A brief glimpse of Spring

Upon waking up last Sunday morning we were met by two strange phenomena. The first, being of the visual variety, was the most obvious, as it was immediately apparent upon drawing our curtains. The grey clouds had taken a day off, leaving us with a brilliant blue sky and a sunny disposition.

The second was a lightness of feeling which initially wasn't easy to put one's finger on. Then it dawned on us. For the first time in two months it was a Sunday without any obligations, free to spend whichever way we fancied.

Putting the two together, we felt truly blessed that the sun had chosen this very day to grace us with her presence.

According to the weather forecast, this cloudless, sunny day would be a one-off. In fact, the weathermen said it would only last until mid-afternoon. So, we wasted no time in filling a thermos with strong hot coffee, packing a picnic and heading off for a bracing walk and some much needed fresh air.

I wore my beloved princess coat, accessorized with a green beret and scarf. My hands were kept warm by my fake astrakhan muff which cleverly doubles as a handbag!

Our favourite nature reserve, Het Broek, where you have followed in my footsteps many times before, was our destination of choice.

The sun was surprisingly strong and it was good to walk and bask in its relative warmth.

The lakes and ponds were glazed with a fine layer of ice, too thin even to hold the weight of the  resident waterfowl, who could be heard screeching and bickering across the main lake as usual.

Soon we came to the bird hide, a ramshackle wooden hut looking out over the lake.

It was looking deceptively calm, as most of the birds seemed to be hiding among the reeds bordering the small islands in the far distance.

Only a young swan, still partly clad in its downy plumage, was venturing out on its own.

The warmth of the sun after the heavy rains of the last couple of days gave rise to a thin white mist emanating from the sodden earth, creating an ethereal, de-focused world.

The tangled bushes, which simultaneously carried last season's growth and Spring's new beginning, and the majesty of the high, windswept trees, made my daily worries recede, so that I was only living in the moment and savouring every breath.

I was looking forward to a visit to my favourite part of the reserve, a paradisaical corner the sight of which always fills me with tranquility and a unfathomable feeling of déjà vu

But the path leading to this slice of heaven was closed off and the bridge crossing the brook had been removed.

A notice on the gate said the path was permanently closed to protect the family of beavers who had taken up residence here. It is true that we did notice some beaver activity the last time we were here. Obviously, this sounds like a solid enough reason, but I was still feeling quite bereft at the thought of never seeing my favourite place again. Silly me, I'm getting all teary-eyed while typing this.

Taking another path instead wasn't nearly as satisfying, but there were still enough sights, sounds and scents to enchant us and even trick us into thinking it was an early Spring day.

On a path sheltered by a bank of reeds, I tilted my face towards the sun, which was colouring its paleness with a blush on my cheeks while warming up my winter-heavy limbs.

It was warm enough to show you what I was wearing underneath my coat: a black frock patterned with a firework display of flowers in white, orange and green. I wore an ochre belt at my waist and a green cardigan on top, echoing the green of my opaques.

My boots are the ancient pair I'm always wearing for walks of this ilk, and which were still carrying traces of the muddy clay we trampled in on Christmas day.

Onward we walked, through a landscape which had time to heal its peat-digging past and become a haven of fauna and flora. 

If it weren't for the occasional encounter with fellow walkers, the quiet would have been quite deafening in comparison with our daily life's hustle and bustle.

For this particular girl, however, the quietness was like medicine after the frenetic rush of the last couple of weeks.

After eating our picnic sitting gingerly on a damp bench, it was time to return to our car.

It was getting busier now that it was past lunch time, and we no longer had the place mostly to ourselves.

And, true to the weathermen's word, the sun started playing hide and seek with the clouds, until the blue sky we'd waken up to was blanketed once more.

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday and Mica's Weekday Wear Linkup!

Say cheese!

As January seamlessly segues into February, this wishy-washy Winter continues.

It hasn't yet been really cold here in Belgium, the temperature only dipping one or two degrees below zero at the very most, nor have we had any significant amount of snow.

Instead, there's been an endless string of dull grey days, more often than not accompanied by relentless, non-stop rain.

The lack of sunshine has seriously depleted my Vitamin D levels, leaving me worn out, with my energy levels at an all time low.

If you hadn't noticed yet, January and February aren't exactly my favourite months!

But once again, I am finding solace in the rainbow of colours offered by my wardrobe.

