Peace, love, and Cornbread

Hello? Anyone still out there?

Man! It's been a while since I've logged in. My computer kept crashing, and I found out there were several viruses on it. The guy who fixed it said that there are some viruses disguised as Adobe, Flash, and Javascript update prompts. Greeeeat. I always update those things. Guess I'll have to be more careful next time.

Remember all of my second-hand finds I nerded out over a couple of weeks ago? I found moreeee. Turns out I have a slight obsession with the thrift store, and it seems relieve stress for me. I don't want to end up on Hoarders: Buried Alive and have to be treated for compulsive shopping, but I don't think that's going to happen. I've actually set up my own little online shop where I can sell my thrift store finds for some extra cash. College girl needs textbooks/gas monies.

It's always been a secret wish of mine to buy and sell vintage/unique items. I had told myself for so long that I couldn't make it a reality because I don't know enough about what sells and what doesn't. I'm really hard on myself. Like, brutal. I mentally flog my self-esteem on occasion. Why? Probably the combination of being female and a chronic worrier...and living at home through college... But now, after a few sales and some awesome finds, I'm beginning to gain a little confidence in myself.

And this is the part of the post where I am going to shamelessly promote my listings.
My booth on Bonanza: http://www.bonanza.com/booths/WideEyedFinds
Yardsellr page: http://yardsellr.com/yardsale/Dani-Beach-258876

I have pretty much the same items on both pages, but Yardsellr is a little easier to use, so I have that set up as an alternative. If you wanna be super fantastic and help me promote, let me know and I'll find/make a badge. Or, a simple tweet or mention in a blog post would totally work :)

You know how I used to sign off my posts with "Peace, love, and hugs,"? My boyfriend kept teasing me about it by saying it before one of us left, but he would mix it up and say, "Peace, love, and flying pigs.. or whatever!" Then he got me a shirt that says, "Peace, love, and cornbread" in bright colors (we are in the deep south, remember). I thought it was pretty cute, but I dunno, maybe you had to be there.

Tomorrow, I'm going to ride horses and to an antique shop in an itty bitty town about an hour away. What have you guys been up to this summer?

Peace, love, and cornbread,


Dani

Second-Hand Dreams

Where HAS the time gone? It's escaping way too quickly. Tomorrow is the first day of the summer semester for me, so I'm a bit anxious, I'll admit. Going back to school still kind of puts my nerves in a tailspin, even all of these years after kindergarden. And it doesn't help that the one class I'm taking this summer is astronomy. WHEN AM I GONNA HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT OUTERSPACE?? (probably on one of the many days that the world is supposed to end, 2012 at the latest, as a kamikaze meteroid destroys the planet).

I went to Barnes & Noble recently to find a good book (something I rarely have time to do anymore, but I was persuaded by a gift card I received), and I randomly found a book called Stiff, the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach. I'm sure the book's subject and my interest in it reflects poorly on my character, but I'm willing to take that risk. I've always had an interest in pathology and forensics, so this book had me hooked. Roach discusses her visits to cadaver disections, body farms, crash test labs, and the likes where she discovers what happens as bodies decompose and also what happens as a body undergoes traumatic experiences like fires and crashes. Morbid, yeah? It's written in a very honest, comedic, yet respectful way, and I think that's what I like most about it. Anyway, check it out, or don't. I won't judge you either way, girl scouts' honor.

I've done a lot of thinking lately, and I've realized that I put myself down quite frequently for just about everything. I have often avoided my passions because I didn't consider myself "good enough" at them. I'm not a big fan of the phrase "Follow your dreams" because it's painfully cliché, but it's a concept of been toying with for the past couple of days. Specifically, I've realized the extent of my love for things vintage, antique, and ecclectic. Just today I spent an hour and a half at the thrift store (before 9am. Early bird gets the ceramic worm from 1967, right?). That wouldn't be so crazy had I not gone to the thrift store the day before as well. But I was eager to find some projects to work on, so I went back to look at everything with fresh eyes and a new perspective. I found some incredibly unusual items, and I can't wait to jazz them up.
Here's some of my favorite items I've found on past second-hand adventures:



Hopefully I will have some pictures up of the before and after photos of today's purchases. We shall see.


"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later."
-Mitch Hedberg