As you know from previous blog posts, my family is finally under contract. After some negotiating and lots of luck we are able to start the final jog to the closing table. There is so much that happens after your realtor exclaims,  “Congratulations! Your offer has been accepted!”   No two real estate transactions are ever the same, and our situation has to be one of the most unique I have ever been a part of. My family (“the buyers”) are located in a hot market in North Ca... read more

Your Kitchen’s Role in Your  Home On most afternoons, usually around 4:30pm, you can find me frantically searching the Internet for recipes utilizing the few ingredients that I have in the pantry. I am in this dash because at some point I got too busy--and forgot that I need to stop at the grocery store. Around 5:30pm, I have usually given up on my Internet searches, and given into just cooking everything that I have. By 6:30pm, the family is all sitting around the table--some content and some grumblin... read more

If you read last week's blog post, you already know that I have studied, gotten a pre-approval letter, and started the home search. Back in my youth (before time got scarce and kids got plentiful), I loved the search for the perfect house. In all honesty, I still do, but the lazy Saturday mornings of driving to open houses at a whim are gone. Our search has been warp speed. We pack snacks, drinks, coloring books, diapers and plan our route like a trip to Europe. We had three areas that we wanted to zone in on. All... read more

  After selling our home for a move across the state, my husband and I wondered if now was the right time to buy a home? We had to move quickly, due to a job start date as well as a super-quick sale of our home. Upon arriving in our new town we set up camp in a rental with our three children and started researching. The very first thing that we did, upon the advice of various realtors and lenders, was to make sure that our finances were in good order. No matter our choice to buy or rent, we needed to be able... read more