I bet I didn't hafta ask you twice, did I? *Winks* So, let's go Christmas Shopping together virtually shall we... as we trawl several of our Favorite Local Haunts and see what Great Inventory is awaiting us!
I'm a notorious Window Shopper... I absorb Inspiration from it and so I don't HAVE to really buy anything to thoroughly Enjoy myself. It's a Feast for my Eyes just to go Shopping even if I have no Intentions of making a Purchase that day. Though certainly if I happen to find the perfect Found Treasure or a Killer Deal I'm all over it too! *Winks*
The sights, sounds and smells of Christmas are just Magical and so this time of year I particularly use any Excuse to get out and Window Shop to my Heart's Content and revel in the Atmosphere that is pure Christmas Enchantment and brings a Childlike Wonder to everything!
I'm also a great 'Pretender' as the G-Kids call it... I like to Pretend, along with them, that we're actually getting everything on our Window Shopping Spree. Yes, we'll take that... and that... and that... it's such Fun to Pretend because Money is no object as you Indulge your Fantasies on the Canvas of your Imagination... and it's much easier on the Budget because there's no commitment, debt or Buyer's Remorse! *LOL*
You can be really Impulsive and go to Town with your Buying Spree when it's just a Game and you're filling up your Fantasy Mansion with unlimited Fabulous stuff that you don't even have to agonize about where you're gonna put it or find a way to afford it! *LOL*
Or even fill up that Fantasy Brick and Mortar Warehouse size Shop you have as you go on an Imaginary 'Pick' and fill it up with Fabulous Finds for the throngs of Customers you're Sourcing for because you totally Sold Out of Inventory from your last Imaginary 'Pick'! *Smiles* Yes, that gorgeous Hand-Carved Antiques Sign is now hanging on a Shingle outside of my Huge Fantasy Loft Warehouse Shop on the Canvas of my Imagination! You should see that Place inside my Head, it's beyond Awesome! *Winks*
There's loads of Pimped Out Taxidermy hanging all over the place in my Dream Warehouse Retail Shop!
This old boy was an Imaginary Purchase this day... and we're still Imagining the Tiara, strands of Pearls and Antique Italian Gesso Frame we'll eventually Source for him on the Canvas of our Imaginations. That's part of the Game you see... and the Kiddos and I have such Fun 'Pretending' we're High Rollers on a Mega-Pick with an Unlimited Shopping Budget and a HUMONGOUS Shop to fill to the rafters, along with our Personal Mansions to fill as well! *Smiles*
I always say if you're gonna Dream, DREAM BIG!!! Kids tap into that Naturally, they have no limits to their Imaginations and what is Possible... and sadly, many Adults lose that "Anything and Everything is Possible" mentality and their Dreams shrink and can be so easily contained in what they now think to be Possible and/or Impossible for them.
I'm a Huge Dreamer... I've always Believed Anything and Everything IS POSSIBLE... I totally eliminated Impossible from my vocabulary and always set Lofty Grandoise Goals even into Adulthood. So, many of those Goals were actually Attained... and many were Attained Prematurely, way ahead of Schedule. You see, I firmly Believe that whether you Think you CAN or you Think you CAN'T you'll prove yourself to be Right. I'd rather Think I CAN. I firmly Believe in the Laws of Attraction, you tend to Attract what your Focus and Thoughts are upon most, whether Negative or Positive.
I've rarely met a Child that didn't have Great Dream Capacity and Unlimited Imagination, they're just Hard Wired that way. I like to Brainstorm with Children because they have absolutely Unlimited Vision and they don't yet know what allegedly can't be done! And so... they will very likely be the first to DO what is said can't be done!
They are always their own kind of Beautiful, with few Inhibitions and Beautiful Free Spirits... until others begin to Influence them in the direction of Inhibition and Restrictions.
I like to see Younger Children get dressed up to go out... they don't care what anybody thinks about their Ensemble, if they're totally diggin' it they go with it. And everybody thinks it's Cute, no matter how Avant-Garde because they're totally pulling it off with the utmost Confidence that they look Spectacular! If you dare to have that same Mindset and Confidence as an Adult, I've found that you too can look Spectacular and Uniquely YOU regardless of Popular Opinion or the Critiques of those who Believe their way is the only way to go.
You might even be Pleasantly Surprised at how many Sincere Compliments you will get when you go with what Speaks to your Heart and Soul and Follow it Confidently! I do Believe we Connect with certain things for a Reason... at our Cores we really do know what we Love and are Attracted to... even if we don't fully Understand Why?
I've been Curious at times as to why certain things, certain colors, certain Styles, certain places and certain People are more Attractive to me... but it doesn't really matter Why. It just matters that I Follow those Instincts and go with it, I've found that it makes Life easier and more Enriching for me because those Connections are just more Special and Abiding.
And sometimes when I'm on my Imaginary Shopping Sprees I do also pick up some Real Items that I Connect to... either for Resale or to Feather my own Nest. I easily Feel that I could be a Personal Shopper because I so Enjoy the Process, even if the Product isn't for me! *LOL*
You wouldn't Believe how many times when I'm out and about I Discover Found Treasures that I just KNOW one of my other Friends or Family would be Ga-Ga over. And I just have to get it for them or 'Pick' it for them to flip in their own Spaces if it's a total no-brainer that they would be loathe if they saw it and didn't pick it up! No obligation of coarse, it's a Gift and we can always work something out in Trade later if they're more comfortable with a Trade rather than a No Special Occassion Gift. My Friends and Family are all Generous Souls so we often Surprise each other for no particular reason and Believe in the Laws of Reciprocity... Givers always Gain... always.
Granted, there are always those Imaginary Purchases we would LIKE to be Real if Money were no object... this Chest was one of them for Yours Truly... isn't it Divine?!? Yes, I most definitely have Champagne Taste on Beer Drinker's Money as my Dear Ole' Dad used to say... and total delusions of Grandeur! *Winks* If I didn't have a Penny to my name I'd still go for the Good Stuff and have the Trappings of Oppulence some kind of way with the use of Imagination and Resourcefulness, which are Free by the way and everyone Possesses to some degree. *Smiles*
What are the most Imaginative and Resourceful things you've done my Friends?
I do Hope you will always hold onto the Capacity for Imagining and being Resourceful, it will Serve you well all your Life. In fact, it will make the Magic come to Life in your Life!
And I Hope you're having Fun joining us on this Virtual Chistmas Shopping Spree? Because I had such Fun bringing it to you through the Eye of my lens.
Because though we might not be able to Purchase everything that catches our Eye, and Lord knows we wouldn't have the room to put it even if we could... *Smiles*... we can sort of have it via the Images we Capture of it, can't we? That's why I Enjoy the Art of Photography so much actually... Preserving that which had Inspired or Captivated me, even if I couldn't bring it Home and Possess it.
Preserving Delightful Vignettes and Artfully Designed Spaces Inspires me so much that I thoroughly Enjoy re-visiting them in the Images Captured... either by myself or others. Which is one of the Great Appeals of the Land of Blog isn't it?
I Hope we'll go Shopping again together soon, because I had such a Good Time with you... Christmas Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian