Bless the Balcony/Chalk It Up Porch Party!

This fun project finally came to fruition a couple of weeks ago one sunny Sunday afternoon.  I had acquired a very large donation of sidewalk chalk and thought about how to best use it.  Last July, I finally decided to create a sacred space on my balcony where I can rest, and be refreshed.  This balcony used to be nothing more than my cat's bathroom (where I left the litter box), and a place for more than a few birds' nests.  After some great deals and finds, I furnished it simply with a small bistro set, with an umbrella with a stand, and eventually with a hammock.  The final pieces came together with some plants, decorations, and of course, chalk art!

I have a relationship with my neighborhood.  I have loved South LA, struggled with South LA, and then experienced a renewed love for South LA.  It is still my home after over 7 years now.  

My friends and neighbors came over to bless my balcony with chalk art.  I think maybe next time I won't have the kids over for 3 hours because I was exhausted by the time the adult friends came over!

Pictures are worth thousands of words so here they are, to say it all.  Enjoy!  My balcony was blessed and so was I!  

Simply City Simplicity: The Discipline of "Shedding"

I happened to come across the TV show called Hoarders when I was at my parents' house the other day and in those few minutes of watching it, I was a bit shocked by what I saw, but after some thought, not that surprised.  People actually become trapped and bound to their stuff, their possessions.  I can see this tendency in myself at times because I love thrift store and vintage items so much, and I just want to collect all of these lovely items that I appreciate.  Obviously, Hoarders is the extreme of what happens to us when we develop a pathology with our possessions.

Over the course of the past several years, I've had to move homes several times.  It amazed me how much stuff one person can acquire over the years.  How did I get so much stuff??  I felt this need to "shed," to get rid of things more and more, to ultimately to make more space in my life and embrace simplicity.  More space physically, but in some ways emotionally and spiritually even.

The latest move about two and a half years ago prompted the biggest shedding so far, and subsequent sheddings while living here in this current home since moving in.  Since I moved into a house that was already furnished, I had to get rid of nearly all of my furniture as I only needed furniture in my room.  With mixed feelings, I "permanently loaned" all of my furniture to different folks in my community who needed it.  And two and a half years later, I'm thankful as I don't miss the stuff at all, and don't even remember what I had.

I'm thankful that I have a small room so I won't be tempted to fill it with more stuff.  It's just my bed, a dresser, and a two level book-shelf.  It has created space to heal, to grow, to learn, to rest, to be creative, and much more.

It is a discipline to stop collecting stuff, and not to hoard.  But once we experience the benefits and FREEDOM from stuff into simplicity, it's harder to go back.  The blessings of simplicity from shedding far outweigh the burden and bondage of too much stuff!  This is especially freeing living in a city like Los Angeles, where there are a lot of people and their stuff packed into smaller spaces.  We are in closer quarters living in the city.

So here is an offering, a couple of ways that I've been able to get into the rhythm of shedding and simplicity:

• On the move shedding:  When you move homes, this is a great opportunity to shed.  I have put things into three piles while packing for my moves.

1. One pile is stuff to throw away and/or recycle, stuff that is just junk and will never be used by others.  This includes old papers, knick knacks that are essentially worthless, and things that can't be used or worn anymore by anyone else. 
2. The second pile is stuff to give away to the thrift store.  Self-explanatory, but this is all stuff that I'm not using, I have not used in a long time, or maybe never used and someone else can use!  Just get rid of it and let others make use of it!
3. The third pile is obviously stuff that I plan to pack and keep.

• Once a year "spring" cleaning:  I've taken advantage of holidays like today where I carve out time and energy from the weekend to GET THIS DONE.  I go through my stuff the same way I do with move shedding as listed above.  Usually, I focus on one problem area that needs to be tackled like my closet, or maybe the garage.  It may be too overwhelming to think about ALL of the stuff that needs to be gone through.  Focus on one area at a time.  If it means going through just one box of stuff at a time, then do that!

This discipline of shedding can be easier said than done.  It may help to have someone help you with some tough love, someone who is already disciplined in this area of their lives and can help you get rid of stuff by walking you through it.  Sometimes it's just helpful to have someone there to just hang out and sit with you while you sort through stuff.

I'll offer one last thing.  Most recently, I did a major shedding this past year in our garage where I stored the last of my old kitchen items.  I hadn't touched the stuff since I moved in two years ago, and when I tackled it, I mercilessly got rid of all of the kitchen stuff that I didn't even remember that I had.  I realized that if I didn't miss it, I didn't need it.  So much freedom from having more space physically, emotionally, and spiritually!!

More offerings on shedding, simplicity, and simply city to come.  Peace.

A Way to Shed: Clothing Swap!

