I've never really subscribed to the notion of being surrounded by expensive things.
Nice, personal and quirky things …..yes
expensive designer "Keep up with the Jones'" stuff.....never
Bluebell is a low emission economy Vauxhall
My tv is just over a foot in width
and my latest pair of shoes I bought from Marks and Spencers
oh and my most recent underwear purchase ( which should always be designer in nature according to my how to be properly gay manual) was from Aldi
I do like nice things though
Like my latest piece of art!
This colourful study in acrylic and sand cost me £3.50 and that was for the frame which I got from Tesco
The art ...as you may remember....is all of my own!
Over the last year I have scanned the clearance shelves of TK MAXX. where I have bought bits of this colourful collection of wooden resin kitchen ware
not one piece cost more that a pound or two
cheap and pleasing
Useless, cheap but with a shape that is pleasing to the eye
Very much like my latest couch cushion, bought minutes after George and I went to the vets on Monday from a vintage shop in Denbigh. it cost me £6
a quick fix certainly
but so much more therapeutic than cheque book busting shopping sprees for designer clothing jewellery, and cars or betting shop or bingo site visits.
I am just the same. It's not about monetary value or keeping up with the Joneses, it's about personal choice and creative thinking. In our house we have many stones and shells that we picked up free of charge from distant beaches and coves.
ReplyDeleteThe marvellous Quentin Crisp said, 'never keep up with the Joneses; drag them down to your level'.
DeleteI like your style 😊
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get you on this point but we have stopped buying anything. We don't need more shit. (Oh, I used a bad word and I am bad. But sometimes only one word will describe).
ReplyDeleteYou have great home style. I like designer clothes at outlet mall prices. And, like you, my house is filled with things that mean something to me. I’m so glad you framed your painting!
ReplyDeleteI love the car. I have to stop buying plants. I have no idea what I am doing with plants rather than veggies... ha ha it could all die. Love your picture, nice splash of colour
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteMy car is a low emission, road tax free Fiat 500, my TV a freebie 32" from my son when he upgraded his, my last pair of shoes were some black sequinned covered sneakers from George at Asda ... and my knickers black Sloggis, bought by the dozen once every two years.
One biggest extravagance ever was Suky ... and she's been worth every penny a million times over. I nearly splurged again on a Chihuahua pup but it's all fell through at the last minute, for a good reason, so I'm not too upset.
I LOVE your artwork, and that tin car is delightful.
You have an artistic eye for the quirky and delightful -- both visually and in your writing! Your vibrant art piece, now framed, looks so great among your other ones!
ReplyDeleteMy current boss said to me, "surround yourself with things that make you happy!" No one quite understands some of the odds and ends in my bedroom, and in my office, but they are things that have meaning to me, and that make me happy. Extra cash - I need that for traveling.
ReplyDeleteI mostly get things from charity shops...and I like old things better than new ones. They often have more soul. I'm glad you're making your home your own now! Have fun with it!!
ReplyDeleteAt 58 and almost 60, me and the Hubs are, since our total house remodel, no longer on the collecting of things boat! I have never been a collector (well, that's a lie, I love shoes, NICE shoes when I was working full time - I had a pair of Via Spiga shoes that were to DIE FOR!) but as for stuff, nope. My Hubs, on the other hand, WAS a collector of everything. And it was suffocating us. So, we took the opportunity to purge after our remodel was done (before we brought it BACK into the house) and it has been so freeing. We kept only what we adored. I can adore less, let me tell you, but he loves what he loves. I can handle Walmart clothes, shoes, undies - you name it. He prefers high-end. It's a balance!
ReplyDeleteI do like 'stuff' I can't cope with this minimalist nonsense. I'm another who likes charity shops, my collection of Woodsware Jasmine has all come from charity shops, I get so much
ReplyDeletepleasure from finding a piece for a pound.
I don't have a car or a tv, any designer clothing I have is from charity shops, the'art' on my walls tends to be random stuff that I've framed, my cushions have all been made by me ( except the Highland cow one which partner got me for Christmas and no, I have no idea why). So, I have lots of things, none of it cost a lot, but I love it all.
Glad to see you framed your painting, I really like it and it's nice to see it being appreciated.
As we all know, it's the little things in life.
ReplyDeleteI like your art. I'm a firm believer in surrounding oneself with art.
ReplyDeleteThe term 'retail therapy' must have been coined for you. I love the little car.
ReplyDeleteWell done in framing your handmade art! It is a treat for the eye.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I surround myself with things I love and only two pieces of art which were gifts for DH cost much. I frame greeting cards and catalog covers if they speak to me.
Hugs!
Your painting is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteYou are too be commended. I mix solid color, 1950's dishes with entertaining 1940's things from my stepfather's mother. That art piece beats much of mine.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say that it us excellent. :)
DeleteWe downsized when moving here in 2009, and since we have stopped shopping, it's wonderful to live with less. My view is if we don't buy it, it's not in the house and at a later date we don't have to get rid of it.
ReplyDeleteSo many people are purging and reducing their collections of 'stuff'. That's fine. I like my stuff and intend to keep it. Like you, I don't own anything expensive. These are things that please me, regardless of their 'value'.
ReplyDeleteAll that being said, I did send 7 bags and 3 boxes to the charity shop when I went through my ex's closet last week. She said that she didn't want any of it and I'd rather have the space!
