Tchotchke, pronounced chach-ke. It’s an appropriate time of year to contemplate the economic impact of the gifts we buy for the person who needs nothing. One of my favorite blogs – DemoMemo invented a Tchotchke Index. I love this blog, because, as we all know – Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure! You won’t believe the studies that have been done and conclusions drawn from them. Check it out- DemoMemo. First -consider what defines a tchotchke. Some say a decorative item for the home. Some say cheap and tacky items displayed in the home. Bauble, bric-a-brac, curio, trinket, knickknack. No matter what you call them, we all have them, we’ve all received them, we’ve all given them. But did you ever imagine that the economic health of our country could be gauged by how much we spend annually on tchotchkes? Self-storage facilities might also be an indicator of our love of trinkets. The assumption is that when we feel economically solid, we spend more on fluff decor. DemoMemo claims that the index peaked in 2000 and fell to it’s low in 2003. The good news is that 2014 spending on useless bric-a-brac shows cautious optimism. We’re up from 2013, but less than 2012. So, if you’re feeling comfortable in the wallet – purchase a purely non-essential bauble and feel at peace with the universe.
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Year: 2015
Tchotchke, pronounced chach-ke. It’s an appropriate time of year to contemplate the economic impact of the gifts we buy for the person who needs nothing. One of my favorite blogs – DemoMemo invented a Tchotchke Index. I love this blog, because, as we all know – Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure! You won’t believe the studies that have been done and conclusions drawn from them. Check it out- DemoMemo. First -consider what defines a tchotchke. Some say a decorative item for the home. Some say cheap and tacky items displayed in the home. Bauble, bric-a-brac, curio, trinket, knickknack. No matter what you call them, we all have them, we’ve all received them, we’ve all given them. But did you ever imagine that the economic health of our country could be gauged by how much we spend annually on tchotchkes? Self-storage facilities might also be an indicator of our love of trinkets. The assumption is that when we feel economically solid, we spend more on fluff decor. DemoMemo claims that the index peaked in 2000 and fell to it’s low in 2003. The good news is that 2014 spending on useless bric-a-brac shows cautious optimism. We’re up from 2013, but less than 2012. So, if you’re feeling comfortable in the wallet – purchase a purely non-essential bauble and feel at peace with the universe.Remember the nursery rhyme –
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
That’s what this category of Bad MLS photos reminds me of. There’s something about our amateur photo-taking abilities that results in crooked photos. Take note when you look at your photos – we tilt to the right or the left. Some of us tilt more than others!
There are sites that allow you to straighten the photo, lighten or darken OR you can hire a professional photographer to do listing photos. But here’s some examples of agents/sellers who “did it my way” and their crooked results.
Warning – If you are prone to vertigo, this may bring on an episode!
Fun and safe Halloween option with a Salvation message. 5-7:00 PM Friday Oct 30 at Grace Fellowship Church. Join us! (and hotdogs!)
Come to Pleasant Hill’s Orange Planet for a fun family event – annual Trunk or Treat. Eisenlauer Team will be there with home-made Cotton Candy (candy spider’s web) Sunday Oct 25 from 4:00-6:00 PM.
Join us for a LIVE Cooking School with one of our Culinary Specialists who will share their home cooking tips and tricks while demonstrating step-by-step recipes for the season’s best dishes. Find out for yourself why people keep coming back to the Taste of Home Cooking School, year after year! Food, fun, and delicious memories are waiting for you, so get your tickets today. The event includes a Marketplace where you can shop & sample your way through several vendors before the live show, several food trucks from the metro serving up delicious eats for your dining pleasure and the live cooking show where you will learn some of the top recipes featured in the Taste of Home cookbooks & magazines! Marketplace & Food Trucks will be open at 4:00PM with the Live Show starting at 7:00PM At Jacobsen Building at Iowa State Fairgrounds.I like to take different roads to get to my routine destinations. Along the way, I notice things. Some make me smile. Some make me shake my head in puzzlement. Some make me do a U-turn to see if my eyes deceived me. Some compel me to take that route again and again. Sometimes I admire. I always attempt to record with a photo (smart phones are a wonderful invention). Some thing I’ve noticed Along the Way:
- A truck that had signage – Hillbilly Handyman.
