Do As I Say Not As I Do (Day 16)
It’s official. My shopping strategy backfired on me. My tried and true methodology for wandering the aisles of numerous vintage and antique sales through the years failed me today. It’s a humbling defeat and one I don’t think I’ll ever get over. (I know I know, I’m being dramatic, but aren’t you used to that around here by now??).
Today I went to the City Wide Vintage Sale in Austin. It’s been a couple months since I visited the show so I figured I’d enjoy a little shopping day to myself. Plus it was supposed to be 100+ again today and walking around that air conditioned events center for a couple hours didn’t sound too bad. Not to mention the fact I just love any opportunity I can get to vintage or antique shop.
Before I dive into the horror and tragedy that befell me this afternoon, let me just say it was a tremendous show. Even better than the first time I went back in May. If you’re in the area and haven’t been I highly recommend the City Wide Vintage Sale in Austin. The first time I went it was definitely fashion and clothes heavy but this time it was a pretty robust mix of clothes, home decor, accessories and so much more! It’s a treasure hunters paradise.
Anywayyy, I had just gotten to the show a little after 11am. As I approached the first booth I was immediately overwhelmed. It’s a massive events center with lots of vendors and the first one alone already had things that piqued my interest! I can’t find things that early! It’s a great problem to have but it complicates my shopping method. Traditionally I like to take one full lap around a place like this before deciding what absolutely HAS to go home with me. Obviously if I spot something that’s a no brainer and the price is right as I’m walking around during that first lap then I’ll get it but usually my method works. If by the time I’m done with my first lap I’m still thinking about anything, I go back to it. If it’s not there, well, that answered my question of whether or not I wanted to get it. So to summarize, if I LOVE something, and the price is within my ‘budget,’ I get it immediately. If I LIKE something but maybe I’m not totally sold, I finish my lap and come back. If it’s there, I reassess, if it’s not, problem solved.
Well this afternoon I broke my own rules and now I’m dealing with the consequence of severe regret. I was in the third booth from the start, admiring a beautiful tapestry/throw blanket kind of thing, interacting with the vendor about the price and trying to think about how I would use this piece when it happened. I folded the blanket back up, decided it wasn’t a ‘love’ but a ‘like’ and that I’d come back for it and depending on how the rest of my shopping went, maybe I’d get it. As I was walking out of the booth, headed to the next one, this necklace caught my eye. It was gold, with large and small gold shells dangling from it. It kind of reminded me of this necklace I’d seen on Instagram recently but of course this one was more one of a kind. It looked very expensive, very chic and so perfect for summer. I checked the price tag and it was $12. $12!!!!! But you know what I did? I left it there. I said to myself ‘wow, that necklace is SO cute I L-O-V-E it, but I’ll come back.’
By now I’m sure you can decipher how this story ends. Sure enough, I bopped around and being that that was only the third booth in the show, by the time I came back it was at least an hour later and you guessed it, no necklace. This time I wasn’t saying to myself ‘oh well, it wasn’t meant to be,’ I was saying ‘WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU CRAZY PERSON.’ I think I made at least four laps around that booth seeing if perhaps it had been moved or placed somewhere else. I mean I even considered asking the vendor if she had in fact sold it but imagining hearing her confirmation just felt like rubbing salt in this fresh, open wound. Sigh.
I learned a pretty big lesson today my friends. A difficult, and painful one but a lesson nevertheless. LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. My gut told me I loved that necklace, in fact, there was a point about halfway through the show when I thought to myself ‘I should go back and buy that necklace’ but I was moderately nervous about the vendor asking if I wanted the tapestry/throw blanket too which I just wasn’t ready to commit to. Nor to say no to really. That little voice inside my head was trying to save me from the inevitable future disappointment. But I didn’t listen.
My example from my failed shopping experience is obviously a silly one but the message remains the same - LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. Each and every one of us has a powerful inner voice looking out for us, trying to help us make challenging decisions or perhaps stay away from a bad environment or person. It’s there for a reason! It’s looking out for its number one priority - Y-O-U. Don’t be like me, listen to your gut, honor your gut and most importantly, GO with your gut. When has it ever led you astray?