I enjoy vide-greniers here in France (like car boot sales but they are really social as well) and have picked up some lovely stuff over time. My absolute joy last year was a lady selling an (approximately) 20 piece set of oldy-worldy china - you know the blue and white or pink and white flowery stuff - for 2 euros. When I told her I didn't want to pay €2 a plate she said "no, for the whole lot". I hosted our neighbourhood board game evening on Saturday and took great pleasure in getting those plates out for everyone to eat off! I also realize I love colour too - anything bright - when my son and his (new) wife arrived at the board game evening with a friend and he took the friend round to the back of my house to show her my wrought iron balcony with cows and hedgehogs decorating them and the side gate with the Cheshire Cat and Sylvester on it. Over the top? Possibly, but I love it as it brings so much colour into my life. The friend loved it too apparently!
ReplyDeleteYou may have found your niche with the acrylic and sand art :)The tin car is very cute.
ReplyDeleteRAMEN! who needs overpriced sweatshop made designer crap anyway!
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to spend money one does not have, so your method also keeps a hold on sanity.
ReplyDeleteSadly Joanne I disagree. It seems like many, many young people have no problem spending money they dont have thanks to the likes of the Kardashian clan et al. You know, champagne taste on a beer budget. I shudder to think what is awaiting so many of these youngsters down the line!
DeleteWhen my husband died, I went out and adopted a kitten and an old cat.
ReplyDeletePrefect for soothing a broken heart.
I love stuff but there are times when a little needy warm body is the best things for a sad person.
Your painting looks even better in the frame! It puts me in mind of ocean waves and/or a sunset. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear the latest? The minimalist movement is being replaced by a movement back to cozy and homey, which means at least some "stuff" around to enjoy. We never went minimalist, so we - and you - are ahead of the trend, apparently :)
The last few years I have, however been getting rid of things given to us that I didn't have feelings for, and picked up other things that I actually love, so gradually I'm getting to where you already are.
I too love a bit of retail therapy and have re-discovered Jumble Sales!
ReplyDeleteGood natured banter in tbe queue, change and bags at the ready, off you go. Good stuff, rubbish, things to give on, hidden gems....It's all there
Pass an afternoon and good fun for a couple of quid, a charity has made
some money and less things going to landfill
Winners all round
Tess xx
I totally agree. Most of my clothes, pots etc come from car boots or charity shops. Couldn't justify (even if I had the money), the prices labels attract.
ReplyDeleteI love the tin car. You have good taste (in most things!).
ReplyDeleteI would have any single one of those in my house John - they are all lovely and cheerful. Money doesn't come into it - it is the effect it has on you. As for that piece of art work - I love it. Thinking of selling it?
ReplyDeleteAfter I left my husband and took my children with me we ended up with not a lot. I took the kids beds and bedroom furniture and I slept on a mattress on the floor for quite some time. My lovely kids went to the local op shop and scoured the place for lovely "bits" that they thought I would like. Those things I still have; along with a few bits sent from my Dad that were my grandads, those are my treasures! Very eclectic and all in one place on my dresser. And dusted not so very often hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI love your splash of colour sand painting the white frame suits it very well.
Jo in Auckland
Agree. When we bought our house- the cheapest fixer upper at the time- we couldn't afford even a new lamp! We are kind of proud now to be able to point out all our home made and second hand items, even a fair few from the side of the road or the dump! I will always prefer finding mix-matched kitchenware and dishes...
ReplyDeleteA nephew of mine to his mother: "If you must collect things, can you make them small-sized so they'll be easy to get rid of."
ReplyDeleteI love that little tin car and your artwork is lovely and cheerful. My home has lots of "eccentric" things in it that others do not understand, but they make me smile. I also have lots of nice things and my husband likes expensive cars. My t.v. has to be big, though or I might go blind trying to watch it. One of my very favorite possessions is an old fashioned potato masher that we found on the side of the freeway over 35 years ago. We use it every week. Sometimes the old things are just so much better than new ones.
ReplyDeleteAs I age, I feel the need to get rid of stuff. Just bought an Aga Cake Maker on sale and a large vintage bread bin for a fiver. I'd also be tempted to buy your artwork, so I guess I'm failing miserably in my endeavours.
ReplyDeleteLove the little picture. Your car is a collectable they go well on Ebay so I am told for a nice price :)
ReplyDeleteYour painting looks lovely with the other paintings, I love shopping in thrift shops it's like the last frontier of treasure hunting, I'm not sentimental about belongings my mom told me to get rid of things that I did not like after she died, she said memories are the best keepers make a home your own. So I did and told my daughter the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's insane to buy something for no other reason other than it's expensive, but there are people, gay or straight, who will do just that.
ReplyDeleteI love the art you did and what a great frame. Love the way you stagger your art.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
As an aging (very aged) flower child I have always preferred re-used and re-purposed items, saving the environment & avoiding things going to the landfill. Besides that, it's cheaper to boot.
ReplyDeleteBut the young think that they've invented re-cycling and being thrifty! They don't seem interested in how older people have managed on very little for generations!!
DeleteI love your little things and that cushion was a steal! Aldi undies?? Sounds like an impulse purchase. That centre aisle is Dangerous!!
ReplyDeleteI think that living through the 80s fashion of buying prints that matched one's paint colours (bleagh) has made many of us appreciate the quirky! Even though my house looks very different from yours, we have in common an eclectic belief that things go together simply because we love them. It generally works xxoxo
ReplyDelete