Apart from a simple cream top, you can see all my recent purchases in this post. (Remember when I “fell off the no-shopping wagon” when I was cruising Haarlem with my friend Marja, a couple of weeks ago?)
I started my shopping with a short blue coat from one of my favourite shops: kpa.haarlem. Perfect with the blue hat.
Next-door to kpa. is a shoe shop called Paul Noyen. So many times I have ogled their white lace-up booties in the window. Sooo my kind of boots. Also, Sherry of Petite over 40 had been flashing her white lace-up booties before my eyes for months and I liked them so much. That’s what you get from window shopping, which, basically, is what Instagram offers.
My friend Marjolein visited me (at the appropriate distance) and as we went into town, she took my outfit photos for this blog post.
Below: Marjolein, relaxed and looking good in her grey dress. She was a bit reluctant to be photographed as she had not been to the hairdresser for ages, thanks to Covid. A week after her visit to me, she found a Covid-proof hairdresser and she is very happy with her new haircut. Unfortunately I have no photos of that.
Below: And here they are, the purchases: the short blue jacket, the white lace-up booties and the new bag. Plus hat.
Below: We had a good laugh as I sat myself down on this bench. Marjolein said: “You ALWAYS sit on a bench in your blog posts. ALWAYS.” I explained my limited poses.
Below: To add a pose I don’t often do… The bag got centre stage.
Below: Had to give you this close-up of the bag. It is a Dries van Noten bag which I couldn’t resist. Especially not because it was 40% reduced. Bought it at the vintage Pauw shop in Haarlem which is only there until the end of 2020.
Below: This is the beautiful historic building the normal Pauw shop was in. They are now selling older collections in these premises until the end of the year.
Below: Close-up of the sculptures above the lean-to.
Below: Close-up of the jacket by Mads Norgard. The owner of kpa.haarlem where I bought it, gave me 20% reduction. (I should have pulled my hat over my eyebrows. It looks best that way.)
Below: In the meantime Marjolein had bought this leopard coat with the teal scarf.
Below: I tried it on as well, but decided it looked better on Marjolein.
Below: Another lucky find was this (vintage) purple dress. It was too long for Marjolein’s taste, but with a belt it is so nice. All the photos where she is smiling were blurry. Sorry Marjolein.
Below: One last outfit photo. The coat stands stiffly out at the back and front. Love the swing of that. The booties are soooo comfortable.
What happened in my life this week
Oh bliss, I saw my Shopping Saturday maties again (Sabine and Anke) at Sabine’s house which is about 40 minutes’ drive away. We had a jolly good time drinking coffee, eating cakes and chocolate and taking photos for a blog post (next week). Yes, we were careful and followed the Covid rules.
Sunday was a day of leisure. Below you can see what I wear on such a day: roomy and warm jumper (sweater), scarf to keep my neck warm, boyfriend jeans so nothing is tight or pinching and lovely warm slipper socks.
Is it a pretty sight? No.
Is it “I totally let everything go”? No, not that either.
It was a week with a lot of driving. Monday I saw a friend (Ayen) who lives about 50 minutes’ drive away. For the Netherlands, this is not extreme, but it is what we call “quite far away”. The Americans are now smiling. Ayen isn’t that keen on being photographed (I think), but to tell you the truth, I forgot taking a photo of her for you lot.
Below: I did a quick selfie before I left as I was so pleased with my hair that day. Very good hair day. I wore this outfit.
Tuesday I saw my mum (60 minutes’ drive). This is becoming a chronological report again.
With Covid going on, a lot of mum’s social activities are cancelled, so I try to visit her more often. And my brother is doing his bit as well.
My mum’s eyesight is deteriorating so reading is virtually impossible. Audio books wouldn’t help as her hearing is also deteriorating. She has a hearing aid but that is only helping a bit. Which is why Ron and I bought my mum an e-reader as you can adjust the letter size with it. I uploaded some books that I thought she would like and spent half the day explaining her how it works. Of course when you are 92 it is not easy to familiarise yourself with such a device. On top of that, the “snooze / off-on” button was hell to operate, even for me. I disabled the snooze function and so far she has been able to read. Let’s hope it is the solution.
Wednesday started in the morning with exercises and cycling. I still do this every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. I skip the cycling when it is really damp or raining. Ran some errands. Spent the afternoon checking the concepts of our new wills, making notes, consulting Ron and making financial calculations. Not my idea of a good day, but it is important.
Below: Wore this that day. Blue legging/trousers, my orange jumper and the white lace-up booties. Ron was very enthusiastic about this outfit. No idea why. I think it is very simple, nothing special. Pretty comfortable.
