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"Where better to care for the soul than in the details of our daily lives?....The soul has an absolute, unforgiving need for regular excursions into enchantment. It requires them like the body needs food and the mind needs thought... An enchanted world is one that speaks to the soul, to the mysterious depths of the heart and imagination where we find value, love and union with the world around us. As mystics of many religions have taught, that sense of rapturous union can give a sense of fulfillment that makes life purposeful and vibrant." ~ Thomas Moore.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Being Highly Sensitive and Shabby Thrift Finds

Hello Ladies,


Recently I spoke a tiny little bit about being a HSP from an article by Monica of The White Bench.
and her latest post speaks about the word ''moving'' and what it has meant to her and how much it has affected her life. I am suspecting I need to get things moving here too. I think I need to move away, to a place that is not drowning in man made technologies and invisible energy and microwaves...these make me literally sick. They make alot of people sick, only most people are not aware of it and many simply don't want to know it. They prefer their cell phones, no matter the cost to themselves or to others. I happen to be ultra highly sensitive I just found out, and causes me to live with chronic pain and I need to get away if I'm to live without pain. To where?

Dont' want to think anymore about it.


So here I will make a post about the thrill of finding things you love but cannot afford, in thrift stores, and when this happens in more than one store! on the same day lol....its a good day! lol

I have no intentions of buying anything more for this house as I am done for the year here, I have everything I need and no space to store extras. But I am looking for a silver candelabra for a table like the one I missed in the thrift store one day because I didn't have enough $ on me, but it was beautiful and I still look from time to time.
I thought to go look in the local thrift store which is literally 4 minutes away and see if they have one, this store is huge. They did not have a silver candelabra but I did find lots of shabby chic type items all over the store! I did not get them I don't have room here, but there was lots of things for a Shabby Chic style, including one lovely palest pink wooden carved candle holder that kinda hurt to leave it there, but no room.
They had so many things that day I could have outfitted an entire home with shabby things in that one day!
If I had a store I'd be in that thrift store every morning for gems to resell.
But I did pick up a tray for the housemate and found a nice birthday gift for him too for April! and I don't have to sweat over it when the time comes because he is difficult to please.

They also had alot of blue and whites which I love too.....I only got one pot.











Then I stopped over at the Goodwill to drop off some items and some bags and paper they use to wrap things, and when I turned around I saw the prettiest dishes. I'd been looking for some pretty dishes for the past year but they never have any so I gave it up. But today they had at least 2 full sets in this one store. I bought 2 plates of each 50 cents each and then I looked down and saw beautiful bowls and more hand painted plates....oh my god! the prices were all cheap enough and so I bought them.
These pics do not do them justice really, and I didn't take pics of them all since I had to do it outside where the light was brighter to get the true colors, and the mosquitoes were eating me alive.... but here are some....this one is my favorite, the pink is beautiful and it has a pearl finish.










 



 





 Another beauty















these are delicately pretty, I bought 2 of each of the dinner size and 2 smaller ones








these have the perfect aqua blue color which is hard to see in here, but I love it, I got 2 large and 2 small.








another beauty





Wow, what nice things to find in 2 stores!.....I felt lucky, so I decided to drive to another thrift store for plates, I still had a few dollars.

I walked in and my eyes landed on a pure white soft cotton blouse with lace trim and pearl buttons in my size....I usually don't buy clothes but I couldn't leave this there. I wash linens and rinse them in salted water to remove the energies I still sense and feel from previous owners. I learned to do this from difficult experience. I wash everything from thrift stores with sea salt or smudge them with sage.
And as I was online waiting I looked around and thought why don't I just check the bedding for the Shabby Chic linens I have never found yet. I didn't expect anything but as I walked my eyes saw fabric with roses and I loved it, I thought hummm this looks very shabby chic, and dont you know? the label said Simply Shabby Chic! omg! I have never found SSC anything no matter how long I've been looking and after seeing so many shabby items earlier now I find some linens. I most certainly was lucky that day!!
And right next to this SSC tablecloth it turns out to be, in a pattern very very close the RoseBlossum pattern I was particularly in love with ! how cool is that? ..... I find another beautiful rose pattern in blues and it too looks quite SSC, and I picked it up and there is the label SSC.....







I buy them quick, and here I took a picture of them still in the bag and the light is bad, sorry, but there it is.














and next to that yet another one, not SSC but one can not tell the difference really.....and this one is a queen size, my size, bed skirt....... I prefer to use it as a tablecloth base with a plain flax linen on top.































