Your Goodwill Donations Make a Difference!

Many of us shop at the Goodwill in hopes of finding some treasures but the next time you go, please take a look around your home to see if there is something you can donate...perhaps a pair of jeans, shoes, or shirts that you haven't worn in years ...I promise you, your donation will make a difference to another person. Please read the following story.

Sometimes It's About More Than Just the Clothes

When you work for a nonprofit, there are certain unwavering principles that guide your work. One of these is the organization’s mission. And sometimes you realize that mission in small, quiet moments as you go about your day-to-day business. And sometimes you get thwacked over the head with a not-so-subtle reminder as to why you do what you do.The latter occurred to me earlier this week and I’m still grappling with the experience.I – your fabulous DCGF – was doing what I do best: shopping at a Goodwill store.

A customer motioned to me and said, “Do you work here?” I replied in the affirmative, expecting a question about pricing or store hours or something of that nature. Instead the customer immediately asked me to help her find jeans in her size…and promptly explained to me the style, wash, and fit for which she was looking. It was a slightly unusual, but not altogether unreasonable request. So I immediately dug in and started pulling out pairs she might like. We looked through the rack for a few minutes and began to narrow down her preferences.“What about these? These?” I questioned.“Ooh, those are nice. I like a little stretch in them, you know?” she replied.“Sure, let’s see what we can find,” I continued.

And then she explained, in the same tone of voice and demeanor as she’d been using the whole time, “I’m homeless, you know. And I have a $40 voucher. I need some jeans and a couple of sweatshirts, ‘cause it’s cool out today. And a rain coat. I don’t have one.

Oh.

I took a split second to process that and said, “You know, we have some really nice coats back by the wall. Do you want to look at those?” And she did. And so we continued throughout the entire women’s section. Blouses (a printed button-down coordinated with all three pairs of jeans she liked), rain coats (we found a great purple and black one – she likes dark colors), shoes (she’s a size 7 ½, but 8 will fit, too), pajamas (a plaid flannel pair were perfect for when she stayed overnight at the women's shelter, she told me), sweaters (they were on sale for .99 and she likes fleece ones with hoods), and tees (she needed a couple to wear to her doctor’s appointment later that day): all were readily available at the store and fit within her budget.As we headed toward the dressing room, I was struck by how unbelievably similar her wants and needs as a customer were to any other customer at any other clothing retailer.

I’ve worked at high-end boutiques and department stores both full-time and part-time since I was 18 years old, and female shoppers share certain nearly universal characteristics. This homeless woman knew her size, her best colors, her favorite name brands (Old Navy and Reebok), and her budget. I’ve been a personal shopper for women with virtually unlimited monetary resources who know those exact same things when they shop. In so many ways, for that short period of time, I was simply another sales associate helping another customer, and it didn't matter for a second the circumstances under which we were shopping together.Women everywhere want quality, they want value, and they want to look good when they leave they retailer with whom they’ve just spent their money and their time. This homeless woman at Goodwill was picky – and she should be! Why is her voucher any less worthy than my Visa card? She deserves to feel good about herself when she leaves the store, and I spent nearly 45 minutes from her ensuring that her shoes, jeans, tops, and even a satchel that she was able to get all coordinated and fit her well. And she and another woman from the shelter with whom she had traveled by bus to the store were trying on clothes, I critiqued their outfits and even rushed back to the racks to pick out a different garment that might fit better. At one point, I told her that she could go on in the dressing room and she said, “Don’t go anywhere. I want you to tell me if these jeans look good on me, okay?” And I did. And they looked good on her.

We were having fun and picking out great items and I was feeling pretty darn good about the whole experience until it was time for her to leave. She popped the tags off the clothes she was wearing and handed them to me: “I want to wear these out, okay?” Okay, I said. No problem. “And I want to throw away these clothes I came in with, okay? I’ve been wearing them for the last month.”

Oh.

I was without words for a second. “Of course, let me get a bag for you,” I said with a smile. But my words betrayed by feelings. I get a lump in my throat as I recall how she gently folded up her old clothes, placed them in the plastic bag I held out for her, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Thank you.” Thank you…for throwing my clothes away. I told her a cursory, “You’re welcome,” but she’s the one I should be thanking.How can I not be struck by the weight of what Goodwill does when it provides clothing vouchers to homeless people who just want what everybody else does when it comes to clean clothes that fit well and look good? How can I not be overwhelmed by the generosity of the thousands of people who donate their gently used goods every year so that others might have quality items at affordable prices? How can I not be humbled by a homeless woman and her shopping companion who want me to hang around outside their dressing room so that I can critique their fashion choices?

