There is a lot of animal print going on this winter which I quite like. This snake print jacket was one of the items from a benefit sale, held by Nikki of Midlifechic with items from her wardrobe. So it is second-hand, but I bet she only wore it once. I combined it with a blue top and trousers (the latter from the Max Mara outlet in Turin). The red patent leather pumps are a couple of years old (never been outside, only in the office).
Loes and I went to Buitenplaats Plantage in Vogelenzang, a small, wealthy village. It was before the lock-down but we were already careful to maintain distance. I have been to this restaurant twice before. The first time with Anja (Curly Traveller) and Sylvia of 40+Style and I called the post Battle of the jeans. The second time with Anja and Misja (misjab) when we photographed my jeans jacket.
Below: Inside the restaurant.
Below: We decided to take the photos with the light through the windows behind Loes. Here I am in front of the big fireplace.
It was time for lunch. They serve organic, biological and sustainable food. Delicious.
Below: Loes with pretty earrings. Her eyes are so beautiful.
Below: Another take on the jacket. This time with a grey suede legging, grey turtleneck top and golden boots. We went outside for this. The blossom in the back is gorgeous.
Below: Because this grey top is rather tight over the stomach, I sewed a fastening on the jacket so I could close it.
Below: Close-up of the fastening. It closes with a clasp and a grommet. It was in my sewing box for years. The only catch is that the jacket is a bit too tight to fasten, so it rides up a bit when you sit down.
Below: Close-up of bag and boots.
Below: There are pigs on the premises. Kids love them.
Below: I loved how they scratched their backs on the trees.
Below: Walking towards the fields with flowers and the picnic table. I still slouch…
Below: It was rather windy at this spot, but what a sight.
Below: Spring is definitely on its way.
Below: As we left, Loes took a photo of my kimono coat, which you have seen a couple of times before. Checking my hair. (I never knew whether that great big label on the back is a designer thing or just the label which you should remove before wearing.)
Below: I did some research and found out that the label on the jacket is the name of the brand: Sans Culotte, Sans Papiers. It means “without breeches, without papers”. In France the “sans culotte” were popular people during the French Revolution in 1789. They wore long striped trousers instead of short trousers with stockings as the nobility and middle class did. The brand wants to provoke. Now do I remove that label or not?
Below: With sleeves like that, you need long gloves (found them in Paris when I was there with Susan of Une femme d’un certain âge).
What happened in my life this week
Monday: well… what do you do when you stay in all the time (due to Corona)? I thought I would be bored but I haven’t got enough time. Facetimed with my friend Marjolein and with Susan from Une femme d’un certain âge. That was fun. Plus the sun came out and it was really pleasantly warm in our garden. So I sat there and was absolutely zen. Here I am with no make-up on:
Cycled for half an hour (gosh there was a lot of wind) to get some exercise and picked up 2 pairs of jeans to try from the shop kpa.haarlem in town. We very carefully kept our distance. Karlijn, the shop owner, put the paper bag outside and stepped back into the shop. I picked up the bag with my leather gloves on. Unfortunately the jeans didn’t look as good on me as they did on her as I don’t have hips. See the difference below:
Tuesday: it is ever so nice, not having to get up in the morning on the sound of the alarm bell. You just get up when you wake up. Heaven. I cycled back into town to return the jeans and picked up a meringue with whipped cream on my way home. Here I am on my stretcher in the garden enjoying life while the world is on fire.
Wednesday: I make a point of wearing high heeled shoes every other day. My muscles have to remember that this is what I demand of them. I put on my peep-toe shoes with socks in it. Not really my thing but sometimes you have to try new things. First photo below is with black skinnies and the second photo is with my boyfriend jeans. I have to replace my boyfriend jeans as they look tired. And they always were sooo good.
Below: close-up of the socks.
Then the doorbell rang and it was Kitty with a bunch of yellow tulips. As the flower business relies heavily on export, they have been hit hard and are practically giving away the flowers. Kitty picked up many and was distributing them among her friends. So nice.
Wednesday: again on my stretcher in the sunshine in the afternoon while Ron was painting the shed. He wants the garden to look good in case it has to serve as background for my blog photos. I would have met my friend Yvonne for lunch but that of course fell through. Apart from being my friend she also supplies magnesium to me and she dropped that off accompanied with another bunch of tulips (same story as with Kitty).
I already had a bunch of flowers from the week before, so my living room looks really good.
What else did I do that Wednesday? I had two Facetime conversations with friends. In the afternoon Ron bought fresh fish and delivered a portion of it to friends who are really chained to the house (left it at their front door). We decided to have dinner together; that is to say: we both had dinner while we saw each other on the iPad through Facetime. Globalization has gotten us into this virus mess but it has brought us nice things too.