 Here is the round on the table. I haven't had floral prints in so many years, but I like it alot. This pattern is Rose Blush and many are sold on ebay. The pattern I love alot is RoseBlossom but its a Rachel Ashwell couture item. $$$$
 






It was a great thrift day, even getting John a birthday present.

But  lol  I wondered what Target actually had in Simply Shabby chic since I hadn't been in there in a year and I was close by so I decided to just go in and look. Just look.
I went in straight to the linen dept to see what they had.
:D:D:D

But the duvet set.....the one I wanted was there, The Essex with the stripes on the reverse side. There was only one in my size, and was so close again to that pattern of rose I loved....and , and......well.....I hid it behind some sheet sets, hoping it would be there when I could get it.
I really needed a sheet set as I don't own a single one, I use only a flat sheet for a fitted and a comforter, so I did need a sheet set. I saw the prettiest sets ever. I stared at them, and stared......I sighed alot, walked away, then walked back....was I really that in love? Yes. My mind scrambling for what to do.
I had some ''forbidden'' cash in my bag, for emergencies only, strictly speaking, and well, with the fever I had in the moment with Gotta-Have-It-itis, this was an emergency of sorts. I picked up the sheet set I wanted and held it close......yes, definitely love, and definitely the cure for my current ''itis''.

I had a sheet set and a duvet set. I'm done! ''Run don't walk before you change your mind and go all sad again!''

I will not be buying anything for months now to make up for this....but my bedding feels soo sooo good.
The morning after I had washed them and dried them and put them all on my bed, I got up and opened the curtains the way I always do and when my eyes fell on the bed, this is what I saw....I promise I didn't touch anything as I abhor photo staging and I only move things like cords or crumbs for a picture, but it seems with SSC bedding you just cannot take a bad picture ! I loved my own bed and not someone else's.:D:D:D Thank you Rachel!

































I love Nature so much especially crystals......I light a candle in front of it so that it sparkles .....



















And then the next day
:D:D:D
yes, there's more....
my housemate offered to get a few of those things I told him about but mostly the candelabra I found for the fireplace because that fireplace is dark and vacant all year and I need to do something magical with it. I will take pics when I hook it up. He got one more blue and white little pot and a white metal sconce for my Garden Gate. Though there were so many nice things there, I just didn't need it.
But I always check for doilies and I saw this luscious soft sheer ivory colored dreaminess with slight ruffles on the edges and I touched it and it was the softest cotton ever and I scrambled to take it off the hanger and see what it was, curtain? tablecloth? and I saw a label....and don't you know??
yes....Simply Shabby Chic.....I couldn't believe it! I squealed and ran around the store looking for the housemate to show him this find which was not there the day before, and I was so excited and speaking in high tones but low voice so no one could think I found gold in the store and create a stampede....lol.....so I was a happy camper..... $7.99 and that day they were half price so for $4.00   :D:D:D
I put them up in the kitchen, they were 3 panels of soft sheer whites
I guess I had a really really good Shabby Chic Angel by my side finally, maybe my sad face looking at certain pictures, ok well not just looking, but staring.....oh ok oggling OK ? ! LOLOL....and not being able to get them some Shabby Angel helped me out quite nicely. I am ever so grateful.














but they're hanging in the kitchen. I didn't have curtains there I liked it open, but these are so sheer, its like having nothing, just some added softness and femininity 








the Blush Rose tablecloth.... and curtains

I added a crochet runner across the top I love their textures, crochets 
 


























and I think that's the end.....
thanks for visiting.




sharing this last post of this year with A Return to Loveliness

and with No Minimalist Here

and with The Charm of Home

and with My Romantic Home

and with Rooted In Thyme

and with Shabbilicious Friday

and with Lavender Garden Cottage Cottage Style Party



      

19 comments:

  1. Oh Serena....this post certainly WAS a return to loveliness. You found such beautiful things my friend....and they are displayed just right.

    Happy New Year.

    Jo

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    1. Yes thank you Jo, I am enjoying them, especially since they were thrift finds. I no longer enjoy paying full price for anything. :D I hope you have a blessed, abundant and peace filled year.

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  2. Such lovely treasures you found! Thanks for sharing! LOVE ALL OF IT! Beautiful photos! :)

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  3. All your new items look amazing in your home. I too get so excited to find Simply Shabby Chic items--it makes me day! Her stuff is so pretty and I love it when I have the chance to own some. Those dishes are just beautiful too :) Enjoy the new year!

