This photo does sort of jumps off the screen, doesn’t it? The owner of the shop (kpa. Haarlem) suggested the combination of the bright pink jacket with the leopard trousers. I was only in the shop to look at the new spring items and chatted with the owner. No intention of buying anything. Alas, staying too long in a shop with nice items is very dangerous and both trousers and jacket were heavily reduced in the sale. Weak as I am in this area, I didn’t stand a chance.
Having shoes in this shade of pink and a little leopard bag to go with the outfit, is the result of owning too many items. I know it is not sustainable to keep on buying new clothes. I do give away a lot; it does not end up in a landfill. Every season one or two items of the things I bought, are so good that I will hang on to it/them for a very long time. In our small house this big wardrobe is becoming a “problem”. I can hear you think (eyes rolling): “Give me your problems” and you are right.
The photo shoot
Loes and I chose a few little streets in the centre of Haarlem as background.
Below: Having a fuchsia coat to go with the outfit is a matter of loving colour. The streets date back to 1602 as you can see above my head.
Below: The owner of this house had a photo of a man with a cigarette in his window. The man seems to look at me in a mean way.
Below: Sitting on the windowsill with the smoker still looking at me. Smoking is sooo passé. In the Netherlands we heavily discourage smoking. You cannot smoke in public buildings, bars, restaurants and more and more the smokers are driven into a tiny corner. On the other hand, the cafés and restaurants have put chairs and tables outside on the pavement for smokers, covered with sun blinds and for warmth there are heaters and blankets. As we are a cold and rainy country, this is pretty new to us. With this smokers’ solution the streets are now more like France and Italy.
Below: I went back to the house a week later to take a photo of the whole house, as we had forgotten that. Of course there is a bike in front, ruining the photo.
Below: The house has lovely old details.
Below: The letters tell you that the house used to be a pig abattoir. Brrr… I hate slaughtering, hunting and caging animals. I am against zoos as well. Which makes me a bit of a hypocrite as I still eat meat. But a lot less than I used to and only from free range animals. Still… I don’t know how they kill them. Is that done in a humane way? Perhaps it is a matter of time before I become a vegetarian.
Below: For another take on these trousers, we walked on, to another area with old houses. The cobblestones chipped my little stiletto heel. Rats. I should have worn flat shoes walking these streets.
Below: This is rather unique for me: wearing a jumper (sweater) tucked INTO my trousers. The way the trousers are cut plus the pockets give me a shape I don’t really have (a -thin- hourglass shape haha). Wind-blown hair again. The necklace is from Zsiska, bought in Amsterdam in January 2014 (see? I hang on to good stuff). Unfortunately the shop is closed and although this is the website of Zsiska, it isn’t an online shop.
Below: Even my tushy isn’t that bad. Still small but not the flat pancake shape it is in reality.
Below: A blurry background. (Don’t you hate it when the strap of your bag pulls your jumper or dress into a funny shape?)
The photos were taken, the weather was cold, so we quickly dashed to a restaurant. It is a good recipe for the photo shoots.
Below: Restaurant Wolkers has a homey feeling, it is quirky and one side overlooks the big canal in Haarlem (Spaarne). Love the wallpaper.
Below: And again I found great lamps. (Actually Loes found them.)
Loes wasn’t feeling 100% which is why there isn’t a photo of her in this post.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday: a wonderful day meeting 4 of the other 5 BVA girls at Marijke’s house. The recipe was as always: cake and coffee, lunch, shopping, drinks and dinner. Poor hostess of the day. These days with those women are very precious to me. Next week there will be a post about it.
My new PJ’s arrived and they are wonderful. My new pocket spring mattress is very airy but also a lot colder than my previous latex mattress. The PJ solved this inconvenience. They are my first PJ’s; never had any as I always slept in a nightdress. The legs need some alteration as they are too wide at the hips because I wear the trousers a little lower than my waist.
