A Blessed Retreat…

For some months now I have been dreaming of taking a short retreat. A getaway by myself where I can just be alone for a bit. Enjoy nature. Spend time journaling. Just sit and think. I’m trying to smooth out some of the rough edges I acquired during the pandemic. Lord knows this strange season brought out my worst tendencies and proclivities.

So it was good to get away for a couple of days and enjoy the beautiful grounds at Villa Angelica.

And bonus, the ocean is literally across the road. I plunked down here for a while on my second day.

As my second night was ending and I was to check out the next day, I realized a longer trip would have been more helpful. It would have given me a chance to shut down more of the “noise” of my regular life and focus on the deeper things. Next time!

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Of course I did do a little thrifting and antiquing whilst away because that’s one of my joys too.

Went to three boutique thrift stores on the way down to my retreat location that were seriously tough picking. You expect it to a certain extent, but honestly I found prices that made me think “How is this a thrift store?” One store had a lovely vintage beaded Walborg purse for $50 and a small remnant of upholstery fabric for $28! Good grief!

I did find one pricey thing that I believe may have more meat on the bone–a 1920s-1950s oak and metal ice bucket or biscuit barrel. We’ll see how it turns out.

Overall I was disappointed with these stores though a delicious vegetarian pizza for lunch helped sooth me.

The next morning I visited an American Cancer Discovery Thrift Store. The thrift store had some lovely things, but nothing that rang my bell at a price point that worked for me. The costume jewelry was 50% off, but gosh it was still was too high for me. I walked out empty handed.

But I will say Pickings Antiques (in Pacific Grove, CA) was a delight. Every nook of this small store was crammed with interesting bits and I spent an hour there!

I was tempted by a few of these older beaded purses marked down to $30 and $35, but these have been hard sells for me lately and they still weren’t cheap enough to make a profit reselling them.

I loved these dogs for myself…though I am not a stuffed animal collector. Honestly I came close to buying that little wire fox terrier on the right! (What do you think of these Lisa? As a collector would you have bought either of them?)

There were goodies around every corner…

In the end I did buy a few small things here…like this lovely wodge of lace trim that I believe is vintage Barmen machine lace or perhaps Cluny. It was marked down from $24 to $12.

I also spent some time looking through antique photo postcards. Most of these will be for my personal collection. They were all $1 each and I happily picked out seven…like these dapper, happy gents.

And I adore this “big hat gal.” (How about this hat Ann?)

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I’m glad I got away though the trip was too short and sadly there was a lot of traffic on the 100-mile trip home and I came home grubby and tired. Lunch and a shower helped with that. And of course it is always good to be home!

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen