CLOSED: #5004 Annette in Shrewsbury

 Nothing says "Happy Friday" like this...

Lovely Annette just closed escrow at US Title and my awesome Buyers will settle into their cool little 1939 Moderne era bungalow this weekend.  Yippee!

My clients come to me from a variety of places, but there is nothing more fun or heartwarming than to represent someone who is a childhood connection.  Mr. Buyer was a Henderson house regular as one of my brother's best friends.  To have the opportunity to befriend his amazing wife and meet their adorable children has been SUCH a treat!  Particularly as with 2 boys close in age, their life is a mirror image of mine... we are just a little further along.  To witness those boys eagerly attack the backyard playground with enthusiasm was truly the "YOU HAVE FOUND THE ONE" moment on this transaction. The best!

Welcome Home, Team Annette and thank you for your trust, friendship, and tenacity.  Gorgeous home, wonderful family, and a perfect match!

If you are contemplating a 2020 move, the market is still moving as rates remain at record low, friends. I am an incredibly COVID-19 safe and aware agent.  I have established new virus business protocols to ensure the safety of your family (and mine), while taking advantage of this incredible market!  Let's connect...

 

In bloom at Casa de Nenonen...

Memory and smell are so intertwined, that a familiar scent can immediately transport you back in time. I’m curious: What smell triggers memories of your childhood home?

For me...

...peonies. The flower bed beneath my childhood window was lined with them. Every May, as the weather warmed and our windows opened, their sweet fragrance filled my bedroom. To this day, I can’t resist the temptation to bury my face in their gorgeous pink petals. Home.💕

What’s yours?

Spotted in Town & Country today...

“Children see magic because they look for it.”✨

 ~Christopher Moore

Home Sweet Home, Blooms Sweet Blooms

One of the most important roles of a Realtor is to remain focused on the business aspect of our clients' move in order to protect them through the process, as let's face it... moving is emotional. From helping an eager newlywed couple plant their roots in the perfect starter to holding the hand of a recent widow closing the final chapter of a long life together... we do our best to remain supportive yet logical through an emotionally-charged transaction.

It isn't always easy, as we too are human. A skilled Realtor learns to carefully balance both aspects to be fully-supportive of our clients.

If a client is selling a property, Realtors typically refer to it as a "house" in order to help the Seller begin to remove the emotion so they can focus on the financial significance of each stage of negotiation.  If a client is making a purchase, however, we typically refer to it as a "home" as we realize it is more than just a financial transaction. Finding the right fit, both financially and emotionally, is imperative in a purchase.  

Home is a safe haven.  It meant to be the heart of a family.  It is where first steps are taken, Tooth Fairies visit, and buddies gather to cheer their favorite team to victory.  It is where one gathers with friends and family to enjoy the best of what life has to offer from Memorial Day barbecues and birthday celebrations to relaxing naps on the garden hammock.

It's the little things that make a house a home. Small things that when joined together, create the most inviting and special atmosphere that is unique to you and yours.  That becomes no more apparent to me every single May when I open my son's bedroom window to see this...

Our peony has been in bloom all week.  To most it is just a pretty pink flower, but to me it is home.  My childhood bedroom had a large blush peony bush beneath my window.  Every May I would perch my chin on the windowsill and behind the protection of the screen, curiously watch the bees buzz around the blooms as the lovely fragrance filled my bedroom and my dad tended to his vegetable garden just a few feet away.

I have planted a blush peony in every single house that Steve and I have lived in.   As a result, every May I am magically transported back four decades to the safety of my childhood bedroom.  Home is where love blooms in Casa de Nenonen, both figuratively and literally. I love this time of year!  The memories evoked not only bring a smile to my face, but also act as a terrific annual reminder of the significance of aiding people in either closing or opening a chapter on a new home.

"The possible's slow fuse is lit by the imagination." ~E.Dickinson

When I was girl, we used to attend the same holiday party each December.  Our family friends lived in a large home in Town and Country on several acres.   On one evening each year, they opened their home to dozens of friends for tree-trimming and toasts to the season. Such wonderful childhood memories.

As a child, the thing that impressed me most about their home has stuck with me over the last 30+ years.  It wasn't actually the childrens' bedrooms that fascinated me as much as what their rooms were hiding. Both kids in the family had a secret playroom attached to their bedroom. It was so magical to me at the time, like a real life scene out of the C.S.Lewis classic "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". 

Accessed via a small ladder and high above his bedroom, the son had a hidden ceiling loft space that was illuminated with strung lights where he practiced his guitar.   The daughter's secret space was accessed via a small hidden door at the back of her closet, which opened up to a lovely pink playroom filled with dolls, books, and toys.  How badly I too wanted a secret space to let my imagination run free!  

I think that childhood memory has much to do with the giddy feeling that I experience when I spot a special hidden space in a property, tucked away where you would least expect it...

Do you have an extra closet, attic, bedroom, or space under the eaves?  I took to Pinterest to inspire you to apply a little creativity to transform wasted space to one where your family's imagination can run free!