As you read last week, I scored 2 dresses at the second-hand shop Kat & Ko. This blue and white striped dress looks brand new. No marks, no fluff, the white is pure white and I love the neckline. I didn’t think it would suit me but decided to try it anyway. One look in the mirror was enough. Love it. The dress is rather classic, which satisfies this side of me. The yellow Coach bag has the same classic vibe. My red tote bag is a good choice with this dress but I hardly ever wear the yellow bag just because it is so classic.

Now, before I continue, I want to tell you that I am linking to Tania, who writes the blog 50 is not old, and she is linking to my blog in her Friday with Friends post. A little collaboration to introduce each other’s blog to our audiences. I never engage in such things, but I made an exception for Tania. We virtually met in 2016 when we both engaged in a collaboration with 4 other bloggers in Project Sister Act, showing the colour red is good no matter what age you are. Like me, she likes a clean house but hates housekeeping and she is a very honest person, a quality which I value highly. Tania calls her style “classic meets trendy,” but hus husband recently branded it “classy with a little trashy”, haha. Apparently her husband has the same kind of humour as mine has. I am on her side and think she dresses colourfully and really nice. Love her earrings too.

Kitty and I went to a neighbourhood in Haarlem with very old houses and churches. There is also a tiny red light “district” in this area. Amsterdam does not hold the monopoly you know.

Below: We started near a big church. This is my pink spring coat by Filippa K, a present from my husband Ron which I first wore in Paris. The yellow bag didn’t go well with this coat, the little white bag by Essentiel Antwerp is better.

Below: Walking back to my bags with shoes, mirror etc. Looks like my walking could improve on elegance.

Below: Somebody is curious to see what is in the bags. Bringing a big bag is handy for storing a coat preventing it from getting dirty.

Below: Sneaker time. Although I am not a “dress with sneakers” lover, I think these Vic Matié sneakers look good.

Below: My new knee exercises are paying off. That morning I even touched my bum with my left heel. Not for more than a few seconds at a time as you can see below (this is as far as I could stretch it three hours later). Nevertheless, it is very encouraging.

Below: Wouldn’t mind a pair of these earrings in another colour. They are by Lara Design.

Below: When this man passed on his bike he said: “You are looking good!” Which, of course, made me laugh.

Below: We arrived at this beautiful old little square.

Below: A few pictures of the houses around this square.

Below: Detail of the ornament above the front door.

Below: Checking the hair….

Below: I love this shot.

Below: Something to hold onto…yay.

Below: I am not bare-legged as I am wearing hold-ups (thigh-highs) by Oroblu (Geo 8 Bronzing effect, colour Sun). Although they are pretty good the 7 denier Sun hold-ups that Pretty Polly used to make were far better. Woven with a special yarn in a particular way, made them really invisible. Even when you were 1 inch away, you couldn’t tell. Alas, alas, they stopped the production. If anyone knows of sheer hold-ups (no tights for me) with such a spectacular summer effect, please let me know.

Below: Isn’t this street cute? Little canal at the end.

Below: Taking photos of the beautiful houses with my iPhone. Kitty’s photos were better though.

Below: Kitty discovered this ladybird. They are supposed to bring you luck. So for all of you this picture. May it bring you luck.

Below: A street in the red-light “district”. The man you see is not a “customer”. He is a bar owner.

Below: Another street in the red light “district”, with an actual red light outside; probably a club. Funny that there is a church right next door. The sinners can confess immediately 😆

Below: Everywhere you look, you see church towers. And the gable below is called a step-gable. No need for any further explanation, right?

Below: Yep, another church tower. This is the Saint Bavo church, situated in the very centre of Haarlem. Not to be confused with the cathedral Saint Bavo which is more to the west of Haarlem.

Below: A closer look at the tower.

Below: After we picked up some stuff from my seamstress, we had lunch at the big market square in a pub called Fortuyn. I took a selfie and Ron said my face looks very long in this picture. (And there are little black flies in my hair…) September last year I met my editor Selina in this pub at virtually the same table.