Back again from the half-dead!  Man, I heard that the strain of flu was particularly bad this year, and that the flu shot was not as effective against it since it was a mutated form or something.  But now I know for real that it was THAT bad because I wouldn't wish that kind of sickness on my worst enemy!  Slowly but surely, I'm coming back to life.  While I was laying there sick, thinking about doing this blog post, but couldn't muster up the energy to do it, I really wanted to, I promise!

So, I'm doing this sort of backwards because I wanted to post about the discipline of "shedding" first, and then talk about the clothing swap, but well, that's neither here nor there.  

The lovely ladies from Church of the Redeemer here in South LA have been doing a clothing swap about quarterly for the last few years now.  I loved the idea of swapping clothes and how it is an eco-friendly, sustainable way of getting clothes in a community.  And it's free!  Props to these ladies for letting me show up to the swap and take photos of them fully clothed, and NOT while they were changing!  :-)

Like all of the world's institutions, there is brokenness and corruption.  The fashion industry in not exempt from this in general as they participate in mass production of clothes that ultimately contribute to waste, and is associated with exploitation of their workers to keep costs down, to just name a few things that are wrong with the fashion industry.  Clothing swaps in communities, or shopping in thrift stores are wonderful alternative ways to get "new" clothes that you need!

Here's how it started, all of the clothes laid out and displayed, ready to be swapped.  Doesn't it look lovely?

There were clothes, and other items like books, accessories, and some jewelry!  Check it.  

So I wasn't fully paying attention because I was so excited about being at the swap, that I didn't catch the rules very clearly.  I think in the beginning, the ladies decided to have a short time frame where they would only pick five items each.  Here they are explaining the rules that I wasn't paying attention to.

And then, they're off!  Swapping away, getting their first five items!

After the time frame of getting their five items, I think the rules relaxed, and people could then pick from the whole lot what they needed or wanted.  Here are some shots of these lovely ladies trying on their cute items!

Dear Sarah Stokes-meister

Cute Steph Payne-ster

Miss Nanc Fern enjoying her "new" swapped book!

Jenn Pope-ster rocking some fun colors!

JLyrical hanging out bohemian style!

Amy Kimbel-meister leaving happily full from the swap.

Candice Cleverleigh blinging her "new" clutch!  She makes the most awesome faces, I tell you.

Even though, I didn't participate in the swap, I was generously allowed to partake, so I came home with a some items that I'm glad to have, like a pair of cozy brown corduroy pants, a lacy top (you will soon see that I cannot resist cute lacy tops, or lacy anything for that matter), some lovely Thymes brand lotion, a new toothbrush, a CA state belt buckle, a pair of silver armadillo earrings, and two daisy seed planting kits, which I am excited to add to my sacred space balcony garden (more on that project later!) and I think that's it!

And the icing on the cake was the end result which was a very large pile of remaining clothes and items to be donated to the Sonshine Shop Thrift Store!  

There you have it!  Now, go do a clothing swap of your own in your own group of friends and communities!  Go "shed" all of those clothes you have not worn in a while, and maybe will never wear, and swap them with your friends!  And then, give the leftovers to the Sonshine Shop Thrift Store, located at 1971 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA  90007.  Peace!

OOTD: Biker chick or Equestrian?

Blogging on the side is not an easy task.  Life has been a bit crazy lately, I'll be honest, but I'm hoping to have better rhythms with blogging, working on these upcoming projects for the Sonshine Shop soon, as well as my own little projects here on the side.  

A while back I had the time to do a quick, fun set of photos on my balcony as the sun was going down.  I got so many compliments on this outfit that day that I thought it'd be fun to post this look and promote thrift store clothes.  

I realized after I put together this outfit that I sort of looked like a cross between a biker chick, and an equestrian/horse back rider person.  

You'll have to excuse the mess of my balcony in these photos.  The balcony is now clean, thankfully, but at the time, it hadn't swept much since the weather has been colder, and been unoccupied and neglected some.  Now that I think about it, it was very warm that day that I took these photos.

I think my favorite parts of this outfit are the shirt, and the red bandana.  How patriotic is this shirt??  I dig that it says "Freedom Forever."  :-)

I will openly admit that I absolutely adore these socks that I got for free.  First of all, they are incredibly thick and warm because the brand that donated these clothes to us is a base layer brand for outdoorsey campers and skier/snow boarder types.  Which I am sort of not, although I love a good camping trip now and then.  Anyway, besides being so warm and comfy, I love that these socks have colorful cocks fighting.  It makes this outfit feel even more bada$$.  Haha.

And of course, an outfit post would not be complete without some accessories.  

I have this thing for heart jewelry, especially these days.  These bracelets look like they would match because the different shades of metal (silver, bronze, gold) but that was unintentional as I bought them all separately.  I often wear them together anyway because they match, and I love a good reminder of love.  The silver Celtic heart is my favorite I think, and I bought it at a monastery I went to recently for a retreat.  I've learned a bit about Celtic spirituality and I've come to really identify with, and love the emphasis of experiencing God in nature.  

