Living not that far away from the sea (ten minutes’ drive) means there is wind nearly every day. The day we photographed these brown trousers with a pink jumper, the wind was particularly fierce.
My friend Marjolein was kind enough to be my photographer and the new neighbourhood restaurant was a perfect location. No wind and big windows, letting in a lot of light.
Below: Marjolein sitting in the window of restaurant Zijl82, dressed to the nines again. And yes, this lime leather jacket is from my wardrobe. In my opinion it was too small and the length wasn’t flattering on me. I gave it to Marjolein, who suits it so well.
Since we met (48 years ago…oh my god) we have swapped clothes and shoes we no longer want for ourselves.
Below: The pink jumper (from ME+EM) is a favourite of mine. I use it a lot. Here is the link to the original post with cream trousers.
I still don’t know whether the colour of the trousers is actually brown or whether it is aubergine. The colour changes in the light. The trousers are ever so comfortable with an elastic waistband. (Link to original post with these wide trousers.)
Below: Sipping my smoothie. Marjolein immediately said: “I suggest you don’t actually sip. It makes your face look funny.” LOL
The pink boots are from EIJK Amsterdam. (Link to original post with fuchsia top, skinny jeans and a lovely necklace.)
Below: Marjolein’s remark made me laugh, which met her approval.
Below: Close-up of the earrings by Lara Design. Marjolein took photos of my image in the mirror. Very good.
Below: A view of the restaurant’s front area.
Below: A view of the back of the restaurant. They aim to cater to local customers which means you often meet neighbours which makes the place so cosy.
What happened in my life this week
I have been a naughty girl. I went into town with a specific shop in mind. A nice one (LAB Women’s Clothing). And I spent quite some money there. All in the spirit of “I could have been dead, let’s live it up’. If I keep up this thought, I’ll be bankrupt in no time.
Our friend and neighbour Froukje helped Ron to put loads of plants in our garden.
Below: Starting the work.
Below: This is what it looks like after they planted most of it, but you cannot see yet what it is going to be. The plants need time to grow. Froukje and Ron left an area open for easy access to the pond as our gardener still had to fix a leakage in the pond hose, which he did this week.
Now that the hose is fixed we can switch the waterfall on again. We don’t know whether the salamanders will like running water. We think not and we already have 8 of them. We’ll find out soon enough.
It is still a little too early for pond plants. They are not available yet and they are going to make such a difference.
Below: I wore this that day as I didn’t lift a finger haha. I am not even allowed to do anything in the garden besides picking up fallen leaves as I don’t know the difference between a plant and weed. Last year I saw what I thought were weeds, and I pulled everything out. Turned out to be a plant…Right… (Link to original outfit post with fancy green shoes.)
One cold day I decided to try and solve some technical stuff, like reconnecting our solar panel app to our Wi-Fi. And I failed. Hopefully the company that installed them can help me (they didn’t pick up the phone…).
After that I called Apple Support to ask how I can get a new passcode for my mum’s iPad. I hate these things as it takes up so much time. When you do get through to someone, it often happens that they cannot help you. You wait and you wait. Bummer. The upside of these chores is that I learn new technical things, which is good.
Thursday we celebrated our King’s birthday (King’s Day) and contrary to the weather forecast we had beautiful weather. Hardly any wind and lots of sunshine though rather cold.
Below: This is what I wore that day. Red, white and blue, the colours of our flag. Almost everybody wears something in these colours or something orange (after the King’s surname).
Below: Everybody is allowed to sell junk from their attic on the street. Are those bedpans??
Below: No need to buy anything for children in a store. You can score more than enough kid’s presents for a whole year on King’s Day and it will cost you next to nothing.
Below: A lot of food is offered, like these French crêpes (thin pancakes). I had one with caramel and it was delicious.
Below: I sang along with this happy man. It was joyful and funny.
Below: People wear the weirdest hats, like this man with a hat like a plunger (see the arrow).
Below: And the doggies are adorable.
Below: This one is wearing an orange tie.
Below: I scored a blue summer skirt at kpa.haarlem. In the spirit of King’s Day, Karlijn sold old stock against bargain prices. I was too lazy to take off my jeans and trainers and just tried the skirt on over my clothes. LOL
Below: At the end of the afternoon, we arranged to meet neighbours for a drink in the new restaurant (see the beginning of this post). About 30 neighbours turned up. Sooooo nice.
(I pixelated faces that were recognizable as I didn’t ask permission to publish. Nevertheless, the photo still conveys the atmosphere.)
If you want to see more and fun King’s Day photos, have a look at my post on King’s Day 2014 in Amsterdam. Such a terrific day.
Something to make you laugh, “finding a bathing suit in spring”
To really make you laugh, here is the link to a 2014 post. It is a hilarious story about a woman (of a mature age) trying to find a bathing suit. No idea who wrote the story, but it will kill you laughing. My friend Anja made funny drawings to illustrate the story. Below you see an example of one she drew for another occasion, called Shy Fashionista.
Greetje
I like the “brownergine” slacks and pink sweater. Very flattering. I agree with you that it’s hard to decide whether the slacks are brown or aubergine so I’ll just think of them as brownergine.
