My job is very boring, I'm an office clerk

No, you don't have to thank me for the earworm! 

Actually, I've been wanting to use this snippet from Martha and the Muffins' Echo Beach as a post title ever since I started my blog back in March 2016.  I never got around to it though as, frankly speaking, my job isn't in the least bit boring, even if I often moan about its trials and tribulations. And nor, generally speaking, is my life! It's just that lately not much has been happening in it, with one working week segueing seamlessly into another, so that once again my post will be mainly about the outfits I've been wearing. 

In the meantime, we have been to Bruges and back, which means I've got a couple of travel posts up my sleeve. However, as these trips back and forth in the time machine are doing my head in, I thought I'd save these for later and continue posting about October until I've caught up instead.

We slept late-ish on Friday the 10th of October, waking up to sunny spells which soon made way for a gloomy grey sky which would remain with us for the rest of the day.

With the day's highs of around 17°C, I could still get away with wearing one of my lighter and unlined long-sleeved dresses. It was plucked from the Think Twice rails, where it had been hanging for all of 30 seconds,  back in October 2019. While I was browsing, I'd noticed the shop assistant hanging it up and, having seen a flash of its fabric out of the corner of my eye, I went over to investigate. As it is clearly handmade, it didn't have any labels whatsoever but, as luck would have it, it was exactly my size. 

I picked up the colour of its buttons and green hexagons of its pattern with my belt and opaques and paid tribute to its burnt orange hexagons with my beaded necklace and Autumn leaf brooch.

I pottered upstairs, switching over some skirts, in the morning, then after lunch we drove down to the massive three floor charity shop in nearby Duffel.

A maxi dress from high street shop LolaLiza, green King Louie cardigan, and grey-ish green chunky knit H&M cardigan ended up in my cart. Oh, and two pairs of opaques, in honey and burnt orange, for € 0,50 each!

Back at home I continued with the changeover, putting away the last of the sandals and reacquainting myself with the bulk of my boots! 

Saturday was another gloomy but warm day on which the mercury climbed to 18°C. As it looked set to remain dry, we decided to bite the bullet and go for that long-overdue leaf-kicking walk in the afternoon.

Our destination of choice was Walenhoek, a nature reserve about 10 kilometers from Dove Cottage, in the village of Niel. 

Walenhoek is one of several local nature reserves established on former clay pits, which were reclaimed by the forces of nature after the industry's decline in the late 1970s. There's still the odd relic from the past hidden among the wilderness which seem to have crumbled away a bit more with each visit.

The perfect place for a bracing walk whatever the season, we have been coming here on and off  for many years. The off-times were when the place was inundated with illegal fishermen who'd set up their tents at the edge of the reserve's plethora of ponds. Case in point was the last time we walked here back in March 2024.

Much to our relief, we didn't spot any of them this time around, although back at the car park we came across one who was putting a cart full of professional looking fishing gear into his van. 

My red and grey tartan circle skirt - with pockets! - was charity shopped a couple of years ago.

It was joined by another charity shop find, a vintage blouse with a Jugendstil-influenced pattern, found in November 2022.

In fact, I think that the majority of my outfit - including my super comfy crepe soled Mephisto boots - were charity shop finds, except for perhaps the brooch, which I suspect was picked up at the indoor flea market.

Our wanderings took us to one my favourite parts of the reserve, a fairy tale-like wooded area between two ponds. Here, we delighted in the the crunch of the layers of leaves under our feet, the earthy  fragrance typical of Autumn adding to the sensory delights of the season.

We spotted this graceful pair of swans towards the end of the walk and I surreptitiously stalked them until they'd emerged from among the reeds and were gliding in open water, which was gently rippling their reflections.

We caught up on chores on Sunday, after which I changed into the outfit I would repeat on Monday.

The dress I'd pulled from my wardrobe was a petrol blue retro print King Louie I charity shopped back in April. The cropped cardigan with its elbow length sleeves is by Zoë Loveborn, a label which used to be sold in a Belgian chain of high street shops called LolaLiza. Although it doesn't seem to be in existence any  longer, I keep finding their often quirky, retro style clothes in the charity shops all the time.

My matching opaques were a sales bargain and the burgundy boots yet another charity shop find.

I met up with Inez for our weekly cappuccino-fuelled catch-up on Monday. 

She'd already done the rounds of the rails before I arrived and in passing mentioned that she'd seen a lovely green handbag. 

