Archive for July, 2009
Garage Sale Friday
Today’s haul:
Two dollars.
Two garage sales and one estate sale visited. The bread maker came from a garage sale that a woman was holding for her parents, who were selling their house to move into assisted living. The house, though small and relatively nondescript, was immaculate. I would estimate that they’d been living in the house since the 1950s, and hadn’t updated a thing. But oh my did they take exceptionally good care of it. I figured that anything I bought at the sale would also be impeccably maintained, so I saw it as a good opportunity to shop seriously. If I had been in the market for a pristine 1950s wringer washer or vacuum cleaner, this was the place. They had both. But I did pick up this little guy, complete with all parts, instruction manual, and cookbook to boot. The daughter recalled her mom using it all the time, but it looks like new.
I had been thinking about getting a bread machine lately; wondering if I’d use one if I had it, or if it would be just another thing taking up space. I guess we’ll see about that one! Right now, I’m dreaming about fresh homemade rolls to go with dinner. If I can master the basic steps, I can make it a habit. Fingers crossed.
Simple Shoes: A larger footprint than I expected
Recently, I bought a brand new pair of toddler Simple Shoes for the Little One. They are stinkin adorable, and I liked, at first blush, the philosophy of the company…..at least the one printed on the box: It starts “with all of the overbuilt, over-hyped products out there, it’s pretty hard to find sustainable shoes that you can live with…..” Awesome! You’re speaking to me! It isn’t often that I buy new shoes simply for this reason – I do go out of my way to buy them second or third-hand when I need them, especially for the Little One, who will just outgrow them or wear them out beyond recognition in a month’s time.
It goes on: “HOW we make our shoes is just as important as WHY we make them. That means finding more sustainable ways of doing business so we can make a gazillion more”. Okay, okay, the gazillion figure is a little troubling, but still, you had me at ‘sustainable’. The salesperson at the store gushed about how Simple uses all recycled products in their shoe lines, ie soles made from rubber tires, and I am seriously digging this company. Maybe I’ll even buy a pair new for myself.
The shoes look great on the Little One. But about the third or fourth wearing, as I was putting them on his little feet, I noticed the sizing tag under the tongue of the shoe: “Made in China”. My heart drops. Simple, you lost me. I go on to wonder what else is hiding behind the philosophy of the Simple Shoe manufacturers. Recycled goods shipped to China, shoes made at a low low cost, shoes shipped back to the US? Honestly, this is a much larger (carbon) footprint than I imagined, especially given your marketing keywords. Please do not make a gazillion of them in this manner.
Back to the consignment shops I go.
At long last……hair care dollars well spent
I am a hair care junkie. Or at least……..I was a hair care junkie. Seduced by all of the TV and print ads promising luxurious hair, I would try nearly anything in the hopes that it might tame my fine, naturally curly (read: frizzy) hair. In my younger years, I would simply beat my hair into submission with curling irons, flat irons, perms (but none post-1990!), even trying out someone else’s hair through extensions, to make my hair look how I wanted it to look. But now I seek to be kind to my hair, to let it do what it naturally wants to do, and find the best cut, and the best product to make it as close to luxurious as possible. I hate to think how much money I have spent on this road. And how many bottles of barely-used product have gone to waste. So many of the “curl-enhancing” and “tames frizzies!” products actually made my hair frizzier and worse looking that I was happy just to have a product that performed marginally well.
This spring my stylist recommended a new product to me. I was, as usual, skeptical, but considering that my stylist, who knows my hair about as well as I do, never recommends products, I bought some. Thank god I did. It actually smooths my hair and leaves it soft and shiny and it smells wonderful. My road to luxurious (or as luxurious as my hair can naturally be) hair has ended with the addition of Moroccan Oil
The good news for all reading this is that Moroccan Oil seems to work well on all hair types; it is oily, yes, but once it goes on the hair, it is light, nongreasy, and does not weigh hair down. It does not look at all as if you have product in your hair; your hair just looks and smells nice. I cannot recommend it enough. Yes, it’s a little pricey, but now I am spending far less in general on hair care, and my hair looks better for it.
