Open House

So, we officially placed our condo on the market this past week. After some thought and prayer, we decided that selling would be the right choice for us. So, I’ve been busy busy busy attempting to organize every corner of the house for the past two weeks or so. I recall a time not so long ago when we were amazed by all the storage room we had in our little condo! Unfortunately that is not the case any longer. In an effort to protect any potential buyers from being injured from junk falling out of nearly every closet in the house, I decided to reserve a storage unit nearby and relocate our extra stuff for the time being (plus, I’ve gathered from HGTV that closets stuffed to the brim suggest a definite lack of adequate storage when selling). It took two trips in both cars to transport all of our things, but now our closets look great! Plus, no more fold-away gym in our bedroom or extra couch occupying valuable space in our extra bedroom. Sadly, Penny had to part with the beloved cat tree (just temporarily- somehow I don’t envision the monstrous-sized cat tree making the best impression). Even with our extra junk safely stored away, it’s been a challenge to keep the house clean and ready for a showing at any time!

I also invested some money here and there to make the place look a little more neutral and inviting. I swapped our duvet cover for a simple gold pattern, bought a sheer valence for our bedroom window, and found a new pillow for our bed. In the extra bedroom, I took down the chair rail, primed and painted over the green paint (even though I just recently completed that project!) and found an inexpensive curtain rod and some sheer window panels to match the purple theme in the room. I also found a great deal on some covers for our dining room chairs (I’ve always hated those chairs- I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner! They’re heavy and bulky, the fabric attracts everything, and the style is just all wrong). So hopefully these simple changes will help make a good impression! I decided to take pictures of everything when the house was finally all clean and organized, from top to bottom:



During the open house, Eric and I had to be out of the house for the better part of the day. So we packed up our kids and headed over my sister’s house. She offered to take our cats for the day, since we definitely didn’t want them to get in the way during the open house (unfortunately the fantastic “kitty hotel” idea that I devised to contain the kids when the home was being shown backfired- the two pills got themselves right out on our very first trial run!! We’re still not quite sure how). Getting them from our house to my sister’s apartment however, was a trial in itself. Even though the cats used to enjoy car rides when they were younger, the two howled and complained for the entire 20-minute ride. It could have been due to the fact that Eric’s car is not the smoothest ride (I can’t really blame them, I’ve been complaining about those dang racing springs myself ever since Eric decided to put them on the car). Or, it could have been that they haven’t taken a car ride in quite a while. Whatever it was, the only way they were even remotely content was if they were both in my lap. Keeping almost 50 pounds of fluff contained on my lap, trying not to distract Eric and other drivers was such a pain! But we got to Elaine’s place in one piece and the kids quickly made themselves at home.

In the meantime, Eric and I ran some errands and even checked out an open house in Brentwood that I had found online. It was a newer 3 bedroom, 2½ bathroom home with about 2000 square feet. It even had a pool in the backyard. I was excited to tour the house, but I knew in the back of my mind that it wasn’t the right time to become attached. And luckily, I didn’t have that problem because Eric and I could not get past the super tiny master bedroom (it was even smaller than our current spare bedroom!) and the ridiculously small master closet (not even enough space for Eric’s things, let alone mine). Plus, to top it off, the price was high- way too high for a home that wouldn’t suit us. We quickly left, but I was glad that we had made the effort to at least look. Now we know even more about what we need and what we can’t live without in a new home.

On our way back to pick up the kids (we took the Acura this time and put each cat in a carrier in the backseat. They were soooo much happier!), we stopped by the condo just as our realtors were leaving. They debriefed us of the day’s happenings and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that about 30 people had visited the open house! Now, we wait…

Grease

A few months back, my mother-in-law JoEllen calls me and says, “Mark you calendar! Girls night out in the city in April- we’re going to see Grease!” So yesterday was the day that a bunch of us girls got together, went to dinner, and headed to the Golden Gate Theater (and got there just as the show was beginning, no thanks to a medical emergency on the bart)! I’ve never been terribly fond of musicals or plays (much thanks to being forced to watch them as a child), but I was pleasantly surprised. It had been quite a while since I’d seen the movie, but I quickly recalled the familiar songs and enjoyed the performance.

Semi-Annual Anniversary!