It completely slipped our minds to go and have a proper look at it, but I suddenly remembered it as I was on my way back to the office during Tuesday's lunch break. As I still had some time to spare I decided to check it out.

There it was, calling me from afar the minute I set foot inside the shop. Walking into its direction, I was just a couple of meters away from the handbag display when someone else beat me to it. The girl in question swiftly unhooked the bag from the display, opened it, sniffed it, and draped it over her arm. Damn! I hung around for a while, mindlessly rummaging through a rail of blouses in case she'd change her mind. But then she walked into the main part of the shop with the green bag still on her arm.

A couple of minutes later, I saw her again in front of one of the fitting room mirrors. She was still studying the bag intently, opening it and sniffing it again. Decision apparently made, she then proceeded to walk into the direction of the till ... but taking a right turn instead of left towards the till.  Feeling like a proper Miss Marple, I surreptitiously followed in her footsteps and, rounding the corner, noticed that she'd hung it back on the rails. Obviously I didn't waste another minute and grabbed it as by that time I needed to have it, no matter what. And yes, I did open and sniff it, and it turned out to be perfectly alright!

On Thursday, I layered yet another charity shopped red Zoë Loveborn cardigan - with full length sleeves this time - over a dress I found at Think Twice before my blog was even a twinkle in my eye. With its pussy-bow and its trellis-like pattern upon which tiny white, red-hearted flowers are growing, it's been a long-time Autumn and Winter favourite.

You can find a close-up of its pattern here. Funnily enough, I was wearing the exact same brooch back then. I'm such a creature of habit!

It had been quite gloomy all week, with the temperature gradually going down from 17 to 15°C. Thankfully, it hadn't been overly busy at work, even if there were a couple of issues which needed my full attention.

My lunch time diversion on Thursday took me to Melting Pot, the vintage per kilo shop, again. And again, I was in luck, finding two vintage dresses.

I'm loving the simplicity of this denim blue poly-blend knit with its chevron-striped neckline and collar.

You'll get to see the second dress I found in a minute.

As my colleague was on holiday, I needed to go in for a couple of hours on Friday the 17th of October.

I was wearing a vintage chevron striped wool skirt in black, brown, white and bluish grey. I fell head over heels with it at Think Twice in October 2020. I almost did a double take when I was reading Sheila's post that day and saw that she was wearing a maxi skirt with a very similar pattern. It's in this post of hers!

My blouse is Zara by way of a charity shop. The squishy stag's head brooch I pinned to it was a charity shop find as well, and so was my belt. The necklace came from the indoor flea market.

My well-worn chocolate brown boots - which were found on the high street a couple of years ago - have been working overtime. They were definitely made for walking as they even came to Bruges with me!

Bess: Aren't you bored yet?  I know I am! What about joining me for a nap? 

Me: In a minute, Bess, I've still got to show them the other dress I found at Melting Pot!

And here it is! This flower-infused Diolen Delight made my heart sing! 

I wore it with a pair of purple opaques and the purple Western-style ankle boots I scored in a pop-up shop near my office last December.

Both my necklace and stretchy belt were high street finds while my brooch, which I picked for its purple background as well as to add some more flowers into the mix, was another one which found its origins on the indoor flea market.

I will be back with a final October catch-up soon as I can't wait to tell you about our Bruges adventures!

See you soon!

This, that, and the other

We've come to the end of June's first week and, this being the week before our UK holiday, there were quite a few hurdles to jump. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say that I could have done without these last-minute issues. Anyway, all is done now, I've come out the other side unscathed and I'm raring to go. 

Our bags are packed and as always I'm taking far too many clothes, adding one item and then the other just in case. Travelling light will never be my forte, and as we are travelling by car, why the hell should it be? After all, years of experience have taught me that, bar frost and snow, there's every kind of weather to take into account when travelling to the UK in June.

Before we're off, however, I've got a bit of a catch up for you. So, let's travel back to the month of May once more, and to Sunday the 19th in particular.

After a dismal start to the day, the sun finally graced us with her presence in the afternoon, pushing the temperature into the low twenties. Too good to be wasted inside, we decided on a short walk in Duffel park. A very short walk, it turned out to be, as quite a few of the paths were closed off while a connecting rill between the park's various ponds is being dug.

I was wearing a button-through skirt by Monki, which I'd found in a charity shop on Saturday. Its companion, a blue and white patterned short-sleeved cotton jumper, was a charity shop find as well but has been living with me for several years. It's a real wardrobe staple, especially at this tricky time of year, and I'm taking it with me on holiday as usual. Don't be fooled by the buttons on the back, though: they are fake and for decoration only!