Picks from my Ebay Watchlist
I am a professional art appraiser. I spend a large chunk of time each day watching the art market, and looking at sometimes hundreds of paintings. The area of the art world that I know best is American Art, from about 1880-1950. This is the sector that I keep the closest eye on (and I also frequently buy and sell in this market, so have a personal stake in how it’s doing), and let me tell you, in comparison to other art markets that I follow, this guy is alive and kicking. And in some cases, it’s doing better than ever.
It is no secret that the art market has outperformed the stock market in recent years; the stock market’s been pretty easy to beat lately. But I also get the sense that there’s a new influx of buyers to the market, who have money to invest but don’t want to risk putting it back in stocks, or in accounts that can promise only very low returns. If you have an interest in the art market, are a collector, or just like artwork, please bookmark my blog right now. In the coming months I will include a series of art buying recommendations that I have learned through years and years of experience as an appraiser, buyer and seller.
Starting today the series in which I throw out some of the most compelling works of art that I have on my Ebay watchlist. Since I cannot buy and sell it all, and since I am doing this out of a certain passion that I have for artwork, I offer it up so that someone might take advantage of my expertise in getting something that they love and admire. I will not post anything capriciously, but only those pieces that have passed my appraiser’s sniff test. Believe me, I look at loads of artwork for sale on Ebay daily, and am very very familiar with the fakes and the unscrupulous dealers and the too-good-to-be-trues. If anything smells wrong in the slightest, I will not post it.
Here we go:
ORIGINAL ISABEL BISHOP THE SUBWAY OIL ON BOARD PAINTING
Okay, okay, the 6500 price tag is steep, but the seller is entertaining offers. But here’s the thing: there is a 2004 auction record for this very piece with a sales price of 9200 (this price includes the auction house’s buyer’s premium; had been estimated at 3-5000). Even at the seller’s asking price of 6500, this is a Very Good Deal. The market for Bishop’s work remains strong, particularly for exactly this kind of urban subject matter.
BEAUTIFUL OIL PAINTING BY THE FAMOUS ARITST HENRY PITZ
A little gem of a painting and at a reasonable price. Pitz, a Pennsylvania artist, was best known as an illustrator in the second quarter of the 20th century, but it’s a landscape like this one that set a sales record of 2250 (albeit a larger piece) in 2007. A fantastic piece in its original frame, the seller connects the ownership of the painting directly back to the artist himself. Pennsylvania is big in 20th century regional art right now. At the opening bid, it’s a great buy.
GUY PENE DU BOIS OIL PAINTING, SUPERB
Oh my. This is a wonderful painting. This is also the third time that I’ve seen it listed on Ebay, with a lower and lower opening bid. I was thisclose to buying it when he had it listed at 5000 – even at that price, it would have been a good buy. Pene du Bois is a very well known early 20th century artist and a very good investment, and I think the painting is just beautiful. I didn’t buy it because my husband didn’t like it nearly as much as I did, and at that price, we should be in better agreement about it. But now here she is again at 2500. Someone please buy this painting!! I believe that she is a victim of a too-high opening bid (this can kill just about any art auction); not high for Pene du Bois, that is, just high for Ebay. But believe me, at this price the painting is a steal.
Why I love Top Chef Masters
I am a big fan of Top Chef, the reality series that recently wrapped up it’s 5th season on Bravo. This summer, however, we are treated to the first season of Top Chef Masters, a spinoff of the original series in which already-established chefs at the top of their game are competing against each other in the same types of challenges as the up-and-comers in the regular series.
The majority of the buzz that I’ve read so far on the new series is that it’s a little lackluster in comparison to it’s counterpart. The chefs that are competing in the Masters series are already well established, so the stakes are lower and the usual excitement over the competition is not as robust. I couldn’t disagree more.