- A store to go with it – Hillbilly Palace Thrift Store.
- Larger the life picture of Ron Paul as yard ornamentation.
- Beautifully manicured and landscaped yard.
- The floor covering business that gives “free stimates”. (thought perhaps the letter came off, but opposite side was exactly the same)
- Broken plastic lawn chair with For Sale sign.
- Dog house with sign that says “Killer” – great security system.
- The hidden house – so overgrown you can barely make out the roof line.
- Unusual paint colors on houses – lavender/purple exterior -stands out in the neighborhood.
- Street names – like Giggle or No Name.
- “Where-did-they-get-that-why-did-they-put-it-in-their-yard” ornaments
What’s your favorite along the way site?
Follow us on Pinterest – we have an “Along the Way” Board
with new things added as we find them.
I LOVE fall – the colors in the trees, the crisp cooler air, the sounds of crunching leaves under foot, the flavor of juicy apples, aroma of warm bowl of homemade soup, snapping of burning logs at a weiner roast – the sound of football games. It is a wonderful time of year – it’s great to live in an area that has distinct differences in the seasons. I would love to see or hear about your favorite fall activity! I’m posting some that I’ve collected on Pinterest – and then some that our family has enjoyed.
- Fall house tour at Stone Gable
- Our Vintage Home
- Muchkin Mix
- Eclectically Vintage
- Craft Critters
- That’s my Letter
- Thanksgiving card designed by Tiffany Murphy
- Delicious and decadent handmade caramel apples (by M.E.)
- Fall Sweet Pizza
- Our own Spider Web candy, complete with spider ring.
- Eyeball Truffles
- Little girl wondering if she should eat Eyeball Truffle!
We’ve been licensed Realtors for a few decades in the Des Moines area. Things have changee in 30+ years. People are visual – that has not changed. In fact – that aspect has become increasingly important. With most buyers doing preliminary research on line – photos are imperative. Good photos – definitely give your property an edge over those without. Bad MLS photos are a source of entertainment for us in the industry. Sadly, they are not going to help you find a buyer for your property. A quick tour on Craigslist will harvest a plethora of bad photos. Nobody wants to see your unmade bed, a view of your open toilet or your refrigerator magnets. Our goal as Realtors is to present a house in the best possible light to make as many potential buyers want to see the property in person. We want the photos to make you want the house to be yours! We’ll be posting about photo errors in the future – be prepared to be entertained and educated! First thing is -if the grass is green at the house, the grass should be green in the photos. Don’t keep snow-covered landscape on the internet when winter has ended. 
Pleasant Hill’s Sleepy Hollow is home to annual Renaissance Faire. They have a permanent home, with permanent buildings and grounds. Find out more on their http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc Tweeting, texting, advertising, they’ve all moved us along in the bastardization of the English language. I believe people do judge you by the words you use. There are slang words that come and go, but why does the dictionary want to legitimize street language that will probably be gone in a relatively short amount of time? I like words. I like to read. I take note of the language people use. I make assumptions about them based on their use of our language. As political speeches abound in Iowa, we have the opportunity to hear how candidates communicate with words. And yes, we make judgements based on their use of words. The Oxford English Dictionary recently released their newest additions for 2015. Some that I wish we did not have to assimilate:
- Twerk – Both a noun and verb, and a word I wish I could un-see!
- Vape – vaper and vaping.
- Stanky – seriously, will this be around long enough to need to add to dictionary?
- Shizzle – at least this one’s fun to say! Fo Shizzle!
- Meh – a verbal shrug of the shoulder?
- Manspreading. (was not aware that this was peculiar to males)
- Hangry – a clever combination, or convenient excuse?
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