As I walked into the Borders Book store yesterday, I realized how much I enjoyed relaxing and reading my favorite books. I also get pleasure from surfing the internet for information. I definitely have a thirst for knowledge that never seems to be quenched.
I am constantly reading the latest "free" circular newspaper (The LA Free Weekly, The OC Free Weekly, etc.) and am amazed at how much information I store (in my brain and in my resource files). I have so many documents, ads and clippings that I have run out of space!!!
I don't ever remember being this way until after I saw the movie, "Working Girl" with Melanie Griffin. I love this movie and its (cautionary) tale about living up to your potential and going after something that you want to achieve your dreams. When Melanie had to defend herself against Sigourney Weaver and explain to the CEO how she came up with the idea to merge the radio and talk show idea...she referred to her habit of reading the daily society page in the newspaper. I know that I didn't intentionally begin to read more because of this movie, but I smile when I realize that I have become a voracious reader just like she was when it comes to fashion, celebrities and popular culture. I want to know what's going on and keep up with the trends.
I bookmark websites, download pictures, join online groups and I feel like I am keeping my eye on the industry that I hope to have a career in, in the very near future. While I can't possibly find everything that's pertinent to what I am doing, I have cast a wide net throughout my searches for stuff I find interesting and helpful.
I also love, love, love gardening so if I want to know about a certain flower, I'm on the internet searching, or asking knowlegeable people what it is. There's this wonderful vine that grows in my neighborhood and it has the most incredible flowers on it. What caught my eye is that the flowers look like curly seashells or snails. Sure enough I asked a coworker and she asked one of her friends and voila, I found out what that flower was. 
SNAIL FLOWER
Or when I'm riding on the Metro train to work, I kept noticing these beautiful flowers growing on vines. They cover fences, stairwells etc. and I loved how exotic they were. I would never have imagined that these flowers would grow wild like this. It turned out to be the Passion flower (Passiflora).
PASSION FLOWER
Just beautiful!!
Since I've been back in California, I have noticed a lot more vegetation (flora and fauna) that I never noticed before. I think this is because these plants are indigenous to Southern California. It's just like the Bouganvillea flower. I had never seen these beautiful flowers when I lived here in the late 1970's...they're everywhere, like the Oleander.
In this "information age", I am appreciative of all of the people who do as I do and spend their energy blogging and providing valuable information that would usually cost a pretty penny to come by. So I love, that for the most part, I have been able to gather a variety of information "freely" from the internet.
There's a saying that "knowledge is power " and I agree because being well versed in a variety of subject matter does give me a feeling of being powerful. I know of what I speak and so forth. I'm no "know-it-all". I'm more like a "know-a-lot-more-than-usual." :0) So to all of you...thanks for sharing!
COLLECTING.....Hobby or Obsession?
Since I am an avid reader, I love going to the library to find books on arts & crafts, fashion and jewelry making. Or whenever I experienced computer problems, I could always use a computer at the local library. I have a total of 3 library cards for Long Beach, Cerritos and the greater L.A. area. And the libraries are so modern and beautiful too. The Cerritos and downtown L.A. Main branches are my favorites because they have awesome displays of art, they have ideal seating areas, and both have gift shops. :0) Love to shop!
I have found that I love collecting items that have to do with writing. I have a wonderful book which details how to write "Love Letters". My favorite poem is -
"The Monday Lover"
Couldn't sleep, thinking about you. Woke up, thinking about you. Brushed my teeth, thinking about you. Washed my hair, thinking about you. Made myself smell nice, thinking about you. I listened to the radio, thinking about you. Went into dark tunnels, thinking about you. Rode the train, thinking about you. Pretended to work, thinking about you. Drank red wine, thinking about you. Sat by the fire, stroking the cat, watching the embers glowing, reading love poems, thinking about you. Went to bed, thinking about you. Couldn't sleep, thinking about you. Woke up, thinking about you.
It's such an awesome book because of the graphics, samples of love letters and poems, and the techniques discussed - which include using the perfect writing instruments. The author stated that the best way to write a love letter is to use a fountain pen with black ink. So, I went out and purchased one. Little did I realize that there was such a movement to go back to using the wonderful writing instruments of the turn of the century. I found that stationery stores carried fountain pen kits...nibs, ink, wax and seals. It's a fascinating and beautiful art form. I find it very romantic and personal too. Because we spend so much time typing, emailing and texting one another, I truly can appreciate the time honored tradition of "writing" a personal letter and do so whenever can. I hope to own a kit one day, however, I will continue to feed my passion for....collecting stationery.
There never seems to be enough time to hand write a letter, but when I do, I do it with style! I find stationery and unique paper almost anywhere. Since I love Thrift and Antique stores, finding stationery here is definitely a treasure. Then there are the discount department stores like Ross, Burlington Coat Factory, Marshall's, and TJ Maxx. There has been such a resurgence of stationery products in these stores, I can never seem to get enough of them. They also have journals and all kinds of notebooks for everyday use. I just love it! And they're not that expensive which makes it really appealing....I couldn't resist buying a set for $3.99 and it has an address book, notepad, matching pencil and holder. I don't know who did the market research on these items, but they were on the mark. I LOOOOOVE this stuff. The image has animal print and soft pastel colors and there is wording on it "Fashion Kitty". Adorable! It looks like it's something right out of a 1950's boudoir.
