The photo shoot for my bright pink vest was planned but only in my head. Luckily, my friend Lia was kind enough to take photos for the blog. She didn’t want her photo on the blog this time which, of course, I respect.

The bright pink vest is my return to colour, bought on the same day as my lime green cashmere jumper. Two bright finds in one day. Often, I will stand at the entrance of a clothes shop, scanning the space for colour. If there is none, I won’t even go in.

The brand of the vest is TWNS. I had never heard of them. They are definitely a European brand including the UK. The question was “What to wear underneath?” The black and white shirt solved that. I haven’t styled the vest with anything else yet. I tried but didn’t like much, which is often the case when I start combining clothes to create a new combination. So disappointing.

Lia and I went to a nearby church and looked for a spot with shade.

Below: There weren’t any spots besides this entrance door, so I will bore you with nearly the same photos. The bucket bag is exactly the same pink hue but the light changed that slightly in the photos.

Below: I sat down and something funny happened. Your guess is as good as mine.

Below: I included this photo because A) it is funny (it reminds me of Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo), the flying elephant) and B) it gives you a good look at the black with golden brooch. I bought it at Misja’s workshop a couple of weeks ago. (Workshop report is in this post at the bottom.)

Below: As we were walking around, we spotted these ducks. Love it.

Below: One metre away from the artificial ducks we saw mother duck with one of her ducklings that had gone astray. She was trying to get it back to the water on the other side of the road.

Below: And on the other side of the road, we saw five more ducklings. So cute. In the meantime, two children were trying to persuade mother and run-away duckling to go back to the rest of the family. To no avail.

Below: Then mother duck went back to her other children, leaving the one behind across the road, who was trying to climb up the timbering. I couldn’t stand looking at it any longer. It made me so anxious and worried. I hate the law of nature. The concept is just cruel.

Below: Walking back to Lia’s house, we encountered a neighbour with this puppy. To me, the cutest dog ever. And so soft. It is like a toy dog.

Below: One last outfit photo in Lia’s garden. She is a more-is-more type of woman.

Below: The next day I wore the same but this time with the shirt tails untucked and with blue jeans. Misja advised me to shorten the bit underneath but I had already taken this photo and was too lazy to adjust and take another one. I often ask Misja’s advice.

There are no beautiful buildings in this outfit part of the blog, but there are in the next part. Not every blog post is a tour through a city, darlings.

What happened in my life this week

Ron and I went to the Noordermarkt (Norther market) in Amsterdam on a sunny Saturday. That is one of our treasured pleasures. It cost you an arm and a leg to park your car, that is, if you can find a parking spot, but we were very lucky. We found a spot right at the market, never parked so close. Usually, I would take the train to Amsterdam but I figured out that a return train ticket for the two of us was more expensive than parking the car for two hours. You have to watch the little spendings if you want to have enough left for big spendings. The Dutch are known for their frugality, right down to being tight haha.

We were in a bit of a queue on one of the canal roads due to an unloading lorry. Ron’s 41 year old Renault 4, attracted a lot of attention. So many people love this car, especially older people, of course, as this is a car from their youth. The number of times Ron heard the story told by someone who remembered going on holiday with that car, mum and dad in the front and four (!) children in the back, plus luggage. How? It is a really small car, both in size and width.

Below: First thing we did was have a cappuccino with apple cake and whipped cream on a terrace near the church. We got some live music thrown in (the two guys near the church). The waiter urged us to sit on whichever chair was available and not to be shy that we would be at a table with strangers. So we did. The lady and her daughter at our table were French and had no objection whatsoever. We had a few laughs but conversation was limited as my French isn’t too good.

Below: Our view to the left was a small part of the market. I love these trees with their spring green leaves.

Below: Some architecture for you in the neighbourhood, a flower shop in an old building or perhaps in two old buildings.

Below: This view struck me. Old warehouses which have been converted into apartments. So beautiful. And houseboats of course.

Below: On our way back to the car we sat on the same terrace but this time with our back to the church. The terrace is at Café Hegeraad. I can highly recommend them. Food, drinks, cappuccino, apple pie…they are all good and the service is excellent.

One evening this week, I turned down the bed and found a heart-shaped box of chocolates on my side of the bed (below). From my husband (obviously). “For no reason other than I like to bring you joy”, he explained. Isn’t that sweet??

Below: The garden is getting there again. Sunshine and rain are the best ingredients for letting the plants grow. I particularly like the rhododendron which is at its peak at the moment.

Last Saturday I picked up my enlarged ring from the jeweller. Unfortunately, the goldsmith hadn’t put a spring in the ring in order to stop it turning on my finger once it passed the arthrosis knuckle. This was agreed upon when I took it in. Probably a miscommunication at the jeweller. But I was met rather coldly with the message “There has never been a request for a spring”, basically calling me a liar. We settled it and the ring will be fixed (for another fee) but after picking up my ring once again, I will never return. What a shame after 44 years of being a loyal customer. They used to be so warm and welcoming. Such is life my friends; times they are a changing.

My bonus daughter gave me a beautiful bunch of flowers (below) for “Grandmother’s Day ‘. Sweet. It always touches me so much when she does that.

So, a good ending of the week.

Greetje