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.

Oh Canada.

I love finding unique little vintage oil paintings - and sharing them :)

I want to go to Canada. Last year, I wanted to go to Bolivia, or maybe that was the year before. I love traveling. Not the sightseeing though. I like to go far away and stay in one spot. Maybe I'll walk around a lot, but I'm not a schedule-the-whole-trip kind of girl. I get so tired. Mostly, I just want to see people that I love, and when they live in another country, I want to go to that other country to see them. Also, I like to eat. So yeah, you can feed me if I visit. I won't argue.

I haven't been shopping a ton lately. I mean, in comparison to other times, I feel pretty light right now, even though my shop is full. Maybe I'm hitting some sort of thrifting stride. Or maybe I'm hitting a life stride. I dunno.

My real job ends for a while in several weeks, and then I'll have the summer to thrift and lounge by imaginary pools, and probably eat a lot of frozen yogurt. Last night, I finally traveled to a far away place to find the one-and-only place in town that has soy fro-yo. The flavor yesterday was peanut butter, so I had that with chocolate cookie crumbles on top and watched men with ZZ Top beards walk by looking rugged and manly.

That's it. It's Saturday, and I'm exhausted.

Sterling silver :)

The ultimate thrifting problem: non-working watches

So I was out-of-town yesterday for a meeting and needing a thrift fix before I drove back home. I stopped at a large charity store en route, and was happy to see that they were open 'til 6 (it was already 5).

I wasn't very excited, until I remembered that I, as a reseller, actually look for specific things, and that I might find cool stuff (I know, I'm weird - thrift wandering is good on its own). So I walked over to the mugs, looked through the vintage ties, found a man excitedly looking through records, all with empty hands. I found some red Vara bow Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, but they were in bad shape, and they were size 7AA, so I didn't feel up to fixing them, only to have them sit in my shop for a year.

Behind the front counter, the store had small plastic tubs, filled with jewelry. I asked the employee to let me see them, which he gave me one at a time, and I slowly went through the hundreds of pins, earrings, and necklaces, all in small plastic bags, looking for sellable pieces. In the end, I found about 2 ounces (over 50 grams) of sterling silver jewelry for a little over $4. I can't quite explain it, but it made my day. It made me feel smart and thrifty and productive for the day.

I finished off this awesome day with a taco truck burrito and a crazy-exciting high school girls basketball game. The team I was there to see was up by eleven in the first few minutes, only to find themselves down by two, with two minutes left in the 4th quarter. A foul, followed by two perfect foul shots (Ack! One minute left!) and a three-pointer with 21 seconds on the clock. Booyah. Great game.

A little explanation

So the past two days, I've been talking about wanting and how I've decided to want things, like things beyond the usual things like eating dinner and watching the Olympics and not dying in 110 degree heat.

1. I've been living in a garage for the past year, and I'm ready for a house, with a kitchen that I can cook in as opposed to my cobbled together faux kitchen I've made work in my little place. While housesitting this month, I've realized that I'm done living with less.
2. I want to write memoirs about my awesome life, and all of the crazy stupid things that have happened and how in spite of all of it, I still get up every morning. Mostly I just want to write them for myself. Maybe other people will read them. I don't know.
3. I used to be a nanny for this family who had three boys, and they were just so boyish, and they were always running and climbing and we'd do fun things with bugs and it was wonderful. For whatever reason, I've only ever been a nanny for boys. I love my sister and all, but I have just always seen myself as a mother of sons. Perhaps my lover (as I will call him daily) and I will use the sex-choice method, or maybe we'll just be working with fast sperm. Again, I don't know.
4. I want to be bilingual. It will make my work infinitely easier.
5. One of my books will be about my family's story in Slovenia, and it will probably take me several decades before my heart will allow me to take such a huge risk, but it's on the list anyway.
6.
7. My uncle hiked part of the trail a few years ago, and I looked through all of his books while he was preparing. I don't know if I'd even be up for it, since it's so long and all, but my heart wants to do it, so there.
8. My hips don't like to open, and my head is really far from the ground, and my torso is shorter than my legs, so this may be a lifelong process, but I'm working on it. Let's all remember that a year ago, I couldn't do this, so anything is possible.
9. Something about the North Bay beckons me with its cool weather and Goodwill outlet :)
10. She said 'yes'. We are so going.
11. There are supposed to be thousands upon thousands of used books. Doesn't that sound like ecstasy?
12. I thought that as soon as I graduated, I'd suddenly have the funds necessary to travel. That isn't happening, but the plan is still there. There are people around the world who I love and miss dearly, especially that man on the river who thought I was flirting with him when I said 'oi' [wink].
13. The Creativity and Madness conference beckons me.
14. I went to a visual and performing arts school in Southern California (magnet school), and I was a member of the first class, so we created walls of ceramic tiles with our personal artwork on them. They're displayed on the wall of the cafeteria.

Peace out mofos. You're awesome.

