If I seem a little stressed in the next couple of months, I have a good excuse: we are going to try and sell our house. I say “try”, because this is one of those housing markets when upon saying “I’m going to put my house on the market” the universal response is, “Well, good luck with that.”
We’re staying in the area- after seeing all those pictures from Colorado this weekend I think it’s safe to say I am actually quite content here in San Diego, thanks- and the decision is one that has more to do with commutes and schools than anything else. Now, the last time we sold a house was in 2004, and as you probably know, the market was a little different back then. You could put a ramshackle log cabin on the market in 2004 and it would be sold for a ridiculous bucket of money back then. Our place sold in 10 days, to the second person who saw it. Ah, to be back in 2004 again.
Now, buyers are a little pickier. And the prospect of trying to keep a house in showable condition for possibly months, with two messy kids and a really rowdy Golden who would love nothing more than to go nuts each and every time someone comes by, has me in apoplectic fits. Worse than when I was taking the boards, worse than when I was pregnant. I have NO idea how I’m going to do it.
But I have a point here, and my point is: this is how we found ourselves at the mall on Saturday looking at little knick knacks, because my husband decided potential buyers would be impressed by more candles in the house. Now, I am ambivalent about that kind of stuff to begin with, and all I could think while we were wandering through the store was “It won’t matter, there’s no way the house is going to sell and then we’re going to be stuck in this house forever WITH A BUNCH OF EXTRA CANDLES TO HAVE TO STORE” and then I got even more stressed out and couldn’t concentrate.
And as it turns out, Pottery Barn is right next to an Anthropologie, and after about 10 minutes of wandering about Pottery Barn I had it and said I needed to go next door. That’s right, I left my husband to his own devices to decorate the house so I could go look at clothes. He has good taste, and besides, I wasn’t being any help at that point anyway. I needed the calming shabby chic influence of Anthro to calm my nerves.
And look! Look what I found!
I was told by someone in the know that if I were going to be wandering around Westminster next week, I should have a blazer, you know, to make my jeans look more professional. And this is a blazer with bees all over it. I fell instantaneously in love. My nerves were soothed. Because animals on clothing make me happy.
And because I needed to do something more constructive than trolling the net looking at the depressingly paltry numbers that houses in our neighborhood have been selling for, I decided to spend the afternoon pursuing a more enjoyable avocation, looking to see if there are any other cute, non-scary animal clothing items out there. Because there was a lot of this for sale at the cat show:
And I needed to update my wishlist with more Non-Unfortunate Items of Animalistic Fashion.
I’m kind of torn on these shoes. They aren’t my style, but I think I could appreciate them on the right person in the right outfit. Something about the old school tapestry pattern combined with the crazy platform is…evocative, let’s say.
Better. A muted doggie pattern on a navy dress. See? We can be subtle in our proclamation of puppy love!
This tapestry shoe bothers me less for some reason. The Mary-Janes balance out the tapestry pattern a little better, I think. I would wear those, under certain circumstances.
And last but not least, who could resist a Bambi dress? Minus the whole “your mom got shot, sorry about that” element, everyone loves Bambi. Well, at least I do.
So all I need to do is envelop myself in soothing happy animal prints and then I won’t be so stressed when the realtors come and do those annoying things they do, like show up unannounced while you’re in the shower and insist on taking people through the place. Or I can just strap on those huge cat boots and kick them out. Win-win.
Good luck with the house! I will be reading with great interest as we are hoping to put our house on the market in the next year and I have the same anxiety as you. Two big dogs, one who is a bit of a spaz, 2 kids whose idea of clean differs greatly from mine, and a market that makes me wonder how we will ever sell. And like you, the last house we sold was in 2004 and went to the first people who looked at it for exactly what we asked. I just know that will never happen again.
I think the Mary Jane shoes would look great with a pair of jeans!
The dogs with the realtors is going to be interesting, that’s for sure!
Maybe a tasteful basket by the door with artfully arranged lint rollers? :)-
That is a brilliant idea!
I remember your husband asking you to keep the dogs off the grass a few months ago, in anticipation of the house going on the market. We’re in different countries, but I think the selling/buying markets are not dissimilar. Estate agents here suggest to keep the house as clutter-free as possible, no knickknacks, no things on the kitchen counters. I don’t know who can live like that, but evidently prospective buyers like to see empty spaces so they can picture their own things in the house. It is a bit of freedom with very few things to dust! A quiet word with Brody and Koa to ask them not to shed for a while might be in order. The bee blazer is cool, the rest…not so much. I’m sending good vibes to you for a reasonably quick sale.
The grass is trashed. We’re going to need to redo it again, this time with some chicken wire, I think.
I do like the blue dress! Maybe even enough to buy it. And I think I could do the Mary Janes, on the right day in the right situation. But I have too many shoes as it is.
You never know about the house. I know two people who recently sold their homes within 2 weeks of putting them on the market! And both got a reasonable price. So the news isn’t ALL dismal.
Oh, that gives me hope! Yay!
I really hope things go well for you with trying to sell your house. It is stressful, no matter what situation we are in. I don’t like housecleaning myself, but I do try at least to keep things tidy. Your idea to have a little fun and go shopping was wonderful. I am glad there was a place so close for you to forget about selling for a while. I really like the bee blazer and cat t-shirt. Pretty. 🙂
The bee blazer is super cute. I just love it.
I don’t know how your information about Colorado can come from some pictures and a freak storm, but that is not the norm. I haven’t seen snow in months (except in the mountains where I like it), before we got dumped on for ONE day. I am about 20 minutes outside of Denver, and it didn’t snow a whole lot. Yes the pictures you probably saw were of places that got a ton of snow, you just need to know where to live. Whatever, if you want to base your decision on Colorado on ONE freak storm, then go ahead, it keeps people out of Colorado.
Goodness, it wasn’t meant as a personal diss on Colorado! It was more of a statement of my wussiness about any weather that isn’t sunny. Colorado is lovely. 🙂
Oh my goodness, “Colorado,” lighten up. We have freakish weather here, and anyone living outside the state can hardly be blamed for not totally understanding it. There was snow on the Flatirons in Boulder on the 4th of July on one of the years I lived there. We’ve had fire burn a portion of the Front Range while floods wiped out parts of Aspen. If you live here long enough, you’ve seen it all. It’s the glory of living in Colorado and I, for one, love the mystique associated with our weather. Sign me as living in Littleton, and loving it.
Love, love, love, the bee blazer! My husband and I are commercial bee-keepers, and that would be a perfect blazer for me – guess it’s time to go to the mall!