Sunday, February 6, 2011

Let Me Introduce Myself:

I am a lover of junk.  I use the term junk in the most affectionate sense, knowing that it can carry negative connotations, but not for me.  One of my earliest memories is of a second hand store somewhere in San Jose, CA I think...and I am holding a baby blue, puffy jacket with a fake white fur collar.  I want it so badly and I am begging my mom to buy it for me.  My mom was a big believer in play clothes, clothes that were played in versus worn to school.  Hand-me-downs and second hand clothes were perfect for playing in the yard and neighborhood (I grew up in the country).  Well, my happy ending is that I ended up with the beautiful blue coat...and a lifelong appreciation for old stuff.

I can now be found on weekends, hitting the local circuit of second hand, thrift, and occasionally antique stores in search of wonderful old stuff.  It is a search, a hunt, a fantastic adventure to see just what I can find, never knowing if it's going to be a total bust, or if I will unearth something that I just cannot live without.

I am also an equal opportunity "old stuff" collector in that the item doesn't really even have to be old.  I mean, don't misunderstand me here...I love old, kitchy, vintage stuff the most.  But, I also find many a contemporary discarded skirt, purse, pillowcase, or tablecloth that I cannot and will not live without.  It may be a last summer's skirt that someone got tired of.  It will happily find a new life in my closet.

I think the real thrill of thrifting or junking is the unknown.  I can go to any big name store and find a great selection of jeans or linens.  But in a thrift store, you just never know what you're going to run into.  It may be a great pair of Banana Republic jeans or a linen card table set from the 50's, embroidered with the suits of the cards.  I would buy both, by the way...and have!

I hope you enjoy your own junky journey and will spend the time with me here on my thrifty adventure.

1 comment:

  1. YAY!!! I was wondering if you would ever get on the blogwagon. I'm so glad you are... maybe you will inspire me to take better care of my own little bloggitty blog. Nothing can beat actually going thrifting WITH you, but I'm thrilled to be able to read about it more often than we can make that happen with our busy lives. OK, now I'm going to go bookmark you.

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