I discovered Ft. Myers, Florida when I vacationed here with my parents in the mid 70's. By the time I graduated from High School, I was done with the cold and moved south to attend Edison College. After I completed my 2 year stint, which extended to 3 years to allow time for beaches and boyfriends, I moved back to the Chicago area to get a real job. I worked in the Legal Dept of GE Capital Auto Lease for 10+ years. When GE downsized, I took the opportunity to move back to my beloved Ft. Myers.

My life had been moving along smoothly after a handful of bumpy years after returning to FL, which included a tame but emotional divorce, another couple of job changes and the death of my dad. I made some drastic changes in my life, which included taking care of my health and losing 180 lbs (which I have kept off since 2001) and refusing to settle for the wrong men in my life and being the most fortunate to meet the RIGHT man. My husband David and I were married at Ft. Myers Beach at sunset in January 2002 and life has been an even more amazing ride ever since.

David had been a new home and real estate salesman since 1978. After about a year and half of marriage, I decided to get my Real Estate license and then was asked to join the family business, working in the construction office. Part of my job entailed helping our customers with their color choices for their custom homes. I always knew I had a knack for decorating, but thought it was just a matter of having my own distinctive taste. My father always kidded that I had Champagne Taste and a Beer Pocket Book. I was always able to work around that true statement by being a diligent bargain hunter. I discovered that I was also good at helping others decorate and I played a significant role in decorating their latest model home. David and I decided the time was right to build our dream home, having the advantage of working for a custom builder. Our house was completed in Sept. of  2005 and life was sweet but there was just one thing missing...

If you are familiar with Fort Myers in Lee County, there is a beautiful Boulevard, called McGregor Blvd that runs parallel with the Caloosahatchee River and is home to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Since my first visits to the area, I have dreamt of owning a home or a business on McGregor Blvd. A few weeks before closing on our new home, I was out scouring my favorite consignment shops trying to find some beautiful bargains. I was driving down McGregor Blvd and said out loud to myself, I YEARN to own a business on McGregor. If I had a business on McGregor, I would call it More Taste than Money (I swear to you, this story is true). 20 minutes later, I was in one of my favorite consignment stores, called Kaleidoscope.

I mentioned to the owner that I loved this store and that if I ever owned a store I would want it to look just like this one. She said to me, that's interesting because the store is for sale. Well here I am, I quit my job, bought the store, changed the name to More Taste than Money (how much more of a sign could I ask for!). My store is everything I have dreamed about with a wonderful location on McGregor Blvd and almost 4000 square feet of meandering rooms with different decorating styles, filled with beautiful, unique, and extraordinary items and great prices.

Our first item sold in our new store was a wood rocking horse purchased by a Mother for her Son. That's me behind the boy with the great big smile on my face!

In 2006, after 28 years in the real estate and new home business, David decided to work with me at our beautiful store. He is now my internet and eBay guy. We have become an eBay drop off location. We have sold and will continue to sell many unique items. Our most unusual item to date has been a 17 1/2 foot Taxidermy Giraffe.

Our store is an upscale consignment resale shop. I do occasionally purchase new unique items. We carry all kinds of furniture, lamps, home decor, paintings, clocks, gifts, antiques, collectibles, art, knick knacks, tables, chairs, etc. Pretty much anything you can imagine. Of course, our inventory changes on a daily basis and I only take items that are in top quality condition. No junk here.

So, if you are ever in the Ft. Myers area, I hope you will stop by and say hi.