I start this entry off in a very weird place, weird because I haven't touched this blog in over ten years. So I feel like I need to fill in the last ten years but honestly things didn't start to get really interesting until Covid. This is not an unusual thing because Covid changed life for most of us, for some of us it was good place to make big changes, for others like myself it was like having the rug pulled out from under you. I am not a place that I need to spill all the details but to say that life has changed drastically is the understatement of the century.
In the midst of all that I also realized that life will most certainly challenge you but if you look really closely even in your darkest hour you will see some really amazing, beautiful things and meet some really amazing people along the way and I promise one day you will get your laugh back.I get it having been in what I call the dark place for a really long time you think I can't possibly get to a place where I find beauty in anything, much less find joy and laughter but I promise you it will come and when it does you will be blown away at how much your view of the world changes little by little.
For me my Dark Dark came after covid, then divorce (long ugly story) and then a full blown breakdown that was very public and not by my consent but what can you do but cope the best you can. I got my light back in the great state of North Carolina despite some very powerful external beings who are determined to keep me in the Dark Dark as long as possible. The lovely thing is once you get your light back you can't let the Dark Dark Creep back in so you learn to play the game your way. You also learn that no matter how fragile you feel, that fragility can be your sword and shield. You see fragility is seen as a weakness and the dark dark will use your fragility against you and eventually over play their hand, that my friend is the moment that you reveal your'e not so fragile or stupid and you start to get your power back.
Now you might be thinking how did you get your light back under those conditions? North Carolina is where I found my light and my laugh despite all the bad acting and posturing with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, but I learned to laugh at the unexpected, see people and situations for exactly what they put out in the universe.
My favorite part is I got my laugh back in North Carolina or more importantly I got my giggle back. Now ladies you know that giggle the one that is different than your regular laugh. It's that giggle you reserve for those times when the joke is private, the one under your breath when something strikes you as funny, the one you might share with someone else but only someone who knows what it means, not everyone gets to experience "the giggle". I got mine back from an unexpected source and I'm grateful regardless of where it came from or what sinister motive lay behind it.
I also got my light back by enjoying the stunning landscape gifted to me in the state. North Carolina has it all the ocean, the mountains and the most spectacular blue skies I have ever seen. All that coupled with weather that is mostly moderate, not that summer is not hot but you get these beautiful mornings that are clear and sunny. You get just enough cold to layer up a little and still enjoy the outdoors when that beautiful sun is shinning.
North Carolina is also the place where I rediscovered my love of thrifting, this place is rife with antiques, vintage and all sorts of treasures and curiosities and the best part is the prices. They are almost always better than anywhere else. At least the states I have thrifted in, if you love china, crystal, and any sort of vintage curiosity you can dream of you will find it here and in most cases the price will be better than almost anywhere else.
So this new chapter of my blog will be all about thrifting and saving a buck, but at a different stage in life. I will also be sharing all my experiences surrounding the thrifting good bad otherwise, because when I first started this blog there were only handful of black women who actually really got into it. Do I have stories yes, and unfortunately some of those stories are recent stories. I promise to post pictures and videos of my travels here or hopefully overseas one day, as I thrift and collect my around life.