Why not wear a bit of raspberry red for a change? It was love at first sight for this gem of a dress, bought at Antwerp's Episode shop, which is part of a chain of vintage clothing shops of Dutch origin.

In spite of it being only a short walk from my office, I only frequent the shop once in a blue moon, as its prices are a bit higher than what I'm used to pay at Think Twice.  I have to admit they've got some really nice stuff, though, and the shop is spaciously laid out ever since they moved to their current premises.

I gladly made an exception for this delightful fit-and-flare frock, its print a confetti of white and yellow dots and dashes.

The tiny bits of yellow in the dress's print prompted the wearing of more yellow, starting with a belt with a round metal buckle.

My yellow cardigan made another appearance, yet again providing instant sunshine, while the brooch I pinned to it, a rather heavy metal orchid, ties in with the red tones of the dress. It was charity shopped in Shropshire last Summer, but I can't remember where exactly.

The multi-coloured, wooden beaded necklace, was a recent charity shop find.

Yellow would have been the obvious choice, but I'm wearing red opaques here, and I opted for my  burgundy boots, which are both comfortable and pleasing to the eye.

When it's raining, which it has done rather a lot lately, and I have to commute, my default go-to boots are either my slightly worn slouchy boots or a pair of flat-heeled tall ones, both in a rather uninspiring shade of taupe. 

I have a fear or ruining my "good" boots and shoes, so maybe I should take a leaf out of Sheila's book and carry them to work in a shoe bag.

I almost forgot to mention the transparent yellow plastic ring I was wearing! And aren't those buttons the sweetest? They do look a bit like raspberries, don't you think?

Apart from my yellow beret, my outerwear consisted of a vintage coat I found at Oxfam about 3 years ago. It's got nice deep pockets I can shove my hands in, but the lining of both is torn beyond repair. 

The embroidered crushed velvet scarf in a lush shade of purple was a € 0,50 flea market find.

So, this is what I wore on Saturday before last.

Now, if the weather had been dry, we would have put on our walking boots to brave the muddy paths of the nearby park. However, as it continued to rain, we had to make do with a trip to the charity shops.

The first shop we went to was the one with the scary owl, and I have to admit that I was a tiny bit disappointed that he was no longer there. I can only hope he's gone to a good home!

This Guernsey Pottery cheese board, complete with ceramic mouse, came home with us instead. 

A vintage pussy bow dress with squiggly stripes in cream and brown, with a sprinkling of red, was my next buy. I already wore it work this week, but for now you'll have to make do with Angelica modelling it. 

The wide burgundy patent belt, which came from the same shop, was a perfect match.

And so are these two cardigans! I was quite spoiled for choice that day.

I'm always on the lookout for cardigans to add to my collection, as I do wear them on a daily basis, except during a heatwave. 

These chunky knit ones are great for this time of year: a flower patterned H&M cardie and a textured pink one, which I'm guessing was someone's handiwork. 

I seem to be accumulating a lot of skirts and this time I was drawn to this fabulous navy, red and white bouclé pencil skirt. Here's Angelica modelling it with a red and white pussy bow blouse which I shopped from my closet. 

This finely knit fitted cardigan with its ajour hearts is from King Louie. I've lost track of the number of garments from this brand that I've come across in charity shops and over the years I've bought dresses, tops, cardigans and a jacket, all in perfect condition, at the fraction of the retail price. 

Not that I'm complaining, but I do wonder why so much of their stuff is donated to charity. It's quite good quality and most of it seems to be hardly worn at all. And it doesn't come cheap either.

My last find of the day was this fabulous red felt hat, for which I paid a silly € 1,50, its style harking back to the 1920s. Although I think Twiggy looks quite fetching in it, I'm promising to style it for you soon.

In other news, we have finished work at my parents' house, so that we finally have our weekends back. Yay!

And last weekend, the weather cleared up long enough to go for a walk, which I will tell you all about in my next post.

Jumping hurdles

Can you believe we're already more than one month into the new year?

Admittedly, January has been a bit of a blur for me, what with work issues and our ongoing work at my parents' house.

For the better part of two months, we have been spending a huge chuck of our Sundays at the parental home, where we have been sorting, clearing and finally cleaning, in order to get the house ready to be put on the market.

As on these days we only had a couple of hours to ourselves, I didn't bother getting dressed. At least not properly, that is. Floral drawstring trousers and a jumper may not sound too shabby, but it isn't the kind of outfit you'd usually find me wearing, and certainly not one I'll be sharing on the blog anytime soon.

