Day Five: Antique stores (top 5 best and worst picks). Letting go of toxic people. Vintage lace dresses.

After work today, I went to a local antique store that one of my students told me about. I get lost in antique stores because I feel like I need to look at everything. There's so much random stuff and it never seems organized and I don't want to miss anything. I ended up buying a few things. A vintage lace dress. Five cameo pendants. A necklace. I decided to document my visit with a top 5 list for you. Apologies because these were taken from my iPhone. (:

Top five worst antique store picks:

#5: Dolls. Any kind of doll. I never liked these growing up. In antique stores, they're usually dirty and old and creepy looking. Bleh.

#4: Dutch stuff. We don't have this stuff in my original hometown (:

#3 Singing rattlesnake eggs. Or other random toys. Who would pay money for this? I don't even know what it means?

#2: Boots and flowers. No joke, this cost $25 if I remember correctly. Why?!

#1: Weird lamps. Come on. What on earth is this? It reminds me of that leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Haha.

Top five best antique store picks:

#5: Purses. Lots of beading, designs, and interesting colors.

#4: Vintage bikes. I've wanted one for a while. They're great in photos, too.

#3: Chinese porcelain. I like these patterns. I think I want a cabinet of stuff like this when I own a house someday.

#2: Old books. Coffee table books about interesting things. I love the yellow pages...and thinking about who owned that book before me. I recently bought a travel photography book from the 1970's that I love. It was $3.00.

#1: Tea kettles. These are more for decor, but I really want a vintage tea kettle. I have for a while. I always find a few that I like at antique stores, but they are way too expensive for me to actually purchase.

So much stuff. Multiple this picture by 1000 and that's how much stuff there was in this store. I was there for over an hour.

I bought this. I have a rough idea in my head about how I'm going to revamp it.

I almost bought this. I want one. I'm going to wait.

 ----------
Writing Challenge Day 5
I'm doing a 31 day writing challenge, found on the Reverb website, designed to reflect on the past year and look forward to what's to come in 2011.

Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I let go of a lot of things this year. I let go dealing with guys who are insecure and don't know what they want. I let go of friends who aren't supportive or encouraging. I let go of feeling like I have to do what's expected of me. I let go of giving up my dreams in exchange for logic and practicality. I let go of not standing up for myself or speaking my mind.

I think I have grown in myself this year more than any other year I can remember. I am not afraid to tell people they hurt me. I am not afraid to say goodbye to (toxic) people who aren't good for me -- even though it's hard. I know what I deserve and I am not accepting anything less. That means a lot of honestly, heartache, and tough conversations. A lot of crying. A lot of anger. A lot of writing. My heart has been hurt more this year in many different ways that any other year... but those things, more than anything, have made me grow this year.

By letting go of expectations of others, I feel more empowered to really figure out what makes ME happy. For a lot of my life, I have cared what other people think of me and tried to make everyone happy. I am finally learning about myself and what I want. I think it's healthy to learn to be a little selfish. I know that certain things in my life right now are weighing me down and not providing joy and contentment... but I plan to change that. Soon. Within a few years. I know what I want now... and I'm not afraid to go get it. Identifying those things that weigh you down is the first step. What, in your life, do you feel like is taking away from TRUE happiness? And is it something you can let go of?

There are going to be people in your life that will try to control you. Tell you what to do. Manipulate you to get what they want. Use you. Hurt you. Learn to cut the ties. As hard as it is... you will feel SO much better afterward. You. deserve. BETTER. Don't waste your time with those people. I know they're charming and cute and fun to be around and friendly... but if the cons outweigh the pros... get them out of your life. Do some assessing of friendships and relationships. Are you settling? Why are you still clinging to those toxic relationships? Why are you still clinging to the people who continually hurt you and break your heart? I know. I've been there, trust me. You might not realize it at the time, because this type of relationship is masked by the occasional redeeming quality or thoughtful text or good laugh or promise to change... however, those relationships are heavy. They're cumbersome. They're suffocating. And slowly but surely, they will bring you down. But there's space to breathe on the other side. Just cut the ties.

I like the changes I've seen in myself this year...mostly. I am proud of myself for choices I've made in letting go of bad, hurtful, and unhealthy relationships. Even though I know what I SHOULD do in many cases, that doesn't mean I always do it... but I have tried my best to follow through with keeping these people out of my life. There is such beauty in the strength of letting go of the things that weigh us down. That DOESN'T mean it's easy. But it's such a lovely freedom.