It’s time to be elegant again, which I think I am in these cognac-coloured trousers. The black blazer is part of a trouser suit which I never really wear. You can see the suit in this post. That was before I had the jacket taken in and the trousers shortened. Let us just say I had a black-out when I bought this suit. When would I ever wear it?? OK, at the time I was still working in an office, but for my office environment this was way too formal. Anyway, they work better as separates.
Loes and I went to a viaduct nearby to do this shoot. It was bloody cold and my leg and knee were still hurting a lot that day.
Below: I had spotted these lines, this green, those stones in mosaic shape and was very taken by all of it.
Below: It is a railway viaduct and underneath it runs one of the main roads into the centre.
Below: Casually putting my hand in my pocket, with the mosaic bricks behind me.
Below: Leaning against the banister.
I chose my pale slate bag to go with this outfit as I wanted to add another colour. The shoes are by EIJK Amsterdam, the trousers are by FRNCH, bought at kpa.haarlem. You have seen these trousers before in this post. I am serious in trying to create new outfits with things I already have.
Below: The sitting down opportunity.
Below: The earrings I wore with the outfit. Just to add another colour and have something bright near my face. They are made by a Dutch goldsmith with semi-precious stones.
And that concludes the photos of this outfit. I had a lot more but dear husband thought it was too much and pretty boring; thank you Ron.
Below: All of a sudden my camera only took blurry photos. I had to photograph Loes in her lovely new jumper in my garden with my iPhone. Loes looks a bit flustered, but that is due to the iPhone. I must have the camera settings of the iPhone wrong as the photos usually turn out red.
Below: Close-up of her adorable earrings.
What happened in my life this week
On Sunday we visited mum, who is recuperating nicely. I was able to convince her to spend money on a gadget which enlarges the subtitles on her TV and on a new iPad as the one she has, is at software update IOS10 and we are already at 15.3. Some of the apps don’t work anymore. It took me quite some convincing as my mum is very frugal but she can afford it.
Monday I took the trousers of last week’s outfit to the seamstress. I know that 95% of you readers like the outfit with the sneakers but I don’t. And I have to be happy too, right?
I also had some physiotherapy for my knee and leg. I am nearly there, apart from 5-10% ache. I made another appointment for next week. At least I can go up and down stairs again.
Tuesday was a relaxed day in an otherwise busy week. I came up with another outfit created from things in my wardrobe.
Wednesday Marjolein and I roamed The Hague. We chatted, had coffee and lunch and she took photos of my newly created outfit with pretty The Hague as background. She is my bonus photographer.
Below: Marjolein wearing a ridiculous and funny mask (can I emphasize that this is not her nose nor her mouth haha).
In the evening our friends Georg and Marla came for dinner and Ron made sole, which was delicious.
Thursday morning I went to a specialised physiotherapist for my pelvic floor. I have been doing pelvic floor exercises for about 10 to 15 years now and these exercises prevent sudden ‘urine loss leakage’. Lately these accidents occurred again, although only one or two drops every so often, but I don’t want any loss. I know I shouldn’t accept this and do something about it while it is not that bad yet. The cause is probably (as I thought) a case of doing the right exercises but executing them the wrong way. I excel at that. After a while I cannot really remember too well what I am supposed to do and start ‘winging it’. I hope this problem will be solved in a couple of months. You might consider this a case of Too Much Information, but I believe in sharing these things to help others. Usually everybody is too embarrassed to talk about it. As I have little shame, I don’t mind sharing. After all, 1 out of 4 women is dealing with this and often the right exercises (executed in the right way…) can remedy this.
In the afternoon Marcella of Lara Design and I had our weekly ‘earrings brainstorm’. In the evening the girl from next-door taught me how to create videos and what to do with iMovie. The younger they are, the more they know about these devices. In one hour, she taught me a lot and she assisted in creating this video, which is terrible in my opinion, because it was dark and indoors, with a lamp behind me. But I am going to share it anyway. This way you can follow my journey from crap to (hopefully) a lot better as I intend to make more of them. Every time I play the video and see myself, the only thing I can think of is “Oh my God… how awful” LOL.
Friday I was supposed to meet my friend Selma, but she forgot to write our date in her agenda haha, so it fell through. No biggie. It was a busy week anyway. I did some work for Ron’s website, ran some errands and cycled in very stormy weather.
Friday night we went out for dinner with Froukje and Petro at restaurant Loetje, where they serve the best steak in the world (IMHO). Afterwards we went to their house and had a delicious dessert. You can imagine it was a fun evening.
Greetje
I LOVED watching your video, Greetje! And your voice is wonderful. I hope you do more videos in the future, because I’m certainly a fan! And I have never pronounced your name right LOL. I have always assumed it was pronounced “Greatyer” he he he!!!
Hugs
Suzy xx
“Greatyer” hahaha. I know that English speaking people pronounce it like this.
I have to think of what to say in a video, but I will continue.
You really look very elegant, I love the color and pattern of these pants and the mix with the black blazer. I love your turquoise earrings, they are beautiful.
