And here it is, the bespoke black and white coat that my friend Katrien made me. We chose the material together, which is very old dead stock wool, still in pristine condition. It is heavy and no wind will pass through it.
The model is one Katrien has used 5 times before and I like it. For the lining we chose yellow as it is a happy colour.
Kitty (Kitty Hieltjes Fotografie) and I started out at 9 a.m. for the shoot, which is really early for a pensioner. We got rewarded with a deserted street and a clear view of a lovely building.
Below: The building I had in mind. Showing the lining of the coat.
Below: No cars or bicycles to block our view; very nice. My right hand is doing something funny (I was looking for the pocket which is at the side).
I think the coat turned out exactly how we envisioned it but it is not an everyday coat. When you wear bulky things underneath it, it shows. You also have to consider what skirt, trousers and shoes to wear with the coat, as they have to match. It is a conversation piece and not everybody will like it. Which is fine by me; I like it and that is what is most important.
Below: Kitty spotted this vehicle across the street, piled up with cardboard boxes. She made me climb in the saddle.
Below: All the squares line up, which to me, is a sign of quality.
Below: Close-up of the fabric. Sometimes it is really black and white and sometimes it looks a bit brown.
Below: Inside the building, this beautiful stained glass window served as background for my outfit.
Below: A close-up, showing the different dots: the black ones on the bag and the jumper and the yellow ones on the earrings. Earrings by Lara Design, as usual.
Below: The jumper is a sales item from an outlet, the trousers are by kpa.haarlem and the boots (first seen last week) I bought at LAB Women’s Clothing. They sell these boots in black and in white. Of course, having a huge preference for white boots, I choose the white ones.
The right leg of my trousers got caught on the loop at the back of my boots. Hmm…I must check that from time to time.
Below: Just a photo to bring you some Christmas spirit.
Below: Kitty, checking the photos she took, as we were having delicious cappuccinos at La Maru, Koningsstraat in Haarlem (no website).
A lovely morning spent with a friend doing the things we love.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday morning was gorgeous weather for a change. Ron and I walked dog Watson at the beach, which he loves, running up and down through the water like mad. As we sat down for a cappuccino I got the message that my peer group was up for a booster vaccination appointment. I was very lucky because when I called, I got through quickly (a miracle in itself) and I had an appointment that same afternoon, which is also a miracle. YAY. I am very happy with this.
Sunday the Shopping Saturday girls got together. Obviously not on the usual day of the week, but the shops were open.
Below: We met at cafĂŠ De Hoek in Amsterdam, a favourite place. I wasn’t in the mood for fashionable dressing as it was a wet day and I needed to wash my hair.
Below: Sabine on the other hand, was dressed to the nines. I love this outfit. She is wearing my high heeled boots and wore them while shopping all afternoon. HOW???
Below: Anke wore that great orange sweater we bought together and sneakers.
We shopped and each of us bought something. Around 3 p.m. Anke went home and Sabine and I stopped off at a hotel for another cappuccino before going home. The boots I am wearing are bronze in real life, but they look golden in this photo. (See original post for a better photo of the boots.)
As always it was lovely seeing each other again.
Monday I visited mum, sorted out some digital things and fetched some shopping. On my way to her I picked up my new contact lenses, the One-Eyed Jack system. I decided not to put them in directly as I was driving.
Tuesday Monique (my neighbour two doors down) and I went to a museum, or rather to the house of the founder of the Teylers Museum. (See this post for more photos of the Teylers Museum.)
The house of the museum founder, Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, is beautiful on the inside. The outside has been ruined (in my eyes) over time by changing it to a straight gable. The information about the house is only in Dutch: read it here. The photos below don’t do the house justice and certainly not the museum, but I will show four of them anyway. The ceiling plaster work is magnificent.
Wednesday was a quiet day with a visit to my seamstress, a chat with Karlijn and washing my hair. Nothing really interesting.
Below: Dog Watson on my lap. He still thinks he is a lapdog. He is not allowed on the sofa, but luckily, he doesn’t realize that half his body is on the sofa anyway when he is on my lap.
Thursday I took my mum for her booster vaccination. That went smoothly.
Ron was getting a bit apprehensive of Christmas celebrations as his booster appointment would be on the 22nd which is rather late. Against all odds I was able to advance his appointment to the 19th. If you knew the situation over here, you would know that this is another miracle. Well…it is nearly Christmas; one might expect miracles, right?
Marcella stopped by and gave me three pairs of earrings for the ‘work’ I have done for her so far. YAY. That is not why I am helping her, but I gracefully accept the gift as I love her earrings. She said she has many more earring designs in her atelier which I haven’t seen and are not on the website. So (she giggled) she feels she can ‘pay’ me in the future as well and gave me 4 new ‘assignments’ LOL. That gives me something to do. After all, idle hands are the devil’s workshop.
On Friday Ron and I drove to Amsterdam to do a photo shoot. It was supposed to be nice, dry and sunny weather. But, this is the Netherlands and the weather here is fickle. It was grey, damp and cold. Ideal circumstances (NOT) for a photo shoot. The camera also refused to cooperate and blurred my face every time. Apparently the camera has something against my face as everything else in the photos is sharp. I now have an appointment with a guy from a camera shop. We either have to solve the problem with this camera or I will have to buy a new one. I just don’t want to buy a new one, only to find out that it is the absence of skill that causes this.
In the afternoon I met Marita and we went for coffee in town followed by a quick pub visit. All the shops, restaurants and bars close at 5 p.m. because of Covid.
Below: A crummy iPhone photo, but it gets the atmosphere. We both like clothes in black as well as in bright colours. She made the effort and put this beautiful, pleated skirt on. I had had enough of clothes and outfits after the shoot that morning and just put on my jeans. Sometimes I want to pack it all in, but I always come to my senses, because then I wouldn’t have a hobby anymore.
I will finish this week with the YouTube video I love at Christmas time. It is this little girl, dressed as an angel who sings so out of tune and so loud, it is hilarious.
Next week it will be Christmas. What do you think? Shall I publish a post? Or not bother?
Greetje
Leave a reply