So the Event wrapped up Yesterday and I certainly Hope you were able to make it to Experience firsthand and procure your Harvest, Autumn and Halloween Treasures? And receive tons of Inspiration for your Holiday Decorating Projects! I know I did.
In fact, Princess T and I were so Inspired by the Images I captured that we spent her entire Birthday Day Decorating Bohemian Valhalla for Halloween! We had so much Fun and the results will be Shared in a Future Post, we're Delighted with how it all turned out.
We both Adore Decorating and Styling, but with all of the Stresses and Personal Dramas playing out right now, we hadn't been certain if we'd be in the Mood or have the Energy to jumpstart ourselves to haul out the Seasonal Decor this year early? Or be able to surround ourselves with the Atmosphere of the Season with the Time Constraints and Strains of handling everything else? So I want to Thank my Friends at 'The Sweet' again for duly Inspiring and Motivating our Family to jump in and do what we so Enjoy doing every year at the beginning of the Holiday Season.
It really has made a difference in improving our Mood and Attitude, this Addams Family Style Crew, to now be surrounded by our Favorite Styling and the Ambiance of Halloween, done up our way! When we finally get Home now to try to Relax after a rough day at Hospitals, School and dealing with various Agencies and their Staff to receive Help, it is so much more effortless now. Being surrounded by Seasonal Treasures and Dark Whimsical Decorating we Love and always look forward to doing a Special Theme with each Halloween. It truly now has once again become our Hallowed Haven to Retreat to.
And we haven't forgotten the Harvest Autumn Touches... with Vintage Velvet Pumpkins and the Real Deal. Alas, our Victory Garden only produced one lone Pale White Pumpkin that Survived our Record Heat Wave this year and could reflect the brutal 113+ degree Fall Sunshine... so we have to buy the rest, but that's Okay... going to the Pumpkin Patches and riding the Hay Wagon is half the Fun, right?
And I'm still Determined to Create some Vintage Velvet and Sweater Arm Pumpkins of my own now that I'm surrounded by an Atmosphere and Vibe at Home that Delights the Senses and gets me in a Holiday Creative Mood.
I decided I won't dump the whole bale of Images on you for the SWEET SALVAGE Posts since the Event has now drawn to a close... but I'll sprinkle them in to other Posts throughout the Season so that you can Enjoy them with other Stories. And there's only twenty-three days and eighteen hours until the next Event! *Winks* A Hint... it will Delight all Francophiles because the Theme will be decidedly French!!! *Can I get a Whoop Whoop!?*
And even this past Event wasn't all Ookey and Spooky, I tended to gravitate to that of coarse *Smiles*... but there were slews of other Autumn Inspiration and Styles abounding, the Peacock Inspired Styling Appealed to me for obvious reasons. *Winks*
But I Confess that I do tend to get Tunnel Vision come the Holidays and really focus upon Decorating for each one, often at the exclusion of other Styles I also Admire and are equally Blog Worthy to Share. I guess I figure I can always Decorate in a Non-Holiday Theme any other time of the year, so when Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas roll around it's all about THAT for me. *Smiles*
I have had Friends who never Decorate or Style for Holidays or particular Seasons and its just not important for them to, but for us it is... and so we tend to go all out and really revel in it all... allowing our Imaginations to soar in the Styling for each Holiday coming up. Guess I have always just been a Big Kid at Heart and so the Wonder of each Holiday has really never diminished by how old I get. Just my Energy level to pull it together... *Le Sigh*... and so I was really glad that this Year Princess T was really pushing me and aiding me to get the job done and not procrastinate or hold back.
Though I Love to Decorate, it is always so much easier when you have Helping Hands isn't it? And that Kiddo worked Tirelessly towards getting Halloween up and running at Bohemian Valhalla in all it's Splendor! Her reward... I filled up the Candy Dishes early with Seasonal Treats and we'll just replenish when necessary to extend the Joy of it all.
I also found some Wonderful Vintage Halloween and Autumn Themed Treasures to add to our Seasonal Decor this Year too. The Shops, other Artists and Flea Markets have had the Inventory ready and waiting for Discovery and we've had a Grand Time browsing and Window Shopping to soak it all in. I probably Window Shop and Browse more than twice as much during the start of the Holiday Season. Normally I'm not a Retail browser, but at Halloween and Christmas, I hit all the Shops to see what they've Decorated with this Year?!?
