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Month: November 2011

My newest West Seattle Listing

My newest West Seattle Listing

This weekend gave me something extra to be thankful for… a new West Seattle real estate listing.

This gorgeous Northwest Contemporary-style view home has 3 bedrooms and an office (or 4 bedrooms), 2 living rooms, 3.5 bathrooms, 2 gas fireplaces, a spacious kitchen, formal dining room, an exercise area, double-car garage, Master bedroom with French doors leading to the deck, a huge utility room, boat/RV parking, security system, sprinkler system, on a 6.500 sq. ft. landscaped lot. Situated in West Seattle’s Morgan Junction, the walk-score for this home is 71, with most amenities within 6 blocks of the house. Stunning views of the Sound and Mountains from the dining room, both living rooms and the Master bedroom.

The address is 6346 38th Ave SW, 98126. MLS #297970. List price is $659,000. You can view more photos at www.SingleMindedRealEstate.com/297970.

I will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, Nov. 30th from 11A-1P. Mark the date and time on your calendar and stop by for a look. You can find other Prudential real estate listings and Open House events on my Prudential website.

6346 38th Ave SW, West Seattle
The view from 6346 38th Av SW, West Seattle

Christmas Trees: living green for the holidays

Christmas Trees: living green for the holidays

When it comes to decorating for the holidays, nothing says “Christmas” to me like a traditional tree. I love the lights and the ornaments and the smell.

I have a tiny little house, so some years I have opted to put up a Christmas tree and some years I haven’t. In the past, it often depended on how much furniture I had and how many dogs were living with me.

About a dozen years ago, I concluded that buying an artificial tree was a good way to further my goal of living green. They look so real that it seemed like a sensible, economical, earth-friendly thing to do, and I didn’t have to struggle with getting it home from the tree lot. So I bought a 7′ artificial tree when I was renting my loft apartment. Unfortunately, the house I bought in West Seattle the following year has 6.5′ ceilings.

I decided to give the tree to charity, only to discover that most charities wouldn’t take it. So much for being earth-friendly. I can just picture landfills overflowing with artificial Christmas trees.

I hadn’t decided what to do this year until I was shopping at Home Depot and saw that they had 3′ tall living Christmas trees (i.e. potted in soil) for $15! And some were even Colorado Blue Spruce! (I love the way spruce tree branches show off the ornaments.) So I bought one. Hopefully I can keep it alive through the holidays and transition it back outside to plant in my yard in the spring.

What about you? How do you feel about Christmas trees?

Here’s a picture of mine, all dolled up and glowing.

My living Christmas tree

And here’s a closer look at the Angel on top. My mother hand-stitched it and gave it to me as a birthday gift many years ago.

My mother's handiwork.
Prudential Northwest Realty welcomes Santa Paws!

Prudential Northwest Realty welcomes Santa Paws!

What is the holiday season without a few puns?

My colleagues and I, in the West Seattle Prudential office, decided to put together a fun little holiday event for our past, present and future clients (after all, everyone fits into ONE of those categories). On Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011 from noon-2:30, Santa Claus will be in our office to have his picture taken with you and your pet (or your other friends/family). And we will give you a free copy of the photo for you to proudly display wherever!

We will also have free refreshments if you are camera-shy and just want to come by to say hello and watch the fun.

If you are feeling generous, you can choose to donate pet toys, pet food, etc. to benefit Ginger’s Pet Rescue

OR, if you’d like to add a little joy to the Christmas of a needy, yet deserving child, we will also have a donation barrel to benefit the Marine Toys For Tots toy drive. Bring you NEW and UNWRAPPED toys to the Prudential Northwest Realty office and drop them in the designated bin. We will deliver them to the Toys for Tots distribution center in late December to help brighten Christmas for a child who might otherwise receive nothing.

Questions? Give me a call at 206-708-9800. Or, if you have donations but can’t make it to the Prudential office, contact me and I will arrange to have it picked up from your home or office.

If you are wondering what this has to do with the Law of Attraction … give happy to get happy.

Living Green in my car

Living Green in my car

I am not a car buff. When it comes to my car, I want it to be dependable and economical with a little bit of “cute” mixed in. My 2001 Toyota Echo fills the bill. The only thing that is likely to convince me to trade it in rather than run it into the ground is the lure of an electric car (or at least a hybrid).

Yesterday’s Seattle Times ran two blurbs on the front of the NW Autos section that apply to me. The headline of the first read, “Been a while since you bought a new car? There are big advances to anticipate.” The second read, “E-FOCUS on sale.”

It’s true. When I see or hear about the features that are now standard in new cars, I feel as if I’m in a time warp. In fact, when I bought my car new, it was devoid of many of the updated features that other cars had, so now I am even further behind.

Even so, I’m pleased that I get an average of 33 mpg, have no car payments, and have logged over 110,000 miles with no major repairs. It fulfills, in part, my commitment to living green in terms of transportation. Yes, I could probably take the bus more often, but even though my job as a Prudential real estate agent requires a lot of driving, I still put fewer than 10,000 miles/year on my car. Fortunately, I live in the Westwood Village neighborhood, which is a very walkable part of West Seattle. Even in the worst snow storms I can walk to several West Seattle restaurants, grocery stores and other retailers, plus the Post Office, Southwest Community Center and more.

I suspect that it may take another 5-10 years for the auto makers to really perfect electric cars, which should be just about the time my current car “runs out of gas” (pun intended). That, and the $40,000 price tag on the E-FOCUS, give me the incentive to wait for my first electric car.

How about you? Will your next car be a hybrid or all electric?