It’s been a while since I’ve checked out the latest postings on zillow! I noticed several homes near us going on the market over the past few months and I decided to snoop. And, of course, see what’s up for grabs in the Bay 🙂
If only I had a few extra hundred thousand dollar. Le sigh 😉
Here’s what I found:
Beautifully renovated ’80s tri-level:
Cute, right? Build in 1906:
Early 1920’s bungalow. Gotta love the woodwork!
*These are not my photos!
Every week, JBoat and I have people over.
Yes. Every week.
And when I say people, I mean el pueblo. The village. 35 people on average per week. You could say our home is everyone’s home 🙂
I love hosting. What I don’t love so much is cleaning. Most days, our home is very tidy. But when it comes time for the once a week thorough cleaning, we need at least 3 hours to take on the entire home. So, here are some tricks I use if time is running short.
1. Use a hand vacuum to clean hardwood floors and upholstery
If you don’t have time to sweep (and, like us, your full-sized vacuum kicks up dirt on hardwood), save some time by vacuuming in corners and near countertops, tables or furniture with a hand vac. I also use an upholstery attachment to vacuum pet hair off furniture before having people over!
2. Use a microfiber rag for dusting
Forget feather or Swiffer dusters. These products simply “remove” dust by spreading it. Then, it’ll settle elsewhere and your home will be as dusty as it was before you dusted! Serious waste of time. Microfiber cloths catch and hold dust in a quick swipe. Much better.
3. Clear out clutter
Cut your cleaning time way down by eliminating piles of mail, shoes, clothes, etc in advance. When the mail comes inside, I sort it right way and out Jboat’s in his desk. Our clothes go into hampers when dirty and away when clean. Dog toys get put away daily. Keys go on hooks in the kitchen. This means we have less scrambling to do before someone drops by!
4. Clean all surfaces before cleaning floors
I know it seems silly, but this will save time! Don’t end up repeating cleaning steps because there were crumbs on the table that spilled on your freshly cleaned floors. Clean table tops and counters, dust shelves and shake out rugs before vacuuming or sweeping. And, clean all glass, stone or laminate countertops and tables before moving onto another step. Cleaning by surface type instead of by room means you’ll save time by not having to change out cleaners several times (unless you keep a set of cleaning solutions in each room!).
5. Get your home smelling clean!
Again, this might seem frivolous, but get some fresh air in your home. Leave windows open in the mornings or afternoons to clear out any “musty” smells. Put a slice of lemon through your food processor. Throw any blankets in the dryer for a quick refresher. Light some candles or turn on a ceiling fan. Ah 🙂
What do you do to get ready for el pueblo in a hurry?
I really like Airstream trailers…
I really, really do.
Specifically the 16 and 19 foot trailers. Small, mobile, get-out-of-town-quick trailers.
Photo From Glamping Hub
A new Airstream Bambi could cost around $50,000. So my Airstream Dream will continue to be just that…a dream…unless something more affordable comes my way! 🙂 Until then, I couldn’t help but decorate my Airstream Dream to share here.
Bambis can be pretty tight living spaces, so adding lots of color and fun in addition to some simple, neutral basics can help open the space!
And since Airstreams are most conventionally used for vacationing, I think the details should be fun!
The tiny, tiny wet bath doesn’t really have space for much, but I used texture and a burst of color to keep the small space from feeling dull.
The Bambi bed is literally just that: a bed. I don’t think the lamp would actually fit, the floor-lamp-side-table combo saves space in multiple ways. The over the door mirror comes complete with hooks and shelves and could be modified to hang in the “closet”.
Who doesn’t love an outdoor kitchen? Add a rug (if possible) near the trailer’s entrance, some placemats and a string of lights to make the outside feel more like an extension of the interior living space.
Darn you, Airstream. Steal my heart and empty my wallet. For now, I’ll do my best with my tent camping 🙂
Decor sources include:
Pottery Barn
World Market
Target
Urban Outfitters
Ikea
It’s that time of year…
And we’re not often home during the Christmas season. So when I decorate, it’s pretty minimalistic. Here are a few little details I added to our living room to jazz it up for Christmastime 🙂
Our mantel! We got this guy last year. There was an electric fireplace insert in it, but the hubs pulled it out. It was piney-gross, so I painted it with Ann Sloan’s Chalk Paint in the color Pure. I haven’t waxed it since we may or may not make a floating mantel out of it. Not sure yet. But the stockings are hung here for Christmas 🙂
Details of the mantel. Two turtle doves 😉 “Marshmallow Fireside” candle from Bath and Body Works in a snowflake votive cover from Target last year. Next to some festively colored books Jboat and I have collected. The one closest to the candle is called I Dare You! written by William H. Danforth. It’s a great read.
We always struggle over whether or not to get a tree for Christmas. Last year, we bought a live tree and planted it in our yard afterwards. It died. So no more of that. And who really wants to spend $50 on a cut tree? So we went with this fake tree from Target. It’s only 4 1/2 feet tall, so I raised it on a box or two before adding some burlap as the skirt. It’s pre-lite, which is awesome, and a cinch to put together.