Red bandana (old) + Freedom Forever shirt (thrifted) + Jean jacket (old) + pants (free donated) + cocks fighting socks (free donated) + black boots (thrifted) = very cheap, fun outfit of less than $10!  Go shop at the Sonshine Shop!

Some of you may be asking, "How does this girl get so much free stuff?"  I will answer that question soon.  :-)

My balcony was revived this summer, and is still in process as one of my projects.  Soon and very soon, I will post about it!  I know, so mysterious, I am.  Peace.

OOTD: Walk Like a Man?

I love having a little masculinity in outfits sometimes.  In the winter, I actually prefer to wear pants most of the time, simply to stay warm and it just feels more comfortable.

I wanted to take some photos while I still had my my Christmas decorations up in my office.  They will be coming down since tomorrow is the Day of Epiphany, the last day of Christmas, I believe.  Ever since I looked to celebrate Advent and Christmas in terms of their genuine meaning, I decided to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas until Epiphany to remind me of the joy of the season, and in a way, to prolong it.  

The cute framed Snoopy cross-stitch was a gift from my cousin from when I was very little.  I can't believe that I still have it, but I decided to pull it out and decorate my office.  

When I saw this turqoise velvet blazer at the Sonshine Shop, I couldn't resist.  It was in such great condition, and the color is lovely.  Plus, velvet is so soft and warm, although we certainly didn't need it today in Southern CA!  So sunny and warm today, and very much welcomed by me compared to last week's temperatures in the 30's and 40's (at night, that is).  Apparently, it's going to be 80 tomorrow!  The pants are so comfortable and make me think of men's trousers.  You can't tell by the photo but they are herringbone pattern, which I've always loved for formal work pants.  

I love this necklace.  It was my mom's.  She bought a set of three of these ivory necklaces a long time ago when she was single, and she gave me two of them.  Lovely, isn't it?  I will definitely be wearing the other one sometime soon.

I will never be a minimalist in terms of style.  I just love to accessorize too much, especially with jewelry.  The chunky flower bracelet, the peacock hairclip, and one of the rings is from one of my favorite jewelry vendors called Love MM Couture.  Their costume jewelry style is so gorgeous, I never thought I would love chunky, sparkly jewelry like theirs so much.  I will definitely be featuring more of their jewelry that I own.

Lastly, these amazing shoes are SSS finds as well and they were completely brand new, even still in the box.  Again, the whole outfit came together as slightly masculine, but with a few feminine jewelry pieces.  By the way, the white ceramic birds were also from the SSS, I love them as office decorations, and you will soon see that I have a thing for flowers and birds in my style! 

It appears that the SSS is closed for maintenance so I'm not sure when they'll open again this week, but I'm excited to give you all a preview of some of the items we'll be selling from Sonshine Vintage very soon!  Peace.

OOTD: Outfit of the day

Happy New Year, ya'll!  I'm happy to post my first OOTD (outfit of the day) blog post, as I'm finding that every day practically, I am wearing something from the Sonshine Shop (SSS) thrift store.

The white cable knit sweater and the heart sweater are from the SSS, both under $5.00, in great condition, and super cute, no?

Every time I wear this skirt, I get compliments.  I call this skirt my "peacock skirt" because as you can see, it's so full of colors that remind me of bright peacock feather coloring.  If you can tell by the photo, there are some strands of iridescent silver/gold thread throughout the skirt as well.  Plus, I love that it has thin pleats all throughout.  And guess who gave it to me?!  My mom!  My mom has incredible fashion sense, and she has given me many clothes and items since she is so generous, and she just doesn't wear them anymore, she says.  I plan to showcase these clothes and jewelry in a blog series, so stay tuned.

Can you believe that I've had these adorable gloves for over 20 years?  Talk about vintage!  They were a gift from a good friend from overseas.  They are not only still in great condition but they are so cute with the seasons represented on them--spring, summer, fall, and winter.  I will be wearing them quite a bit this winter, that's for sure.

Lastly, my boots that I've worn a TON this winter so far.  They are super comfortable and go with everything.  These were also a thrift store find, practically brand new, and only $6.  I am usually wary of buying used shoes, but as I checked them out, I saw that they were hardly worn and didn't smell, which is always a plus with shoes, isn't it?  

The outfit total = free scarf (a gift) + SSS heart sweater (about $5) + SSS sweater vest (about $5) + my mom's skirt (a gift) + four season gloves (a gift) + thrifted boots (about $6) = less than $20!  This is why thrift store shopping is the way to go, people.  I'm excited to share more about the good finds that are possible.  In the meantime, go shop at the SSS located at 1971 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90007, at the corner of Vermont Avenue and 20th Street directly north of the 10 freeway!  Peace.