What I bought and sold.

1. Vintage Sunset Stitchery kit
2. Vogue sewing pattern
3. Alice in Wonderland rubber stamps
4. Anthropologie floral coffee mug
5. Vintage framed tropical painting
6. Vintage Men's bodybuilding brass belt buckle
7. Vintage olive green necktie
8. Vintage Valuetales book lot (19)
9. Christian disciples wall plaque
10. Men's shirt with horse heads on it
11. Vintage small orange Hanova dish

Interested in what I sell? You can see the whole list here. It's eclectic. It's vintage. It's boring. It's mine and I love it :)

Thrift Share :)

I've taken to buying perfume pretty much wherever I go. Sometimes I buy stuff that isn't worth all that much, but sometimes I buy stuff that is worth its freakin' weight in gold. Case in point: This Opium shit from Yves Saint Laurent is like crack for the people who wear it because YSL changed the formula and it's universally panned by critics. Bring in resellers who don't care to wear the stuff and you've got an interesting eBay siteeation.

I love buying bags of stuff, bags of jewelry, bags of perfume. I love the not-knowing, the waiting 'til I get to my car to ravenously dig through it to see what I've got. Of course, I only buy it if I see something in it worth buying, but it's all the stuff I didn't see that really excites me. Then my car and my person smell like ten kinds of cologne and perfume and I take the bag home and spend the rest of the evening researching bottles and how much I should list them for. The thrill is in the hunt, my friends.

My newest thrift store boyfriend is a bearded fellow who swears I look exactly like his friend Megan who works at Ruth's Chris in the kitchen, grillin' steaks. Now he doesn't seem like a guy who would hang out at such a hoity-toity establishment, with the hair and general swarthy demeanor, but he's kind to me, and has yet to totally creep me out, so I'm starting to be friendly back to him, show him what I find, make fun of the broken leaf-blower he has in his cart.

There are way more male resellers in town than there are females. I see these men all the time, sometimes every day, and I know I'm more like them than I care to admit. I don't want to claim them as my peers, what with all the talking about electronics, and jibber-jabbering with thrift store employees about how they run their business. I like to keep to myself, make smart comments occasionally, but generally stay under the radar. These men are not under-the-radar sorts. They're always talking to eachother and just generally gabby. I'm loathe to be besties with these guys. They're just so, I dunno, unpretentious. Listen to me. I'm such a hypocrite.

Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot :)

Thrift Share :)

Jie Sweden Ceramic Traveling Couple

I think I'm getting better at finding things. These three selections from my last few days are a good representation of my awesomeness. I traveled an hour south today to hit three shops in one city, and bought something at every one of them, which made me feel like the trip was worth it. The Ferragamo pumps and Hug print definitely sealed the deal.

Salvatore Ferragamo Suede Pumps

I thought I'd stop on the way home, but I was extra tired from a long weekend. Friends threw me a housewarming, and there were over thirty people at my house on Saturday afternoon, on into the early evening. It was the perfect day for it. People mostly stayed outside in the backyard, under the big tree, and enjoyed themselves.

Fritz Rudolf Hug - Stretched Canvas Print

Sometimes it's hard to get up on Monday morning and hit the ground running. This morning was especially important for me. I needed to focus on my work after an especially emotional weekend. Sometimes life has the worst timing. There's something about work (thrifting in my case) that keeps me grounded. I need to work. I need to have purpose, even when life feels hopeless or scary or sad.

People brought me all sorts of lovely things for my housewarming. Some people even brought secondhand stuff. My bff brought me a round pedestal table and chairs that fits perfectly in my little eat-in kitchen. She found them at Salvation Army. The thrifting gods were shining down on me that day :)

Linking up with Nifty Thrifty & Sir Thrift a Lot.

Selling art :)

I think I sell art. I occasionally sell art. I've sold a lot more art in the past month or so, especially the week after Christmas. I feel good about my decision to sell art. All that being said, I know absolutely nothing. I have a good eye - this much I know. This helps. I rarely purchase anything I don't appreciate looking at. This is important.

