Is it Collecting or Hoardering?

I started collecting vintage toys over ten years ago. My first real job was working at an antique mall where I was surrounded by collectables and vintage items daily. It's hard not to start collecting something when you work in an environment full of temptation. Items that may remind you of your childhood or items from a completely different era that simply just fascinate you. My collecting all started with one tiny Smurf figurine....


Smurfs were a huge part of my childhood. I remember playing with the cute little figurines and watching the cartoon daily. At the time when I started collecting it seemed really harmless. I bought a few figurines here and there. Soon though it turned into over 150! Then the mushrooms houses came, along with anything else that had a Smurf on it. I currently have four totes devoted to just Smurf items. Only for the first years of my collecting I had it all on display. Fast forward through time, I moved into my first house and got married. After that most of the toy collection ended up just stored in plastic totes stacked to the ceiling. You need a lot of room to display an entire collection.

The Mickey Mouse in the photo is actually from my childhood visit to Disney World.
That entire collection turned into also collecting CareBears, Rainbow Bright, Wuzzles, lunchboxes, books, many little figurines, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Little People, My Little Ponies, Trolls, Garfield, PowerPuff Girls and many more items. (I think you get the idea.) While working at the antique mall the business of reselling vintage items really sucked me in. I sold items in my own booth for awhile. It was really fun. That meant shopping for inventory on a weekly basis. While thrifting I would find vintage toys almost every time. Making my collection grow larger and LARGER!! When you find a cute stuffed animal for nine cents it's hard to pass up. Looking back now I wish I would of!


All the things that I am sharing photos of are things that are currently displayed in my office. They are the items that I seem to still be drawn to. When we moved across the country almost two years ago I realized how much stuff I really do have. Especially when it comes to my collection. Sadly I "thought" I had downsized before our big move but I will never forget the day when the semi-truck came to our tiny apartment with all my stuff. I counted thirty totes full of just my toy collection alone. Please know that as I'm typing this I'm busting out laughing at myself. Thirty totes? Really? I have never ever considered myself a hoarder. But that statement of thirty totes doesn't help my case.


However there is a light at the end of tunnel for me. I am finally sick of moving totes and more totes around the country back and forth. I'm not ready to get rid of everything yet, but I am planning to downsize the collection. Some of my collection is some of my original toys that were mine from my childhood. I still have my very first baby doll and some of the Barbies I played with. I am a very sentimental person. I get attached to items very easily because of a memory attached to that item. Even though I know that I won't lose my memories. Of course I find that's not entirely true because over time we do forget things and it takes something to "trigger" a memory to bring it back. This happens to me all the time.



Lately I have been spending a lot less time glued to my computer. It has been awesome! Giving me more time to do things like go through tons of totes and make tuff decisions on who goes and who gets to stay. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be just because I've changed so much. Items that I used to be very fond of mean nothing to me now. I am literally just storing it. Cody and I are always talking about our future. Where the next place will be that will live, etc.. I may not know what state or city I will end up in but I do know I will probably have a lot less space. I think that collecting is fun. I know why I have always done it and why others do it. The hunt becomes rather addicting and a hobby. It's been a long time since I've really bought a vintage toy because I know my collection is rather large.



So far I have three totes overflowing of vintage toys that I plan to sell or get rid of. I also have a huge box full of vintage stuffed animals. I am very confident that there will a lot more that I will be parting with. I figure I shouldn't keep holding on to items that I have no love for anymore. Especially when there is someone out there who would really enjoy having it.



I even have Harry Potter Valentines. I guess I could mail them to people next year??? (I'm kidding)
My newest collection is the Disney Vinylmations. Geez, was starting this probably a mistake!!!

We got sucked straight into these cute little guys. Trading the duplicates you get is addicting. Once you take a step back from it you realize all this. But sadly by then it's too late and you own two hundred of them. hahaha The way I look at collecting is it's great as long as you don't let it take over your entire house or life. Having things to decorate with is pretty cool and fun. For me the main problem is the amount of times I move. I just have to downsize my entire life sooner or later because I've realized I'm probably just going to keep moving. Having a huge collection of adorable things just isn't for my lifestyle anymore. I hope that this proves that I'm not a hoarder after all. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post. It was fun to share. I hoped you picked up on my humor. Yet I think that hoarding is a serious thing. I've watched the tv shows about hoarding and it breaks my heart every time.
Do you collect things?

You can view photos of all my toy collection on Flickr HERE.
All my blog posts featuring Vinylmations HERE.

The Vegan Project // Video Update From Dan

Dan was kind enough to put a video together to tell us about his progress with his new vegan diet. I wanted you guys to be able to hear it from him first hand. He talks about his weight loss, food choices and feelings on eating vegan so far.



I am so proud of Dan. I knew he could do it!
If you missed the other Vegan Project posts you can see them all HERE.