So today marks our 2½ year wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that Eric and I have been together for 7½ year already! It really doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Since it’s only a half-year anniversary, it wasn’t that big of a deal, but we thought that we should do something fun to celebrate nonetheless! So we went to Claim Jumpers (or Clam Jumpers, as I like to call it). Huge portions and cheap prices! Can’t beat that.

One Kitty Hotel for Blake & Penny!

Shhh!! They don’t know that their new “hotel” is simply two enormous dog training crates linked together… So, we’ve been thinking more and more about the possibility of selling our condo and looking for an affordable house. We met with the same team of realtors once again (Liz and Nancy) and I’ve still been keeping busy with all the cleaning and organizing that need to be done in the meantime. However, we’ve been at a real loss when it comes to our kids! What does one do with their beloved pets when their house is on the market? I’ve done some research, and the overwhelming conclusion is that pets distract and even scare away potential buyers. It seems that the sheer sight of a pet dwelling in a home for sale serves as a warning sign for a number of unpleasant things, such as carpet stains, odd smells, damage to walls and fixtures- the list goes on. Needless to say, I’ve been stressing myself out over what can be done with our kids when the place needs to be shown.

Our options were few to begin with- there is no way that I could even think about boarding them at a kennel. Aside from the ridiculous cost, I just couldn’t cage my pets in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people in tiny crates for who knows how long. And I would feel awful if they contracted some sort of kennel illness. So that option was scratched immediately. Then we thought about the possibility of leaving them with a friend or family member. But, that option presented another collection of problems. First, most of our family and friends have their own pets. Then, there’s the fact that the house might be on the market for quite a while, who knows how long! Is it really realistic that we cart our kids to and from another house on a daily or even weekly basis? That would not only be stressful for them, but for us and for the family or friend that would be required to care for them in our absence. So that idea was thrown out too. Next, our realtors suggested that we simply leave the kids to roam free around the house and when it was being shown, we could post notes on doors and windows warning the visitors not to allow the pets to escape. A viable option, but could we trust strangers to ensure that our kids stay inside where they belong? And what if a potential buyer has a fear of cats or severe allergies? That would be an instant deal breaker.

So, one day while I was at work, I was browsing on amazon.com and came across a dog crate for sale. This made me think- could we put the kids safely away in a crate in a corner of the extra bedroom for an hour or two during showing appointments? I talked to Eric and we thought that it just might work, if the crate was large enough. So I went out shopping and eventually landed at Ross (of all places for pet supplies!) and happened to stumble upon 2 big dog crates. I bought them both. Since each crate had two doors, we simply linked the crates together, put a food and water bowl inside, and I made a little cushion for them to sleep on. And so far, so good! We’ve left the contraption open for them to play in and out of and I’ve even found Mr. Blake sleeping in it on my way out the door one day. We figure that once they’re used to it, it won’t be an issue for them to take a nap or hang out in the “hotel” when we have appointments or an open house. Not a perfect solution by far, but we won’t have to worry about them escaping, bothering agents and buyers (not that they would!), burdening a friend or family member, or being uprooted from their familiar home.

Problem solved!

Chick-fil-a!

I was first introduced to Chick-fil-a when Eric and I traveled to Texas for the first time, back in 2005. It’s nothing more than a fast-food restaurant that serves all kinds of chicken options, but I do have to admit that it is rather enjoyable. It was founded in the South some time ago, and is rare on the West Coast, but we recently learned that there is one in Fairfield! So of course we had to stop in on our way up to Sacramento over the weekend to visit with friends (Happy Birthday Kaleb!!). I had chicken strips and Eric had a chicken sandwich. Even though Eric said that it wasn’t quite as good as back home in Texas, he was satisfied (he will get to enjoy the real thing back home in Texas when we visit in July for his cousin’s wedding).

We started heading home from Sacramento around dinnertime when I remembered another fine eating establishment that I particularly enjoy- BJ’s! It’s a brewery/grill chain restaurant and there just so happens to be one right off I-80 in Vacaville. My colleagues at school are always raving about BJ’s (there’s one in San Bruno, near SF) and some crazy dish called a Pizookie. So, we just had to stop in and try it. I ordered a basalmic chicken dish with cheddar mashed potatoes (very good) and Eric had a steak sandwich with wedge potato fries. We made sure to save enough room for the Oreo Pizookie- a huge chocolate deep-dish cookie topped with vanilla ice cream and a cookie mousse. It was great! So, after a big day of driving, visiting, and eating, we spent the next day detoxing from all the food we ate the day before… it was well worth it though!