Sunday: the day of rest, reading, blogging and laundry.
Monday: quiet day at work and fitness in the evening.
Tuesday: From 12 o’clock we had a department gathering outside the office with bowling to relax/have fun at the end of the afternoon. This turned into a sad day for me. At the beginning there were presentations and it was fine. Then we had to split up in teams and exercise what we were going to change in our way of working. And I am no longer part of either a team or the future. It hit me and I was so sad having to say goodbye to all these lovely colleagues that I left and went back to the office to work. At the moment I know what I am losing but I don’t know what I will be gaining. What will replace the fun and socializing? I know I will have to change my way of thinking and approach this in a more positive way. I will, but I had a weak moment.
Wednesday: fitness and meeting my friend Eefje in town for lunch, coffee and a lot of chatting. Always great to see her. We go back to 1984 or so. Did some shopping and bought a birthday present for Marianne.
Thursday: actually worked. At lunchtime I went to the piercing shop at another address to have my repaired earlobes checked by The Man (Sebastian). He has a lot of experience with repaired earlobes. Verdict: wait until at least 8 months after the operation. Too risky to do it now. Bummer. I wish I had known this before. Not that I wouldn’t have gone through with the operation, as I would have. Only it would have prevented me from disappointment. Managing expectations as we call this at work.
In the evening I received an email from the sales lady of the shop where I bought a long shirt last Saturday. She wrote that she had overcharged me on the shirt (it had just arrived and wasn’t priced yet). Could she send me a gift voucher for the difference? Isn’t that lovely and honest? I would never have found out. How did she know my email address you might think? I gave her my blog card and my email address is on the blog. Of course I could have insisted that she refunded me the difference in cash, but I was so smitten by her honesty, I didn’t want to go there. Instead Marijke cashed the gift voucher and bought a yellow spring/summer jumper for me which I had been trying on but hung back as I thought the shirt was enough money spent.
Friday: working from home. Actually working ….tsss.. Only three weeks to go to retirement. Finished this blog post. Had a laugh with Ron. Generally a nice day.
Greetje
The leopard print pants do fit your tush very well (speaking as another person with a “pancake bottom”). The hot pink looks great with the leopard print. Only three weeks left to go! That must be both exciting and sad at the same time. Shelley
Mind you Shelley, I bet I am going to wear the trousers with a jacket instead of a sweater most of the times haha. Self-consciousness is hard to shake.
At the moment my tasks at the office are almost all done. Yes it is exciting and sad.
Greetje
Okay, now I see why you laughed at my orange blazer + leopard pants outfit from last week, Greetje! Imagine if we showed up somewhere together in our matchy outfits, ha ha! I love those trousers and they are amazing on you.
Is it feeling weird that you only have 3 weeks to go??
We would have really stood out if we were to walk into the same room with our leopard outfits haha.
And yes it feels really weird that I will leave the company in three weeks. And these weeks themselves are weird too because half of the bank staff has to work from home while the other half is at the office. Then switch after a week. So some of my colleagues I won’t see anymore. Rather abruptly. All because of the Corona virus. My farewell party will be sometime in the future….
Wow. These trouser look amazing on you. When I had seen them somewhere hanging on a rack, I wouldn’t even have tried them. I guess I have to be more open for trying out things. You look stunning in them. They make your legs looking miles long and lean. I never had thought that. I will have to find a pair. They are so much cooler than my snake print pants. Thanks for the eye opening photos.
I had seen those trousers three times before (I am in that shop too often haha). And never did I feel the urge to try them on. Same as you, I didn’t think they would do my legs any favours. But because it was sale and I was always drawn to them and I had enough time…. why not try them on. Lo and behold: they fit and look great. You do have to wear heels with them and show some skin at the ankle.
Greetje
Love those trousers on you! And they look fantastic with the bright pink. How nice that the other shopkeeper was so honest about the overcharge!
