The Lost Art of Bartering

There’s a weekend flea market in the school yard across the street from my apartment. Vendors sit under umbrellas selling the usual fare – antique furniture, hand-crafted jewelry, homemade cookies.

Then there’s “The Lady in Red.” She is dressed in, well, red and sits cross-legged in the center of a large white sheet surrounded by a variety of baubles (cups, candy, mini-heart pillows). Her wares have no rhyme or reason (other than the fact that they're mostly red) and I recently found out why after trying to buy a cute pair of crimson hope earrings from her. “The Lady in Red” does not accept money for any of her items. If you see something you like, you trade her something of yours – as long as it’s red and/or white.

I ran home and scrounged around for something worth trading and decided upon a red and white popcorn bowl I’ve had lying around, but have yet to use. The Lady in Red was pleased with her new acquisition – as was I!


What’s the best barter/trade you’ve ever made? Click here to tell us about it!

Got Allergies? Try a Pair of (Free) Contact Lenses

My dad has always had the worst – and I mean the WORST – seasonal allergies. I remember being a little girl and laughing at him (out of love, of course) whenever he made that funny noise to scratch the back of his itchy throat, or when he wore sunglasses at the dinner table to disguise his puffy, watery eyes. Unbeknownst to me, I would grow up to develop the exact same allergies!

And, since I wear contacts, when my allergies kick in, the dryness of my peepers is ridiculous – it literally feels like little ants are crawling around on my eyes (sorry for the icky visualization!). A friend just told me about a free brochure from the American Asthma and Allergy Foundation that gives information about how to manage eye allergy symptoms.

The brochure is free (my favorite price) to download on www.acuvue.com/seasons/DD where I also downloaded a FREE Trail Pair Certificate to try 1-Day Acuvue Moist (single-use) contact lenses. I’m psyched to try them out, as they’re supposed to be one of the BEST contact lens options for allergy sufferers.

Why Didn’t I Think of That? A Mani-Saving Sponge

It never fails. I’ll spend two hours primping and polishing my nails (I slow down when I use my left hand) and the next day, after washing a sink-full of dirty dishes, I’m already chipping. I’ve tried all of the topcoats and chip-proof polishes I could get my paws on, to no avail. I just got wind of this new dishwashing sponge, the Scotch-Brite Ultra NailSaver Absorbent Scrub Sponge ($2), which will be popping up in grocery stores next week. The nifty sponge comes with groves in the sides where your nails rest safely instead of scratching up against the cast iron pot you’re cleaning. Love it!

Who Needs Clorox When You’ve Got Coca-Cola?

Remember when I wrote about subbing vinegar for dishwasher detergent a while back? It turns out vinegar isn’t the only oddball cleaning solution. Did you know cherry Kool-Aid removes tarnish from brass? And that Coca-Cola cleans coffeepot stains with ease? J.A. Young over at doityourself.com has a whole list of these interesting “cleaning supplies” for you to try out.

Don’t forget to come back and tell us what works...and what doesn’t!

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