The green squirrel brooch is modern, found in a quirky little shop near my office, while it were yet again the charity shops which delivered my belt and necklace.

We wandered into the direction of the castle ruin but found the path around the moat a semi-flooded mud fest, so that there was nothing for it but to turn back the way we'd come. 

As a result of all the rain, the park's vegetation was the lushest we'd ever seen. We delighted in the lawns crowded with a carpet of daisies and the cheerful yellow flag Irises lining the brook.

The Monki skirt wasn't the only thing which had landed in my charity shop basket the other day!

The geometrically patterned three-quarter sleeved top - also part of my holiday wardrobe - is by the defunct Belgian Wow To Go label, while the floral dress is by its little sister Who's That Girl. 

My final find, the linen-blend midi skirt with its eye-catching exotic flower pattern is by Anonyme Designers, which apparently is an Italian brand.

The rest of the day - and part of the next, which was Whitsun Monday, and thus another bank holiday - was spent engrossed in my latest read. 

I found Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars quite unputdownable.

In spite of its sunny spells and moderate 19°C, most of Whitsun Monday was devoted to going through my flea market boxes in preparation for the event which as usual will be taking place in July. 

I even climbed a stepladder to have a look into the suitcase which is living on top of my main wardrobe. I'd quite forgotten the existence of most of the stuff that was in there, which I presume are the remnants of the last pre-Covid flea market in 2019. And while the majority of the suitcase's contents will end up on my stall in July, I couldn't resist putting a fabulous denim jumpsuit back in my wardrobe! My mind boggles as to why I was thinking of getting rid of it!

What with the bank holiday, May's penultimate working week was a short one.

With time to spare before I was due back at the office during one of my lunch breaks, I wandered into a shop on the high street. Here, my eyes instantly zoomed in to a spectacular brooch which couldn't have been more me. Taking it to the till, the lovely shop assistant told me it was a one-off, and she had been wondering who would end up buying it. She was intrigued when I told her about my brooch collection and was completely bowled over when I showed her some photos on my blog. We ended up chatting until the next customer arrived at the till.

Friday was an utterly miserable day with torrential rain from late morning onwards. As I had an appointment at my hairdresser for a colour and cut, we drove to Antwerp, where Jos ran an errand while I was relaxing at the salon feeling like a lady of leisure. What a luxury to be able to do this on a Friday instead of during an extended lunch break and then have to rush back to the office!

The non-stop rain made us ditch our plans for the afternoon and make our way back home after we'd lunched instead.

A quick set of outfit photos were made when the rainclouds were taking a breather. There's nothing here you haven't seen before and apart from the belt and the boring black ankle boots, everything was found either at Think Twice, the charity shops or the flea market.

Initially there wasn't much improvement in the weather on Saturday but thankfully the rainclouds had upped and left by mid-afternoon. Just in time for grandson Cas's 3rd birthday party!

I was determined to give the frilly floral blouse I'd picked up at the vintage per kilo shop the other week its first outing, and in fact I'd already mentally selected a skirt as its companion. As it turned out it needed ironing, I opted for this faux leather snake print skirt instead. It's by posh Belgian label Caroline Biss, charity shopped at the silly price of € 5,90 back in November.

Admittedly, the vintage flower brooch I pinned to the blouse might have gotten a big lost among its floral extravaganza, but although I doubt that snakes and tigers would get along in real life, I thought the tiger eye pendant was the perfect choice.

One of my stretchy belts, a pale yellow glass ring and a pair of tan calf-length boots completed my outfit.

The month's final week was another uneventful one. That is, until my colleague happened to look out the window on Wednesday afternoon and spotted King Kong climbing up the Art Deco tower building which is our opposite neighbour. Antwerp might not be New York and the Boerentoren (Farmer's Tower) a far cry from the Empire State Building, whoever thought of this gimmick definitely got the decade right, as our very own tower building, the first one in Europe, was completed in 1931.

Sadly, it was only a temporary thing, and part of a three-day event called Antwerp on Air, during which Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare would be decorated with several inflatable animals, including a giant squid (above). None of them were as impressive as King Kong, though!

Now, how about some more outfits? 

