Today’s post is about friends and family, a report of my weekend two weeks ago. This photo above was taken when the whole family was celebrating both my mother’s birthday and my sister-in-law’s birthday. You have seen these trousers before with a zig-zag jumper in this post. I have created 4 outfits with them which made me quite proud of myself. As Autumn is coming I will save the other two outfits for next year.
Friends
The weekend started Saturday with my Shopping Saturday friends Sabine and Anke. It had been a while since we met and the 31st of August was a date we were all available. The fact I had been to Turin the week before and shopped a lot was something I just ignored. I was going to focus on the purchases the other two would make. Yeah, right.
Below: I picked up Anke and made this darling photo of her husband with their daughter as we were leaving. Anke’s husband is such a great guy. I really like him. He is good (for the world), he is funny and he stands his ground. Besotted with his daughter (and Anke).
We met Sabine at fashion store Lutz in Vinkeveen, a large shop with many brands. It was the last day of the sale and all items were 70% marked down. Usually I do not find anything in the sale and certainly not on the last day when all the good stuff is already gone. As the grandmother of a friend once said: “In the sale you will find the things other women didn’t want either”. Sabine disagreed and I had to eat my words as you will see.
Below: At the parking lot of Lutz for the first pictures: Sabine on the left and Anke on the right.
Below: I wore a dress by Bellamy Gallery and peeptoe slingbacks I got in the sale in Turin a couple of years ago, brand Bruchi. These slingbacks are so soft and comfortable that I thought the brand would be very expensive but they are not. I wore this dress with the shoes in this post in 2017 but now I’ve added a proper length slip so it doesn’t look odd when the wind blows the dress against your body. Shame that the bag pulls the dress at the shoulder. There is a lot to be said for a hand-held bag. The colour of the dress is not very good for me, which is why I am wearing green earrings. (I adore Sabine’s bag and shoes.)
Below: Anke wasn’t planning on buying much but got away with the most purchases. Like this blue coat/jacket.
Below: Sabine was very tempted by this lovely dress. The thing that held her back was the fact that it was too long to wear with slippers and she didn’t want to wear high heels with it. Even though she loves high heels, there are times when you just want to be comfortable.
Below: Both Sabine and I bought the purple belt I am wearing with this dress. It was a steal and is beautifully finished. But I am not going to wear it with this dress anymore. The belt that came with the dress is more flattering. The flat shoes you see, are from my shopping spree in Turin.
Below: Close-up of the shoes. Brand is L ‘Autre Chose, an Italian brand with a French name. 50% off in the sale. I think they are elegant, especially for a flat shoe.
Below: This is how I wore those pretty shoes with a trouser outfit. Outfit seen before here.
Besides the purple belt I bought a pair of white, baby-soft, flat shoes which you will see next week. Anke found a pair of animal print sneakers.
It was time for coffee and lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Below: Anke. She is glowing as she is expecting her second child. Which is why she thought she wouldn’t buy much. But she hit it big time in the next village: trousers and a blouse.
Below: Sabine contemplating.
Below: And the obligatory photo of the three of us.
Like always it was a day of laughter, seriousness, talk, talk, talk, as girlfriends do. We are already planning the next date. Luckily for our bank account it won’t be soon.
Family
My family is small. My mum and dad only had my brother and me. And I don’t have any children. Luckily my brother made sure the family grew by having three children. In turn they have children as well. Even without the great grandchildren, birthday parties were always loud, a cacophony of sounds. And I love it. My mum loves it a lot less as her hearing isn’t what it used to be.
As I said before, we celebrated my mother’s birthday and my sister-in-law’s birthday. Which meant I had to pick up my mother in her village near Rotterdam and travel to the east of the country where my brother lives.
Below: The whole family of my brother and sister-in-law.
Below: This is my niece, pregnant with the third one. Annelot and her husband design, print and sell cool T-shirts in a very environmental and sustainable way. I have shown you the T-shirts I got from them a couple of times. Of course she is wearing one.
