Easter Weekend Shopping

Some of my vintage vinyl bunny toys.

I hope everyone enjoyed the recent Easter holiday or as I like to call it, "Bunny & Egg Day." I've been really busy lately but over Easter weekend my guy and I did a little shopping and I thought I'd share some pics of our purchases. But first some background information...

One of the many highlights of becoming a new homeowner is the incredible amount of coupons that arrive in your mailbox after you've moved. I can only assume that real estate agents sell your address for some kind of commission or maybe when you get a new address, phone number, etc. companies now let retailers know? Whatever the case may be, we've been getting a lot of coupons in the mail that offer anything from 10-25% off retail prices at nice shops like Restoration Hardware, West Elm and Crate and Barrel. Most of them come with a letter or gift card that says something like "Hello new home owners! We realize you've just made the biggest purchase you're likely to ever make but we want your business. Please stop by your local "*enter store name here* and spend more money!"

Last Saturday we tried to take advantage of some of these cards. We made a trip to our local Crate and Barrel Outlet where you can find a lot of stuff on sale as well as limited items and damaged merchandise selling well below retail price. While we were there we bought some colorful melamine cups and a set of storage/mixing bowels that we really needed (I love their duel design!). I also fell in love with a really cute serving set that I'd like to purchase sooner or later.

Moving Time!

Over the weekend we finally finished moving and spent the first night in our new home. It's been raining almost non-stop since Friday which has put a bit of a damper on everything and I seem to have developed a cold in the process. But even in all this rain Napa is really lovely and I adore my new house. Home ownership is both scary and amazing. It will take me some time to get used to the whole idea of owning my own home but I couldn't be happier about our decision. More to come as the adventure continues!

Final Walk Through

Yesterday we did the final walk through of our soon to be new home. We only had an hour to check everything and make sure there were no serious issues with the property. They left an old broken hot tub in the backyard so we're making them hall it away next week. The kitchen was added in the '90s and it's utterly falling apart and the bathrooms are just plain scary. The place is in desperate need of a good cleaning, a fresh coat of paint and some serious TLC but it's my home and I love it! Here's some of the pictures I took.

1954 custom built atomic ranch house

Original door (with kick guard added in the '90s that we'll remove asap)

Original clerestory windows

Original fireplace (they've added some insert we plan to remove asap

Dining area (we plan to remove the fan asap)

Pony wall

Kitchen seems to have been haphazardly updated in the late '80s or '90s and it's falling apart

Original tub in bathroom that needs a lot of work

Original kitchen floors
(unfortunately they were not cared for and need to be replaced)

Original wood floors we plan to clean and refinish

Inspection Week Complete!

After a trying week of home inspections and lots of negotiations, we're finally moving forward with purchasing our first home. Buying a 56 year old house that hasn't been cared for very well is a challenge and besides needing a new roof, the house also needs a whole host of other repairs that will take us a few years to complete while we renovate.

I'm nervous about the challenges ahead but buying a "fixer-upper" also has its own rewards. I'm really looking forward to giving the place all kinds of personal touches and turning it into a real home. By mid-late February we should have the keys to our first home in our hands!

Holiday Miracles Do Happen!

I got an unexpected X-mas gift this year. This afternoon our real estate agent called to let my hubby and I know that the bank had finally decided to accept our offer on the '50s custom built atomic ranch house described in the listing as an "Eichler imitation." After a month of intense negotiations that had left me feeling more than a little discouraged, we get to celebrate Christmas eve along with the purchase of our first home.

The last 6 months have been tough going and buying a short sale home proved to be a complicated process. But I think the wait and research we did was well worth the effort and really paid off in the end.

Now comes the house inspections, moving process and if all goes well settling into our new home some 40 miles away from our current one bedroom apartment that we've lived in for the past 12 years. I'm excited about moving to the beautiful Napa Valley and I look forward to experiencing all that the Valley has to offer. I know next to nothing about wine except that I like mine red but I suspect that I'll enjoy learning about Napa's number one export.

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all get to experience a miracle of your own this X-mas season.

Will This Be My Home?

Top: Exterior shot
Middle: Example of what the front door looks like
Bottom: Interior shot

The past 4 months have been exciting and frustrating. While looking for a home that fits our budget we've occasionally wasted time looking at houses that we knew we could never afford. But the current housing market is unpredictable and you never know what to expect. This weekend we got an unexpected surprise.

We've had our eye on this custom built 1955 atomic ranch house for months and it suddenly dropped 40k from it's asking price. We immediately decided to make an offer on it and much to our surprise, it was excepted!

The house is the second home of a woman that actually lives in the neighborhood but it's a "short sale" which means the offer also has to be approved by the bank. At the moment we're in the beginning stages of escrow but until we get bank approval and go through inspections I'm trying to remain calm, cool and collected without getting too attached to the house since the deal could still fall apart.

The place needs a LOT of work and it will undoubtedly take us a few years to get it into tip top shape but if we do get the house I'm looking forward to the challenge of restoring it.

Helpful Links For Those On The Move

For the past few months I've been focused on moving and there are a lot of helpful sites that have been extremely useful during my search for a new home. Some of these sites will undoubtedly be familiar, but I thought I'd share a collection of links to sites that I visit on a regular basis because they might help someone else who is in the process of moving.



If you're moving to a new area you can find lots of helpful information at Sperling's Best Places. The site maintains a large database of facts about every town in America covering important topics such as health care, the economy, housing, crime rates and public transportation.

Sperling's Best Places - http://www.bestplaces.net



My husband an I only own one car and we have no intention of buying another one so having easy access to public transportation and local businesses is important to us. Walk Score is a terrific site that lets you know what shops, public parks, libraries and other places of interest are nearby and easily walkable from your home.

Walk Score - http://www.walkscore.com



Crime Report offers detailed crime reports of any area. Just type in the location you're interested in and Crime Report will create a detailed map with notes about local crimes committed within a 3-30 day time period or more.

Crime Reports - http://www.crimereports.com



Family Watchdog is very similar to Crime Report but its focus is on violent sexual crimes. Once you type in your location Family Watchdog will create a map that lets you know the location of sexual offenders in your area so you can make smart and safe decisions to protect yourself and your family.

Family Watchdog - http://www.familywatchdog.us



Want to know where you can get a good sushi meal in town? Need to find someone to help you move? Yelp is the place to go! Yelp gives locals the opportunity to review shops, businesses, restaurants, etc. If you haven't tried using Yelp yet, what are you waiting for?

Yelp - http://www.yelp.com



The Find Good Food site can help you find local, sustainable, and organic food in your area. If you're concerned about the environment, eating well and supporting local businesses I highly recommend giving the Find Good Food site a look.

Find Good Food - http://www.eatwellguide.org



Last bit not least, Floor Planner is a great site that lets you create a customizable floor plan of your house or apartment. You can use this helpful tool to plan out your room design and figure out if that new couch you just bought will fit into your new home. This valuable tool can save you a whole lot of time and money, and it's free to use!

Floor Planner - http://floorplanner.com