Thanks for the input. The Aloe was offered at $150, but he'd probably knock $20 or $30 off that when pressed. The Cyphostemma (at a different nursery) was marked $90, which is probably a pretty firm price. Given that both these nurseries are in the westside of L.A., they seem like fair prices. They certainly aren't the sweet deals that would have actually convinced me to buy them either... Jordi, you've got to tell me where I can get a C juttae with some size for $25ish!

All the "art" I've picked out myself are pictures that hit my heart in some way. It's like "Love at first sight." You know it when you see it Yep. Most of my faves are of the "I paid very little for this" variety. My latest treasure came from a little junk shop in Suffolk, England. It was marked as a print, but I had a sneaky suspicion it was an original. I paid the equivalent of about $46 for it, got it back to my cottage and took it out of the frame, and sure enough - original acrylic, and the subject matter is a door in St. Ives, Cornwall - where I visited on a wonderful holiday last year. So win-win-win: Affordable original of a place that has special meaning to me. I just got it back from my framer last week and am even more in love with it, now that it's been given the perfect mat and frame. I guess the most I've ever paid for a painting was $2,400 (or was it $2,600? I forget. ;-)). It's a large canvas of a Native American gentleman, and I bought it directly from the artist, himself a young Native American. I felt really good about supporting his work, and having had the painting for a number of years now, I still absolutely love living with it and can't imagine my wall without it. Art has to really speak to me in some way before I want to live with it.

Well, you need to see the chair in person to know for sure. I was thinking that if it were in really good shape, maybe $50. I'm a little surprised she negotiated with you over the phone. When I have stuff for sale, I always leave room to lower my price a bit, but I will NOT do it until the person is there with their money in hand. For one thing, it's a waste of my time to be haggling over the price when the buyer hasn't even driven over to my house yet. They may not come at all. Also, the next caller may just ask for my address and come and pay full price, While the first buyer is still thinking about calling me again and offering less. What I WILL do, is tell the caller that yes, I may be negotiable and tell them to come see. Red

I am not sure about the wood... not my area of expertise. It does have lots of knots. My husband guessed, "pine?" I see the color variation in the photo you mentioned, but I can't see it in person. It definitely needs to be touched up. I wouldn't want to refinish if it were a true antique, but am undecided since we need to fix/clean it up, anyway. We have mostly dark walnut (color) wood in our home. Hubby mentioned he'd prefer the piece was darker. I think it is quite lovely as is. I am currently planning on putting it in our laundry/dog/mudroom, which is primarily white and beige. It fits an open space I have and would serve as a nice spot to set clean clothes when I pull them out of the dryer, set down keys since it is next to the garage door, charge cell phones, etc. To my eye, the color of the wood is a nice contrast to all the light, painted surfaces we have in there. Suggestions or ideas are definitely welcomed...