Because trendy stuff, like a striped jacket with big sleeves, will become quickly dated, it is not something I am usually very fond of. In a couple of years or perhaps already next year, someone might say: “Oh that is quite old, isn’t it?” On the other hand, if something looks good on you, who cares? It will probably not be the friendliest person on earth who says this anyway. Mind you, the Dutch are very direct (blunt?), so the comment could also come from a nice person, who is just genuinely wondering.
Never mind, I fell for it and I like it with my flared jeans. I am not sure whether to put on my black boots with it or my white ones. I chose black because I didn’t want to draw attention to my feet.
Kitty took the photos straight after work. As she works in the centre of town, there are many lovely old streets to serve as our background.
Below: Don’t you love the white flowers in the windowsills? There were 6 trays.
Below: The statue of the peacock was really high. I am 1m75 (5ft74) and couldn’t reach its head.
Below: Peacock sitting on my head haha.
Below: We found a little free book stall on a corner. You can take books home with you and you can put books into it. It is all free of charge and nobody abuses it. There are several stalls in town.
Below: Of course this is just a pose (grin). Nice to have something to do with your hands. Ron said: “Why don’t you use one of the photos where you take a book from the shelf? There is more action in that shot and it looks as if you really take out a book.” I replied: “Because I am not fooling anybody. It is just a pose.”
Below: In the window of the book stall house was this beautiful portrait. Kitty told me how to stand and look.
Below: Nice lamppost and Kitty made sure it wasn’t “growing out of my head”.
Below: Oh…blossom and bicycles. That makes for a pretty picture.
Below: As we turned a corner, we suddenly discovered a small, enclosed park with a little gem of a statue.
Below: Close-up of my ring. A gift from Ron a few years back and made by Joyce Stouten of de-ekster.nl. It is gold plated and holds 2 pearls and a lapis lazuli stone.
Below: Close-up of the Lara Design earrings. Such a pretty design and colour.
After the photo shoot was done (which took half an hour) we went to sit in the sun on a terrace. Good times are returning.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday: visited mum. She had ordered a new blouse which arrived as I was there. I just happened to have a few necklaces with me and this pink one (present from Bella, the Citizen Rosebud) was brilliant with the blouse. So here mum is again haha.
Below: I was wearing a very casual outfit, which I called scruffy but my editor says it is slouchy. Do I have an editor? Oh yes, lovely Selina in London, looks at every post and edits my mistakes, for years now. I am proud to say that I usually get away with 5 to 10 edits. She does it for free and I am so grateful.
Below: This is Selina.
Below: I jazzed my slouchy outfit up a bit with dainty earrings by Lara Design.
I was very proud of my mum. One of the apps on her iPad (Wordfeud) reported “a system error” and wasn’t working anymore. She checked whether the Wi-Fi was on the blink: no it wasn’t. And then she unplugged the modem and plugged it back in. Problem solved. So, so very proud of my tech savvy mum.
Sunday was a sunny day and I want into town and had a nice chat with Karlijn of kpa.haarlem. She was back from a very necessary short break and back in business.
Monday: Fitness and fetching apple pie for my friend’s visit on Tuesday. Of course I also got an apple crumble pie for Ron and me that Monday. My weight is becoming worrisome haha. Had a Team Viewer conversation with my computer guy to get my mum’s computer working in a way I can take over her screen. So that is done.
Tuesday was a fine day, starting with the visit of Ankie, a friend of mine whom I met at fitness class a couple of years ago. It was great talking to her again after such a long time. She is fully vaccinated and I had had my first vaccination 3 weeks ago. But we did keep our distance to be on the safe side. Ankie had never been to our house so I gave her a tour. It is a perk for me when somebody new comes to our house. It means that I clean and tidy everything. Forgot to take her photo; sorry.
Went to my niece in Amsterdam to drop off my sweater with the rose (and the stains). She is going to try to hide the stains.
In the (late) afternoon it was so sunny I put my bikini on and laid on a stretcher in the garden and repeated this on Wednesday. When I can sunbathe in spring for two days a week, being exposed no longer than one and a half hour each day in the safe hours (15.30 to 17.00 hrs), I will get a nice tan with minimum risk. Apart from wrinkles and blotches of course. There is a price to pay for everything.
Had 3 new fire detectors installed. Very important.
Thursday again was a wonderful day, spent with my friend Helena in Amsterdam. No photos to show although I took many. They are reserved for a blog post (probably next week). Oh, OK, here are two shots of the canals to give you a preview. The weather was sunny in the morning but very cloudy in the afternoon when I took these photos. In normal times you can hardly move here for all the tourists as this is the red-light district. Now, just a few Dutch people and a lot of bicycles (as usual).
Friday was rather uneventful apart from the photo shoot with Kitty at the end of the day. The wind was so fierce it was blowing us off our feet. We tried to find spots where there was no wind but there were none. In two weeks’ time you will see the wind-swept photos. After the shoot we went for a drink on a terrace as they are open again. Despite the cold and the wind, the terrace was filled with people. At one time the wind blew the wine out of Kitty’s glass onto her jacket.
Below: This is what it looked like.
It’s a wrap dears. See you next week.
Greetje
I have issues with that shape of jacket – the cropped style plus full sleeves is just too much volume for my shape. You, on the other hand, are so tall that everything looks good on you!
Hello to your mum! We just had our restrictions lifted for dining in again, along with a path to ‘back to normal’ by September. It’s such a relief!
I am tall, that is right and therefore this kind of jacket suits me. But not everything looks good on me as you very well know. It only always look good on perfect women and who wants to be around them? (Pour souls, rejected because of their good looks.)
We just heard we can dine inside again from the 11th of June. Hurray, that is also the date my second vaccination is fully protecting me.