On Thursday I wore a vintage faux patchwork vintage frock, accessorized with a charity shopped green and turquoise flower brooch, an orange beaded necklace picked up in an antiques emporium in Newcastle Emlyn, Wales, an orange stretchy belt with a massive buckle and a pair of turquoise suede shoes from Think Twice.

Friday's outfit consisted of a red, orange, navy and tan patterned vintage skirt (charity shopped) worn with a navy sailor-style jumper from Who's That Girl, bought brand new back in the mists of time.

To tie in with the orange bits in my skirt, I selected an orange cat brooch (Katshop), an orange plastic ring (flea market) and a necklace from a long-gone vintage shop. The stretchy belt with its square buckle was found on the high street.

We took another bag of donations to the charity shop and came back with a couple of things, including a couple of books and this gorgeous blue embroidered open work King Louie cardigan. At a mere € 5,90, which is the regular price for cardigans in this particular shop, it was a no-brainer. Again, somebody hadn't done his or her homework by neglecting to put it on the posh label rail where it would have commanded a much higher price.

I spent a good chunk of Saturday assembling my travel wardrobe and doing some other holiday prep, completely forgetting to make outfit photos. I can't for the life of me remember what I wore that day.

Sunday - we were the 2nd of June by now - had been forecasted as the best day of the weekend. However, it was quite windy and there was a distinct lack of sunshine until late afternoon.

We drove down to Middelheim for a head-clearing walk and I almost instantly regretted my choice of jacket and the fact that I hadn't grabbed a scarf from our hallstand the minute I got out of the car.

We entered the park through the famous Artist's Entrance (see here) and made our way towards what we thought were the beginnings of a new playground, consisting of a huge orange zig-zag frame with two triple swings. 

This, of course, turned out to be a work of art, called One Two Three Swing! It's part of COME CLOSER, Middelheim's Summer Exhibition, which is running from 7 June until 29 September.

Which means it is actually opening today, although our visit dates from a week ago on Sunday. 

As luck would have it, we were able to see a kind of première of the installation called A Retrospective View of the Pathway. It consists of foam that rises from two giant tubs and engulfs the viewer depending on the wind. Its creator, Roger Hiorns (b. 1975, Birmingham, UK)  studied at Goldsmiths College in the mid-1990s and now lives and works in London.

The artwork I'm posing in front of is actually inflatable! It's by the Polish artist Zuzanna Czebatul (°1986) and called - wait for it -  Macromolecule Exploiting some Biological Target.

Obviously, we will go back and have a proper look at the exhibition in the Summer months.

But first things first: tomorrow we'll be up at silly o'clock to start our UK adventure.

See you on the other side!

In a rut

What with the work, eat, sleep, repeat pattern of my office days, it feels like I've been stuck in a rut a bit lately.

The same goes for my Winter wardrobe which, as much as l love all my clothes, I'm starting to get thoroughly bored with. A change is on the horizon though, as yesterday I've worked my final Friday ever - we're having the day off on Good Friday - and on top of that, Spring has now officially sprung. Never mind that, apart from the odd deliciously warm and sunny day, the season is still dragging its heels, Mother Earth has definitely had her wake-up call, and surely it can't be all that long now until we can ditch the woollens and warm Winter frocks in favour of some lighter fabrics.

There might have already been some Spring vibes going on in this outfit, which I wore to the indoor flea market on Sunday the 10th of March. 

Make no mistake, though, as I was wearing both a cardigan and a fur-collared jacket to combat the chill inside the flea market venue. I never even took off my scarf and beret either, as someone must have thought it wise to turn the heating down that day. Never mind us punters, who were constantly on the move between stalls, what about those poor stall-holders who were mostly glued to their pitches all day? At 12°C, it actually felt much warmer outside than it did inside that cavernous hall!

The teal blouse with its funky orange, yellow, turquoise and white pattern was found for the silly price of € 2 on this very flea market in October 2016, and has been a regular on the blog ever since.

My skirt is an old Think Twice find. It is vintage St. Michael, and is part of a suit - what would nowadays be called co-ords - with a short-sleeved belted jacket. 

I picked turquoise and aqua for my accessories, which consisted of a charity shopped belt and beaded necklace - the latter originally from H&M - a chunky ring from the high street and a cat brooch from the wonderful Katshop in Antwerp.

To cope with the strain of walking the flea market's endless aisles, I was wearing my charity shopped No Stress lace-up boots.