Anything I know is because I have researched it for my store. My German friend learned about art in school. I had some art instruction, but I don't recall learning about styles. I wish I knew more about styles and periods of art. Sorry art-teacher-of-old. I'm sure you did your due diligence. I was a bit out of it as a teenager. I don't blame you.

So every time I find something I like, I start researching similar pieces to find a general pricing structure, but mostly I want to know how to describe the damn thing. Is it impressionist? Realist? Modern? Expressionist? How the hell should I know? Well, I make more money when I put the right words on, so I put the time in.

That's all I have for today :)

Silver everything.

I've sold a fair bit of silver in the past month or so. I sold a lot of odd-and-ends sterling jewelry. I sold a set of three sterling soup spoons. I sold a set of matching cufflinks and a tie pin. I'm a fan.

I bought the soup spoons with these knives. I couldn't believe that I actually found sterling spoons, as in, full size sterling silver spoons. I felt like I'd won the freakin' lottery. So when they weren't selling, I spent a couple hours really trying to figure out what the pattern was, since the pattern wasn't matching anything the manufacturer ever made in sterling. Eventually I was able to name the pattern, and that's when they sold. $150 for three spoons. Heavenly.

I'm off to a memorial service in the morning. My bff will be accompanying me for emotional support. I don't know what I'll be walking into, who I'll see from my past, who will be nasty (it's happened before). I'm right on the edge of feeling capable of staying in one solid adult-sized piece the whole time. I will likely be getting pan dulce for the road, with my favorite cafe con canela. Food is inextricably linked to my emotional health (thanks diabetes!). But really, food makes me feel capable in a deeper way than the provision of energy. Food gives me literal and figurative fuel for the journey. Isn't that weird, how something so primitive can become so inextricably linked to who we are?

Chew on that, yo.

Taking better pictures :)

For the past two years, I have been limited in my ability to produce quality photographs for my listings. I have improvised in ways that have been appropriate to my means, and my abilities, but I have known that certain listings have gone unnoticed because of the quality of the photographs in them.

Van over at Thrift Core posts regularly about the quality of her online shop as connected with the quality of her photographs. It took me a long time to get the hint, but in the past couple weeks, I have had some extra energy to spare, and the photograph you see here is an example of what I came up with. I'm pretty proud of myself right now. I like getting better at things.

Taking better pictures means taking them more than once. It means getting the background right, getting the lighting right, and editing appropriately. This is all time consuming, and I'm not one for time consuming tasks. I like the searching and the finding. The photographing and listing are more difficult for me. I've come to a point where I can make it happen, and do it well, but I still struggle sometimes. I have yet to make any clothing look as good as this giraffe looks :)

Makin' pancakes.

I guess I tend to blog when I'm trying to figure out some big thing in my life. Perhaps when things are good, I avoid overanalyzing. Perhaps things are good because I'm not overanalyzing. Touché.

All the Salvation Armies had "half off everything" sales yesterday, so naturally, I bought a ridiculously expensive camera and am attempting to sell it. Girl's gotta eat yo.

Speaking of eating, I am still eating several burritos daily weekly, but have now been cooking in my new kitchen on a somewhat regular basis. It's hard to get used to having a kitchen. Someone gave me a cookbook for Christmas, and I had the thought, "Does this mean something because you've never actually seen me cook, and I have no food in my fridge?" Asking myself that question was some sort of  necessary therapy, and I'm happy to say that I ate pancakes for dinner this evening.

Last night I listened to Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings records, whilst listening to someone wax philosophical about the meaning of old school country music. I think at some point there was also dancing, so yeah, life is good :)

The big picture.

I'm so in love with this painting :)

I've sold a lot of stuff in the past few days, so I'm feeling really good. For a long time, I've had a goal of selling 50 things a month for at least $20 profit/item, and that hasn't been working the way I've expected it to. My new goal is $50/day, and it's working a lot better. I'm less concerned with individual item sales and more concerned with daily sales. It makes me more conscious of the bigger picture instead of being bogged down in the little things. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's working for me, so I'm happy.