This one was for you Josep-Maria. If I do an elegant or feminine outfit, I always think of you.
What an honor for me to read this. Thank you very much from your faithful follower.
Can you imagine how flattering it is when somebody finds and likes your first ever published post and then keeps following your blog for 9.5 years? It is immensely flattering.
I love cognac and black — your outfit is very elegant. Thanks for your helpful video about how to pronounce your name, although, as others have said, I’m not sure I can do it correctly!
Just call me Greta, Cynthia. That’s fine by me. The combination of cognac and black just happened by accident. Usually my best outfits haha.
I’m with Ron: too formal and boring for you.
But in principal well combined.
It’s just that you can look so much more contemporary and fun, matching your personality.
Well, I also like variation. So why not this elegant outfit, although a bit more formal.
It’s lovely to hear your voice again! 🙂 I practiced saying your name a few times (I know I never quite got it) after watching the video.
Lovely outfit here – I like that rust with black. Those are gorgeous earrings.
I’m glad your mum is doing better, and getting upgraded on her closed-captions and her iPad.
I had a personal trainer over yesterday to help my get my upper body stronger, and pelvic floor exercises are two of the ones she showed me. I’ll get right on it!
Have a lovely week, Greetje!
Thanks for the compliments. Wow, you have a personal trainer! So chic.
Now I will be practicing how to pronounce your name – thank you for the lesson. I like black worn with the cognac pants, and I think the jacket has a nice shape when it’s buttoned.
Pelvic floor exercises are very important to help with the leaky bladder that can happen as we age (and which I have experienced). It’s something that all women should be made aware of.
The jacket is better buttoned up than when it hangs loose. Too much fabric.
You are right, too many women are either not aware of the exercises which help or they are too ashamed to talk about it. So unnecessary. I try to do my bit to improve lives haha.
Well, now I know how badly I’ve been mis-pronouncing your name this whole time, LOL!
I like black and brown together, but the jacket feels a bit heavy here. What if you wore it open with a lighter or print top or sweater underneath? (Probably too cold for there now.) The earrings are DIVINE!
The jacket is indeed a bit heavy as it is double breasted. No idea why I fall for double breasted all the time. It is so not right for me.
If the jacket had been tighter (as my bright pink one is) I could have worn it open. Now it feels as if there is too much fabric hanging loose.
Actually I think you weren’t that bad in pronouncing my name, especially not for an English speaking person. My Italian blogger friend Daniela always calls me Greety, like in the cartoon bird Tweety…LOL
I am practising how to pronounce your name. It is not easy for an English speaker but as a linguist (French and German are my other languages) I love to try. As Lorraine says, the next video should be how to pronounce Van Gogh, as English speakers say it in so many different ways.
I like the cognac and black together. I have a cognac cord blazer I bought recently, so I am now thinking it could be paired with black trousers.
Have a lovely week!
As I said to Lorraine, Van Gogh is just as bad as my name. It has that guttural G. It is fine if you call me Greta too LOL. That is my birth name.
French and German are murder for an English speaking person. My late best friend Pat was Scottish and lived in the Netherlands and in Switserland. So she had to learn how to speak Dutch and French. She did and she could but with a terrible accent. She was no linguist. I miss her badly.
Thank you for sharing your video. I love that I can now imagine you speaking the words you write. You have a lovely voice by the way.
You shared another great outfit which gives me some ideas for items in my closet.
Never thought anybody would ever say I have a lovely voice LOL. I always thought it was too high pitched. But perhaps I hear it diffently than others do.
I am glad you were inspired by my outfit. Especially because you get ideas for items in your closet.
And next time you can teach us how to pronounce Van Gogh!
Love the colour of your trousers.
Oh dear… Van Gogh is just as bad. It has that same guttural G. As I told another reader, Dutch isn’t really a language, it is more like a throat disease haha.
I always feel your posts are like sparkling air – filled with positivity and joy.
It’s less about the fashion for me, as you and I dress differently, but it’s totally about your ability to communicate, the wonderful backdrops, the relationships you have with Ron and your friends.
It’s always a fab post.
Keep them coming!
PS: You have a super narrating voice…
Your blog is always like a dose of wonderfully fresh air. For me, it’s less about the fashion because you and i dress very differently, but more about your sparkling personality.
I love your positivity, the background of your cities, the obviously strong friendships you have and the repartee between you and Ron.
And the vid was great – your voice is perfect for narration and boy, have I been pronouncing your name wrongly!
Cheers and keep those posts coming.
You give me a lot of compliments Prue, thank you very much. I always thought my voice was too high pitched, but now that you mention narration (learned a new word here), I remembered something. When I was 18 I did a test to see what job would be best for me and “presenting on the radio” was the outcome. I never did anything with it because that was so far fetched for me at that age.
As for my name, you can always say Greta as that is my birth name.
I had a look at your blog and discovered you have written so many books. I am very impressed. By the way, you commented twice on this post, but in a similar way.
