I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad.....

“When the dog bites, When the bee stings, When I'm feeling sad. I simply remember my favorite things, And then I don't feel so bad.”-Rodgers and Hammerstein

Goodwill, flea markets, thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, Etsy, estate sales…these are a few of my favorite things. Well I suppose these aren’t things, but what I find at these locations certainly are. And I have found some of my most favorite things while visiting places like the Goodwill or while researching Craiglist. So much so that I fit these places into my calendar now. Works been tough lately. High stress and longer hours than usual. Last week I told the hubby that I needed a break. I only have 5 PTO days left this year so my break can’t consist of a break from work as I need that time for other things. (Hopefully using it to be able to move this year!) So I decided that if work is bad or has me frustrated that I’m going to break away from my routine and do something after work or on my lunch hour to make me feel not so bad. Typically my day would consist of work, then going home to cook, then clean up dinner and maybe watching a little tv or reading a book/magazine or surf the net. Now my days are going to consist of work, some sort of thrift shopping (either breaking at lunch and going to Goodwill or a few other finds in the work neighborhood or hitting something up on my way home) and then going home to do my chores (like Tom likes to call it…ha ha). This way I would feel like I did something for me. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this past week were pretty rough so I took a break on Wednesday and went to Goodwill instead of eating lunch. Probably not the healthiest thing to do, skip lunch, but I needed a mental break. I found this adorable porcelain bowl from Portugal and some other finds.

It was suddenly my lucky day. As I walked in to Goodwill I happened to notice the sign that said green sticker items were 50% off today only. I didn’t pay much attention to it and walked around the store. I started to pick up a few things and then I noticed they all had green stickers. I immediately felt like I won the lotto. Half off? I was going to buy this for $8 but at $4 it’s a steal!! As I had mentioned in a previous post with our house being listed I always have to keep it picture perfect and I try to have nice centerpieces on the table when you first walk in. The table I hate that Tom bought. (I refer to the things that Tom bought that I don’t like as the BS purchases. BS meaning "Before Stacey"). So I thought this bowl would be perfect on the table. I had some fake lemons that were packed away in storage. I hadn’t had them on display in 2 years so it was time to bring them back out. I’m not crazed with the whole fake fruit thing but I’m not crazed about spending tons of money on flowers either each week that die in three days and I never get to enjoy anyways so fake lemons it is.

 I think it's pretty, but I am always open to new ideas so I’d love to hear what would you put in this bowl??