Yard Sale Saturday Finds

Some great items were out and about these past two Saturday’s.  It’s funny you never know what you can find, especially when you are having one of those days where you keep looking with little success. 

These three items all came from the same sale.  First, a beautiful carved wooden plate/bowl.  I can see it hanging up or on a coffee table.  Maybe with a hurricane glass and candle?

 

Next up is this beautiful pair of old globe style bookends.  These just need a bit of polish and shine up to really sparkle!

Last thing I found were these feather balls that could work in so many places.  These usually go for quite a bit of money (new) but I got the five of them for $2.00!

All told three great finds for under $10.00 total.  Man, I love yard sales!

I never realized…..

how difficult it would be to not have a laptop. 

When I first purchased my laptop about 2 years ago, I wanted it to be for business and to move myself out of the family office and into the family room.  You see, I spent a lot of time in the house but not with the family and that was making the family unhappy.  So when the life sucking corporation the old company offered computer discounts, I took advantage and bought a basic model.

I was addicted.  It was so convenient to use.  I could sit on the sofa and work.  I could take it with me on business calls and when I do inventory and even on trips.  Want to know what the heck something you just heard really is?  I could look it up on Wiki and not even leave the room.

I was a happy camper.  Until June 8th when all hell broke loose.  The laptop would not load certain websites.  So I backed out an IE update.  It seemed better.  Then it just started shutting down randomly.  I thought I better do a backup and soon…right.

I could not get the laptop to stay on long enough to pull the data off.  I called for service, dropped it off and hoped for the best.  Then I got the call.  Good News – they saved my data.  Bad News – the motherboard died.  And it’s just not worth the money to replace.

So I went two weeks without a laptop going crazy every day.  But not anymore – I am typing this on my lovely 17” Dell Studio purple.  And I will be backing up my data weekly.  And BTW I bought the two year extended warranty.  I learned my lesson.

I just never realized…..

Six Quick Tips for Home Staging

So many articles are out there talking about Home Staging and what it can do for your home. I agree, hiring a certified Home Stager can add value to your property and improve your showings.

But what if you cannot afford a Home Stager right away? Maybe you want to try to put your home together yourself first, then get some Open House feedback before taking that leap in hiring someone? Well, while I not trying to lose any business, I do understand the economics of today.

So here are Six Quick Tips for Home Staging....

1) Make the front of your home welcome. Ensure people can see your house number and that the lawn is well manicured.

2) Ensure that the color of your Home is in line with the neighborhood. Not too many people will be attracted to the fuchsia house in the creme/tan/brick neighborhood!

3) Put away your garbage cans. If there is a place where they can be hidden, great. If not consider a privacy screen of some sort.

4) De-Clutter! This is the biggest challenge most homeowners face.

5) Clear the kitchen counters. Think of that model home you just saw - did they have a toaster, coffee maker, mixer, dish drain, et al. out? Probably not/

6) Make the beds. I cannot tell you how many homes I have visited with a realtor that the beds are not made, covers not pulled up or pillows astray. It only takes a few minutes to complete a bed!

One more tip....Ask a Home Stage for a free consultation - most of us are willing to take a few minutes to look at some room pictures and offer a few tips. We just hope you will hire us for more!

LATimes - Is this me? "Funemployment"

There is a great article in the Los Angeles Times about "Funemployment". http://www.latimes.com/business/la-me-funemployment4-2009jun04,0,3466693.story This seems like something I understand.

Never heard of funemployment? Here's Urban Dictionary's definition: "The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life. I spent all day Tuesday at the pool; funemployment rocks!"

.

There are days when I feel like that is what I am doing. Yes, I am spending my time building the Staging/Decorating business, but at the same time I am learning how to have fun again, how to relax and how to deprogram over 15 years of working for the life sucking corporation in the corporate field.

Maybe I should Twitter more of a fun nature and not use the social network for the business. Maybe I should concentrate more on getting a new full time job.

But I am not mentally there - and I know that I will be there soon if need be. I'd really like to see if I can be successful with my business. So I'll set a timetable, work hard - enjoy some funemployment time - and let you know how it goes.

Consultations

When I do a consultation, I am always concerned about how much information I share.

If I share to little, do they assume I am not well versed? If I share too much, am I giving away a potential larger job?

I find this to be one of the more difficult parts of being an independent consultant. How do you know when enough is enough?

I was on the phone the other day, talking with a potential staging client and walking through the pictures they had sent me. I talked about clutter, older decorating styles, rooms that looked dated --- all before I began my pitch for how I could come to the home and get everything done for them at such and such a price.....less than 1% of the selling price.

I did not get the job.

And now I am left to wonder if I gave too much away. Did I share too much of what I would have done?

I need to continue to work on that line...and not crossing it.

So where have I been?

The past few weeks since my darling son's 17th birthday have passed in a blur. Let's see, the has been...

Worrying myself sick every time my son gets behind the wheel.

Attending 4 days of amazing training in NY at the Jewish Theological Seminary

Going to a Phillies game

Worrying myself sick every time my son gets behind the wheel.

Staging and redesign appointments

Changing the Judaica Shop around - adding a slat wall soon!

Did I mention - worrying myself sick every time my son gets behind the wheel?

Don't get me wrong - he is a very good driver, passed all his tests, had driven with us a lot prior to getting his license, BUT, I am his mommy and I just will worry about the other drivers and outside influences and the dumb decisions we all make on occasion.

Is it just me or now that my son is driving, people have stopped driving carefully are there are scary drivers everywhere? Like the guy the other day who decided 100 feet before the exit (in which he was three lanes away from?) cut off five cars in his quest to exit? Did you have to pee? Was there a million dollars being given away at this exit? WTF?

So I have some great design projects in the works - the redo of the Judaica Shop, the redesign of the Education office at the synagogue, finishing the guest room redesign (once and for all!)

So back to regular posting and I'll talk to you'all soon.