Below: Took a portrait photo with my iPhone of Kitty. You can blurr the background, which I did. The photo is less sharp as my selfie because I was taking it against the light.

Below: View from the Fortuyn pub on to the market square (called Grote Markt). The Saint Bavo church is on the left.

Below: Kitty changed her sensible walking shoes for her new booties.

Below: One last picture as it is difficult to kill your darlings.

Like many women I love stripes. Had I found this dress in a normal shop I would have bought it as well. Anyway let’s move on to my week.

What happened in my life this week

Saturday was a nice day with sunshine and a photoshoot in Amsterdam together with Loes. Lovely morning, lovely company, lovely lunch. Did some necessity shopping in the afternoon, like buying hold-ups (thigh highs), flowers and such, nothing spectacular. Only, I had to wait half an hour for somebody which meant I started to wander and that is really dangerous for somebody like me. Sunshine, good mood, time to spend, shops open and me in the middle. Oh dear. Sure enough, I did what I was not supposed to do: I went into LAB Women’s Clothing to show the ladies of the shop how I wore the black high heeled sandals which I bought there a couple of weeks ago. (They will be on the blog next week.) Chat, chat, laugh, laugh… and then a mannequin dressed in a long black leather dress caught my eye. You can guess the rest. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.

Sunday: In the morning Ron and I took Watson to a park in Amsterdam, where we met two friends with their dog. Watson has really grown, he is now 20 weeks old and does not look like a puppy anymore. He weighs more than our first dog Charlie as a grown-up. Watson is very well-built, a beautiful dog and now also a sweet dog. Life is getting easier. Ron is training him to stay in the house alone. We are up to 25 minutes I believe. Easy does it.

Ron had to go away for the afternoon on Sunday while I was attending Anja’s birthday,party. What to do with the dog? Ron arranged a dog sitter which was very nice for all of us. Loes was also having a party that afternoon. A fare-well party to be exact, as she retired (early) from work. She followed my advise to get the paella (and more) which I ordered when my friends came for dinner. Our oven is bigger than her’s and I heated the food up for her guests. She lives exactly across the road, so all I had to do is bring the dishes and Bob’s your uncle.

Monday: nothing special, just work and fitness. Had a good laugh at the office but cannot remember what it was about.

Tuesday: working from home because all public transport in the Netherlands was on strike: trains, buses, underground, trams… the lot. The unions want a better pension. Strikes don’t happen that often in our country. Apparantly by 8.30 a.m. the worst was over on the motor ways. But there was no necessity to be at the office, so working from home was a good solution.

I sold my red cowboy boots to a woman who said she loved them when I was at the theatre two weeks ago. They were too big for me now that I am not wearing support soles anymore and they were absolutely not kind on my knee. Long story short: a week later she came to our house to try them on and they fit her like a glove. SALE. Ron bought me these boots a couple of years ago. I therefore gave him the money of the sale. Honesty is my middle name.

Wednesday I had another singing lesson. Still not sure whether I will continue this, but I do like it. The singing was followed by a visit to the orthodontist who is very pleased with the progress I have made. At the end of the afternoon there was time for some rest while visiting neighbour and friend Anja. Sylvia of 40PlusStyle joined us. She is staying on and off in The Netherlands for 3 months. The Haarlem Bloggers will soon get together once again.

Thursday was a sunny bank holiday which I spent with husband and dog in the park and on the beach. Which leads me to Friday. I could not bring myself to work and took the day off. Nice long period of being free. Just pottered around the house and went out for dinner with friends. Ron arranged a dog sitter for Watson.

Below: What I wore for dinner. Sneakers outfit as we had to walk to town.

Below: Nice dinner with good company at an Indonesian restaurant. Husband decided not to smile.

That’s it for this week.

Don’t forget to check out Tania’s blog 50 is not old.

Greetje