I’m so glad you mentioned pelvic floor exercises. I actually saw a physiotherapist this week to learn some core strengthening exercises to hopefully prevent some of the back pain issues that I’ve had off and on over the past year. I was delighted to learn that some of the exercises also strengthen the pelvic floor muscles as I know that’s something that I also need. It’s time we women stopped being too embarrassed to talk about these things.
I’m also very grateful for your video. I knew that I was probably pronouncing your name very wrong in my head, but I had no idea what the correct pronunciation might be! Now I really do have to practice as we don’t have the same guttural (throat) sounds in English.
Glad to help other women by being open about this urine loss. Dutch is not really a language, it is more a throat disease haha. You can always say Greta. That is my birth name.
Lovely, chic pairing. Such beautiful pants. And divine earrings. Video not crap! You look perfectly normal, and nice, and your voice is very pleasant. I, of course, have been pronouncing your name wrong in my head – the first mispronunciation you mentioned. However, I absolutely knew I was butchering it and am happy to hear the real name. I’ve mastered it!
I always thought that my voice was pretty high pitched but that is perhaps because you hear yourself differently than others do.
Double ‘e’ is pronounced that way in the English language. My Italian friend Daniela calls me Greety, like the cartoon bird Tweety. But she sticks to it haha. If you have mastered pronouncing my name correctly, may I assume you are from Scotland? (McDermott and all.)
I loved the video, but of course I’m struggling with the pronunciation. I’ll keep trying! Your lovely outfit is elegant without being stuffy, definitely a winner! That jacket with those pants could be worn a lot of different ways by switching up the shirt and accessories.
I can so relate to having to work so hard to convince your mother to spend money on things that will make her life easier. My parents were the same way. They weren’t wealthy, but they had more than enough money to cover their needs and some treats without touching their savings. Instead they lived very frugally and denied themselves things they really wanted, leaving a house in disrepair and all the money to their children. Perhaps it can be attributed to growing up during the Great Depression?
I should say that your mum definitely has a better grip on reality. Obviously she’s not afraid to spend on pretty things that bring her joy, like beautiful blue sweaters!❤️
Well that is true but as she doesn’t get out much these last two years, she doesn’t see the need to buy any more. She has many nice tops in her wardrobe, so if what’s offered in the catalogue isn’t better than what she’s already got, then why order it?
If you get fed up with trying to pronounce my name, just say Greta LOL.
I have worn the trousers with different tops and the jacket with jeans and red boots, so you are right.
Luckily my mum does listen after having weighed my arguments. I am very glad of that. My brother and I don’t need to inherit money; we have done pretty well for ourselves. Thanks to the efforts of my parents as well.
My parents were never wealthy and had to build a home and a family after the war. That’s when they learned to be frugal.
Thank you for giving us the correct pronunciation of your name. I got it very wrong.
I like your cognac/black outfit very much. I couldn’t wear those shoes without tights or socks as I feel the cold too much. As it happens, I did some research on what women can wear with cropped trousers in winter months to keep feet warm, and there were several suggestions, such as: Fine socks, fishnet socks/tights or just boots. I think black fishnets would look very cool too.
Everybody got it wrong, trust me haha.
I was wearing thin hold-ups (thigh-highs) underneath as bare legs would be too cold for me too.
The warmest shoewear underneath cropped trousers are the combat boots which are so popular these days. If you have seen my previous posts, you have seen them featured a lot.
Thanks for the little video. I am not sure I can still pronounce your name but I like the sound of your voice. What a great idea. The cognac and black looks beautiful together and I love your purse. I hope the knee keeps going in the right direction, but just when you think you are on the mend, back it goes. I blame it on the weather. Have a great week.
Nobody outside the Netherlands and the north European countries can pronounce my name haha. Stick to Greta.
The bag is such a beauty. I don’t use it enough.
The knee is healing very well, but as you say, just when you think the ship is afloat again, the water flows back into the hold. This is a literal translation of a Dutch saying haha. Sometimes I cannot resist doing this.
Love your blazer and pants – very elegant and chic!
Your video is fine, not crap at all. You look and sound great. We’re always our own harshest critics, right?
Have a good week.
Oh yes we are our own worst critics. And especially when you see yourself on video. I suppose it will get better in time. Just as I got used to being photographed. Hope you will have a good week too.
I really like the cognac and black. Very attractive and stylish from head to toe. I watched your video and thought it was fine. Not sure why you think it is crap. It’s fine but I am still unable to correctly pronounce your name so I will continue to think Greta when I read your blog. I appreciate all health info you share. Thanks.
I don’t think very highly of the video because of the light or better said, the absence of light. And because I think my face looks weird. But I suppose everybody who sees her or himself on video thinks this.
I know that anybody in a country outside of the Netherlands and northern European countries will never be able to pronounce my name. Greta is fine by me. I actually prefer it.
I love how you broke up the suit this way Greetje!! I’ve been trying to wear my work blazers with jeans and everything lately. No sense letting them just hang in the closet.
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
I totally agree and this jacket is very good quality. I am working on the very wide legged trousers now. Although I have heard that such suits are highly fashonable right now haha.