the thrift whisperer

Welcome! As this is my first ever post on this site, I want to tell you a little bit about me. I am from the southern U.S., and have lived here all my life. It is hot and humid, and when I go to bed, I can hear the frogs croak all night and the bugs buzzing by the window. Occasionally, there is an owl hooting away. In the summer time, the ceiling fan is turned on in every bedroom. At first it feels too cold, but a few hours into the night, one of your legs will pop out of the comforter to cool off. You’re probably wondering what the charm is here. And I will say, there is something about small-town suburbia USA that is special and comforting, like a warm hug from your best friend. Even if that hug leaves you feeling a little swampy.

I sometimes imagine my life as a world traveler, as someone who takes on city life and just explores things a few years at a time. But as the years pass on and I get older, I’m not sure I’m built for that (or rather that my wallet is). One thing I know for sure is that seeing the world is exhilarating and always gives me something new to appreciate when I return. But as we all know, traveling the world is costly, timely, and simply hard to accomplish while also balancing a career and real-life responsibilities.

Because world traveling is more of a once-every-couple-of-years thing, to stay inspired, I have to look to my own backyard. You see, there are stories everywhere, even just a few miles away from us. We don’t have to hop on a plane to find interesting things or people with interesting stories. One of my favorite things to do is go to consignment shops (which is a store that buys up people’s estates). I could walk around for an hour just looking at different things there. Often times, I find contraptions that I didn’t even know existed, and get to go on a fun rabbit hole in the form of Google search. Every time I go to this store, they have different things. I guess that is a positive about people dying (sorry). Anyway, sometimes I’m blown away to be in these stores and find items from hundreds of years ago. Do you ever think about that, about the fact that you are literally holding the past in your hands? It is just so cool. Then, you find the item is like twenty dollars, and you can take it home and let it live for the next hundred years with your family (until they pawn it off after you die, or the item becomes possessed and haunts your house and family). What’s not to like?!

If you’re still reading this, wow, should I quit my job and become a writer??? Just kidding. Sort of. If you are interested in hearing about my trips to the thrift stores, consignment shops, estate sales, and yard sales and what I end up doing with those finds, please stick around. Even if you don’t think you’re into this sort of thing, maybe it will strike up a new passion for you. That’s the best part about the internet, learning new things that inspire you. I hope you stick around.

Jenna