So, The Daughter and Danae got Dolled Up to go out and did a Selfie first. It turned out so Cute and is a really good one of them both. Danae does Make-Up and an exceptional Natural Look, to make you appear flawless, brings out the best of your Features, but is very Natural and not overly Made-Up. It's definitely an Art Form and Hollywood Level Make-Up Artistry. It actually takes a lot of Skill to look this Natural when you're doing a Makeover. Same with Decorating, the Skill it takes to make something look effortless, downplayed and Simple when you're Styling a Space, is not as easy as you'd think. For a couple of Gals in their Forties, who have Adult Kids, they still look pretty Hawt and Youthful.
I took The Man out for Brunch, we were gonna go to "Snooze" but it was a Sunday and too busy, so we went to "5 & Diner" instead and had their Cadillac Meatloaf Dinner, which is exceptional. So the Food Porn for this Post will be too. *Winks* We have plenty of leftovers for Lunch later now too. The ambiance at the place is very 1950's inspired and it's one of those Silver Bullet Airstream Restaurants. They have the Individual Jukeboxes on each Table with 1950's Selections of Music, and everything, including the Menu Selections, is Nostalgic Old School Diner. I couldn't get The Man to eat his Veggies, so he always gives them to me.
I don't mind, I Love my Veggies, and their Mixed Veggies are the best too, with Pearl Onions, Green Beans, Carrots, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, and Red Bell Peppers. I should have waited and Photographed mine with the other Veggies in a Bowl he gave me to eat. It also comes with delicious Garlic Toast, Crispy Fried Onions and Sauteed Mushrooms with the Meatloaf Topping, Mashed Taters with the Skins left on and smothered in a pleasantly rich Salty Dark Gravy you could Bathe in. Nom-Nom. The Meatloaf is great on a Sammie later on, Hot or Cold. The Older Hispanic Waitress there always remembers us, no matter how long it's been since our last visit, she's a Sweetheart. And they give Military Discounts even tho' it's way Downtown in the Inner City, not near any Military Base.
We also stopped at One GOODWILL Downtown and nearby, it's Senior Day and tho' the Seasonal Merch isn't discounted, I still wanted to peruse their Halloween Merch. They had a good selection of it, I got a Medium New Old Stock Fabric Pumpkin with Bling on it. Two Smaller Child Sized Vintage Metal Halloween Pails with great Graphics and Lids. Some more Halloween Paper Plates and Napkins. A couple of Cookbooks. A Commercial Female Fabric and Metal Dress Form Mannequin Torso on a Commercial Heavy Metal Stand. Two Sets of identical 1950's S&P Shakers with textured Pressed Glass and Retro Red Bakelite Lids. A Halloween Coffee Mug. And a "Boss Lady" Coffee Scented Candle that was called "Hustle & Caffeine" and Scented up the entire Truck with a lovely Aroma of freshly Brewed Coffee on the ride Home. Most are pictured Below with some more Diner Pixs thrown in.
The Retail Therapy was enjoyable and I got everything at Bargain Basement prices. The Older Navajo Cashier was doing everything by herself and apologizing for the long line. She'd not called for Backup coz she said there was no Backup, everyone had Called In Sick or just not bothered to show up for Work without even Calling In! It happens everywhere now and we get it a lot at the Antique Mall too. It makes reliable Employees and Good Workers have to Work harder and more due to the inconsiderate unreliable ones who don't Honor their Commitments and Deal with angry Customers who aren't happy with waiting. It's one thing if someone is legitimately ill or has an Emergency, it happens, but the Cashier told me her Co-Workers do this all of the time and it upsets Customers coz there's only One Cashier, also answering the Phones, and things back up, especially on Sale Days. Sundays are a Sale Day for Military and for Students to get 25% Off, so it's busier.
The Cashier was Senior Citizen Aged and handled it all Calmly, unruffled and Politely, in True Native American Fashion that Tribal Elders always exhibit. It's hard to fluster them, have them show any Emotional Stress, or disturb their Calm. *Smiles* She had Beautiful Tribal Silversmith Jewelry on from her Tribe and had her Hair done in Traditional Navajo Style Beavertail Tsiiye'e'l. In spite of being overworked and overwhelmed by the long line of Customers, she was pleasant and apologetic with us all, which kept everyone Calm that was in a ridiculously long line. Everyone could see she was doing the very best she could, so, luckily nobody got snarky or ill tempered for the wait. I had too much Good Stuff to bail on my Purchase *Smiles*, so I patiently waited my turn and then she and I conversed about the Situation while she was ringing me up. Most of us in Line were Seniors too and commiserated with her plight.