Other Links:
Forks Over Knives
Peaceable Kingdom

Biking in Colorado // 30 Miles

Over the weekend Cody and I drove down to our favorite bike trail in Colorado. It was so beautiful outside with a temperature of 84 degrees. Our goal was to ride at least 30 miles. We are really trying to get stronger and faster because we hope to be able to do a 100 mile ride this year. I am skeptical of this happening but I haven't lost all hope yet. This was our first ride using a computer that attached to Cody's bike.


The computer is pretty awesome. It lets you know how long you have been riding for, your mileage and your average speed. When we got started we were flying at around 19 miles per hour. This was a huge ego booster for me because I honestly didn't think my tiny little legs were capable of that. The trail is curvy but does not have tons of hills. Which makes it much easier then other trails I have done. I am really looking to just build my speed right now. I love the trail in Colorado because it's very scenic. Even the weeds growing are pretty...


As you are riding you can see the Rocky Mountains off in the distant. They are covered in snow in right now.
The photo doesn't do it justice. It's so beautiful.


I'm a daredevil taking photos while peddling. Most of the images were taken while in motion.


The trail is also full of wildlife...



Well, the horses aren't wild but they are pretty.

This is me at the end of the ride. Oh, I do wear 70 SPF sunblock.
I love my pale skin and wouldn't have it any other way. ;)
It used to embarrass me growing up but now I have embraced it.

Did we complete our 30 mile ride? Yes we did. Barely though. It took us a little over 2 hours to complete it with very few stops. On the way back the wind was horrible. The wind actually makes you feel like you aren't moving and you have to work so much harder. It slowed our average speed down to around 13 miles per hour instead of 19. I was so tired I didn't think I could make it, but when your car is parked at the "finish line" you keep going. Overall it was a great ride. I was very proud of myself. It's really amazing what the human body is capable of. We had so many people passing us making us seem slow. My goal is to be one of those people someday.

Cycling is such a great sport. You get to be outside, have fun and exercise all at the same time.
See all my posts related to biking HERE.

Just Chloe

After many months of winter we are finally having some nice warm days. Chloe has discovered that our deck is a nice place to sun herself. This is the first place that we have lived that has the perfect yard for little dogs. Chloe stayed outside laying on the deck for hours yesterday. I had to snap some cute photos of her. Chloe is around six years old now. When we got her it was in a moment of weakness due to her level of cuteness. We had gone to Starbucks to get coffee and next door was a pet store. We never visit pet stores and usually we would have better self control. Nope, not this time. This cute little doggie sucked us in. Even at age six she is a ball of energy. I would love to get her a puppy, but they are too much work for me.

I hope you are getting outside this weekend and doing something fun!

Netflix Must See: Into The Wild

Into The Wild is based on a true story about a young man named Christopher McCandless who leaves everything behind to find himself in nature. He wanted to get away from the typical life that most of us live. A job that we hate, worries about money, debt and just "stuff" in general. The story is very inspiring and makes you think. Chris hitch hikes his way across the country until he reaches Alaska. It was his dream to live in the wild in complete solitude. Truly become one with nature.


The last few years of my life I have realized how important it is to get outside and be close to nature. Sometimes my feelings about nature are hard to put into words. I felt like I could really relate to a lot of things that Chris did. I understood why he chose to live in the wild. How he was able to learn so much about himself by "getting away". This movie really shows the importance of nature in a persons life.


He learned a lot about himself and life in general. He became the person he was truly meant to be.
Watch the trailer below to get a really good look at the film. I really loved it!



You can visit the Chris McCandless website HERE.

Finally Spring in Wyoming

I really hope I'm not jinking myself by posting these photos. After four weeks of snow showers we are finally getting some sunshine here in Wyoming. The days are still a little chilly but it's a HUGE improvement over 18" inches of snow weekly! Of course I've been super anxious to get outside and work on my yard. Goodbye snow! (Hopefully)




I have been waiting for the warmer weather to arrive. I have already started to work outside in my yard. I am really bad about not focusing on one project at a time. I should be spending all my free time painting my kitchen cabinets BUT now that the sun is shinning I just want to play outside in the dirt. I'm conviced that if I could be a landscaper full time I would probably be pretty happy. I love planting things and sticking my hands in the soil. Our yard really needs some love...


In the flowerbed above the precious home owners filled it in with lava rock. BOO! We have since shoved most of it out. Not an easy task at all. I think I may plant a rose bush in this area. I've never had roses before and have fallen in love with how beautiful they are. Especially pink ones. ;)




Here is the other side of the house. Luckily this did not have any rock in it.
We have already planted a few shrubs in this flowerbed.




New shrubs...



They look so tiny! Now I have to decide on what type of flowers I want to plant. I have fallen in love with so many that it's going to be a hard decision to make. What color mulch do you think I should get? Red, black or brown? I'm leaning towards brown since we have brown on the house. I would love to change the colors of the entire house, but that can be for the next person to do. I really want to take the stupid carpet off the steps and get some prettier house numbers.

How do you like to add curb appeal to your home? What are your favorite type of flowers?