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  4. Dearest Lady,

    I too am a HSP! Our mutual friend gave me a book on the subject and it was an eye-opener! If I wasn't a teacher who NEEDS to be "hooked up" to technologies, I could do without those gadgets. My husband just bought me however, a Samsung Galaxy NOTE which will allow me to have electronic data at my fingertips no matter where I am, and it's small enough to fit in my purse, however, I am not wearing the purse close to my person! I try to stay away from having those things close to my body!

    Your home is so lovely. You have made it as such, and whatever your plans for the future, I hope that you find a peaceful spot to lay your head, to decorate and to build the environment suitable for you. It has been lovely to know you,and may 2014 bring us both the opportunities we seek! NAMASTE! Anita

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    1. oh boy, it is as I suspected, more of us are truly around and we tend to keep it hidden, secret, reject it or try hard as hell to function in a mans brutish world trying to toughen ourselves enough to make it in it, but it doesn't work, we exhaust ourselves and deplete our spirits if we continue to try to fit a circle into a small square. I had to give up the outer world as I got very sick, so I had no choice, and now I know what happens when I even try which I have until I realized I am not like others in so many ways. It took years for me to understand that what I thought were ''problems'', a term others use for it, was actually a series of multi dimensional Gifts of Spirit. They say, there are only around 10% in the world those who are HSP but I suspect it is much more, and I just found out I am "unnaturally highly sensitive to all manmade technologies and energetics"....and my experiments in turning of the power not just to certain portions of the house but to the entire house has afforded me some relief from pains. The implications of this would necessitate moving far away of ''civilization''s power cell towers and lines etc, create a space for myself that supports this extremely high degree of sensory awareness and input, but this world again, does not support this but tries to put us on the fringes as the meaning of our existence is too reflective for those who are desensitized and who do not like to know it.
      I am blessed that I am able to stay home, but now how to remove the sickness it causes is a current project and then how to heal and shield from it, where I have the control of my brain back as it causes me brain fog etc, and get back into creativity.

      It has been lovely to know YOU but more, to be a recipient of your beautiful poetry which I do hope you have more of, as I love all artists, poets, musicians, dancers and singers :D, as these are the people who make life beautiful.
      many blessings,
      lady

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  5. I haven't stopped by in awhile, so I decided to pop in for a visit. I really like all your shabby chic items and I love that crystal. Your reference to being a highly sensitive person interests me, because I have always thought that I am one myself. At least partially, so I'll have to read up on that. Wishing you a lovely New Year!

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    1. Hi Diane, I suspect more women especially are HSP, I thought all women naturally should be since we are more Spiritual Creatures than we are physical, so my belief is that more of us are HSP, but also that it is natural. I believe it is unnatural to be desensitized and to not get sick from negative energies as in electricity and invisible micro waves....this doesn't support life it degenerates it.
      Well speak your mind if you care to.
      blessings,
      lady

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  6. Love all your new treasures!! Everything looks so pretty, the dishes you found are beautiful. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
    Hugs,
    Jody

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  7. Wow..such beauty.and such wonderful visual impact..love your table and gorgeous surroundings..and those floral bowls all caught my eye..just stunning..all the linens gorgeous too!
    Thanks for shining your magic...totally bliss!
    Victoria

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  8. May I borrow your Shabby Angel please? I LOVE her stuff and I would so love to find her items in my local thrift stores...but I keep looking. I am hoping that I can make a 'pilgrimage' to the B&B that she owns in central Texas. We lived in Austin for years and never made it up to Fredericksburg and I am determined to go there when I go visit my son next summer. Such lovely stuff and I'll be back.

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  9. This is really a wonderful time to visit thrift stores! You found some absolutely gorgeous finds! LOVE the linen on your bed. Beautiful post - I will be featuring your post in this week's A Return to Loveliness,
    Kathy

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  10. OMG you found the best treasures!!! I want those aqua rose plates!!!! But the R.A Shabby Chic linens and bedding are the treasure of all treasures! I should go to our thrifts because so many people are cleaning and getting rid of stuff right now. I too am highly sensative to mostly food additives, preservatives, etc...anything chemical. I rarely talk on my iphone because it bothers me to have it near my head. And I do believe when our children are all on their own I will not use one anymore. I agree that non of these gadgets are good for us. All the invisible waves going through us. I told hubby that when the kids move out we can discontinue our internet service and just take our laptops to the coffee shop to use wi fi. That way it won't be in our home anymore. I can't do anything about what is out there in the world but I can do something about what is in my own home. A return to simple, old fashion living is my desire. xo