I decorate the tree with miniature red and gold bulbs (probably for Target as well), snowflake ornaments from Crate and Barrel, twine garland (DIY) and a ribbon topper (aka a bow 🙂 ).
And on top of our (temporary) side table, I put a vase with assorted bulbs near the usual drift wood and candle.
The coffee table tray gets a seasonal facelift, too. The candies are white chocolate peppermint M&Ms and the candle is called “Fireside” from Bath and Body Works. I made the candle surround out of ribbon.
The lovely red garland around the TV (might be kind of corny, but I had to put it somewhere) is from Crate and Barrel. The little red frames hold clippings from Trader Joe’s annual Christmas brown paper grocery bags 🙂
It’s not much, but there’s our little bit of Christmas round the living room!
So, if I show you something, do you promise you won’t judge/be grossed out?
Here it goes…
That, my friends, is the wall of our full bath.
I know. I know. Gross.
Our older home has 1.5 bathrooms. And, go figure, only the half-bath has a fan in it. Ya, ’cause running the sink makes it super steamy in there.
Our full bath is original to the home and though it’s been beautifully upgraded with travertine and granite, a boob light manned the spot of an ever-so-necessary fan. Ugh. Gross.
It’s been on my radar ever since we bought the place and my dream is now a reality! My husband tackled the old plaster ceiling and installed a bathroom fan from Home Depot for $20ish.
We chose a high powered fan over a quiet fan, but I think it was a good choice. And the bathroom is no longer McSteamy after a shower (Did you catch that Grey’s Anatomy reference? Yes? Then we can be friends :)). The days of showering in the winter with the window open are over! And, now I can paint!
Well, after I wash down those gross walls 🙁
To be continued!
I can’t believe it’s already December. And Christmas is only a few weeks away. The traffic is backing up within 5 miles of the mall, festive music’s on the radio, my office Christmas party has come and gone…and Broadacre Coffee is serving the best peppermint mocha in town. Sounds like it’s time to post a Christmas list!
1. A navy duffel coat – I like the length of duffle coats and the brown details, which make them easy to transition from casual to dressy. This one from Nordstrom’s Juniors’ department (B.P.) is my fav and the fur is detachable.
2. A pair of Big Star jeans – I used to love the Remy’s, but they only come in low rise now…Maybe the Alex mid rise skinnies in Olympia Dark. This company is also eco-friendly and the jeans are manufactured in California. It’s a win-win to me!
3. Troopa boots – During the wet winters in Northern California, I love to wear boots. I hike in them, work in them and wear Uggs around the house. These lace-up Troopa boots from Steve Madden are super cute, and the zipper on the side is really convenient.
4. A brass shower head – OK, this one may surprise you, but…we really need a new shower head. Our full bath’s best feature is a resurfaced claw foot tub with antique brass facet, surround and a white porcelain shower head. I can’t imagine ever replacing the tub, but the shower head dumps water on the showeree. Waste of water and coldness ensue. But, porcelain and/or brass shower heads are not easy to find. Overstock.com is wonderful though and they have a great selection of brass shower heads. I like this one!
5. Bamboo Roman shades – We’ve been wanting to replace the ummm…well-used metal blinds in our dining room for some time, but because we have so many windows, window coverings for our sunny bungalow have always been way out of our price range (21 windows in all)! Enter JC Penny with these affordable and multi-sized (we need a 59″, 47″ and two 35″) Roman shades that would offer a much-needed facelift to a room we have yet to make many changes to.
6. ALÄNG ceiling lamp (One 14in and one 18in) – Our home suffers from the plague of the boob-lights and broken ceiling fans. I kid you not. We’ve gotten rid of one boob light and two of the fans, but there are still several more that need replacing. This new ceiling light from Ikea would be great in our kitchen (where most of the lighting is recessed, but there is one boob light {why?!}) and the larger version would be perfect in the guest room (which is currently home to a broken ceiling fan).
Just a few ideas. Making it super easy for JBoat and my mother this year by posting my list on the world-wide web 😉
It’s been raining all week here. What better way to spend a rainy day than cozy inside looking at beautiful homes?
My friends, let me introduce you to Zillow.
I personally prefer the Zillow app to the website (www.zillow.com), but either will open up a world of house-viewing wonder, all from the comfort of your home. Or your favorite cafe. Or wherever you get your internet fix 🙂
Simply search for your city of choice and you can then narrow down the results by rentable properties, homes for sale, land for sale…
I love to look for homes along the California coast. Specifically Oakland, Berkley and Carmel because the houses are staged beautifully and typically photographed professionally. And, lots of them are renovated older homes, like my own. And, of course, because I’d love to live there.
Some of my favorites:
I love shingles. On homes, that is. And rooftops.
*All images were taken from Zillow Listings.
*Addresses not listed for privacy reasons.
*This isn’t a sponsored post.
