Lime leather jacketMeeting Janna of @timelessstyle.nl at Hotel L’Europe in Amsterdam was a joyful occasion for which I wore my cheerful lime leather jacket. I love the colour but this jacket isn’t as easy to combine with existing clothes from my wardrobe as I initially thought. It is too long and hangs too straight for midi or maxi skirts (it makes me look like a lamppost). And even with trousers I have to be careful as it doesn’t look good with any old pair.

The combination with these skinny jeans, which are a bit straighter than my normal skinny jeans, got my approval. Blue is a good colour with lime. The jeans are by Denham, a Dutch brand which fits me pretty well (thank you for putting stretch into jeans!).

Below: Janna of @timelessstyle.nl and I met at the restaurant of hotel L’Europe, called Marie. The view from the restaurant is pretty awesome.

Janna of Timelessstyle

Below: This was the view behind Janna. The tower is the ‘Munttoren‘.

Amsterdam

Below: Three photos of the hotel and its restaurant Marie to show you the splendour.

Hotel L'Europe Amsterdam

Hotel L'Europe Amsterdam

Hotel L'Europe Amsterdam

It wasn’t really a place to meet for lunch as they only served meals we would eat for dinner. Any person from France or Italy would laugh reading this, but we Dutch like bread with something on it for lunch. We are not exactly gourmets LOL, even though there are very good restaurants in this country.

Below: We managed to order something we liked and after the coffee, we did a photo shoot of each other’s outfit. Janna posts a lot of outfits on Instagram and that is how we got in touch with each other. As we live quite close, we decided to meet. I featured her two times before, once in Hotel Krasnapolski and once in Hotel American. It just dawns on me, we have met three times in a hotel restaurant. I must ask her why that is. Anyway, here she is again, looking great.

Janna of Timelessstyle

Below: My turn.

Lime leather jacket

Below: The interior of Hotel L’Europe.

Hotel L'Europe Amsterdam

Hotel L'Europe Amsterdam

Because we were indoors, the photos aren’t very sharp. Sorry girls, I am no Kitty, just an amateur. We lacked light and my camera acts very funny at times.

Below: I initially wore a cobalt blue silk shirt underneath the jacket, one that was torn at the back. Nobody would have seen it, but the reason it was torn, was because it was too small. It kept riding up, so I changed it for this old top. The champagne-coloured boots are by Eijk Amsterdam and they have the typical comfortable heel. I love silver and gold shoes and boots; ever so easy to combine.

Lime leather jacket

Below: Close-up of the Eijk Boots.

Champagne-coloured ankle boots

Below: The blue bag that you see on the chair next to me is a find at the Max Mara outlet near Haarlem (remember the big yellow shopping bags stacked next to Marianne and me?).

Lime leather jacket

Below: Close-up of the big leather bag.

big blue bag

Below: This is how you are supposed to wear such a giant bag. By one corner or clinched under your arm as in the photos above. How very practical (NOT). I liked it when I bought it but afterwards I was afraid it was a mistake. It surprised me that the first time I carried this bag, going into Haarlem, I got 4 compliments in one hour. Beats me.

Lime leather jacket

Below: Janna took this close-up of my earrings by Lara Design. A bit too close to my liking haha. When I saw this photo I backed up, saying “Aaiiii”. But who cares.

Gold-plated earrings by Lara Design

Below: I took many photos of Janna in one of the lounges, all of them not sharp. Such a shame. This is the best one in the series.

Janna of Timelessstyle

Below: After we had said goodbye, I went to the WC and took this photo. It was quite fancy.

Hotel L 'Europe

Below: I had a stroll through Amsterdam as the sun had come out. I photographed several buildings along the way. For those who are not interested in seeing buildings, scroll through.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Below: In a small street called Heiligeweg, I found the Dutch store of the Canadian brand Fluevog. My friend Sheila of the blog Ephemera owns a huge amount of their shoes and I love them but am too chicken to buy them myself.

Fluevog shop Amsterdam

Below: I took this photo of a client in the shop, trying on the socks and sent it straight to Sheila with the question: “Guess where I am?” She knew straight away. I have one pair of black and white Fluevog boots (see this post), bought when I was in Vancouver for a big blogger meet-up. That’s how I met Sheila.

