We are living in a Recessionary Period, the Major Lending Institution, Automaker, overall the entire country and the rest of the world is struggling to stay financially solvent. We have a new president who is focused on trying to make a major turn around in the Housing Market, Healthcare, and Education...you name the subject.  Last week the White House appointed Michael S. Smith to decorate the living quarters of the First Family. This has generated analysis by the Washington Post, CNN and then a delayed analysis by the Los Angeles Times.   What will be done? Will there be a toned down Green or should I say Earth friendly form of decorating going on? Will it be classic or will it be modern? Will it be extravagant? Different Designers have given their input to the Media, but only one man... 01/28/2009

I'm such a foodie, I can't help but share great LA dining experiences. Just west of the 405 freeway on Santa Monica Blvd, upstairs in an obscure strip mall, is hands down, one of the best sushi bars I have ever eaten at. It's called Echigo. I love turning people onto this place, but only those that are willing to give up control. You see, if you want to sit at the sushi bar and get the whole experience, then you'll have to go with the Omikase style, or Chef's Choice menu. But trust me, you won't regret it for a second. The meal is not cheap, but it's not ridiculously expensive, either (figure $40-45 per person). You'll start with a sashimi plate, and end with a blue crab roll (ooohhh...there's NOTHING else like this!). That's a given. But each time you dine at Echigo, you'll get to expe... 01/28/2009

                                           1  SOLD  14 HOUSE 1652 BRYN MAWR AVE   $1,625,000   3 3.00 0 2,800 5,349 1941 98 01/21/09 $1,210,242 08-264871 01/22/09 Sold    2  SOLD  14 HOUSE 939 24TH ST   $2,695,000   4 4.50 0 3,984 8,000 2000 49 01/21/09 $2,487,000 08-325729 01/21/09 Sold    3  SOLD  14 CONDO 1912 Broadway ST #207 #207  $530,000   1 1.00 33 932 0 2008 191 01/21/09 $505,000 08-286475 01/22/09 Sold    4  SOLD  14 CONDO 2960 NEILSON WAY #105 #105  $725,000   1 1.50 144 1,105 0 1980 113 01/23/09 $675,000 08-312025 01/23/09 Sold    5  SOLD  14 CONDO 1520 16TH ST #102 #102  $865,000   2 2.50 5 1,798 0 2007 555 01/19/09 $790,000 07-194315 01/22/09 Sold    6  SOLD  14 INCOME 506 PICO BLVD   $5,800,000     0.00 15 8,614 24,655 1921 117 01/16/09 $4,500,000 08-263711 01/20/09 Sold... 01/25/2009

This will go down in history as one of my most physically demanding jobs because there were (count them) 4 LEVELS! A basement office, the main level with living/dining rooms & kitchen, the bedrooms upstairs and then a gorgeous roof deck on top! It was a lot of work but the Realtor & clients were thrilled with the transformation! LIVING ROOM This room was a challenge because of the awkwardly situated fireplace. The room wasn't deep enough to have the sofa across from the TV so although it may not be ideal for watching television, this layout actually gave the fireplace more prominence. DINING ROOM The dining room has both French doors leading out to the downstairs patio, as well as a built-in bar (not visible from this angle). As you can see, it is right next to the living room so we cre... 01/24/2009

Santa Monica Inauguration Celebration With Kadir Nelson Wed, Jan 21, 3:30-5 pm - Every Picture Tells A Story1311-C Montana Ave. Come celebrate our 44th President. Award-winning artist KADIR NELSON will be here to sign "CHANGE HAS COME." His new book features the stirring words of Barack Obama and illustrations by Kadir. For more information, call (310) 451-2700.   Progressive, Innovative and Spirited Music Instruction SOL-LA Music Academy - NOW ENROLLING "Where Music Builds Humanity"1812 Stanford St., Santa Monica / (310) 828-2912 3 mos-5 yrs: FUNdamentals of Music and Movement - Early Childhood through Pre-K (Saturday).4-12 yrs: Chorus, 7-12 yrs (Monday); Strings Class, 7-12 yrs, minimum 1 yr. exp. (Saturday); Language of Music, 4-12 yrs (Monday); Beginners Violin, 6-8 yrs (Saturday); ... 01/21/2009

a policy advisor to the County of Orange and to its board of supervisors, has been hired as Santa Monica's assistant city manager. She will replace Gordon Anderson, who is retiring. Phillips will oversee the external services departments of Big Blue Bus, Community & Cultural Services, Housing & Economic Development, Library, Planning & Community Development and Public Works. In addition, she will be responsible for leading citywide programs and initiatives dealing with "operational issues," said City Manager Lamont Ewell. As executive manager with the County of Orange, Phillips, who has worked for 24 years in public administration, developed policy recommendations for top officials. To preview the finest real estate and the best deal on the Westside of Los Angeles including Pacific Pal... 01/20/2009

