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We collect houses.  I’m not talking Thomas Kinkade-esque miniature villages displayed on lit shelves throughout American homes, I am talking actual mortgage attached houses. This is not by choice.  I love houses, but not necessarily this way. My husband and I bought our 1^st house in 2004.  We were under 30, employed and finally in a city where we could (almost) afford a starter home.   Las Vegas, Nevada. The market was hot.   Bidding wars were the norm. Home ownership during that time, in that city, was all pride and sunshine. Two years later my career took us out of Las Vegas.  The bidding wars were over and owning a home in Las Vegas was beginning to be something people whispered about like an illness.  “Did you hear? She has a house in Las Vegas?” 

And…When we bought that 1^st home we also bought two more ridiculously inexpensive rental house in different states for zero down.

I’ll let you pause for the necessary intake of breath and thoughts of both pity and judgment. 

Okay, now, let me start by saying, buying homes in 2004 was very popular.  Real estate was a good investment. We were thinking about our future, our kid’s futures.  We were long term.  This had nothing to do with ego or gluttony.  We took classes in real estate and truly considered these properties responsible investments.    My broadcasting career was quickly taking off, we reasoned we would be making more money in five years than we were then, and we would have no problem refinancing. 

Stop me if you have heard this before.

Fast forward to 2007.  We were forced to rent out our home in Las Vegas when we moved to San Diego.  Selling was impossible since the cute little three bedrooms in a highly desired neighborhood was now worth next to nothing.  But, we were happy, we were now in the city of our dreams, and I had the career we always considered the “goal.”  Chances were we were staying put in our little beach town forever. Our plan was to (easily and quickly Ha!) have two kids, two dogs, a booming career and live happily ever after.  So we bought another house.  It kind of sounds crazy now as I write it, but in late ’06 prices had dropped in the beach communities and it was cheaper to buy our little beach bungalow than rent.  We closed on my 29^th birthday.  It was a very happy home.

If you are keeping count, I was under 30 with four houses (five mortgages, yes, we had a second on Las Vegas, a balloon none the less.)  My husband and I looked great on paper but we were so literally mortgaged that we were living like starving college students (who happened to be starting infertility treatments  and an expensive adoption, but that’s a whole different story).

And then the bottom fell out.  Over the next few years I would have given anything to sell our homes.  We had bad renters, unexpected vacancies, and our Las Vegas home had dropped significantly in value.  It was a real estate nightmare. We were hemorrhaging money we didn’t have.   None of this is meant to make you feel sorry for me, in fact I know many people find joy in our pain.  It’s that sick human response that some (most) people have, like when a pretty friend gains weight.  A secret satisfaction that their life isn’t actually as perfect as it seems.  But, there should be no pity for my situation.  We had lost money and value but we had lost nothing compared to what most of America was going through at the time.  Some people lost everything. 

That was a very long story to get to the point and set the stage for my relationship with homes.   I have a few (note sarcasm) and I have moved in and out of many more.  Despite the struggles that our homeownership has brought us (and continues to bring us,) I still love houses.  I love house hunting, I love moving (everything gets so clean and organized!) and above all I love decorating a new space.  Surprisingly, (or not considering the above history) my favorite houses of all time have almost all been rentals and they are all my favorite because of how the feel.   Here are my top 4 in reverse order…

4) Beach Bungalow, Ocean Beach, CA.  This is our most recent house.  The place I think of when I think of home.  I wrote an entire blog on this 900 square foot cape cod style shack, so you can see all the fun beachy pictures.  It is at the beach, in a town I love, and it where I became me.  I went through the best and worst times of my life, I brought my babies home and mourned the loss of others there and I treasure it down to its one hundred year old brittle bones.  Its white washed with blues and greens.  It’s all around beach. Small and full of charm. It happens to be the only home on the list we own.

3) Newlywed 1 bedroom, Pacific Grove, CA. 

This is the 1^st house we lived in as a couple.  It was soooo cute (said in the way people talk about baby bunnies and that boy in math class.)  When we went to find a rental we looked for days and nothing was clicking.  Everything was expensive, or in a bad area or too dirty (I crave freshly painted white walls and wood floors.)  Even pulling up to this tiny house with the big yard and picture windows, I knew I would love it.  It was full of charm.  It had a tiny dark kitchen and living room downstairs and one bedroom and small bathroom upstairs.  It was full of old wood and windows.  It was nestled in a quiet street adjacent to the forest and 6 blocks from the beach. It had a gorgeous back and front yard. We fastened a surfboard to the back fence and made a table; I hung a hammock and spent two years enjoying the little beach community in the woods.  We brought our baby English bulldog home to that house, taught her to walk up and down the steep creaky stairs.  It was a happy yellow house. 

2) Sabbatical, Ensenada, Mexico.  I get excited just thinking about the view from this house.  180degrees with three patios that took full advantage of the surroundings.

We spent a little more than a month living right above the nearly private beach below in Northern Mexico. It remains the best time in my life.  I was entering a big change in my life and I felt like I had 50 days to just exhale and be.  I spent every second loving my kids and my husband, not working, and enjoying how blessed I was.  The house itself was a little run down but not by much, and the view made it perfect.  It was a very Spanish/ Mexican feel with lots of bright reds and yellows. The house was designed to maximize the view with lots of windows and when you stood in the middle of the living room or kitchen you felt like you were on a cruise ship because all you could see around you was water. 

Perhaps the best part for me, at the time, was the price. Rent for that two bedroom dream home in a guarded community was less expensive than any rent I have paid for any home/apartment/condo in the states in the last 12 years and it was fully furnished!  It was nearly free. Because it was a rental there are things that could have been done to make it nicer. The coffee pot barely worked so a Kureig would have been easy. The dishes and silverware was pretty bad, mismatched and old and some inexpensive melamine would have been so easy to do. New low priced sheets to replace the tattered ones, and a few new throws.  And lastly, a new TV with a DVD player.  It still had a vcr that barely worked. Not that we were watching TV with that view.  But, overall the feel of that wind and sea swept house just gave me hope and happiness.  It was a house that felt good.

But my number one favorite home of all time is…

1.) Oyster Pond, Chatham, Ma. - My best friend from college brought me to her families Cape Cod home for the 1^st time when I was in my early 20’s and I have been going back every other year since.  The house is a huge beautiful New England home that is the epitome of kid friendly.  It is colorful and chic at the same time, the back yard is as big if not bigger than the house and it has gardens and wood swing sets a miniature boat and built in sand area.  My friend’s family is Italian artists and the place is full of beautiful, cheery hand painted pieces.  Even with a revolving door of children the place smells good and the toys and furniture everywhere just add to the charm. It is full of huge windows and lots of light.  These are my kids in the hand painted high chairs on one of the decks.

And my husband cooking on one of the patios with a full out door kitchen and true neopolitan pizza oven!

The garage is even homey. It holds toys and a second washer and dryer (seriously I am talking dozens of kids) and fridge, and part of it was turned into an artist’s studio for the matriarch of the family.  Every time I sell anything bright and colorful on the air I think of this Cape Cod home.  It is my happy place.

So yes, I collect houses and in some ways that isn’t a good thing, but it has taught me to be a lover of all things home. It’s where you make your memories.  All my favorite houses hold memories for me, and the things inside of them are that much more special because of the feeling attached.  Maybe that is why I love talking to you about home goods, linens, candles, gadgets. They are all a part of the home.  And as they say, home is where the heart is.  No matter how many you have lived in.

Hope you have a blessed day and a blessed home.

Kerstin