Wondering about Luxury Home Trends for 2019? Here are some things you might want to consider in your purchase or remodel of your luxury home. By Jennifer Karami While the average sale price for luxury homes nationwide rose 4.7 percent annually to $1,772,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, a few things remain constant: the kinds of features and luxury home trends associated with high end residences. Money can buy you a…
Years ago, our oldest son Scott and I attended a long weekend with the Landmark Education Forum. I was challenged to take up a personal issue that I was willing to share with a thousand or so people the next day. I couldn’t help but consider Alzheimer’s, the disease that had rocked our family. I went home that night and wrote a letter to my mother, Edith Michelson. It was…
by Roberta Murphy Realtors in California were groaning when the new tax laws hit this year. Luxury home sales were sure to crash and burn. You see, the new tax code puts a limit on how much one can deduct in state and local property taxes–as well as income or sales tax–up to a measly total of $10,000. So when new tax laws went into effect, high profile experts were…
by Roberta Murphy Last Christmas, son Scott gave me a series of passes to a cryotherapy center in Del Mar. I would strip down to only underwear, special mittens and insulated socks. Then, I would step into a cubicle and freeze my patootie off for 3 minutes in swirling gases that registered like 180 degrees below zero. It felt like my frozen skin was going to crack and fall off…
by Roberta Murphy I have always felt such a sense of peace when I am in the garden fooling around with dirt and plants, but never gave it much thought until this morning. I read an article today relating research that confirms my senses: Garden Dirt actually serves as an anti-depressant. And could take the place of Prozac. I don’t suffer from depression and have never taken Prozac, but I…
Weight Loss and HCG Nothing tastes as good as thin feels, have said Kate Moss, Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey. Some might also add that Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels. Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty good. Weight loss shows me down 12 pounds after 13 days, following the HCG regimen as part of a 30-day program that limits me to 500 calories per day. The following are some…
Now may be the time to grab one of those luxury homes you’ve been watching. The price of luxury homes varies from market to market. In some, it could be $700,000 and others over $2 million. In the San Diego luxury home market, we see luxury homes priced north of $2 million languishing on the market a little longer than ones priced below that number. On the other hand, that…
I demand comfortable shoes, can’t stand anything pinching my feet, but love the idea of the stiletto. Especially ones that are comfortable! Fast Company recently reported on a stiletto designed by someone who put comfort first. It seems Christopher Dixon, an aspiring designer, was hired by Serena Williams to design a clothing line. He asked about the comfort stilettos in Serena’s closet, and she responded as most women would and…
Was the song Sultans of Swing really written in 1978? It was–and performed powerfully by Dire Straits. I recently ran across this fabulous video of 3 master guitarists, Tommy Emmanuel, John Jorgenson, Pedro Javier González who are jamming Sultans of Swing in a way I’ve never heard–and can’t resist sharing. See it here–with the lyrics below. You get a shiver in the dark It’s raining in the park but meantime South of the river…
What is Grace? Many years ago, when I was dissolving a marriage and trying to decide whether to leave Houston for Southern California, I came to the humbling realization that I was nothing more than a student in life. This despite the fact that I had been a college instructor and once thought myself wiser than most. Yeah right. It was such a relief to acknowledge my student status and the permission/acknowledgment…
