Happiness

A few weeks ago, Louie and I went to Village Inn in the Quad Cities and ordered salads. The plates were HUGE. They were also ORANGE. (I still haven’t figured out why ORANGE makes me so happy lately. It just looks happy.)You just don’t know how bad I WANTED to buy those plates. (We could have asked…..?)

My salad was the Chicken Fruit Salad. No, I did not eat it all. I gave over half the fruit to Louie. I don’t remember what his salad was called, or even what was in it, but you can see I had MORE than enough to share. Heck, I could have shared it with the people in the next booth! (Do you ever want things that you can’t buy? When I was a kid, I always wanted a red rubber school playground ball. When I was an adult, I finally found one thrifting, kept it for a few years and donated it. Just wanted one. I also wanted a plastic basket restaurants used to put burgers and fries in. Had one or two of them too, but don’t now….)

I came home and tried to find plates online, and I either didn’t find what I wanted, or I wasn’t willing to pay the price. I never really did find what I was looking for online. 

Last weekend, I was on a mission to find two big plates. (In my online search, I had to search plates, serving platters, rimmed soup bowls….Wow..everyone calls them something different.)

Never fear though! I searched and found! (Not orange, sadly, but I was VERY happy to find two large plates (white, which worked out even better than I thought). It’s funny how my mind changes when I see a $3 price over much higher prices! The requirements don’t seem quite so stiff! I found these plates at a Salvation Army store. These two plates, a couple of smaller salad/dessert plates, and a couple small bowls were all taped together in a stack….for $3. We took the plates and donated the rest back. Can you believe these plates are so large, they don’t fit in my sink across the bottom, and they are too tall for my dishwasher and cupboard!  What is a girl to do?

Following Diana’s lead, Louie and I hung them on the wall in the kitchen using doorstops! (Diana, you are BRILLIANT!) Please go to Diana’s blog post and see what she hung on her door stops!

When we want to have a nice salad, we will just remove them from the wall, then put them back nice and shiny clean when we are finished! (And I like the way they look, too!)

Simple things make me happy. I don’t require fancy things, or fancy clothes. I find happiness in thrift shopping. I don’t have the guilt of paying high prices at retail for something I might never wear, or tire of easily. I always figure if what I buy can’t be fixed, or I decide I just didn’t like it, I consider it a good donation to a worthy cause, donate it back….and I have fun doing it!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and may God shine down His BEST blessings upon you!

Michelle