I’ve been moving more and more toward not eating meat. Though the seafood here in Mexico is just too good to pass up…
I know, it is difficult to become a vegetarian. I am sure that if you show me some videos of poor animals in too small cages and things like that, I would become a vegetarian quicker. But it would give me nightmares for the rest of my life. Especially knowing that I cannot solve all the wrong in the world on my own. Making sure the ones I eat have had a decent life, is a step forward.
The shopkeeper who was so honest, can be satisfied: I paid some more and bought a yellow spring/summer jumper for the voucher.
You look amazing in those gorgeous trousers! I love the combination of colors, as I would not have thought of pairing leopard and pink — gorgeous 🙂
Neither would I have thought of combining leopard with hot pink. If it wasn’t for the shop owner advising me, I would never have tried it. But other bloggers have pointed out many times that leopard is a neutral which can go with all colours.
Greetje
I was going to ask the same question as Judith — why are you retiring? Thanks for answering. Retirement is both a pleasant and scary prospect (I know because I’m also contemplating it). Maybe you will find some satisfying and fun part-time work — or volunteer work — to build another community of friends. My retired husband says he is so busy he doesn’t know how he ever had time to work!
I am searching. Part-time work might be the answer. Or consulting work. Volunteer work is not something for me and it would not be good for the volunteers to work with me either, trust me.
I’ll find something. Perhaps in a year I will say the same thing as your husband.
Greetje
I swear,, you look good in everything you wear! I love the bright pink with the animal print. I too just bought an animal print bag – it is a circle bag which I think is very cute. A lot of women in Paris had woven circle bags last summer when we were there, but they did not appeal to me. I do love the leather and leopard bag I bought. I wish I had your “no hips” problem! I have a pancake posterior too, but with wide hips. Oh, well, we all have our flaws that we try to hide. I don’t think you should feel guilty about all your clothes! I but a lot also but give a lot of stuff away as soon as I do not like it anymore or it does not fit.
Like you I love circle bags but not the women ones. Funny. I still don’t own one but I looked at them often. Elle of The Elle Diaries (https://theellediaries.com/) has a circle vintage leopard bag which cost her next to nothing. I adore it. She is on a blogging break since November but there is still a lot to see.
You are right that we all have our flaws. And our good points. Just a matter of emphasizing the good ones and “hiding” the bad ones and people say you look good in everything you wear haha. I am not taking the mickey out of you, it is just that I know after 7 years of blogging what to wear and what not to. But still I make mistakes.
Greetje
Some people look good in pink. You are one of them. This outfit is thrilling.
Not in all pinks Ally, just in bright pink. Or any bright colour really.
Greetje
Oh my goodness Greetje, this outfit is right up my street! I love leopard print and pink together and would never have considered this as a happy combination. I too have a pink coat, leopard print trousers and pink sock boots – Oh I can’t wait to try these out.
I’m sure you’ll find lots to fill your time when you retire. More blogging perhaps, more travel too? Come to visit me and your other blogging friends …?
Hahaha.. I would love to visit you and all my blogging friends all over the world. But retirement brings on less income as well. Although I am still well off. Travelling however is not really my thing. More blogging means more time behind the computer and I want to interact with people. So I have no idea what retirement will bring.
Glad this outfit inspires you. It was a good thought of that shop owner. Thanks for your visit and comment.
Hahaha.. I would love to visit you and all my blogging friends all over the world. But retirement brings on less income as well. Although I am still well off. Travelling however is not really my thing. More blogging means more time behind the computer and I want to interact with people. So I have no idea what retirement will bring.
Glad this outfit inspires you. It was a good thought of that shop owner. Thanks for your visit and comment.
Why are you retiring? You are much too young for traditional retirement age.
No I am not too young. In April I will be 66 and my old age pension from the government will then be 4 months away. I just don’t show you too many photos from up close haha. And I had the lower part of my face lifted when I was 50 so I am cheating. Well not really as skinwise I have really bad genes.
Greetje