I'm sure you won't be surprised that I picked up another batch of brooches! They are my main subject of interest on flea markets in general, although obviously I'm keeping an open mind for other treasures as well. And with Jos's friend's generous gesture of supplying me with yet more of these shallow dark wooden drawers - in addition to the two I got earlier this month I've now got six more! - there's no reason to curb my enthusiasm! 

The day's finds were picked up from a variety of stalls and came in all shapes and sizes. 

Although the majority of my brooches are vintage, I'm not averse to modern ones and I don't mind cheap 'n cheerful either. I basically buy those that tickle my fancy - if the price is right. 

I tend to spend a bit more on pristine Italian micromosaic brooches, so I was pleasantly surprised that the stunner on the bottom left only had a price tag of € 15. It was my most expensive buy of that day.

The cameo brooch on the top right is actually an early plastic Paris souvenir brooch.

I've grouped the birds together here. I seem to have a bit of a penchant for them, as I've had to resort to a second drawer for my bird-themed brooches!

In the meantime, I've already worn the - vintage - peacock brooch and the - modern - woodpecker one, which you'll get to see in my next post(s). The peacock turned out to be a real dazzler, particularly when sunlight is playing with the plethora of rhinestones in its plumage!

Continuing our rummage, I picked up this 1970s oilcloth tablecloth from our friend Tania's stall. It's by the French company Nydel who are still going strong to this day, and will soon be gracing our kitchen table. We just need some placemats in a matching colour.

Shortly after we'd entered the venue, I pounced upon this revolving necklace display, for which I gladly paid the € 5 asking price. As it was a bit cumbersome to carry around, the sellers kept it behind for us until we were ready to go. It has already been put to work displaying my current most worn necklaces.

With only two more aisles to go, my friend Inez, who was with us, told me she was looking for a vintage powder box, preferably made of carton, for her vanity. What are the odds of coming across a huge box full of them only a couple of minutes after she'd uttered those words? While she was engaged in the difficult task of making a choice, I spotted two more, equally huge boxes around the corner of the stall. The owner told us that she'd found about 800 of them when on a house clearance job. 

There was nothing for it but to buy a couple of them myself, and these are the four which, after much deliberation,  were eventually selected.

And so, the weekend had come and gone, the week ahead another 5-day one, with the weather yet again a mixed bag of mostly grey and rainy days and temperatures barely into the double digits.

The monotony of my office days was broken on Wednesday by a hairdresser's appointment for a colour and cut during an extended lunch break. On my way back from the salon, I nipped into the charity shop a couple of houses down the street. This was purely out of habit, as I've hardly found anything here over the years. This time, however, my effort was rewarded by two midi skirts, a blue and tan plaid wool-blend one and a red cotton dream of a skirt with a pattern of sky blue, white and tan flowers and the odd butterfly. Both will be making their debut on the blog soon.

This Italian-made vintage dress, probably dating from the 80s, also ended up in my basket. On top of its eye-searing neon colours, it's also got a bit of sparkle, which my camera wasn't able to catch.

The odd one out that week was Thursday, with its gorgeous Springlike weather and highs of 18°C.

It goes without saying that I went for a walk during my lunch break, and I'm sure regular readers won't be surprised to read that this took me into the direction of the Botanic Garden.

This time, I went around the back, so to speak, making my way to the garden through the entrance to the white building on the top left, which used to belong to the college I attended for two years in the early 80s. I believe it's currently some kind of co-working space.

To the right, when entering the garden from this direction, is a 17th Century arcade. This was originally a baroque shooting range, which was taken from the grounds of former archery society "Cercle Willem Tell" located in the Arenbergstraat around the corner, and rebuilt here in 1911-1912. 

The greenhouses, which contain cacti and other exotic plants, are on the left. They were built as recent as 1976, but retain the form of the old 1880s conservatory. 

At this time of year, I'm sure it's possible to watch the garden grow while sitting on one of the garden's benches. Although I'd only been here a mere week ago, the changes were remarkable.

Shrubs were starting to blossom and there were fiery orange Pyracantha bushes and a yellow haze provided by Forsythia and a variety of daffodils.

Two ducks seemed to have taken up residence in the tiny ornamental pond, while a firebug was visiting a patch of forget-me-nots. There were some showy pink Camellias and Peter van Coudenberghe, the garden's founder, was keeping watch over the magnificent Magnolia tree.

And it's with a close-up of its lush goblet-shaped blooms that I'm bidding you goodbye for now.

See you next time, and let's hope that Spring has arrived in earnest by then!