We hear a lot of interesting things at estate sales. Some folks will walk into a home and feel no hesitation in exclaiming to all present that the previous owner's taste was entirely in her mouth! Others will be somewhat more subtle when discussing whether the foo dog ottoman will clash with their Victorian decor, apparently believing that their stage whispers can be heard only by themselves. My husband and I often go to the other extreme, causing us to silently mouth words at each other, employ exaggerated facial expressions and gesture as if we are engaged in a lively game of charades, certain that no one else has caught on to the fact that we are debating the value of that set of china. When we enter a sale, we each have an idea of where we are headed. At the allotted time, the doors open and in we zip. As one of our favorite sellers said this morning, "Now there's a couple who know what they want!" Yes we did - and we got it! But, back to the point. One of the things I like to check out is the jewelry. I have a special place in my heart for vintage costume jewelry. Both my mother and grandmother loved brooches, earrings and necklaces of all kinds, and when I see a pair of Kramer clip-on earrings, a Coro Duette pin, or an oversized, sparkling Eisenberg Ice rhinestone brooch, I think of those ladies, joyous and loving. At a sale this weekend, I was at the jewelry table sorting through baggies of this and that, pulling out the occasional treasure and smiling in self-satisfaction at each one. Two ladies were next to me working from the opposite end of the box and I was just sure they would score the prize find before I could get to it. But, I maintained my cool and worked quickly, but not so quickly as to reek of desperation. And, then it happened. My fears were realized as one woman held up a prize catch - a large Trifari brooch and clip earring set. My heart sank . . . until I heard her friend tell her, "Oh, that's Trifari. It's not worth anything." And the baggie fell back into the sea of other baggies and quickly sank, as did my heart. "Keep calm and don't be obvious," I told myself. Ever so slowly, I worked my way toward the spot where I saw the treasure sink. It wasn't long before I found it and placed it, inconspicuously, in my pile of goodies . . . and smiled. So, who was right? Is Trifari trash as the one woman believed, or a treasure as I hoped? While I love brands that you can look at and say they are always either good or not, that isn't the case with Trifari jewelry. And, until you have "kissed a lot of frogs," it will be hard to identify the prince from among them. In this case, these pieces look like they will sell well, but then I have kissed a few frogs in my day. And while it's a good idea to hold off on buying something you are unsure of, if you are faced with an opportunity and the risk is small, I encourage you to take that risk and - every so often - kiss a frog. You just never know what might happen!