The 24 contestant/chefs that have appeared on the show thus far are successful professional chefs already. The individual competitions are not packed with the schadenfreude of the original series, it’s true, but that’s because the chefs on the series have a deep reverence for the craft of cooking, and a healthy respect for each other. In this environment, the focus is on the ingredients, the cooking, and only a little about the personalities behind the dishes. It’s a great pleasure to watch these chefs do their thing amidst the hair raising challenges that they are tossed into. And they take pleasure in watching their colleagues without the backbiting.
(minor spoiler alert)
In last week’s episode, the elimination challenge gave each chef a chance to completely sabotage one of their competitors. It was their job (a la secret santa) to shop for one of their competitors, and the competitor would be obligated to make use of all of the ingredients that they selected. No one took the bait. Each chef showed great care and consideration in picking out a fine assortment of ingredients for his competitor, because, as one chef remarked, he wanted his colleaugue to be able to show his chops as a chef. The grace and camraderie shown by the chefs elevated the entire competition to a celebration of talent and the craft of cookery. Bravo, indeed! Encore!
Garage Sale Friday
It’s summer! It’s Friday! Get thee out to garage sales! In my way of thinking, this is the best form of recycling. People shed the stuff they don’t want or no longer need, and the rest of us get a chance on a super bargain. Furnishings, books, clothes, household items, sporting goods, antiques, jewelry…….. This morning I stopped by two garage sales and one estate sale. I bought a small basket of the perfect size to hold the following stuff:
50 cents.
I could have paid more for a new plastic-y thing a la the one I saw in Target the other day, but consider it one less little thing that will end up in a landfill. Basket looks better anyway. Saw an adorable 1960s Lisa Larson for Gustavsberg pottery bulldog (seen here at an online shop) at the estate sale for $45. A steal, and I love her designs, but am sworn off knicky knacky things lately.
I have been garage sale-ing for about as long as I can remember. I have purchased an untold number of things from garage and estate sales. I have resold many of those things and gone on to buy more. Some highlights: A gorgeous small Julian Onderdonk painting, a first edition 1831 copy of The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie of Kentucky, a large Gertrud and Otto Natzler bowl, a set of three Hans Wegner “The” chairs…………….a lowlight would be the 1982 Jaguar XJ6 that seemed so promising at just $250, if only I could have invested about 5 grand to get the thing running properly and exorcise the vomit-y small. A definite lowlight.
Will continue to post my garage sale Friday hits and misses. Aside from the wonderful and rare pieces, they have proven to be a wonderful source for kid stuff — lots and lots of very good quality kids stuff is to had, from toys to clothes to furnishings.
Is your cat overweight? One simple step to a leaner and healthier feline.
I wish that I had a time machine. To be able to take all that I’ve learned about cat food back to 1998; back to one Cap’n Crunch, an almost 20 lb. (hence more than a little overweight!) 6 year old cat. I was at a loss about how to bring his weight back to a comfortable range; an orange tabby, he looked like a basketball. For one year, I fed him only a dry, premium brand “lite” food. Rather than lose weight, he actually gained it. I just resolved that he must be genetically programmed to be that large. Surely the food that I’d so carefully selected would have otherwise done it’s implied job, right?
As it turns out, WRONG. Poor Cap’n went on to eventually develop hyperthyroidism, then Chronic Renal Disease. He passed away earlier this month. If I had known, in 1998, that the food that I had been feeding him with the intention of helping him with a weight problem had most likely been a culprit in his condition in the first place, I might have saved him years of health problems. I just want to tear my hair out at the thought of it.
Enter into my 2009 life the book “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life
If your cat is overweight, here’s what you can do TODAY: Switch any cat currently eating dry food to canned food. That’s right, the single most effective thing is to STOP the dry food intake. Even among the widely available brands of canned food (read: what you buy at the grocery store), there are relatively low carbohydrate options, so you shouldn’t have to shell out big bucks for the higher-end natural pet food. Dr. Hodgkins provides a good guide about how to read a label for carbohydrate content. Otherwise, there are national brands that market themselves as all-meat/no grain, such as EVO and Feline’s Pride. I plan to investigate these options with my two youngster cats and report back. Keep posted.
In the meantime, you can read up on more of these and other findings here and here. I invite your comments and experiences.
