Tatertots & Jello Shots

I have been cleaning a lot.
I have to clean a lot because I have a lot of “items” , not sure what to call it all.
Junk… stuff..things..belongings…articles.
Things I have had for a few weeks & things I have had for as long as I can remember.

It is weird how there are certain material items you just have to hang on to.
I thought everyone had as much stuff as me, until I moved to California and between Rindi and I, we filled from floor to ceiling an entire full size Uhaul.

When I told people we were getting a Uhaul, the constant response was ” Why can’t you just load up your car and drive down?!”
This blows my mind… how could ANYONE pack up their lives belongings into a car a move 1400 miles away? I could fit all my clothes and some shoes in my car maybe. No where near the items it would require for me to make a home for myself in a new place!

First of all I had a new mattress, that was NOT getting left behind…that wouldn’t fit in my car… so I would have to rent a trailer, so might at well go all out and get the damn full size semi truck and take it all!
So, we did.

Over the years of making new friends and helping people move, I have discovered most people have far less things than I do. I come with a lot of baggage…. literally.

Anyway, so much of my stuff consists of collections.

I have been collecting things for a long time.

It started with stuffed animals and figurines, then onto a music box stage, snow globes
( anyone remember the San Fransisco Music Box company store that used to be in Southcenter mall )
flattened pennies, postcards and pogs.

Then it moved on it, dishes, teapots, cookware, frames…
The list goes on, I get hooked and I can’t have just one.

For the last 8 years I have been collecting vintage Pyrex dishes and mixing bowls.

I grew up with these in my mom’s kitchen but I always hated them. The colors were totally 70’s because they were all wedding gifts to my parents.

Then I discovered they also came in pastels and I needed them all!

Here is some of it in the kitchen that I use on a daily basis

I started collecting Tea Pots in the 6th grade after my parents came back from a trip and my mom brought me a tea pot as a souvenir. After that, I kept getting more and more.
I only have a few displayed in my kitchen right now while the rest of them are still boxed up in the garage.
I need a china hutch for them all I think.

When I was in college I became infatuated with religious figurines and art. Not the serious kind… the fun kind. Fun religious art? Yes, religious Kitsch!

What is Kitsch you say?

Kitsch (English pronunciation: /ˈkɪtʃ/, loanword from German) is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons [1] while making cheap mass-produced objects that are unoriginal.

So I started collecting Marys & vintage wall fonts: see below