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I see more Seniors than Teenagers working Minimum Wage Jobs now... and a fair amount of Middle Aged folks too, which shows how shitty this Economy truly is. Yes, there are Jobs, but, are they Full Time, do they have any Benefits, are they paying a Livable Wage? Chances are the Answer to all of that is No, No, and No. And the reason you're seeing Older People having to take said Jobs is becoz they can't make the ends meet on their Pensions and/or they are grossly Underemployed coz there are not as many, if any, Good Jobs with Full Time Hours, Benefits, and a decent Salary to Live on comfortably. I know more folks with more Degrees than a Thermometer that are Underemployed or even Unemployed and not Hired for what they got their Degrees for and cannot find Work in those Fields. A lot of those Skilled Workers in The Trades, with loads of Experience and exemplary Work History, also are not always finding Work, as The Son is a prime Example of.
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The Niece said when she comes out to Visit from Texas, she's gonna do Gig Work while here, mostly doing Uber Delivery Work for various big Companies, doing their Deliveries. She'll have The Daughter help her and Share in the profits they make. She is a Tech Guru and Computer Programmer and Designer of Web/I.T. related stuff... all way over my Head, coz she's a legit Tech Genius. But she's been either Unemployed or Underemployed lately and said she thinks A.I. is gonna eliminate a lot of what people like her do. She's so against A.I. she's even more vehemently opposed to it than I am, and she went back to School to Learn about it and thought she'd migrate into Developing it, but said it's so Dark, so Foreboding, she didn't want to be complicit to any of it or any part of it and dropped out even tho' she was getting excellent Grades and could have made Money exploiting the whole A.I. Bubble that is shoring up the Economy and Stock Market right now. We both agreed that a lot of the Stocks now seem Juiced... artificially pumped up and boosted, in case you're unfamiliar with the lingo.
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She's doing some Stock Trading, just to make Fast Money at it on a relatively small low risk scale, just to exploit what she sees happening. So we talk of that fairly often, she knows I've been getting regular Stock Dividends off my Investments for over Fifty Plus Years and mine have performed just Fine and reliably, so I don't Trade a lot. The Passive Income Flow from it suits me just Fine and is reliable enuf for over half a Century, that I can't complain, coz I got all mine in lieu of Bonuses back when I had Corporate Lives and the Money is as regular as Clockwork. Anyway, she's hanging in there which is all the Regular Folk who aren't independently Wealthy and Billionaires can do when the Economy is in the shitter and looks not to be Promising of getting better anytime soon and with such Poor Leadership and Corrupt Grifters and Career Criminals at the helm making it what it is. So long as they make it massively Profitable for them, they Care not who else or what else it destroys.
I deliberately give myself several Days at a time now without turning on The News coz I know it's all Bad. I want to keep Informed Enough, but not too much, coz, damn, it's so Fucked Up and the level of Fuckery being allowed and left unchecked is unprecedented in our History. The consequences of which will be far reaching and long lasting, Trust and Believe... likely for Generations to come. There is still the Lunatic Fringe and Extremists out there too... on BOTH Sides of the Aisle now. Coz I must say some of the Far Left is looking just as whack and Fucked Up to me as the MAGA ever was. And if the Democrats allow their Party to be hijacked like the Republicans did, well, we better either have a 3rd and better Option, or my Vote is in Play for Real. And I don't mean I'd Vote for either Side of the Extremes... and I really do Hate to throw my Vote away and have it mean nothing at all coz there's nothing NOT Extreme and Crazy, to even Vote FOR with the existing Two Party System that's getting more and more Fucked Up on both Sides now!!!
Anyway, enuf of the Political Scene which is FUBAR as Hell. Let us instead enjoy some of my Retail Therapy in Images now, shall we? *Winks* That's way more Uplifting. Above is my Fabric and Bling Medium sized Pumpkin, still had it's Retail Tags on it from a Big Box Decor Store. It's a Terry Towel kind of Material and weighted. I almost Waffled at Buying it coz sometimes I get ridiculously Stupid about what I'll Pay at a Chazza... even if it's really still a Good Deal. *LOL and Winks* Finally I knew I'd have Non-Buyer's Remorse if I didn't get it coz it was actually not a Bad Price, just not almost a Giveaway and practically nothing. *Ha ha ha* I knew it was New Old Stock from a Good Quality Store and the Retail Price had been High, High, High, so it would have been Stubborn Stupidity to Pass on it at the Price the GOODWILL wanted, even tho' slightly higher than usual for Used Merch that is Donated and not New Old Stock given to them by Major Retailers who clearly are Sponsors of the Organization.
