{YAY OR NAY?}

Choices, choices, so many choices.  I'm browsing online for some ideas for the new house.  What do you guys think of these?

Some white linen drapes....

restorationhardware

Not sure yet if I like the washed wood look or the cleaner polished nickel look...

pinterest

restorationhardware

The Basket Weave Jute rug....I thinks these are perfect rugs for the California home.

worldmarket

{LET THE SHOPPING BEGIN}

As many of you know from my recent post, I finally have a home of my own.  And of course, I'm so excited to finally start decorating. I have already started buying a few things, even before moving in.  Here's what I have so far.

After going to many many stores, I went back to my all time favorite for their comfortable sofas.  Got that right, Pottery Barn!  Their sofas are just too comfortable and though I didnt go with the white sofa (because I have a toddler and a dog who sheds like crazy and only one living room which we live in 24/7),  I got a honey color sofa to add a little color to all of the white that will be going on.  And unfortunately, I have a husband who wants to be very involved in the purchase of a sofa because as he says he "spends a lot of time on it!!" :)  So I ended up not going with my all time favorite design the Carlisle (which hubby insisted was a little too feminine for him) and instead picked a more basic and slightly more comfortable one to please everyone!  The Buchanan.

potterybarn.com

Next up, the guest bed.  Our guest bedroom is awesome as it walks our onto the backyard deck.  It also has some built in shelves which I love and is the same color as the bed.  I love the detail on the bed.

worldmarket.com

Also got some sconces for the vanity that's right outside the master bath. 

potterybarn.com

Next up trying to hit Restoration Hardware for some accent pieces.....

{LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION}

I can't believe after all these years we finally bought our first home.  AND it's a ranch style home which I never thought I would like or buy, but the minute I walked in I knew it was going to be mine.  We looked at many homes, new ones, old ones, big ones, small ones, and this one just seemed perfect for us.  The neighborhood is awesome.  Pleasanton has a really cute downtown and the house is just a few blocks from it! LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Anyway I'm so excited to start decorating and making it my own.  Here is a sneek picture!  We don't move in until next week.  This was a picture I took from the MLS.

First thing to go are those celiling lights above the kitchen island....

{HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!}

Happy Mothers Day to all the mom's out there! Including mine!

And here is a little short story of my life up till when I became a MOM!

 Party time! Gettin' my drink on in DC!

It's love! Moved to California

What? I'm married??

 Time for the Baby Shower.  Woop Woop!!

Tookie's here!!!  I'm a MOM!

Awww...

And here we are!

Getting bigger!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

{EASTER 2013}

Hope everyone had a great, fun filled Easter.  Ours was great and Carter sure had lots of fun.  He had an Egg Hunt at Daycare on Friday, one in our community on Saturday and one at our house on Sunday morning.  Needless to say we now have a lot of candy at our house. 

Click HERE to watch a video of Carter running around the house searching for eggs.  Please ignore the mess, it was a busy weekend!

Ready, Set, GO!

YUM, what's this??

{BUILT-INS}

Built-ins are always awesome, especially in older homes and especially in small spaces.  Here are some of my favorites that I have recently seen on Pinterest. 

I love the dark wood and white combination.  This one is my first favorite.

pinterest

pinterest

pinterest

This is my second favorite.

pinterest

pinterest

{EXPLORING SUBURBIA}

I have recently met quite a few people in my workplace who live in a far away place called "suburbia".  One of them being the tri-valley area, a suburb part of San Francisco.  Since I've only been there twice for very specific reasons and never really got to know the area, I thought why not.  Though a little farther out, houses are way more affordable and nicer than where I currently live.  Would it be that bad to join in with those who "commute" to work?  Whereas now Tim and I can be at work in 8 minutes!  We'll just have to see.

We are going to check out some wineries first in the Livermore Valley.  You can read more about it here.  Though not Napa or Sonoma, they are still quite cute, smaller family owned wineries.  I had no idea it even existed!

Then we are going to stop by Pleasanton, which is considered a pretty nice suburban town.  With great schools (for California standards) and affordable housing, I think it's worth a hop on over. Hey, as long as it has a little downtown with cool restaurants and shops I think I'm ok.  And maybe I'll follow some of the tips from The Flirty Guide Blog when it comes time for lunch. 

Here is a map of the region:

Source

Here are some of the differences of what you can get in the Penninsula v. the Tri-Valley area:

   

Pleasanton - Nice 3 bedroom house = $683,000        

San Carlos - Dumpy 2 bedroom house = $689,000

Pleasanton - now this KINDA looks like a 2 million dollar house          

Burlingame - 4 bedrooms $2,450,000 are you kidding me???

     Source

And here is what the area looks like.

source

Source

So you tell me where is it best to live?