Oddities

I've run across my share of odd items in thrift shops, but this gold-plated seashell is certainly one of the strangest.

I have to wonder at the artist's thought process that finally arrived at, "Hey, I'll gold plate a seashell." It is a genuine shell (you can't quite see inside in the photo) which also makes me wonder how many tries it took to get something that didn't break. This isn't very carefully made, but it was just so odd, I felt compelled to purchase it. $1.99 has been spent on sillier things.

I have no idea what this basket's intended use is. I'm using it as a straw handbag, but I suspect it began life with other use in mind, I've thought about decorating it with some pom-pom trim but I also like the plain look of it. I still feel like I ought to be carrying tamales in it or something.

 I'm wearing it here with a favourite skirt.

The belt is another oddity-the edges of the brass disks are sharp and thin leaving me terrified I might give myself abdominal surgery if I lean forward suddenly. I take it off to ride in the car-can't be too careful. That would be such an embarrassing way to die, disemboweled by your vintage belt. 

Now this is odd! Anyone for a cross-body lunch bag? I'm already wearing my lunch on my stomach-can't I just carry the bag by the handles?  

I thought I'd just wear it as a shoulder-bag, but as you can see, the strap is too long (and not adjustable). I might just give up and carry my lunch in a paper sack like we did in the stone-age before paved roads and wipe-clean lining in Laurel Burch cross-body bags. 

Funny story about the denim shorts-I bought them in the late 80's at the Gap and my mum was horrified telling me I was, "Too old to wear them." Yeah. My Back Pages, etc. etc. I spent my youth dressed like a middle-aged widow in head-to-toe black. The only reason the shorts survived is because I rarely wore them as they were so out of character for me-an odd item if ever there was. They're VERY high-waisted, even by 80's standards. I'm getting caught-up with the 80's fad for day-glo as well. I had no idea how much I'd end up loving this cheap tee shirt when I bought it (or I'd have purchased a dozen).

*Whines* But I really like this bag...

This one is more a coincidence than an oddity. We drove out to Lake Wanahoo (in Wahoo, Nebraska-no, I'm not making that up) to try and see the Aurora Sunday night (there had been a recent solar flare and the chances looked good). It was only upon returning home that I noticed I was wearing my vintage cha-cha bracelet with the AB crystals. We never did get to see it, but we spent a lovely night at the lake being eaten alive by mosquitoes looking at the stars.

We could hear barn owls hooting in the distance, and plenty of frogs. I did see a meteor, so the night wasn't without excitement. You don't need to get too far outside the city to get free of light pollution in Eastern Nebraska. This was a 30 minute drive from home. 

Have any odd items found their way into your collection that you now love strangeness and all?