Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #523

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Virginia Woman Transforms Home Into McDonald’s Shrine
By Amanda Woods | New York Post
She’s lovin’ it — maybe a lit- tle too much.
A lifelong McDonald’s fan in Virginia has turned her home into a shrine to the fast-food chain, complete with its iconic golden arches and Happy Meal toys.
Taylor Gecking, 31, who lives with her husband Adam, 40, in Richmond, has collected more than 100 memorabilia items over the years — and even had the walls of the couple’s home painted red and yellow, Metro UK reported.
The abode includes a Ronald McDonald stained- glass window — Gecking’s favorite item and which first sparked her interest in "any- thing McDonald’s themed" a couple years ago, she told the outlet.
"My husband and I stopped at a flea market during a road trip and saw the Ronald McDonald stained- glass piece, and I was inex- plicably drawn to it," Gecking said.
"I walked away from it that day, but a whole year later, as we were driving through the same area, I asked him to stop at the flea market so I could see if [the piece]
was still there."
The price still hadn’t gone down, so the couple walked away again. But her hus- band surprised her with the kitschy artwork the next day — having driven eight hours round-trip back to West Virginia to buy it for her.
She even has the fast-food chain’s golden arches — an original 1970s sign taken from a McDonald’s restau- rant — hanging above her stairs.
‘No matter what items I add to the collection, my Ronald McDonald window will always be my favorite, but I did feel a really child- ish excitement when we hung the giant sign on the wall," Gecking admitted. "It
was everything I had envi- sioned, and I definitely did a little happy dance."
The woman said she believes she has more than 90 McDonald’s-themed items, counting all of her individual Happy Meal toys. "I’ve found some of my smaller things at antique malls or flea markets, but many of my items are from online marketplaces," she said. "The biggest rush I’ve had was finding the ham- burger spring toy. It was among hundreds of items on a local online estate auc- tion."
She said
her McDonald’s obsession started when she was little.
"I visited the play place back when they still used
the McDonaldland charac- ters, Ronald, Grimace, Hamburgular etc.," she told Metro. "My sister and I had so much fun climbing around and sliding into the ball pit. It made a mundane lunch something to look for- ward to."
Now, she simply hopes to grow her collection.
"One day I hope to add a Ronald McDonald sitting on a bench, but so far it’s been out of the budget. A girl can dream," Gecking said.
"Our whole home is full of things that are a little unusual to decorate with, but my husband and I both believe in surrounding our- selves with things that make us happy."
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