On Thursday one of my BVA friends, Marijke, and I drove to see Claudia, another friend of the BVA group. Claudia lives 1 + 3/4 hours’ drive away, the furthest this week. Claudia’s apartment can only be reached by a flight of stairs, no lift (elevator) and Marianne (friend number 3) who is in a wheelchair, cannot get up those stairs. Which meant Claudia could not host a BVA girlfriends gathering at her house after she moved there. Normally the whole group would have seen each other on the 14th of November at someone else’s home but we had to cancel it. 6 people in a small living room in Covid times is not wise.
As I had never been to Claudia’s new house, I suggested to visit her on my own. Marijke wanted to join us as she had never been either. We decided that 3 was still doable. It was a lovely day and I took a lot of photos of the house, so Marianne can “see” it as well. Of the other friends, Jilske (friend number 4) has already seen the apartment and Marianna (friend number 5) who lives in the east of the country, has an ill husband to look after, so no idea when she will be able to. Of course I also took photos of the three of us that day. I will show you a few.
Below: Claudia being all happy in her apartment. She has a bubbly personality.
Below: Marijke, killing herself laughing again. Never pulls a normal face haha.
Below: Marijke showing Claudia some photos.
Below: A better view of the apartment. See the chocolates and the puff pastry with almond paste? The latter is typically Dutch for this time of year.
Below: I was wearing this that day. (Link to original post.) Marijke and I both were quite determined to wear a dress. After all, we finally had somewhere to go to, see other people.
Friday was just a simple exercise and cycle day. And I also had a very cheerful Facetime conversation with my bloggy friend Suzanne Carillo in Canada. We scheduled another one next week. Suzanne stopped blogging for a while as her thriving Etsy shop vintage sales require all her time.
All in all, my life is not bad, especially not if you consider all the Covid misery. I am very grateful.
Greetje
Your boots look so cool!
Love your posts!
I am very pleased that you love my posts. Such comments are the joy of blogging. And I am very pleased with my boots. I can use them many times.
YOU and another BLOGGER are crazy about these white boots!
ME NOT SO MUCH but thats OKAY!
THAT HANDBAG is a FIND!
I think you do MORE VISITING AND SHOPPING then ever before!Looks like you are enjoying RETIREMENT!
LOVE THE PHOTOS……..
TAKE CARE ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM we are in lock down again for a month so NO CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!
XX
Well Elizabeth, I am glad I did so many nice things like visiting friends and shopping as we are in total lock-down as well. Until the 19th of January. It is what it is.
And yes I am crazy about white boots. In all shapes.
I love the outfit! I love that slightly bohemian air that the hat gives you. The jacket is cute, this jacket is very nice. I like your neckerchief and, of course, your jeans. Today we do not have a dress or skirt, but we have a very beautiful and stylish proposal, but without the need to use great extravagances. The hat gives you an air that I really like and the rest of the accessories also play a nice role. Your close-up is gorgeous, you look gorgeous with this hairstyle. Ah, I love the pleated skirt at the end!
The hat gives me a bohemian air? Hmm.. usually not my style, but there you go.
I am glad you like this outfit even though it isn’t a dress or skirt. But I “gave” you that with the red/pink pleated skirt haha.
Have a lovely week my friend.
And you said you didn’t like hats–well your blue one is a winner. And I really like the short blue coat. The yellow scarf is a nice addition.
p.s. Your friends are lovely. What fun for you!
I still don’t like hats really. Well I do, but usually not on me. The blue hat, worn with the right coat, is an exception. The short blue coat is perfect for it. I like to wear a scarf with a coat because it keeps the neck from getting dirty too quickly and it keeps my neck warm.
My friends are so precious to me. Isn’t it incredible that your heart can love them all equally?
I’m envious that you can see your friends, Greetje – the current restrictions in BC (province where Victoria/Vancouver are) mean that we can’t see anyone outside of our “bubble” at home. I’ve been booking Zoom calls with friends (if you would ever like to Zoom with me, drop me an email!) just to see their faces. I would love to see them and go shopping…
I love your new white lace-up boots! They are so fun! I can’t wear swing coats as they make me look pregnant, and I haven’t the gift of height! I’ll take that Dries purse, and that leopard coat, and your last red/purple dress, please! I also love the purple dress that Marjolein found.
Have a good week, Greetje!
Well, seeing friends is limited. We can see two people from different households max. And keeping the distance. But it is getting worse and worse again here as well. Presumably black friday, shopping for Saint Nicholas and for Christmas has a lot to do with it. Plus, people are fed up, the vaccine seems near etc. They expect a bigger peak in hospital and IC at the end of December than in March/April. And the doctors and nurses are already so overworked that they are becoming ill. So bad, bad news. I have been staying at home since Monday apart from physiotherapy.