Fluevog socks

What happened in my life this week

Another busy week which started on Saturday with my weekly visit to mum. Ron accompanied me and he did some work for mum in the shed. Years ago, my tall dad had put the little freezer high up on a shelf in the shed as there had to be room for two bicycles underneath it. Dad died in 2006, the bicycles are gone and my tiny mum can hardly reach the freezer. She has to take food out of the drawers without knowing what it is. Standing on steps is rather dangerous when you are 93 and your balance is off. Ron fixed it by lowering the freezer to a little table. Below: mum looking very perky. It is the little things that count. We are so happy we can do this for her.

Mum

Sunday we paid a visit to Ron’s brother to congratulate him on his birthday. We caught up on each other’s life while eating cake.

Monday I had to stay home for Watson as Ron was out till 3pm. We are softies, we don’t want to leave the dog on his own for more than 4 hours. Loes popped by for a visit in the afternoon. It was a day to do little things.

Tuesday Marcella and I created her weekly Instagram video and in the afternoon I went past Karlijn at kpa.haarlem where I found a pair of flared checked trousers but I wasn’t sure whether I would have shoes to wear it at the right length. Karlijn told me to take the trousers home and try them out. I never like trying out new outfits but I had to now and got out 5 pairs of boots to decide if I was keeping them. The effort paid off; the trousers are staying.

Wednesday I met my friend Katrien in Utrecht. This is a different Katrien than the one in Leiden. This Katrien moved to South Africa years ago. When she is in the Netherlands to see her family and many friends, there isn’t always enough time to meet. Fortunately this time she had a whole afternoon for me. I don’t think there was one minute of silence the whole time. Either she talked or I did LOL. She is such a sweet and strong woman. Below: Katrien.

Katrien SA

Below: I was wearing this combination (link to original post with a different belt). By the way, these are my Fluevog boots.

At Katrien's

Thursday my friend Marja came to Haarlem and after coffee at my home we walked to town for lunch at By Lima; organic local food, mainly vegetarian and flipping delicious. If I could cook like that, I’d be a vegetarian in no time. (I hate cooking. A LOT.) Marja and I know each other for 34 years or so and I love her directness and honesty. Plus, she is a good laugh.

Below: Marja and me at By Lima. They have a very ‘Instagrammable‘ wall with silk flowers. I am wearing the sweater which my niece Annelot saved by printing ‘fallen rose petals’ over 4 stains.

Marja and me

In the afternoon I made an appointment for next week with the Volvo garage in town as my car makes a ‘Poingggg” sound every so often. It sounds like the ‘poing‘ you hear in an aeroplane just before an announcement. No icons showing up on the dashboard. Annoying. Anyway, it will be fixed and the dealer who sold me the car is paying for it. Also made an appointment with the seamstress for next week to take in the checked trousers at the back. This is necessary with most of my trousers as I have no bum and no hips so I am used to it. More trivia…I had my fringe cut a tiny bit at the hairdresser and dyed the parting of my hair myself. A useful day.

Friday Marita and I went shopping in Amsterdam. We first cancelled it because the weather forecast was awful. As often, the forecast got a lot better the next day and we decided to go anyway. That was a good decision as we had a jolly good time even though the forecast was wrong again; it rained all day haha. Marita bought a leopard print top and cream trousers and I bought a grey/green jumper. Not too much ‘damage’, but enough to feel content.

Below: Our first stop Koffiehuis De Hoek (Coffee House The Corner). I was standing on an elevated part, looking down on this retro place. It is worth a visit. The site called ‘Amsterdam Now’ has a good review of Coffee House The Corner. They also give you a good explanation of the difference between a coffee shop and a coffee bar in the Netherlands LOL.

Koffiehuis De Hoek

Below: Marita and me and a big, delicious apple pie with whipped cream which we shared in a feeble attempt to keep our weight down. (Link to the original post with this outfit.)

Marita and me

Below: This dachshund in the coffee bar wouldn’t sit still to have his photo taken. So cute. His owners were French.

Cute dachshund

A lovely week. I bet next week will be just as good. Or is this tempting fate?

Greetje

No Fear of Fashion

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