Ah, gardens :)

Five LP Set - Very Good Condition - An Uncertain Purchase

So I took a trip to the Bay Area over the weekend, not for fun, but it was enjoyable in some ways. I got to hang out at the pretty cool Stanford campus, and eat healthy veggie-rich food from the hospital cafeteria. A huge oatmeal (with toppings!) was $1.70. Oh my goodness. I sat in the cafeteria Saturday morning, eating oatmeal and reading the Chronicle, and it was really a lovely time. Later, I got to walk around Palo Alto (and drive, which was way worse) with my brother, while we practiced circular breathing (see yesterday's post) and watched the ducks in the fountain.

I really do love college campuses. As I walked around on Friday, I was thinking, "What if I went back to school someday to be a professor? What if a place like this hired me? I would need to learn how to be a better academic writer. I am a decent one, but I really need to work on solidifying my zany ideas so that other people can get a better grasp on them".

Oftentimes, the best thing about college campuses is how environmentally conscious they are. The hospital had a very easy-to-understand system of composting/recycling/trash, and all of their disposable utensils, plates, to-go boxes, and cups were compostable. Now, of course, this stuff does take time to compost, but it just made me so happy to be able to participate. Also, the portion of the hospital I was primarily in was covered in gardens, which could all be seen from inside, and enjoyed on benches when one decided to enjoy the outdoors (which was far cooler, temperature-wise, than my lovely home). All in all, I enjoyed being with loved ones, and getting to see a new place. Also, I was duly inspired to increase my gardening, so props to Palo Alto for that :)

My weekend :)

1. The restaurant Lyfe, with a veggie burger and vegan chocolate chip cookie
2. So many pregnant women in form-fitting stretchy dresses
3. My brother taught me how to breathe for a didgeridoo
4. I ate a lot of green vegetables
5. I walked all over the Stanford campus and felt inferior
6. A lot of antibacterial handwashing, and then some more
7. Hours of good thinking time in my car
8. Twelve hours of sleep last night on a friend's lovely hide-a-bed
9. Canada Day :)
10. A crazy evening of Magic Mike (at least I didn't cry this time) and a new-found personal commitment to support Matthew McConaughey for the supporting actor Academy Award (the Academy is typically very welcoming of my many educated and varied opinions)

I want to learn Spanish.

About a week ago, I decided that I would like to take the summer (or possibly the next year) to learn Spanish. It will change my marketability, career-wise, and help me to communicate better within my profession. Thus, the summer idea was born. Here are my current ideas.

1. Bogata, Columbia
2. Somewhere in Mexico where I know people
3. Venezuela to be a political radical
4. Argentina to find Slovenians
5. And the old favorite, your single brother/uncle/cousin's abode in Chile where I can walk around topless care-free?

I am scared to leave for a long time. The last time I left the country, my whole life changed, and I like my life right now. I don't want my life to be drastically different. I know that regardless of whether I travel abroad, completing school will be a drastic change, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for much more than that.

The lure of decluttering

My apartment is a mess. I signed up to do a flea market in April, but it's the same day as the Mennonite Central Committee Annual Relief Sale, which is an unmissable event, so I think I'm going to have to decline the flea market.

I hate it when that happens. I have to decline one awesome thing in the interest of another awesome thing. What a huge bummer. Now I have no hope for the end of the clutter.

There aren't flea markets in my area worth selling at, so I'd have to travel if I was really motivated. I'm not motivated enough to travel right now, but I might be in six months or so. When traveling becomes involved, I almost wonder if I would be better off with a partner of some sort, or a buddy. But then again, who would I want to spend that kind of time with? Not many people. And since my friends all have their own stuff going on, it's not very likely that I'll be able to find a sidekick. Or maybe, I need a boyfriend who worships at my feet, and has nothing else going on in his life (I just shuddered at that thought-yuck).

Thrift Share Monday :)

I was checking out, paying for my stuff, when I turned around and saw this. I was reminded of Curtis Jere's wall pieces, and bought it immediately.

 

Quilted pillows are so beautiful. I almost wonder if I should change the decor of my sitting room and keep these pillows. I like them so much.

 

They still smell like vintage and moth balls, even though I cleaned them and left them out in the sun to dry in the fresh breezy air.

 

This is beautiful. I've found some similar things on eBay labeled, "Original Thai painting". I'm wondering if this is some kind of street art that a traveler bought in Thailand or a nearby country. It seems very exotic and reminds me of the jungle. Ah, the jungle. I miss it so...I am thinking (again) of going to South America over the summer. There are several reasons for this, and I will very likely discuss them at a later date. Happy Thrifting!

Linked with Apron Thrift Girl.

Brainstorming an Island Getaway

 

I am graduating in four months and have not gotten any further on my senior paper topic and subsequent thesis statement. Instead, I am dreaming of planning a post-graduation trip to an island escape over the summer. The following are the possibilities thus far.

1. Vegas baby!
2. Nicaraguan bed-and-breakfast on an island only reached by canoe
3. Go to the nearest airport and buy a ticket to a far-off destination...
4. Somewhere wonderful in Canada where lots of people would love to hug me
5. Columbia! Where I am guaranteed a place to stay with awesome people
6. Switzerland! Where I will most likely have a place to stay
7. Portland. Plenty of friends there with open arms
8. Your single brother/uncle/cousin's abode in a off-the-beaten-path village in Chile?

Send me your suggestions. We have time to brainstorm.