Non Committal

Yesterday I may have come across as a little... wound up. Well I still am, but I'm also trying to relax so we can make a clear headed decision. This weekend it seemed we may have two houses to choose from, and then we had one. And then we flip flopped back to the other one. And now we have neither? Who knows... maybe tomorrow we'll be back to considering both. The problem is that Austin is suffering from growing pains. Excellent schools are probably being closed due to budgetary constraints. New schools may be built elsewhere.

Traffic has been rerouted to flow through neighborhoods we like, and a giant highway flyover may be constructed right behind one of the houses we fell in love with. Or maybe it won't. Should we gamble?

Thanks for listening, dudes. And for chiming in with your comments. Can I just tell you that I'm emotionally drained?

Right now this is all I dream of. Curling up in a fluffy white cloud and reading a classic novel -- perhaps some Anna Karenina -- would definitely put things into perspective for me.

At least none of the houses we're considering are near a train.

[Head Over Heels]

How Not To Stage a Home

The recession is in full swing and real estate has taken a plunge, so that means if you want to sell your home, it's gotta look good. And by "good" I mean clean, updated within the context of the neighborhood, and not crazy over personalized. I am not talking perfection, people. So this past weekend when we attended a few open houses, I was a wee bit shocked to encounter this, ahem, diamond in the rough. Cute neighborhood, lovely yard, and acres of square footage, but I knew as soon as we walked through the door and were asked to remove our shoes (so as not to sully the 20 year old carpet) that things were amiss...

Master bedroom.

Not a kid's room.

The only redeeming room in the house was the Big Cat Room. This one's for you, Karly.

Apologies for the crappy phone pictures, but I had to shoot fast for fear of discovery. My only regret is that I didn't get a shot of the Navajo room, but then you may already have had more than you can take. It's probably for the best.

Now, lest you think I'm a heartless asshole who hates pillows and stuffed puppies and crocheted coozies on zombie dolls, I'm really not. What you do on your own time is your business, but don't expect for everyone else to think sleeping under a giant plastic clam shell is chic. Buyers are nigh incapable of seeing past such things -- even me, and I've waded through mounds of rat turds while home shopping and still thought, "hmmmm... this has potential."

Oh, and by the way, this home is priced higher than this one, which is surely proof that the housing market is on wack on crack.