Month: January 2016

The Last Bookstore

/ Kizzi / 7 Comments

There’s something special about a good thrift store.

Rainbow racks of clothing crammed wall to wall. Dishes, vases, baskets and knick-knacks stretching from floor to ceiling. Old toys and new piled high alongside puzzles and games. The smell of something old and long forgotten. The smell of a treasure waiting to be found.

After weaving through aisles overflowing with treasures of all kinds, I look for the greatest thrift store find of all…books!

In my travels across this country, I visited a multitude of thrift shops in search of books I desperately needed. Some may dispute the definition of “desperately” here….

Aside from thrift stores, another fabulous place to treasure hunt are used book stores.

“The Last Bookstore” in Los Angeles, California was quite possibly the most magical bookstore I’ve ever visited.

Offering both new and used books, it wasn’t just those fabulous spines tucked into every corner that made it the best.

From the overstuffed couch where people and cats lounged, to the multiple book themed sculptures, every detail created an immersive shopping experience. Not to mention the Labyrinth upstairs where books were placed in no particular order upon a twisting maze of bookshelves, and everything was a dollar.

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It’s possible I found several (20) books I desperately needed and was quite pleased with myself…until I started the long walk home.

Remembering “The Last Bookstore” made me think how fun it would be to compile a list of all the best bookstores and thrift stores (with excellent book offerings) across the country.

So, after strolling through the tunnel of books…..

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…comment below with your favorite bookstore or thrift store and the city it’s in and I will add it to the map!

I’ve started by adding a few of my favorites. I’m excited to hear from all of you and hoping there will be lots of new dots on the map soon.

The Adventure Begins

/ Kizzi / 3 Comments

A few years ago I felt discontent with my life.

As a child and teen, I had imagined myself going on great adventures, saving the world, finding my soul mate, that sort of thing. Instead I found myself still in school, working at a job I only sort of liked and not a soul mate in sight.

Don’t get me wrong, I had many wonderful things in my life at this time. I had family and friends who cared about me. I had a dog and a house with a backyard. I had a garden (until the deer ate everything). I was active in sports like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and weightlifting. I had a room for all my craft projects. I had a large collection of books and a little time to write.

So what was the problem?

I was restless. I wanted something bigger, something adventurous and daring and completely outside the box. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, but I said a prayer anyway.

I asked for an adventure.

Just like that.

But then after I prayed for adventure, I said another prayer. I prayed for peace. I prayed to be content.

I decided I would be content in my life and live it to the fullest just as it was. I would put my best self forward in everything I did and see where it led. I would make my own adventure right where I was, or so I thought. But God has a funny way of answering prayers and right after I decided to be content with what I had….my prayer for adventure was answered.

The answer to my prayer came the next day, in the form of an email.

An email! God doesn’t answer prayers in emails!

But this wasn’t just any email, it was an email from the circus! I had applied for a job months before and finally received a response. They wanted to interview me!

But I had decided to be content with my life! I couldn’t just change my mind and leave everything I knew!

You’re probably wanting to slap me about now. I just got an email from the circus after praying for an adventure and I was going to turn it down?

Nope, I decided to go for it. It wasn’t an easy decision but if an email from the circus isn’t a clear invitation for an adventure then I don’t know what is.

So I got my adventure and I traveled with the circus for almost two years.

Then I got to a point where it was time for a new adventure. It was time to pursue old hobbies and passions. It was time to go home.

And so in this long rambling post about dreams and prayers and adventures, “Three Show Saturday” was born.

Why “Three Show Saturday”? Well, in the circus we had three shows every single Saturday pretty much without fail.

A three show day is hectic and fun, exhausting and energizing. It is full of work and friends, laughter and tears. There is a sense of accomplishment at the end of a three show day, and so, in tribute to my circus days, a new adventure begins here, with you my dear readers, in the hopes that all our days may be circus days.