plastic ring.

I have dozens of these plastic rings in different colours, picking them up whenever I find them, so they are a mix of high street and flea market finds. I store them in this 1970s orange party set, next to my collection of necklaces, so that they are within easy reach when I'm dressing.

On went the boots I can't say goodbye to and which I'll probably wear until they fall apart completely.

I wore the jacket I bought for € 2 at last week's flea market. It's dark brown with small multicoloured bobbles, which makes it less stark. I felt it needed a belt and added a dark ochre one.

My final brooch, a gold tone starburst with a large pearl at its centre, was pinned to the jacket.

I completed my outerwear with my yellow crushed velvet scarf and a red beret. If there's one thing I like about the colder weather, it's the fact that I can wear my berets and woolly hats. I've vowed that I'm not going to lose one this year, so I'm being extra careful with them!

The weather continued to be fickle on Saturday but at least the soggy periods were interrupted with a couple of dry ones, with the sun making a shy appearance now and then, especially at the end of the day.

One thing is certain: sunsets can be quite dramatic this time of year!

Sunday was a total washout, with the rain beating against our windows, daring us to go outside.

In the end, we only briefly went into the garden for these outfit photos. It started to rain again while we were taking them. I was shivering, although it was one of the rare occasions when I was wearing a jumper.

I picked up the woollen skirt for € 2 at one of the last Think Twice sales but again it took me a while to find a suitable companion. As it was cold enough to warrant a jumper, I decided on the lightweight yellow one. It was bought new in the sales a a couple of years ago, and I love its pattern and the little bow.

The blue from the skirt was repeated in my tights and accessories: belt, beads, brooch and ring, and I couldn't resist wearing the yellow beret.

Although I'm quite happy with how it turned out in the photographs, I somehow didn't feel great in this outfit, finding it too bulky on my hips, which are not really my favourite feature at the moment.

The rest of Sunday was spent pottering inside Dove Cottage, one of the other things I like about this season.

I was disenchanted with the shelves of Lourdes memorabilia in our bedroom and whittled them down to just the upper shelf, which is now crammed absolutely full of the kitschy stuff.

The other two shelves now contain a mix of old favourites and more recent finds. You might recognize the two tins bought at last weekend's flea market.

I also rearranged the mantelpiece in the spare room to make space for the latest "head" to join the collection, charity shopped for just € 1 a couple of weeks ago.

Nameless for the time being, she's already looking quite at home at Dove Cottage!

Once again, I'm taking my outfit to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style.

Don't go down to Doledrum

At the tail end of the week before last we were treated to some grey and utterly miserable days, with the rain turning the wind-blown leaves into a soggy mess, the wind tugging at umbrellas, turning them inside out and out of shape.

On days like these, there's cotton wool in my head and I would like to close my eyes and have a nap. A very long nap! You know, the one where you wake up and it's Spring again!

My lunch breaks were desultory affairs, as even my favourite pastime, having a rummage in Think Twice, was proving fruitless.

Imagine my delight when, walking past one of Antwerp's best known second hand bookshops, I saw this book in the window. There was no way I was going to let this one go!

I was more than ready for the weekend, which I started early by taking Friday afternoon off.

It had been raining heavily in the morning, but thankfully it had eased off by the time I met my friend Inez for coffee. Afterwards, we paid a visit to Think Twice, not expecting much. However, they'd just started their latest sales with 30% off on everything, and we each bought a dress, mine being this colourful psychedelic shift

Saturday proved to be another dreadful day, but with the addition of a significant drop in temperature.

As I'm in the middle of my wardrobe change, I already have quite a few long sleeved frocks to choose from. Surely, a couple of layers underneath and on top of this thin and unlined Paisley print shift dress would do the trick? After all, it isn't Winter just yet!

And I wore my first pair of opaques of the season! These bottle green ones were part of my birthday present from my friend Ingrid.

Green beads, navy booties and a blue round-necked cardie with a vintage brooch were the finishing touches.

I charity shopped this sumptuous green velvet jacket last November, and it now proved to be a very necessary final layer. The blue, pink and green floral scarf came from the same shop, while the brooch pinned to my jacket, a polished piece of beech wood, was brought back from Wales.

Saturdays are for charity shopping but, with one of their events coming up, for which they keep a lot of the nicer stuff behind, we didn't expect to find much.

Still, a a couple of things came home with us.

Mr. S. bought a Harris Tweed jacket, which he changed into immediately as the one he was wearing was far too thin for the cold snap we were having.  Admittedly, it looks much better on him than the jacket he found a couple of weeks ago, which was a bit broad in the shoulders, so that one will be re-donated.

My finds were a cute King Louie cardie ...

... as well as a yellow crushed velvet scarf and a red beret, both of which I left the shop wearing. Yes, it was that cold!

I also picked up a brown woollen jacket ...

... which I wore the next day, when we went to an indoor flea market in Antwerp, providing my own, portable sunshine with the ochre yellow scarf and flower corsage.

The dress is another one from my recently unearthed Autumn/Winter collection, in a light, but lined, polyester fabric, with three quarter sleeves and a pussy bow.

I love its Autumnal orange, brown and cream print, on which I based my accessories: orange necklace, cream butterfly brooch and cream and brown flower brooch. I cinched in my waist with an ochre yellow belt, and a cardie in the same colour went on top.

I wore another pair of opaques, in burnt orange this time!

Browsing through my blog posts from October last year, it seems I wore the dress then too, but styled slightly differently.

Now, on the flea market, which frankly speaking didn't live up to our expectations. For one thing, there was no sign of the Brooch Lady, whom we had come for especially.

After trawling a couple of aisles of uninspiring stalls, selling children's clothes and tasteless tat, we happened upon a stall run by two older ladies, whom I have bought from before.

They have a table piled high with costume jewellery (I promise to take a photo next time), so I was feeling like a child in a toy shop, especially after they gave me an under-the-counter box full of wonderful stuff to rummage through.

My bounty consisted of seven brooches, a carved celluloid scarf clip (bottom left) and a pendant with three tiny edelweiss (bottom right).

Oh, and there were these two necklaces as well. The one on the right has enameled discs, delicately painted with flowers and, judging from the closure, is quite old.

My final find was this chocolate brown handbag, the rim of its metal frame having a lacy pattern of leaves and, rather oddly, fish!

Wait a minute, is that a ray of sunshine I detect up there?

In fact, we have been enjoying a couple of days of glorious Summer weather as I write ...

So, Summer did not yet completely desert us after all!

Linking again to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style!