There has also been a resurgence of products aimed at women with wonderful images and graphics that run the gamut to dress forms, mannequins, ceramic hats, shoes and purses, and anything associated with fashionable accessories from back in the day....Victorian era, the Mod era of the 1960's, and also the Pin Up Girls of the 1950's. There are always items that feature celebrities from the Golden Movie age...Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, James Dean etc. But these are very different.
It's all good because I pick and choose what I like...the rest "ya'll" can have! :0) So anyway, I'm hooked on everything that has images of a hat, dress, purse, dress form, torso or a shoe on it. I collect it all and it's crazy!
I also make arts & crafts projects featuring shoes, torsoes, etc. The references to these items are "girlie" items...so I am all "girl/woman" when it comes to loving this stuff.
I designed the journal cover and made the architectural shoe from pouring plaster of paris in various molds. I made a shoe mold from an old pump. :0)
I bought this same little Victorian Boot Charm. I've made polymer clay and plaster of paris pins with this metal charm. It's adorable isn't it?
I found the Corset and Boot images online, I didn't make them.
Just this weekend I went to this discount department store and bought two items for the bathroom that have these images on them. There weren't many left, so I "had" to get them before they were gone. If you can you believe this, I bought a toothbrush holder that is a replica of a dresser of drawers. It has the word "Theatre" stamped on it, and it has a long red evening gown laid across it. There are 3 holes to store your brushes. The other item is....shoe and purse shower curtain hangers!!! They are adorable!!!! I know this is way crazy, but I had seen these shower curtain hangers a week or so ago...when I didn't have any money. So I strategically placed the hangers toward the back of the boxes of other hangers....so that I could conceal them from other shoppers. OK SO I HID THEM SO I COULD COME BACK AND BUY THEM THIS WEEK. Isn't that awful?! Well, it didn't work...because someone browsed through them and there were my hangers FRONT AND CENTER on the shelf. LOL!!! But get this....there was a completely different set of hangers on the shelf that I hadn't seen, so I ended not even buying the set I had hidden. It was too funny....but I got my stuff. And that's just what it is too....stuff!!!! Lots and lots of stuff to make people like me keep buying it. Yes, my purchasing has gone from collecting to "obssessing."
I've been in stores where I've literally ran out the door because they just had too much stuff and I knew I couldn't control my urges. I buy shoe candles, cards, key rings, buttons, shoe post-it-notes, shoe hatboxes, signs, figurines.....and it goes on and on. And what the manufacturers are doing is very cleverly designing more than one style of the same image. I am pretty frugal when it comes to shopping so, even when I am collecting, I am not going to pay an arm and a leg for that item.
I happened to be in Michael's Craft store and I always check their $1 bins for little knick knacks. Well wouldn't you know it, they had all kinds of note cards with hats, shoes, purses on them. Yes they were a dollar only, but for all of the styles they had, you could end up spending six or more bucks for notecards, and I really don't need that many. But I did buy three different kind. Also, one day I noticed some Wine Tubes that had this awesome dress design on it that was the same as an address book I bought some months before. And after I got the address book, I found a hatbox that matched, so I had to get that. Then my girlfriend sent me a Christmas present, and lo and behold....it was the same design, but now the shoes and dress were RED!!! And this is the same image that is on the toothbrush holder. I don't know how after all these years I would find this same image on a bathroom item, but I did. Oh this is just insane, where will it end?
It doesn't. Because then I began to notice various canvas pictures with Parisienne fashion accessory images on them in the local Big Lot stores around town. And of course I had to have them. So I bought one here and there until I had four distinct images: a dress, shoes and an umbrella, a hat, and a purse. They were only $4.99, so I thought, "that's reasonable." I was happy. But then I saw some pillows at Big Lot with shoes and purse images on them....oh my goodness....what are you people trying to do to me??? LOL So, me being the frugal shopper I am, I had to put my foot down. These pillows were $8 bucks a piece and I just didn't think they were worth that. They were cute, but $8 bucks is $8 bucks. So some months later when I was buying a comforter set there, I saw the pillow with the purse image on it, so I checked the price...it was now $3.99!! Whoohoo, I snatched it up quickly.You see, I have several themes and collections that crossover into one another....I have a Parisienne theme in my powder room and bathroom. I have little guest soaps in the shape of shoes, and dress mannequins. I have pictures and words featuring the word "Paris", so that's another collection...anything with the Eiffel tower or the word or fashion images with one or all of the Paris theme. You getting the picture now? It never, ever ends....so I have had to ease up on my buying....well at least since my last purchase of those doggone bath products. So that will be it for a while.....until the next time I see a gorgeous vase in the shape of a woman's torso, or a shoe candle, or a hat, or a purse, or something with the word Paris, or with the image of the Eiffel Tower....yea, yea, yea!!
See, now I didn't even think this was possible.
Check it out....a cake server in the shape of a shoe...what will they think of next?
You know I bookmarked this site because I may buy it....one day.
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