Christmas Tree Recycling December 24-January 29, 2009 Do the right thing. Recycle your Christmas trees this year. In the City of Santa Monica there will be four locations you can take your tree to: >> Christine Emerson Reed Park, 1133 7th St. >> Douglas Park, 2439 Wilshire Blvd.>> Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd. >> Los Amigos Park, 500 Hollister Ave. Talk About It (Youth Book Club) - Wed, Jan 14, 5 pm, Santa Monica Library, Montana Branch, 1704 Montana Ave, (310) 829-7081 Book discussion group for 5th, 6th & 7th graders. We'll be discussing "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney. Copies of the book to keep, available for first five who sign up. Books, courtesy of the Friends of the Library.   Rusty's Surf Ranch Presents   Billy Vera Sat, Jan 17, 9:30 pm - Rusty's Surf Ranch256 Santa M... 01/13/2009

I'm finally starting to get into the holiday spirit! Probably because I am feeling better. I hope all of my friends, family,readers, & associates are in good health as well. I was even able to survive the holiday shopping spree yesterday! it was busy but fun. Now that I'm back in action and have lots of catch-up to play...hmm, speaking of playing. There is the Holiday Ice Rink in Santa Monica! Sounds like fun.... Winterlit Holiday Events 2008 ICE AT SANTA MONICA presented by Starbucks® CoffeeOpen November 7, through January 19, 20091324 Fifth StreetBring back childhood memories - or create new ones - as you slice through the ice in a festive atmosphere filled with holiday cheer and balmy ocean breezes. Located at 5th Street and Arizona Avenue, less than two blocks from the Third Street ... 12/22/2008

Make this holiday season a special one for the whole family. Come to Downtown Santa Monica and enjoy the festive atmosphere. Just blocks from the Pacific Ocean, Downtown offers an array of shopping and dining, movie theatres and unique entertainment venues, including the world famous Third Street Promenade. And returning this year is the amazing ice skating rink – just a snowball’s throw from the Promenade! The excitement is going on now and continues through Monday, January 19, 2009. Santa Monica is a wonderful place to call 'home'. To view the finest Real Estate in Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Marina Del Rey, Brentwood, Bel-Air & Beverly Hills please visit our website. Please contact us with any questions regarding selling your home or buying a home. 12/14/2008

Santa Monica, CA - 90401 neighborhood details   Demographics zip 90401 County National Neighborhood type City Neighborhood Population 5,726 10,341,064 281,522,000 Pop. density 6,658.5 8,392.8 79.6 Percent male 52.4% 49.5% 49.1% Percent female 47.6% 49.8% 50.9% Median age 41.5 34.0 37.6 People per household 1.4 2.9 2.6 Percent married 27.4% 45.6% 58.3% Percent single 72.6% 54.4% 41.6% Median household income $39,527 $59,463 $41,994 Avg. income per capita $37,034 $27,702 $21,587 Crime zip 90401 County National Violent crime risk index 7.0 6.3 3.0 Property crime risk index 7.0 5.5 3.2 Housing zip 90401 County National Median home value $1,204,000 $419,500 $185,400 Median age of homes 34.0 29.6 27.8 Home appreciation 20.2% 23.4% 12.3% Percent owning home 5.8% 49.4% 63.4% Percent renting ho... 12/14/2008

Candy Cane Drive! Saturday, December 13, 2008 Everyone is invited to join in as Santa and his public safety helpers distribute good cheer and thousands of candy canes! Santa's scheduled stops are as follows: Douglas Park - 10:30 - 10:50 a.m. Christine Reed Park - 11:00 - 11:15 a.m. Third Street Promenade & Wilshire Blvd - 11:25 - 11:50 a.m. Virginia Avenue Park - 1:15 - 1:30 p.m. Marine Park - 1:45 - 2:00 p.m. Clover Park - 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. Santa Monica children are encouraged to look and listen for the lights and sirens of the public safety vehicles, while parents are encouraged to bring their cameras! For more information, call the Santa Monica Police Department, Community Relations Office at (310) 458-8474. View Larger Map 12/13/2008

If you follow my blog, you may have seen a post a couple of months ago about a townhome we Staged in Santa Monica. To follow up, that property had multiple offers (one right after the first open house!) and ended up selling in 23 days for just over asking. We were thrilled! Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I get a call from a Realtor who says he saw the Staged townhome and he's currently in the process of listing another townhome in the same building with almost the EXACT SAME layout. Well, it's a mirror image, but you get the picture. He knew how well the first one did so he wanted me to Stage this unit for his client. We Staged this unit this past Monday the 8th (which also happens to be my birthday for anyone who cares!) and I just had to share. The seller of this property knew... 12/12/2008

The City of Santa Monica is now offering free wi-fi in most of their city parks. Please visit our website for the map and locations. As well as, proposed wi-fi locations. The karate school I belong to, Goju-Ryu Karate Do, in Santa Monica is across the street from Virginia Park(22nd & Pico). I usually receive a strong signal from the Virginia Park wi-fi. It's definitely not "high-speed" like so many of us are spoiled with, but it works and it's FREE wi-fi!To view the finest Real Estate in Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Marina Del Rey, Brentwood, Bel-Air & Beverly Hills please visit our website. Please contact us with any questions regarding selling your home or buying a home. 11/10/2008

