We Should All Have Friends Like This

For those of you who have been following me for a long time, you may remember me referring to my dear sweet friend Stacy in prior posts. She is my mentor, the one responsible for my foray into yardsaling and thrifting. We are two old souls who were probably separated at birth. Visiting her home is a truly extraordinary experience. Everything you see has a history, a story behind it. From the art on her walls, to the lamps and clocks on her furniture, and speaking of furniture, well, let's just say, one step inside her front door and you are completely blown away. Most of her pieces are one-of-a-kind, acquired over the years from high end antique stores to the local Goodwill. You would never know the difference. Stacy and I go back a few years, but most recently, she was my daughter's art teacher. Stacy's talent in art knows no bounds. She can transform just about anything, and her knowledge of art has been as asset to me in more ways than I can say. I have so much fun picking her brain. Even more fun is hearing her relay the stories of how she obtained some of her vast treasures. She has an antique decanter, that is in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and plays music when you pour. Her collection of vintage handbags and jewelry would make you drool. I cannot say enough about this girl, except to say that she is very special to me.

I have rule of thumb when it comes to making friends and it goes something like this - a true friend is someone who is happy for you when something good happens to you, and sad with you when something bad happens, and NOT the other way around. I've had my share of the latter over the years and I've gotten alot better at weeding them out. My husband has never understood how I can just "release" a friend as quickly as I sometimes have. I tell him that they broke my "rule" and I don't consider them a friend. I strongly feel that it is important to one's well-being to surround themselves with people who make them feel good about themselves. I would have friends that I thought were my friend, but somehow, every time I left their company I would be questioning myself as a person, a mother, a friend. I would finally realize that it was a pattern and that it wasn't ME, it was THEM. They would say or do things to make me question myself and second-guess myself. It takes time and experience to establish a core group of true friends, and once you have, you TREASURE them. Stacy is one that I treasure.


Why am I going on about rules??? Well, because I may be the world's biggest hypocrite!!! Poor Stacy has sold her beautiful home and is about to move her wonderful family into another beautiful home. Anyone who's ever moved knows what a huge undertaking this is, especially this time of year. Their move-out/move-in date is December 7th!! And anyone who has ever moved also knows, that with any move, comes a "purge". You want to bring as little with you as possible, to make the move a little bit easier. And starting fresh in a new home, means not wanting so much "stuff". Just like when you redecorate a room. You start out not wanting to hang anything on the walls, because you just want to enjoy the "newness" for a while.

So what makes me a hypocrite you ask?? Well, I should be feeling sad for my poor friend who has all of this going on, and instead, I'm, well, OVERJOYED!!!!!!!! No, no, no, not overjoyed that Stacy has all this on her plate, but overjoyed that she has chosen ME as the benefactor of all of the treasures that did not make the cut!!! Stacy chose me because she knows how much I will treasure them and appreciate them. And if I were in her situation, I would want to do exactly the same thing.

So, how do you thank someone for something as big as this? Well, until I can come up with something befitting (and I'm open to any and all suggestions) I will dedicate this post to Stacy and share with you just a few of the goodies she has so graciously passed along to me.


This is just a fraction of what was given to me by Stacy. There will be more pictures to come. And, even better, some of these goodies will appear on my Etsy store, which has unofficially opened (go to Etsy and my store is kimmcl@comcast.net). So stay tuned for more info on my Etsy debut, because of course there will be a giveaway!!!!

Before I leave, I will end this post with my one of my most prized possessions - a birthday gift from Stacy I received back in August. It is only the most bee-u-ti-ful stein I have ever layed eyes on, and my stupid camera doesn't do it nearly enough justice (can you guess what I'll be asking The Man to get me for Christmas???).