The last red/pink dress is actually not a dress but a jumper with a skirt. Everybody thinks it is a dress.
Hope you can stand the being at home all the time dear. Hang in there.
You look great in that hat! Told you so the first time you wore it 🙂
Yes, you did tell me that. And I took notice; I gave it another try. As long as I wear it straight and deep across my eyebrows it is OK. And of course, it matters a lot what sort of coat you wear with it.
Great post this week. The blue jacket, hat, and bright yellow scarf look terrific on you. Good to see all your friends, and the great styles that everyone is wearing.
Oh good, you enjoyed the post. That is the most important thing. Everybody is raving about this outfit. I will say, I like it as well. A lot even, but it keeps surprising me what readers’reactions will be.
Great jacket cum hat outfit. Great red outfit and red sweater. Red should be your primary color. i would stay away from your khaki color top. It washes you out.
Our social life has come to a stand still lately due to Covid and the new rules of conduct imposed by the governors of all the states afflicted with lots of patients. they may cancel Christmas this year, if people will listen and abide by the new rules. Rather rough going, but I’m determined to shop like a trouper and pretend nothing is wrong.
I guess I, like everybody else, am suffering from Covid fatigue, and new stuff makes me happy.
Well, I spent all my money for December, so I will try to avoid shops for a while. Here celebrating Christmas is very restricted as well. Not many people can be together. My brother and his wife will visit my mother on the first Christmas day (while we visit Ron’s daughter), then we will give mum a day of rest and visit her on the Sunday. Last year we were all together, the five of us. Next year again?
I love the picture of you in the red dress and tan boots – gorgeous!
Funny, everybody thinks it is a dress but in fact it is a red pleated skirt and a red jumper (sweater). As you probably saw through the link I provided, this outfit has already been on the blog.
Showing a photo of what I wear in a week, gives readers who missed a post, to catch up. Or perhaps nobody would remember anything anyway haha. It is rather a lot.
The Hat!! Love it!
Hahaha. The Hat is beginning to grow on me. It doesn’t suit all coats but it does suit this short blue coat.
I love your white boots! alas, I have such foot problems. Boots are such a problem for me! I have a pair of short ECCO BOOTS that fit really well. I have very narrow feet and use orthotics. i wore these cute little boots once last year because they gave me a blister! I guess I will have to wear thin socks with them. Your hair looks great! I also love your blue coat!
White boots always had my fancy. I like them in many shapes and have quite a few. Even before they became fashionable.
ECCO boots and sneakers are ever so comfortable. Fly London as well.
Don’t be discouraged if you have a blister the first time you wear them. Let it heal, put a plaster on it and wear the boots with wet socks. That speeds up the process. Not too wett or you will damage the leather.
The hat and jacket are gorgeous together. And the white boots are the perfect accent. Wonderful outfit.
I copied the idea of the white lace-up boots from Sherry as I told on the blog. But white boots have always had my fancy. When I tried the jacket on, I knew the hat would be perfect for this outfit. But I never know whether people will like an outfit or not. (Oh well, as long as I do. Right?)
Love this post this week, lots of clothes! Cute clothes too, I especially love your new jacket.
I read about your mom and I have a suggestion. My friends husband has very bad eyesight and also Parkinson’s. She got him a device that uses voice commands. One just says Alexa, read my book. Or Alexa play ABC radio station. This is an Amazon device like an Echo Dot. You most have the same sort of thing in your country or access to these devices. It is a speaker very easy to use, you don’t have to figure out a keyboard either. I love Audible books I take long walks daily and listen to books. Walking is one of the few things we can do now here in California.
Earlier you gave me information for my granddaughter planning on going to college in Europe next Fall. She has expanded her sight to the Hague and is interested in international politics. She is applying to several schools and has found one that has a dance program as she is an accomplished ballerina. She spent one summer in Copenhagen at the Royal Ballet. She can’t wait to just leave. We will miss her but it will be so nice to visit. Thank you for the help.
Audible books would be the answer anyway I thought, but…. her hearing is deteriorating as well. And putting the volume up isn’t the answer with hearing aids.
Anyway, thanks for your advice. We do have novelties like Alexa. I can just imagine her face when I come up with that haha.
I remember vaguely giving some information but it cannot have been much. No thanks necessary. I hope your granddaughter will be excepted at the school of her choice. Must be so nice to be able to dance as well. She must be very good.