With the wind blowing from behind, my wide linen trousers look like billowing sails on a ship. I thought it was funny.
The BVA girlfriends were visiting me and the day went almost like always. Only after lunch, Marianna went home and Claudia stayed behind to talk to my husband Ron as the rest of us embarked on the shopping expedition. Which means I have only got photos of Marianne, Marijke and Jilske.
Below: As we arrived in town, we thought these chairs looked so inviting. The shop behind me is called Ariane & Madeleine. They serve coffee and tea and…madeleines, the best French biscuit in the world.
Below: I took a peek at the back of the shop where the kitchen is situated. They have a little seating area to enjoy your tea or coffee, between the front and the back of the shop.
Below: At the front of the shop is the atelier of jewellery designer Ariane Medze (here at work).
Below: We continued at the market (similar photo as the top one).
The top is actually a dress. You can see it as a dress in this post; if you scroll down that post, you can see me wearing the dress with high heels. My blog logo was created after that image. Because there is so much room in these wide trousers, I had no trouble tucking in the bottom half of the dress and wear it as a top.
Below: Marianne and Marijke. Marianne is letting her hair grow longer to change up her hairstyle.
Below: Jilske was already in a shop but came rushing back as she saw I was taking photos of the other two.
Below: Look how good these black trousers are on Jilske! She bought them. Fab trousers.
Below: Back to the market, we saw a stall selling colourful rugs and chairs. Makes a nice picture.
Below: I was contemplating buying one of these wicker bags. They look so cheerful.
Below: I fear though that the material, which is rougher than leather, might damage my clothes.
Below: I found this lady, happily eating a herring sitting on the ground in front of the market fish stall. I said “You are kind of a dare devil, sitting on the ground with your white trousers”. She wasn’t worried as they were to be washed that evening anyway. A very relaxed woman.
Below: We stopped at one of my favourite shops, kpa.haarlem. Poor Marianne got my camera tote dumped on her lap.
Below: Here she is, the charming owner of kpa.haarlem, the gorgeous Karlijn.
Below: Further into town we decided to do another sitting down pose with that mannequin behind me. The blue bag is not a conscious decision. I just grabbed it as it was ready.
Below: I am wearing a jewellery set, gold with hematite. The set belonged to my mother and my brother and SIL agreed that I should have it. So beautiful.
Below: A little side street was overgrown with green bushes which I love as background. A bit of a strange pose but one has to try new things. My hair was slowly collapsing.
Below: This couple lives in the smallest house in Haarlem. They often sit in front of it when the weather allows. They are very good-humoured and laughed out loud as I passed them for the third time in search of my bag with French cheese and peanuts. I had hung it on a bicycle handlebar when having the photo above taken.
Below: We ended up at Zara and tired as I was, I sat down next to Marianne, Marijke joined me and we looked at all the women passing us by. It was like a catwalk, great fun.
Below: Oh and Errol has moved to Jilske’s house. Ron tried to make a casserole with him, putting him in an oven dish, but I rescued him.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday Ron took me into town for a drink on a terrace. It was great, watching people and commenting on them (very softly) as they were walking by. The place had iced coffee with real ice cream and they also had piña colada. Heaven. I felt the weight increasing.
Below: I wore this but took the belt off later on. I have gained weight and need to lose it.
Below: Ron and me and the piña colada.
Below: And who was to pass but “our” policeman Nico (the one on the right). Full story in this post. I had to say hi. Such a nice man.
Below: I saw Sara and her husband Herman who were over from the USA for a couple of weeks. We had lunch at Het Wapen van Kennemerland (Crest of Kennemerland – the area where we live).
Delicious food and great cappuccino. (Link to original post with my outfit, just different shoes.)
Below: Sara with her sun hat. I know Sara from when we both lived in The Hague, I was about 24. We were both friends of Pat, my dear departed friend; Sara and I always kept in touch. She is educated, worked her whole life, got two beautiful daughters with Herman and brought them up well. But even more important, she is really nice.
Below: Two photos to show you the view from our terrace. It is very close to town but just in this little quiet rural piece of land.
Below: We started to walk down a little path after lunch and when I looked back, I photographed the restaurant’s terrace.
Below: We came across this totem pole and it wasn’t until I put the photo in this post that I recognised the carving. It is a woman, standing on top of a pile of buckets with fish. The story goes that in the old days, women would bring the freshly caught fish from Zandvoort to the market in Haarlem to sell. On their way back, they would have a drink at Het Wapen van Kennemerland and put their empty buckets outside. These buckets smelled badly after fish, which gave the restaurant a nickname, Stinkende Emmer (Smelly Bucket). Most people know it better by the nickname. Fantastic totem pole.
Ron surprised me with a photo shoot at the Zaanse Schans, a historic village with many windmills. Ron is being extra sweet to me, to console me after my mum’s death. Doing a photo shoot is one of those things as he doesn’t really like that. He even made me Brussels sprouts (which disgusts him so he had a salad).
I bought fabric and took it to my new tailors who are going to copy a favourite top with the material.
My hairdresser worked her magic again, making me look fab (within limits of course LOL). As I was waiting at the hairdressers I saw many women coming in and I noticed they were all good-looking. So I said to a woman next to me “I think they only allow good-looking women to come in”. And then realised I was complimenting myself haha.
