Marlaina's Profile

Nene, I love your idea about asking for magnets instead of other souvenirs. I think I will do that with my family. Somehow in my three moves in the past year all of my beloved magnets have been lost.

As for this idea with the food packaging... I don't care for it. Just not my style. The suggestion of filling candy packs with beans so that they still shake is even odder IMHO.

Thanks for your comment, Superbeetle.

I am one of those dreadful dealers. Of course, I have to take REALLY good care of the items I purchase because they have to be resold in my store for a small (sometimes non-existent) profit to help support myself and my two kids.

By the time I pay my overhead (lights, water, lease, etc.) and buy items for resale, I am almost always close to being in the hole every month. But, I am in the business because I love it and I love saving things so that someone who does really love them can end up with them in their home. Believe it or not, I DO care about almost every individual item (as do most of the dealers I know).

As has been mentioned multiple times, dealers will NOT bid too much on an item. They have to be able to make a profit. So, if you're losing out to dealers, you obviously need to rethink your buying strategies or maybe find a different think to collect that is more in your price range.

Pretty brilliant double usage in my opinion!

The above posters are correct. They are from the ends of earthquake rods. If you are ever in Charleston, SC, you can see the rods that were used to pull many of the brick buildings back together after the quake in 1886 (yes, we are WAY overdue for a major quake here in South Carolina). After that, the rods and the decorative end pieces like these stars became a fashion statement of sorts and many newer buildings have similar completely decorative features (no real "rod" through the building).

Sadly, as mentioned above, your stars are most likely reproductions. Originals are MUCH more costly than a few bucks. Repros are still quite nice though and add a fabulous touch to any room since they can be found in a variety of patinas and sizes.

I am SOOOO loving these built-ins. Not that they're 100% practical for my home.... But I really love them. Maybe in the kid's rooms... Hmmm... Must figure someway to have a built-in bed!

I just can't stomach owl stuff. I guess that's probably due to the fact I had an aunt (since deceased) that collected all of that kitschy owl stuff. She had TONS of owls. And we didn't get along very well... So maybe I just have an unnatural aversion to it.

Anyway, if you really want to find owl stuff, there are still plenty of vintage pieces out there to be had cheap! Check antique malls, thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales.

I have wanted to try out Method products for quite awhile...

I am a recently single mom to a chemically sensitive severely autistic son and "regular" cleaning products simply can't be allowed in our home. With an almost 4 year old son, a 12 year old daughter, 3 cats, and a dog, there is ALWAYS plenty to clean in our small 1950's cottage. Unfortunately, due to the challenges of finding good and safe products (not to mention the time to clean as a single mom), sometimes things aren't quite up to par. I honestly can't afford to try large amounts of different products at once to find out what works and what doesn't. This would give me that opportunity.

So, I would LOVE to try these out. And, I promise to give a stupendous review/critique in return!

What a great looking little fan.

I would also love to have one.... It would be so cute to use on my porch.... Yep. The cute factor sells me. I am easy that way.

Garden decorations ROCK! I have mushrooms, gnomes, flamingos, etc.

And I am not even embarassed by them!

Marlaina
http://www.culturalrevolutionary.com/

I'm really glad to see you commenting about this on AT. I received an e-mail about it several weeks back and was sickened by what Miracle Grow was doing.

Of course, it prompted me to ask my local hardware store to order some Terracycle for me.

Scott's employees and shareholders should be freakin' ashamed of their company.

Marlaina
http://www.culturalrevolutionary.com/