I tend to get really anxious about little things, and pulled down into things that may not matter in the long term. I'm convinced that little things are the most important things, like how my thrifting impacts the world, and how my riding the train keeps Amtrak sustainable. I don't think this is working for me the way I want it to. I think it's keeping me from bigger things, from having a bigger impact. I dunno. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

I am surrounded by helping professionals. I'm a seminary graduate. I have a lot of friends who are pastors, theologians, professors, non-profit peeps. I love this. I love being surrounded by people whose mission every day is to make a difference in the world, in the community. This keeps me motivated and inspired to keep going, even when I'm having an off day. I think a lot of these people vacillate between two extremes, the big picture and the small details. I'm realizing, as I write this, how limited I've allowed my life to be, by getting so caught up in little things. Thought for my day, I suppose :)

Please take a moment to read the most recent news about Syria, and consider making a donation to MCC, currently providing direct aid to Syrian refugees.

Thrift Share :)

Anyone ever heard of Molyneux? Twas new to me :)

The only thing that has inspired me to write in the past two weeks is Serena's Thrift Share. I have been working really hard to pay all my bills so I can go to Canada in July. Frankly, I'm exhausted. But not so exhausted that I can't do my thing and thrift like a mofo.

All of these Vogue patterns are size 16, bust 38", and uncut! So awesome.

Modelesque in every way. Look at those cheekbones!

 
I have been having so much trouble buying pants lately, not because they don't exist, but because I am particular and I want to be thrifty about it. These things make it really difficult. I think I might spend some time this summer making some long linen pants and maxi skirts. Unfortunately, due to the exhaustion, I'm finding it difficult to do much more than feed myself, and go to work. Yes, I understand why celebrities get hospitalized for exhaustion. You're tired and you need an excuse to just lie in one place and do nothing.

I just thought I might keep this one - wow :)

Maybe someone will make me long linen pants and maxi skirts? A girl can hope.

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl :)

Relief efforts :)

Vintage A House Blessing by Arthur Guiterman

This year, I held a rummage sale at my church to raise funds for Syria relief. Money, raw paper money, is what people in crisis situations most need, because it allows them to obtain exactly what they need.

Unfortunately, when tragedy comes (war or tornadoes or tsunamis), people want to feel like they can do something. They want to help. They long to help. So they send things. They send clothing, and devotional books, and toilet paper. And this stuff cannot possibly all be used. It usually creates new problems for the people in need, because now they have all of this extra stuff to figure out how to store.

Vintage Desiderata on wood

We often see other people's tragedies as we would see our own, and we block out all of the unknowns (because they're unknown - duh). We forget that there's a mess to clean up, that there are lots of people and organizations nearby that are set up to help in these situations. If your neighbor lost their home, there would be other neighbors to help. People are helpers. People like to help.

So take this time to figure out how to make cash out of the things you want to send. Maybe you sell them on eBay. Maybe you have a garage/rummage/yard sale. Maybe you need to do that to get the $5 or $10 to send to the Red Cross or Mennonite Disaster Service. Maybe cash just isn't obtainable, so you go donate blood today (hey, you get a cookie, and juice!). Maybe take an extra minute to create space in your life to help more the rest of the year, when there isn't a huge crisis to focus on. Find a place to volunteer once a week. Find a kid who needs some unconditionally positive adult attention. Find a way to create a world where love overwhelms people 365 days of the year, not just one.

Wasteland.

Joanne Sibley watercolor print - She often paints the Caribbean area.

Wasteland (Almega Projects, 2010), a documentary largely conceptualized by artist Vik Muniz, is about trash and landfills in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's interesting in many ways because of Rio's focus on general cleansing (e.g. running gangs out of the slums) as they prepare for the 2016 Olympic Games. The documentary focuses on the people who work and survive on the landfills, recycling all of that which can be recycled (as Rio has no separate recycling pick-up services), and even using the food to feed themselves (in very impressive, and non-disgusting ways, I will add).

This film sat on my Netflix queue for ages, as it seemed like something I would like (i.e. it was about trash, and my fantasy destination: landfills!), but I never got to it. Every time I considered it, I felt depressed, and found something funny to do instead.

Eventually, I watched it. It was that moment, when you've been waiting to do something for ages, but just waiting for the right moment. And it was beautiful, full of real human experience and emotion, and the deep raw-ness of working with trash, of being trash, and what that means to a person's soul. It's a beautiful film, both emotionally and aesthetically. Philosophically, it brings the hidden secret world into view, and exposes it for the truth it truly brings to the world and the human experience: those who live off the landfill are the most beautiful people you can find.