Thursday was lovely. This was the day I was supposed to get my fare-well party, which of course, was cancelled. My colleagues were very creative though. I will tell you all about it next week as I haven’t got much content for next week. Sunbathing in the garden again even though it was getting a little less warm. Because our help came to the house, I joined Ron at his allotment in the morning to avoid contact. At eleven o’clock I met Kitty in a street behind our house for a photo shoot. She kept her distance and we only talked with 2 metres between us. Facetimed with a friend in South Africa. It was such a busy day.
Friday: only had one Facetime call with Yvonne of Funky Forty in Switzerland. We met at the 30-40 Blogger Meet in London. That was really nice (both the meeting and the Facetime call). Not a good day to sunbath as the wind had turned and it was less warm in the garden. Cooked dinner which was highly appreciated by my husband who cooks most of the time.
Never thought I would be this busy being retired AND housebound. I will try and slow down from now on AND start doing more exercises and cycling “tours”.
Greetje
Oh those tulips!! So gorgeous. Fantastic jacket too. I especially like the look with the red shoes. Congratulations on your retirement. Sounds like you’ve found lots of great uses of your time. Facetiming with friends!
Hello from another formerly silent, long time reader in New Hampshire. I appreciate your openness and enjoy your stories very much. We visited Haarlem several years ago – so lovely. Thank you for all your hard work on this blog, especially during these difficult times!
Thank you very much for commenting Joanne. It is always so nice to hear feedback from readers. Blogging is a lonely job, which is also why I don’t want to expand it. Friends suggested I would become a fulltime blogger now that I am retired, but I want to interact with people. LIVE, not being stuck behind a computer all day.
And blogging isn’t hard work as it is my hobby and my passion and then it never feels like work. Hope I can keep you amused for a long time coming.
I love your funky socks and your beautiful flowers! I’m glad you are enjoying the slight slow-down in your life, and are able to see/Facetime your friends, Greetje.
Too bad about the jeans – you’ve such skinny hips!
Hello to you and Ron and Watson! Enjoy the sun and take care.
So far (two weeks) retirement agrees with me. I am busy as a bee, even being restricted to staying at home. The exercises take up a lot of time as it is not my usual routine and I decided to increase the number of times I do fitness. I used to do it twice a week for an hour. Now I do things every other day, like cycling (I hate it) and tummy exercises etc etc. Also joined in with a “Netherlands on the move” TV programme for elderly people. Gosh I don’t know how old you have to be but I am panting and with the jumps I nearly wet my pants haha. Have to get better at that.
I keep falling off the mailing list, but then I seek out your blog anyway, as I like to see what you are wearing and what you’ve been doing. Always interesting and witty.
As to the label on the coat, I don’t suppose people get close enough to read the details – or you might get some amusing comments…
I am so sorry to hear that you keep falling off the mailing list Dee. As I am on a free subscription, I cannot get any help from Mailchimp and I am not very technical. Fortunately for you I always publish a post on the same date and time and only once a week. But it would be nice if you got a reminder. I am the same.
As for the coat.. people don’t get close enough now with the virus, but they must have been in the past. Only it is in French and there aren’t a lot of people in the Netherlands who speak French. It doesn’t matter, I now know what it means and I feel fierce and provocative with the label on. So I will keep it.
Everyone says that retirement is just as busy as working, but the joy is you get to choose how you fill your day. I love the snakeskin jacket, especially styled with the gold boots. Lucky you that it’s warm enough to sunbathe – we have such a cold wind blowing at the moment, but I’m still sea swimming to keep my immune system healthy. Lovely to see you – please keep posting to help us all feel normal.
Keep safe x
This week it is rather cold but from Friday on the temperatures are very promising. And I can only be in the sun in the garden where there is no wind. you are such a trooper for sea swimming no matter what circumstances. I can imagine that you keep it up knowing how good it is for your body, but still…
Of course I will keep on posting. So far retirement is agreeing with me. The days are flying by.
I am also one of your ‘silent’ readers and rarely comment, but wanted to say I read every blog you write and enjoy them all. Inspired by one of your blogs last year, we booked to stay at Villa Augustus in Dordrecht next month! We are so disappointed that we had to cancel, but hopefully next year …. Stay well.
Oh what a shame Kathy. Yes, everybody’s travel plans have gone bust. I have planned a holiday in Spain on the 2nd of June with 4 girlsfriends, but I doubt very much we are going to make that. And last year we had to cancel it as well because the elevators (lifts) in the appartment building had broken down. Nevertheless, as long as we are not confined to a hotel room in a strange country for 2 months, I think we cannot complain. I hope you will be able to see Villa Augustus one day. And that it will be nice and sunny whether. Remember the best days to go into Dordrecht town are Thursday to (and including) Saturday.
Thank you very much for your comment.
Very cute look. Love the pop of red from the heels. Sorry if they’re uncomfortable. Hope you’re staying safe and healthy.
No these red patent leather pumps are not uncomfortable at all. The heel is a bit low for me, but with trousers I don’t mind. And yes we are staying indoors 95% of the time or we are in the garden. So far we are safe and healthy. Wishing you the same.