Below: Big news. My other niece and her man just had their first baby.
Below: Of course mum had to be photographed with her latest great grandchild. My mum became 91 in August. Still lives on her own and in “full working order”.
Below: We had some of the women in our family lined up for the photo.
Below: One last shot of the outfit, as this blog is about outfits as well haha. The T-shirt is Filippa K and very soft. Trousers, brooch and bag: Essentiel Antwerp. Shoes: Marks & Spencer.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday: first a cappuccino with Ron downtown. Always so nice. I am “allowed” one cup of coffee per day again. PARTY. Bought a new strap for my watch before I’d lose it due to the sad shape the old strap was in. In the afternoon the hairdresser did my hair again. And it got fully blown apart as I went home.
Sunday: washing (a lot!) , grocery shopping, taking the rubbish out (a lot), making the bed, cleaning the oven, defrosting the fridge, hoovering etc etc. I don’t like all these chores, but they must be done. A friend came to dinner. Ron did all the shopping and cooking. It was delicious.
Monday: work and fitness.
Tuesday: stress at work and Murphy’s Law was upon us. Things for the campaign which ideally had to be finished last Friday, were still in “repair” and “additions” on Tuesday. By 4.30 p.m. most of it was done. Phew. Did the ironing in the evening. Boring thing to report, but then you know my life isn’t all fun and games.
Wednesday: fitness and work for a couple of hours. The nice part started in the afternoon as I had an appointment with a stylist who came to my house. Patty works at a client of my company and I found out she had a styling company of her own: FAM Fashion and more. We got on really well over the phone and by mail, the reviews of her styling work were good, so I decided to ask her to teach me all about proportions. Sylvia of 40PlusStyle has been trying to teach me this as well, but I am a very slow learner in this field. I find proportions difficult. And I didn’t follow her course properly. Anyway, Patty and I had a really good time that afternoon and I learned a lot.
Thursday: work and anxious moments, awaiting the result of the operation of Ron’s best friend. Remember I said there was a shadow hanging over our lives a couple of months ago? That was because Ron’s best friend had surgery which had gone wrong and his life was hanging by a thread since then. Ron supported his friend’s family and I have been lighting candles for months. Those were tough times and this Thursday he had the last operation (hopefully) and it was successful. He is not there yet, but the immediate danger is gone. Pfew.
Friday: quiet at work and we had a friend over for dinner.
Note: remember I did a post about the cathedral Saint Bavo? If you liked that, have a look at this great blog post by my friend Anja about the Saint Bavo Church (not the cathedral) in Haarlem.
Greetje
What a lovely post, filled with family and style! You look great!
And so great to have some good news about friend G.!
Thanks also for linking to me; very sweet.
You made such a good post, I wanted to treat my readers with it.
Anke’s little daughter is just darling!!! You’re right about Anke glowing in her current pregnancy as well! Your little striped dress and Obi belt make you look like a model Greetje!
I love the window pane plaid pants and hope to see more great stylings of them. Your mom looks very happy to be enjoying her beautiful family and the photo of her holding the latest babe is a TREASURE! She seems to be a happy and gentle matriarch…
Thanks for sharing this family occasion Greetje! You look so darned sophisticated in this outfit and I especially love the brooch on red!
You will see further styling of these trousers next spring. (I misread your comment the first time. I read plants instead of pants. That confused me haha.)
My mum is indeed feeling happy with her family. I wasn’t sure whether you blog readers would like this post but apparently you do.
Greetje
What a busy week! You look awesome in those wide-legged trousers, Greetje, and I love the purple belt and those lovely strappy black flats.
I would have tried to talk Sabine into that gorgeous dress! Congrats to Anke!
I mentioned you at the Fluevog party on Friday night! Ha!
I didn’t perceive it as a busy week but perhaps it was. Wide-legged trousers are my new best friends. I invested heavily in them.
The purple belt is very nice, but not on this dress. Too many lumps and bumps showing.
