Warning: This item is NOT for sale. Because it is already sold! To me!!! This week we’re sharing our own story for #whyithriftwednesday. ⚡️ Big thanks to Rachelle/@thatgirlwholovesvintage for hosting this fun tag, I sure do love our vintage insta-community.
I was late in the game of Potter fandom only picking the series up about six years ago. It was never a series I thought I’d take to, never watched the movies, it just somehow missed me.
But when special people come into your life at just the right time and share the journey of the books with you, it (and they) hold special memories and comfort. Note my shirt from an old friend, 'I'd Rather Be Reading Harry Potter'. I still treasure that gift. And his influence and encouragement for absorbing this series.
These books taught me. They have been my company. The characters became friends, helping me get through some very dark times. After reading the complete series, I passed them along to a cherished comrade who was, at the time, going through her own battle with breast cancer. Hermione, her favorite, helped lead the charge and helped her WIN.
My very best friend Veronica of 28 years had not read them either. After a tearful soapbox explanation of what these books meant to me, she read them. She loved them. And on a particular day on the Kings River a few years ago, we were knee deep in a heart to heart discussion on life's next step, a deer appeared from the forest's edge and just stood there watching us. Yeah, we both cried. Hashtag patronus realness.
Fast forward to January of 2020, I’m so thankful we splurged and took the opportunity to treat ourselves to Potter World. We originally went to Orlando for a health retreat, but hey, if I’m that close, you bet your golden snitch I’m going. It blew my mind. It was absolute magic, the fullest escape to a Hogwarts experience.
Looking back through the photos from that day gives me crazy anxiety because just look at those crowds, no masks! Who knew!? How the world has changed in just seven short months. And at this stage, it changes in mere days. I am very thankful we splurged on the trip and got that vestie time together in a pre-Covid world.
Since I mentioned Covid, might as well confess I haven’t been able to pick up a book since March. The last book I finished was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugendies (which was FANTASTIC and highly recommend) but I can’t even finish the next book on our list. I've tried. I even had to bow out of my beloved Book Clerb because I was holding them back due to having to focus on our Covid crisis business implosion.
And still, even with getting a handle on Covid in business, (I mean sort of, do ANY of us really have a handle on anything?) I still can’t read. It doesn’t hold my attention, just sentences over and over. Instead, I’ve had to watch videos or frankly just stare at the wall. I have no brain space left by the end of the day. Every day.
My friend RayRay, founder of said Book Clerb, suggested going back to something familiar, revisiting old books I know and love. Genius! That’s her. Typical Ravenclaw.
I have wanted the illustrated copies so badly but have not pulled the trigger due to tighter purse strings. Already having my own married set of worn used paperbacks, I haven’t splurged. But the very next day this illustrated version comes in the shop for only $12, you better believe I snatched and grabbed. Little did she know how much it’d be making my day when Hello Vintage restocked and slipped this one past me.
Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to keep their eyes peeled at Belle Starr and snags what it is meant to be theirs.
Wands up for our former lives, friends. We are all collectively grieving a world we have lost. No matter what you can do, can’t do, conjure up, or space out, allow yourselves a little extra grace. “What’s comin will come. An’ we’ll meet it when it does.” - Hagrid
I know this blog is relatively pointless except bragging rights for scoring awesome thrifted deals at Belle Starr, but right now, we do whatever we need to to bring us joy, seeking our peace. And today, for me, it comes in this form. So, if you've made it this long, thanks for reading. And whatever it is you're dealing with today, I'm proud of you.
Now, don’t mind me, I’ll be quietly slipping away to visit with my old friends, surrounding myself with love, friendship, honor, challenges and being prepared for whatever may come. Always.