My Pails were my Fav Score coz I Love Vintage Halloween and the Graphics and you don't find it very often, if at all, even In Season. Plus they were 99 Cents Each, come on, that was almost Free IMO compared to their Value as a Vintage Halloween Collectible in decent Shape. All of the Halloween and Fall Napkins and Paper Plates I've been Buying and Squirrelling away have been big Bagged Lots at a pittance Price Point, so... No-Brainer to scoop up any and all of them they have so that I don't have to Wash Dishes or Buy Paper Towels, Paper Plates or Napkins at Retail Prices for a long while. Plus, how Fun is it to eat off of Halloween Graphics all the time? *Winks*
Here's my Mannequin Dress Form, heavy as a Boat Anchor she is and Commercial Grade. I Buy any Industrial or Commercial Pieces like this anytime I see them Cheaply Prices secondhand coz whether I Keep them for Display or Sell them, there's no Downside to as many as I can get my Hands on. As you can see, our Faux Pumpkins never made it off the Front Porch since last Season and why bother putting them away now when in September we'd be setting them up again? *LMAO* Below are the Two Sets of Retro S&P Shakers. They actually had a 3rd Identical Set but the Red Bakelite Top was missing off one of the Shakers so I didn't Buy that Set. That Downtown GOODWILL always has a lot of Vintage and Antique Donations but I don't get way down there very often. Since, I'm not Buying much for Resale, I usually just Sell Off what we already have and are Downsizing our Possessions of. So I don't have current Outlay for much I'm doing Resale on, I Bought mine Decades ago, so my Margins are excellent.
Below is the Candle, I got for only 99 Cents, and it was New, has a very large Wick and Smells Sublime! And how Cute is the Whimsical Name and Packaging of the Brand? We were depleting my Cache' of Gold Canyon {now out of Business}, and Votivo {Expensive} Candles quickly, so now when I see any good Quality Candles secondhand at a Chazza, and they Smell Good, and are a Bargain, I snap them up. Coz we almost always have a Candle or Incense Burning in our Home becoz we Love to have a Zen Atmosphere and lovely Aroma to our Living Spaces. My Cache' of Incense is still respectable, but the Candle Cache' was dwindling to where I knew I better Scout for and Source some more.
Below is my Halloween Coffee Mug. Not that I Needed any more Mugs in this Lifetime, I have more than any Sane Woman should ever Own. But, I don't profess to be Sane and I am a Mug Hoarder, what can I say? I Sell a lot of them, I use them all of the time {well, most of them, some are Display Collectibles I won't risk damaging with use}, and I just Love them and they make me Happy. So... whatever... whenever I see another one I simply MUST have and it's the Right Price, it comes Home with me. With my 5-to-1 Rule in place, anytime 1 thing comes IN, then a minimum of 5 things must go OUT, so that keeps me accountable. Tho' it does somewhat slow down the Great Edit and Purge continuously to have any ONE thing still coming in, so, there's THAT pesky detail. *Winks*
Anyway, I Loved everything about the Mug and The Daughter had recently broken one of my Fav Halloween Mugs. *Le Sigh, it happens when they're used a lot and when doing Dishes sometimes* So, I justified it's Purchase since I'd had to throw out a Beloved Halloween Mug that was a recent casualty and I can't replace with one just like it, dammit. *Boo Hoo and Sob* This is why my most Collectible STARBUCKS Mugs that have some Value to them don't get used coz the Kiddos would surely damage or break them or wear the Graphics out. Plus, use does Devalue them as a Collectible and stains them, and I have some of the REAL coveted Collectible ones that can fetch a LOT at Resale now. You wouldn't Believe what some folks are Paying for the most coveted ones Issued!!! So, did you have Fun going Shopping vicariously with me my Friends? *Winks and Smiles* I was impressed with Today's Haul and it didn't cost me very much at all... well within Modest Budget.
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Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Fall now... Dawn... The Bohemian
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