We were very fair with Sabine and weighed the possibility of having it taken up. Not an easy task with this dress. Next year there will be other dresses.
You mentioned me at the Fluevog party?? How? To whom?
Greetje
LOOKING VERY SKINNY!
I am indeed rather skinny thanks to my braces haha. Still size Large at the top though.
A true celebration of friendship and family. How fabulous! I know it’s rare for your complete family to all be present so that must have been very special.
It was the perfect post really, you look amazing, lots of great photos from friends and family, great news about your dear friend making a recovery and then you also mentioned me! Extra bonus!
I’m looking forward to read what you’ve learned from the stylist.
I decided (even before I saw that you linked to me, mind you) that your outfit fits perfectly in today’s post. A good example of color blocking if ever I saw one (https://40plusstyle.com/how-to-color-block/)
Oh great, I was trying to link through to your colour blocking post through the bio in IG but failed.
Our family gets together three times a year for birthdays. Not much indeed.
I will gladly share my learnings on proportions when you are over here again. Hopefully in December.
Loving all the photos your family and friends all look so good, I had a week off for stuffing about so I am now exhausted just reading yours. I’ll light a candle for Ron’s friend
Hahaha.. it wasn’t really exhausting. During the week I just work and do nothing. Thanks for lighting a candle. He can still use it.
Greetje
Those black flats are fantastic! I am so excited Anke is having another baby, I don’t know why since I don’t even know her except from your blog, but YAY Anke’s family!!
Gosh, you have been a busy bee this week. I have to go read your last post to see what you bought in Italy. I need to know! Your mom looks just great; I bet she’s thrilled with all these babies dropping into your family now. xxx
Haha.. you are getting involved in my personal life. Love that.
I bought a lot in Italy and it will all come on the blog. Showing my London purchases next week.
Mum is just sad she lives so far apart from my brother’s family. She doesn’t see them too often although they do come to her. Nowadays that is quite a challenge as it is rather busy for a 91-year old lady.
Wonderful post Greetje. All about the important things in life: fashion, friends, family and …. that dratted chore list! Although, I sometimes really enjoy ironing. Is that strange?
Love all the outfits, but agree about the purple belt with that dress. The new flat shoes are exactly the kind of thing I love and the way you styled them with the yellow blouse and jeans was very flattering and youthful.
I will be sending good thoughts your way for Ron’s friend. My husband is having brain surgery on Tuesday and we are hoping for a good outcome.
Have a good week!
I don’t dislike ironing either. Of all the chores that is the nicest one. At least you get instant result. Thank you for all the compliments and for the good thoughts. I will return the favour of good thoughts as your husband’s operation is quite something.
Greetje
Thanks so much! Very kind of you.
Now…into the week!
It’s lovely to catch with all of your news again Greetje. Summer has been so busy with me, that it’s only now that I can find time to say Hi to all of my blogging friends again. You look really well, very trim so the new eating regime is keeping you looking fab. I love those black flatties – I bet you’ll get lots of wear out of them!
I bought the black flatties really for next summer. It is hard for me to find flat shoes which I like. And when I can get a pair half price of a quality brand, I am prepared to keep them in my wardrobe till next year.
In two months my braces will come off and I have to continue the “eating regime” by sheer willpower. Oh dear. Time will tell, but I bought so many lovely trousers for this slim body, I really want to keep it.
Greetje
Nice that you found a few things in the sales! I haven’t had much luck, except when it’s one of those “special promotions” that includes new items too. What a beautiful family! Our family is small as well, we’re the only ones who have had a child (now a young adult). The orange tee is really good on you! I’m trying to switch up my proportions a little bit as well, and it’s a steep learning curve. 😉
I wanted to know the details about lines and about “how much skin do you have to show, where and when”. Like sometimes boots are better and sometimes a shoe (showing the upper foot) is better. And when to use a 7/8th pair of trousers and when long ones. I am still learning.
Greetje