Buy what you like!

It's such a simple statement, but it pretty much sums our collecting philosophy. Just buy what you like...what makes you smile. It's YOUR money and YOU have to live with it, so don't let anyone tell you what you should collect.

Take, for example, the thing pictured here. It's, um, a huge bracket fungus that someone 100 years or so ago decided was not only worth keeping, but was worth decorating! And whoever painted this was pretty darn good.

We've seen lots of decorated odds and ends--butter paddles, bowls, bottles, and even other fungi--but this one is the best we've seen and absolutely our favorite. It sits on the top of a cupboard in our dining room, and every day as we descend the stairs, we look at it and smile.

What'd we pay? $225. So it was cheap too!