Nice denim and striped top! You always add such interesting jewelry. Elevates the look and is so stylish! Wishing you a sunny week.
p.s. Love the little free libraries.
I am very much a jewellery girl (well… woman). Just love to adorn myself.
Sunshine is forecasted by the end of the week. YAY, at last.
What a lovely post. I’ll always like flared pants. And your photos of Amsterdam remind me of my trip there long ago.
These flared jeans by Paige I bought in Vancouver during our Blogger Meet-up weekend. Wasn’t that fun? I have very fond memories of it. Every time I wear it, I think of it.
Amsterdam hasn’t changed much, just became busier.
Love the blue and white blouse. I had one similar many moons ago which I wore to a wedding with a blue cobalt short skirt. Reminded me how fantastic I felt that day. Still won’t do flairs though, dare say when it’s all I can get I will. 😍 Your blog.
That is a good idea, a blue cobalt skirt. I am going to try it with a white skirt and trousers first.
Flared jeans and me are friends. Thanks a lot for your compliment and I hope you will enjoy my blog for many years to go.
What a cute jacket! I love the detail on the shoulders.
I’m shocked it was so windy that the wine actually sloshed out of Kitty’s glass!!! What a waste lol!
Hugs
Suzy xx
The very words I thought when I saw it in the shop: “What a cute jacket”.
Don’t know about any detail on the shoulders, unless you mean the puffiness.
Weather forecasts are looking up. By the end of the week temperatures should be 20 degrees.
I like the statement sleeves on the striped blouse! I don’t think it will be out of style in the future – that usually happens to items that are a trend from a specific time period like pleated pants, cold-shoulder tops, etc. Anyway, it looks nice with your jeans.
We had some free little libraries in my neighbourhood too but they haven’t been used since the pandemic started.
I don’t think you could every look “scruffy” 😉
I think puffy sleeves are a trend now, just like cold-shoulder tops were. But, I don’t mind. I like it.
No idea whether the free libraries have gone unused since Covid started. I don’t think so.
You don’t think I can ever look scruffy? I can, I just don’t take photos or would post them haha.
Love your striped shirt/jacket.youthful. Puffy sleeves are my favorites. It makes your waist look slimmer. Yes, white jeans would look really nice with it. love Lara’s earrings!
Our weather here, in N.Cali goes from quite hot for a couple of days in tank tops, to sudden cold, in warm sweats. It actually snowed in the high Sierra-Nevada mountains!! Not unusual, either. Soon, it will be warm -hot for the next several months with not a drop of rain. typical of a former desert with the exceptions of the coastal towns.
Your mom is in great shape and obviously tech savvy! splendid combo!
Glad you like my striped jacket. The fact it comes just under my waist, suggests I have a waist and it also make you believe I have hips haha. Great jacket.
We have had a rotten spring. Nothing but cold and rain, so different from last year. But things are looking up: by the end of the week the temperature is forecasted to go up.
When my mum read she is tech savvy, she will cry with laughter.
I love slouchy.
It is so relaxed, don’t you think?
Your jacket is more timeless than quick fashion. I think you will find many ways to wear it now, and in the distant future. It looks so good on your taller frame. Maybe wear it open with a tank top sometimes too.
I love to see pictures of your mom. She looks so much like my grandmother – Agnes VandeWall.
Have a good week.
P.S Where did all the “ladies of the night” go if there are no tourists to give them business – asking for a friend!
I asked my husband this question and he said: “I don’t know, I just slip them a little something now and again.” Whahaha.
All kidding aside, I looked it up online and this is what I found: if they are legal and registered as sex worker, they are entitled to support from the government. If they aren’t, they will have to seek other employment.
LOVE the striped shirt! You make me long to come shopping in my favorite spot : your country!
That surprises me. The Netherlands your favourite shopping country? Is it because you are tall and the French are small?
I don’t think it is timeless really; puffy sleeves are the trend now. I haven’t styled it in another way yet (I am terrible at this). Wearing it open might be an option, but only with a loose top underneath. Ohterwise all the lumps and bumps will be on display. And believe me, I have them. Of course I hide them quite well haha.
Your grandmother must be Dutch with a name like that, or descending from Dutch ancestors.
She was Dutch and married a Dutchman. But in the United States
Aha. Thanks for letting me know. The fact that her last name was 1 word already gave me this clue. In Dutch it would probably have been Agnes van de Wal.
I have a Little Free Library in front of my house. It gets a lot of use! I am a soon to be retired school librarian, so I still need to have some kind of library to be in charge of.
The striped jacket is not something I would get (not a fan of puffed sleeves), but you look great in it – very summery and nautical!
I also have the same blue and white striped top as in your “scruffy/slouchy” outfit. I have three of them because I wear it so much. I got mine from Old Navy a few years ago and wish they would come out with a new version so I could stock up.
Have a great week!
That is fun. Being a librarian and having one of those in front of your house…it figures.
Actually I never warmed to puffed sleeves either, but I like this one.
My blue and white striped top is from a Dutch brand called Joline Jolink.
Wow – they have beautiful things!
Joline Jolink is a very good brand. Sustainable but also long lasting. She builds her new clothes on the ones she has created before. So they can all go together and you can use them a long time and not just a fashion season.
I love ALL of the earrings! The striped jacket is fun. I think it would also look good with white pants/jeans.
We have those little neighborhood “libraries” here too. I think they’re a wonderful idea!!
Let’s catch up soon, once we’re back in town!
I love all Lara Design’s earrings as well. I might have a lot of them, but it is nothing in comparison to how many I like.
Thanks for the tip of white trousers. Hadn’t thought of that (duh!).
I didn’t know they had these ‘libraries’ in other countries as well. That is nice.
Give me a message when you are back.