For the Heck of It

Jan

Calling All Skaters, Head To The Pool

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Foreclosures & Short Sales

Skaters are traveling across the country to skate in the pools of homes that have been foreclosed on. Flashing smiles as wide as half pipes, kids everywhere are finding a surplus of empty pools with which to perfect their acrobatic skills. To read the entire article, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/us/29pools.html?_r=3&partner=rss&emc=rss

Jan

Talk About Hope

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Good ol' Fashion Humor

Here in Berkeley, there is a lot of hope. This picture was taken by a colleague of mine. Now this is some serious curb appeal!

Jan

Honey, Can We Live In A Spaceship For The Weekend?

Posted In: For the Heck of It, Foreclosures & Short Sales, General Real Estate News, Places

Calling all Sci-Fi fans. Last month the famed Spaceship House in Tennessee went up for auction, the second time in a year. The round, concrete home sold at auction last March for $135,000 but the deal never went through. This time it sold for $119,000. The winning bidder intends to “greenovate” the interior, including upgrading the insulation, installing new appliances, and repaint [...]

Jan

Bakesale Betty’s Opening in Downtown Oakland? OMG!

Posted In: Food and Dining, For the Heck of It, Oakland

Like many folks in the Bay Area I enjoy eating my way through life. Temescal, in North Oakland, has been dubbed the new Gourmet Ghetto. With fine restaurants like Koryo BBQ, Pizzaiolo, and my two FAVS, La Calaca Loca and Dona Tomas, this is a location not to be missed. But right on the corner of Telegraph and 51st is [...]

Jan

Explore A Neighborhood

Posted In: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, For Buyers, For the Heck of It, Kensington, Neighborhoods, Oakland, Richmond, Schools

Frontdoor.com has a really groovy interactive map for checking out what is available in a particular zip code. Just pop in your zip code and using the nav bar on the right, find schools, cafes and more. Way cool! http://www.frontdoor.com/Explore-The-Neighborhood/

Jan

Krista’s list of what to read in 2009

Posted In: Economy, First Time Home Buyers, For Buyers, For Sellers, For the Heck of It, Foreclosures & Short Sales, Good ol' Fashion Humor

This just in, the ultimate reading list. I love to read. I love to be inspired. I love to learn. This list, in no particular order, combines a little bit of each. 1. Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. This sly and lucid book discusses why we make the decisions that we do, including why headaches disappear after [...]

Dec

Make Your Own Cleaning Products

Posted In: For Sellers, For the Heck of It, Fun for Grown Ups, Fun for Kids, Good ol' Fashion Humor

Those who know me know that I am a clean freak. I love the smell of coming home to a clean house. Sure, I have mellowed out a bit. Since the birth of my daughter I started using more environmentally-sound products so I no longer come home to the smells of Pine Sol or Windex anymore…but I still love cleaning products. [...]

Dec

Berkeley’s Fourth Street is primed for the holidays

Posted In: Berkeley, For the Heck of It

I went down to Fourth Street in Berkeley last week to do my part to stimulate the economy (ha!). I arrived just as the sun had set, and as I turned the corner from Hearst onto 4th, I was suddenly overcome with joy. Surrounding me was a spectacular parade of lights. Beads of blue and white lights speckled the sky; [...]

Nov

Black Friday- get your FDIC coupons here

Posted In: Economy, For Buyers, For Sellers, For the Heck of It, Good ol' Fashion Humor

Nov

Something to be thankful for

Posted In: For the Heck of It

Have you heard that the holidays are upon us? Chances are you have. Thursday is Thanksgiving and here in the Bay Area, despite falling home prices and falling leaves, the weather is still warm. At 9am this morning my daughter and I left for our daily walk to her daycare wearing only light jackets. Later that morning my sister called [...]