5 Things + Weekly Open Houses

I came across this image on Pinterest and it stopped me in my tracks.  As I walk home after home, I'm beginning to see the return of warmth to our spaces and I am LOVING IT!  Also loving the built-in furniture style pieces that are popping into homes more and more. This bathroom strikes a beautiful balance.  Taking note for when we re-do our builder grade bathroom down the road. 

5 things on my mind this week:

​1. You all know I love to read.  Came across this great list from Janssen at Everyday Reading.  Not sure I'll make it through the ENTIRE list this year, but will definitely be pulling some good reads from this.  Ordered the first book today!

2.  This is so silly, but one of my favorite gift this Christmas was a new phone case.  The hype around the Loopy cases is legit.  Best idea. Best case.  Can't live without it.  In the event you need a laugh today, let me tell you what happened to my old case.  It was a Kate Spade one that had water in it, I liked it because it was super thick and sturdy. Unbeknownst to me, the liquid had started leaking out.  Scot noticed it one day as I was out the door, asking me what was all over the butt of my black jeans.  I went to change and try to figure out what in the world it was, when I realized it smelled like lighter fluid.  I thought of the last time the lighter fluid was out, and of course, it involved my oldest and his friends lighting a bonfire in our backyard.  Naturally, I assumed he spilled some on the patio furniture, which I then must have sat it.  So he got an earful.  A week later, after I had already wiped everything down, my pants had the same mark on the butt...suddenly it dawned on me that the liquid was from my dang phone case!  I had to apologize to Zack, but in all honesty though, I was really asking myself, what parent let's 11-year-olds have lighter fluid?  Apparently me.

3.  Got my hands on some new artwork for above our family room couch.  We've had a gallery wall the last couple of years, but the frames ALWAYS look crooked.  Despite my efforts to tape down the corners, a door gets slammed & the light shifts & suddenly I'm standing at my kitchen sink squinting at the frames in utter annoyance.  So down they are coming & we'll scatter them throughout the house in other areas.  Replacing them with, and I'm LITERALLY SO EXCITED, an oversize print from my friend Jenny's shop, Juniper Print Shop.  This has been such a labor of love for her & guys, I can't tell you how incredible it is.  She's figured out oversize art at an affordable price and I've been doing the happy dance ever since.  The paper is absolutely  INCREDIBLE!!  Smooth as butter and it doesn't glare so you can hang it with or without glass!  Go check it out, she walks you through all the details.

4.  Pushing hard to get myself back into my morning routine that involves a 5 am wake up call, followed by getting dressed.  It's not going as well as I'd hoped and while I know once school gets going, I'll be forced into it, I'm missing that consistent wake up time.  It really sets a great tone to my day & I've been missing that! 

5.  This winter season I've found myself wearing the same version of 1 outfit over and over.  It involves my favorite $25 jeans, a cropped, cozy sweatshirt and sneakers.  Like, I can't quit it.  If I want to get real fancy, I might wear some loafers instead of sneakers. 

With the weekend upon us, you know what that means, Open Houses!  

These links are for those of you that love walking houses as much as I do OR are in the beginning stages of looking for a home.  Use the links below to see the list of weekend open houses going on across the Valley.  If you haven't used these links before, I break each list into different cities, then they are sorted by price, so you can find what you're looking for fairly quickly. Once you find a property you want to walk, click on the 'open house' tab at the top right to see the date & time of the open house...and be sure to let me know if you find a gem!

​ Arcadia  ||  Gilbert  ||  Mesa   ||  Scottsdale

If you're thinking about selling this this year, we are at the very front end of the sales season.  As the year progresses more buyers begin entering the market as more homes become available and the market tends to get more competitive.  If you're wondering what your home is worth,  click here for a free Home Value Report.  This report is usually close to 100 pages long and gives you the details about every home that has sold near yours and as you well know, information is king.  The more information you have, the better prepared you can be.