I don't know if the experience of these filmmakers could be recreated across the world in other landfill worker colonies, but I'm glad that they took the time to really see the people they researched. They made something beautiful in a dirty, ugly place. They found beauty that was already there.

The art of lounging :)

Bff got me a new lounging sweater for Christmas. She knows how I love to "lounge". I don't think I ever really let anyone know my secret "I live in my bed" until her. It's nice to be known.

I'm working on my taxes (I know - I'm proud of myself too!) and it's a pain in the ass, as I expected, but much more doable than I previously expected when I had an overwhelming rush of impossibility a week ago just thinking about it. I have a printer. I printed bank statements. Now I'm highlighting relevant transactions. Later I will add them up and combine them with my online Outright stuff from eBay, which is awesome and helps me do the impossible, like keep track of sales tax and expenses and income, and on and on...ad infinitum.

My vacation has truly helped my brain get to a better place. I'm compartmentalizing in healthy ways, i.e. not thinking about things that don't need to be thought about in a given moment. I just ate an orange off the orange tree in the backyard, evidencing my ability to feed myself, and I remembered to put extra blankets on the bed (finally), so that I won't freeze to death in my sleep.

All is well :)

"What the hell does she sell?"

Serious, hard core, Sanita Danish leather clogs with wood bottoms - Booyah.

I get asked this question all the time. And every time it happens, I dig deep into my brain, and think, "What the hell do I sell?"

I get caught up in the routine of it, I guess, the buying, the cleaning, the organizing in my small space, and then the shipping and then the bill paying. Ack! There are a lot of steps, and it's no wonder that I get lost in the busyness of it all. So I'm evaluating my purchase/selling history, in an effort to define what I do, share my extreme lack of wisdom, and continue to move away from my brooding into a lighter mood for the holidays.

1. Milk glass/Fire King Mugs with Words/Pictures (blank ones don't sell as well)
2. Genuine Danish clogs
3. Vintage sewing patterns
4. SO many boots
5. Vintage Vera Neumann linens and scarves
6. Starbucks city mugs
7. Vintage heels, usually colorful and fun
8. Crewel and Embroidery kits
9. Vintage or artsy ties
10. Belt buckles

I especially thank Apron Thrift Girl and The Recyle-ista for keeping me up to date on what is selling, and inspiring me to look for new and interesting things in my own corner of the world.

Peace out mofos :)

The Atkins Diet

I hope this doesn't cost me readers.

You know how they tell you that the healthiest stuff at the supermarket is on the perimeter, and if you stick to the perimeter, you'll be okay?

Yeah, that's my new rule for thrifting. A quick sweep of the room, three pairs of shoes, and I'm out. I've got this thing down to a science, people. I could do it with both hands tied behind my back and a crying baby. There's always a crying baby.

Peace out.

Thrift Share Monday :)

Ah yes, ol' cousin Ren :)

So I have a routine of going to the local Amvets after church because they have 50% off everything on Sundays. But, as you can well imagine, it's a mad house, and once I decide to make a purchase, I am also deciding to wait in line for 20-30 minutes, always surrounded by screaming children. But this got me Battleship and Guess Who, and a myriad of other wonderful things, so I make the choice willingly.

All of them are at least twenty years old - 80s/90s

But yesterday, I just didn't want to do it, so I went somewhere else (DAV baby! I love the veterans - What can I say?). And I'm grinning because it was like, the best decision ever. I found a total of nine (9!) of these stocking kits. They're already all listed, even though it was Sunday. I worked the rest of the day anyway because, hey, I wanted to, and I had the time, and there was a seven-year-old's birthday at some point, so I even got some cupcakes on a break during the afternoon.

I am really not very crafty - sorry folks

For whatever reason, December has been a great month thus far. I feel so much calmer, so much less anxious. There's nothing in particular that I'm looking forward to. I'm just, I dunno, better overall. But I also have a lot of paperwork that I'm avoiding, so maybe that has something to do with it. On to that now...peace out.

