Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness

The words in my title were borrowed from the poem To Autumn by John Keats. In this poem Keats captures the essence of autumn. Have you seen the film 'Bright Star' by Jane Campion? It's about Keats's short life and love. If you haven't, you should. It's almost as poetic as Keats's poems. You will love it!

 It's amazing to see how quickly nature changes. Two weeks ago my garden was still green. Only one week later part of the foliage has turned into shades of brown, red and golden.

When I entered the garden last Sunday, it all looked a bit hazy. It felt like walking through a thin layer of mist. The grass was soaking wet and covered with the first leaves of the Hazel tree.

The hosta's and ferns are slowly wilting away, but the Dahlia's, Cosmea, Rose The fairy and Rose Coral Dawn are still in bloom. The asters are flowering abundantly. We have not done a lot of work in the garden lately, so it was high time to put the spade into the ground and start digging.

The flowers beds were cleared, the greenhouse was emptied and the pink and purple tulip bulbs, which I bought more than a month ago, were finally put into the ground.

After some serious contemplation I decided to get rid of the gladioli bulbs which I planted last spring. They are just not my thing. Although I like a garden that looks a bit wild, gladioli are a bit too much for me. They have been all over the place, except upright :-)!

It was delicious being outside and forgetting everything around me, while taking in the colours and smell of autumn.

Have you done any work in the garden lately?

Enjoy your weekend!

LOVE,

Madelief x

Little black dress and a bit of colour

Dress by Cos

Sandals by C8 Shott Copenhagen

Necklace by Oasis,  vintage 1950s ear clips

It was my intention to publish this post three weeks ago, when the weather was still warm and sunny, but I forgot all about it. I realise temperatures have dropped in our part of the world,  but in for instance Australia, New Zealand & Brasil, summer is on the doorstep. As I do have some followers in these countries, I decided to publish this post anyway :-)

According to Wikipedia a little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. The dress is intended to be long lasting, versatile & affordable and quite chique!

When I opened up the doors of my wardrobe recently, it struck me that I have quite a collection of them. Most dresses are more than five years old. There are lots of vintage and second hand finds among them, like the L.K. Bennettt dress I found in a charity shop recently. While other dresses have already left my wardrobe, because they are no longer fashionable, my little black dresses still look good. They seem to be timeless. I often combine them with scarves, vintage bags & jewellery. 

Whenever I am not sure what to wear, I often choose one of my black dresses.What do you pick out of your wardrobe when in doubt?

Due to personal circumstances, I will not be able to post regularly or leave many comments. I will try to pop over now and then, but I don't know how often. I hope you won't mind too much.

Wish you all a wonderful weekend

LOVE,

Madelief x

Dress DKNY

Dress Sisley

Corsage by Zeeman

Dress H&M, Scarves De Bijenkorf

Dress L.K. Bennett

Collection of vintage bags

Fabulous fifties

 

Ball gowns in the prettiest shades of pale, hats and tailored suits, quirky bathing costumes and Elegant Parisian haute couture, lured me into the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague to see the exhibition Fabulous Fifties.

When you enjoy retro fashion and the fabulous costumes worn in tv series Mad Men, this exhibition is worth going too. I was really impressed. The Victoria and Albert museum in London has an amazing costume collection, but our Dutch Gemeentemuseum has too! Much thought was given to the décor, with vintage style curtains and eye for colour & detail. The clothes on display vary in style, from chique and Elegant, to office wear and rock and roll. 

When you are looking for something fun to do one of the coming weekends, pop over to the Gemeentemuseum and see the exhibit. While you are there you may well enjoy the exhibit Happy Days too. It's about art in The Hague from 1947 to 1967.

Wish you all a Happy weekend!

LOVE,

Madelief x

The Vintage Teacup club

 

A few weeks ago I was asked by the Little Brown Book group if I was interested in reviewing the first novel of writer Vanessa Greene, called The Vintage Teacup Club.

Most of the time I kindly reject offers to post advertisements on my blog, but this request was different. Not only because I am a keen reader, but also because I like to encourage first time writers. I can't tell you how happy I was I enjoyed the book :-)!

The description on the back sounded promising. When I spotted the words 'car boot sale',  'vintage tea set' and 'friendship', I knew it was the sort of book that would appeal to you too :-).

On a lazy summer afternoon in the sleepy market town of Charlesworth, three women's eyes fix on one delicate, vintage tea service in the same instant. Each wants it desperately. Maggie, the owner of a successful fliristry business, is working on the most important commission of her career - for a bridezilla, whose perfectionism knows no bounds. Fierceley ambitious, Maggie knows that if things go well, this could be her chance to prove herself - and to give the company that step up it needs to hit the big time.

Jenny can't wait to marry her long-term boyfriend Dan. They work so well together - lives intertwined over  years since meeting in the first week of uni, she can't imagine any other future. The one essential ingredient in her carefully nurtured vision for the perfect (low-budget) wedding is an abundance of vintage crockery.  But as wedding planning reaches fever pitch, her emotions receive a sharp knock when she hears from the one person who has the power to cast a black cloud over everything, and dangerous questions start forming in  her mind....

Alison seems to have it all. She is married to her childhood sweetheart, with two gorgeous daughters and a flourishing business making candles out of vintage china teacups. But as tensions mount among friends and family, she is pushed to breaking point.

Following the highs and lows of these three women's lives, this debut novel is escapism at its best. Vanessa Greene has a descriptive way of writing and manages to capture your attention from the very start. The plot is good, the characters are engaging and face genuine dilemma's. It's the perfect novel to snuggle up with on a rainy autumn day!

I am off to the couch one more.

Wish you a happy weekend!

LOVE,

Madelief x

photo 1 to/incl. 8 were taken at Bed & Breakfast Tower House in Tenterden, UK