Two Sundays ago however, before changing into my work wear (jeans and an old polo neck, if you're interested), I made the effort of putting on the dress I'd found at Think Twice during the week.

It's a vintage shift dress with a high, stand-up collar, one part of which I've only just noticed wasn't standing up that day. But do you think my photographer told me?

I was drawn by its gorgeous teal colour and the lurex shimmering through the fabric. The contents label, although quite faded, proclaims that it's 95% Crimplene and 5% Lurex!

Apparently, it was designed by Annette Carol of Leicester, England. Obviously, I tried googling the brand name, but no luck.

I wore it with my new Tiger's Eye pendant, a charity shopped wide tan belt, and a pair of tan boots.

Speaking of which, aren't they fabulous? They are by Miz Mooz, a sales bargain from many years ago. Unfortunately, I can't wear them for any length of time as they are rather bad for my back. Hence, they're still in perfect condition after all these years. 

When we were clearing the house's attic, we came across a small cabinet we quite liked the look of. After taking its measurements to make sure it would fit, we brought it home and, following a good clean and polish, it is now taking pride of place in our hallway.

I'd never seen the cabinet before, and neither had my siblings, but chances are that it used to belong to either pair of grandparents.

It deceptively looks as if it has four drawers, but the ones on the right are actually a pull down door.

Inside, there's plenty of space for handbags, scarves and berets and there's space underneath for a few pairs of boots so that they no longer clutter up the hallway.

On top, there's a classic Bakelite telephone, which we've had for many years. It seems to look quite at home here!

The round object in the middle is a revolving barometer, thermometer and a hygrometer, which Jos picked up at a charity shop event in October 2017 (see here for a close-up), while the large black tin with the Nasturtiums, a charity shop find from last Summer, currently holds my collection of gloves.

Here's a look at our hallway taken from the front door. You can just make out the edge of our IKEA shoe cabinet on the left, with our vintage coats rack with its jumble of coats, hats and caps beyond.

On the right, above the cabinet, is a small, charity shopped, hanging cupboard, which holds shoe cleaning paraphernalia, amongst other things.

Beyond the cabinet is an IKEA display unit showcasing our collection of vintage cameras.

The floor tiles are original and as you can see they continue into the room beyond, which is our dining room.

I took the afternoon off on Monday, as I needed to mentally prepare myself for some upheaval at work in the following days.

It was a cold but bright day and we took advantage of the available daylight to show you what I was wearing that day.

Brown and beige might not be colours you associate with me, but the dress's eye-catching print more than makes up for this. And for once, I am wearing the dress's original belt, as I love its round buckle.

This is another Crimplene dress, although in this case the polyester is joined by 20% wool, which makes it ideal for colder days.

On top, I wore a bottle green charity shopped cardigan, to which I pinned a vintage Bambi brooch, its circular shape echoing my belt buckle.

I continued the plaid theme of the dress by wearing warm woollen tights in green, with a plaid pattern in red and yellow.

It was back to work on Tuesday, and oh my goodness, what a stressful week it turned out to be.

I am office manager at a small trading company, with a head office in Miami, and we had a visit from the boss, who told us he would be retiring by the end of February. To cut a long story short, as from the 1st of March, I will have two new bosses, instead of just the one.

They joined us on Wednesday and I'm sure you can imagine my relief when they turned out to be the nicest guys ever.

On Thursday, we had lunch together and returning to the office, I simply had to show them this gem of a church, which is located in what looks like a tranquil Italianate piazza. 

This is the Sint-Carolus Borromeus church, which was commissioned and built by the Jesuit order between 1614 and 1621, and which counts as an archetype of Baroque architecture.

It is the Baroque church of the Low Countries and the church of Rubens, even though in 1718 a fire destroyed the 39 ceiling paintings by his hand.

As luck would have it, the church's doors stood invitingly open, allowing us to admire its stunning interior.

Our visit was enhanced by the mighty organ being played, which made the experience even more awe inspiring. 

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to get shivers down my spine ...

Now I'm joining Beate, Natalia and Tina at this month's Modish Matrons, and I will be linking to Patti's Visible Monday at Not Dead Yet Style once the link is up.

And finally, I am linking up to Mica's Weekday Wear Linkup!

Pink frost

I had it all worked out in my head. As on Saturday before last, the eternal rain had temporarily stopped and had been replaced by temperatures barely above freezing point, I intended to wear one of my vintage jumpers. I'd chosen my blue one, which has three rows of openwork flowers caught between two rows of tiny red hearted daisies.