Your post was a lovely distraction from other news at the moment, Greetje. I enjoyed following your link to the restaurant (and trying to read the menu, too!), looking to see where it was on the map and thinking “one day……..” And how beautiful your flowers are. I have a huge bunch of lilies, a gift from my son, on my hall table and the scent is wonderful. They really lift the spirits.
I think you are meant to keep the label on the jacket but of course, you should do whatever pleases you. And I always think you look great in jeans; they suit you very well. I have some boyfriend jeans and I find that the trick is to wear this particular shape with flats. I usually wear mine in the spring and summer with canvas trainers or flat sandals. Stay safe : )
I can do either with my boyfriend jeans: high heels and sneakers or flats. They are just a bit worn-out now. Need to be replaced.
And I will keep the label on the coat. Now that I know the text and also know what the idea of the brand is, I feel a bit like a rebel with the label haha.
I love lilies and their scent as well. Unfortunately my husband thinks the scent is too strong so we hardly ever have them. They must brighten up your hall.
Let’s hope that “one day..” you will indeed visit my country.
Stay safe and healthy, Greetje 😊
Thanks Mary. Same to you. Everything is fine with us so far.
Thanks for posting. It really brightened my day. The weather in the foothills of Northern California has been cool, wet and dreary, making the isolation more difficult. (Sunshine and warm weather expected next week, though!)
Two questions: what is an allotment, and are those yellow tulips growing in the field near the restaurant?
I know, we have had a lovely week with sunshine but that also makes you want to go outdoors much more. So the pain of having to stay inside is bigger. This week it is really cold here, but there is good hope for the week after.
And I am very glad I could brighten your day. Pleases me no end.
As for your questions: an allotment is a plot of land that you rent and where you grow vegetables and fruit. Or flowers. Question 2: yes the yellow flowers were growing in the field next to the restaurant. I am just not sure that they were tulips. I think not.
So nice to have this blog every Sunday and see your life and beautiful country. I love the outfits too, although I have a small petite figure, I envy so much those legs and straight hair. On another note the color combinations can work for anyone, and make the most ordinary piece look spectacular. So much fun I especially now. I read you every week, hardly ever comment. But we all need a little good now. I try to call a friend or two daily. Good to have this social contact. Also sharing meals with neighbors, we cook too much to eat by ourselves. So my single neighbors enjoy a meal cooked by someone else. We share tips on our movie watching etc on the street from the sidewalks.
Stay on this blog! We are out there. Jill from Santa Rosa in Northern California, the wine country
Thank you very much for having taking the trouble to comment. You are part of my silent but loyal followers. Much appreciated. Knowing that there are people who appreciate what I do, is very rewarding. After all, it is just me and the computer. Any feedback is great.
And I applaud you for letting your single neighbours enjoy your cooking. If we’d all care for the people around us, this world would be a better place.
Loving the photos/blog post – the snakeskin jacket and the kimono jacket are quite lovely and also lovely are the photos of inside a restaurant and looking over fields etc – it is funny isnt it how we take for granted the scenery, until we are told no restaurants and stay indoors and our whole world seems to shrink… and of course the tulips how gorgeous!!! When I go out to buy groceries if I see tulips I will buy them in solidarity 🙂
You do that, tulips bring spring into your house. And yes, it isn’t until we lose something that we know what we had. Lots of songs are about that subject.
Your outfits are always lovely, and it’s great seeing you “au natural”! I vote keep the tag on the jacket, as there’s precedence for it with items such as Levis jeans.
I look like an old hag in that photo without make-up haha. But we need some reality too right? Not everything is all shiny and glamour. And I am with you to keep the tag on the jacket. It looks provocative.
Your jacket fastening looks like it was “original equipment,” well done! I’m glad to see you’re still wearing the gloves, they really are beautiful. I love seeing all of those tulips, they are gorgeous. Your remark about the heels and “reminding your muscles what you demand of them” cracked me up.
I really enjoyed our chat, am looking forward to the next one. I’ll have to tell you about the podcast with Li Edelkoort I listened to yesterday, fascinating and inspiring!
See… this is what I find so amusing… I write things just as they pop up in my brain, like “reminding my muscles what I demand of them”. I was serious and you find it funny. That happens a lot. I don’t mean to be funny but apparently often I am. Which is great.
You know I have never listened to a podcast before? I really have to right this wrong.
Dear Greetje, it is always a pleasure and such a constant to read your posts on a sunday evening, especially in these troubled times. I do hope you will keep it up. Just saying:-)
Will you get a fare-well party later in the year?
Regards
Sabine
I wish I knew which Sabine you are. I have to ask my tech lady to fix it so that avatars are shown. Yes, I am keeping my blog posts up. It is my hobby and my passion. I love to entertain people.
A fare-well party is in the cards later this year, but I have to say, it was already so nice the way they all said goodbye.