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    1. :D I know! didn't I? I feel so lucky! totally unexpected and in 3 stores, the prettiest things I could find....sigh....so satisfying.
      So you like the aqua ones? :D, Well, I just came back from that thrift store because I thought if those dishes could make someone happy then I will get them for her because happiness is to be shared for no reason other than to create more happiness....so....I picked out 2 large, not really large but smaller than average dinner size, maybe 8 inches? then a smaller size 6 inches? then a smaller one again, ...2 each,,,but the lady in front of me was taking so long to wrap stuff and I had time to think...what if Kerry wanted all large? or some other combination? they did have 4 of each size... It would be best of Kerry made this decision. So I am asking which ones would you like? It is my gift....if it would make you happy :-)

      And yes, being Highly Sensitive is a entire paradigm we must figure out for ourselves it seems, as the desensitized ones have no interest unless they have a child as such. I do not own a cell phone only one landline and I try to turn off power to various portions of the house which helps but still is too toxic. I will have to continue to learn about how to live and what to do in my environment. So far turning the power switch off to the entire house is helping with alot of the pains. I have more to learn and many adjustments to make, there is alot more to do. Yes foods too, but I learned this over 30 years ago and recently began to eat for comfort and have suffered for it too. Also chemical sensitivity. I use and make only natural and organic everything on myself and the house. I believe HS People are not given enough respect due, there is a reason for their sophisticated senses and we need to educate ourselves then others about it.
      many blessings, lady

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  11. How sweet and kind of you! I just wrote a long enail to you and tried to send it but am not sure if you got it. I am on my phone and when I pushed the link to be approved it did not do anything. So here I am to tell you that I am so blessed by your kind heart. You really do not have to do such but if you decide to I would prefer the smaller plates. And if you only sent one I would be overjoyed! I like to use dessert size for my toast and tea. Now you know I will have to send you a gift as well because I like to give too!!! Thank you for brightening my day dear lady of the woods xxo

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    1. It is done :D
      I got both emails, and just came back from the store. It seems a shame to leave them there, and the pink ones are still there too.
      I got 2 dessert plates for your toast and to share with a beloved and 2 saucer sized for your tea to share with the same beloved lolol.
      But like I said it is only a matter of sharing happiness and if I can do this easily then it is my pleasure too.
      I will need your mailing address, and will send them when I can stomach going out again lolol and waiting online at the post office.
      You are a kind soul too, I know this and it is with kindred spirits who are sensitive that I choose to share with now. They/we need each other in this world. You do not have to send me anything. You said you wanted the aqua rose plates, and the plates need someone who desires them. I waved my wand and it is done! :D

      blessings,
      lady

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  12. You really found some great finds, I love the way you show them.
    Am for the first time on this blog and will follow you.

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  13. What bliss and beauty! I am so glad you found such lovelies, dearest Lady...oh that RA Shabby Chic from Target...I know how soft those are....I have some bedding I found years ago on clearance as well as a tablecloth....I am ALWAYS looking at the clearance shelves for those...
    You DESERVE to sleep in gorgeous linens...in a gorgeous bed..absolutely! And does it ever look luxurious and so cozy!
    Love the sweet plates...but it is the crystal with candlelight that is so mesmerizing to me...wow...
    Enjoy all of these treasures, and as always, I wish you health and well-being...
    I was just thinking, have you tried taking baths with sea or himalayan salt? I wonder if that would help de-toxing from the emf's. I'm sure you have done this, but it popped into mind since you mentioned washing linens and clothes with salt water.
    Sending love,
    - Irina

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    1. Hello there :-)
      thank you kindly :D
      I do love my bed. I marvel all the time at how pretty it is, so fun.
      Yes I have tried sea salt baths, I'm the big promoter of these, but Himalayan Salt is very expensive, I use regular sea salt from the health food store....and it does help a great deal with EMF poisoning...can you imagine~! I adore Nature!
      And yes, the crystal is pure magic. A friend came and saw and the crystal was lit by a candle and she was in awe too, my housemate too....it is large and it sparkles, is a thing of natural beauty. Love Home Goods!
      blessings,
      lady

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