Rental Auctions! What the?!

What is it with some real estate agents in Melbourne at the moment...they're auctioning off rental properties.

No, they're not selling them but they don't set a rent for them. No, potential tenants have to do that!!

Some friends have moved back to Melbourne and are staying with in-laws while they find a place to rent for the next year while they get settled and eventually buy a home...

Last weekend, they started the hunt for somewhere to rent and looked at more than a dozen properties.....and were told they'd have to "make an offer".

Needless to say my friends missed out on quite a few potential homes because they "got out-bid"

What's going on? Why are some Real Estate agents not doing their job and setting rents? Are they trying to cash in on the limited number of rentals compared with the number of potential tenants?

Is this normal?

Is this legal?

....or am I way out of touch with the way things are done now?

I Bought Something. Big.

It's a clock and it JUST fitted in the back of the car

It's huge...but there is one thing.

It doesn't work

But I knew that when I bought it... there were lots of them and the retailer said they couldn't guarantee they'd work, that's why they were so cheap.

I have other plans for it and with MONT's help, it's going to be transformed.

Oh...how much did I -pay for it?

$20

Yep, that's all

What do you think?

Mood Lighting for the Garden

Some more ideas for garden lighting, which can be quite expensive but it doesn't need to be. There are some ways to get mood lighting in the garden that won't cost you much at all..

I usually put some tealight candles in little jars out there whenever we have people coming over...and MONT installed an "uplight" under a tree to make it look nice as well...

I guess whatever you do depends on the size of the garden, what effect you want to achieve and what you like yourself...

I've done a couple of things, apart from the tealights in jars...and one of the ideas came from Diane at In My Own Style. She made  this little beauty and I love it!!

Here's my version... made with an old light fitting that came out of our spare room

It's easy.... you can make it with twine or get some chain from your local hardware if you want a different look

Just tie the twine around the rim and add some pieces to hang it....or add the chain in the same way. You'll need some little jewelery pliers and connectors so you can hang it in the garden from a tree branch...

Then you can do this as well...with some of the other old fittings you have

They glow like night lights...I put a couple of battery operated tealights in them and they twinkle the night away...

So...if you see any old glass domes at the local op-shop or have some lying around the house, put them in the garden and give them a second life.

Movie of the Week...#2

OK...another movie...just because I like it.

It's The Goodbye Girl

Not a long movie (111 minutes) but a darn good one

It's from 1977 and it's by Neill Simon...it's  about actors and dancers and entertainers and their trials and tribulations...and one woman and her daughter's quest to finally find someone who doesn't do a "runner" as we like to say in Australia

...and how cute was Richard Dreyfuss back in the 70's?

Some interesting trivia about Quinn Cummings, who played Lucy McFadden in the film

She hasn't done any acting for some years in fact she started her own business after inventing a hip-hugger baby carrier....oh...and she has her own blog

Anyway, it's a film I've always liked and I always get a laugh out of it...see if you do too.

Garden lighting with a difference

How do you feel about garden lighting?

I love it as long as it's soft and sets a mood....oh and doesn't cost me much

I've got little candle holders spotted around the yard and I've got those fairy light balls I made with wire planter baskets up on the deck....

...and now,  I've got another lot of lights that provide a beautiful glow once the sun goes down...and it's a way of using up some bits and pieces you either have at home, or find at the local op-shop/thrift store

I thought I'd post this little project that I mentioned I'd show Natalie over at In The Night Sky. . She's recently done a mini-makeover in her laundry and powder room and had this rather "gorgeous" amber light fitting in the laundry that she's now replaced.

It's way past it's use-by-date inside, but believe it or not, it's still useful and it's colour is perfect for the GARDEN!

All you have to do is get yourself a little battery operated tea light candle, turn the amber ball upside down in a garden bed, with the candle inside...and watch it glow

Not convinced?

I put a few of these around the garden for Christmas and again for a recent party and they looked wonderful.

The latest issue of Real Living magazine has a feature on garden lighting too and it has some lovely ideas.

It shows us different ways to set the mood in the garden...or pool

Even in trees.....

Lovely ideas that can be adapted with a little imagination

I've got more, inexpensive projects for garden lighting...

...and as soon as I can locate the source so I can give the appropriate credit...I'll post about it.