Please keep us in mind for your Palm Springs area referrals. We've lived in the Santa Monica-Pacific Palisades-Malibu area for many years and know there are many prospects there for second homes in the desert area. It works well to include a line like "Let me introduce you to my Palm Springs area Realtors" in your marketing and Blog. By the way, our home in the Sunset Mesa development of Malibu is for lease ($6500 per month). It's a fantastic value. Here's the website URL: http://3711oceanhillway.epropertysites.com/ Looking forward to working with you. Regards, Stephen C. Love & Greysha Gordon-Love (760-668-4460) (760-902-8805) 11/08/2008

We LOVE repeat clients! One of our favorites found us when one of his buyers purchased a home we had Staged. He was impressed with our work, so he hired us to Stage one of his listings which sold in a week for $26K over asking! Recently he asked us to Stage his own home. We were honored to do so, and here's the amazing result...   "We were ecstatic when we went into escrow just four days after putting our condo on the market. We received multiple offers and it sold for eight thousand dollars above the asking price (not too common these days)! If you are wondering what you can do to help sell your home or one of your listings, I speak from experience when I say Stage to Sell is not just a good slogan. Thank you Annie for all of your help." I was so happy to hear of this client's great s... 11/01/2008

The Santa Monica Mountains is dog friendly so make sure to take a nice long, healthy hike with your loving pooch, he'll thank you for it! Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 53 miles across, from Beverly Hills to the Oxnard Plane. Dogs are permitted on all National park land within the recreation area. Dogs must be on a leash 6ft or less. State Parks in the recreation area (as in all of California) do NOT permit dogs at all. Free maps of National Park sites are available from their offices, also a list of all dog-friendly parks at www.nps.gov.       Give your furry friend an afternoon in the mountains to explore nature!      This post is supported by James90210 on Active Rain, Localism and all other blogs. 10/28/2008

You may remember a post from July, where I highlighted three contemporary model lofts we Staged in Santa Monica for Realtor Dana Ehrlich of Keller Williams. Well here are the results... drumroll please: "Annie's staging of my project was absolutely spot-on. She understood the buyer mentality so well that we had all three staged units in escrow within 2 months, after having had them on the market for over 7!" Now I should mention that another designer had Staged these models initially. He was not a Stager, but rather a furniture designer who used these units to showcase pieces he wanted to sell. The results speak for themselves. This guy had beautiful pieces, but gave no thought to what a buyer would be thinking as s/he walked through the property - namely, "How am I going to live, work,... 10/21/2008

                     SOLD    HOUSE 423 15TH ST     3 1.75   2,262 7,500     10/15/08 $2,365,000        SOLD   CONDO 1007 OCEAN AVE #403     3 2.50   2,010 0 1981   10/16/08 $1,350,000        SOLD   CONDO 1912 Broadway ST #302     2 2.00   1,086 0 2008   10/17/08 $720,000        SOLD   CONDO 1228 21ST ST #B     2 2.50   0 0 2008   10/20/08 $950,000        SOLD    CONDO 1228 21ST ST #C     2 2.50   0 0 2008   10/15/08 $950,000       To view the finest Real Estate in Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Marina Del Rey, Brentwood, Bel-Air & Beverly Hills please visit our website. Please contact us with any questions regarding selling your home or buying a home.      10/21/2008

      Santa Monica loves their produce! This community has 4 Farmers' Markets each and every week so there is absolutely no reason not to go at least once! I'm keeping the posts separate since they are held at different locations on different days. This post is for the Arizona & 3rd Farmers' Market held every Wednesday. In this post I am attaching a recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts.           Name: Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers' Market Day: Wednesday Hours: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Location: Arizona Ave & 3rd Street   Manager: Laura Avery Office Address: 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Phone: 310-458-8712 Phone: 310-458-8712 Website: http http://www.smgov.net/farmers_market/wednesday.htm            Roasted Brussels Sprouts Ingredients 1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts 3 tablespoon... 10/18/2008

      Santa Monica loves their produce! This community has 4 Farmers' Markets each and every week so there is absolutely no reason not to go at least once! I'm keeping the posts separate since they are held at different locations on different days. This post is for the Pico Farmers Market held every Saturday. In this post I am attaching a recipe for Butternut Squash, Carrot, Avocado & Almond Salad.               Name: Santa Monica Pico Farmers' Market Day: Saturday Hours: 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM Location: Pico & Cloverfield Boulevard   Manager: Ted Galvan Office Address: 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Phone: 310-458-8712 Website: http://www.smgov.net/farmers_market/           Butternut Squash, Carrot, Avocado & Almond Salad Ingredients 2 cups green leaf lettuce (washed) 1/2 c... 10/18/2008