How I’d love for such people to take a one-day trip to Michelle World! They’d find my life as exotic as if I lived in a jungle hut. For example, I’m sitting in my dining room and thinking of where each item came from. Every single piece of furniture except a stray folding chair (which I didn’t put away after a family dinner) was purchased second-hand or was a family piece. I bought the picture frames, the table cloth and the candies and the area rug. I made one ceramic holiday piece and another was made by my mother decades ago. There are lots of family antiques. There’s a sculpture I bought back in college. I bought the curtains new. The crystal chandelier is an antique my sister found at an estate sale and gave to me. Very few of my things were purchased new and NOT ONE THING was purchased as a result of someone marketing it to me!