I even had two choices of skirt in mind. It was going to be either my red plaid pleated skirt or my light grey one criss-crossed with multi-coloured diagonals.

At least, that was the plan. 

But then the red-hearted daisies reminded me of a velvet skirt, its print featuring pink flowers, which was languishing in my wardrobe. Thus, out it came. But it didn't look right at all with the jumper. However, now that I'd finally got the velvet skirt out, I was determined to wear it. So, taking the lead from the pink flowers, I scanned my wardrobe's shelves for a suitable jumper and happened upon this pink, grey and brown zig-zag one, which I charity shopped a couple of months ago. 

Satisfied with the result, I started building the rest of that day's outfit around it.

This is a typical Saturday morning occurrence at Dove Cottage, which I'm using to illustrate the way my outfits often come together. Trial and error. Playing with colours and prints. 

After a week of mornings when, still half asleep and bleary eyed, I'm mindlessly putting on one of the outfits I've assembled the weekend before, Saturday morning is my happy time, when I can play with the items in my wardrobe to my heart's content.

The velvet skirt is part of a suit I bought at Think Twice in September 2016, partly paid for by vouchers my friend Inez got me for my birthday.

I'd forgotten how fabulous it is! The short, fitted jacket is edged in faux leather and has faux leather covered buttons. I wore this for these photos only, as it was far too cold to go it alone, with just the jacket as outerwear.

I added my burgundy faux fur wrap and hot pink gloves, both of which were bought in last Winter's sales, as well as my vintage dusty pink Kangol beret with pom pom.

To tie in with the blue and turquoise in the skirt's print, I pinned a turquoise flower shaped brooch to my jumper. If you look closely, you can see that its heart is edged with tiny pink stones.

The necklace was a retail buy from back in the mists of time, and features graduated wooden beads in pink, purple and orange.

Instead of a cardigan, I opted for a black fake fur cap-sleeved vest, and obviously only pink opaques would do! 

Look at all that space in the wardrobe!  Sadly, it isn't mine: it's the wall-length fitted wardrobe in the master bedroom at my parents' house.

Outerwear consisted of a recently acquired purple fake fur jacket, and a charity shopped red and purple fringed scarf.

Comfortable footwear was essential, as we were off to our first flea market of the year. My feet were thanking me for choosing my trusty slouchy tan boots, which have just the right height of heel for trawling the flea market aisles.

Only minutes after entering the flea market venue, I was irresistibly drawn to this beehive shaped object, complete with three large-eyed bees attached to it by tiny coil springs.  It's a piggy bank, similar to the one I had at my paternal grandparents' house. In fact, we already owned one, minus the bees, which we picked up at another flea market many years ago. 

We were going to sell on the bee-less one at next Summer's flea market, but when we got it home, we noticed they aren't the same at all. So, for now, we are keeping them both.

Another book for our already seriously groaning shelves, but I'm sure you'll agree there was no way Jos could leave this one behind ...

This flea market, which is held on a monthly basis and for which we take out a season ticket saving a small fortune on entrance fees, is the perfect place to browse for brooches and other jewellery.

I was instantly smitten when I laid eyes on this fabulous pendant with its Tiger's Eye gemstone. At € 12 it was my most expensive buy that day.

I ended up buying six brooches from various stalls.

The plastic medallion with its trio of roses and the cute pair of tiny deer both came from the same stall whose owners live in the same town as we do.

And then there were these treasures. Clockwise from top left: a gold tone dragonfly with filigree wings, a silver swirly knot and - my favourite - a burnished gold tone posy with red plastic berries.

On the bottom left is the pink frost the post's title is referring to. That night's frost had decorated our pink metal garden table with a pattern of frost ferns. Aren't they magical?

There's one more brooch I have to show you. When trawling one of the last aisles, my eye was caught by an unusual carved celluloid brooch hiding among a jumble of jewellery on one of the stalls.

Now I regularly come across similar brooches, and even have some in my collection, but I'd never seen one with a green frame.

I carefully extracted it from its precarious position and, as it seemed to be in great condition, I nonchalantly asked for its price. Needless to say, I couldn't hand over my € 5 fast enough!

To end this post, I'm treating you to a look at my other carved celluloid brooches. 

They were all flea market finds, except for the souvenir brooch of the Notre Dame in Paris, which was picked up in a charity shop for € 0,50.

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