The above photo shows a lovely picture of my wide blue skirt with a green jumper. I found this a tricky way of styling.

I bought the skirt in Newcastle when I was there in 2019, meeting Nikki (Midlifechic blog), and featured it on the blog in this post.

One sunny Sunday morning I styled this outfit and thought it was a shame I didn’t have a photo shoot planned that day. I asked Loes and she was available. Yay. Lucky me.

We did the photo shoot at restaurant Meneer Frans which you can reach through their own front door, but often also by walking through a luxury interior decoration shop called Van Duivenboden. The restaurant is situated in the garden of the shop and named after one of the original shop owners to whom the customers referred to as Mr. Frans (Meneer Frans in Dutch). I like that link.

We chose the restaurant because it has a secluded garden with no wind. And it was a cold, cold day.

Below: The coat hangers at the restaurant. Fun.

Below: Loes.
We started with lunch (I can recommend them, good food and they also have an escape room).

Below: This little doggie was checking whether I had anything interesting to eat for him.

Below: Just before we sat down for lunch, Loes took a photo of my black coat in the garden, a second-hand Salvatore Ferragamo. I was not wearing my hairpiece and I hadn’t ‘done’ my hair before the photo was taken. Very much reality.

Below: The ‘head-to-toe’ shot. The styling is tricky because my upper body is short and my waist is only an inch high and pretty wide. A full skirt like this looks best on a woman with a tiny waist.
I could have put on a belt, like I did the first time I styled the skirt in 2019, but I forgot. Anyway, this is the best shot.

Below: I did a twirl to show the wideness of the skirt and the diabolo heel of the boots. The jumper by Essentiel Antwerp is green at the front and baby blue at the back, as you can see. When I came home and saw the photos, I realised the jumper was pilling. I sorted that out, but after the shoot…sigh.

Below: My close-ups are never photoshopped, but often they are flattering because of an angle or because the hair is just right. The one below is the one that tells the truth. This is how I look in real life. No hair piece but I did just backcomb my hair. I call this ‘my potato face’ but I don’t know why haha.

The shell necklace is an old one from a collection which I showed in 2013; 15 chunky necklaces. I don’t wear them much anymore, but I still like them. They will be back in style, mark my words.
The blue bracelet is a present from my friend Marjolein.

Below: See? The angle of my face is different to the one above. Creates a face I prefer haha. Such a nitpicker.

Below: Close-up of the boots.

Below: Let’s not forget Loes. She was wise and said “Take a photo with my coat on. It is too cold to take it off”. Hahaha. She was right.

Below: For some architecture, here is the Stadsschouwburg (Haarlem’s city theatre). Built in 1914 and renovated plus extended at the back from 2003-2008. I like how the architect has blended the new in with the old. I have featured the theatre before (in this gorgeous post) but it looked so good, that I am repeating it.

Below: Front of the theatre.

Below: The side with part of the extension.

Below: Details of the new part.

What happened in my life this week

Busy, busy, busy and at the same time boring. With the exception of Sunday when Marjolein came up and did a photo shoot with me. The weather is still cold and/or wet with an occasional day of sunshine thrown in. Which means it is hard to plan a photo shoot. And I don’t have much time between grocery shopping, laundry, taking care of Ron and walking the dog. Mind you, neighbours of us who have two dogs themselves, do take Watson with them almost every day, leaving me with only one hour of dog walking at the end of the day. I am so grateful. He is a hunting dog and needs a lot of exercise.

Below: Watson searching for mice. In some areas there are a lot of mice (at least I think that is what is hiding). If we are in a park with mice, most of the time I only see his butt. His nose is in a hole and he is digging his way in. Never catches them.

Below: A few photos of a dog walking trip. Are they spectacular? No, not at all. I am only taking you with me on my boring dog walking trip. The first one is the sun going down, second one is the reflection of a branch in the water, third one is the lake in the distance and the fourth one is a promising leaf bud (there is hope for spring).

Ron and I are getting into the routine of things although I forget a lot too. Most days we spend in harmony but we can also be on each other’s nerves. And no matter how many times he says “Don’t move my arm up when you pull the sweater cuff over my hand….”, I keep doing just that.
The career test which I did when I was 18, was excellent. Every caring profession was dismissed. I have great respect for all who can and do.

This blog post is rather boring as nothing exciting is happening in my life. But I know you will be grateful that at least there is a blog post every week.

Happy Valentine’s Day if you read this in time. May love have found you.

Greetje