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl :)

I say "oh dear lord" a lot.

Makes you wanna go outside and ride a bike, don' it?

Today was the one day a month that I wash my sheets, clean my bathroom, wash dishes, and go to estate sales. Yeah, I'm a boss like that. Anyhow, I bought nothing at the sales that I went to. High prices + houses full of grief = Ack! Get me outta here!

In one sale that I went to, they made sure I knew that they had had things appraised. They wanted me to know that as I looked through the jewelry, they knew how much it was worth, and they weren't going to let scary 'ol me cheat them out of any money they were owed. Yikes. There was a palpable feeling in the house, a feeling of anger. And I walked out the front door, I heard one woman mention her mother who had died, and whose belongings they were hawking selling.

Suddenly, it all made sense, the feeling in the house, and I was reminded of how important it is to not get yourself into situations where you're hanging on too tight to things, when what you really want to hang on to are people (or in some cases, dogs).

So yeah, life lesson of the day.

Thrift Share Monday :)

Maroc Cologne Spray

It's been a while since I've bought (and sold) perfume. Sometimes I have to guess, and sometimes I take a chance. For example, this purple bottle is not labeled in any way, but I bought it. If anyone has any guesses, I'll take them. Under the "Pi", the bottle reads "1.2 oz".

Unknown Fragrance - I think the initials are "Pi"

I'm going to yoga now. Yoga has saved me over the past month and a half, as I've struggled to become this professional person who always does the right thing, and says the right thing, and never makes anyone mad.

Well, that person doesn't exist, and yoga, for whatever reason, helps me to forgive myself. I'm not perfect. I certainly don't forgive myself as often as I'd like, but it probably helps me stay calmer in general. I've decided to stop freaking out in general. I don't know if it's possible, but I'm gonna try. I'm kinda neurotic.

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl :)

Getting S done.

Having a new job has made me really tired and discombobulated, making me less focused and able to purchase inventory. This is problematic, not because my shop hasn't been making any money, but because the summer bump in inventory can only last so long before it all sells and I'm back to eating oatmeal three meals a day.

So this week, I've been better, intentionally. I've made myself purchase things, even though it takes up-front money, which I don't have much of. It also means waiting in line for 30min. on Sunday afternoon because the whole store is 50% off, and every mother in the neighborhood is buying her children's fall wardrobe, little ones in tow.

But today, I am working hard, photographing and listing, because it needs to be done, and I'm the only one doing it.

Peace out :)

Thrift Share :)

Valentino of Italy

This summer, I have been the happy recipient of some thrifty gifts, given specifically for my store. Perhaps people are beginning to worry about my poverty, or maybe God is good and providing for me, and all that jazz. Whatever. I'm not a big fan of the Almighty right now. I think I had some expectations about what my life would be like after I graduated from seminary, and those don't seem to have panned out, so I'm pouting, in perpetuity.

Sybil Connolly of Dublin

So these patterns came in a box that my friend found while she was moving out of her house, which had previously been owned and lived in by her grandmother. She called me up and asked me if I wanted a box of old patterns. Ever the shrewd thrifter, the first thing out of my mouth was, "How old are they?" She said some things that I don't remember. All I heard was "Vogue" and I said "Yes!"

Bill Blass of New York, I suppose?

There was a period of time in my thrifting where I found a bunch of Vogue patterns, but these are probably the nicest I've ever had.

Non sequitor alert! I just did yoga on my own for an extended period of time. I feel super good about it. Usually I get bored and antsy and don't do much, but I felt like I really got into it, and was able to get some work done. It may have something to do with my new car, or maybe the fact that I went to my chiropractor today, and she massaged my back with what appeared to be an electric sander. Sometimes I wish I could give her a lot of money, because she is so good to me. But alas, the poverty.

Linking up with Apron Thrift Girl :)

Insta-sale baby :)

Vintage Patch-worked Quilt Top

So I listed this puppy (puppy, baby, whatever - it's a quilt) after having it in storage for ages, not wanting to photograph it. Then it sold in 19 minutes! I got an offer in five minutes, and thought, "If it's this hot, I bet someone will buy it at my asking price". So I waited, and sure 'nuf, it sold. I always love it when that happens.