Moving Soon!

Yes, the blog post title is correct...we're moving soon! My daughter, got accepted as a freshman at UC Davis, which is about an hour and 15 minutes away from where we live here in Oakley, CA. Since she prefers not to live on campus, originally, we looked at possibly renting in or near Davis, CA.  The long drive can be brutal for a college student, especially since she doesn't "technically" drive yet. She's also going to have a rigorous major-- taking premed majoring in Genetics. So, commuting is out of the question.

We looked at Davis and the prices, even for a small apartment, are quite staggering. Then, we looked at nearby cities and towns, which include Dixon, Sacramento (North Natomas), Woodland, and Vacaville, CA. Since she's still an underage when she enters college, we cannot leave her on her own. It was a conscious decision for our family to move along with her. So, we shifted gears to buying a second home instead of just renting one.

If the market is not as it is right now, which is down, we would have been contemplating on selling our current home; however, we may rent it out so we can pay its mortgage. If you or anyone you know may be interested in a 5-bedroom, 4.5 baths, with 3-car garage, two-story home, please contact me. It's quite spacious with over 4,200 sqft. The lot size is over 10,000 sq ft. Lots of room to sprawl. The house has a huge kitchen with stainless steel appliances. There's a huge island at the center where you can concoct your next gourmet meal. There is a formal living/dining room combo with high (22-foot) ceilings. We'll leave the built-in speakers in the family room. The laundry area is on the second floor. There's a guest room/office downstairs. This is available for rent in mid July to early August.

As for our new home, all I can tell you for now is that it's going to be in Vacaville, CA. The location is highly desirable, near all conveniences, and easy access to the freeway. The commute to UC Davis is only 18 minutes each way off of I-80. I'll be starting a new blog for the new home to chronicle the building of the home from the ground up. Yes, we are getting a brand new home. We tried for a while to look at resale homes-- regular sale, shortsale, and foreclosures, but we've been outbidded way to many times on the homes within our price range (upto $350K max) because there's plenty of competition. I think the market is picking up. FHA still offers a very competitive price and interest rate, which is much lower than conventional loan. Furthermore, at 3.5% down and lots of credits from the builder, we're able to afford a new home at the location that is highly sought after.

So, watch out for the link to the new blog. I will keep this blog going. I know that I had been so busy that I haven't been able to blog here lately. I promise to at least update once a month.

2012 Color of the Year - Tangerine Tango

Every year I write about Pantone's color of the year. This year is another vibrant color with an orange-red hue. If you want to learn about how to decorate using tangerine tango, read all about it in my Yahoo article.

Feel free to like it and share. Happy reading!

Below are some photos of flowers and our dessert tray that are in tangerine tango. 

Winter 2011 Decorations- Simple and Serene

I've been so busy with my other blog-- JessiCakes Project, our bake for a cause project, which is my daughter- Jessica's brainchild, hence the name. My daughter and I had been busing baking and raising funds to help her favorite charities all year that I had been unable to post here as much as I loved to. Anyhoo, just like before, I'm only updating this probably for the season.

Year 2011 came and went, and not a whole lot of home improvement projects, but the subtle changes I made to decorate our home made some impact in improving on what we already have. As per my previous posts, I'm a cheapskate; however, that does not mean that I do not have great taste. I find bargains everywhere I go. My favorite places to shop are HomeGoods, Ross, and Walmart. Sometimes, I try to buy something from Michaels,Walmart, or Target.

As for decorating during the winter, I stuck to my favorite cool color-- blue. I used some of last years decorations sparingly without looking like a repetition of last year's look. This time, I used winter blue with white, brown, emerald, silver, and gold. What I was able to accomplish is a simple, but dazzling design for our home. I like to say our home is decorated simply and serenely. Here are the photos, enjoy!

The 22-foot high ceilings was the reason for us buying this home since it gave the home an airy feel and also good with acoustic since my daughter plays the piano and violin.

The brown wooden spheres add a rustic and textured contrast to the smooth and shiny capiz blue spheres.

This wall votive candle holder hangs on our hallway wall near the dining room and kitchen area all year long.

Blue, silver, and white decorative balls made from polystyrene were purchased from Michaels.Price- $2.99 after 50% off.

We have been using these silver-blue curly sticks and peacock feathers almost every winter, but they were never in the same vase. So, this year, we simply bunched them up together and placed in a simple brown ceramic vase. We placed it on top of the piano.

Another bargain find-- this dancer figurine in our color theme was purchased from Ross for $7.99. It looks like it's made of bronze. It's the only piece at the store, so happy that I snagged it! The sand timer has been with us since last year also from Ross for a measly $3.99.

This pair of connected white doves are in the dried flower sections of Michaels. They cost only $1.99. The glass rocks and golden votive candle holders had been with us for years and we have used them to decorate during the winter. The silver-plated cake stand was from HomeGoods, which is the only high ticket item at $29.99. Compared to $59.99 and higher elsewhere, it's still a bargain.

These green orchids and white bulbs in a white vase is a permanent fixture all year long. Adding a pair of blue butterflies and white sparkly branch from Michaels made it look wintery.

Close up of the sparkly butterfly. It has a clip that allows it to perch on a branch.

The other blue sparkly butterfly.

A simple arrangement of a single garland wrapped around the base of the chandelier, then added a fake white bird to depict wintry theme made this simple chandelier look more elegant.

Hanging a single blue ornament at the center of the bottom of the chandelier made a big statement with very little effort.

The blue and white vase was kept last year during the winter, but this year it was used to arrange the silk magnolias, hydrangea, and two emerald/gold butterflies that we already own. We added fillers of blue and silver leaves and branches to give a fuller look.

A bargain find from HomeGoods is this mercury glass bird trophy, which added sparkles. The best part is that it only cost $5.99.

Here's how our dining room look like with the lights on at night.

Understated elegance-- simple and serene.

Dining table-scape.

Added sparkles with blue, green, and white marbles. The votive candle behind the doves light up with fake flickering light that's battery operated is a gift from my sister-in-law. I also added fake votive candles that flicker to add lighting drama.

Simple, clean, and serene.

I replaced the dark blue sparkly butterfly with this turquoise poinsettia.

The dark butterfly now perches on the curly sticks that are on top of the piano.