Riley, I think that is a brilliant solution. Brownergine it is. After all, languages renew themselves all the time.
So wonderful to actually have time to open your post! Everything you wore is beautiful!
I’ll email you!
Take care dear friend!
Thanks Cathy. I already replied to your email.
Kings Day looks like great fun. What a nice day. And about swimsuits, I have decided no one needs to see me in a swimsuit. Those days are over. You are looking so stylish, as always.
I so hope that you have read the post about the swimsuits. I still think it is sooo funny.
So pretty in pink you are!! Love the glimpses into life in Amsterdam… the sense of community and tradition are so wonderful!! Envious, as there is less and less in US, or at least that’s my experience. You look marvelous (esp. in pink : )
The celebrations of the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Halloween etc. are lovely traditions as well, aren’t they?
Apart from King’s Day we only have trick or treat haha.
Happy King’s Day! I always remember it because it’s the same as my friend’s birthday.
I love the trousers, no matter what the colour. How nice to have your back garden and pond looking so pretty! I hope the salamanders don’t overrun you. Lovely to see your friend – what a fabulous green jacket that is! I have been spending money too…
We have had so many salamanders in all sizes and colours and we love them. So I hope they will stay.
The money you are spending is always within limits as you shop second-hand. That is, until you splurge at Fluevog haha.
The pink & brown look great…I wonder if you are aware of the kinship between my city, Ottawa & the Netherlands….. Each year beginning now we are reminded of the kindness each country shows each other when the thousands of Tulip bulbs arrive from Holland and Ottawa celebrates the Tulip festival.. Holland has been thanking Canada for sheltering their Queen and family and for events from WW2 and each year rewards us with the beautiful Tulips that they send us… I tried to link you a site but not permitted on your site. Thank you Holland for the annual display of blooms…….
Oh what a lovely thank-you. Yes, we owe they Canadians a lot of gratitude. We still commemorate the people that got killed in the war on the 4th of May and celebrate our regained freedom on the 5th of May.
I found the website of the Canadian Tulip Festival. I didn’t know that 7,500 Canadian soldiers were killed in freeing our country. That is a hell of a lot.
You look lovely in pink AND in red! And Marjolein looks great in that lime jacket. I love the King’s Day photos — what fun!
Seems like I have been able to entertain you well this week. I am glad. I hope you also clicked through to the post about finding a bathing suit as that is hilarious.
We had a wonderful time in Amsterdam on Queen’s/King’s Day 2013. We had come for the tulips, & the sidewalk sales were a surprise. How lovely to chat with locals over their tables of toys and treats. My 1€ orange boa was the best souvenir ever.
It is indeed a happy day. I am glad you had a good time in 2013. The weather is always the trickiest part.
Bankrupt perhaps but you’ll be looking looking fabulous!!! What’s the big deal?!!!
Hahaha… that used to be my motto too.
That’s a very good pairing – I have a jumper the same colour but wouldn’t have thought to wear it with aubergine; it looks really good. King’s day looks like great fun.
You look amazing in that red blazer! It’s a great colour on you.
Have a good week!
In all honesty, it wasn’t me who came up with the combination pink and aubergine. It was Karlijn of kpa.haarlem. In my first post of these trousers I am wearing a soft pink jumper which I bought in her shop together with the trousers. My “creativity” was swapping one pink for another. LOL
King’s Day is the best, but it has to be nice weather. You can imagine with all the people selling from their spot on the pavement.
Red is indeed one of my best colours.
I laughed at your remark about oh well, I might be dead so live it up and spend a lot of money! I feel the same way about fudge: well, I plan to eat it anyway, so why not eat it all in one day! lol. Love the pink sweater!
No, no, no…”I COULD have been dead”. I very much like your fudge approach. Isn’t that the best candy there is?
Love the pink and brown outfit, and you’re right about the lime jacket…Marjolein looks fabulous in it!
How nice to have a neighborhood restaurant, and the King’s Day celebrations look so fun & jolly!
Thanks Susan. If you ever want to join in the King’s Day fun, you should be in Amsterdam on the 27th of April. We used to celebrate Queen’s Day on the 30th of April, so lots of tourists with outdated information are disappointed when they arrive on the 30th…
The pink sweater is so pretty on you. I also love the red, white and blue outfit. Your backyard looks beautiful and inviting. Enjoy!
It is the brightness of the pink that does it. And with the red, white and blue outfit, it is the red. Bright pink and red are good colours near my face.
Wait until the plants have grown, then our garden will be ever so nice.
So happy that you are back to yourself and feeling well enough to shop. I’d say you deserve to treat yourself after what you’ve been through.
Suzanne
In all honesty, I have been treating myself two weeks after the operation. I had to go out for walks, slowly building my strength. And when I could walk far enough to be in the centre of town, I immediately shopped.
That outfit is cute. If it makes you happy to purchase, why not? Life is to have fun when you can and enjoy yourself. Great photography!
I quite agree with you Saysee, but on the other hand, I shouldn’t overdo it. It is not good for my financial status nor for the environment.