If we’re lucky, we find a job we like and we’re able to do that job and make some money and live a nice life and generally just coast on through. If we’re really lucky, we get to love our job and take 45 minutes out of our day to be reminded why our work is so special and challenging and frustrating and redeeming all at the same time. And we get to help somebody else live a nicer life along the way.

Incredible Finds at Our Friday Flea Market Sale

Take a peek at some of the items we're offering at our Friday Flea Market Sale...if you've gotta have it just go click on the banner to the right that says Friday Flea Market and it will take you directly to our store for further details. We have other fabby finds besides these...so come come on over for a visit...we would love to have YOU! Three Huge Barkcloth Drapes with Roses

Fantastic Ornate Architectual Corbel

Set of Eight Vintage Hooked Chairs Pads (sorry about the toesies...lol)

Set of Two Toile Valances

YuMMY Chippy Window Vintage Rose Oil Painting
Happy Shopping and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Take care, Kerry

Disappearing Act?

So, here I was a good little blogger for awhile and then all of a sudden I disappear. Not to fear, I'm back. I had to go to San Fransisco for work for a week and then jaunted off to our lake house for some well deserved R&R. Now, it's back to reality. It's always so wonderful to go away, but I always dread coming back. My "to do" list is HUGE! I took some really great pics of the "painted ladies" in San Fransisco. If your not familiar with the "painted ladies" they are a row of stunningly beautiful Victorian homes. Just for a lark I took a peek at some homes for sale in San Fran and about died...let me tell you... a million bucks doesn't go far! Regardless, I still love it over here in Virginia. This will be a quickie post since I'll hopefully be posting tomorrow. I just want to say "Hello to everyone out there in blogger land.

Until then, take care...Kerry

Five Year Anniversary

Five years ago today I lost my husband, of 20 years, to cancer. Mike, was 48 years old and died within three months of being diagnosed with melanoma (skin cancer). It devastated my son, Kyle who was 16 at the time, and myself (I was 40) and we thought our lives would never be the same again. This post is not intended to be sad, but to let you know two things: 1) If you have the slightest mole...GO TO THE DOCTOR...and have it removed. Melonoma is very treatable if detected early and, 2) For those of you that have lost a loved one and the agony of getting up out of bed every morning just seems unbearable...just know, there will be happiness again...each day you'll become stronger and one day you'll realize they would want you to be happy!! Yes, they will remain in your thoughts, BUT your life will get better no matter how bad things are today....that I can promise!

Antiquing, auctions and my wonderful friends & family were my salvation. This, in part, is the reason the Shabbyvilla exists today. Antiquing filled my void and kept my mind off the bad times and soon the days got more tolerable. Every day a little bit more light crept back into my life until one day I felt happiness. For the rest of my life I will think of Mike and know that he is at peace and that no matter what he would want me to be happy!

Take care,

Kerry

Behold the Beauty!

Hi blogger friends.... as promised, below are some pics of Erin's home. I previously highlighted some of her ebay items; please do yourself a favor and go visit her ebay items or blogspot called Simply*Shabby. When I asked her for some pics she said her house was no where near "shabby chic"....I beg to differ, what do ya'll think? I just love all the vignettes...

Hope everyone has a great day! Thanks again Erin...take care, Kerry

Quote of the Day!

Live your life in such a way

that when your feet hit the floor in the morning,

Satan shudders & says...
'Oh shit....she's awake!!'

A New Found Blogger/Ebay Friend

Yesterday, as I was viewing some of my favorite sellers on Ebay, I noticed one of my ultimate favorite sellers Erin, from simply*shabby had a blog http://www.mycottageintherockies.blogspot.com/ . Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled and zipped on over to see what was happening and to perhaps see some pics of her home. I just knew it had to be gorgeous given the pictures she had taken for Ebay. Ya see, I don't just look at simply*shabby's Ebay items, I look at the entire photo including all the lovely knick knacks and beautiful furniture.... it truly is like looking at a magazine. Well, what I found is that Erin just started her blog. Given the ShabbyVilla is relatively new to the blogging world, I thought I would send her an email (no, I'm not a stalker...LOL) to welcome her to the world of blogging and to offer any assistance. As emails were flying back and forth, I actually got up the gumption to ask her if I could highlight her store and home on our blog. Erin was so kind and sent me some pics to share with ya'll. So, today, I'm showing you pics of her Ebay listings BUT she also sent me tons of pics of her home....I'll be posting them in a couple of days...you will think you've died and gone to heaven. Erin's home is right out of Romantic Homes. If you get a minute, check out her ebay listings and definitely add her blog to your favs.....

Thanks again Erin...I feel as though I've met a new friend...isn't the blogging world fantastic, we get to virtually meet such talented and caring people we would of never had the pleasure of meeting before. Hope everyone has a good day! Take care, Kerry!