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.

Kreativ - Thanks

This was a surprise..

Natalie, over at "In The Night Sky" nominated me...which is really nice!

It was a while ago, so I'm a bit slack getting to it...but anyway...

Thanks Natalie.

This award means I have to tell you some things about me that you may not know and then nominate seven blogs that really tickle my fancy.

Well....

1. I used to learn ballet...many moons ago, but now do Pilates once a week

2. I loved school but wasn't a good student, I just liked the social aspect of it all and still have friends from my school days

3. If I didn't have to work, I'd spend my days sewing, watching movies, renovating old furniture and playing with the dogs...oh and cooking

4. If  I owned a shop, it would look like a mix of second hand furniture, vintage bits and pieces, fabric, vintage patterns and shoes... (crazy I know)

5. If I were starting the renovations on Number 10 now, the interior would be gutted and it would have a completely different lay-out

6. I am often bemused about the need for our strict privacy laws when so many people are so willing to share  every detail about their personal lives and day to day activities on Facebook or Twitter.

7. Call me crazy, but I hate not getting up to go to work each day...and it still "stings" a little about the way I lost my job last year.

That's about it for the revelations today...maybe some more when I can think of things that may resemble something interesting about me.

Now to some of the nice blogs I check out each day...

Well, all you have to do is look down the side bar and see what inspires me each and every day...Scrapbook, Country Style Chic, Centsational Girl, In The Night Sky, McCarthy Designs, Molly's Maison, VT Interiors, Homely One, Fun and VJ's...they're all fabulous and all very different and they all give me something to aspire to each day.

That's it from me...if you are mentioned and want to take the KREATIV image and display it and then carry on with the award, please, be my guest. If not, no problems

Movie of the Week

I've always been a bit of a movie junkie. When I was younger, I always wanted to stay up way past my bedtime to watch the Sunday night movie. It didn't really matter what movie it was, I just wanted to watch it.

...and now that I've had a bit more time at home, I've been watching the odd movie here and there when the days have been too cold or wet to go outside.

So I thought why not have a "Movie of the Week"...where, every now and then, I can  suggest a film that I've enjoyed watching..

With all the political goings-on in the USA at the moment (and here) I thought it'd be a good time to re-visit a really great movie on the downfall of a president.

All The Presidents Men was on late night TV a while back, but I couldn't keep my eyes open to watch it to the end...

So I revisited it again this week and it's a corker!

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford play journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

Watch it if you can, you won't be disappointed.

My Laundry-large cupboard or small room?

The Number 10 laundry is small. No, make that tiny. In fact, it's a cupboard.

It's about the size of a smallish walk-in pantry. Just enough to house the washing machine, dryer, a cupboard and a few shelves to hold things...but that's about it.

I use this little room for storage as well as a laundry. MONT put shelves right around the walls so I can store all the spare glasses, still in their boxes and any saucepans or large pans, that only get used when we have a crowd to cater for...and sometimes I even put them in their correct spot on the shelf, not just leave them on the bench

So, like I said it's small and a bit crowded....no place to set up the ironing board, (not that I iron much), and no place for things to hang to dry...in fact there's no room to even store the clothes airers.

Usually, when I wash MONT's shirts, I put them on hangers (to help avoid more ironing), then place them on door knobs around the place...but instead of them being out on show, I really wanted a little rail for them in here...But what would I use for the rail?

Well, when we changed all the brass light fittings over to chrome, the rods came with extension pieces and I have a few of them left over...

Voila...

May I present my new drying rail

It's only large enough to hold a few shirts...but that's all I needed....and it's much better than going out and buying something that would've set me back a lot more than the $6 for the brackets.

If I was just starting out on the Number 10 renovation (and knew then what I know now) I'd have a much larger laundry that could store EVERYTHING! But this is what I have and this is what I have to work with...I think it's OK

Oh and yes...those baskets on the shelves are new too. A quick trip to KMart and they were in the car in 10 minutes flat.

Distracted

I have been a bit distracted this past couple of weeks...so  I haven't been posting much.

I have a pretty good excuse though....s I started my new job last week and while I've been on the computer a LOT! most of the time has been on that old "steep learning curve".

But, I think I've got it right now and with a bit of luck some more work will be coming my way over the next year...and beyond.

While that's been happening though, my posting has suffered...but I hope that will be rectified soon...REAL SOON!

I have some photos to show you soon of a little (read: tiny) makeover of what I laughingly called my laundry.

It's a tiny room...only about the size of a smallish walk in pantry...but I had a bit of a light-bulb moment the other day about making it a bit more "workable".

Photos tomorrow......

Autumn 2012

Hard to believe that we're into Autumn down here in the southern hemisphere....everything's changing

The ornamental grapevine on our side fence has changed so much in just a few days

It started out with just a hint of red...

and now looks like this...

I took this shot last night...

Soon though it'll be bare....

Have a great weekend....and keep dry!