Thrift Store Finds

Thrifting is such a great way to re-use old items and materials without having to break the bank.  Not to mention, you can always make alterations and touch-ups to refashion things the way you want.  Why buy things brand new when there are plenty of things that you can recycle and give a new home?  Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh coat of paint or a few stitches to give something new life.

Took a break from studying today to look for some pretty colored tees at a local thrift shop plaza to make more headbands.  Ended up with some pretty neat finds! 

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Antique cream and coral print dining chair, $8.50

Vintage pink ballgown, $7.00

 

Vintage lavender ballgown, $7.00

The pink ballgown had some stains in the back, so I tried spraying a hefty amount of Shout Spray and Wash on the stains.  The dresses were photographed while being hung to dry after going through the wash several times. (Surprisingly, they don't look wet at all!)

Eco-Friendly Headbands

These lovelies are made from pre-washed recycled t-shirts. Three designs available: single braid, double braid, or double braid with decorative knot.

The following colors are currently available (mix and match as you like): Aztec Orange, Cream, Olive Green, Green, Pepper Grey, Slate Blue, Bubble Gum Pink, Hot Pink, Dark Blue, Red, and Canary Yellow.

Custom orders upon request; email me if you have any questions! feliciaycheng(at)gmail.com

$8 each :)

The End Times

There's this mockingbird that sings outside my window back at home.  Dad thinks it's obnoxious. (I kind of like it.)  Woke up to the sound of it this morning, in my own room.  My own bed.

The weeks are starting to blend together, and I've been feeling as though I'm suffocating.  But today was good, for a number of reasons.

First, I cleaned out my closet.  Six trash bags, three boxes filled to the brim.  Twenty-one years worth of build-up, clutter, and unnecessary items, either thrown away or donated.  The first sixteen years of stuff was a cinch.  The last five, not so much.  It's weird, how something as small as a wrinkled map with a few sentences written on it can be so hard to toss.  Or a funny picture, from a sunny day so long ago.

Then the next part.  Driving with Dad to Goodwill to get rid of all of it.  My stomach churned as I looked back at the trash bags strewn across the backseat.  Was it a mistake to be so hasty?  To throw everything away?

But it was okay.  It was okay because at that moment, Dad put on my favorite song and asked about my plans for the future.  Which was perfect, because doesn't that beat beating yourself up about the past?  We drove to the drop-off center.  I lugged the bags in, and that was that.

Unfulfilled hopes and failed dreams aren't reasons to stop hoping and stop dreaming.  They're reasons to start back up again.

Day 1

Day 1 of the extreme oatmeal diet has commenced!  Over the course of the next five days (except for a birthday dinner tonight), I will adhere to these three simple rules:

1. Every meal will consist of oatmeal.

Not the sugary, artificial-flavored store bought oatmeal.  
I'm talking 100% rolled oats.  

2. Only fresh fruits and veggies.

Limit 1 fruit and 1 veggie per meal.

3. Beverages allowed: hot tea or water.

No juice or soda.

You may ask how this decision came about.  Well, my friend.  I was at Souplantation last Thursday evening when it dawned on me that I wanted to do something drastic and daring and healthy, all at once!  YES that's right!  My friend Kevin will be joining me in this quest, although by a slightly different set of rules.

Update: It is currently 2:47 in the afternoon, haven't eaten since my bowl of oats this morning at 9:30.  Cravings haven't hit (knock on wood), and I feel quite full and energetic.  

So far so good.

Lessons from a five-year-old

Tyler turned five today.  He was only three when I met him, his brother Chase was still a baby.  Out of the girls who interviewed to be his babysitter, his mom said that he picked me because the other girls were too girly or something.  Nice to know.

I always wanted a younger brother or sister to take care of.  Never knew what it was like to take care of such a small human being.  Didn't know he could cry that hard, or scream so loud.  Some days were unbearably hard to manage him, while others it broke my heart to see him cry when I was about to go.

Tyler's family recently moved into a new home.  It's magnificent, and huge.  White marble tile, spacious kitchen, french shutters mounted on all the windows.  Anyone would say that it's nicer than their old place.  But secretly I miss the house where we spent most of our days together.  It was small, cramped perhaps.  But to me, the new place pales in comparison.  The marble tile feels cold compared to the dingy white carpet we used to run around on.  The kitchen doesn't carry laughter through the rest of the house the way the old one did.  And the light?  The light streamed in beautifully through the old white curtains.  Now it can't get through the wooden shutters.

These days, everyone wants the bigger and better things in life.  But what about the old, the used?  It makes me sad to think of the old house, sitting there with no one wanting to make it their home.  But on to the bigger picture.

I have concluded the following:

1. It is better to be the dingy toy that one child falls in love with than to be the shiny new toy that hundreds of children want.
2.  It is better to wait a while for the dingy toy than to buy the shiny new one that you will eventually tire of.
3.  Realize that it takes a while to find the dingy toy.

Today was different, and I didn't realize until now.  You see, today I was the one holding back tears as I said goodbye, and he was the one trying to console me with his cheeky little grin before I drove away.  He's growing up so fast, and I feel as though I'm stuck.

With June coming so soon, I think that I'm ready to grow up too.
I'm just not ready to say goodbye.

Morning

Kat is sound asleep, and I am making clacking noises on the keyboard. 
Clack clack.  Is is possible to have insomnia in the morning?

Been sitting here with a terrible tummyache, listening to the world wake up for the past hour.  Small changes, like the light getting ever so much stronger while the noises from the street gradually build their way up.  Makes me miss home a bit.

Terrible tummyaches aren't so bad at all, not when you get lost in the sounds and sights around you on a morning like this.