collecting – This is my hobby.

The older I get, the more collecty I get.

As a younger person, I didn’t collect anything and didn’t really see the point. It didn’t seem like a practical thing to do.

Now that I’ve settled into a family home, I like having more stuff around me and genuinely enjoy staring at my shelves and walls full of collected things.

I’m sure there’s science behind the benefits of just….staring in this overstimulating world.

Lately, I’ve been collecting home design books.

Owning this type of collection serves two purposes — it’s easy and fun to style shelves and surfaces with books, and I glean lots of inspo from the pages.

I love cracking one open on a Saturday morning with a cup of coffee after a busy week.

I’ve also started collecting pins.

I thrifted this old Dooney & Bourke canvas purse from Goodwill years ago, and have given it new life by sticking vintage pins on it that I’ve found while thrifting.

I love the shape and size of this purse, but it has some imperfections (stains on the leather). Adding the pins has gussied this old girl up!

I recently purchased a Lands End canvas tote for beach and travel, so now I have even more real estate for pin collecting.

Accessorizing bags, hats, and sweaters with pins is adorable! Why wasn’t I doing this before?!

Old collecty me is all about it.

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Top from The Nearly New Shop West Palm Beach

Button Up and Linen Pants from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Mom’s entire outfit is Goodwill West Palm Beach – Top, Skirt, Sandals, and Bag

Top and Bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Cardigan from my Swap Brunch Party, Pants passed down from a friend, Tote from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Cole Haan Pumps from Goodwill West Palm Beach

I now understand why grandmas have so much stuff in their house. As I age, the compulsion to collect and display tchotchkes grows stronger and stronger.

A penchant for thrifting supports (and exacerbates) this compulsion, but I try to be measured in what I bring into my home.

I do identify as a maximalist, but I must resist hoarderdom.

I have a collection of glass yogurt jars that I pull from to fill with the new things I find.

A glass terrarium displaying some of the first shells I ever collected after moving to Florida.

I’ve shared that I collect shells, but I don’t count that against my collecting limit – there’s always room for more shells! All you need is more baskets for them (reference my previous post here).

A collection of sea glass in a hand painted jar from Stone Button Studio in Northwood, West Palm Beach, on top of a collection of my husband’s favorite childhood book series.

Last year, I decided to start collecting miniature glass animals.

I don’t particularly like animals, but I was in a Jupiter thrift store one day and found a little chicken, swan, and pig in a display case.

I was instantly reminded of Sally, a family friend who was like a grandmother to me and my sister growing up. Sally had saved all her children’s toys and would let us go wild with them when we visited.

She was the type of woman who always had her house smelling of warm cookies (quintessential grandma behavior), and though she collected beautiful things, she cultivated a space relaxed enough for little children to run and play without fear of breaking things.

On a table in her dining room, Sally displayed miniature glass animals on a little cake stand with a mirrored bottom.

I remember being mesmerized by how delicate and beautiful this display was.

It was whimsical, no doubt why I was drawn to it as a child, and beautiful, and for some reason left an impression on me that has stuck all these years.