Did another photo shoot with Marjolein at an exhibition/museum which was fun. It was supposed to rain all day and we didn’t get a drop. Those weather apps are worthless sometimes.
Below: Friday, my granddaughter started walking backwards because the wind was fierce. Clever girl.
(The sound you here, is wind not rain.)
Greetje
You look great in the wide-legged pants. And yellow is definitely a good color for you. Your friends are precious and necessary to have them in your life. Your husband seems like a great guy.
Yes indeed, yellow is a good colour for me. Any bright colour, really.
I couldn’t do without friends. I always say, they are the salt of the earth.
And yes, my husband is a great guy. I chose well all those years ago.
I loathe those basket bags- they are scratchy and heavy (hard on the shoulders) and everything falls to the bottom.
Love your ginormous trousers! And I recognize that top/dress as I have a mug with those illustrations on it, at my desk at work.
So sweet that Ron is being extra nice to you.💜
OK, so my first assessment of those baskets was good.
I didn’t know you had the mug with the illustrations of Anne Bray! What fun. She did me a huge favour by sketching me and making all that merchandise stuff. My mug has fallen to pieces. But I still have sketches in a frame and of course my blog logo.
Give the wicker/grass baskets a try. I have five of them and find them incredibly practical. They are perfect for trips to the market and road trips by car. Plus, you will get many compliments and comments along the way.
Also, thanks for sharing the candid stories about your mother. Mine is 96.
I don’t know about the wicker baskets. I can only use them in summer because in winter they would for sure, damage my tights.
And I have so many bags already, I don’t really need another one.
Congratulations with your mother’s birthday. Mine would have become 96 yesterday.
I like being candid, that’s who I am. And also, if we talk candidly about more difficult subjects, it might benefit someone else. Some bloggers talk candidly about menopause which I think is great. I would have done that, but I didn’t have a blog yet when I went through it.
Love the yellow dress worn as a top. I think it looks brilliant here with the pants. How fun to see the cherry dress again!
Your days out with friends always look like such fun. And they are a really stylish bunch! The totem and fish bucket story is really fun. Smelly Bucket, indeed! And little Zoe…what a cutie! She must bring you so much joy.
These trousers are great, both in shape and colour. Nearly every bright colours looks good with them, they are so neutral. The cherry dress gets a proper amount of outings. I have to make the cost per wear lower LOL.
Spending time with my bonusgranddaughter is something I never imagined would happen 20 years ago.
How lovely that you were wearing your Mom’s jewellery. It must be bittersweet. I’m glad Ron is taking care of you. Losing a parent leaves a hole in our hearts.
It’s great that you have so many wonderful girlfriends to spend time with. All my friends live so far away.
Your granddaughter is adorable.
Suzanne
Wearing her necklace is more sweet than bittersweet, fortunately. I took the ring to a goldsmith to make it smaller and fit my finger. He was very quick altering it when I told him it used to be my mum’s who passed away recently. He got it.
I know that your friends live far away and that is not easy. The reason I would never emigrate is because I would miss my friends too much.
You have such a beautiful group of friends. It lifts my heart seeing you all together. I must’ve missed the post about your mum’s passing. My heart goes out to you. I’m so glad Ron is being extra kind. I love seeing the view from your terrace. I get to look out overwater, then houses and trees and in the background the hills of Marin. That kind of nature view really lifts my spirits.
It is difficult to keep up with every post I publish, I understand. You say “I love seeing the view from your terrace”, but that is not right. It is the view of the restaurant’s terrace. I only have a small garden. You are better off in that respect.
What a lovely post, Greetje! Of course, I always say that, but I look forward to reading your post each weekend. You and your friends always look so chic, and I love seeing your landscape and architecture photos. Love the parrot casserole too.
Your granddaughter is adorable!!!! I got to spend time with our grandkids last week. Although they are older — 13 to 20 years old — they are still fun to be with 🙂
My friends always make an effort to dress well when we meet. They know I’ll take photos and put them on the blog haha.
I think you are one of my loyalest readers or should I say commentators.
Lovely collection of photos. What a beautiful group!
I’m glad Ron is taking good care of you. From my own experience, the next months will be an emotional rollercoaster, but I know you will get through it. My mother died last October, and I’m still feeling it. Take care.
I think I will feel the missing of my mother and I know I will cry from time to time, but I am fine really. Knowing she is not suffering anymore and had a long and loving life, consoles me a lot.
Hello, You,
Great outfit and a clever use of your dress. Loved the pics, as usual, and loved Sara’s sun hat.
I’m not a bit surprised Ron’s being extra caring/loving. Why wouldn’t he be? He knows you’re hurting and it’s his way of trying to help, bless him. Husbands can do lovely things sometimes!
Isn’t Zoe cute? She must be a great joy to you. We get similar pleasure as you from our grandchildren, even though they are now grown up. It’s so interesting to see their lives develop – and greatgrandchildren make it even better!
Have a nice week.
Hugs
Gee x
Your comment was a nice read, thank you for that. I don’t think I’ll live to see greatgrandchildren haha.
The shoes you wore when you went out for a pina colada – I have seen you wear them many times on here. I love them. Do you think I could buy them herein the United States? I look forward to reading your blog every week!
I don’t think you an buy those sneakers in the United States. They are by Essentiel Antwerp. I know they are in New York and last year they were about to launch a webshop in the USA, but these sneakers are pretty old. I think from 2019. Perhaps e-Bay?