And to see what is Trending this Season for the Holidays? What Color Palettes are popular? And what new Inventory has come out with a Fresh Style and Approach to the Holidays? Now that I have some Retail Spaces it's important Recon! *LOL*
I must say that this Year my Seasonal Inventory is moving fast, much faster than last Year, so I Believe that folks could be feeling more confident about the Economy and their Circumstances improving. That makes me feel good and not just because it increases my Sales, but because I am Happy when others are beginning to Prosper and Relax about the Economic Climate and state of Affairs in the Nation... it's been so grim for so many. There has been so much pessimism and fear, hardship and loss... so it's about time some things begin to turn around for the better!
Though our Family is certainly 'Going Through' right now and certain to be facing some bleak and extremely Challenging times ahead, I like to hold out the Hope that there still could be some Prosperity in our Future too!?! And that everything will be Okay in the end... and if it's not Okay, then it's not the End yet. *Winks* I'm not a 'Misery Loves Company' sorta Gal... when I'm 'Down' I like to Witness most others being 'Up' because that gives me renewed Hope and sustained Optimism for the Future... I'm much more concerned when too many others are also 'Down', that's never a good Sign of the Times.
The Kiddos were already Worried about Christmas, Bless their Hearts. Will there BE a Christmas this Year Gramma, if Grandpa can't come Home and his Care takes up all the money we have? Valid Questions... but I Assured them that Yes, there WILL BE a Christmas this Year for them, I Promise and will make a way, I'm Resourceful like that and up to the Challenge. It just might be on a smaller scale than usual and focused just that much more on the Reason for the Season and the Great Gift that is, superceding anything that could be had under the Tree anyway because it is Priceless.
They were Relieved... and because we'd already surrounded ourselves with the Magic of the upcoming Holiday, things seemed and appeared more 'Normal' to them now rather than precarious and absent of our Routine and the Security that will put them at ease... me too actually, Truth be told. I recall about a decade ago when my Dear Dad was obviously getting ready to Pass from Time into Eternity right in the midst of the Holiday Season... it took all we had to make it as 'Normal' a Holiday Season as possible in spite of the Sorrows and Pain that losing him would bring... but we managed... and we will now too. Life goes on...
And while it's going on you might as well Enjoy it and squeeze everything out of it you can, right?! At least that's my Mantra. And I'm not going to allow any Holiday, or any Day for that matter, to pass me by without Savoring ALL of it, regardless of Circumstances. Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.…
Right now, at this Moment in Time, we're not abounding... but we can still have Contentment and Enjoy Life because of it. Focusing on what we have left rather than lamenting on that which has been lost and may never be again.
Simple Pleasures are being Savored and in the Simplicity there is actually a Peace that continues to fuel Contentment. Often when there is Less you Appreciate it all the more anyway instead of being insatiable and that is rather Liberating really.
And Beauty still abounds all around us so long as you don't allow yourself to walk around with eyes wide shut to it due to Circumstances and Situations blinding you.
And sometimes we see, and yet fail to see. This Image reminds me of that because it was Delightfully Creepy and Visually I 'saw' it... and yet failed to see what it might Cost... and in hindsight I Wish I had, you know? Many things can be like that, hindsight is always twenty-twenty isn't it? And I'm one to always attempt to have few actual Regrets as I move forward in Life.
Gotta keep moving Forward and not just looking over our shoulder at what is behind us and doing the wouldda, shouldda, couldda thing... that's no good.
And to keep it one-hundred percent and Real without Facades... because I always feel that is important and appreciated by others.
So yes my Friends... I've been 'Down' but not 'Out'... have fallen and picked myself up and dusted myself off, several times in fact in recent days... and continued the Journey... with renewed Faith and Optimism... and maintaining Gratitude, which is ever so Important!!!
And literally I still have tons of even more Fabu Images, Stories and Good Times to Share here in the Land of Blog my Friends, so I do Hope you'll stop by for a Visit again?
Because each Day is a New Adventure... and you do Love Adventures as much as I do, don't you? Yeah, I thought so... *Winks*
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian